DAISY-DOT - Near Letter Quality & Font Editor for Atari 8-Bit Personal Computers

Aug 26, 2026

DAISY-DOT is a public-domain software package for Atari 8-bit computers that enables Near Letter Quality (NLQ) dot-matrix printing with software control. It supports multiple graphic densities up to eight times normal draft density by advancing the page between passes, producing text comparable to professional typesetting. The package includes a joystick-controlled Font Editor for creating proportional high-resolution fonts, and provides clear DOS and printer configuration guidance for supported Atari and Epson/Star compatible systems.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time18 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

System Configuration

Getting Started

DAISY-DOT Main Program

DAISY-DOT # Near Letter Quality &Font EditorFor Atari 8-Bit Personal Computers TRANSFORM YOUR EPSON OR STARINTO AN NLQ PRINTER! Copyright 1987 By Roy Goldman Author of The Compactor Detector March,1987 Daisy-Dot is in the public domain and may be distributedfreely in its original form. Donations will beappreciated. Send to: Roy Goldman 2440 South Jasmine St.Denver,C0 80222 ## INTRODUCTION Introducing Daisy-Dot,the program that willrevolutionize Atari dot-matrix printing. Daisy-Dot incorporates the latest and greatest feature of dot-matrixprinting,Near Letter Quality(NLQ),with the flexibilityof software control. With up to 4 graphic densities,Daisy-Dot prints at upto 8 times the density of a printer's normal draft mode byuse of a special technique found in many expensive printerhardware upgrades. Daisy-Dot makes two passes for eachline,but instead of merely double-striking,the page isadvanced slightly between passes and another set offormatted dots is printed. The result is very high qualitytext,almost indistinguishable from that of a professionaltypesetter or typewriter. Daisy-Dot requires standard text files without controlcharacters for printing. This format is an option frommost word processors. In addition,you control thecharacter spacing for each printout. The number of high-resolution,PROPORTIONAL fonts that can be used by Daisy-Dot is limitless. Five fonts are included,and the Daisy-Dot Font Editor makes creating newfonts easy. The editor is joystick controlled and includesnumerous features to speed up your efforts. ## SYSTEM CONFIGURATION Daisy-Dot willwork with the following systemconfigurations: --Atari 600XL(64K)/800XL/1200XL/65XE/130XE --Epson EX/FX/JX/LX/MX/RX and Star Gemini/SG printersOther Epson compatibles may or may not work,dependingon how "compatible"they are. --Atari DOS 2.5,DOS XL,Smar+DOS,and MyDOS. Daisy-Dot is written in compiled Turbo Basic.Because of limitations of Turbo Basic,Daisy-Dot will NOTwork with SpartaDos NOR on Atari 400/800 models. The bestsubstitute for SpartaDos is MyDos. ## GETTING STARTED The first step is to back-up your copy of Daisy-Dot.Once you have a back-up copy,decide which DOS you wouldlike to use with Daisy-Dot.The disk comes with Atari DOS 2.5. For all other DOS's,first boot the DOS you wish touse. Insert your Daisy-Dot back-up,and choose the "WriteDos Files"option. The Atari DOS 2.5 system files will bereplaced by those of your choice. Note that the DiskUtility Package(DUP.SYS)is not needed. If you are usingSmar+DOS,you must rename the AUTORUN.SYS file on theDaisy-Dot disk to AUTORUN.AR1. If you are using a RAMdisk,place the needed set-upfile on your back-up disk. If it is an AUTORUN.SYS file,append the Daisy-Dot AUTORUN.SYS to the RAMdisk file.There are several ways to place files in a RAMdisk. Youmay include an AUTORUN.SYS to copy your favorite fonts toRAM every time Daisy-Dot boots. Another option is to bootup DOS from another disk,copy the desired file(s),andthen Binary Load the AUTORUN.SYS on the Daisy-Dot disk. Daisy-Dot willwork without changes on Epson RX/FX/JX/LX/EX models. If you use an Epson MX or a Starprinter,you must set up your disk so Daisy-Dot canconfigure itself to your printer. MX users must rename"MX.CNF"to "MX"(without the extender). Star users needto rename "STAR.CNF"to "STAR"(without the extender).Each time Daisy-Dot runs,it searches the disk for either"MX"or "STAR". If it locates one of them,it adjusts itself for that printer. Actually,Daisy-Dot does not readany data from these files;it only searches for theirpresence. Thus,any file with the right name will work. If you have a different Epson compatible,experimentto see which configuration (if any)suits yourprinter. You are now ready to run Daisy-Dot. Turn off yourcomputer. Make sure the Daisy-Dot disk is in the drive.Holding down the [OPTION]key,turn on the computer. AfterDaisy-Dot boots,you are presented with the t

FAQs

What does DAISY-DOT enable on Atari 8-bit systems?

DAISY-DOT enables Near Letter Quality (NLQ) printing on dot-matrix printers, using software control to produce high-quality text.

Which printer and system configurations does DAISY-DOT support?

It supports specified Atari 8-bit models and common Epson and Star printers, with notes for other Epson compatibles depending on how compatible they are.

How do you print text with DAISY-DOT?

You provide a properly formatted text file (created via a word processor’s print-to-disk option), then choose the output device and density, while DAISY-DOT ignores inverse and control characters during printing.

Aug 26, 2026

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