In 1968, there was no means of recording character patterns electronically as today’s printers do. In an era when the only printing method was movable type, printing using an assembly of dots, a technique developed by Oki Electric, was groundbreaking.
The wiredot printer could print 128 characters, each having a unique 7 x 5 dot pattern (vertical x horizontal). A character generator plate with different combinations of holes was used to form the 128 characters. Wires passed through a guide pipe with a 7 x 5 pattern to print the characters. When printing a character on the page, the character generator plate was shifted mechanically into the position defined for the character. The 35 wires, forming the 7 x 5 pattern, were passed through the character generator plate from the opposite side of the impression face. Wires that hit places on the character generator plate without holes protruded out and printed dots on the page.
| Model name | Wiredot printer |
|---|---|
| Printing method | Wiredot method |
| Number of characters | 128 |
| Character pattern | 7 x 5 dots (vertical x horizontal) |
| Character generator plate | 56 x 80 mm (vertical x horizontal) One character occupied about 7 x 5 mm (vertical x horizontal) |
