4 ms·

Out of curiosity, where did the 132 column standard (for wide carriage printers) come from (why 132, not 130 or 120)?

by derekp7 10y ago

ddebernardy 10y ago
Likely because of the VT100: http://vt100.net/docs/tp83/chapter5.html http://vt100.net/docs/tp83/chapter5.html > 132 column × 14 lines (VT100, VT101, VT125) display > Allows you a larger format for detailed or spread sheet work so you can preview reports prior to printing. (Note: The advanced video option, which is standard with the VT102 and VT131, provides 132 column × 24 lines display.)
- mturmon 10y ago
  I'm not sure what the vt100 resolution was, but later terminals allowed you to download your own bitmaps. According to (http://www.vt100.net/docs/vt510-rm/DECDLD.html http://www.vt100.net/docs/vt510-rm/DECDLD.html), these bitmaps were: "10 pixels wide for 80 columns, 6 pixels wide for 132 columns." If their baseline was 800 pixels (80 cols * 10 pix/col) then 132 is the largest number of columns fitting into 800 pixels at 6 pix/col.
- derekp7 10y ago
  So in this case, the 132 column printer came after the 132 column vt100 series?
kens 10y ago
That's a good question, and I've been trying for weeks to find the answer. 132 columns for printers is way older than video terminals, dating back to the IBM 1403 printer from 1959. I've studied the 1403 printer closely and asked the IBM history experts, but nobody seems to know exactly where 132 columns came from. One theory is IBM wanted to have more columns than competitors with 120 columns, so went to 132, but that's not a completely satisfying answer. I wonder if 132 is a limit due to the (surprisingly complex) timing of the print chain, but haven't been able to nail it down. I've studied the 1403 printer's circuitry in detail, and haven't seen any reason for 132 columns. If the printer had 12 characters per inch, 11 inch wide paper would have 132 characters, but the printer has 10 characters per inch so that doesn't explain it.

Out of curiosity, where did the 132 column standard (for wide carriage printers) come from (why 132, not 130 or 120)?

by derekp7 10y ago

Out of curiosity, where did the 132 column standard (for wide carriage printers) come from (why 132, not 130 or 120)?

Likely because of the VT100: http://vt100.net/docs/tp83/chapter5.html http://vt100.net/docs/tp83/chapter5.html > 132 column × 14 lines (VT100, VT101, VT125) display > Allows you a larger format for detailed or spread sheet work so you can preview reports prior to printing. (Note: The advanced video option, which is standard with the VT102 and VT131, provides 132 column × 24 lines display.)

mturmon 10y ago
I'm not sure what the vt100 resolution was, but later terminals allowed you to download your own bitmaps. According to (http://www.vt100.net/docs/vt510-rm/DECDLD.html http://www.vt100.net/docs/vt510-rm/DECDLD.html), these bitmaps were: "10 pixels wide for 80 columns, 6 pixels wide for 132 columns." If their baseline was 800 pixels (80 cols * 10 pix/col) then 132 is the largest number of columns fitting into 800 pixels at 6 pix/col.
derekp7 10y ago
So in this case, the 132 column printer came after the 132 column vt100 series?

kens 10y ago

That's a good question, and I've been trying for weeks to find the answer. 132 columns for printers is way older than video terminals, dating back to the IBM 1403 printer from 1959. I've studied the 1403 printer closely and asked the IBM history experts, but nobody seems to know exactly where 132 columns came from. One theory is IBM wanted to have more columns than competitors with 120 columns, so went to 132, but that's not a completely satisfying answer. I wonder if 132 is a limit due to the (surprisingly complex) timing of the print chain, but haven't been able to nail it down. I've studied the 1403 printer's circuitry in detail, and haven't seen any reason for 132 columns. If the printer had 12 characters per inch, 11 inch wide paper would have 132 characters, but the printer has 10 characters per inch so that doesn't explain it.