Citizen Color Dot-Matrix Printer

This is a 1992 Citizen GSX-230 color 24-pin dot-matrix printer with a VERY unusual configuration menu!

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• color
• dot
• matrix
• dot-matrix
• printer
• citizen
• gsx-230
• 230
• gsx
• bbishoppcm
• vintage
• old
• obsolete
• parallel

[vwestlife]

The bi-directional vs. uni-directional selects which ways the print head moves when printing, not anything to do with the parallel port data flow. Bi-directional is faster because it doesn't have to wait for the print head to return to the left margin before printing the next line, but this can cause vertical lines to appear wobbly because each line isn't perfectly lined up, so that's why graphics mode is set to uni-directional mode by default: it's slower, but produces a more accurate image.

[bbishoppcm]

@vwestlife Thanks for the clarification on this!

[geekforlifevandc]

i know this is a big demand but can u review a imsai 8080 or the altair (forgot model but its the first microcomputer some time) im not sure if they used combalt or cm\2 i dont think they used basic anyway how hard would it be to find these machines they are quite rare but my neighbours kid got one (unfornatatly he smashed it) but he said he got it for 2 bucks

[bbishoppcm]

@geekforlifevandc That's sad, because they are worth thousands of dollars in working condition. I hope your @hole neighbor realizes what he did. I do not own one of these, therefore, do not have the means of reviewing it.

[ShokaLion]

There is one of these hooked up to one of the old computers at work, however it doesn't have the colour ribbon or colour ribbon adjustment motor installed. You can see where they would go though, and the menu has all the same options.

[80evgeniy]

Great old printer, cool video! :)

I collects vintage IT equipment and have two colour matrix printers - Epson LQ-2550 and LX-300+ with Colour Kit.

1988 Epson LQ-2550 has modern-styled SelecType menu system with green backlit character matrix display. This machine also equpped with automatic printhead gap adjust, motorized touch-button Tractor/Friction paper source selection and phinthead cooler fan. 4-colour ribbon for LQ-2550 wery hard to find, similar for all other colour matrix printers.

[tiberianfiend]

I've got an NEC Pinwriter with a similar menu system. I'll make a video someday.

[bhtooefr]

I just got a GSX-190, the 9-pin version of your printer (they actually still make the GSX-190, although I got mine for all of $5) with the manual. There's a little tiny lever on the color kit that you can move to adjust color registration.

The Citizen website has a manual for the GSX-190, in PDF form, although it's for the modern GSX-190, and doesn't cover any of the color stuff - modern GSX-190s apparently don't support the color kit.

[Penguindog55]

We used to have a colour dot matrix printer, less stressful than a modern printer

[vvtvtytvyvrtfcvrv]

I had the citizen abc, which seems to be a cheaper version of the same printer. I also had boxes full of tractor feed paper, which it wouldn't accept. The tractor mechanism was there but you had to buy some sort of module to make it work properly with that paper. It was possible to cheat by messing about with the buttons and manually feeding the first page, but by default it would attempt to page feed the entire box of paper. Not good.

[monomonster]

My first dot-matrix was a Tandy DMP-132 I used on my CoCo 3, and it had 4 separate ribbons, black, red, green, and blue. I had print program that would print one colour, then you re-align the paper, change ribbons and it would print another colour. Far cry from my Canon MX700.

I do still have a Epson FX-86e 9-pin as a backup. Still can get ribbons and fan-fold paper. Bulit like a tank.