Back in the 1970s I was watching a program listing coming off a lineprinter (I was bored OK, and the paper was about to run out)... It was COBOL and for National Tyre Service:
SET WABGX TO "BRIGGS". (WHO LEADS BY TWO SETS TO ONE)
The rest of the comments were a spoof tennis commentary...
3:O)>
SET WABGX TO "BRIGGS". (WHO LEADS BY TWO SETS TO ONE)
The rest of the comments were a spoof tennis commentary...
3:O)>
November 9, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Back in the 1970s I was watching a program listing coming off a lineprinter (I was bored OK, and the paper was about to run out)... It was COBOL and for National Tyre Service:
SET WABGX TO "BRIGGS". (WHO LEADS BY TWO SETS TO ONE)
The rest of the comments were a spoof tennis commentary...
3:O)>
SET WABGX TO "BRIGGS". (WHO LEADS BY TWO SETS TO ONE)
The rest of the comments were a spoof tennis commentary...
3:O)>
Yesterday I dug out of a closet the lineprinter output of a text-based adventure-type game I wrote for Multics in 1979 called "explore". 2,100 lines of Multics basic that call various PL/I helpers that I didn't save.
September 4, 2026 at 5:42 PM
Yesterday I dug out of a closet the lineprinter output of a text-based adventure-type game I wrote for Multics in 1979 called "explore". 2,100 lines of Multics basic that call various PL/I helpers that I didn't save.
I tried to convert it from images to text using Gemini, which looked relatively error free at the start but turned out to be unusably filled with gibberish; Claude successfully returned the lineprinter output to text.
September 4, 2026 at 5:44 PM
I tried to convert it from images to text using Gemini, which looked relatively error free at the start but turned out to be unusably filled with gibberish; Claude successfully returned the lineprinter output to text.
it better have been from a massive DEC lineprinter
August 18, 2026 at 7:53 PM
it better have been from a massive DEC lineprinter
Digital archaeology in action:
ELIZA, the world's first chatbot from 1964, has been resurrected by MIT researchers after 60 years!
The team created an emulator to run ELIZA on a simulated IBM 7094, preserving 96% of the original 2,600 lines of code.
They […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
ELIZA, the world's first chatbot from 1964, has been resurrected by MIT researchers after 60 years!
The team created an emulator to run ELIZA on a simulated IBM 7094, preserving 96% of the original 2,600 lines of code.
They […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
January 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Digital archaeology in action:
ELIZA, the world's first chatbot from 1964, has been resurrected by MIT researchers after 60 years!
The team created an emulator to run ELIZA on a simulated IBM 7094, preserving 96% of the original 2,600 lines of code.
They […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
ELIZA, the world's first chatbot from 1964, has been resurrected by MIT researchers after 60 years!
The team created an emulator to run ELIZA on a simulated IBM 7094, preserving 96% of the original 2,600 lines of code.
They […]
[Original post on mastodon.social]
Ik heb als werkstudent nog op de abonnementenadministratie van de Weekbladpers gewerkt. Dat ging toen nog met ponskaarten. Ik een zaaltje stonden onder andere een grote sorteermachine en een lineprinter met tractorfeed. Those were the days!
February 11, 2024 at 10:13 PM
Ik heb als werkstudent nog op de abonnementenadministratie van de Weekbladpers gewerkt. Dat ging toen nog met ponskaarten. Ik een zaaltje stonden onder andere een grote sorteermachine en een lineprinter met tractorfeed. Those were the days!
Indeed - my first 4 years of computing was with a Teletype Model 3 ASR (80 characters, infinite lines!) and a modem - before going to uni and regressing to punched cards and a lineprinter
December 8, 2024 at 11:05 AM
Indeed - my first 4 years of computing was with a Teletype Model 3 ASR (80 characters, infinite lines!) and a modem - before going to uni and regressing to punched cards and a lineprinter
The fun 1403 Vintage Mono Pro typeface inspired by the 1960s era IBM 1403 mainframe line printer. #typefacedesign #fonts #IBM1403 #IBM1401 #mainframefont #lineprinter #lineprinterfont #carwindowstickers #font1960s #retrofont
1403.slantedhall.com
1403.slantedhall.com
1403 Vintage Mono Pro font, by Jeff Kellem
A practical monospaced typeface, inspired by the IBM 1403 mainframe line printer from the 1960s. Designed by Jeff Kellem.
1403.slantedhall.com
November 20, 2024 at 7:44 AM
The fun 1403 Vintage Mono Pro typeface inspired by the 1960s era IBM 1403 mainframe line printer. #typefacedesign #fonts #IBM1403 #IBM1401 #mainframefont #lineprinter #lineprinterfont #carwindowstickers #font1960s #retrofont
1403.slantedhall.com
1403.slantedhall.com
3270 keyboards were a joy to use, but I never noticed the clacking due to the ambient noise level (Aircon, equipment fans, and occasionally the sound of the 1403 lineprinter doing clock cards for the factory workers - with the lid up because they were too stiff to negotiate the paper path[1].)
March 24, 2026 at 1:43 PM
3270 keyboards were a joy to use, but I never noticed the clacking due to the ambient noise level (Aircon, equipment fans, and occasionally the sound of the 1403 lineprinter doing clock cards for the factory workers - with the lid up because they were too stiff to negotiate the paper path[1].)
On the "Harsh" front, the first job did provide the interesting spectacle of the Finance Director standing next to the lineprinter so he could sign the relevant cheque, hand it to a courier, and so prevent the local electricity company shutting off the power[1] at noon.
[1] to a Very Large factory.
[1] to a Very Large factory.
March 17, 2026 at 10:43 PM
On the "Harsh" front, the first job did provide the interesting spectacle of the Finance Director standing next to the lineprinter so he could sign the relevant cheque, hand it to a courier, and so prevent the local electricity company shutting off the power[1] at noon.
[1] to a Very Large factory.
[1] to a Very Large factory.
Dinosaur herding: Mag tape operations with 3420 tape drives and those wretched "auto-load" collars. Data recovery when the tapes got damaged (including replacing the BOT reflective marker if it fell off due to poor adhesive), also 2671 punched tape reader and 1403 lineprinter wrangling. Argh! 3:O(>
December 8, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Dinosaur herding: Mag tape operations with 3420 tape drives and those wretched "auto-load" collars. Data recovery when the tapes got damaged (including replacing the BOT reflective marker if it fell off due to poor adhesive), also 2671 punched tape reader and 1403 lineprinter wrangling. Argh! 3:O(>
A different printer story (IBM 1403 lineprinter from the 1970s) and month-end processing. We arrived for the nightshift and someone wondered if it was possible to do the month end in one night... so all the tapes were pulled and sorted, the 36 boxes of punchcards (2,500/box) put by the reader, [1/?]
October 27, 2025 at 1:30 PM
A different printer story (IBM 1403 lineprinter from the 1970s) and month-end processing. We arrived for the nightshift and someone wondered if it was possible to do the month end in one night... so all the tapes were pulled and sorted, the 36 boxes of punchcards (2,500/box) put by the reader, [1/?]
Both companies I have worked for have delayed paying invoices until (sometimes after) the very last minute. The first one nearly got the factory electricity turned off and they had the head of Finance take the cheque off the lineprinter, sign it, and hand it to a motorcycle courier. (1/2)
June 6, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Both companies I have worked for have delayed paying invoices until (sometimes after) the very last minute. The first one nearly got the factory electricity turned off and they had the head of Finance take the cheque off the lineprinter, sign it, and hand it to a motorcycle courier. (1/2)
The first example was reportedly from a National Coal Board program (and just filled the print buffer with spaces).
The second one was a DC "Distribution Companies" program at Dunlops, and the tennis match in the comments was amusing. (I personally saw that one coming off the lineprinter.)
3:O)>
The second one was a DC "Distribution Companies" program at Dunlops, and the tennis match in the comments was amusing. (I personally saw that one coming off the lineprinter.)
3:O)>
December 3, 2024 at 1:16 PM
The first example was reportedly from a National Coal Board program (and just filled the print buffer with spaces).
The second one was a DC "Distribution Companies" program at Dunlops, and the tennis match in the comments was amusing. (I personally saw that one coming off the lineprinter.)
3:O)>
The second one was a DC "Distribution Companies" program at Dunlops, and the tennis match in the comments was amusing. (I personally saw that one coming off the lineprinter.)
3:O)>
First admin to install BSD and getting the lineprinter to work out of the box.
October 4, 2025 at 6:44 AM
First admin to install BSD and getting the lineprinter to work out of the box.
In 1982, as I started my RGO Fellowship, email was so exciting I kept and printed my entire first year’s worth. Mostly party invites… Note DecNet addresses, not TCP/IP. Email outside the UK Starlink network was still very tricky
July 5, 2025 at 11:31 AM
In 1982, as I started my RGO Fellowship, email was so exciting I kept and printed my entire first year’s worth. Mostly party invites… Note DecNet addresses, not TCP/IP. Email outside the UK Starlink network was still very tricky
I’ll make the capitals and parens taller, and regularise some of the lowercase (‘h’ looks wrong to me).
Why am I doing this? It’s much too big to use!
<some time later>
It’s very RISC OS though...
Why am I doing this? It’s much too big to use!
<some time later>
It’s very RISC OS though...
February 13, 2025 at 6:22 PM
I’ll make the capitals and parens taller, and regularise some of the lowercase (‘h’ looks wrong to me).
Why am I doing this? It’s much too big to use!
<some time later>
It’s very RISC OS though...
Why am I doing this? It’s much too big to use!
<some time later>
It’s very RISC OS though...
SHEESH, that’s a big font!
I hadn’t noticed (in its print setting) that the cap-height is significantly shorter than the ascender – both digits and lowercase are taller than capitals. And the parentheses are much too small.
I’ve already adapted some glyphs to make this ZapFont, but more work needed:
I hadn’t noticed (in its print setting) that the cap-height is significantly shorter than the ascender – both digits and lowercase are taller than capitals. And the parentheses are much too small.
I’ve already adapted some glyphs to make this ZapFont, but more work needed:
February 13, 2025 at 6:22 PM
SHEESH, that’s a big font!
I hadn’t noticed (in its print setting) that the cap-height is significantly shorter than the ascender – both digits and lowercase are taller than capitals. And the parentheses are much too small.
I’ve already adapted some glyphs to make this ZapFont, but more work needed:
I hadn’t noticed (in its print setting) that the cap-height is significantly shorter than the ascender – both digits and lowercase are taller than capitals. And the parentheses are much too small.
I’ve already adapted some glyphs to make this ZapFont, but more work needed:
BTW, it’s built into the ROM as a PCL stream instead of bitmap data because despite not being compressed, it’s much smaller in that form – compare ‘LinePrinter’ with ‘Glyphs’ here:
February 12, 2025 at 6:27 PM
BTW, it’s built into the ROM as a PCL stream instead of bitmap data because despite not being compressed, it’s much smaller in that form – compare ‘LinePrinter’ with ‘Glyphs’ here:
The ‘2’ is also very distinctive with its very curvy top – compare with ours which has much less personality:
February 12, 2025 at 6:09 PM
The ‘2’ is also very distinctive with its very curvy top – compare with ours which has much less personality:
You get what you get with PCL “LinePrinter”, but “Letter Gothic” (or New Letter Gothic if you’re feeling fancy) is just a recreation of those old IBM line printer fonts, which were originally metal type (in drum, chain, daisy or ball form). And all the knock-off, me-too variants.
February 12, 2025 at 6:09 PM
You get what you get with PCL “LinePrinter”, but “Letter Gothic” (or New Letter Gothic if you’re feeling fancy) is just a recreation of those old IBM line printer fonts, which were originally metal type (in drum, chain, daisy or ball form). And all the knock-off, me-too variants.
The Line Printer font that’s probably in your PCL printer...
Originally Agfa, I had a hand in this version (but long forgotten which glyphs I added or corrected).
There are so many versions of LinePrinter/LetterGothic, but it may be a surprise to learn that even on a modern printer, it’s a bitmap:
Originally Agfa, I had a hand in this version (but long forgotten which glyphs I added or corrected).
There are so many versions of LinePrinter/LetterGothic, but it may be a surprise to learn that even on a modern printer, it’s a bitmap:
February 12, 2025 at 6:09 PM
The Line Printer font that’s probably in your PCL printer...
Originally Agfa, I had a hand in this version (but long forgotten which glyphs I added or corrected).
There are so many versions of LinePrinter/LetterGothic, but it may be a surprise to learn that even on a modern printer, it’s a bitmap:
Originally Agfa, I had a hand in this version (but long forgotten which glyphs I added or corrected).
There are so many versions of LinePrinter/LetterGothic, but it may be a surprise to learn that even on a modern printer, it’s a bitmap:
liberates lubrication lineprinter refrain fevered overlaps debilitated thiamin
For more images visit https://www.instagram.com/usartwork
#abstractart #videoscan #imageprocessing #polarefffect #imagefiltering #mirromania #algorithmicart #filtermania #generativeart #digitalart
For more images visit https://www.instagram.com/usartwork
#abstractart #videoscan #imageprocessing #polarefffect #imagefiltering #mirromania #algorithmicart #filtermania #generativeart #digitalart
June 1, 2026 at 12:01 PM
liberates lubrication lineprinter refrain fevered overlaps debilitated thiamin
For more images visit https://www.instagram.com/usartwork
#abstractart #videoscan #imageprocessing #polarefffect #imagefiltering #mirromania #algorithmicart #filtermania #generativeart #digitalart
For more images visit https://www.instagram.com/usartwork
#abstractart #videoscan #imageprocessing #polarefffect #imagefiltering #mirromania #algorithmicart #filtermania #generativeart #digitalart
That's the only time I had to go in was to pick up printouts to hand in. The instructor wouldn't accept the project if it didn't have the lineprinter output and code, so I'd go in on Saturdays to collect my stuff to turn in on Monday.
He was covering his ass for the grade books, couldn't blame him.
He was covering his ass for the grade books, couldn't blame him.
November 19, 2023 at 3:16 AM
That's the only time I had to go in was to pick up printouts to hand in. The instructor wouldn't accept the project if it didn't have the lineprinter output and code, so I'd go in on Saturdays to collect my stuff to turn in on Monday.
He was covering his ass for the grade books, couldn't blame him.
He was covering his ass for the grade books, couldn't blame him.