{"id":3017,"date":"2025-04-10T21:26:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T20:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/?p=3017"},"modified":"2025-04-10T21:26:17","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T20:26:17","slug":"using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Using a ZX Printer on an RC2014"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In 1981, Sinclair Research introduced the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/ZX_Printer\">ZX Printer<\/a>. This was a small printer that connected to their ZX81 computer. It used special paper with an aluminium coating that could be burnt off by a passing print head. Sinclair&#8217;s later ZX Spectrum computer was also compatible with the ZX Printer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A compatible printer called the Alphacom 32 \/ Timex Sinclair 2040 was also released. This used standard thermal paper. It used an external power supply instead of relying on that of the ZX81 or ZX Spectrum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum are Z80-based, and so is the RC2014 computer. So I wondered if the RC2014 could use a ZX Printer? The belt inside my ZX Printer has perished and no longer works. I do have a working Alphacom 32 printer. Researching how I could interface the two devices, I found that <a href=\"https:\/\/rc2014.co.uk\/modules\/other-modules\/zx-printer\/\">Spencer Owen had already attempted this<\/a>. He was able to get some output on the printer, but nothing usable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ZX Printer uses the following lines from the Z80 microprocessor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A2 &#8211; LOW when addressing the printer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>IORQ &#8211; LOW when addressing the printer.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>RD &#8211; LOW when reading<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>WR &#8211; LOW when writing<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>D0 &#8211; HIGH when reading if the printer is ready for the next data bit<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>D1 &#8211; Write HIGH to slow the motor. Write LOW for a faster motor speed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>D2 &#8211; Write HIGH to stop the motor, write LOW to start the motor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>D6 &#8211; LOW when reading if the printer is present.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>D7 &#8211; HIGH when reading if it&#8217;s the start of a new line. Write HIGH to print a bit.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A7 &#8211; HIGH on the Alphacom 32 \/ Timex Sinclair 2040 when addressing the printer. The ZX Printer ignores this.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The printer also uses GND and +5V. The ZX Printer also uses +9V on the ZX81 and ZX Spectrum edge connector. The Alphacom 32 \/ Timex Sinclair 2040 doesn&#8217;t use +9V.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As decoding on just A2 would mean the printer showing on many addresses, I decided to use a 74HCT688 to decode A0 to A7 instead. This means I can avoid IO address clashes with other RC2014 modules. I decided to make this configurable via DIP switches to make it easy to move IO addresses. I send the output from the 74HCT688 to A2 on the printer. I wired A7 to +5V as I no longer need to decode this. I pass the other lines from the RC2014 to a ZX Spectrum compatible edge connector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the RC2014 doesn&#8217;t have a +9V power supply, I added a barrel socket for an external supply. I wired this to be center negative so I could use a ZX Spectrum power supply. As I don&#8217;t have a working ZX Printer, I&#8217;ve not been able to test this part of the circuit yet. The markings on the PCB are from the footprint, and these are the wrong way round.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/Schematic_RC2014-ZX-Printer_2025-04-09.svg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1169\" height=\"827\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/Schematic_RC2014-ZX-Printer_2025-04-09.svg\" alt=\"RC2014 ZX Printer module circuit diagram\" class=\"wp-image-3021\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/RC2014-ZXPrinter-Model.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"259\" src=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/RC2014-ZXPrinter-Model.png\" alt=\"The RC2014 ZX Printer module\" class=\"wp-image-3025\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/RC2014-ZXPrinter-Model.png 1000w, https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/RC2014-ZXPrinter-Model-300x78.png 300w, https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/RC2014-ZXPrinter-Model-768x199.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Example Z80 Assembly Language <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I set the DIP switches on my board to port $1. I also have an RC2014 Digital IO module on port $0. In my assembly language program, I use this to show the current line being printed, but this is optional.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The ZX Printer&#8217;s resolution is 256 pixels wide, so for this example, I converted the RC2014 logo to 256 pixels wide. This gave me a height of 42 lines for the image. The image I converted from didn&#8217;t scale very well, so it&#8217;s a bit of messy print.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"10 April 2025\" width=\"840\" height=\"473\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qz6BK7Y0Ivc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I based my code on the <a href=\"https:\/\/skoolkid.github.io\/rom\/asm\/0ECD.html\">printer routines in the ZX Spectrum ROM<\/a>. The COPY command on a Spectrum prints out the current contents of the screen. I used this as my starting point, and modified the code to see a bitmap instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As timing is important, I have disabled interrupts while the code runs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>\tOUTPUT zxprinter.z80\n\n; Assemble using SjASMPlus.\n;\n; This program will print a bitmap image to a ZX printer.\n; This code is based off code in the ZX Spectrum ROM.\n; https:\/\/skoolkid.github.io\/rom\/asm\/0ECD.html\n;\n; Robert Price - www.robertprice.co.uk\n\n;        DEFINE+ UseDIO         ; Uncomment this line to use the Digital            \n                                ; IO board to show the current line being        \n                                ; printed.\n\nPORT    EQU $1                  ; The output port to use for the printer.\n\n        IFDEF UseDIO\nDIOPORT EQU $0                  ; the output port for a RC2014 digial IO \n                                ; board. This is used to show the current\n                                ; line being printed.\n        ENDIF\n\nWIDTH   EQU 256                 ; the width of the image in pixels.         \nHEIGHT  EQU 42                  ; how many lines in the image to print. \n\n\t\t\n        ORG $9000               ; The start of the program. This is where\n                                ; the program will be loaded into memory.\n        \n        di                      ; disable interrupts\n\n        ld b, HEIGHT            ; the number of lines to print is in B.\n        ld hl, Buffer           ; The address of the bitmap stored in HL\n\nCopy_Buffer:\n        push bc\n        call Copy_Line          ; print the current line\n        pop bc\n\n        IFDEF UseDIO\n        ld a, b                 ; show the current line being printed on\n                                ; the Digital IO LEDs.\n        out (DIOPORT), a\n        ENDIF\n\n        djnz Copy_Buffer        ; loop back to print the next line.\n\n        IFDEF UseDIO\n        ld a, 0                 ; turn off the Digital IO LEDs    \n        out (DIOPORT), a\n        ENDIF\n\nCopy_End:\n        ld a, $04               ; Bit 2 high stops the printer\n        out (PORT), a           ; stop the printer\n\n        ei                      ; enable interrupts\n\n        ret                     ; end the program\n\n\nCopy_Line:\n        ld a, b                 ; Copy the pixel-line number.\n        cp $03                  ; The A register will hold 0 until the \n                                ; last two lines are being handled.\n        sbc a, a                 \n        and $02              \n        out (PORT), a           ; slow the motor for the last two lines.\n        ld d, a                 ; the D register will hold either 0 or 2.\n\nCopy_L_1;\n                                ; on a ZX Spectrum this would test for \n                                ; breaks and stop the printer.\n                                ; let's add our own delay here to allow\n                                ; the printer to catch up.\n        push bc\n        ld b, $ff\n.delay:\n        nop\n        djnz .delay\n        pop bc\n\nCopy_L_2:\n        in a, (PORT)            ; fetch the status of the printer.\n        add a, a                ; double the value of A. This moves bit 6\n                                ; which is the printer present flag to bit\n                                ; 7 and the sign flag.    \n        ret m                   ; make an immediate return if the printer\n                                ; is not present. (sign negative flag)\n\n        jr nc, Copy_L_1         ; wait for the stylus to be ready.\n        ld c, $20               ; there are 32 bytes.\n    \nCopy_L_3:\n        ld e, (hl)              ; fetch a byte from the buffer.\n        inc hl                  ; update the pointer\n        ld b, $08               ; eight bits per byte\n\nCopy_L_4:\n        rl d                    ; move D left\n        rl e                    ; move each bit into the carry\n        rr d                    ; move D back again, picking up the carry\n                                ; from E. The carry bit was the bit to print.\n\nCopy_L_5:\n        in a, (PORT)            ; fetch the status of the printer\n        rra                     ; move bit 0 into the carry flag. \n                                ; If bit 0 is high, \n                                ; the printer is ready to receive data.\n        jr nc, Copy_L_5         ; loop until the printer is ready\n\n        ld a, d                 ; load the byte to send to the printer. \n                                ; Bit 2 low starts the motor, \n                                ; bit 1 high slows the motor, \n                                ; bit 7 high prints\n        out (PORT), a           ; send to the printer\n        djnz Copy_L_4           ; print each bit.\n        dec c                   ; decreate the line byte counter\n        jr nz, Copy_L_3         ; loop until all 32 bytes are printed.\n        ret\n\n; The image we want to print\n; In this case, it's the RC2014 logo at 256 pixels wide and 42 pixles high.\nBuffer:\n        dc $00, $00, $00, $00, $82, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $00, $00, $00, $82, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $00, $00, $00, $82, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $04, $10, $43, $08, $20, $00, $02, $08, $20, $82, $00, $00, $01, $04, $10 \n        dc $40, $00, $04, $10, $c2, $08, $00, $00, $02, $08, $00, $00, $06, $18, $01, $04 \n        dc $00, $04, $10, $c2, $08, $30, $00, $02, $08, $20, $06, $00, $00, $41, $04, $10 \n        dc $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $10 \n        dc $60, $00, $04, $30, $82, $0c, $00, $00, $02, $0c, $00, $00, $04, $18, $01, $06 \n        dc $00, $04, $30, $82, $08, $30, $00, $02, $08, $01, $06, $00, $00, $41, $04, $10 \n        dc $c0, $00, $08, $20, $82, $0c, $00, $00, $06, $1c, $00, $00, $04, $18, $00, $06 \n        dc $00, $0c, $30, $c6, $18, $70, $00, $06, $18, $61, $86, $00, $00, $c3, $0c, $30 \n        dc $c0, $00, $0c, $31, $86, $1c, $00, $00, $06, $18, $00, $00, $0c, $38, $03, $0c \n        dc $00, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff, $f0, $00, $7f, $ff, $ff, $fe, $00, $0f, $ff, $ff, $ff \n        dc $c0, $00, $ff, $ff, $ff, $fc, $00, $00, $7f, $f8, $00, $00, $7f, $f8, $3f, $fc \n        dc $00, $08, $37, $df, $70, $40, $00, $06, $fb, $ef, $0c, $20, $00, $df, $7d, $e0 \n        dc $84, $00, $0d, $f7, $84, $10, $00, $00, $04, $18, $00, $00, $08, $30, $02, $0c \n        dc $00, $08, $20, $00, $00, $41, $01, $04, $00, $00, $08, $30, $20, $c0, $00, $01 \n        dc $86, $02, $18, $00, $04, $10, $40, $01, $04, $10, $00, $00, $08, $30, $02, $08 \n        dc $00, $18, $70, $00, $00, $41, $81, $06, $00, $00, $08, $30, $20, $c0, $00, $01 \n        dc $07, $06, $18, $00, $04, $10, $60, $01, $08, $30, $00, $00, $08, $30, $00, $18 \n        dc $00, $10, $60, $00, $00, $43, $01, $06, $00, $00, $08, $30, $20, $c0, $00, $01 \n        dc $06, $04, $18, $00, $04, $00, $c0, $02, $08, $30, $00, $00, $08, $30, $04, $18 \n        dc $00, $38, $e0, $00, $00, $c3, $03, $1c, $00, $00, $1c, $70, $71, $c0, $00, $23 \n        dc $8e, $06, $38, $00, $0c, $71, $c0, $07, $1c, $70, $00, $00, $1c, $70, $0e, $38 \n        dc $01, $ff, $e0, $00, $0f, $ff, $3f, $fc, $00, $00, $ff, $e3, $ff, $80, $00, $1f \n        dc $fe, $7f, $f8, $00, $7f, $ff, $c0, $3f, $ff, $f0, $00, $01, $ff, $e0, $7f, $f8 \n        dc $00, $10, $40, $00, $00, $82, $02, $0c, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $c3 \n        dc $00, $0c, $30, $02, $08, $20, $80, $02, $00, $60, $00, $00, $18, $00, $04, $10 \n        dc $00, $00, $c0, $00, $00, $82, $02, $08, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $c3 \n        dc $00, $0c, $30, $03, $00, $00, $80, $00, $10, $60, $00, $04, $18, $00, $08, $30 \n        dc $00, $20, $c0, $00, $00, $06, $00, $18, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $83 \n        dc $00, $08, $30, $03, $00, $41, $80, $00, $10, $60, $00, $04, $18, $00, $08, $30 \n        dc $00, $20, $c0, $00, $01, $06, $04, $18, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $83 \n        dc $00, $08, $30, $03, $00, $41, $80, $00, $10, $60, $00, $04, $18, $00, $08, $30 \n        dc $03, $ff, $c0, $00, $0f, $fe, $3f, $f8, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $0f, $ff \n        dc $00, $ff, $f0, $7e, $07, $ff, $80, $01, $ff, $e0, $00, $7f, $f0, $00, $ff, $f0 \n        dc $00, $61, $80, $00, $03, $fe, $0e, $38, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $01, $ff \n        dc $00, $18, $70, $0e, $00, $c3, $80, $00, $30, $c0, $00, $1c, $70, $00, $18, $70 \n        dc $00, $41, $04, $10, $41, $00, $04, $30, $00, $00, $00, $00, $02, $08, $21, $80 \n        dc $00, $10, $60, $04, $00, $03, $00, $00, $20, $c0, $00, $08, $20, $00, $10, $60 \n        dc $00, $41, $04, $10, $43, $00, $00, $30, $00, $00, $00, $00, $06, $18, $41, $80 \n        dc $00, $10, $60, $06, $00, $83, $00, $00, $20, $c0, $00, $08, $30, $00, $10, $60 \n        dc $00, $41, $04, $10, $83, $00, $08, $30, $00, $00, $00, $00, $06, $10, $41, $80 \n        dc $00, $10, $60, $0e, $00, $83, $00, $00, $20, $c0, $00, $00, $60, $00, $10, $60 \n        dc $00, $41, $0c, $30, $83, $00, $08, $30, $00, $00, $00, $00, $04, $10, $41, $80 \n        dc $00, $10, $60, $0c, $00, $83, $00, $00, $21, $c0, $00, $18, $60, $00, $10, $e0 \n        dc $0f, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff, $00, $ff, $f0, $00, $00, $00, $00, $7f, $ff, $ff, $80 \n        dc $03, $ff, $c0, $fc, $1f, $ff, $00, $07, $ff, $80, $01, $ff, $e0, $03, $ff, $e0 \n        dc $00, $c3, $ff, $ff, $86, $00, $18, $70, $00, $00, $00, $00, $0e, $fb, $ff, $00 \n        dc $00, $20, $c0, $0c, $01, $86, $00, $00, $61, $80, $00, $10, $c0, $00, $30, $80 \n        dc $00, $83, $00, $00, $04, $10, $10, $60, $00, $00, $00, $01, $04, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $20, $80, $08, $01, $06, $00, $00, $41, $00, $00, $10, $42, $08, $20, $82 \n        dc $00, $83, $00, $00, $04, $18, $10, $60, $00, $00, $00, $03, $0e, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $20, $c0, $18, $01, $06, $00, $00, $41, $80, $00, $30, $82, $08, $20, $83 \n        dc $00, $83, $00, $00, $04, $18, $10, $60, $00, $00, $00, $02, $0c, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $00, $c0, $18, $01, $06, $00, $00, $c3, $80, $00, $20, $82, $08, $20, $03 \n        dc $01, $86, $00, $00, $0c, $38, $10, $e0, $00, $00, $00, $02, $0c, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $41, $80, $18, $03, $0e, $00, $00, $c3, $00, $00, $20, $82, $18, $61, $86 \n        dc $1f, $fe, $00, $00, $ff, $fb, $ff, $e0, $00, $00, $00, $3f, $fc, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $07, $ff, $81, $f8, $3f, $fc, $00, $0f, $ff, $00, $03, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff, $fe \n        dc $01, $06, $00, $00, $08, $30, $30, $c0, $00, $00, $00, $06, $1c, $00, $00, $00 \n        dc $00, $41, $00, $f0, $02, $0c, $00, $00, $87, $00, $01, $f7, $df, $70, $41, $be \n        dc $01, $04, $00, $00, $08, $30, $20, $c0, $00, $00, $06, $00, $18, $00, $00, $10 \n        dc $c0, $40, $0c, $00, $02, $0c, $00, $00, $82, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $41, $00 \n        dc $01, $0e, $00, $00, $08, $30, $20, $c0, $00, $01, $06, $04, $18, $00, $00, $30 \n        dc $c0, $02, $0c, $00, $02, $0c, $00, $01, $87, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $41, $80 \n        dc $03, $0c, $00, $00, $08, $30, $20, $c0, $00, $01, $06, $04, $18, $00, $00, $20 \n        dc $c0, $82, $0c, $00, $06, $1c, $00, $01, $06, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $03, $00 \n        dc $03, $0c, $00, $00, $18, $60, $61, $c0, $00, $03, $0e, $0c, $38, $00, $00, $30 \n        dc $c0, $c3, $0c, $00, $06, $18, $00, $01, $8e, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $c3, $00 \n        dc $3f, $fc, $00, $01, $ff, $e3, $ff, $80, $00, $1f, $fc, $7f, $f8, $00, $03, $ff \n        dc $cf, $ff, $f8, $00, $7f, $f8, $00, $1f, $fe, $00, $00, $00, $00, $0f, $ff, $00 \n        dc $02, $18, $00, $00, $10, $60, $41, $00, $00, $03, $00, $08, $20, $80, $00, $61 \n        dc $80, $06, $18, $40, $06, $00, $00, $03, $08, $00, $00, $00, $00, $00, $82, $00 \n        dc $02, $18, $00, $00, $10, $40, $01, $00, $00, $83, $00, $08, $20, $82, $18, $61 \n        dc $80, $04, $10, $41, $06, $00, $10, $c2, $08, $20, $c0, $00, $00, $00, $02, $00 \n        dc $04, $18, $00, $00, $00, $60, $00, $08, $20, $83, $00, $08, $20, $86, $10, $41 \n        dc $80, $04, $10, $41, $06, $00, $30, $82, $08, $20, $c0, $00, $00, $01, $06, $00 \n        dc $04, $18, $00, $00, $00, $c0, $02, $08, $20, $83, $00, $08, $01, $04, $10, $41 \n        dc $80, $04, $10, $c2, $0e, $00, $20, $82, $08, $20, $c0, $00, $00, $01, $06, $00 \n        dc $ff, $f8, $00, $03, $ff, $c0, $3f, $ff, $ff, $ff, $01, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff \n        dc $80, $ff, $ff, $ff, $fc, $03, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff, $80, $00, $00, $1f, $fe, $00 \n        dc $7f, $f8, $00, $01, $ff, $c0, $3f, $ff, $ff, $fe, $00, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff \n        dc $80, $7f, $ff, $ff, $fc, $01, $ff, $ff, $ff, $ff, $80, $00, $00, $1f, $fe, $00 \n        dc $3e, $f8, $00, $01, $f7, $c0, $1f, $7d, $ff, $be, $00, $7b, $ef, $fe, $fb, $ef \n        dc $80, $3e, $fb, $df, $7c, $01, $f7, $df, $79, $ef, $80, $00, $00, $0f, $bc, $00        \n        \n<\/code><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 1981, Sinclair Research introduced the ZX Printer. This was a small printer that connected to their ZX81 computer. It used special paper with an aluminium coating that could be burnt off by a passing print head. Sinclair&#8217;s later ZX Spectrum computer was also compatible with the ZX Printer. A compatible printer called the Alphacom &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Using a ZX Printer on an RC2014&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3037,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[157],"tags":[169,117,119,167],"class_list":["post-3017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-rc2014","tag-alphacom-32","tag-rc2014","tag-z80","tag-zx-printer"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Using a ZX Printer on an RC2014 - Robert Price<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How I was able to interface a ZX Printer compatible Alphacom 32 printer to my RC2014. I have included a circuit diagram and example Z80 code.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Using a ZX Printer on an RC2014 - Robert Price\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"How I was able to interface a ZX Printer compatible Alphacom 32 printer to my RC2014. I have included a circuit diagram and example Z80 code.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Robert Price\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-10T20:26:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.robertprice.co.uk\/robblog\/assets\/rc2014-alphacom-example.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"750\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"rob\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"rob\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"rob\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fac6d5b076e0e14e1fb13e15b542a6c5\"},\"headline\":\"Using a ZX Printer on an RC2014\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-10T20:26:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":639,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/assets\\\/rc2014-alphacom-example.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Alphacom 32\",\"RC2014\",\"Z80\",\"ZX Printer\"],\"articleSection\":[\"RC2014\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/\",\"name\":\"Using a ZX Printer on an RC2014 - Robert Price\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/using-a-zx-printer-on-an-rc2014\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/assets\\\/rc2014-alphacom-example.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-10T20:26:17+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.robertprice.co.uk\\\/robblog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/fac6d5b076e0e14e1fb13e15b542a6c5\"},\"description\":\"How I was able to interface a ZX Printer compatible Alphacom 32 printer to my RC2014. 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