A process for recording information on a recording substrate, in which a print head with number (a) of printing elements moves back and forth over print positions, one print line at a time. Partial numbers of printing elements form subgroups in accordance with predetermined formations specific to the print lines. These subgroups are allocated to the print positions of a print line and are formed by at least partly differing printing elements. The individual printing elements of the respective subgroup are selectively controlled at the print positions in accordance with print data to produce a print pattern line. On completion of a subsequent print pattern line, the predetermined formation for a subsequent print line conforms, at least on the continuation side, to the predetermined formation of the preceding print line. Stripes caused by line continuation errors or ink ribbon structure errors are distributed throughout the printed image so as to be vertically offset. In contrast to uniform structures, structures which are distributed in this way can barely be discerned by the human eye.

A printer and a method for printing is described in which bleed between secondary color regions having different colors is minimized by the formation of a border strip which has a color which is common to both secondary color regions. In a printer assembly which includes a print head for depositing ink onto a media, an improved image may be formed by processing the data before the image is printed such that a border strip is formed between adjoining regions of different secondary colors. The border strip is printed in a color which is common to both of the secondary color regions. Thus, because the color which is common to both secondary color regions is printed in the border region, the contrast between the three areas of different colors is minimized. In addition, the reduced volume of ink within the border strip further minimized ink bleed. Thus, a border strip which is significantly less visible to the naked eye, is formed which minimizes bleed between the two secondary color regions.

A method and apparatus for printing multiple lines of characters simultaneously on a dot matrix printer and making available to the user a choice of alternate line spacings without physical or mechanical alteration of the printhead. The printhead includes an uninterrupted array of print elements having a total height greater than the combined total height of the multiple lines that are simultaneously printed plus the combined height of the intervening line spaces. By directing columnar character data to selected sets of print elements, the printhead can produce characters of a constant height with selected variations in interline spacing.