Characters per line and lines per page
To optimize the layout of the characters in the sheet, you need to correctly locate the values of how many characters per line and line per page you can use your printer. To find out this information, ask your printer. Each printer has its own procedure, so it is useful to read its user manual.
The right calibration between printer and Biblos allows to obtain perfect braille prints. For example, if you set 35 characters per line in Biblos and the printer is configured to print 40 characters, you will get prints where the sheet is too empty to the right. If, on the other hand, a value is set in the program that exceeds the setting of the printer, printing is obtained with words at the end of the line that have been cut or brought back to the end and isolated.
You need to understand that the printer is the last device to control printing, so you need your hardware and software to work in harmony.
The right values can also be found empirically by making Braille test. For this purpose, a test button is available.
To find the right values right away, it is advisable to increase the characters per line and lines per page to values higher than you think your printer could have. For example, you can set the characters per line to 45 and the lines per page to 35. Then you do a test of printing.
The Braille test prints two lines of letters, one horizontal at the top of the sheet, and one vertical on the left side. To find the characters per line, just count how many horizontal letters you printed, and for page lines, count how many vertical letters you printed.
It is important to understand that these two values always refer to the maximum number of characters per line and lines per page, including any margins that Biblos may adjust. The horizontal line should always be printed near the top edge of the sheet and the vertical line near the left edge. The last useful character should always reach the opposite edge.
Finally, it is also useful to adjust the type of sheet set and used in your printer. If certain values print correctly and your printer is calibrated to a sheet type, changing sheets will most likely require you to reset the sheet type in the printer configurations, and consequently you will need to reset characters per line and line per page. For amateur and personal printing, an always valid advice is to always use a type of sheet, and avoid complicating the relationship with the printer too much.