IBM 1403

The IBM 1403 line printer was introduced as part of the IBM 1401 computer in 1959 and had an especially long life in the IBM product line. The original model could print 600 lines of text per minute and could skip blank lines at up to 75 inches per second (190 cm/s), while the model 3 could print at up to 1400 lines per minute. The standard model had 120 print positions. An additional 12 positions were available as an option. A print chain with up to 15 copies of the character set spun horizontally in front of the ribbon and paper. Hammers struck the paper from behind at exactly the right moment to print a character as it went by. In later models, the print chain was replaced by a print train; print slugs instead of being mounted on a chain were placed in a track.

The 1403 chain or train contained 240 characters, however numerous duplications allowed a line to be printed in less than the 0.4 s required for one full rotation. The original standard "A" chain contained 48 different characters, repeated five times each. A "preferred character set" variant used in later models printed the same 48 characters, but varied the number of appearances: 10 digits appeared eight times each, 26 upper-case letters appeared four times each, and 12 special characters . , - * % $ / & # @ ⌑ ⧧ appeared eight (first four), four (middle four) or two (last four characters) times each. Special chains or trains could be ordered for other character sets. Scientific users, for example, would use a chain that had the left parenthesis, the right parenthesis, and the plus sign in place of the per cent sign (%), the lozenge (⌑), and the ampersand (&). The numerics chain had 15 copies each of only 16 characters. The "T" chain for general text had two copies of 120 characters, including upper-and lower-case letters and numerous special symbols.

The ink ribbon was a long roll the width of the print area that was positioned between the print chain and the paper. The roll came in two parts, the feeder roll and take-up roll. The roll was constantly wound and rewound during printing.

Like most IBM printers of the era, the 1403 used fan-folded paper with perforated edges for tractor feeding. A carriage control tape or, later, a buffer, under program control, specified form length and the form line where printing was to begin so that paper of various sizes could be used.

An IBM 1403 printer played a cameo role in Stanley Kubrick's 1964 movie Dr. Strangelove, serving as a hiding place for a portable radio.

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