computer science

Okimate 10

Okimate 10 is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Okimate 10 rather than just read about it. In short: The Okimate 10 by Oki Electric Industry was a low-cost 1980s color printer with interface "plug 'n print" modules for Commodore, Atari, IBM PC, and Apple Inc. home computers. Unlike thermal printers, which use thermal printing technology and require thermal paper, the Okimate used thermal transfer technology and was advertised as being able to print on any type of paper.

Key takeaways

Okimate 10 belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Okimate 10 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Okimate 10 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Okimate 10 by Oki Electric Industry was a low-cost 1980s color printer with interface "plug 'n print" modules for Commodore, Atari, IBM PC, and Apple Inc. home computers. Unlike thermal printers, which use thermal printing technology and require thermal paper, the Okimate used thermal transfer technology and was advertised as being able to print on any type of paper. In practice, however, printing to common printer/copier paper did not produce adequate results. Best results were obtained by printing to special "thermal transfer paper" which looks like ordinary copier paper but is actually an ultra-smooth paper for the wax-transfer to adhere to. A thermal transfer printer contains a ribbon cartridge that uses a wax ink. When the heating elements in the print head heat up, they melt the wax and transfer it to the paper, thus the need for the paper to be really smooth. This also means that the ribbon cannot be reused after the head runs over it, since the wax transfers off the ribbon to the paper. The Okimate 10 had two interchangeable wax-ink cartridges, a black one and a color one. The black cartridge was used for text printing, and the color was used for graphics. The color ribbon had three primary colors which were overlaid and dithered on top of each other to create secondary colors. Thus to print a graphic, the printer typically needed to make three passes over the same line before advancing. It was one of the first low-cost color printers available to consumers and became a popular printer for printing computer art drawn with software packages such as KoalaPad, Deluxe Paint, Doodle! and NEOchrome but was criticized for its slowness and high cost of operation, as the wax-coated ribbon only lasted for one pass, unlike an ink ribbon. The Okimate 10 was succeeded by the Okimate 20.

Reception Ahoy! favorably reviewed the Okimate 10 with the Commodore 64 interface, calling the color output "impressive enough" given the slow speed. It concluded that "for the home user for whom it is intended, it represents an excellent value".

References

External links Contemporary review of the Okimate 20 RUN Magazine Dec, 1986

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Okimate 10

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Okimate 10 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Okimate 10 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Okimate 10 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Okimate 10

In research: Okimate 10 appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Okimate 10 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Okimate 10 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Computer hardware stubs, Non-impact printing, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Okimate 10 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Okimate 10 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Okimate 10 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Okimate 10 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Okimate 10 in simple terms?

Why does Okimate 10 matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Okimate 10?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Okimate 10.