This printer is available from most of the larger stores of Boots which sell computers and software.

The printer is good value for the money but I can only see one disadvantage is that it does not print Graphics.

The Brother HR5 can be worked by battery or mains, the mains adapter is bought separately, the printer takes 4 U2 batteries.

With the printer you get a roll of paper, 4 batteries and 2 spare tapes.

This printer will also work on the BBC and other popular makes of microcomputers.

This printer will print on normal typing paper as well as Thermal paper (You have to remove the ribbon cassette to print on Thermal paper).

The largest paper that the printer will print on is A4 paper. The Brother HR5 also has a self print function (you press the on line button and switch on at the same time).

You also get a comprehensive booklet with the printer which explains everything in detail.

HOTHEADS

If you're not that flush, but you need a printer, stay cool and go thermal. Peter Green comes in from the cold to consider the hottest ones around.

The Sinclair ZX Printer was unique - for its size and price, it was quite a remarkable technical achievement. Still, it did leave something to be desired. All those sweaty paw prints, left all over the silver listing paper. And the print quality would strain the definition of the word adequate, as well as your eyes. Program listings on the stuff cause harassed editors to tear their hair out (or at least that's Kevin's excuse!).

One solution has been to find a way of linking 'real' printers, like the large dot matrix ones, to your Spectrum. For that you need a commercial interface, or you could have a crack at knocking up one yourself. (Of course, you'll need a copy of YS issue 6 for that. Ed).

This works, but your Speccy is now dwarfed by a huge printer - a bit of a shame when Uncle Clive has gone to so much trouble to keep it all small. And it causes even more problems if you've got to squeeze your complete computer setup into the confines of a cramped living room - worst of all it means shelling out between two and three times as much for the printer as you paid for your Speccy. That's good enough reason for me to look seriously at thermal printers.

ANYTHING YOU CAN DO...

So, what can thermal printers do that dot matrix or daisywheel can't? Well, nothing really - except save you a lot of space and some cash. Most of them are quite tiny, and the good news is that they're all comparable in price to a Spectrum.

Thermal printers don't need linked ribbon because they use special paper impregnated with a heat-sensitive ink. The print head is still 'dot-matrix' but the dots are small wires that can be independently heated. The heat makes the ink visible in the correct dot patterns to display characters. Take into account that the saving you'll make on ribbons is offset slightly by the higher cost of the special paper.

It's only got to brush its heating elements over the surface, as the print head doesn't have to strike the paper to form an image. Also, thermal printers ought to be much quieter than dot matrix ones to make its mark. Not so though, I'm afraid - to bring the price down the manufacturers often use fairly cheap electric motors to feed the paper and scan the print head, so you get a different sort of noise, but it's not quieter. It's no coincidence that the least noisy of the printers I tested was also the most expensive.

If you plump for one of the most basic of the thermal printers, you won't need an interface. They are designed as plugin replacements and work directly from the Spectrum bus. The others have standard RS-232C or Centronics ports, so you need a printer interface as well - take this into account when you're considering your budget. For the extra though, you'll get many of the features of the big machines, including emphasised, condensed and enlarged fonts, variable line spacing, international character sets and bit image graphics.

IN THE PICTURE

Bit image graphics means you have direct control over the heating elements in the print head. So, you can print any pattern of dots onto the paper. Interfaces such as the ZX Lprint contain the software that uses this facility to perform a screen dump, so duplicating the COPY command. Although you'll have to bone up on the graphics modes before you get to grips with them fully (especially since most Epson-compatibles are Japanese, with manuals written in Janglish!), they do allow you to draw dot graphics of any kind, unrestricted by the Spectrum screen size or resolution. And as they all use roll paper, you could write a program that printed a frieze type of picture.

NO LIMIT?

Bear in mind if you're considering thermals that, with one exception, none of them can handle A4 width paper, or even cut sheets. Using roll paper means that the top and bottom of your printouts have ragged edges where you've torn them off. Still, that's OK if you only want the printer for listings - or if you're happy sending out letters that look like supermarket checkout receipts.

You'll also need another spare mains socket. All but one of these printers require an external power supply, of the small transformer PSU type. Two of them can run off batteries, but they eat them and if you don't use re-chargeables, your running costs will be unbelievable.

WHAT PRINTER?

Before choosing one of these printers, you'll have to decide exactly what you're going to do with it. If you're looking for a straight replacement for the ZX Printer, then the Floyd 40 is your best bet. Unlike the Alphacom it does a lot of clever tricks besides duplicating a Sinclair printout.

However, if you're likely to be writing letters and so forth, you'll need to look up-market a bit. There, the Epson P-40 equals the Brother HR-5 on features, but for the extra fifty quid, the HR-5 lets you use cut A4 sheets and offers the back-up of ink ribbon if you run out of thermal paper. Remember though, that you'll need an extra interface for both of them.

BROTHER HR-5

Shelpy Street, Cruide Bridge, Audenshaw, Manchester M34 5JD.

This is the largest of the four printers but it's also the most versatile. For starters you get the choice of using either thermal or ordinary paper, and there's no problem with fitting in the ribbon cartridge. The HR-5 senses automatically which type of printing's required.

Second, it's the only one of the printers to accept A4 cut sheets, so it's ideal for letters and the like. It offers all the printing options of the Epson, plus its own internal graphics character set. The actual printing is performed fairly quietly, and with the thermal paper, I obtained a very contrasty, high-quality printout. Beware however - the thermal paper only works one way round, and the two sides are almost identical.

Print quality is just as good if you're using the ribbon on ordinary paper, though because there's no striking action, smooth copier-type paper is best.

You can also use roll paper with the clip-on roll holder that comes as an accessory. Battery operating is possible, but at 1 amp they peg out pretty quickly - I fitted a new set and got a low battery warning after printing one page! So use the mains adapter.

I'd certainly recommend this one as the top-of-the-range choice.