Output of TMR0 register in pic16f877A
The timer register contains a bit pattern - how you set it or display it is up to you.

Whether you say TMR1L = 0x55 or TMR1L = 85, or TMR1L = 0b01010101, the register will contain the same bit pattern.

You can display the content of the register as binary, hex, decimal, or as an ASCII character, regardless of how you set the register contents.

If I set the value of TMR1L using any of the statements above,

printf("TMR1L= %2d, %2x, %c\n", TMR1L, TMR1L, TMR1L);

will print: 

TMR1L= 85, 0x55, U

showing the decimal, hex and ASCII character represented by the bit pattern in the register.