Star Micronics SB-10 User's Manual
Contents
1. 54 elf the metal strip is bent or broken you ll want to replace it Be sure to get a 5MT 2 amp fuse or its equivalent A Ra Figure 7 1 Replacing the fuse in the printer m REPLACING THE PRINT HEAD The print head in your printer is very durable and has an extremely long design life However like most mechanical devices it may eventually wear out If you ever do need to change the print head you ll find that it too is easy to replace Here s how to do it elf the printer has been in operation turn it off and allow about 10 minutes for the print head to cool eL ift the front cover and remove the ribbon cassette el ocate and remove the screws and washers that hold the print head in place You may want to keep them in a cup so that they don t become misplaced eRemove the print head from the carriage eHold the print head in one hand between the thumb and fore finger with your free hand gently disconnect the cable attached to the head from the socket on the printer s logic board beneath the rubber cover eConnect the ribbon cable from the new print head to the socket on the logic board and fasten the print head to the carriage with the screws and washers 55 eTo keep the screws from vibrating loose apply Screw Lock adhesive or a similar product available at your dealer or a local hardware store eCheck to see that the print head and its cable are secure before you resume printing a2. 43 Table 5 6 Setting and using horizontal tabs FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Set Horizon lt ESC gt Dn1n2 0 2768 n1 n2 0 1B 44 n1 n2 00 tal Tabs Advance to Next Horizon tal Tab k kok A A A AAA In this section we ve shown you some of the more common methods you will use to create a custom format But there are many more as a quick review of Appendix A will show In the next section we ll show you how to use some of these features when you program in BASIC 44 45 O Lu pom anr m FATI oe ed at MOU Ga AYE TOU on EL w iR en inte e et A hv p wt an ept e we My a jen OF a ee de eo et e ae tal AR A mt w e An Yon Mar KO va ee aw ve ape je an qu o W uw v awe a ee pant a ao tot ve sitot Avo wot nato PORN der de we aya Ao KA Aye W od ye Ya eg AE Montt ne OY de He eon ce aw ome OA TS SECTION PROGRAMMING IN BASIC WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU eHow to Use the Character String to Capture BASIC Commands eSome Examples of Short Programs Utilizing Fea tures of the printer If you re like most personal computer owners you ll probably use your printer primarily for printing your spreadsheet and word pro cessing applications But if you are interested in some of the more esoteric uses of your printer such as high resolution graphics or printing while you re writing a software program you may w
3. USERS MANUAL SB 10 by Star Micronics CONTENTS TABLE OF TABLES INTRODUCTION SECTION 1 SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER The Complete Printer Package Placement of the Printer How to Assemble the Printer Features of the Printer The Control Panel Dual In Line Package DIP Switches How to Load Paper Into the Printer Adjusting the Print Head Gap How to Print the Self Test Connect the Interface Cable to Your Computer i SECTION 2 WORD PROCESSING WITH THE PRINTER 17 An Introduction to ASCII Codes Decimal Codes Hexadecimal Codes Escape and Control Codes Word Processing for All Purposes Providing Information to Your Word Processing Package SECTION 3 GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR SPREADSHEET PACKAGE Printing Commands and Parameters for Three Popular Spreadsheets VisiCalc VisiCalc Setup Codes The VisiCalc Print Command SuperCalc The SuperCalc Setup Codes Lotus 1 2 3 The Lotus Print Commands The Lotus Options Menu SECTION 4 EXPLORING PRINT FEATURES The Letter Quality LQ Mode Double Strike Printing Emphasized Printing Underlining Text Proportional Printing The Draft Quality Mode A Variety of Pitch Sizes Pica Pitch Elite Pitch Condensed Pitch Combining Print Features With the Macro Command International Character Sets SECTION 5 CREATING PAGE FORMATS Setting the Left and Right Margins 23 29 39 Choosing the Page Length and Number of Lines Per Page Setting the Top and Bottom Ma
4. m PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE Over the years you will come to appreciate your printer for its ex tremely accurate and reliable operation lt was designed to have a minimum of moving parts and this will contribute to the printer s many years of trouble free service Here are a few tips to keep your printer in top condition eAvoid touching the business end of the print head eKeep hair clothing and other foreign objects away from the moving parts of the printer eDo not place foreign objects on any part of the printer If an object accidentally falls into the printer during operation always turn the power off before reaching into the printer eAlso turn off the printer before cleaning it When cleaning the inside of the printer be very careful not to bend or otherwise change those tiny wires and attachments or you will risk elec trical shock 3 a q rita ee ds a ee eee ee Oe e ii rt ds ds de de E td dog ed ee vee OT WU ak i nd A E a o do a e aT io A m HOW TO CLEAN THE PRINTER in order to maintain optimum performance of your printer you ll want to clean it inside and out on a periodic basis First be sure to turn the power off and disconnect the printer from the power source Exterior Use a soft cloth moistened in denatured alcohol to remove any dust and dirt from the case of the printer However be careful not to moisten either the printing mechanism or any electronic parts Interior We recommend an
5. 1 and 132 just make sure that the left margin has a smaller value than the right margin After you have set the margins the printer will automatically perform the carriage return and line feed Table 5 1 Setting the left and right margins FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Set Left Margin lt ESC gt In 27108 n 1B6Cn Set Right Margin lt ESC gt Qn 2781n 1B 5i n m CHOOSING THE PAGE LENGTH AND NUMBER OF LINES PER PAGE Your printer is preset to print 66 lines per page on an 11 inch form but you can reconfigure these settings either through DIP switch 1 2 on for 11 inch forms off for 12 inch forms or by entering the proper codes illustrated in Table 5 2 When you send the code to control the page length in inches you can substitute for n any number between 1 and 32 All subsequent pages will be printed in the same page format until you turn off the printer or send a code to cancel this setting You can also set the page length by programming in the number of lines per page Using the codes given in Table 5 2 you may instruct the printer to print any number of lines per page from 1 to 127 SETTING THE TOP AND BOTTOM MARGINS The top margin determines where the printer begins printing on a page and the bottom margin tells it where to stop printing and proceed to the next page As you learned in Section 1 when you align paper with the cutting edge on the front cover printing will begin abo
6. VisiCalc SuperCalc and Lotus 1 2 3 Now whether you use these particular programs or similar versions of them you ll find that this information along with your software manual will help give your spreadsheet printouts a truly professional appearance m VISICALC Although this early entry into the electronic spreadsheet market now has a number of sophisticated competitors VisiCalc remains a perennial favorite among personal computer users First let s review the command structure necessary to print VisiCalc reports with your printer VisiCalc setup codes VisiCalc s setup option allows you to use the advanced features of your printer by first sending the proper codes to it In the following examples the control character is entered by typing the or caret To get to the setup mode type P Here are the codes you ll need to know for the setup options available to you AC This code signals you to send the character immediately fol lowing as a printer code For example to print in the con densed mode using the code 0 you ll first enter C then O E Used to send escape codes to the printer Whenever you want to use an escape code type E instead of hitting the escape key then enter the remaining characters in the code R This code sends a carriage return line feed to the printer Use the R whenever you need to skip a line on your spreadsheet L This code sends a form feed command to the pri
7. closer look at how they work Each ASCII code is available in a number of different forms for programmers and software writers as well as for those of us whose main applications are word processing and spreadsheets For ex ample the code for each different function can be entered in both its decimal and hexadecimal forms as shown in Table 2 1 below Table 2 1 Examples of decimal and hexadecimal codes FUNCTION DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE Select the Draft Quality Mode 27 53 1B 35 Decimal codes The decimal code is a common representation of ASCII codes and is used mainly for writing programs in BASIC Decimal codes are so named because their values are expressed using the decimal or base 10 numbering system Although you may not need them very often we have included the decimal codes for each of the printer s functions and you can find them in Appendix A of this manual If you are writing in BASIC you will notice that we also provide the complete BASIC command used to capture each decimal code using the character string function or CHR For an in depth look at programming in BASIC please turn to Section 6 Hexadecimal codes The name for the hexadecimal code comes from its expression using the hexadecimal or base 16 numbering system Hexa decimal codes are used mainly by assembly language programmers but they can come in handy when you re installing any one of the printer s functions i
8. drafts at high speed and exceptionally fine copies of your work at speeds still faster than most daisywheel printers But you won t really appreciate how advanced your printer is until you see the many other ways it can print For a sample of this ver satility please see Figure 4 1 below LETTER QUALITY WITH PICA PITCH AND PROPORTIONAL SPACING DOUBLE STRIKE PRINTING EMPHASIZED PRINTING UNDERLINING TEXT PICA ELITE AND CONDENSED Figure 4 1 The printer s range of print features In this section you ll learn how to use the variety of print features available to you and how to combine them to create your own style And you ll find out why this is the only printer your computer will ever need m THE LETTER QUALITY LQ MODE Although DQ is the original factory default setting you can change the default to the Letter Quality LQ mode either by turning OFF DIP switch 1 5 turn this back ON to reactivate DQ or by entering the codes through your word processing program see the Draft Quality Mode later in this section But before you begin exper imenting in DQ let s take a look at the options you have in the let ter quality mode Double Strike printing Whenever you want to make a word or phrase stand out in text a good way do it is with the double strike feature When you activate double strike printing your printer does exactly that it prints each character twice The example below shows how double striking c
9. interior cleaning of the printer after approxi mately six months of moderate use to remove any paper dust or small particle buildup You may wish to use a can of pressurized air to blow off loose particles and dust Or you may use either a soft e g camel s hair brush or cloth Again be careful to avoid exposed electronic parts and wiring m REPLACING THE FUSE A fuse has been incorporated into the circuitry of your printer as a safety device to protect it This fuse may burn out as a result of fluctuations in AC line voltage that is the electricity from your power source Here are two easy ways to determine whether the fuse in your printer is burned out eThe power lamp does not light when you turn the power switch on or eThe printer has been in operation and the power lamp suddenly goes out The spare fuse provided with your printer is easy to replace Here s how to do it eTurn the power off and unplug the printer BE CAREFUL The electronic circuitry of your printer uses high voltage power Always disconnectthe printer from the power source before inspecting the fuse CTT rrr rr rrr He de ke de ke de ke de ke de de de de de ke de 2 2 k 2 2 2 20202022 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 22 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 eUsing a screwdriver or coin turn the fuse cover counterclockwise until it loosens Gently pull it straight out toward you ePull out the fuse and inspect it You should see a thin metal strip inside the glass tube
10. of the DIP switches please see Ap pendix D m HOW TO LOAD PAPER INTO THE PRINTER As you become acquainted with your printer you ll appreciate it more and more for the conveniences it offers you especially its ability to accept single sheet and form feed paper without requiring any external devices Read on and you ll discover how to use both kinds of paper in it Single sheet loading This printer is designed to print on standard size stationery multilayer business forms and almost any other kind of cut sheet paper We ll show you how to load paper of varying thicknesses later in this section For now all you need is a standard 8 1 2 by 11 inch sheet of paper elf you haven t installed the cut sheet guide yet please do it now Please refer to Fig 1 4 eYou can use the adjustable metal slide on the paper guide to set your left margin The positions are as follows Table 1 1 Slide positions for determining the left margin PRINT DISTANCE FROM LEFT MARGIN left edge 64 in right edge 05 in When you have set the metal slide for the margin you want you re ready to insert the paper Turn the power switch off eOpen the paper bail by pulling the lever toward you einsert a sheet of paper straight down into the printer turning the platen knob clockwise away from you Open the cover and roll the paper onto the platen eClose the paper bail by pushing the lever away from you eClose the cover and align the to
11. whenever the print quality becomes faded or uneven Always make sure the printer is off before removing or replacing the ribbon cassette Ifthe printer has been in operation be careful not to touch the print head or metal housing on the carriage they will be very hot Use both hands to remove the cassette grasping it by the edges Attach the cut sheet guide This plastic guide is used to feed single sheet paper or business forms into the printer If you are using perforated tractor feed paper you won t need it at this time To attach the guide insert its two tabs into the notches on the back cover of the printer Figure 1 4 Assembly of the cut sheet guide Connect the power cord to the printer Begin by inserting the cord into the three prong connector on the back of your printer NOTE Make sure the power switch is off before connecting the power cord to a wall outlet Plug the power cord into your 120 VAC power source We highly recommend that you use a surge protector between the printer and power source This simple device available at your local computer store prevents any potentially damaging fluctuations from reaching 4 your printer If you re not using a surge protector make sure that your printer and computer are the only devices plugged into the AC outlet m FEATURES OF THE PRINTER The simple steps you ve just performed have readied the printer for operation Before you tur
12. with condensed print mode you ll be able to fit an entire 132 column report on a single 8 inch wide sheet of paper m SUPERCALC Another popular spreadsheet SuperCalc allows you to easily use all of your printer s advanced features When you have completed the design of your SuperCalc spreadsheet you can get to the SuperCalc setup mode by typing O for output Next you ll type D followed by the word ALL this tells SuperCalc to print the report exactly as it appears on the screen The SuperCalc setup codes To get to the setup menu press the return key and type S when the setup menu appears again press S for manual setup codes You can now send escape codes and control codes to the printer exactly as they appear in Appendix A Table 3 2 illustrates your Op tions in the draft quality mode for more on SuperCalc setup codes please see the software manual Table 3 2 SuperCalc setup codes for the draft quality pitch sizes Pitch Size Columns Per Line Setup Code Pica 8 lt ESC gt P 0 Elite 96 lt ESC gt M Condensed 132 o Remember in the expanded mode this printer prints characters at twice their normal width SuperCalc automatically prints as much of your spreadsheet as will fit on a page any material in excess of the page limit will be printed on additional pages A 25 HM LOTUS 1 2 3 One of the most popular integrated software products Lotus 1 2 3 combines spreadsheet word pro
13. your new printer can produce We thought so You can easily view a sample of its work by printing the self test The self test confirms both the correct operation of the printer and the proper loading of paper and ribbon cassette You won t need to connect your computer to print the self test just be sure the printer is plugged into a power source and is turned off einsert a sheet of paper or form feed paper as you learned in How to Load Paper Into the Printer ePress and hold the Line Feed LF button and at the same time turn the power switch on eWhen the printer begins printing you can release the Line Feed button 12 NOTE Always be sure the ribbon cassette is in place and there is paper in the printer when you begin print ing The printer will print a five line sample of letters numbers and symbols in the letter quality and draft quality modes eTo eject the page press the Pause button then press Form Feed FF Now take a close look Beautiful isn t it And this is only the be ginning m CONNECT THE INTERFACE CABLE TO YOUR COMPUTER You ll be printing in just minutes once you ve connected the printer to your computer with an interface cable Three kinds of interfaces are available with this printer parallel serial and an interface called IEEE 488 You will probably be using a parallel interface the easiest connection to make eTurn off the printer and computer ePlug one
14. 1 115 125 129 137 140 141 145 TABLE OF TABLES Slide positions for determining the left margin 8 2 1 Examples of decimal and hexadecimal codes 18 2 2 Examples of escape and control codes 19 3 1 The various draft quality pitch sizes and their VisiCalc setup codes 24 3 2 SuperCalc setup codes for the draft quality pitch sizes 25 3 3 Lotus 1 2 3 setup codes for the draft mode pitch sizes 27 4 1 The codes for double strike printing 30 4 2 The codes for emphasized printing 31 4 3 The codes for underlining text 31 4 4 The codes for proportional spacing 32 4 5 Codes for the LQ and DQ modes 32 4 6 The codes used to activate pica printing 33 4 7 The codes used to activate elite printing 34 4 8 The codes to activate condensed printing 34 4 9 The codes for the macro instruction 35 4 10 DIP switch settings for the International Character Sets 36 4 11 Codes used to activate the International Character Sets 36 5 1 Setting the left and right margins 40 5 2 Setting the page length number of lines per page and the top and bottom margins 41 5 3 Adjusting line spacing 42 5 4 Printing superscripts and subscripts 42 5 5 Setting and using vertical tabs 43 5 6 Setting and using horizontal tabs 44 6 1 Expanded print conversion chart 48 A 1 Options for the master print mode 88 D 1 DIP switch settings and their functions 109 D 2 Selection of the International Character Set 110 F 1 Setup code
15. 10 below If you plan to use international character sets only on occasion however you will probably want to access them by sending a code through your word processor illustrated in Table 4 11 Please refer to Appendix E for a complete listing of the codes for each interna tional character 35 Table 4 10 DIP switch settings for the International Character Sets COUNTRY SWITCH SWITCH SWITCH 2 1 2 2 2 3 USA ON ON ON France O ON ON Germany ON O ON England ON Denmark ON ON O Sweden O ON O Italy ON Spain Table 4 11 Codes used to activate the International Character Sets ESCAPE CODE DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE lt ESC gt Rn 27 82 n 1B 52n COUNTRY USA 0 France 1 Germany 2 England 3 Denmark 4 Sweden 5 Italy 6 Spain 7 Whenever you re finished using an international character set you can return to the one you normally use by again entering the proper code and country number KA A AA A A A A A We know there s enough material in this section to keep you busy for quite a while But you won t want to miss Section 5 where we ll show you how to design a document format to your own specifica tions MEMO 37 SECTION CREATING PAGE FORMATS WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU eHow to Set the Left and Right Margins eHow to Determine the Page Length and the Number of Lines Per Page and the Top and Bottom Margins eHow to Control Line Spacing eSuperscripts and Subscripts eSetting and Using Vert
16. 65n 1B 41 n n 120th inch lt ESC gt 3n 2751n 1B 33 n m SUPERSCRIPTS AND SUBSCRIPTS The installation program of your word processing package will ask you to enter the value you wish in increments of 1 120th of an inch for printing superscripts and subscripts within text You may also send codes to the printer to perform the same function Table 5 4 When you choose the code to select superscript or select subscript the printer will print all subsequent characters at the super and subscript level until you send the proper code to cancel this feature Table 5 4 Printing superscripts and subscripts FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Select Superscript lt ESC gt SO 27830 1B 53 00 Select Subscript lt ESC gt S1 27831 1B 53 01 Cancel Superscript lt ESC gt T 27 84 1B 54 or Subscript ra H VERTICAL TABS When you are tabulating reports or printing certain kinds of text you may find it useful to leave a number of lines blank between sections of print This printer s vertical tab feature allows you to do this with the codes shown in Table 5 5 Table 5 5 Setting and using vertical tabs FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Set Vertical lt ESC gt Bn1n2 0 2766 n1 n2 0 1B 42 n1 n2 00 Tabs Advance to Next Tab When you turn on the printer your vertical tabs are automatically set at one inch apart lines 6 12 18 etc to the bottom of your page T
17. 6th inch which is the American standard This means that you will get six lines to an inch and 66 lines on an 11 inch page If you wish to change the line spacing you can do it either through DIP switch 1 3 or by sending a code First let s see how the line spacing changes when you turn off DIP switch 1 3 WHEN YOU PRINT WITH DIP SWITCH 3 IN THE OFF POSITION YOUR LINE SPACING WILL BE 1 8TH INCH WHEN YOU PRINT WITH DIP SWITCH 1 3 IN THE ON POSITION YOUR LINE SPACING WILL BE 1 6TH INCH Figure 5 1 Controlling line spacing with DIP switch 1 3 41 OU TON SET FOND a As Figure 5 1 shows when you print with DIP switch 1 3 in the off position your line spacing will be 1 8th inch the European standard This setting will yield 8 lines per inch or 88 lines on an 11 inch form Of course you are by no means limited to these two settings by entering codes you can have complete control of the line spacing function In fact you can adjust line spacing to 1 60th or 1 120th of an inch by sending the proper codes included in Table 5 3 For n just select any value between O and 255 Also shown are the codes tor 1 6th inch 1 8th inch and 1 10th inch no space between lines line spacing Table 5 3 Adjusting line spacing SPACING ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE 1 6th inch lt ESC gt 2 27 50 1B 32 1 8th inch lt ESC gt 0 27 48 1B 30 1 10th inch lt ESC gt 1 27 49 1B 31 n 60th inch lt ESC gt An 27
18. BJECT ORDERING STATIONERY SUPPLIES I would Tike to place an order for stationery supplies from your mail order catalog Enclosed is my order form and a check for 247 Please process this order as soon as possible Thank you Figure 4 7 Elite printing in the draft mode To access the elite pitch eTurn off DIP switch 1 6 if it had been turned on or eEnter one of the following codes through your software Table 4 7 The codes used to activate elite printing ESCAPE CODE DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE lt ESC gt M 27 77 1B 4D Condensed pitch The printers condensed pitch has a number of important uses spreadsheets tables charts and wherever you need to fit a lot of information into a small space The condensed pitch gives you 16 7 characters per inch and 132 characters per line To activate the condensed pitch please use the codes given in Table 4 8 SUBJECT ORDERING STATIONERY SUPPLIES I would like to place an order for stationery supplies from your mail order catalog Enclosed is my order form and a check for 247 Please process this order as soon as possible Thank you Figure 4 8 Condensed printing in the draft mode Table 4 8 The codes to activate condensed printing ESCAPE CODE DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE lt SI gt lt ESC gt lt SI gt 34 m COMBINING FEATURES WITH THE MACRO COMMAND As you gain in experience with your printer you will undoubtedly develop a flair for combining its man
19. E 80 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 72 CHR 27 CHR 70 CANCEL DOUBLE STRIKE AND EMPHASIZED 90 LPRINT NOW YOU RE BACK TO NORMAL PRINTING THIS IS DOUBLE STRIKE PRINTING THIS IS EMPHASIZED PRINTING AND THIS IS BOTH AT ONCE NOW YOU RE BACK TO NORMAL PRINTING Figure 6 2 Double strike and emphasized print in BASIC Underlined printing Underlining is another good way to emphasize a point or to highlight sections of text Try this short program to give you an il lustration of underline feature NEW 10 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 45 CHR 1 SELECT UNDERLINE 20 LPRINT LADIES AND GENTLEMEN 30 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 45 CHR O CANCEL UNDERLINE 40 LPRINT START YOUR ENGINES Your results should look like this LADIES AND GENTLEMEN START YOUR ENGINES Figure 6 3 A print sample of underlined text In this sample the underline feature is turned on with the command CHR 27 CHR 45 CHR 1 and turned off with CHR 27 CHR 45 CHR 0 You ll notice that we did it all on one line You can do this simply by adding as we did semicolons at the end of the appropriate lines This tells BASIC to continue those lines without sending a carriage return line feed at the end of each line We did this just to illustrate that most of the printer s codes can be used in the middie of a line 49 Superscripts and subscripts When you need to reference footnotes or write math formulas your printer s superscripts and subscripts wil
20. ERICAN STANDARD 100 LPRINT CHR 10 110 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 10 120 LPRINT THIS COMMAND CAUSES THE PRINTER 130 LPRINT TO REVERSE THE PAPER ONE ENTIRE LI NE Here is an example of the line space settings for the program THIS COMMAND SETS THE LINE SPACING TO 1 8TH INCH THE EURROPEAN STANDARD Ne EBACINS YET se RETO 7 HOYA INCH NOW YOU ARE PRINTING WITH 1 6TH INCH LINE SPACING WHITH IS THE AMERICAN STANDARD THIS COMMAND CAUSES THE PRINTER TO REVERSE THE PAPER ONE ENTIRE LINE Figure 6 5 Line spacing at 1 6th 1 8th and 1 10th inch Just as you used an escape code in Section 5 to program your own user specified line spacing in increments of 1 60th or 1 120th inch you can also do this in BASIC with the code CHR 27 CHR 65 CHR n or CHR 27 CHR 51 CHR n For n you can enter any value between 0 and 255 This section illustrates only a few of the many possibilities that await when you program in BASIC Remember you can get a complete listing of these features in Appendix A KA A A A A A A A xe In the next section we ll show you how to keep your printer in top running condition for years to come Please follow along for some good advice that every printer owner should know 51 SECTION BASIC MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU eHow to Clean the Printer eHow to Replace the Fuse eHow to Replace the Print Head eChecking the Printer for Correct Operation
21. NTROL PANEL Now take a closer look at the control panel on your printer This panel contains all the controls and indicators you will need for the routine operation and monitoring of the printer ON POWER BUSY PE PAUSE PAUSE LINE ON LINE TOF pE A LF as ee Figure 1 6 The printer contro panel Power lamp Glows green to indicate power on Busy lamp Indicates buffer is temporarily full and printer is unable to accept new data Light goes out when buffer has cleared all stored information Your computer should automatically send new data to the printer Paper empty PE lamp Signals you to add paper Printer stops when paper runs out and resumes printing at the same location after new paper is added Pause lamp Indicates pause button has been activated or front cover has been opened Printing resumes when condition is cleared Pause button Pressing this button interrupts printing This feature is useful for inserting or adjusting paper replacing the ribbon cas sette or checking printed copy while a page is in progress Press this button a second time to reactivate printer On line lamp This lamp glows green when the printer is on line and ready to accept data transmissions from the computer On line button When on line the printer will accept data and instructions from your computer The TOF FF and LF switches are inoperative while the printer is on line When off line data trans missions are di
22. OF THE PRINTER To ensure the long life and proper operation of your printer please consider the following suggestions when you select a location near the computer ePlace the printer on a flat stable surface eAvoid direct sunlight or indoor heat sources as a general rule use it only in an environment where you are comfortable eBe sure the area is free from dust dirt and excess humidity eProvide a power source with the correct voltage there should be no more than 10 variance above or below the voltage spe cified on the printer s identification plate eDon t plug any other appliances into the outlet occupied by the printer except the computer m HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE PRINTER Now you re ready to set up your printer for operation Make sure the printer is turned off before you begin Load the ribbon cassette Loading and replacing the one piece ribbon cassette is a simple and clean procedure Turn the knob on the cassette counter clockwise to tighten the ribbon Snap the cassette onto the carriage as shown in the illus tration Check to make sure the ribbon lies flat between the print head and the print mask Again turn the knob to take up any slack Figure 1 3 Loading the ribbon cassette j i i j A j Your printer has been supplied with an extended use multistrike ribbon cassette Because this type of ribbon has no end detector we suggest that you replace it
23. ONR THE PRINTER FOR CORRECT OPER On occasion you may find that your printer isn t operating nor mally according to the parameters we ve set out in this manual If this should ever happen to you please turn to the checklist given in the following pages you li probably find that it will take only mo ments to return the printer to correct working order We have found that the majority of printer problems are in general also the easiest to solve Most can be corrected through a series of simple checks and fall into three categories electrical me chanical and those related to the DIP switch configuration of the printer Electrical The problems in this category are by far the most obvious but you d be surprised how often problems can be avoided by making these simple checks els the power plug firmly seated in a working electrical outlet You can verify the outlet is working properly by plugging in an other appliance in the same outlet els the power cord firmly plugged into the back of the printer els the printer cable securely fastened to the interface con nectors on both the printer and computer Be sure to use the proper clamps or screws to keep the connection tight els the power switch turned on eDoes the Power On lamp fail to light when you turn the printer on Please check the fuse according to the instructions given earlier in this section eDid the Power On lamp go out during operation Again please che
24. Print Underlining text The underlining feature offers you a third more subtle way to accent your text THIS IS UNDERLINED LQ PRINTING Figure 4 4 An example of underlined text Here are the commands you ll need to start and stop the under lining feature Table 4 3 The codes for underlining text FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Activate Underlining lt ESC gt 1 2745 1 1B 2D 01 Cancel Underlining lt ESC gt 0 27450 1B 2D 00 Proportional printing When the printer is in the LQ mode it is able to print text with proportional spacing yielding approximately 80 characters per inch This means that each character gets precisely the amount of space it needs For example the letter m is given twice the amount of space used for the i since it s twice as wide Proportional spacing is used in newspapers magazines and many books because it gives a polished appearance to the finished page 31 LETTER QUALITY CHARACTERS CAN PRINT WITH PROPORTIONAL SPACING OR NORMAL PICA PITCH Figure 4 5 An examole of proportional printing Table 4 4 The codes for proportional printing FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Activate Proportional lt ESC gt p1 27 1121 1B 70 01 Cancel Proportional lt ESC gt pO 271120 1B 70 00 HM THE DRAFT QUALITY MODE You ll probably want to use the draft quality mode whenever you need to print a fast draft of your work but w
25. an set off your text from normal LQ printing THIS LINE IS LETTER QUALITY AND DOUBLE STRIKE PRINTING NOW TURN TO NORMAL PRINTING Figure 4 2 An example of double strike printing Of course when you begin double strike printing everything you print will be double struck until you turn this feature off so you ll need the codes for how to activate double striking as well as how to cancel it Here they are Table 4 1 The codes for double strike printing FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Activate Double Strike lt ESC gt G 2771 1B 47 Cancel Doubie Strike lt ESC gt H 27 72 1B 48 Emphasized printing Another effective method to make a portion of text stand out against the rest is with the Emphasized print feature To get em phasized print your printer prints a line once shifts the carriage about 1 120th of an inch and prints the line again Because em phasized print has a double image it really calls attention to itself THIS LINE IS LETTER QUALITY AND EMPHASIZED PRINTING NOW TURN TO NORMAL PRINTING Figure 4 3 An example of emphasized print 30 Like most of the print features the emphasized mode will once activated remain on until you turn it off Here are the codes Table 4 2 The codes for emphasized printing FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Activate Emphasized lt ESC gt E 27 69 Print Cancel Emphasized lt ESC gt F 27 70
26. ant to experiment by putting it through its paces with BASIC m A WORD ABOUT MBASIC The most common form of BASIC available today is Microsoft BASIC or MBASIC We ve endeavored to provide you with a few programs that will run on most computers and for this reason the programs listed here use the most elementary form of BASIC MBASIC for 8 bit microcomputers You will also be able to run these programs on 16 bit systems such as the IBM PC and compatibles The character string CHR If you re familiar with BASIC you ll know that the character string command CHRS is used to capture escape and control codes such as those which control the printer BASIC doesn t understand an escape code or control code all by itself but you can enter escape or contro codes within the character string format To do this enter the decimal form of the code between the parentheses in CHR Here are a few examples of the printer s features that can be programmed in BASIC Expanded type The expanded type feature enlarges each of the pitch sizes to twice their normal widths Try this program to see how it works 10 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 87 CHR 1 20 LPRINT THIS LINE IS EXPANDED 30 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 87 CHR C 0 40 LPRINT BUT THIS LINE IS NOT THIS LINE La pa Fe A L BUT THIS LINE IS NOT Figure 6 1 A sample of expanded type As you can see the command represented by the first statement CHR 27 CHR 87 CHRS 1 turns on the
27. basic information your word processing package needs to know about this printer In addition Appendix B contains a guide for a typical installation of WordStar one of the most popular word processors on the market 20 Remember your software manual is the primary source of infor mation for printing with your word processing package But if you re ever in need your dealer is there to lend a hand k AA AA AA A A A K In the next section we ll show you how to print several popular spreadsheet programs with your printer Stay tuned 21 SECTION GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR SPREADSHEET PACKAGE WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU eHow to Print Reports Using Three Popular Spreadsheet Programs Next to word processing the spreadsheet has become the most widely accepted microcomputer application for use in both home and business And it s an area where your printer really shines lts ability to print in the condensed modes as well as in pica and elite gives you a new level of flexibility in electronic spreadsheets As a result you can print eye catching reports in a greater variety of formats than ever before m PRINTING COMMANDS AND PARAMETERS FOR THREE POPULAR SPREADSHEETS There are of course many more spreadsheets on the market than can be adequately described in the pages of this manual But we have gathered the necessary information to help you achieve opti mum results for three of the most popular packages
28. cessing and database appli cations in a single package However the process of printing a spreadsheet is very similar to that used in VisiCalc and SuperCalc The Lotus print commands As described in the Lotus manual the printing procedure is begun with the command PP After you enter this code a menu of other printing choices appears on your screen including Range Defines the section of the worksheet you want to print Line Allows the insertion of a blank line in your report by sending a carriage return line feed instruction to the printer Page Advances printing to the beginning of a new page Options Displays a menu of various format options Clear Erases all previously chosen print options for this par ticular report Align Communicates to Lotus 1 2 3 that the paper in the printer is at the top of the page This code is used after inserting a new sheet or advancing the paper with a form feed command Go Prints the worksheet as defined by Range Quit Ends the print mode and returns Lotus to the Ready mode see your manual for details The Lotus Options menu in addition to the print commands Lotus 1 2 3 provides an Options menu to give you a number of formatting selections Included in this menu are selections for headers and footers lines printed at the top and bottom of the page respectively With each of these options you may also choose to insert the page number and or date and even div
29. ck the fuse 56 ePower lamp is on but printer will not operate Make sure the printer is on line and the front cover is closed The front cover open detector keeps the printer in the Pause mode until you close the cover firmly Mechanical This group of checks is related to the mechanical operation of the printer especially the flow of paper and ribbon through the machine Single sheets don t advance properly through the machine Please ensure that the paper release lever is in the closed position toward you Form feed paper jams or doesn t advance smoothly Check to see that the paper release lever isin the open position away from you Also make sure that the covers are closed on the tractor feed units eThe ribbon does not advance properly Confirm that the ribbon cartridge is resting firmly on the carriage Also check the ribbon tension you can take out any slack by turning the spool counterclockwise See Loading the Ribbon Cartridge in Section 1 eThe characters printed on the paper are faint or lighter than normal Check the printhead to platen gap making sure that the ad justing lever is properly set for the paper you are using If the printing is still faint replace the ribbon Configuration of DIP switches The DIP switches of your printer have been preset at the factory and unless you or your Star dealer have reconfigured them For a complete chart of DIP switch setti
30. e KA AA AA A A A e At Star Micronics we are dedicated to bringing you the highest quality most durable printer money can buy As a result you ll find that this printer will provide many years of trouble free use But re member if you have any questions or problems that aren t answered in this manual your Star dealer is always there to help 58 MEMO
31. end of the cable into the paralle interface connector on the printer plug the other end into the parallel connector on your computer Printer cable interface connector Figure 1 13 The parallel interface connection 13 There s only one way to attach the connector so you can t go wrong For information on serial and IEEE 488 interfaces please see your Star dealer A KA AAA KK KKK In the next section you ll see how easy it is to use the printer with your favorite word processing programs 14 MEMO Mi 15 sip ca hisk h ee ik en chi sta wc eee aske i nema has un shel aie han Et A mi ley 0 yila lagers igor um i ntes chan Here hee vha Ble pie WORD PROCESSING WITH THE PRINTER WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU eHow to Use ASCII Codes for the Features You Want einstalling Your Word Processing Package If you re already familiar with ASCII codes you may want to skip to the next part in this section where you ll begin using them in your word processing program For those who are new to codes read on and we ll show you how to use them to get the most from your printer m AN INTRODUCTION TO ASCII CODES When you get into your car to go for a drive the first thing you do is shift into gear If your car has automatic transmission you wont have to shift as often as you would with a manual transmission but in either case of course your car gets y
32. expanded print function the command represented by the third statement CHR 27 CHR 87 CHR 0 turns it off All of your printer s features can be activated and canceled using CHR statements and the LPRINT command By combining the expanded print feature with each of the three pitches pica elite and condensed you will be able to get three different versions of expanded print in the draft quality mode Table 6 1 Expanded print conversion chart PITCH NORMAL EXPANDED Pica 10 cpi 5 cpi Elite 12 cpi 6 cpi Condensed 16 7 cpi 8 3 cpi Emphasized and double strike printing Whenever you want something to really stand out on the page these are two good ways to do it As we showed you earlier in the book your printer prints both emphasized and double strike words twice but uses somewhat different methods for each With em phasized print the platen is moved just slightly for the second printing giving the character a shadow appearance Double strike you will remember is done simply by printing the same character over itself Try this program to demonstrate the two styles in BASIC NEW 10 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 71 SELECT DOUBLE STRIKE 20 LPRINT THIS IS DOUBLE STRIKE PRINTING 30 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 72 CANCEL DOUBLE STRIKE 48 40 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 69 SELECT EMPHASIZED 50 LPRINT THIS IS EMPHASIZED PRINTING 60 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 71 SELECT DOUBLE STRIKE 70 LPRINT AND THIS IS BOTH AT ONC
33. formation about the way your printer works but they give the best results Following are the basic cate gories of information you ll need for a custom installation program eDo you have a backspacing printer Yes eWhat printer driver are you using Primary list device eHow many strikes are used for boldface printing 2 strikes eWhat is the communications protocol No protocol for the parallel interface What is the initialization code DECIMAL 27 64 HEXADECIMAL 1B 40 What is the carriage return line feed code sequence DECIMAL 13 HEXADECIMAL 0D DIP switch 1 8 should be turned on Pitch size characters per inch As you know this printer is a multiple pitch machine capable of printing in the pica 10 cpi elite 12 cpi and condensed 16 7 cpi modes Pica isthe default setting for your printer butyou can change the default to elite if you wish by entering the escape code lt ESC gt M or by turning off DIP switch 1 6 Proportional spacing Your printer can print proportionally spaced characters in the letter quality mode Characters per line When the printer is set to print in pica it will print 80 characters per line When set for the elite pitch its line size is 96 characters per line In the proportional mode it prints ap proximately 80 characters per line Boldface and Emphasized printing modes Please review the code sequences shown in Section 4 for these functions The above categories contain the
34. hen you see allthe ca pabilities this mode offers we think you ll use it even more often To switch from LQ to DQ you have two choices eTurn on DIP switch 1 5 or eEnter the proper code through your word processing program shown in Table 4 5 Table 4 5 Codes for the LQ and DQ modes FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Activate DQ lt ESC gt 5 27 53 1B 35 Return to LQ lt ESC gt 4 27 52 1B 34 If you plan to use both the LQ and DQ modes frequently you will probably want to program the necessary codes right into your word processor s installation program In the draft mode you can use the same features you learned earlier in this manual to accent your text double strike emphasized underlined and expanded print You ll use the same codes to turn these features on and off Now let s see some of the other things the draft mode can do for you m VARIETY OF PITCH SIZES If you have already read Section 3 you ll know how many variations in pitch size can help in designing a spreadsheet to your exact 32 specifications You can also use pitch size to integrate different kinds of text into a printed page The following are descriptions of the available draft quality pitch sizes Pica pitch As we have said pica printing yields 10 characters per inch and 80 characters per line Pica is commonly used in business letters thesis papers reports and in general wherever it s important that your d
35. ical and Horizontal Tabs In Section 4 we showed you the wide range of printing capabilities offered by your printer Now let s take a look at how you can fit these elements into a good looking format that s right for you Actually your word processing program will probably perform most of the functions you ll read about in this section But if you ever need to set any of these parameters the necessary instructions are given in the following pages By the way you will also be able to use the macro instruction described in Section 4 for the formatting com mands set out in this section m SETTING THE LEFT AND RIGHT MARGINS As you learned in Section 1 you can control the left margin of your document by moving either the cut sheet guide or the adjustable tractor feed guides The power on default setting for the left margin is always at the same far left position so you know where printing will begin if you use either of these methods Your word processor will automatically set the right margin for you However you can if you wish set the left and right margins to your own specifications by sending the proper codes Table 5 1 These instructions will remain in effect until you either turn off the printer or send new codes to cancel them In the codes illustrated in table 5 1 you will need to enter a specific value for n to signify the positions of the left and right margins In each case you may substitute any number between
36. ide the header or footer into three separate sections Also included in the Options menu is the setup option which allows you to enter codes to specify the pitch size for the report When you choose this option the words enter character string next appear on the screen You can now enter the code you want as illustrated in Table 3 3 Lotus is different from other spreadsheets in that it uses decimal codes In the following examples the Y or backslash precedes the control code instead of the control key When entering an escape code you first enter 027 the decimal equivalent of the escape 26 en key If you are in the LQ mode you can switch to draft mode with the code 1027 1053 Table 3 3 Lotus 1 2 3 setup codes for draft mode pitch sizes x k k k A A gt A A A In the following sections we ll show you more of the features you ll use to create professional quality documents with your printer 27 SECTION EXPLORING PRINT FEATURES WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU eHow to Put Emphasis into Your Letter Quality Text eUsing the Draft Quality Mode for Speed and Versatility eCombining Features With the Macro Instruction eHow to Use the International Character Sets As you know your printer will print letter quality type at 60 char acters per second and draft quality type as fast as 144 characters per second With this powerful machine you can produce smart looking
37. l come in handy Here s a short program to illustrate how easy it is to use them NEW 10 LPRINT LOOK 20 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 83 CHR 0 SELECT SUPERSCRIPT 30 LPRINT SUPERSCRIPTS 40 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 84 CANCEL SUPERSCRIPT 50 LPRINT AND 60 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 83 CHR 1 SELECT SUBSCRIPT 70 LPRINT SUBSCRIPTS 80 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 84 CANCEL SUBSCRIPT 90 LPRINT ON ONE LINE SUPERSCRIPTS LOOK AND SUBSCRIPTS ON ONE LINE Figure 6 4 Superscript and subscript printing Line spacing and reverse line feed You learned about line spacing and how to use escape codes to adjust it in Section 5 It s just as easy you ll find to perform all of these functions when programming in BASIC in the following program we show you how to use each of these features in addition we ll show you how to program your printer to do a reverse line feed a useful feature if you ever create charts and tables When you run this program watch the platen as the last statement comes up to verify reverse line feed NEW 10 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 48 20 LPRINT THIS COMMAND SETS THE LINE SPACING 30 LPRINT TO 1 8TH INCH THE EURROPEAN STANDAR D 40 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 49 50 LPRINT NOW THE LINE WILL BE TOUCHING THIS 60 LFRINT LINE SPACING IS SET TO 1 10TH INCH 70 LPRINT CHR 27 CHR 50 50 80 LPRINT NOW YOU ARE PRINTING WITH 1 6TH INC po 90 LPRINT LINE SPACING WHITH IS THE AM
38. n on the printer take a few minutes to become familiar with ts features lever Paper out Front cover detector open detector holder Entry slot for form feed paper Buffer case Figure 1 5 Features of the printer Release lever Adjusts tension on paper Has two settings friction closed for single sheets and tractor open for form feed paper Paper out detector Sounds alarm and puts printer into Pause mode when it senses end of paper during operation Adjust DIPswitch 1 1 to the OFF setting to override this function Bail lever Opens and closes paper bail Back cover Flips open to access built in tractor feed mechanism Platen knob Allows manual adjustment of paper against platen Control panel Contains indicators and touch controls to monitor and operate printer see Figure 1 6 Front cover Protects interior mechanisms and reduces noise Must be closed before printer will operate Front cover open detector Puts printer into Pause mode when cover is opened during operation Power switch Turns printer on or off Fuse holder Contains 5MT 2 amp fuse Buffer case Contains optional buffer and parallel or serial interface Interface connector Connects cable parallel or serial depending on configuration to your computer Entry slot for form feed paper Feeds paper to the tractor feed guides Adjustable tractor feed guides Directs form feed paper to the platen E THE CO
39. ngs please check Appendix D However we ve listed a few common problems that can be easily solved by the proper setting of a switch Remember whenever you change a DIP switch setting first turn the printer off then turn it on again The printer reads the DIP switch settings only when it is first turned on ePrint is double spaced 57 a 2 l a E i y i j Your computer is sending its own automatic line feed with every carriage return duplicating a similar intruction by the printer Make sure DIP switch 1 8 is in the on position eThe printer prints over itself without advancing the paper Check to see that DIP switch 1 8 is turned off This ensures that an automatic line feed will be added to each carriage return a command that your computer does not perform by itself eThe printer isn t printing normal letters characters or symbols only block graphic characters This may happen if your computer has a 7 bit interface Make sure that DIP switch 1 7 is turned off Your computer is designed to send normal text in words of 7 data bits each if this switch is off your printer is in its block graphics setting eThe printer won t print block graphics only letters numbers and symbols Be sure that DIP swich 1 7 is turned on Your computer is de signed to send normal text in words of 8 bits each if this switch is off you won t be able to print in the block graphics mod
40. nter When you enter L the printer advances to the beginning of the next page H Use the H whenever you need to send a code in its hexa decimal form For example to activate the condensed mode type HOF As you plan the design of your VisiCalc report we encourage you to experiment with the many options offered by your printer To use the different pitch sizes pica elite and condensed as well as their expanded versions you ll first switch to the draft quality mode with the code E5 Table 3 1 illustrates the number of available columns per page for each pitch size along with the corresponding setup codes Table 3 1 The various draft quality pitch sizes and their VisiCalc setup codes Pitch Size Columns Per Line e Code Remember in the expanded mode your printer prints characters at twice their normal width The VisiCalc print command After you ve designed your spreadsheet and entered all the nec essary information you print with the VisiCalc P command As described in the software manual this command is used to delineate the size of the spreadsheet or section of the whole from the active cell in the upper left hand corner to the boundary you will choose in the lower right hand corner Normally when you plan a very large printout one that wouldn t fit on a single page other printers would require you to divide the spreadsheet into separate segments each with a separate printing operation But
41. nto your word processing program For example if you use any other form of ASCII code as you install the activate superscript function into WordStar your software will respond by displaying on your screen the equivalent of the code in its hexa decimal form Then comparing the hexadecimal value on the screen 18 with the corresponding hexadecimal value in Appendix B you can confirm that you re entering the code correctly It s important to remember that decimal and hexadecimal codes are simply different expressions of the same ASCII code and there are other expressions of ASCII codes as well Escape codes and Control codes Many ASCII codes can be entered quickly and easily into your software package with the use of either the escape key or the control key in conjunction with other keys on your computer keyboard Escape codes and control codes have their decimal and hexadecimal equivalents as shown in Table 2 2 When you see the lt ESC gt instruction you are to press the escape key before typing the companion character instructs you to hold the control key down while typing the companion character Table 2 2 Examples of escape and control codes FUNCTION ESCAPE CONTROL DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL Select the Draft Quality Mode lt ESC gt 5 27 53 1B 35 Set Print Pitch lt ESC gt P 27 80 1B 50 to Pica R 18 12 m WORD PROCESSING FOR ALL PURPOSES This printer is designed to perform the en
42. o advance the page to the next vertical tab position just enter decimal code 11 or hexadecimal code OB You can also set your own vertical tabs by first entering the escape decimal or hexadecimal codes shown in Table 5 5 Then enter the line number for each vertical tab you want to set represented in the table by n1 n2 etc Your printer allows you a maximum of 12 vertical tab positions per page The number of each tab setting must be greater than the previous one for example typical tab settings might be on lines 10 15 19 etc After you have set the last tab be sure to terminate the vertical tab command by entering O 00 for hexadecimal You can now move to each of your specified vertical tab positions using the Advance to Next Tab Position code shown in the table m HORIZONTAL TABS Horizontal tabs function similarly to those of a typewriter they help you print charts and tables and create columns of information across the page When you first turn the printer on it will automatically set horizontal tab positions every 8 spaces spaces 9 17 25 etc to the right edge of the page You can advance to the next horizontal tab position with decimal code 9 or hexadecimal code 09 as shown in Table 5 6 You can also set new horizontal tabs to your own specified po sitions using the same procedures you learned for setting vertical tabs Remember when you set your own tabs you cancel all previ ously set tab stops
43. ocument be easy to read or scan The pica pitch is the default setting in the draft mode but you can change the default to elite either by turning off DIP switch 1 6 or by sending the correct codes to the printer We ll show you how to do this in a moment but first take a look at what draft quality pica printing looks like using allthe accent features available with your printer SUBJECT ORDERING STATIONERY SUPPLIES I would like to place an order for stationery supplies from your mail order catalog Enclosed is my order form and a check for 247 Please process this order as soon as possible Thank you Figure 4 6 Pica printing in the draft mode If you use either the elite pitch or the condensed pitch and wish to return to pica you can reactivate this setting in one of two ways eTurn on DIP switch 1 6 if you had previously turned it off or eEnter the following codes through your word processor Table 4 6 The codes used to activate pica printing ESCAPE CODE DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE lt ESC gt P 27 80 1B 50 Elite pitch As we mentioned earlier in the manual the elite setting will print 12 characters per inch and 96 characters per line Elite is often used for longer documents but it s also found in formal and informal correspondence and has many other uses as well Though you may not notice much difference between the elite and pica pitches elite allows you to fit more text on the page 33 SU
44. ou where you re going Printing with your computer is similar to driving in that you ll shift every now and then to take advantage of your printer s variety of features only you ll use codes from your computer to do the shifting Now whether you use codes often or seldom can depend on both your software package and your printing needs as you will see But first let s take a look at what codes are and how you will enter them through your keyboard Like a typewriter your printer understands each character on the keyboard whether it s a letter a number or a symbol But since there aren t any keys marked Letter Quality Expanded Print or Boldface you will activate each of these features by entering a code that is a short series of keystrokes through the keyboard Most computers printers and peripheral devices understand specific types of codes known as ASCII codes ASCII pronounced ask key stands for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange This standard code provides a common ground for computers and related devices to talk to each other and transfer data in a way that each can understand And though there is an ASCII code for each letter number and symbol that we use please see Appendices C and E you will probably not need to know them for your day to day applications However you willwantto use ASCII codes to activate the special functions of your printer so let s take a
45. p edge of the paper with the cutting edge of the shield Turn the printer on SLIDE POSITION When the paper isin this position printing begins at about 2 inches from the top of the page You can adjust the start point as you wish by using the Line Feed button to advance the paper one line at a time Remember to first put the printer into the Pause mode by pressing the Pause button Figure 1 8 Loading single sheet paper Figure 1 9 Aligning the page with the cutting edge of the shield Form feed loading Your printer s built in tractor feed device is one of the most con venient features ever offered in a printer lt works with standard form feed paper as well as with laser perforated form feed bond paper so you can produce top quality documents with a swift continuous feed Here s how it works eTurn off the power switch to avoid damaging the gears and raise the hinged back cover Ifyou have attached the cut sheet guide you ll need to remove it now ei ocosen the clamp screws and flip up the covers on each of the tractor units elnsert the form feed paper through the slot beneath the back cover of the printer line up the tractor units with the sprocket holes in the paper Press the paper into place on the sprockets and snap the covers down on the tractor units Tighten the knobs Figure 1 10 Inserting form feed paper into the printer eOpen the paper bail pull the lever
46. rgins Adjusting Line Spacing Superscripts and Subscripts Vertical Tabs Horizontal Tabs SECTION 6 PROGRAMMING IN BASIC 47 A Word About MBASIC The Character String CHR Expanded Type Emphasized and Double Strike Printing Underlined Printing Superscripts and Subscripts Line Spacing and Reverse Line Feed SECTION 7 BASIC MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES 53 Preventive Maintenance How to Clean the Printer Replacing the Fuse Replacing the Print Head Checking the Printer for Correct Operation APPENDIX A FUNCTION CODE REFERENCE 61 Font Styles and Print Controls Formatting Controls APPENDIX B INSTALLING THE PRINTER INTO YOUR WORD PROCESSING PACKAGE 95 The Installation Menu Installing Special Features APPENDIX C THE ASCII CODE CONVERSION CHART 101 APPENDIX D DUAL IN LINE PACKAGE DIP SWITCHES 109 DIP Switch Settings and Their Functions Selection of the International Character Set APPENDIX E CHARACTER SETS OF THE PRINTER Letter Quality LQ Character Set Draft Quality DQ Character Set International Character Set Block Graphics Character Set APPENDIX F DESIGNING BIT IMAGE GRAPHICS Four Modes for Bit Image Graphics Printing 8 Bit Graphics APPENDIX G TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS APPENDIX H INTERFACES The Parallel Interface The Serial Interface The IEEE 488 Interface INDEX FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION RADIO FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STATEMENT STAR MICRONICS WARRANTY COMMAND QUICK REFERENCE 11
47. s for the printer s four graphics modes 118 F 2 Calculating the width of your graphic image 119 H 1 Parallel interface connector signals 131 H 2 Connector signals for the serial interface 133 H 3 Connector signals for the IEEE 488 interface 136 E rq INTRODUCTION Congratulations for choosing this printer one of the finest avail able at any price Your new printer will reward you with many years of high quality document printing and is backed by Star Micronics more than 30 years in manufacturing precision parts You already know that it represents the state of the art in tack sharp dot matrix printing with its rugged 24 pin print head Its bidirectional logic seeking operation gives you letter quality hardcopy at 54 cps and draft quality print at speeds of up to 144 cps Its many features include High resolution graphics Built in expandable buffer eAn entire range of character sets for printing in eight languages eA host of specialized printing capabilities found in only the finest printers And best of all your new printer is compatible with the most popular personal computers and software packages so no matter how sophisticated your applications become it will continue to meet your needs These are just a few of the reasons you chose a product by Star Micronics one of the most respected names in dot matrix printers We want you to get the most from your printer with the least effort on your part so please
48. sabled and the control panel switches are enabled Top of form TOF button Used to set the starting point for sin gle sheet or form feed paper Form feed FF button Used to manually advance form feed paper Line feed LF button Press to advance paper one line at a time Press and hold to advance paper continuously m DUAL IN LINE PACKAGE DIP SWITCHES In addition to the features you have just seen your printer also has 18 Dual In line Package DIP switches to help determine the way it handles information from your computer Before examining the DIP switches turn off the printer To find the DIP switches lift the cover and manually move the carriage to the far left On the right hand side of the printer s interior you ll see a small rubber cover Carefully pull the cover back the DIP switches are directly below it These switches are preset at the factory so please leave them in their present position for the time being DIP switch bank 1 DIP switch bank 2 Figure 1 7 Dual In line Package DIP Switches The DIP switches are used to control the many functions of your printer including Character pitch eL ine spacing eForm length ePaper out detector A nn 7 el etter quality draft quality einternational Character Sets print selection Throughout this manual we ll show you how to use these switches to tailor the printer s printing to your exact specifications For more information on the positioning
49. take a few minutes to read this easy to un derstand guide You ll find that it will help you produce crisp clean documents in the shortest time possible You will also find that this printer is remarkably simple to set up and operate and that it s virtually maintenance free Enjoy your new Star Micronics printer SECTION SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU eThe Complete Printer Package eHow To Assemble the Printer for Operation eFeatures of the Printer Dual In Line Package DIP Switches eHow to Load Paper Into the Printer eHow to Print the Self Test As you unpack your new printer please take special care to verify the complete contents of the printer package Ribbon cassette Spare fuse Cut sheet guide Printer ge User s Manual Figure 1 1 The complete printer package ULLI m You ll find your Star Micronics warranty and registration card with this book Please read the warranty carefully and mail us the completed registration card as soon as possible We place a high value on the information only you can provide This printer has been precision packed to ensure its arrival in perfect working order Lift the front cover and you ll find the packing material used to protect it during shipment Be sure to remove this interior packing material from the carriage stay before you assemble the printer Spiral tube Figure 1 2 Interior packing material m PLACEMENT
50. tire range of printing functions with all commercially available word processing packages And whether you re penning the next blockbuster novel or just writing home to Mom we think it will more than meet your needs Word processing packages usually have an internal program tor setting up or installing your printer and dealers will often perform this installation at no extra charge But to give you a better understanding of the process the following pages offer some gen eral advice about installing your word processing programs m PROVIDING INFORMATION TO YOUR WORD PROCESSING PACKAGE If your word processing package has an installation program the first thing it will want to know is the kind of printer you are using Some installation programs present you with a list of specific brands and models of printers If you don t see this printer on the list you should still feel free to experiment with any of the dot matrix models on the list Another option you have is to type in a generic name such as standard simple teletype or vanilla These options all 19 allow you to send your text simply to the printer You can then send codes for special features as you need them The software manual will advise you on how to do this Your best option however is with a program that offers a custom installation for printers Custom installations usually re quire some highly detailed in
51. toward you Set the paper release lever in the tractor position open by pushing the lever away from you eAdvance the paper into printing position by turning the platen knob clockwise You may want to open the front cover first to be sure the paper clears the cutting edge Figure 1 11 Form teed paper correctly loaded eClose the paper bail and the front and back covers turn the printer on You can now check the operation of the automatic tractor feed Press the Form Feed FF button to advance the paper to the next page after pressing the Pause button m ADJUSTING THE PRINT HEAD GAP This printer is designed to accommodate paper of varying thick nesses as well as multilayer forms You can easily ensure correct printing with a simple adjustment to the print head gap eLiftihe front cover and find the red lever just in front of the platen knob FOR THICK HEAVYWEIGHT PAPER OR CARD STOCK Pull the lever toward you to widen the gap FOR THIN LIGHTWEIGHT PAPER Push the lever away from you to narrow the print head gap 11 s To narrow gap TG for thin paper 1 To widen gap for thicker paper or multi layer forms MP Figure 1 12 Adjust the print head gap By experimenting with this lever you will learn which position will yield the highest quality print for the paper you re using m HOW TO PRINT THE SELF TEST Eager to see the beautiful high density dot matrix characters
52. ut2 inches down the page The bottom margin will be determined by your settings for both page length and number of lines per page If you wish you can also program your top and bottom margins just as you did with the left and right margins by sending the proper codes Your printer will continue to observe your newly defined top and bottom margins until you turn the printer off or send new codes to cancel them When you set the top margin you can substitute for n any value between 1 and 16 the power on default value is 1 When you enter the code for the bottom margin you may enter any value between 40 1 and 127 just be sure that this number is greater than the value you chose for the top margin Table 5 2 Setting the page length number of lines per page and the top and bottom margins FUNCTION ESCAPE DECIMAL HEXADECIMAL CODE CODE CODE Page Length in inches lt ESC gt COn 27670n 1B 43 00 n n 1 to 32 Number of Lines Per Page lt ESC gt Cn 27 67 n 1B 43 n n 1 to 127 Top Margin lt ESC gt rn 27 114n 1B72n n 1 to 16 Bottom Margin lt ESC gt Nn 2778 n n 1 to 127 Cancel Top and Bottom lt ESC gt O 27 79 Margins m ADJUSTING LINE SPACING Just as your word processor will set the margins it will also set the line spacing or distance between lines of print without requiring a special command When you turn on the printer it will automatically print with a line spacing of 1
53. y print styles For example you might want to combine expanded pica and letter quality or try condensed and expanded print with underlining Whatever your preference for combined styles this printer makes them easy to use with the macro instruction command The macro instruction is named for its ability to compress a number of separate commands into one single instruction Here s how it works first you define the macro by entering the code lt ESC gt followed by all the control codes you wish to combine you can use a maximum of 16 possible control codes Then terminate the macro instruction by entering the code lt RS gt The macro instruction you just programmed in will be there for your use until you turn the printer off or enter a new macro Whenever you want to use the macro you can enter the code lt ESC gt to call it up Table 4 9 The codes for the macro instruction FUNCTION ESCAPE CODE Define Macro Instruction lt ESC gt n1n2 lt RS gt Use Macro instruction lt ESC gt m INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER SETS You might find that you re perfectly content with the 96 standard American characters provided in the default character set But you ll be interested to know that your printer can also print the special characters commonly used in England Germany France Italy Sweden Denmark and Spain If you do plan to use these characters regularly you will want to reset your DIP switches as shown in Table 4
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