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Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Developer`s

1. Charge battery Press Feed to clear error Cycling printer power will result in printer buffer data loss Press Feed to clear error Cycling printer power will result in printer buffer data loss Advance Q Mark to tear bar level to continue refer to manual for Q Mark commands Insert paper properly refer to User s Guide Close paper door to clear error Place printer in correct mode Replace roll of paper Allow print head to cool off restart print temperature recommended is 75 C Cycle printer power to continue 66 Appendix A Flash Font Tables The tables below shows the Font Table organization in the Extech Printers There are two classes of font tables Replaceable and Factory Fonts Please note each font table represents either the first or the second half of a font not the complete 255 character set Replaceable Fonts Tables The fonts in Red corresponds to the replaceable fonts that can be modified via the font downloading commands Replaceable Fonts k 0 k 1 k 2 k 3 k 4 k 5 Courier Courier Courier Courier Courier 16X23 12X23 10X23 09X23 08X23 Courier Mode O Rotated ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F Rotated PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw F2 0x80 0xFF 0x80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF 0x80 0xFF Extech Printer Command Langu
2. This command allows the printer to burn the command file in Flash memory After finishing the process the printer will respond with the D X characters Escape Sequence ESC S B Hexadecimal 1B 53 42 Decimal 27 83 66 Print Hardware Information ESCL g 8 This command prints a hardware information message previously store in memory Escape Sequence ESC L g 8 Hexadecimal 1B 4C 67 38 Decimal 27 76 103 56 Example The following escape commands will burn Hardware Information string into the flash memory The Hardware Information string will be printed below battery voltage readings in the self test message The commands below must be sent sequentially Escape sequence 1 ESC D S Escape sequence 2 ESC S Escape sequence 3 Hardware Information Escape sequence 4 ESC S T OxFF CR LF Escape sequence 5 ESC S B CR LF Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 44 Download Logo The Graphic Logo feature allows the storage of a formatted Bitmap file in nonvolatile memory Up to eight memory sectors of up to 64 000 bytes each are reserved to store a Graphic Logo in the printer Upon receipt of a Graphic Logo print command the Graphic Logo data is sent to the printer This feature allows printing of a stored graphic image as part of a receipt Logo images must be modified and saved to a prn file prior to logo download The specifications for the logo memory are as follows Printer
3. 128 Repeat the next single byte of data Counter 1 times For Unsigned 127 gt Counter gt 0 Process the next Counter 1 Values bytes of data as 8 bit graphics 128 Counter lt 255 Repeat the next Singe byte of data 256 Counter 1 times Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 22 Example Compressed graphic The following graphics data is to be printed This data may be represented in hexadecimal 0x55 0x55 0x00 0x00 0x55 0x55 0x55 0x55 The RLE compressed graphics command Bev perm mempa T T T T T T LI xc p wr p pep pup gum m wv mue FEX pas pre par por per par per po papaa Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 23 Printer Controls Data Processing The printer can be operated in two modes Online and Buffer mode In online mode the characters are printed as they are received In buffer mode the characters received are stored in the print buffer and printed upon receipt of the EOT character D Also if the printer is in Buffer Mode and the print buffer is full the printer will start printing but will remain in the Buffer Mode until the Online Mode command is sent to the printer Enable Buffer Mode ESCP This command selects the printer buffer mode Escape Sequence ESC P Hexadecimal 1B 50 24 Decimal 27 80 36 Disable Buffer Mode Select Online Mode ESC P This command disables the printer buffer mode and selects the online mode The online mode is the default
4. ESC Z 5 8 160 A 1 2 3 4 5 6 T CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 35 08 AO 41 31 32 33 34 35 36 54 OD OA Decimal 27 90 53 8 160 65 49 50 51 52 53 54 84 13 10 Example 2 The following escape command prints Codabar barcode with the following Encoding 2468 human readable 10 mm high start character C and stop character Escape Sequence ESC Z 5 6 P C 2 4 6 8 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 35 06 50 43 32 34 36 38 2A OD OA Decimal 27 90 53 6 80 67 5052 54 56 42 13 10 PDF 417 Specifications Each PDF 417 symbol character consists of a stack of vertically aligned rows between 3 and 90 Each row includes a start and a stop pattern left Description and right row indicators and a maximum of 30 symbol characters The symbol shall include a quite zone on all four sides Character set All ASCII and extended characters 8 Bit binary data and up to 811 800 different character sets Elements per Height Variable 3 to 90 rows and Width Variable 90X to 583X symbol Character symbol 1850 text characters Error correction 2 to 512 PDF417 Command Structure lt ESC gt 2 9 CM SL SW SH EW EH MSB LSB User s Data Parameters CM Compaction Mode Select a mode to encode the user s data Compaction Mode Description Encoding Capability 0 Future Use Byte Compaction Mode BC All characters 0 255 1 Recommended Text Compaction Mode TC ASCII only 0 127 Shift to BC Mode is implemented 2 Future Use
5. ISO1 IATA ISO2 ABA ISO3 MINTS Recording Density 210 BPI 75 BPI 210 BPI Recording Capacity 79 characters 40 characters 107 characters Number of data bits 7 5 7 Card Thickness 76 mm 0 08 mm Read Magnetic Card Data ESC M nl n2 t CR or ESC m n1 n2 t CR This command activates the MRC reader and waits until the user swipes a card or until the timer times out The lt n1 gt lt n2 gt parameters are used to set the MC reader s timer 01 through 99 are valid timer settings 00 disables the timer The t value indicates which MCR track number to read The printer aborts and transmits the time out error message if the operator fails to swipe a card within the time period set by the host application If the timer times out the printer aborts the swipe process transmits the timeout error message and switches off the READING LED A good magnetic card swipe automatically terminates the read process The following table details the possible combinations for this command Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 31 Magnetic Card Command String Description ESC M nin2 1 CR CR Carriage Return or Read Track1 only ESC mnin2 1 CR CR Carriage Return ESC M nin2 2 CR or ESC m nin2 2 CR Read Track2 only ESC M nin2 3 CRor ESC m nin2 3 CR Read Track3 only ESC M nin2 4 CRor ESC m nin2 4 CR Read Track1 and Track2 simultaneously ESC M nin2 5 CRor ESC m nin2 5 CR Read Track2 and Track3 simultaneously ESC M nin2 6 CRor ESC m
6. Rev H 40 height data Sets the height of barcode in units of dots Specifies the content of the barcode It is the user s responsibility to supply data that is appropriate for the chosen code For example Code 39 will not accept lower case letters Refer to the Barcode Specification section for detailed information of characters accepted by each barcode Example The following commands are used to create code 39 barcode inside an outline box P PP BeginPage SetMargin 0 0 SetPageSize 576 2496 DrawRectangle 61 35 524 265 1 3 DrawText 119 75 1 0 lt f 1 gt DEMO Page Printing Mode DrawBarcode 129 130 0 1 1 70 CODE39 EndPage P DENO Page Printing Node E33 COD The printer also allows for Page Print mode and Line Print mode printing on the same page Example Print text and barcode in Page Print Mode without entering and exiting Buffer Mode accompanied by text in Line Print Mode PP BeginPage SetMargin 0 0 SetPageSize 576 150 DrawBarcode 71 60 0 1 1 25 ABC123 DrawText 7 10 1 0 Test Welcome to Page Print Mode DrawText 10 35 1 0 This barcode 39 is printed in Page Print Mode DrawText 10 110 1 0 Exiting Page Print Mode EndPage Welcome to Line Print Mode This text line is printed in Line Print Mode You are now out of Page Print Mode Test Welcome to Page Print Mode s barcode 39 is printed in Page Print Mode OUT ill uM D
7. 33 34 OD OA Decimal 27 90 50 6 40 137 134 49 50 51 52 13 10 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 16 Interleaved 2 of 5 Specifications Each symbol starts with Leading Quiet Zone followed with Start Symbol EE Data Symbols ending with Stop Symbol and Trailing Quiet Zone Character set numeric pairs Elements per 10 5 bars 5 spaces symbol Character density 1 11 CPI Bar width 25mm Characters per line 2 inch printer 16 numeric maximum automatically centered 3 inch printer 24 numeric maximum automatically centered 4 inch printer 35 numeric maximum automatically centered Example The following escape sequence prints a interleaved 2 of 5 barcode encoding 12345678 with 10 mm high human readable Escape Sequence Esc Z 3 8 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 33 08 32 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 OD OA Decimal 27 90 51 8 50 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 13 10 UPC EAN JAN Specifications Each symbol starts with Leading Quiet Zone followed with Left Guard Bars Left Data Symbols Center Bar Pattern Right Data Symbols Check Character ending with Right Guard Bars and Trailing Quiet Zone The UPC EAN JAN 8 EAN JAN 13 specifications comprise an internationally recognized format for application identifiers Unlike the Description UCC EAN 128 specification these identifiers are intended for point of sale applications Only recognized bodies of the UCC and EAN may assign application identifiers More informati
8. CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 34 08 FO 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 OD OA Decimal 27 90 52 8 240 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 13 10 Example 4 The following escape sequence will print an EAN JAN 13 bar code with the following human readable 30 mm high containing 1234567890128 where 8 is the check digit Due to limited spacing CR LF are not shown at the end of this command Escape Sequence ESC Z 4 13 240 1 2 dis 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 Hexadecimal 1B 5A 34 OD FO 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 30 31 32 Decimal 27 90 52 13 240 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 48 49 50 Note that all heights are total height including a 1 23mm drop bar pattern printed after the bar code pattern Codabar Specifications Each symbol starts with Leading Quiet Zone followed with Start Symbol Deseription Data Symbols ending with Stop Symbol and Trailing Quiet Zone Character set 0 9 and start stop pairs A T B M C D E Elements per 7 4 bars 3 spaces symbol Character density 8 1 CPI Bar width 0 25mm Characters per line 2 Inch Printer 15 maximum plus start stop automatically centered 3 inch printer 20 maximum plus start stop automatically centered 4 inch printer 35 maximum plus start stop automatically centered Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 18 Example 1 The following escape command prints Codabar barcode with the following Encoding 123456 human readable 20 mm high start character A and stop character T Escape Sequence
9. Display installed Font tables info refer to Table 5 Esc F S mtk f Esc F S mtk f Esc F S mt kf Esc F S m t k f Esc F S mtk f Esc F S mtk f Send the File On burn process Complete DIX T Response with diagnostics message default Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Printer Response m 0 1 if command correct 0 otherwise 1 if command correct 0 otherwise 1 if command correct 0 otherwise 1 if command correct 0 otherwise 1 if command correct 0 otherwise 1 if command correct 0 otherwise 1 if command correct 0 otherwise On burn process Complete DIX Rev H LED Status Communication LED Flashing Green MCR Printer Error LED Steady Red Communication LED Flashing Green MCR Printer Error LED Steady Red Communication LED Flashing Green MCR Printer Error LED Steady Red Communication LED Flashing Green MCR Printer Error LED Steady Red Communication LED Flashing Green MCR Printer Error LED Steady Red Communication LED Flashing green Communication LED Flashing green Communication LED Flashing green While File is transferring Communication LED Flashing Green When transfer is complete Communication LED Flashing Green Total number of characters transferred is displayed Whi
10. Escape Sequence ESC Q r CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 72 OD Decimal 27 81 114 13 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 34 Black Mark Sensing Command Mode Forward Seek Black Mark ESC QF n CR This command sets the printer to black mark seek mode using a forward feed operation The value of forward feed is determined by the user in dot lines n where 0 lt n lt 255 dots Each dot line corresponds to 0 250mm If the black mark is found the printer responds with the command Black Mark Found otherwise the printer responds with the command Black Mark not Found Both escape sequence responses are described below Example The following escape sequence advances the paper 80 dot lines looking for a Black Mark Escape Sequence ESC Q F P CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 46 50 OD Decimal 27 81 70 80 13 Reverse Seek Black Mark ESCQBnCR This command causes the printer to seek black mark using backward feed until n dot line feeds have been processed each dot line feed is 0 25mm Not the using this command can cause a paper jam since the paper is advanced in reverse mode The results may vary depending on the media used in the printer Black Mark Found Response from printer ESC Q nl n2 This message is sent to the host and indicates that a black mark has been found The numbers n1 and n2 are the high and the low nibble respectively describing how many 0 25mm dot lines were required to find black mark Black Mark Not Found Res
11. Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 37 Page Print Commands Configuration Extech printers can operate in two separate modes Line Print Mode and Page Print Mode On Power Up the printer defaults to Line Print Mode In this mode all data is printed from top to bottom as it is received In Page Print mode the canvas is constructed in advance and the form is printed afterwards This allows for positioning of text barcodes lines and rectangles at specific X and Y coordinates and also at specific angles 0 90 180 and 270 degrees The rendering process of the page is done in printer s memory Page Print Mode can be used to design a certain template and replace only variable data during communication Line Printing vs Page Printing Line Printing Page Printing bush ere This is the way we wash our clothes we go round the mulberry This section describes the commands which are supported in Page Print Mode Enter the Page Printing Mode ESC PP This command is required to enter Page Print Mode Esc P P also works in conjunction with the following commands Command Name Command String Command Description Enter Buffer Mode Esc P Printer Enters Buffer Mode All data is retained in the Buffer until D 0x04 is received Exit Buffer Mode Esc P Exits Buffer Mode and puts the printer into the Line print Mode Print Buffer Content D Prints Buffer Content Printer is ready to receive more data Mark Beginning of a Pa
12. Font Downloading Notes ccccccccssssssccssssscccssssssscscsssssssccessesessssssssssssseeeo T Bluetooth amp WiFi Setup Command eee ee eee eerte e eerte ee ee ense een see ea seen sees e D A Kl E e TO BE O Neil Line Print mode Communications SEU TE Dip Switch Settings USB Communication USB geg cscs co veo reet ees tut va eve cocesedeascossedeotesedescceuevessssssssooscececssecevsensO L Bluetooth E EN e Infrared Communications Option scsssccssssscssssccssssccsssssssesscesesessssssccssssscssssssssssssess OF Wi Fi Communication Option ccccssccssssccssssccsssscssssccesseccssssccssssccsssscssssscsssssssssssceses OF Printer Status Indicator LED Patnel csssscccssssssscsssssssscssssccssssssccssssssccscssssssssssssssee OD Appendix A Flash Font Tables cc ciscccccesscccssecesiensosesseotscscssceassstasesdsosansadvisossscosdadeesoocasecscsassOl Introduction This manual is intended to be used by software developers and system integrators with the purpose of developing applications that can print output results using Extech Instruments wide range of mobile thermal printers This section of the manual describes the various printer models their main technical specifications and the communication interfaces available for each model For specific information about the operation of each printer refer to the User s Guide or visit Extech Instr
13. Hexadecimal 1B 43 Decimal 27 67 Note that after executing this command the printer will send the message 09 Cancel Request to the host Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 33 Black Mark Sensing Control commands Set Paper Out Sensitivity ESC Q Qn CR This command sets the paper out sensor sensitivity level 0 lt n x 255 This command sets the number of 0 125mm dot rows that the printer can advance paper before the sensor detects an out of paper error The length of the paper sensitivity must be larger than the length of the black mark on the media to avoid paper out error The value selected for the sensitivity is dependent upon the height of the pre printed black mark located on the label or form stock The default power on value n is 255 OxFF Example The following escape sequence sets the paper sensitivity to 6 25mm 50 0 125 Escape Sequence ESC Q Q 50 Hexadecimal 1B 51 51 32 Decimal 27 81 81 50 Enable Black Mark Reporting ESCQR CR This command enables the printer to send reporting messages to the host Refer to Black Mark Found and Black Mark not found commands for details of the messages that are activated Escape Sequence ESC Q R CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 52 OD Decimal 27 81 82 13 Disable Black Mark Reporting ESC Qr CR Prevents the printer from sending report messages to the host Refer to Black Mark Found and Black Mark not found commands for details of the messages that are deactivated
14. Numeric Compaction Mode NC Digits Only 0 9 A Future Use AUTO combinations of all modes Mix of three compaction modes Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 19 SL Security Level byte This can be any digit from 0 to 8 Set the value of the Security Level based on the number of user s data to be encoded Security Level E Code Words 0 2 T 4 2 8 Recommended 3 16 Y 32 D 64 6 128 T 256 8 512 SW Symbol Width byte This is the total width length of the printed PDF417 symbol The user may specify any value here and the printer will calculate the actual width of the symbol amp it will update this value again Future Use Recommended Value 0 or 0x30 SH Symbol Height byte This is the total height length of the printed PDF417 symbol The user may specify any value here and the printer will calculate the actual width of the symbol amp it will update this value again Future Use Recommended Value 0 or 0x30 EW Element Width byte This is the width length of a single element in the PDF417 symbol that is bar space width Can be set to 1 or 2 Element Width Value Length in mil q 4 9 mil 2 recommended 9 8 mil EH Element Height byte This is the height length of a single element in the PDf417 symbol that is bar space height A value between 0x03 to Ox0A can be used Recommended Value 0x06 MSB Most Significant Byte This byte represents the most
15. Set A 16 bit font Asian tables Example1 The following escape sequence will select the International character set Escape Sequence ESC F 1 Hexadecimal 1B 46 31 Decimal 27 70 49 Refer to Appendices Section for complete list of characters contained in each character set Note that printers are set to International Character Set by default When using the PC Line Drawing Character Set the text line spacing should be set to zero in order to create continuous vertical lines This command is used in conjunction with the command ESC k n or Esc K n refer to Character Size and Line Spacing Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H Character Size and Line Spacing Select Character Pitch Mode 1 ESC Kn CR This command sets the font size based on the number of character per inch The parameter n can have the following values Ka Character Pitch Font Columns Per Line Km ec ee D ps zesinn um Go seine eis oa 0 om EN 21 cpi Normal Courier mode 4 09 x 23 24 cpi Normal Courier mode 5 08 x 23 10 cpi Normal Monospace 20 x 23 821BT 7 20 cpi Normal Monospace 10 x 23 821BT ES 20 cpi Bold Monospace 821BT 10 x 23 EX 20 cpi Short Monospace 821BT 10 x 18 EEJ 57 ol N CO 95 N N o A O A co This command ESC K n CR must be sent prior to any printable characters on the line in order to take effect aloalo a O N EE Nin olol A o WE in wo O al N Exam
16. configured for Hardware Handshaking If the file is in ASM format rather than a BDF format use Extech s asm2bdf utility to convert the file to BDF format Instructions on how to use the utility are available in the USING THE ASM2BDF UTILITY document available in the FONT section of the supplied Developer s CD 2 Cycle Printer Power or Send ESC X X command 3 Send Esc D F and wait for a question mark to return from the printer The Ready and Status LED should each illuminate in green 4 Send Esc F I to view the current font table information 5 Send Esc F K 1 CR or lt LF gt This will select the second column of the table the Power LED will begin flashing Green and the Status LED will illuminate a steady RED Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 51 6 Send Esc F F 1 lt CR gt or lt LF gt This will select the second row of the table the Power LED will start flashing Green and the Status LED will turn steady RED 7 Send Esc F L 0 CR or lt LF gt which will signal that the file you are sending is DBF format this command is implemented primarily for future releases when users will be able to download more than one font format the Power LED will start flashing Green and the Status LED will illuminate a steady RED 8 Send the BDF file While the File is transferring the Power LED is steady Green and the Status LED is steady RED when the transfer is complete the Status LED switches OFF and the Power L
17. line 2 Inch printer 9 alphanumeric with auto center maximum 3 Inch printer 12 alphanumeric with auto center maximum 4 Inch printer 22 alphanumeric with auto center maximum Example The following command will print human readable barcode CODE 39 of 1mm high 0 125 8 1mm Escape Sequence Esc Z 1 7 8 C O D E 3 9 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 31 07 08 43 4F 44 45 2D 33 39 OD OA Decimal 27 90 49 7 8 67 79 68 69 45 51 57 13 10 Code 128 Specifications Each symbol starts with Leading Quiet Zone followed with Start Symbol Description Data Symbols ending with Stop Symbol and Trailing Quiet Zone Character set Support for full 256 ASCII set among three subsets Elements per 6 3 bars 3 spaces symbol Character density 9 1 CPI Bar width 0 25mm Characters per line 2 Inch printer 13 alphanumeric characters or 26 numeric only maximum automatically centered 3 Inch printer 18 alphanumeric characters or 36 numeric only maximum automatically centered 4 Inch printer 32 alphanumeric characters or 36 numeric only maximum automatically centered Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 14 Code 128 Start Character start character 0x87 0x88 0x89 determines the character set to be printed Characters Read by Bar Code Start Character Characters Sent to Printer Reader IF start character is 0x87 CODE A 0x020 through OxO3F ASCII 0x020 through OxO3F ASCII 32 63 32 63 0x040 through 0x07
18. mode of operation of the printer Escape Sequence ESC P Hexadecimal 1B 50 23 Decimal 27 80 35 Print Buffer Contents Buffer Mode EOT This command allows the printer to process all of the commands stored in the printer buffer This command is valid only when the printer is in the buffer mode Control Code EOT Hexadecimal 04 Decimal 04 Enable EOT Control Character Transmission Currently Not Available ESC P When enabled the printer transmits the EOT command character when the print buffer is empty The End Of Text EOT control character is transmitted once when the printer buffer is empty Escape Sequence ESC P Hexadecimal 1B 50 2B Decimal 27 80 43 Disable EOT Control Character Transmission Currently Not Available ESC P This command disables the EOT control character transmission Therefore the control character EOT is not transmitted when the printer buffer is empty Escape Sequence ESC P Hexadecimal 1B 50 2D Decimal 27 80 45 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 24 Printer Controls Printed Output Adjust Print Contrast ESC Pn This command sets the printer level of contrast or darkness of the printer The parameter n is the level of contrast 1 n lt 9 The printed text or graphics contrast depends on the type of thermal paper used the printer battery voltage and the printer contrast setting selected by the host application The table below specifies recommended n values acc
19. nin2 6 CR Read Tracks 1 2 and 3 simultaneously Example The following escape sequence sets the timer to 99 seconds and activates the MRC to read the track 1 Escape Sequence ESC M 9 9 1 CR Hexadecimal 1B 4D 39 39 31 OC Decimal 27 77 57 57 49 13 Or Escape Sequence ESC m 9 9 1 CR Hexadecimal 1B 6D 39 39 31 OC Decimal 27 109 57 57 49 13 Magnetic Card Data Output Format The track data retrieved from a magnetic card is transmitted to the host in ISO7811 ASCII format as summarized in the table below The first four characters 96 1 flag the track number the track data follows the flag string terminated with CR LF are the track start characters While is the end of track character If no data is available for a track then that data field will be empty If an Error is encountered on any track a single E will be the output for that track s data field The ISO 7811 ASCII Format is detailed below Track1 Track 2 Track 3 1 Data CRLF HEI Data CRLF 3 Data CRLF Magnetic Card Read Error Messages The characters lt gt and lt E gt preface all error messages Following these two characters is a comma two ASCII digits representing the error number 01 through 99 another comma English description of the error encountered and finally a CR LF which terminates the lt Error Message gt string The syntax is as follows lt gt lt E gt nn Error text in ASCII CR lt LF gt Where nn is the e
20. or hardware information message Go to Easy Print Mode From EZ Print mode go to Line Print Mode Rev H 57 Communications Settings Dip Switch Settings The Extech printers support Serial RS232 IrDA compatible infrared communication interfaces and USB Bluetooth and Wi Fi communication are also available as an optional feature Serial USB IrDA Wi Fi and Bluetooth communication settings can be changed via a DIP switch located on the control card In the following sections each setting is discussed in more detail Function APEX2 3 4 Switch Notes EAREN sws swe T Dip switches 3 4 RS232 OFF OFF and 5 Baud Rate can be negotiated up to IrDA the value specified through Dip OFF switches 3 4 and 5 Bluetoothorso211g_ ore on Low Tall Ces OFF on Baud rate set by 3USB Bootloader RS232 and IrDA Baud Rate only ON OFF ON SW3 SW4 SW5 115200 OFF OFF OFF O err Por on 9 Ton ore ow Lm LE erc os os Use for fixed IrDA 1200 ON Parity Bit swelsw7 Parity Enabled ODD aie Does net apply for Parity Enabled EVEN au SEE Does EES for Auto Power Save Powersavecnabled PowersaveDisabled 1 If IrDA is not installed printer will default to RS232 mode with baud rate 115200 X stands for Don t Care Dip Switch 7 will override 1 and 2 Firmware Applies to Apex 4 Version 1 10 or later Check availa
21. 0 94 Query Printer Firmware Version ESC P This command will cause the printer to send the Firmware Version to the host Escape Sequence ESC P Hexadecimal 1B 50 28 Decimal 27 80 40 After sending the previous command the printer will respond with the following ASCII sequence ASCII Sequence lt string gt CR LF The lt string gt field represents the firmware version Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 29 Query Printer Model and Hardware Revision Level This command will cause the printer to send the hardware model to the host Escape Sequence ESC P Hexadecimal 1B 50 29 Decimal 27 80 41 After sending the previous command the printer will respond with the ASCII sequence ASCII Sequence sstring CR LF The lt string gt field represents the hardware model Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H ESCP 30 Magnetic Card Reader A three track Magnetic Card Reader is an option available on the Extech printers The MCR reader is designed to read magnetically encoded data from cards conforming to ANSI ISO 7810 7811 standards The MC reader converts the F2F encoded signals on the magnetic card to SO7811 compatible ASCII format and transmits the information to the host computer or terminal Also the MCR can read one two or three tracks simultaneously and bi directionally The table below summarizes the format of the data stored on each magnetic track Tiack Position Track 1 Track2 Track3
22. 27 81 102 120 13 or This command disables the printer s front and back black mark sensors Escape Sequence ESC Q b x CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 66 78 OD Decimal 27 81 102 120 13 Printed Receipt Label Presenter Positive Adjust ESC QD n This command will cause the printer to advance the paper to the distance specified by n dots after a form or label has been printed Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 36 Example The following escape sequence will feed the paper 112 dots Escape Sequence ESC Q D 112 Hexadecimal 1B 51 44 2B 70 Decimal 27 81 68 43 112 Printed Receipt Label Presenter Positive Adjust ESCQPn This command is identical to Esc Q D n command and will cause the printer to advance the paper to the distance specified by n dots after a form or label has been printed Example The following escape sequence will feed the paper 112 dots Escape Sequence ESC Q P 112 Hexadecimal 1B 51 50 70 Decimal 27 81 80 112 Printed Receipt Label Presenter Negative Adjust ESC QD n This command will cause the printer to move the paper backwards to a distance specified by n dots after a form or label has been printed Example The following escape sequence will move the paper backwards 112 dots Escape Sequence ESC Q D 112 Hexadecimal 1B 51 44 2D 70 Decimal 27 81 608 45 112 Note In Auto Q Mark Mode Form Feed length is limited to the following range 609 3654 print dots Default value is set to 1218 dots
23. C n DE n FGHI n 180 degrees Ed 90 degrees Cursor Location ur 10097 Cursor Location MI SH after DrawText t command 270 degrees E 0 degrees Draw Rectangle DrawRectangle x1 y1 x2 y2 color width Draws a rectangle object at any coordinate on the canvas DrawRectangle command draws either a hollow or a filled rectangle x1 y1 and x2 y2 specify the two diagonally opposing corners All measurements are in dots Parameters x1 y1 Top left corner coordinates x1 y7 X2 y2 Bottom right corner coordinates x2 y2 color Specifies the line or fill color O white 1 black The user may draw a white rectangle on a black background only by specifying color parameter 0 width Specifies the line width of a hollow rectangle A zero width results in a filled rectangle Draw Bar Code DrawBarcode x y angle annotate type height data Draws a barcode object at any coordinate on the canvas Parameters A Indicates location on x axis of the left top corner Y indicates location on y axis of the left top corner angle Values 0 1 2 or 3 allow the barcode to be rotated 0 90 180 or 270 degrees respectively annotate Setting annotate to 1 allows human readable text to appear 0 disables this function type Indicates the barcode type to be printed The barcodes supported are listed below Type Value Barcode type 1 Code 39 2 Code 128 3 Code 2 of 5 4 UPC 5 Codabar Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL
24. ED flashes Green The BDF font metrics must be equal or smaller than the metrics of the existing font 9 Send Esc F B lt CR gt or lt LF gt The Power green and Status red LEDs are steady while the font is burned in FLASH When burning has been completed both the Power LED green and the Status LED red begin flashing 10 The BDF font in the example above has been stored in the International Section of the Courier Mode 1 font F 1 k 1 Unplug the Serial Cable press the Feed button and shut the printer OFF by pressing the ON OFF button Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 52 Bluetooth amp WiFi Setup Command Extech printers can be placed in pass thru mode In pass thru mode data communication will only occur between the two selected UARTS This mode of operation is used to setup the Bluetooth or 802 11b g interface parameters While in this mode printing is disabled Select Pass Thru Command Mode ESC P U n1 Un2 T 10t1 t2 CR This command sets the printer in pass thru mode In most serial applications the command can be sent manually or as a file For UART selection only use ECU application Parameter Description nt Source UART values 0 4 UARTO Serial Interface UART1 Wireless Interface BT WiFi UART2 Wireless Interface BT WiFi UARTS IrDA Interface UART4 USB Interface n2 Destination UART values 0 4 UARTO Serial Interface UART1 Wireless Interface BT WiFi UART2
25. ER ERI ON o tn cc a a EE cs e IOa Rev Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL
26. ESC Command lt Param1 Param2 Param n gt Where Character Hexadecimal 1B or Decimal 27 ESC Command One or more ASCII characters that define a unique Extech Printer Command Language Param1 Input parameters for the command The commands that accept just one parameter will be defined as n while commands with more than one parameter will be defined as n1 n2 etc Note that spaces are not part of the commands and the parameters are indicated as items typed in italics For instance the command ESC k n is used to select the character size of the resident fonts in the printers The parameter n indicates the font type to choose with possible values between o and 9 Parenthesis is not part of the command unless specified otherwise For example Esc K n CR Escape Sequence ESC K 1 CR Hexadecimal 1B 4B 31 OD Decimal 27 75 49 13 Note that CR means Carriage Return control character The following pages describe Extech Command Language ExPCL components in more details The commands have been grouped based on major functions Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 2 Communications This section describes various methods of controlling the flow of data to and from the printer The set of control characters described below are used by the printer and the host while a communicating process is in place Note that some handshaking methods are only supported by the RS 232C Serial interface and are not supported for the USB
27. ESC EN LP O Neil Line Print Mode ESC EN ESC E Z Note O Neil EZ Print Mode and CPCL emulation are not supported in version 1 0 1 O Neil Line Print mode O Neil Printers can operate in one of two modes Easy Print mode and Line Print Mode Only two commands are implemented in the Easy Print mode LP which is the command which brings the printer from Easy Print Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 55 Mode to Line Print Mode and the other command is ESC E N N for Normal Extech Mode which brings the Extech printer out of the Emulation into its regular Extech command mode The table below details the list of supported commands of the O Neil Line Print Mode emulation Esc Cn EscAn CAN X Esc V n1 n2 104 number of lines bytes of data Esc B Esc E SO N SI O FF L LF J CR M Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL This command is ignored by the Extech printer It is recognized but no action is taken This command sets the number of blank dot lines that are fed between character lines n is the number of interline spacing Originally n 7 0x01 0x9B in our version however n 0x01 0x0A Cancels the unprinted characters on the forming line Prints the next n1 256 n2 dot lines as bit mapped graphics The numbers n1n2 form a 16 bit set with the MSB first The printer will remain in Graphic mode until the full number of bytes have been received Accepts compressed graphic
28. EXTECH 3 INSTT URS Innovation is the A FLIR COMPANY Advantage Extech Printer Command Language EXPCL Developer s Manual Revision H 05 06 2009 For APEX and ANDES Printer Series Copyrights Extech is a registered trademark of Extech Instruments Corporation Bluetooth is registered trademark of Bluetooth SIG Inc Wi Fi is a registered trademark of the Wi Fi Alliance Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation Zebra and Comtec are registered trademarks of Zebra Technologies O Neil is a trademark of O Neil Product Development Inc All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners 2009 By Extech Instruments Corporation 285 Bear Hill Road Waltham MA 02451 USA www extech com All rights reserved Specifications subject to change without notice Document Revision History Document Title Extech Printer Command Language Revision Date 7 25 2008 9 10 2008 10 10 2008 01 28 2009 02 03 2009 02 11 2009 02 23 2009 02 25 2009 05 06 2009 Revision History Revision Draft Revision Revision Revision Revision Revision Revision Revision Revision A A B Revisions Since Last Issue First Issue Draft First Issue Updated to firmware version 1 0 1 Added Download Self test Message Hardware Information section Added Apex 4 printer information Updated Dipswitch Table Added Print Battery Voltage Added Logo Down
29. Emulation The printer s default mode of operation of Extech Printers is the Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL The emulations offered by Extech Printers allow compatibility with printing systems and software created for printers offered by other mobile printer s manufacturers The Extech printers offer the following emulations O Neil Line Print Mode and Easy Print Mode Zebra CPCL Line Print Mode To select a temporary emulation mode the user must use the following command Select Emulation ESCEn This command selects emulation mode n by which future commands will be interpreted as described in the following table The selected mode will be in effect until another Select Emulation command is received or the printer is manually reset by cycling power on the printer Once the emulation has been selected please refer to the section of this manual that describes the commands available for that emulation Example The following escape sequence will set the printer to O Neil Emulation Escape Sequence ESC E O Hexadecimal 1B 45 AF Decimal 27 69 79 n Emulation Language N Extech Printer Command Language O O Neil Emulation Line Print Mode Z O Neil Emulation EZ Print Mode C CPCL Emulation The following table details the behavior of the printer to enter and exit the emulation mode Getting From Mode Name Regular Mode Extech Line Print Mode Easy Print Mode Regular Mode Extech Esc E O ESC EZ O Neil Easy Print Mode
30. F ASCII 0x00 through Ox07F ASCII 64 127 0 31 IF start character is 0x88 CODE B 0x020 through 0x07F ASCII 0x020 through Ox07F ASCII 32 127 32 127 IF start character is 0x89 CODE C PAIRS 0x030 through 0x039 PAIRS 0x030 through 0x039 Each number must be paired with AS Ao another 48 57 48 57 Code 128 Data Bytes lt DATA gt The data bytes are defined by which character set is defined The printer accepts all characters 0x20h Ox7Fh with the translations defined above Also characters 0x080 0x86 may be used as Code 128 control characters HEX DEC CODE A CODE B CODE C 0x080 128 FNC 3 FNC 3 0x081 129 FNC 2 FNC 2 0x082 130 SHIFT SHIFT 0x083 131 change to C change to C 0x084 132 change to B FNC 4 change to B 0x085 133 FNC 4 change toA change toA 0x086 134 FNC 1 FNC 1 FNC 1 FNC 1 Reserved CODE 128 character used for UCC EAN128 FNC 2 Message append not supported by all bar code readers FNC 3 Initialize bar code reader FNC 4 Extend characters bar code reader reads character 128 For example a is changed from 97 to 97 128 225 Note that it is possible to switch code sets in the middle of the bar code This is useful with heavily numeric alphanumeric bar codes see example below Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 15 Example 1 The following escape sequence prints alphanumeric bar code A2a 12 5mm high with human readable text n 3 printed char
31. IrDA Bluetooth or Wi Fi interfaces End of Transmission EOT The printer sends an EOT character each time the printer s input buffer becomes empty indicating that the printer is idle Control Code EOT Hexadecimal 04 Decimal 4 Note that this control character can be enabled and disabled using the command ESC P n See detailed description of the command in Section Printer Control Data Processing Transmitter On XON When selected XON XOFF as flow control method of serial communication this character is transmitted by the printer to indicate that the printer is on line and ready to receive data After receiving this character the host computer will start sending data to the printer Control Code XON Hexadecimal 11 Decimal 17 Transmitter Off XOFF When selected XON XOFF as flow control method of serial communication this character is transmitted by the printer to indicate that the printer s buffer is nearly full and that the host computer should stop sending data The communication process is reestablished after the printer transmits XON character to the host Control Code XOFF Hexadecimal 13 Decimal 19 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 3 Character Sets Select Character Set Esc F n This command will select the character set that will be used when printing extended characters Hexadecimal 80 to FF Decimal 128 to 255 n Character Set 1 International Character Set 2 PC Line Drawing Character
32. Number of Logos Bytes per logo Bor pe per SEH Ber Available 2 inch 8 FLASH 0 lt n lt 7 64 000 1365 384 0 7 3 inch 8 FLASH 0s n lt 7 64 000 910 576 0 7 4 inch 8 FLASH 0s ns7 64 000 630 832 0 3 Select Logo Download mode ESC DL CR LF This command places the printer in Flash Logo mode Escape Sequence ESC D L CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 44 4C OD OA Decimal 27 68 76 13 10 Before executing this command the printer power must be cycled alternatively the command ESC X X can be sent The printer responds by sending a character to the host application indicating that the Flash Logo Mode is enabled Select logo Download Memory Location ESC L Gn CR LF This command selects the memory location in which to store the logo The parameter n can take values between 0 7 n varies with printer model Please refer to the above table Escape Sequence ESC L G 1 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 4C 47 31 OD OA Decimal 27 76 71 49 13 10 Stop Logo Download Process ESC L G 0xFF CR LF This command terminates the logo uploading process The printer saves the received Logo data in Flash and sends D X characters to the host indicating that the logo data was saved successfully Escape Sequence ESC L G OxFF CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 4C 47 OxFF OD 0A Decimal 27 76 71 255 13 10 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 45 Print Logo ESCLgn This command prints a logo previously store in memory The parameter n instructs the printer to print the grap
33. TOR SHOWING PIN LOCATIONS FRONT VIEW Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 60 USB Communication USB Overview Apex printer comes equipped with a USB 2 0 slave port Everything that can be done through the RS 232 port can now be done through the USB port using A to B type USB cable You may print to or send commands to the printer from a PC or any equipment that can act as a USB master Dip switch setting To enable USB you must set the dipswitches on the printer as below SW 1 SW 2 SW 3 SW 4 SW 5 SW 6 SW SW 8 Any Any Any Any Any Off On Any position position position position position position Compatible Software The host and printer communicate through a method called the Virtual Com Port in which a software intermediary called the driver makes the USB connection look like a com port to the end application Consequently all software that communicate through the com port are compatible You may continue to use legacy software such as the TeraTerm terminal emulation software Software Driver Installation You must install the USB driver before you can use USB communication on the printer Turn on the printer and connect it to the PC with a USB cable If the driver has never been installed before a dialog box will appear Reply by selecting Install from a list or specific location and indicating the location of the file usbprintercdc inf supplied with the CD The usbprintercdc inf file points to the actu
34. ULL Exiting Page Print Mode Welcome to Line Print Mode This text line is printed in Line Print Mode You are nou out of Page Print lode Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 41 Form Fiesta Form Fiesta is a Form and Label Generating Software which can be used to automate the process of label design It is provided to Extech partners and customers at no charge All supported commands described above are implemented in Form Fiesta and are automatically generated when an element is drawn onto the canvas on the screen Developers can use Form Fiesta to generate a label and then copy the commands generated in the yellow section of the screen these are the commands which render the image on the screen The variable data can be acquired by the user s application and replaced in the command string Example The code below demonstrates how to implement this using a simple VB program CustomerName and csCarModel are two variables which are substituted in the string Private Sub Command1 Click csTicket Chr 27 P Chr 27 PP vbCrLf BeginPage vbCrLf csTicket csTicket SetPageSize 400 200 vbCrLf csTicket csTicket DrawRectangle 30 0 330 40 1 0 vbCrLf csTicket csTicket DrawText 80 10 0 0 lt f 6 gt lt b gt Dollar Rental vbCrLf csTicket csTicket DrawText 30 60 1 0 Customer vbCrLf csTicket csTicket DrawRectangle 140 50 330 90 1 3
35. Wireless Interface BT WiFi UARTS IrDA Interface UART4 USB Interface to Pass thru timeout value 0 9 t Pass thru timeout value O 9 12 Pass thru timeout value O 9 Note Pass thru timeout value 000 is not a valid entry Example 1 The Pass thru sequence below is used to put Apex2 printer is Pass thru mode from serial to Wireless with timeout value set to 999 seconds Escape Sequence ESC P U 0 U 2 T 9 9 9 CR Hexadecimal 1B 50 55 00 55 32 54 09 09 09 OD Decimal 27 80 85 0 85 50 84 9 9 9 43 Example 2 The Pass thru sequence below is used to put Apex3 printer is Pass thru mode from serial to Wireless with timeout value set to 999 seconds Escape Sequence ESC P U 0 U 1 T 9 9 9 CR Hexadecimal 1B 50 5 00 55 31 54 09 09 09 OD Decimal 27 80 85 0 85 49 84 9 9 9 13 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 53 Example 3 The Pass thru sequence below is used to put Apex4 printer is Pass thru mode from USB to Wireless with timeout value set to 999 seconds Escape Sequence ESC U 4 U 2 T 9 9 9 CR Hexadecimal 1B 50 55 55 32 54 09 09 09 OD Decimal 27 80 85 85 50 84 9 9 9 13 Note Pass thru command is not available when Source n1 Destination n2 The Pass thru mode terminates under three conditions After pressing the FEED button After TIMEOUT duration specified in the pass thru command has EXPIRED After receiving three consecutive ff characters Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 54
36. acing A Carriage Return CR is also performed to place the current print position at the beginning of the next line Control Code LF Hexadecimal 0A Decimal 10 Variable Size Line Feed ESC Jn This command moves the paper forward as per the distance specified by the parameter n x 0 125mm Ox ns 255 A Carriage Return CR is also performed to place the current print position at the beginning of the next line Example The following escape sequence advances the paper ten millimeters Each dot is 0 125mm so to advance the paper 10mm the n parameter is 80 10 0 125 Escape Sequence ESC J P Hexadecimal 1B 4A 50 Decimal 27 74 80 Variable Size Reverse Line Feed ESC Q Jn This command moves the paper in reverse direction as per the distance specified by the parameter n x 0 125mm Os ns 255 A Carriage Return CR is also performed to place the current print position at the beginning of the next line Example The following escape sequence moves the paper in the reverse direction ten millimeters Each dot is 0 125mm so to reverse the paper 10mm the n parameter is 80 10 0 125 Escape Sequence ESC Q J P Hexadecimal 1B 51 4A 50 Decimal 27 81 74 80 Vertical Tab VT This command advances the cursor the number of dot lines specified in the Vertical Margin command below A Carriage Return CR is also performed to place the current print position at the beginning of the next line Control Code VT Hexadecimal OB Set V
37. acters 1 start character 4 L 12 5mm 0 125mm 100 start character START B full ASCII alpha numeric 136 Escape Sequence Esc Z 2 4 d 88 A 2 a CR LF Hexadecimal 1B SA 32 04 64 88 41 32 60 OD OA Decimal 27 90 50 4 100 136 65 50 97 13 10 Example 2 The following escape sequence print all numeric bar code 1234 5mm high non human readable text n1 4 printed characters 1 start character 5 L 5mm 0 125mm 40 start character START C numeric pairs 137 Escape Sequence Esc z 2 5 89 1 2 3 4 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 7A 32 05 28 89 31 32 33 34 OD OA Decimal 27 122 50 5 40 137 49 50 51 52 13 10 UCC EAN 128 Specifications The UCC EAN 128 specification is an internationally recognized format for application identifiers in code 128 bar codes The bar code symbology is identical to Code 128 These identifiers are not intended for point of sale Description applications Only recognized bodies of the UCC or EAN may assign application identifiers More information may be found at http www ean be for the EAN and http www uc council org for the UCC Example The following escape sequence print all numeric bar code 1234 5mm high with human readable text in EAN 128 format n1 1 start character EAN specified 4 printed characters 6 L 5mm 0 125mm 40 start character START C numeric pairs 137 Escape Sequence Esc Z 2 6 89 FNC1 1 2 3 4 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 32 06 28 89 86 31 32
38. age ExPCL Rev H 67 Factory Fonts Formed by the Monospace Bold and Verin Font Sets These fonts tables cannot be modified by the users Factory Fonts k 6 k 7 k 8 k 9 k 10 k 11 k 12 k 13 k 14 k 15 Monospace Monospace 10x23 Monospace Monospace Bold Verin Verin Verin Verin Verin 10x23 Bold 20x23 10x18 80x48 08X23 09X23 10X23 12X23 16X23 ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII ASCII 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F 0x20 0x7F PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line PC Line Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw Draw Ox80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF 0x80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF 0x80 0xFF 0x80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF Ox80 0xFF 0x80 0xFF Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 68 Courier PC Line Graphic Table Courier International Font Table Ma Reeg d d t ee CO e CN Go et Ob Gei OOOu H Rev H Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rotated Font Table Monospace Font Table uf Y PP JO lo UIA f gt EE JA R S o ee E A C D B El UM ils S ek SR E is ES EM cial a lt O e Cer x Th be eye l Ig w e fu e 6 F V E v a ju e 2 5 9 2 8 ki n Sane ECE n Pe E e Ste of vi I et 4 EEES E MS LE e Leni x lt maA e BK e me a ES ES taa 27 BE
39. al driver called msports dll which is a part of the Windows operating system Next open the Windows Device Manager Control Panel System Hardware Tab Device Manager Under the Ports COM amp LPT you should see an entry named Extech USB CDC Communications Port If you ever needed to uninstall the driver you may do so by right clicking on the Extech USB CDC Communications Port from the Device Manager TeraTerm Example TeraTerm is a free terminal emulator program Make sure TeraTerm is not running when you connect the USB cable Then run TeraTerm select Setup Serial Port to configure it and save the configuration There are only three items that you need to configure Port Data and Flow control All other parameters can be set to any value COM lt n gt where n is the port number where USB driver PORT was installed Data 8 bit Baud rate Any value Parity Any value Stop Any value Flow control None Note Select ENTER key on the keyboard to advance paper in the printer and to verify communication USB Technical Specifications Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 61 A to B type USB cable Name Cable Color VCC Red D White D Green GND Black Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL d 3 2 1 Type A Rev H Description 5V Data Data Ground d 4 3 Type B 62 Bluetooth Communications The printer control card communicates with the Bluetooth base ba
40. alue f 0 through 9 Set Font Download Parameter ESCFPmtkf CR This command sets the font download parameters such as for the row and column of the font memory table The command structure is detailed below Parameters m 0 standard response 1 response with diagnostics message default t Font File Type t 0 BDF formatted file default t 1 through 9 reserved k Font Table column value 0 through 9 f Font Table row value f 0 through 9 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 48 Select Load Operating Mode ESC F Mm CR This command selects the load operating mode Possible values for parameter m are 0 Standard response or Command String Esc D F Esc F Esc F S lt CR gt or lt LF gt Esc F P m t k f lt CR gt or lt LF gt Esc F M m CR or lt LF gt Esc F K k CR or lt LF gt Esc F F f CR or lt LF gt Esc F L t CR or lt LF gt Send the bdf file Esc F B CR or lt LF gt Command Description Enable font downloading Display tables Information Display font download current Settings Set Font Download Parameter To select Mode To select font column K value To select font row F value Select file type and start of font download To program or burn font on flash Printer Response m 1
41. bility for other printer models Baud Rate and Parity are applicable to RS232 and IrDA communication mode ONLY Auto Power Down Manual On Off d E 7 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 58 Serial Communication RS232C The RS232C Interface signals for the Extech printers are terminated on a 6 PIN RJ type data connector located on the side of the printer Six connections are provided from the Serial Interface to the host computer A minimum of two connections are required for operation RXD pin 3 and Common pin 1 The proper baud rate and protocol settings are required to communicate with the host device The printer defaults to 115 2 K BAUD 8 DATA BITS NO PARITY BIT and two STOP BITs on initial power up Two communication handshaking protocols are supported by the Extech printers Serial Busy protocol and XON XOFF protocols Serial Busy Protocol For the serial busy handshaking mode request to send printer input RTS and clear to send printer output CTS are used to control data flow to and from the printer The RTS and CTS are considered to be valid or active when the signal level is positive 3 to 12VDC A positive RTS signal from the host device enables the printer The RTS signal is monitored during data transmission from the printer to the host device the printer transmits data to the host device only if RTS input is high The printer raises CTS output when it is ready to accept data The printer lowers CTS line w
42. ength of inactivity This command accepts the following formats 1 seconds 2 minutes and seconds or 3 hours minutes and seconds When used in conjunction with the Default Power Up Setup command this command will allow for the power down timer value to be saved permanently in Flash The following table details the available formats for this command Command String Printer Response Esc M S S 0 CR Sets the printer Auto power down timer to S4S seconds Esc M M M S S7 0 CR Sets the printer Auto power down timer to M4M minutes S S seconds Esc M H4 H2 M M S S7 0 CR Sets the printer Auto power down timer to H4H5 hours MM minutes S4S seconds Here H H2 M4M and S48 are two decimal characters that denote hours minutes and seconds respectively Values range from 00 to 99 with values over 59 being carried over Up to 18 hours may be specified The CR character at the end of the command is mandatory Example 1 This escape sequence sets the Auto power down timer to 54 seconds Escape Sequence ESC M 5 4 0 CR Hexadecimal 1B 4D 35 34 30 OC Decimal 27 77 53 52 48 13 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 27 Example 2 This escape sequence sets the Auto power down timer to 1 hour 16 minutes 54 seconds Note that 76 minutes was converted to 1 hour 16 minutes Escape Sequence ESC M 7 6 5 4 0 CR Hexadecimal 1B 4D 37 36 35 34 30 OC Decimal 27 77 55 54 53 52 48 13 Example 3 This
43. ertical Tab Height ESC T Vn This command sets the vertical tab length in dot lines 0 lt n lt 255 The default value of the vertical tab is 203 dot lines Example The following escape sequence sets the vertical tab to ten millimeters Each dot is 0 125mm so to fixed the vertical distance of 10mm the n parameter is 80 10 0 125 Escape Sequence ESC T V P Hexadecimal 1B 54 56 50 Decimal 27 84 86 80 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 11 Form Feed FF This command advances the paper by the number of lines specified in the Set Form Feed length in dot lines below A Carriage Return CR is also performed to place the current print position at the beginning of the next line Control Code FF Hexadecimal 0C Decimal 12 Set Form Feed Length in Dot Lines ESC T F n1 n2 This command sets the Form Feed Length in Dot Lines The total Form Feed distance is computed using the following formula n2 256 n1 0 lt n1 lt 255 0 lt n2 lt 255 The default value is 1030 dot lines Note that the height of the font in dot lines will be subtracted from the total dot lines specified in the command Example For a font 23 dot lines high and with an Esc T V 200 0xC8 command sent the actual VT value will be 200 23 177 dots Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 12 Bar Codes The Extech printer series print several barcode symbologies including Linear and 2D barcodes The following commands are used
44. escape sequence sets the Auto power down timer to 18 hours Note that 98 hours got truncated to 18 hours Escape Sequence ESC M 9 8 7 6 5 4 0 CR Hexadecimal 1B 4D 39 38 37 36 35 34 30 OC Decimal 27 77 57 56 55 54 53 52 48 13 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 28 Printer Status Commands Query Print Buffer amp Timer MCR Status STX This command will cause the printer to print the battery status Printer Response Print Buffer Status ESC B 4 ASCII digits gt CR LF Timer MCR Status ESC M 4 ASCII digits gt CR LF Note that the first three digits of the Timer MCR field correspond to the printer times The last byte indicates that the MRC track is currently activated in the printer Query Print Buffer Battery Voltage Timer MCR amp Print Head Temperature SYN This command will cause the printer to send the following information to the host Printer Response Print Buffer Status ESC B lt 4 ASCII digits gt CR LF Battery Voltage Status ESC V lt 4 ASCII digits CR LF Timer MCR Status ESC M lt 4 ASCII digits CR LF Print Head Temperature ESC T lt 4 ASCII digits gt CR LF Note that the first three digits of the Timer MCR field correspond to the printer times The last byte indicates that the MRC track is currently activated in the printer Print Battery Voltage ESC P This command will enable the printer to output the battery voltage reading Escape Sequence ESC P Hexadecimal 1B 50 5E Decimal 27 8
45. escape sequence will disable the underline printing mode Escape Sequence ESC U u Hexadecimal 1B 55 75 Decimal 27 85 117 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 8 Reverse Print ESC Un The reverse print command enables the user to print white letters on a black background Reverse printing begins with the characters following the command n Selection R Reverse printing ON n Reverse printing OFF Note that on power up the printer defaults to reverse printing off Example1 The following escape sequence will enable the reverse printing mode Escape Sequence ESC U R Hexadecimal 1B 55 52 Decimal 27 85 82 All characters following this command will be reverse printed The reverse printing command is terminated either by the Esc U n command or by cycling the printer power Example 2 The following escape sequence will disable the reverse printing mode Escape Sequence ESC U n Hexadecimal 1B 55 6E Decimal 27 85 110 Right to Left and Left to Right Printing ESC Fn This command causes the printer to change the direction in which characters are printed The printer direction default mode is set to Left to Right n Selection R Right to Left L Left to Right Note that on power up the printer defaults to left to right printing mode Example The following escape sequence will enable the right to left printing mode Escape Sequence ESC F R Hexadecimal 1B 46 52 Decimal 27 70 82 All characters follo
46. ev H 46 Download Fonts Enable Font Downloading ESC D F CR This command will enable the font download feature Escape Sequence ESC D F CR Hexadecimal 1B 44 46 OD Decimal 27 68 70 13 Display Tables Information ESCF I CR This command will instruct the printer to display the font table s information at the host The printer must be connected to the host in order to receive the font table s information Escape Sequence ESC F CR Hexadecimal 1B 46 49 OD Decimal 27 70 73 13 Command is valid after ESC D F CR Display Tables Information ESCDICR Same description as the command directly above This command is for Legacy printer s compatibility Escape Sequence ESC D CR Hexadecimal 1B 44 49 OD Decimal 27 68 73 13 Disable Font Download Mode ESC FX This command will disable the font download mode and put the printer in ready print mode Escape Sequence ESC F X Hexadecimal 1B 46 58 Decimal 27 70 88 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 47 Display Font Download Current Settings ESCFS mtkf CR This command will instruct the printer to display the current font download settings The printer will send the following string to the host Esc F S mtkf Parameters m 0 standard response 1 response with diagnostics message default t Font File type t 0 BDF formatted file default t 1 through 9 reserved k Font Table column value 0 through 9 f Font Table row v
47. fica EE A A ee Printer Controls Data Processing ecce crees eee eee e eere eese sese ense seen sese ense sees sees 2 Printer Controls Printed Output Adjust eere e eee e crees eee eee eee ee eee een seen eene 2D Printer Controls Reset otio br oeste deegerh eebe edel Printer Controls EG 27 Printer Status COMMAS aisoeri eese rtr sevvosessdessserdsonnsscedsesanscessvnucsdesssevasevassedsopseverssvinseel Magnetic Card Rede ha Pee ore opio a Hoe vta ern redi eee Pii i ska OL Black Mark Sensing Control commands ee ee ecce esee eee ee eene sees seen sese ense See sees ss SF Black Mark Sensing Command Mode eee ee eee eres eee eee eee en seen seen seen sees JD Black Mark Sensing Auto Mode 4 e eee eee ee eene eere ee eene seen sese ense seen sees ss seee esse See seen SO Page Print Commands Configuration eee e eee ee eee eene eere eese essen sese ense sees sees ss JD Page Print Commands Draw Commands eee ee ecce ee eese eee eene eese sese eo seee sense essa J Download Printer Default Setup 4 e eeee eee eee ee eee eee eee eee ense ee en sees ease esso sees csse es seed Download Selftest Message Hardware Information oooocoooccmoscssss 44 Download EE Download AA A A Download E e Important
48. ge BeginPage This command follows Esc P P command and is used to indicate the beginning of a form in page printing mode Define the Page Size SetPageSize width height This command is used to define the valid drawing area for a label or form Two parameters are required width and height of the form measured in dots Set Margins SetMargin Im tm This command sets the left margin to m and the top margin to tm The margin is then used as a start point 0 0 for the form or label Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 38 Mark Page End Print and Exit EndPage This command is used to end a form or label while in the Page Printing mode This command also forces the printer to print a label or form Page Print Commands Draw Commands Draw Text DrawText x y color angle string Draws text at any coordinate on the canvas DrawText data prints the text enclosed in the double quotes at the current cursor location x and y specify where the text is to be printed upper left corner of the first letter of the top line Parameters X specifies x axis location y specifies y axis location Color specifies text color 0 white 17 black User may print white text on an existing black background by specifying color 0 Angle specifies text direction Angle Print angle Description 0 0 degrees Counter clockwise Prints text horizontally from left to right 1 90 degrees Counter clockwise Prints text ver
49. hen the print buffer has less than 256 unused locations XON XOFF Protocol For the XON XOFF handshaking mode the printer transmits XON 0x11 when it is ready to accept data and XOFF 0x13 when the print buffer has fewer than 256 unused locations Under XON XOFF protocol the data flow from the printer s serial port is halted on receipt of an XOFF from the Host device and resumed on receipt of a XON RS232C Connections The RS232C Interface signals for the Extech printers are terminated on a 6 PIN RJ25 type data connector located at the back of the printer Six connections are provided from the Serial Interface to the host computer The table below lists the Serial Interface signals and pin outs for the RJ25 connector while pin locations are shown in Figure below A minimum of two signal connections are required for operation RXD pin3 and Common pin1 RJ25 Connector PIN Functional Description Signal Name 3 RS232 from Host INPUT RXD 2 RS232 from Printer OUTPUT TXD 6 Request to send from Host INPUT RTS 4 Clear to send from Printer OUTPUT CTS 1 5 Logic common COM Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 59 RS232C Technical Specifications we me C Space or Logical O or Logical Space or Logical O 3 to 15 VDC Handshaking Two modes are supported Software and Hardware fame RTS CTS Software XON XOFF Auto Power Up Positive Signal on RTS input switches the printer ON PI 25 DATA CONNEC
50. hic stored in memory locations refer to table above for logo location availability Example 1 The following escape sequence will print the logo at memory location one Escape Sequence ESC L g 1 Hexadecimal 1B 4C 67 31 Decimal 27 76 103 49 Example 2 The following example replaces logo location 1 with the logo image contained in logo prn file The following escape commands must be sent sequentially and are necessary to complete logo download Escape sequence 1 ESC D L CR LF Escape sequence 2 ESC L G 1 CR LF Escape sequence 3 ogo prn file Escape sequence 4 ESC L 6G Escape sequence 5 ESC L g OxFF CR LF 1 The following table represents the LED behavior for each Escape sequence during logo download SEN Printer Command Description Response LED Status ESC D L CRLF Select Logo Download Power LED Flashing Green Mode MRC amp Error Steady Red ESCLG n CRLF Select Memory Location none Power LED Flashing green Send Graphic Logo File Send a Binary file with the none Power LED Flashing green Logo image ESC L G OxFF CRLF Stop Loading Graphic DIN While the logo is being burned Logo Power LED Steady Green MRC amp Error Steady Red When Burning complete Power LED Steady Green ESC Lg n Print Graphic Logo Printer Prints none Logon Note The above logo download commands are intended for Developers only Please contact Customer Support for any Logo Download Utilities Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL R
51. internal battery cartridge The printer modification is such that the printer can be set to operate in either the MANUAL POWER OFF or CONTINUOUS ON mode For Dip Switch settings on Power Save mode please refer to the Dip Switch Table above Manual Power OFF Mode For the printer to be in Manual Power OFF mode Dip Switch 8 must be OFF When demonstrating RF wireless communication turn the printer on by pressing the ON switch located at the front of the printer The printer will remain active waiting for the wireless print command Pressing the ON switch again will turn the printer OFF For each wireless demonstration turn the printer on by pressing the ON switch Operation in this fashion will greatly extend the life of the battery cartridge Unless the ON OFF switch is pressed the printer will stay ON until the battery drains completely Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 63 Automatic Power OFF Mode To have the printer automatically SHUT DOWN after a period of time turn Dip Switch 8 ON The printer will turn OFF after 99 seconds The value of the default timer can be changed by using the command ESC M n1n2 0 CR command described earlier in the manual Once power is cycled the printer reverts to the default 99 second value Infrared Communications Option Set Dip Switch 1 to ON position The printer can be powered up by pressing the power lt ON OFF gt switch If no IrDA connection is made the printer will automatically powe
52. lash Default setup data ESCSB This command allows the printer to burn the command file in Flash memory After finishing the process the printer will respond with the D X characters Escape Sequence ESC S B Hexadecimal 1B 53 42 Decimal 27 83 66 Example The following escape commands will change the default font to k2 48 characters per line The k2 font will be restored in place of the k3 value every time the printer is power cycle The commands below must be sent sequentially Escape sequence 1 ESC D S Escape sequence 2 ESC S L Escape sequence 3 ESC k 2 The previous command can be a binary file with a list of commands to initiate default start up Escape sequence 4 ESC S T OxFF CR LF Escape sequence 5 ESC S B Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 43 Download Self test Message Hardware Information Select Setup Download mode ESC DS This command puts the printer into the Download mode The printer will response with a character Escape Sequence ESC D Hexadecimal 1B 44 53 Decimal 27 68 83 Start Hardware Information download process ESC SI This command alerts the printer that a file will now be downloaded Escape Sequence ESC S Hexadecimal 1B 53 49 Decimal 27 83 73 Stop Download Process ESC S T 0xFF CR LF This command stops the downloading process Escape Sequence ESC S T OxFF Hexadecimal 1B 53 54 FF Decimal 27 83 384 255 Store In Flash Default setup data ESC S B CRLF
53. le the font is being burned in FLASH Communication LED Flashing Green MCR Printer Error LED Flashing Red When Burning complete Communication LED Steady Green 49 Select Font Row ESC FFfCR This command selects the row value for the font tables The parameter fcan be set in the range of 0 to 9 Select Font Column ESC F Kk CR This command selects the column value for the font tables The parameter k can be set in the range of 0 to 9 Select File Type ESC F Lt CR This command selects the file type to be uploaded The parameter thas a range of values between 0 to 9 The default value is 0 which means BDF format Save Font File in Flash ESC F BCR This command instructs the printer to program or burn font onto Flash memory The table below summarizes the font downloading commands supported by the Extech printer along with the printer s expected LED status Escape Sequence ESC F B CR Hexadecimal 1B 46 42 OD Decimal 27 70 66 13 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 50 Important Font Downloading Notes The file to be downloaded must be BDF formatted When downloading ensure that the metrics of the fonts to be downloaded are equal or smaller than the metrics of the existing font in the location in question Otherwise the fonts will not be downloaded correctly The escape sequence ESC D F CR must be the first command after power up otherwise the printer will prin
54. load Example Updated Page Print Pages List Updates Esc description Barcode Height Command Form Feed Length Forward Seek Black Mark Sensing Auto Mode Pass Thru notes and examples Printer Status LED Panel Error Warning LED Panel Label Presenter Positive Adjust BT Communications Infrared Communications WiFi Communications USB Communication Select Load Operating Mode Dip Switch Settings Table Added Footnotes Printer Status Indicator LED Panel Esc a n command definition and example TABLE OF CONTENTS other eege Eed Extech Printer Command Language EXPCL scsssccssssscssssscsssscsssccssscssssecsessesssseeees EE COMMUNICATIONS ieecces cs eocees scoecdeeee eese esent ed ee ee eode oo sea e ed eee aede o eco ced eee eae cU oo a iod es saoao a co e osea ed ias Character Size and Line Spacing oooomossssssssss 1 2 3 Character TI 5 Character Size and Line Spacing Width and Height sccsssscssssscssssscssssccssssccssssceee 7 8 Character Attributes eet eo dese aeter o eoe eau o tats eo eau dE Horizontal DDR UT eed LO Vertical POSO ENN Bar EG E Gode 39 Specificatloris acte e UD e t D dtu ui de ed fes Code 128 Specifications UCC EAN 128 Specifications ooooconiccccnnnoccconnnccconnncccnnnnncnnnnnnncnnnnnnncnnnnnn cn nn nnnm nnnrr en nnne ener Interleaved 2 of 5 Specifications UPC EAN JAN Specifications Ae Codabar Specifications ptr PDF 417 Speci
55. multiplier with values 1 n 18 HEX values The multiplier command can be sent prior to or after the Print Barcode sequence ESC ztn h data CR LF Example The sequence below prints CODE39 barcode first of a height of 50 dots and then sets the new height to 3 x 50 dots To print CODE 39 of height 150 dots using the multiplier command send steps 1 2 in the order below Barcode Height Multiplier Escape Sequence ESC z h 3 Hexadecimal 1B 7A 68 03 Decimal 27 122 104 3 Printing Barcode Escape Sequence Esc Z 1 7 2 C O D E 3 9 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 31 07 32 43 4F 44 45 2D 33 39 OD OA Decimal 27 90 49 7 50 67 79 68 69 45 51 57 13 10 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 21 Graphics The printer uses a single line thermal print head with elements spaced at 0 125mm The 8 bit graphic commands enable control of each heating element of the print head The commands also advance the paper in increments of 0 125mm The number of heating elements can vary according to your printer model Refer to the printer s User s Guide for specific information To select the 8 bit graphic mode the user application must issue the ESC V command After that the user application must send two bytes to indicate the number of the graphic lines desired followed with a packet of 72 bytes for each graphic line The printer prints the graphic line and advances to the next line automatically 8 Bit Graphics ESC V nl n2 data 8 bit Graphic m
56. nd interface at 115 2 K Baud sec for serial interface printers and 57 6 K Baud sec for USB interface printers using no parity To select the Bluetooth interface Dip Switch 2 must be ON and all other Dip Switches must be OFF If required by the host application to enter 0 digit zero for PIN number while connecting to the BT module Bluetooth settings can be changed via the AT command set Refer to Developer s CD for available AT commands The table below details the Bluetooth Extech default settings Settings Name Serial Settings USB Settings Discoverability mode Connectivity mode Security mode Fixed PIN Set Master Slave Policy Client Profile Server Profile Wireless Multi drop mode Set Serial Interface Configuration over Bluetooth Power Save mode Value APEX where matches the printer model 115200 8 n 2 n 57600 8 n 2 n Generally Discoverable GAP Connectable Security Disabled 0 Zero Always let the connecting device select the master slave role on incoming connections Disable Client Services Serial Port Profile Server enabled disabled forward to host only RS232 Enabled Allow Sleep mode only ESC sequence timing 500ms before ESC command amp 500ms thereafter The Bluetooth Interface Power Modification The Bluetooth interface increases the battery power consumption by 50mA To compensate for the increased power demand the trickle charge rate is modified to help extend the life of the
57. ode is selected using the ESC V command n1 and n2 is a 16 bit integer indicating the number of graphic lines of 72 characters each to be received Valid Graphic character sets range from 0x00 to OxFF Hex using bits 0 7 To achieve optimized smooth printing and to extend battery life when printing graphics a print buffer is employed The printer buffer accumulates a specific amount of data before actually printing the graphic data The following 8 bit graphic command is used to print a single line of graphic Escape Sequence ESC V SOHNUL 72bytes of data Hexadecimal 1B 56 01 00 72 bytes of data Decimal 27 86 1 0 72 bytes of data 8 Bit Compressed Graphics ESC v height width counter data c data c data This command differs from the 8 Bit Graphics command described above by reducing the number of bits bytes that have to be sent to the printer This allows for faster data transfer between the host computer and the printer Graphic String Component Function height An eight bit value representing the number of dot lines contained in amp of lines the following data set width An eight bit value representing the number of bytes to be contained in amp of bytes in each line each dot line of the following data set An eight bit value which describes how the following data will be processed For Signed 127 2 Counter 2 0 Process the next Counter 1 counter Values bytes of data as 8 bit graphics r amp of lines 0 Counter 2
58. on may be found at http www ean be for the EAN and http www uc council org for the UCC Character set Numeric fixed length Elements per symbol 4 2 bars 2 spaces Character density 14 5 CPI Bar width 0 25mm Characters per line UPC A 11 plus check digit automatically centered UPC E 6 plus check digit automatically centered EAN JAN 8 7 plus check digit automatically centered EAN JAN 13 12 plus check digit automatically centered Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 17 Example 1 The following escape sequence will print a UPC A bar code with the following human readable 30 mm high containing 123456789012 where 2 is the check digit Due to limited spacing CR LF are not shown at the end of this command Escape Sequence ESC Z 4 12 240 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 Hexadecimal 1B 5A 34 OC FO 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 30 31 Decimal 27 90 52 12 240 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 48 49 Example 2 The following escape sequence will print a UPC E bar code with the following human readable 30 mm high containing 1234565 where 5 is the check digit Escape Sequence ESC Z 4 7 240 1 2 3 4 5 6 CR LF Hexadecimal 1B 5A 34 07 FO 31 32 33 34 35 36 OD OA Decimal 27 90 52 7 240 49 50 51 52 53 54 13 10 Example 3 The following escape sequence will print an EAN JAN 8 bar code with the following human readable 30 mm high containing 12345670 where 0 is the check digit Escape Sequence ESC Z 4 8 240 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
59. ording to the media used Paper type Low Medium High P390 1 2 3 P300 4 5 6 Reserved 7 8 9 currently P300 The printer defaults to a contrast of 2 Note that the print speed and power consumption is affected by the contrast setting Example The following escape sequence set the printer contrast to 7 Escape Sequence ESC P 7 Hexadecimal 1B 50 37 Decimal 27 80 55 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 25 Printer Controls Reset Cancel CAN This command deletes the entire printer buffer and resets the printer to the power up default values Control Code CAN Hexadecimal 18 Decimal 24 Reset printer and load default setup ESC This command initializes all programmable attributes to factory default values Custom programming present in flash memory will be restored as well overriding the factory defaults Note This command does not clear the print buffer Use the Cancel CAN command to clear the buffer This command will not restore any changes that were burned into the flash memory such as fonts logos default power up message or hardware information message User programmable printer attributes and their factory defaults are shown in the table below Attribute Factory Default Font Courier 3 Character set International Underline Disabled Bold Disabled Reverse Printing White on Black Disabled Double Width Disabled Double Height Disabled Line spacing 3 dots Form Feed Length 2030 dots Ve
60. ple 1 The following escape sequence set the pitch to 12 CPI Courier Font Escape Sequence ESC K 1 CR Hexadecimal 1B 4B 31 OD Decimal 27 75 49 13 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 5 Example 2 The following escape sequence set the pitch to 25 CPI Verin Font Escape Sequence ESC K 1 1 CR Hexadecimal 1B 4B 31 31 OD Decimal 27 75 49 49 13 Select Character Pitch Mode 2 ESC kn This command is used for backward compatibility when Legacy or Factory fonts are selected The command sets the font size based on the number of character per inch The parameter n can have the following values Character Pitch Font Columns Per Line APEX 3 13 cpi Rotated Courier mode 0 36 52 i 12 cpi Normal Courier mode 1 16 x 23 2 16 cpi Normal Courier mode 2 12 x 23 19 cpi Normal Courier mode 3 10 x 23 a sime 3 EN i 10 cpi Normal Monospace 20 x 23 19 821BT 7 20 cpi Normal Monospace 10 x 23 38 821BT EX 20 cpi Bold Monospace 821BT 10 x 23 ES 20 cpi Short Monospace 821BT 10x 18 This command ESC k n must be sent prior to any printable characters on the line in order to take effect Example The following escape sequence set the pitch to 12 CPI Courier font Escape Sequence ESC k 1 Hexadecimal 1B 6B 231 Decimal 27 107 49 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 6 Character Size and Line Spacing Width and Height Double Wide ON SO This command sets any printed characte
61. ponse from Printer ESC Q 0 0 n1 n2 This message is sent to the host and indicates that a black mark has not been found The numbers n1 and n2 are the high and the low nibble respectively describing how many 0 25mm dot lines were processed before reporting black mark not found Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 35 Black Mark Sensing Auto Mode Enable Front Black Mark Sensor ESC Q fe CR This command will enable the printer s front black mark sensor and automatically disable the BACK side sensor Escape Sequence ESC Q f e CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 66 65 OD Decimal 27 81 102 101 13 Disable Front Black Mark Sensor ESC Qf d CR This command disables the printer s front black mark sensor Escape Sequence ESC Q f d CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 66 64 OD Decimal 27 81 102 100 13 Enable Back Black Mark Sensor ESC QbeCR This command will cause the printer to enable the back black mark sensor and automatically disables the front side sensor Escape Sequence ESC Q b e CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 62 65 OD Decimal 27 81 98 101 13 Disable Back Black Mark Sensor ESC Q bd CR This command will disable the printer s back black mark sensor Escape Sequence ESC Q b d CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 62 64 OD Decimal 27 81 98 100 13 Disable Both Front and Back Black Mark Sensors ESC Qf x CR or ESC Q bx CR This command disables the printer s front and back black mark sensors Escape Sequence ESC Q f x CR Hexadecimal 1B 51 66 78 OD Decimal
62. r down to a lower power level to conserve battery life It will remain in a sleep mode until an IrDA connection is made at which time the printer will wake and print the requested data Pressing the power switch again will turn the printer OFF Wi Fi Communication Option The printer control card communicates with the Wi Fi interface at 115 2 K Baud sec for serial interface printers and 57 6 K for USB interface printers To select the WiFi interface Dip Switch 1 or Dip Switch 2 See Dip Switch Settings table above must be ON and all other Dip Switches must be OFF Below are the factory default settings of the Wi Fi module For more information please refer to the 802 11g kit available on the Developer s CD Settings Value IP address 192 168 1 96 DHCP mode Disabled Ad Hoc mode Enabled Infrastructure mode Disabled SSID APEX where matches the printer model Tunnel port 23 to send data to the 802 11g module use this port number Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 64 Printer Status Indicator LED Panel The table below describes the normal function of each of the Printer s Status LEDs LED Status GREEN LED 1 BLUE Communication Light Blue LED 2 Battery AMBER LED 3 Magnetic Card GREEN Reader amp Printer Error Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Condition Function Flashing Power is ON and the printer is in RS232 USB or IRDA mode Steady Communicating with host Flashing Powe
63. r is ON and the printer is in Bluetooth mode Steady Transmitting receiving Flashing Power is ON and the printer is in 802 11b g mode Transmitting Receiving in 802 11 mode OR Steady Wa Printing Self test in 802 11 mode Battery being charged The LED will turn off when the battery is Steady fully charged Steady Indicates that MCR or SCR is ready to accept data Dip Switches 5 and 7 are ON USB cable is plugged in Note If USB is unplugged LED will flash Amber until printer is reset manually Flashing Serial Firmware upload Note Firmware upload complete indicated by blue flashing LED 3 Rev H 65 Error Warning LED Panel LED LED 1 Communication LED Color Status RED Steady 1 GREEN Flashing 3 RED Flashing LED 1 amp LED 3 1 BLUE GREEN Flashing 3 RED Flashing GREEN Momentary flashing gt RED Flashing agnetic Car Reader Flashing amp Printer Error RED Steady RED Flash Fast Blue Flashing Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Description Low power indication Printer is in RS232 or USB mode and Printer Buffer is not empty Printer is in Bluetooth mode and Printer Buffer is not empty Printer has discovered and is parked on the Q Mark Paper Error Paper Door Open Dip Switch 5 and 7 are ON Print Error Printer out of paper Print head is hot Printer will stop printing Firmware upload via serial cable is completed successfully Rev H Action Required
64. rror number encountered The printer may transmit three 3 types of Read Error messages Refer to the table below for detailed description of the error messages Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 32 Error Error Message Transmitted 05 Time out Expired 07 Invalid Track Number 09 Cancel Request Interfacing to the Magnetic Card Reader This section details the software steps required to access the MC reader from a computer or a terminal 1 The Host Selects the printer by activating the RTS input line or sending wake up characters to the printer 2 The Printer Sends the XON command to the host to indicate that it is ready to receive data from the host 3 Once XON is received the host sends an ASCII serial command string to enable the magnetic card reader e g Esc m004 cr The printer switches on the GREEN lt READY gt LED 4 Once the operator swipes the magnetic card the printer transmits in ASCII format the track information found on the magnetic card A good read automatically switches off the MC reader and the lt READY gt LED 5 The READY LED illuminates RED if an error is encountered while reading the magnetic card The printer transmits a timeout error message if the operator fails to swipe a card in the time period set by the host application Cancel Magnetic Card Data Read Command ESC C This command cancels the MCR read process The printer returns to online operation mode Escape Sequence ESC C
65. rs to double wide Control Code SO Hexadecimal OE Decimal 14 Double Wide OFF SI This command disables the double wide feature Control Code SI Hexadecimal OF Decimal 15 Double High ON FS This command enables double high printing The characters printed after this control character will be printed as double height and also the interline spacing is doubled in height This feature will be disabled using the control character GS Refer to the Double High OFF control character for more details Control Code FS Hexadecimal 1C Decimal 28 Double High OFF GS This command disables double high printing Control Code GS Hexadecimal 1D Decimal 29 Set Text Line Spacing ESCan This command sets the line spacing between successive printed text lines dot row Each dot row is 0 125mm 0 lt n lt 40 decimal If n value is greater than 0x28 or Decimal 40 then n will be set to 0x28 Decimal 40 Example The following escape sequence sets the line spacing to zero as needed when printing line drawing characters when the PC Line Drawing character set is selected Escape Sequence ESC a NUL Hexadecimal 1B 61 00 Decimal 27 97 O Example 2 The following escape sequence sets the line spacing to 40 dot lines 0x28 and Decimal 40 Escape Sequence ESC a Hexadecimal 1B 61 28 Decimal 27 97 40 Note 1 Printer s default settings are set to 3 dot line after each text line Note 2 Line spacing must be set to
66. rtical Tab distance 203 dots Horizontal Tab distance 100 dots Printing direction Left to right Contrast 2 Sensor Sensitivity 255 Auto Power Down time 99 seconds Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 26 Printer Controls Power Auto Power Down Command ESCM n m 0 CR This command configures the printer Auto power down timer In order to conserve battery life the printer features an auto power down timer If the printer is in the AUTO POWER DOWN MODE the power down timer defaults to 99 seconds on initial power up Refer to the printer User Manual for appropriate dip switch positions The auto power down timer may be set or disabled by sending recognized command strings The auto power down is re started upon every character received The auto power down timer may be disabled by activating the lt RTS gt input line or setting the auto power down timer to zero the printer lowers the CTS output line and transmits AUXOFF followed by XOFF before power down On power down the timer reverts to its default settings The parameters n1 and n2 may be set to 0 through 9 Example 1 The command Esc M 0 0 0 CR Disables the power out timer Example 2 The command Esc M 9 9 0 CR Sets the timer to 99 seconds Note that spaces are not part of the command Extended Auto Power Down Command ESC M HH MM SS 0 CR The Set Auto Power Down command allows the user to program the printer to automatically shut down after a certain l
67. s data Set double wide print with Extech double wide does not mean burn the dot twice but rather increase the space between the characters Condensed printing go back to normal mode Feeds 10 lines and the information in the buffer Line feed Carriage Return Rev H 56 Esc wn EscHn Esc Q nin2 Esc Rn Esc n Esc Esc EZ LP Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Font Select the Extech Fonts are matched as close as possible to the Line Print fonts n 0x20 0x26 Esc w 20 16w x 23h Font Esc w 21 10w x 23h Font Esc w 22 16w x 23h Font Esc w 23 16w x 46h Font Esc w 24 12w x 23h Font Esc w25 9w x23h Font Esc w 26 16w x 23h Font Doubles the height no matter what the n value is Advance n1n2 from Q mark Extech Printer can advance only up to 255 graphic lines from the Q Mark and the Q mark has to be within 255 lines from the beginning point This command switches between the two Character Tables in the Extech Printer International Character Table and Line Drawn Character Table Set double high and double wide n 16d 0x10 double high n 32d 0x20 double wide n 48d 0x30 double high and wide Reset the printer to defaults Note This command does not clear the print buffer Use the Cancel CAN command to clear the buffer This command will not restore any changes that were burned into the flash memory such as fonts logos default power up message
68. significant byte of how many bytes to encode of User s Data Maximum is 06 in hex that is MSB 06h max LSB Least Significant Byte This byte represents the least significant byte of how many bytes to encode of user s Data User s data Data to be encoded in the barcode Total number of user s data that can be encode is MSB LSB 0x06B8 1720 bytes that is only alphanumeric with security level set to its minimum value Setting the security level to a higher value will result in less user data to be encoded since the total number of code words that can fit in a PDF417 symbol are 929 and if security level is set to 8 then already 512 error code Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 20 words are occupied in the symbol and 929 512 417 so only about 417 2 alphanumeric data can be encoded with security level 8 If any parameter in the command line does not match the spec in this document then an error message Invalid Barcode will be sent out from the printer s serial port Example The following escape commands encode the data 12345678 Due to space limitation CR LF are not shown Escape Sequence ESC Zz 9 1 2 0 0 2 6 0 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hexadecimal 1B TA 39 31 32 30 30 32 06 00 08 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 Decimal 27 122 57 49 50 48 48 50 6 0 8 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 Barcode Height Multiplier ESC zhn This command allows the user to change the height of a selected barcode using a
69. t the command instead of executing it You can also use the commands ESC X X CR command to initialize the printer after other escape commands have been used Once a font has been downloaded press the FEED button twice to exit the downloading mode Shut the printer OFF by pressing the ON OFF switch Each character s header uses DBF font and represents the true size of the font bitmap Example1 For a 16x23 font the header at the beginning of each character must appear as follows BBX 16 2300 Example 2 For a 10 x 23 font the header at the beginning of each character must appear as BBX 10 2300 If the font to be downloaded is one byte in size 8 x 23 the BDF file must be one byte only in size Otherwise the firmware will not accept the font Example 1 BBX 08 2300 Example 2 BBX 08 23 0 0 BITMAP BITMAP 0008 08 000F INCORRECT OF CORRECT 0002 02 0003 03 The name of the font is indicated at the beginning of the BDF file therefore FONT Font12C BDF If only the file is renamed the firmware will not recognize it in this case the BDF file must be opened and the file name must be changed as in the format shown previously in this paragraph The following section shows the steps required to upload a new font into the printer memory 1 Have the BDF font file available and ready The file should contain all of the characters which are to be downloaded When downloading ensure that the Serial Port setting for the Terminal Program is
70. tically in the upward direction 2 180 degrees Counter clockwise Prints text horizontally from right to left 3 270 degrees Counter clockwise Prints text vertically in the downward direction String specifies the text to print Multiple lines can be printed with a single DrawText command by separating the lines with n characters Text formatting is accomplished by tags inserted in the string argument The formatting is effective only in the string in which it appears and does not carry over to the subsequent DrawText commands The text formatting commands are listed below Command Name Description lt b gt lt b gt Bold Text enclosed by lt b gt and lt b gt appear in bold lt u gt lt u gt Underline Text enclosed by lt u gt and lt u gt are underlined lt h value gt Text Height Text height is magnified by the given numeric value Use lt h 1 gt to return to original size lt w value gt Text Width Text width is magnified by the given numeric value Use lt w 1 gt to return to original size lt f value gt Font Sets the font value 0 9 n New Line Moves the cursor to the beginning of the next line ISA VN Literals Use backslashes to print these special characters Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 39 Example The figure below shows the use of the n command as well as the effect of the angle command in the text being printed with the DrawText command DrawText AB
71. to print barcodes Print Bar Code ESC ztn h data CR LF This command will print a barcode without human readable text The following table describes the Bar Code command structure Parameters t Barcode 1 Code 39 2 Code 128 UCC EAN 128 3 Interleaved 2 of 5 4 UPC EAN JAN 5 Codabar 9 PDF417 Z bar code is non human readable t barcode type n number of character bytes in data array 1 lt n lt 255 h height of bar code printed in increments of 0 125mm data n characters to be encoded in the barcode The parameters for the PDF417 barcode differs from the Linear Barcodes See PDF 417 specifications for more detail Note that all barcodes are printed with the minimum bar width x dimension of 0 250mm in compliance with the respective official specification Print Bar Code with Human Readable Text ESC Ztn h data CR LF This command prints a barcode with Human Readable Text below the barcode Refer to the parameters of the prior command Z Indicates human readable Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 13 Code 39 Specifications Each symbol starts with Leading Quiet Zone followed with Start Symbol Description Data Symbols ending with Stop Symbol and Trailing Quiet Zone Character set 36 alphanumeric 0 9 A Z and space Note Only capital letters are supported Elements per symbol 9 5 bars 4 spaces Character density 6 25 CPI Bar width 0 25mm narrow to wide ratio of 1 3 Characters per
72. uments website at www extech com printer Printer Models and Supported Features The Extech series of thermal printers offer a wide variety of solutions for printing applications Communication interfaces and supporting flexible paper widths are shown in the table below For additional information please refer to the printer s User Guide or visit Extech Instruments website at www extech com 7 Max Communication Interfaces Model Max Paper iat Print Print Sensors Width Width Dots RS 232 USB BT IrDA WiFi MCR SCR APEX2 2 28 58mm 1 89 48mm 384 Front Std NA Std Opt Opt Opt Opt Black Mark APEX3 3 15 80mm 2 83 72mm 576 Front Std NA Std Opt Opt Opt Opt Black Mark ANDES3 3 15 80mm 2 83 72mm 576 Front amp Std Std Opt Std Opt Opt Opt Back Black Mark APEX4 4 35 110 6m 4 09 104m 832 Front Opt Std Std Opt Opt Opt Opt m m Black Mark Std Standard NA Not Available Opt Optional Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 1 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL This section describes the control codes and escape sequences comprising Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Control characters defined as the set of characters encoding from 0x00 to 0x1F ASCII values between 0 to 31 The ExPCL defines commands that start with the ESC Hexadecimal 1B or Decimal 27 character and then are followed for the command and the parameters The general structure of the commands can be defined as follows
73. vbCrLf csTicket csTicket DrawText 150 60 1 0 CustomerName vbCrLf csTicket csTicket DrawText 30 110 1 0 Model vbCrLf csTicket csTicket DrawRectangle 140 100 330 140 1 3 vbCrLf If Option1 Item 0 Then csCarModel Taurus If Option1 Item 1 Then csCarModel Cavalier If Option1 Item 2 Then csCarModel Neon csTicket csTicket DrawText 150 110 1 0 csCarModel vbCrLf csTicket csTicket EndPage vbCrLf Chr 27 P vbCr Chr 4 vbCrLf Ticket TicketText csTicket Ticket Visible True MSComm1 CommPort 1 MSComm1 PortOpen True MSComm1 Output csTicket vbCrLf MSComm1 PortOpen False End Sub The Form Fiesta installation program as well as instructions for using the software are available on in the Developer s CD Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 42 Download Printer Default Setup Select Setup Download mode ESC DS This command puts the printer into the Download mode The printer will response with a character Escape Sequence ESC DS Hexadecimal 1B 44 53 Decimal 27 68 83 Start Default download process ESC SL This command alerts the printer that a file will now be downloaded Escape Sequence ESC S L Hexadecimal 1B 53 4C Decimal 27 83 76 Stop Download Process ESC S T 0xFF CR LF This command stops the downloading process Escape Sequence ESC S T OxFF CR Hexadecimal 1B 53 54 255 OD Decimal 27 83 84 255 13 Store In F
74. wing this command will be printing right to left printed The right to left printing command is terminated either by the Esc F L command or by cycling the printer power Example 2 The following escape sequence will disable the left to right printing mode Escape Sequence ESC F L Hexadecimal 1B 46 4C Decimal 27 70 76 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 9 Horizontal Position Carriage Return CR This command prints the input buffer information and advances the paper to the next line If the printer buffer is empty a line is advanced Control Code CR Hexadecimal 0D Decimal 13 Backspace BS This command removes the previous character from the print buffer Control Code BS Hexadecimal 08 Decimal 8 Horizontal Tab HT This command advances the cursor by the number of dots specified in the Horizontal Margins command Control Code HT Hexadecimal 09 Decimal 9 Set Horizontal Tab Width ESC THn This command sets the Horizontal Tab HT value The parameter n has values between 0 and 255 with a default value of 100 dots Example The following escape sequence sets the horizontal tab width to 50 dots Escape Sequence ESC T H 2 Hexadecimal 1B 54 48 32 Decimal 27 84 72 50 Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 10 Vertical Position Line Feed LF This command prints the input buffer information and advances the paper to the next line Total Feed Length Vertical size of the current font Text Line Sp
75. zero when printing PC Line Draw characters the thus allowing graphic characters on successive lines to be connected Extech Printer Command Language ExPCL Rev H 7 Character Attributes Emphasized Printing Mode ESC Un The Emphasized printing mode command will cause the printer to print text with bold appearance n Selection O Emphasized Mode Off 1 Emphasized Mode On Note that on power up the printer defaults to emphasized mode off Example1 The following escape sequence will enable the Emphasized printing mode Escape Sequence ESC U 1 Hexadecimal 1B 55 31 Decimal 27 85 49 All characters following this command will be emphasized The emphasized command is terminated either by the Esc U 0 command or by cycling the printer power Example 2 The following escape sequence will disable the emphasized printing mode Escape Sequence ESC U 0 Hexadecimal 1B 55 30 Decimal 27 85 48 Underline Printing Mode ESCUn Underline printing mode may be used to underline text n Selection U Underline Mode ON u Underline Mode OFF Note that on power up the printer defaults to underline mode off Example1 The following escape sequence will enable the underline printing mode Escape Sequence ESC U U Hexadecimal 1B 55 55 Decimal 27 85 85 All characters following this command will be underlined The underline command is terminated either by the Esc U u command or by cycling the printer power Example 2 The following

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