Avery Weigh-Tronix WP-233 User Manual

Model WP-233
Printer Series
User’s Manual

2

08/04/00 WP233USE.P65 PN 29607-0014e2 Printed in USA

Risk of electrical shock. Do not remove cover. No user service-

able parts inside. Refer servicing to qualified service personnel.

Weigh-Tronix reserves the right to change

specifications at any time.

CAUTION

EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

WARNING

This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment this product

may cause radio interference in which the user may be required to

take adequate measures.

3

Table of Contents

Introduction.............................................................................. 7

Installation ............................................................................... 7

Installing the Paper ................................................... 7

To Remove the Paper Roll...................................... 10

Operation............................................................................... 11

Connecting and Powering up Your Printer.............. 11

Maintenance .......................................................................... 11

Changing the Printer Ribbon................................... 12

Inserting a Ribbon with Paper in the Printer ........... 13

Printer Test and Setup........................................................... 14

Printer Test.............................................................. 14

Accessing the Setup Menu ..................................... 1 5

CONFIGURE........................................................... 15

CUSTOM ................................................................. 18

SETCLOCK... .......................................................... 22

RESET SEQ#.......................................................... 23

Communication ..................................................................... 24

RS-232 Serial Version ............................................ 24

Watertight Enclosure for WP-233 with RS-232 ...... 26

Watertight Enclosure for WP-233

with 12-48 Volt Option............................... 27

20 mA Current Loop Version .................................. 28

Control Codes ......................................................... 29

Default Table ......................................................................... 37

Pages are numbered consecutively

beginning with the cover page.

4

Specifications

Available BAUD rates

: 300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800,

9600, 19200

Voltage levels:

RS-232C: -9 Volts to + 9 Volts
20mA current loop

Character format:

ASCII character set—10 bits per character required,

7 or 8 of which are data bits.
Parity selection is even or odd for 7 data bits.
Bit mapped graphics—

10 bits per character required

,

8 of which are data bits.
Busy signal - Clear to Send (CTS) XON-XOFF

9.5K standard

Approximately 9,500 byte capacity.
Impact dot matrix
5 x 8 or 5 x 5 dot matrix
24 column: 12.8 characters/inch

32 column: 17 characters/inch
40 column: 21 characters/inch

7.6 lines per inch in character mode

9.1 lines per inch in graphic mode
38 lines per minute for 24 column

33 lines per minute for 32 and 40 column
Table top: 2.25"W x 2.75"D; 0.44" I.D.

Panel mount: 2.25"W x 1.25"D

1.5 Watts (idle), 10 Watts (while printing)
9 VAC (120 VAC stepdown converter incl.)

Multi-national converters optional
Optional 9-12 VDC

100mA idle, 1500mA with 100% printing, 2.9A peak with
100% printing

4"W x 4.5"L x 2"H (desktop model)
5°C - 40°C (41°F - 104°F)
500,000 lines mean character before failure.

Interface-Serial

Character Buffering

Print Method

Character Matrix

Character Spacing

Line Feed Spacing

Print Speed

Paper

Power

AC Voltage

External Dimensions

Print Head Life

DC Voltage

Operating Temp.

5

Time and Date (factory installed)
Black- 200,000 characters

Purple-250,000 characters
Large roll - 12,500 lines

Small roll - 3,000 lines

Options

Ribbon life

Paper

6

This page left intentionally blank.

7

Introduction

The Model WP-233 dot matrix printer has one of
these electrical interfaces:

RS-232
Current Loop

This manual is split into the following main sections:

• Introduction

• Installation

• Operation

• Maintenance

• Printer Test and Setup

• Communication

Installation

Please follow the precautions listed below when
setting up your printer. They are designed to help you
keep your printer working at its best.

• Plug your power supply into an appropriate
grounded outlet.

• Place your printer on a flat hard surface, like a
tabletop.

• Keep your printer out of direct sunlight.

1. Remove the printer cover by pressing on the
groove patterns to pop the front edge up. Lift off
the cover.

2. Press the rocker switch to the left. The light will go
off.

Installing the
Paper

8

3. Unroll several inches of the paper.

4. Cut a straight edge on the paper roll if it is jagged.
This will facilitate the entry of the paper into the
printer.

5. Slide the paper through the slot connecting the
paper compartment and the printer compartment.
You can slide it in about one-quarter inch before it
stops.

6. While holding the paper in place, press the rocker
switch to the Paper Feed position. The printer will
activate, and a rubber roller will pull the paper into
the printer compartment. Hold the switch in the
Paper Feed position until the paper emerges from
the top of the printer mechanism.

7. When an inch of paper has emerged from the top
of the printer, release the Paper Feed button.

8. Now pull the paper through the printer, until
several inches are exposed.

9

9. Slide the paper through the slot in the printer
cover.

10. Push the back of the printer cover down and into
place.

11. Press the front of the printer cover down to lock in
place.

10

12. Put the paper spindle into the paper roll as shown
below, and place the roll with the spindle onto the
snaps near the back of the printer. Turn the paper
roll so as to take up any slack in the paper
feeding to the printer. Make sure the roll of paper
turns freely. If it does not turn freely, the paper will
jam and will possibly damage the printer mecha­nism.

1. Advance the paper about one inch beyond the
paper cutter by using the Paper Feed switch.

2. Lift the paper roll away from the printer housing
and cut the paper feeding to the printer with
scissors. Try to make the cut as square as
possible to help the next time you reload the
paper.

3. Pull the remaining paper through the printer
mechanism. Be sure to pull the paper from the

top (paper cutter side).

WARNING! Pulling the paper out of the back of the

printer will damage the print mechanism.

To Remove the
Paper Roll

11

Operation

1. Attach the appropriate cable between the printer
and your indicator. The connector on the printer
side is “keyed” so that you cannot plug the cable
in the wrong way. This means that the pins should
be positioned so that a slight pressure will seat
the cable properly. Do not force the pins in. Doing
so could damage the cable.

2. Plug the power cord into the back of the printer.
Plug the transformer into an appropriate AC
outlet. The unit will power up automatically and
print

Ready

. This means the printer is ready to

print.

The paper feed switch on the printer is a rocker type
switch. Push the left side of the rocker switch to
toggle the printer on and offline. Push the right side of
the switch to advance the paper.

Your printer is now ready for printing.
The printer stores characters for printing until one of

two things happens:

1. The line buffer is filled.

2. It receives a line feed (hexadecimal 0A) or a
carriage return (hexadecimal 0D) code.

When (1) or (2) occurs, the printer prints out the
contents of its line buffer. If the buffer is empty when
the carriage return is received, the printer simply
advances the paper one line, leaving a blank line in
the printout.

Maintenance

When printing becomes faint or difficult to see,
replace the ribbon in your printer with an Epson HX­20 cartridge ribbon.

EJECT

PUSH

Connecting and
Powering up and
Your Printer

12

If your printer is used infrequently, the print impres­sion may become weak because the ribbon dried out.
To advance the ribbon to a new section, hold down
the Paper Feed switch for several seconds.

Below are the steps for replacing the ribbon:

1. Turn the printer offline.

2. Four small grooves are embossed on each side
of the printer cover. Push down on one or both of
these areas until the printer cover tilts.

3. When the printer cover is tilted up, lift it com­pletely off.

4. Push down on the right side of ribbon cartridge
where it is marked “PUSH”. Remove the cartridge.

Changing the
Printer Ribbon

13

5. Install cartridge. Be sure the ink cartridge is
inserted firmly to prevent weak or irregular
printing. The cartridge must be properly seated
and aligned for best printing.

6. Turn the cartridge “knob” (marked by an arrow)
clockwise to stretch the ribbon.

7. Replace the cover.

8. Replace the paper.

You may insert the ribbon cartridge if there is already
paper in the printer.

Hold the cartridge as shown above and slide it over
the paper and into the printer compartment. Be sure
the paper goes between the ribbon cartridge and the
ink ribbon.

If you get ribbon ink
on the printer case,
wipe it off immedi­ately. Once it dries
it is difficult to
remove.

Inserting a
Ribbon with
Paper in
the Printer

14

Printer Test and Setup

The printer can be tested and setup using the steps
described in this section. Testing and setup are done
using the rocker switch on the printer.

With the printer unplugged at the outlet or at the back
of the printer, press and hold the right side of switch
as you plug the unit in. The printer will print out a list
of the configuration as it currently exists then do a
continuous print test. To stop the print test press
either side of the rocker switch. Below is a sample of
what is printed when you do the print test.

Printer Test

15

To access the setup menu follow these steps:

1. Unplug the printer either at the outlet or at the
back of the printer.

2. Press and hold down the left side of the rocker
switch and plug in the printer. The printer will
advance the paper. After the paper advance has
stopped, count 3-5 seconds and release the
switch. The following is printed:

If you wait less than three or more than five seconds

Ready. . .

is printed and you will have to try steps 1

and 2 again to access the setup menu.
After you access the setup menu, if you press

NEXT

(left side of switch) repeatedly you will see the
following list printed. If you keep pressing

NEXT

(left

side) the list repeats itself.

As you can see form the above printout the setup
menu contains the following items:

• CONFIGURE menu

• CUSTOM menu

• SET CLOCK menu

• RESET SEQ#

The following pages explain these items and how to
customize the printer to your needs.

The first setup menu item reads

CONFIGURE . . . [NEXT/OK]

[NEXT/OK]

is a visual clue so you know that
pressing the left side of the rocker switch will go to
the

NEXT

part of the menu and that pressing the right
side of the rocker switch will accept (or say OK to)
what this line of the setup menu says.

Accessing the
Setup Menu

CONFIGURE. . .

This manual
assumes the time
and date option
are installed and
operating. If you do
not have this
option you will not
see references to
the clock or date
listed in most
menus.

16

With the printer in the setup menu and with

CONFIGURE . . . [NEXT/OK]

as the last item

printed, press

OK

(right side) to access the configure

menu. The following is printed:

LOAD DEFAULTS

gives you the opportunity to reset

the printer to all default settings (shown below).

Choose

OK

to do this or

NEXT

to go to the next

parameter. The following is printed:

Baud rate is the next parameter you can set in the
configure menu. The complete list of parameters and
their possible values is shown below.

The sample list above shows the current baud rate is

1200. To accept this, press

OK

(right side) or view

the next baud rate value by pressing

NEXT

(left side).

Press OK when the baud rate you want is displayed.
Choose from these baud rates;

300, 600, 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, or 19200

DATA BITS

is the next parameter. Choose the data
bit value the same way baud rate was chosen.
Choices are 7 or 8 data bits.

Load Defaults

Baud Rate

Data Bits

17

Parity can be selected only if 7 data bits are set.
Choose Odd, Even or None.

STOP BITS

is the next parameter. Choose 1 or 2

stop bits.

HANDSHAKE

is the next parameter. Choose from

the following settings:

BUSY-LINE
BUSY-BUFFER
XON/XOFF-LINE
XON/XOFF-BUFFER
NONE

COLUMNS

is the next parameter. Select the number
of characters per line (columns) for this parameter.
The choices you have are 24, 32, or 40. Below are
samples of each:

INVERT

is the next parameter. Choose YES if you
want inverted text (upside down) or NO if you want
non-inverted text (right side up) in your printouts.
Below is an example of inverted text.

FONT

is the next parameter. Choose from a 5 x 5 dot
matrix print pattern or a 5 x 8 dot matrix pattern. The
5 x 5 dot pattern produces only upper case (capital)
letters.

Parity

Stop Bits

Handshake

Cols

Invert

Font

18

The last parameter is

MAGNIFICATION

. This refers
to the size of printed type from your printer. Your
choices (with examples) are

NONE

DOUBLE WIDE

DOUBLE HIGH

DOUBLE WIDE/HIGH

After you choose one of the magnifications the printer
will print

Ready. . .

to show the printer is out of the
configuration menu and the setup menu and is ready
to print.

The next setup menu item after

CONFIGURE. . .

is

CUSTOM. . .

. With the printer in the setup menu and

with

CUSTOM. . .

as the last item printed, if you
press OK (right side) the printer will print the follow­ing:

Mag

CUSTOM. . .

19

If you press OK the printer will print the current
custom setup. A sample is shown below.

This printout shows you how each item is currently
set. Below is an explanation of each item and the
choices you can make for each.

TIME/DATE FORMAT

is the next parameter. Choose

from the following formats.

MM/DD/YY hh:mm ?M
MM/DD/YY hh:mm ?M DOW MM = month
MM/DD/YY hh:mm DD = day
MM/DD/YY hh:mm DOW YY = year
DD-MM-YY hh:mm ?M hh = hour
DD-MM-YY hh:mm ?M DOW mm = minutes
DD-MM-YY hh:mm ?M = AM or PM
DD-MM-YY hh:mm DOW DOW = day of week
DD/MON/YY hh:mm ?M
DD/MON/YY hh:mm ?M DOW
DD/MON/YY hh:mm
DD/MON/YY hh:mm DOW
NONE

This manual
assumes the time
and date option
are installed and
operating. If you do
not have this
option you will not
see references to
the clock or date
listed in most
menus.

T/D Format

This feature is
available only on
units with the time/
date option
installed.

20

AUTO TIME AND DATE

is the next parameter. Your

choices are

YES

- autoprint after CR (carriage return)

NO

- do not autoprint after CR

AUTO SEQUENCE NUMBER

is the next parameter.

Choose

NO

- don’t autoprint sequence number after CR

YES

- do autoprint sequence number after CR

ZERO

is the next parameter. Choose how you want
the zero character to look in your printouts. Choose
between 0 and 0.

POUND SIGN

is the next parameter. Choose to show

pound as # or as the British sterling pound symbol £.

_UNDERSCORE

is the next parameter. Choose
which symbol the same ASCII code will print, an
_underscore or a left arrow.

BUSY INVERT

is next.

Choices:

NO

- voltage will be in a high state until the
unit is busy then voltage level goes low.

YES -

voltage will be in a low state until the
unit is busy then voltage level goes
high.

ONLINE/OFFLINE

is next.

Choices:

YES

- enables the rocker switch to turn the
printer offline.

NO

- disables the ONLINE/OFFLINE ability.

Auto T&D

Pound Sign

➔ ➔

➔ ➔

➔

Zero

_Underscore

Busy Invert

Auto Seq#

Online/Offline

21

XON/XOFF

is next.

Choices:

90/10

- The printer will send an XOFF when the
buffer is 90% full. As the buffer empties
the printer will send an XON when the
buffer reaches 10% of capacity

90/80

- XOFF is sent at 90% and XON sent at
80%.

EXT CH SET

is next. This stands for Extended
Character Set.
Choices:

YES

- Allows you to use hexidecimal numbers
above 80 (true only for 8 data bits.)

NO

- Disables the Extended Character Set
ability.

PRINT READY

is next.

Choices:

YES

- Prints

Ready. . .

upon power up.

NO

- Disables printing

Ready. . .

WARNING -

If you choose NO, hold the left side of
the rocker switch down for 4-6 seconds to access the
setup menu. Begin timing when you plug the unit and
the red light comes on. The paper feed motor does
not run upon power up when

Ready. . .

is disabled.

XON/XOFF

The choice to use
the extended
character set is
available only
when 8 data bits
are chosen.

Ext Ch Set

Print Ready

22

The next item in the Setup Menu is

SET CLOCK. . .

With the printer in the setup menu and with

SET

CLOCK. . .

as the last item printed, if you press

OK

(right side) the printer will print the following:

The printout shows the year currently in memory. The

9

is reversed (white on black) to show the position of
the cursor. This is the number which will be incre­mented if

NEXT

(left side) is pressed. If the number is

correct press

OK

(right side) and the following is

printed:

The cursor now appears over the 2nd position. Press

NEXT

(left side) to increment this number if needed

and

OK

if it is right. Continue this sequence of
accepting or changing the year, month, day, and
DOW (Day Of Week).

SETCLOCK. . .

This feature is
available only on
units with the time/
date option installed.

23

When you have completed the

SET DATE

menu the

following is printed automatically:

Choose

NEXT

(left side) to increment the number or
OK (right side) to accept the 1. Repeat this same
procedure for hours and minutes as shown below.

When everything is as you want it and you press OK,

START CLOCK

is printed. Press

OK

(right side) to

start the clock. The printer then prints

Ready. . .

showing you that it is out of the setup menu and
ready to print.

RESET SEQ#

is the last setup menu item. This menu
item lets you reset the sequence number. This
number is the number of print transactions since the
last reset.

With the printer in the setup menu and with

RESET

SEQ#

as the last item printed, if you press

OK

(right
side) the sequence number will be reset to zero and
the printer will print

Ready. . .

showing it is no longer
in the setup menu and that the printer is ready to
print.

To skip resetting the sequence number to zero, press

NEXT

(left side).

CONFIGURE. . .

is printed. Unplug

and replug in the printer to return to printing mode.

Ready. . .

is printed.

RESET SEQ#

24

Communication

This section shows the cable differences in the
models of the WP-233 printer and the control codes
and communication protocols.

RS-232 Serial
Version

Pin No. Signal DTE Direction Description

1 Chassis ground - Cable shield
2 (TD) Transmitted From printer Printer data output line

data
3 (RD) Received data To printer Printer data input line
7 (SG) Signal Ground - Signal ground

10 +12VDC To printer Only w/9-12VDC option
11 (CTS) Clear to send From printer Signal (equivalent to

BUSY) indicating that
printer is ready for
operation and can
receive data.

21 Power return To printer Only w/9-12 VDC option

25

Serial Interface Voltage Levels

Received data: Mark = OFF = Logic “1” = -25V to ­3V

Space = ON = Logic “0” = +25V to

+3V
Clear to send: Busy = OFF = Logic “1” = -9V

Not Busy = ON = Logic “0” = +9V

Transmitted data: Mark = OFF = Logic “1” = -9V

Space = ON = Logic “0” = +9V

113

1425

1. Connectors
On the printer: 25-hole receptacle, equivalent to
DB-25S (Canon)

On the cable: 25-pin plug, equivalent to DB-25P
(Canon) Shell equivalent to DB-C2-J9 (Canon)

2. Cable
Use cable less than 25 feet long. A shielded
cable using twisted pair conductors is desir­able.

26

Watertight Enclosure for WP-233 with RS-232

Pin No. Signal Direction Description

1 (SG) Signal Ground - Signal Ground
2 (RD) Received

Data To Printer Printer Data Input Line
3 (CTS) Clear to Send From Printer Equivalent to BUSY
4 Chassis ground - Cable shield
5 Ground To Printer 117 AC Ground
6 Neutral To Printer 117 AC Neutral
7 Hot To Printer 117 AC Hot

27

Watertight Enclosure for WP-233

with 12-48 Volt Option

Pin No. Signal Direction Description

1, 2 (PWR) Power To Printer ±12-48 VDC

3 (CTS) Clear to Send From Printer Equivalent to BUSY
4 (SG) Signal Ground - Signal ground
5 (RD) Received To Printer Printer Data Input

Data Line

6, 7 (PWR RTN) To Printer Power Return

8 (CG) Chassis ground - Cable Shield

28

20 mA Current
Loop Version

Pin No. Signal Direction Description

1* Chassis ground - Cable shield
23 (RD) Received data(-) From printer Printer data return line
25 (RD) Received data(+) To printer Printer data input line

*Optional - If used, this should only be connected at one end.

29

According to the American Standard Code of Informa­tion Interchange (ASCII), there are 32 control codes
in addition to the codes for the printable characters.
(Control codes are sent as data, but the receiving
device interprets them as abbreviated ‘’instructions”,
communication - status messages, etc.)

The printer recognizes these control codes:

CONTROL
CODES

Code

Function Abbreviation Hex Decimal

-NUL000

- SOH 01 1
Reserved STX 02 2
Reserved ETX 03 3

- EOT 04 4

- ENQ 05 5
Reserved ACK 06 6

- BEL 07 7
Back Space BS 08 8

-HT099
Line Feed LF 0A 10

-VT0B11

-FF0C12
Carriage Return CR 0D 13
Double Height SO 0E 14
Double Width SI 0F 15
Reset Seq. # to 0000 DLE 10 16
Inhibit Line Space DC1 1 1 17
Dot Graphics DC2 12 18
User Character DC3 13 19
Reserved NAK 15 21
Get time and date SYN 16 22

- ETB 17 23
Stop Reverse Field CAN 18 24
Reverse Field EM 19 25
Set Printer Config. SUB 1A 26
Escape ESC 1B 27

-FS1C28
24 Column Mode GS 1D 29
32 Column Mode RS 1E 30
40 Column Mode US 1F 31

Printer will ignore all other control codes.

30

Upon receipt of this code, the printer erases from its
buffer the previously received character. This is
useful in correcting typing errors for programs that
send data both to a video screen and the hardcopy
printer. Remember that if you type more characters
than the printer can print on a line, the printer will
automatically start printing.

The printer handles this control code in exactly the
same manner as carriage return (control code 13)
except when a line feed immediately follows a
carriage return. The line feed code is ignored if it is
immediately preceded by a carriage return. The
default setting is 7.6 lines per inch.

Whenever a carriage return code is received, the
printer will print out the current contents of its buffer,
then clear the buffer to get ready for additional data.

This control code tells the printer to switch to the
double height character line. The control code can be
sent at any time on a line, it need not be the first code
received by the printer after a carriage return.

You cannot mix normal and double height characters
on the same line. Once you select the double height,
the printer will remain in that mode until it receives a
carriage return or line feed. A line print caused by a
buffer full condition will not clear the double height
command. This means that the “wrap around” print
line will also be double height if the double height
command was sent before the line buffer was filled.

This control code tells the printer to switch to double
width character printing. The control code should be
sent as the first character on a line. If it is received
after half the maximum characters per line were sent
then the printer will ignore all characters on the last
half of the line.

You cannot mix normal and double width characters
on the same line. Once you select the double width,
the printer will remain in that mode until it receives a
carriage return or line feed. A line print caused by a

Back Space

Code 8

Line Feed

Code 10

Carriage Return

Code 13

Double Width

Code 15

Double Height

Code 14

31

buffer full condition will not clear the double width
command. This means that the “wrap around” print
line will also be double width if the double width
command was sent before the line buffer was filled.

Enlarged printing may be selected by sending both
the double height command (code 14) and the double
width command (control 15). The control codes may
be sent in either order, but because of the double
width restrictions, the codes should be sent at the
beginning of a line.

Example of Control Codes 14 and 15:

When the printer receives this control code it will
immediately reset the sequence number to 00000.

A standard character line is made up of ten dot lines.
Eight of these dot lines are used for the printable
character and two are used for space between lines.
When using character graphics it is desirable to
eliminate the two blank lines so the graphic charac­ters connect together. Sending a CHR$(17) which is
control code 17 anywhere on a line of data will stop
the printer from putting space between that line and
the next. If a CHR$(17) is not on a print line, the
normal space between lines will be printed.

Enlarged Printing

Codes 14 and 15

Reset Sequence

Number

Code 16

Inhibit Line Spacing

Code 17

Example:

Run:

32

The mechanism used in printer prints one line of dots
across at a time. This means that when it prints one
line of characters it has actually printed ten lines of
dots where the first eight lines make up the character
and the last two lines are blank for the space between
character lines. By using the CHR$(18) control code,
you can tell the printer which dots to print for one
whole dot line. Since there are 144 dots per line, you
must follow the CHR$(18) control code with 144 bits
of information. For every place there is a one in the
144 bit pattern you send, the printer will print a dot.
Rather than receive one bit at a time the printer
expects to receive the information eight bits at a time.
This means that after receiving a CHR$(18) the next
eighteen 8 bit characters it receives will be printed as
dots to form one dot line.

To figure out the dot pattern values to send after the
CHR$(18), you will need some grid paper. A large
sheet with 144 grid boxes across would be conve­nient. If such a large sheet of paper is not available,
you could divide your pattern in half and work with 72
grid boxes across. Divide up your grid paper by
drawing a heavy line down every 8 boxes across.
Now fill in each box of the grid that you want to be
printed. Now do the following procedure to compute
the eighteen values which describe your desired bit
pattern.

Imagine placing the number sequence over each of
the first eight grid boxes.

Now add together all the numbers above the boxes
which are filled in or have a dot as in the example
above. In our example, we would have 2 + 16 + 32
which equals 50. The 50 becomes the first entry of a
data statement which would be followed by seven­teen more numbers computed in the exact same
manner as the example.

Once you have the eighteen values in a data state­ment, you need simply run a program which PRINTS
a CHR$(18) followed by the data value read from the
data statement. Don’t forget to end all of your Print
statements with semicolon. This will prevent carriage
returns CHR$(13) from being sent, which would
become part of the eighteen data values for which the
printer is waiting.

Dot Graphics

Code 18

33

Example 1:

Example 2:

By using CHR$(1) you enter the Custom Character
mode. This allows you to design and print your own 6
x 8 character by inputting data. A DATA statement is
made of numbers that represent a row of dots which
when READ all together, will make up your character.
To design your character, follow the example below.
You should notice that each number in the DATA
statement corresponds to one row in your character.
To design a character, follow these steps:

User Programmable

Character

Code 19

34

1. Use quad ruled paper to design your character.

2. Number 8 consecutive rows like this:
1

2
4
8

16
32
64

128

3. Now design your character in dot form (see the

example below).

4. Add together all the numbers from the column on

the left, counting only where you have placed a
dot in a row. In our example, the first column has
three dots located in rows 4, 8, and 16. Added
together they equal 28.

5. Put your final total for each column into a data

statement in column order.

The DATA statement in your program will read:
DATA 28, 34, 65, 65, 54, 34
The next step is to tell the printer your newly de-

signed character. To do this you must send a
CHR$(19) followed by the six numbers you computed
above. Here is an example of how this can be done.

35

After typing RUN, your custom character will be
stored in the printer’s memory. It will retain this
information until the printer is switched off or until you
write over the data by defining a different character.

To print your newly designed character, simply send
CHR$(126) which corresponds to hexidecimal value
7E.

This control code is used when setting the printer’s
time and date clock.

This control code is used to read the printer’s time
and date clock.

Sending this control code will turn OFF the reverse
field mode that is selected using control code 25.

Send this control code to turn ON the reverse field
printing mode. This will print white letters on a dark
background. Do not print more that three reverse field
print lines. Also, do not print more than a few empty
spaces in a reverse field. The printer may become
overloaded and stop printing.

This control code is used when setting the printer’s
various configuration parameters.

Set Time and Date

Control Code 20

Read Time and

Date

Control Code 22

Cancel Reverse

Field

Control Code 24

Reverse Field

Control Code 25

Set Printer Config.

Code 26

36

The printer powers up in the column mode last
selected by configuration. You can change the
column width by sending the appropriate control code
from the list below:

Control code 29 - 24 columns
Control code 30 - 32 columns
Control code 31 - 40 columns

You can send the control code at any point on a line
before the buffer becomes filled. You cannot change
column widths on the same line.

The RS-232 serial version can produce all ASCII
characters from hex 20 through hex 7D (decimal 32
through 125). Here’s what they look like:

Note the last two codes of the usual ASCII character
set are not supported. Instead, if CHR$(126), which
corresponds to hexadecimal 7E, is received by the
printer, it will print the character defined in its RAM
(Random Access Memory). The section on USER
Programmable Character describes how this RAM
can be loaded with any 6 x 8 pattern.

Command Print formatted data

<ESC> 0 HH:MM 24 hour format
<ESC> 1 HH:MM_?M 12 hour format with AM or PM
<ESC> 2 MM/DD/YY month/day/year
<ESC> 3 DD-MM-YY day-month-year/numeric

month

<ESC> 4 DD-MON-YY day-month-year with 3 letter

abbreviation of the month
<ESC> 5 DOW day of week abbreviation
<ESC> 6 currently configured format
<ESC> 9 XXXX current sequence number

Selectable Column

Width

Codes 29, 30, 31

Printable Characters

NOTE: (ASCII
characters from Hex
80 to FF are
unsupported and
will cause problems
if you attempt to
print them.)

Printer Escape

Command Code

Definitions

37

Default Table

Below is a table showing the possible values for the
Custom and Configuration menu parameters. The
values shown in bold type are the default settings.

Custom Menu ConfigurationMenu

T/D Format 1 - None

2 - MM/DD/YY_hh:mm_?M

3 - MM/DD/YY hh:mm ?M DOW

4 - MM/DD/YY hh:mm
5 - MM/DD/YY hh:mm DOW
6 - DD-MM-YY hh:mm ?M
7 - DD-MM-YY hh:mm ?M DOW
8 - DD-MM-YY hh:mm
9 - DD-MM-YY hh:mm DOW
10- DD-MON-YY hh:mm ?M
11- DD-MON-YY hh:mm ?M DOW
12- DD-MON-YY hh:mm
13- DD-MON-YY hh:mm DOW

Auto T&D 1 - NO (no print after CR)

2 - YES (print after CR)

Auto SEQ# 1 - NO (no print after CR)

2 - YES (print after CR)

Zero 1 - 0 Zero with slash

2 - 0 Zero without slash

Pound 1 - # U.S. pound symbol

2 - £ British pound sterling

symbol
Underscore 1 - _ Underscore

2 - Left arrow

Busy Invert 1 - Non-inverted busy (CTS)

2 - Inverted busy

Online/Offline 1 - switch function enabled

2 - switch function disabled

Ext Ch Set 1 - NO (no extended char. set)

2 - YES

Print Ready 1 - Print “Ready” message

2 - Don’t print “Ready” message

Baud 1 - 300

2-600

3 - 1200

4 - 2400
5 - 4800
6 - 9600
7 - 19200

Data Bits 1 - 7

2-8

Parity 1 - ODD (none if data bits = 8)

2 - EVEN (none if data bits = 8)

Stop Bits 1-1

2-2

Handshake 1 - None

2 - BUSY-LINE (serial only)

3 - BUSY-BUFF (serial only)

4 - XON/XOFF-LINE (serial only)
5 - XON/XOFF-BUFF(serial only)

Columns 1 - 24

2-32

3-40

Inver 1 - No (non-inverted printing)

2 - YES (inverted printing)

Font Type 1 - 5x8 font

2 - 5x5 font

Magnification 1 - No magnification

2 - Double width
3 - Double height
4 - Double width, double height

➔➔

➔➔

➔

38

This page left intentionally blank.

39

This page left intentionally blank.

Weigh-Tronix

Weigh-Tronix Canada, ULC

1000 Armstrong Dr.
Fairmont, MN 56031 USA
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 507-238-4195
e-mail: [e-mail]
www.wtxweb.com

217 Brunswick Blvd.
Pointe Claire, QC H9R 4R7 Canada
Telephone: [phone]
Facsimile: 514-695-6820

Weighing Products & Systems