Commodore MPS1200 a

COMMODORE

.......

mps

DOTMATRIX PRINTER

user’s guide

FOR USERS IN UK

WARNING: THIS APPARATUS MUST BE EARTHED !
IMPORTANT. The wires in this mains lead are coloured in accordance with the fol

lowing code:

Green and yellow Earth
Blue Neutral
Brown Live

As the colours of the wires in the mains lead of this apparatus may not correspond
with the coloured marking identifying the terminals in your plug, proceed as follows:

The wire which is coloured green and yellow must be connected to the terminal in
the plug which is marked by the letter E or by the safety earth symbol— or coloured
green or green and yellow.

The wire which is coloured blue must be connected to the terminal which is
marked with the letter N or coloured black.

The wire which is coloured brown must be connected to the terminal which is
marked with the letter L or coloured red.

Commodore MPS 1200"

User’s Manual

Copyright 1986 by Commodore Electronics Limited
Copyright 1985 by Citizen America Corporation
All rights reserved.

This manual contains copyrighted and proprietary information. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written
permission of Commodore Electronics Limited.

Commodore BASIC

Copyright 1985 by Commodore Electronics Limited
All rights reserved.
Copyright 1977 by Microsoft Corp.

All rights reserved.

Trademark Acknowledgements

Epson and Epson FX: Epson America, Inc.
Jane: Arktronics Corporation

Print Shop: Broderbund Software, Inc.

Com mod ore MPS 1200™ and MPS 1200™ are trademarks of Commodore Electro nics Limited

Introduction

In this manual, you’ll find out all about the MPS 1200’s many
printing functions: how you can print in regular draft letters or in
near letter quality characters, as well as expanded, compressed,
emphasized and doublestrike print, italics, superscripts and sub
scripts. Additional features like reverse printing, double-height and
international characters are also explained.

This printer has eight national character sets, corresponding to the Com
modore 128 computer. These eight national character sets are as follows:

1. USA/UK/Netherlands, 2. Denmark/Norway, 3. Sweden/Finland,

4. Germany, 5. France/Belgium, 6. Italy, 7. Switzerland, 8. Spain.

You’ll learn about designing your own characters and creating
graphics on your MPS 1200, using your printer as either a Commo
dore-compatible or Epson FX printer.

The MPS 1200 User’s Manual is written not just for the program
mer, but also for the non-programmer who wants professional
printing results.

Before you unpack your printer (no matter which type of user
you are), you should begin by reading Chapter 1. It tells you how
to unpack and set up your printer correctly.

When you have the MPS 1200 set up and connected to your
computer, read Chapter 2. It explains important things you’ll need
to know to get the most out of your MPS 1200, such as how dot
matrix printing works, how Commodore BASIC is used with
your printer, and how your printer interacts with software.

• If you plan to use your printer just with store-bought software
and have no interest in programming, you only need to read the

parts relevant to software in Chapter 2, then you can skip ahead
to Appendix A to learn about printer maintenance.

• If you plan to do your own programming or custom design
graphics, you should read the entire book.

Chapters 3 through 9 explain about all the MPS 1200’s features,
with examples of control codes and escape sequences in programs
you can type in and use right away. These programs demonstrate
what each effect looks like and the proper syntax for the com
mands.

No matter what the level of your computer skills, you’ll find the
MPS 1200 printer to be a versatile high-quality printer that will suit
your needs exactly.

TABLE OF
CONTENTS

Introduction i

Chapter 1 SETUP 1-1

Printer Location
Unpacking and Assembly

Installing the Ribbon
Installing the Paper Guide
Installing the Printer Cover

Getting Acquainted

Printer Components
The Control Panel

Control Panel Procedure

Selecting and Loading Paper

The Paper Select Lever
Loading Single Sheets
Installing the Tractor-Feed
Loading Continuous Paper

Bottom-Feeding Continuous Paper
Paper Thickness

The Printer Self-Test

The Maintenance Self-Test
Connecting Your Computer
Internal (DIP) Switches

Chapter 2 PRINTER BASICS 2-1

Dot Matrix Printing
ASCII Codes
Hexadecimal Numbers
PET ASCII Codes
Notes on Commodore BASIC

Secondary Addresses
Choosing a Font with the Secondary Address

Control Codes and Escape Sequences

Printer Installation

Choosing the Right Configuration
Software Printer Choices

Word Processors

Literal Characters
Spreadsheets, Databases, and Other Programs
Initializing the Printer

Chapter 3 PRINTING TEXT 3-1

Near Letter Quality
Character Print Width

Pitch

Pica Pitch

Elite Pitch

Expanded Print

One-line Expanded Print
Compressed Print

Compressed Expanded Print
Proportional Print
Proportional Spacing

Justified Printing

Print Density

Emphasized Print

Doublestrike Print

Special Effects

Italics

Underlining

Reverse Print

Superscript

Subscript

Character Height

Vertically Enlarged Print
The Master Commands

Master Reset

Master Pitch

Master Print Mode

Special Characters and Symbols

International Character Sets

Switching Configurations

Chapter 4 PAGE FORMATTING 4-1

The End of the Line

Carriage Return
Line Feed
A Note About BASIC

Line Spacing

Fixed Line Spacing

1/6 Inch Line Spacing
1/8 Inch Line Spacing

7/72 Inch Line Spacing

Variable Line Spacing

Line Spacing of n/72 Inch
Line Spacing of n/144 Inch
Line Spacing of n/216 Inch
A Variable Line Spacing Example

Variable Line Feeds

Line Feed of n/216 Inch

Page Design

New Page (Form Feed)

Page Length

Set Page Length By Lines

Set Page Length By Inches
Margins

Top and Bottom Margins

Left Margin

Right Margin

Chapter 5 USING TABS 5-1

Horizontal Tabs

Move to Next Htab

Set Fixed Htabs

Variable Htabs

Relative Htab
Dot Tabs

Relative Dot Tabs
Vertical Tabs (Vtabs)

Move to Next Vtab

Fixed Vtabs

Variable Vtabs

Relative Vtab
Vtab Channels

Define Vtab Channel

Select Vtab Channel

Chapter 6 EPSON MODE GRAPHICS 6-1

Introduction to Dot Graphics

Graphic Commands

Pin Numbers
Graphics Density
Line Length: Number of Columns
Putting It All Together

Graphics for Special Applications

Master Graphics Command
Changing Graphic Density
Nine-pin Graphics

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Appendix A
Appendix B

Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Index

Designing Graphics

Defining Shapes

Calculated Shapes (Plotting)
COMMODORE DOT GRAPHICS 7-1
Bit Image Coding

Combining Bit Images to Form a Larger Image

All Bit Pattern Printing

Repeat Bit Image Printing

Dot Address Determination
CREATING CHARACTERS 8-1
How the MPS 1200 Prints Characters

Designing Your Own Characters

Copying Standard Characters
Saving Character Designs in the MPS 1200’s Memory
Attribute Byte
Data Bytes

Printing Defined Characters

Special Effects
ODDS AND ENDS 9-1
Local Character Set Selection
Quote Mode
Buffer Commands

Delete

Cancel

Master Reset

Backspace
Unidirectional Print

Continuous Unidirectional Print

One-Line Unidirectional Print

Slashed Zero
Paper Out Sensor
The Eighth Bit

Eighth Bit On
Eighth Bit Off

Cancel Eighth Bit Control
Hex Dump
Maintenance A-l
MPS 1200 Character Sets

B-l
Command Reference C-l
The Internal (DIP) Switches

D-l

Technical Specifications E-l

Chapter 1

Setup

This chapter will explain how to set up your MPS 1200 printer.
You’ll see how to pick a suitable location for your printer and
unpack its components. You’ll also learn how to install the ribbon,
load paper and connect the printer to your computer.

PRINTER LOCATION

Before you set up your printer, you should think about the best
location for it. Near your computer is a pretty good start, but there
are a few other considerations you should take into account:

• Choose a flat, sturdy surface with enough room for the paper to
be fed freely into and flow out of the printer. If you use continu
ous fanfold paper, you’ll need enough room behind the printer
(or underneath with bottom-feeding) for a stack of paper.

• Position the printer so its power cord and connection to the
computer won’t interfere with the paper flow.

• If you’re putting the printer on a wood surface, place a protective

mat between the printer and the surface to prevent possible

damage to the surface.

• Avoid areas subject to excessive heat (such as direct sunlight),
humidity, dust or grease.

• Connect the printer to a steady source of electricity. Motors and

many appliances (like copiers, heaters, refrigerators and air con
ditioners) cause fluctuations in the power line. You may want to
use a surge protector which guards against power fluctuations.
There are many good ones available.

1-1

UNPACKING AND ASSEMBLY

When you unpack your MPS 1200, save the packing materials.
They are specially designed to protect the printer, and will be useful
in the event you need to ship it.

In the box, you should find the items shown below (in addition to
this manual). If anything is missing or appears damaged, contact
your dealer immediately.

Make sure you take the time to fill out and send the warranty card
now, since it registers you as an MPS 1200 owner and validates

your warranty.

Figure 1-1. Inside the carton, you should find: 1) Printer, 2) tractor-
feed unit, 3) paper guide, 4) power cord, 5) serial cable, 6) User’s
Manual, 7) ribbon cartridge.

1-2

Installing the Ribbon

The printer ribbon is a black plastic cartridge, and will be easy to
install. Take the printer ribbon out of its packing materials, and open
the printer cover. Holding the cartridge so the round knob is facing
up and on the left side, place the cartridge in the printer as shown in

Figure 1-2. Gently push the cartridge down until it snaps into place.
Slide the ribbon into place between the print head and the metal

ribbon guide. (To make this easier, the print head should be posi
tioned near the center of the printer.) Remove any slack in the ribbon
by turning the small plastic knob counterclockwise, then close the
printer cover.

1-3

CAUTION: When replacing a ribbon cartridge, turn the power off and

slide the print head to the right edge before removing the
old ribbon, to avoid damaging the print head.

Installing the Paper Guide

The paper guide is a plastic incline with two sliding pieces on the
front. The guide fits into a groove toward the back of the printer

and is used to lead sheets of paper into the printer. The sliding
pieces guide the paper into the platen and keep it from getting
crooked as it advances.

To install the paper guide, slide it into the lip at the rear of the
printer at a 45 degree angle (see Figure 1-3). Once it fits securely
into the lip, let it rest on the knobs on the back of the printer.

Figure 1-3. Installing the paper guide.

1-4

Installing the Printer Cover

With the ribbon installed, you can replace the plastic cover on the
printer. Hold the cover at a 45 degree angle (see Figure 1-4) and
insert the two slots onto the tabs in the printer case. Now press
down on the back edge of the cover until it snaps into place.

Figure 1-4. Installing the printer cover.

The printer cover has three basic positions: completely closed (dur
ing printer operation), completely open (to access the inside of the
printer) and halfway (for removing the cover from the printer).

1-5

GETTING ACQUAINTED

Now that we’ve gotten this far, it’s time to take a look at the

features and functions of some of the components of the MPS 1200.
These are shown below.

Figure 1-5. MPS 1200 printer components and controls.

Printer Components

Power switch

This switch, located on the lower left side near the front, is used to
turn the printer on and off.

Platen

The platen is the hard rubber cylinder that carries the paper to the
print head.

Paper feed knob

The paper feed knob, located on the right side of the printer, turns
the platen. You can manually advance the paper by turning this
knob.

1-6

Paper select lever

This lever adjusts the pressure on the platen, according to the type
of paper being used. This lever is located on the top right of the
printer, near the back.

The paper select lever has two positions, front and back.
The front position is used for single sheets or continuous paper

without the tractor-feed. The back position is used when you have
installed the tractor-feed.

Paper thickness lever

The paper thickness lever is used to adjust the distance between the
print head and the platen to accommodate forms with up to three
carbonless copies. This lever is located in front of the platen (under
the printer cover) on the right.

Printer cover

The printer cover serves many functions—as a dust cover, noise

buffer, paper bail and paper cutter. It protects the MPS 1200 from
dust while reducing the sound level during printing. On the inside,
the cover has a bar with three rollers, which holds the paper against
the platen. And a special beveled edge serves as a paper cutter for
tearing off sheets.

Paper guide

The adjustable sliders on the paper guide let you set the width for
the paper to be fed into the printer. This will keep the paper flow
going smoothly, without allowing the paper to shift or be fed
unevenly.

The Control Panel

The control panel is located on the right front of the MPS 1200. It
contains four rectangular blocks, one panel with three status lights
and three touch switches.

□ POWER
□ PAPER OUT
□ READY

ONUNE

LF

III

Figure 1-6: The MPS 1200 control panel.

1-7

Power light

The power light glows green when the printer is on.

Ready light

The ready light glows green when the printer is ready to accept
data from the computer. During normal printing, it flickers as the
printer tells the computer to start and stop sending data. This
flicker is normal.

Paper out light

The paper out light flashes red when the printer is out of paper.

On-line Switch

The on-line switch determines whether the printer is controlled by

the computer and is able to receive data, or is controlled by the
other switches on the printer. When the ready light is green, the
printer is “on-line” and the computer controls the printer. When
this light is off, the printer is “off-line” and the other control panel
switches can be used while information from the computer is
suspended.

LF (Line Feed) Switch

This switch advances the paper one line each time it is pressed when
the computer is off-line. Continuously holding down the switch
allows you to advance the paper as far as you like.

FF (Form Feed) Switch

When the printer is off-line, pressing the FF switch advances the
paper to the top of the next page.

The control panel switches are also important because they play a
key role in turning on some of the MPS 1200’s special features like
the printer and maintenance self-tests and hex dump, described
later in this manual.

CONTROL PANEL PROCEDURE

The control panel can enable you to print in many different type
styles (known as fonts).

To enter font select mode, press and hold down the FF switch on

the control panel and press the On-line switch (while still holding
down the FF switch).

1-8

The Ready light starts flashing, and the different fonts may now be
selected. To access each of the fonts shown below, press the On
line switch the appropriate number of times. For example, if you
want to print in italics, press the On-line switch twice. Each time
you press the On-line switch, the Paper Out light flashes in red.

FONT SELECT (# On-line presses)
PICA 0
NEAR LETTER QUALITY

(NLQ) 1
ITALIC 2
EMPHASIZED 3
COMPRESSED 4

When you’ve selected the desired font, press and release the FF
switch. Then press the LF switch, which takes the MPS 1200 out of
font select mode and back to normal printer operation, with the
Ready light glowing green.

You can select combinations of fonts in this manner. For instance,
you can select emphasized italic by entering one font, and then
repeat the procedure to enter a second style (or even third or
fourth). To return to “normal” printing, either reselect PICA by
entering font select mode and exiting without pressing On-line (0

On-line presses), or turn the printer off then on again.

You can also access the NLQ font without entering font select

mode, by pressing and holding the LF switch and then pressing and

holding the On-line switch. When you release them, the printer

prints in NLQ style. To print draft characters again, just repeat this

procedure.

SELECTING AND LOADING PAPER

You can use either single sheets or continuous fan-fold paper with

your MPS 1200. Fan-fold paper, also known as pin-feed or con

tinuous paper, is probably when you think of as “computer paper.”

It comes in sheafs of continuous perforated sheets with holes

punched along the side. It is available plain or with lines or stripes

in various colors.

Continuous letterheads, pre-printed forms, labels and envelopes
can also be used with the MPS 1200. The MPS 1200 can handle any
of these, up to ten inches in width.

1-9

The Paper Select Lever

The paper select lever (shown in Figure 1-7) sets the type of paper

feed the printer uses. In the forward position, it uses friction feed.

Friction feed increases the pressure on the platen so the paper is
automatically fed by friction as the platen turns. This is used with
single sheets, and when the tractor-feed is not in place.

The back position (labeled ‘PIN’) activates the tractor feed. It is
used with continuous paper when the tractor-feed is installed. This
setting releases the pressure on the platen and allows the paper to be
fed by the pins on the sprockets on each side of the paper. The back
position can also be used to allow adjustment or alignment of the
paper, since it releases the pressure on the platen that’s holding
down the paper.

Figure 1-7. The paper select level has two positions for loading
different types of paper.

Loading Single Sheets

This is pretty similar to loading paper into a typewriter; maybe it’s

a little easier due to the paper guide on the back of the printer.
Here’s how:

1. Move the paper select lever forward.

1-10

2. Insert a sheet of paper into the slot behind the platen. The paper
should slide in about one inch.

If you have the paper guide installed, set the two sliding guides to
where you want to position the paper and the width of the paper;
slide the paper in under the platen via the guide.

3. Turn the paper feed knob.

4. If necessary, make any adjustments by setting the paper select

switch back, repositioning the paper, and moving the paper
select switch forward again.

You can also load paper using the LF switch:

1. If you haven’t already done so, plug in the power cord.

2. Turn the power switch on. The Power light should come on,

and the Paper Out light should flash. The Ready light will be
out, meaning the printer is off-line and able to respond to
control panel commands.

3. Move the paper select level forward and insert a sheet of paper

into the slot, via the paper guide if you’ve installed it.

4. Press and hold the LF switch until the paper has been fed to the

position you want. Or press the FF switch once, which func
tions as an automatic sheet load, advancing the paper to about
one inch above the first print line.

5. If necessary, make any adjustments by setting the paper select
switch back, repositioning the paper, and moving the paper
select switch forward again.

6. Press the On-line switch; the Paper Out light goes off and the
Ready light turns on, signifying that the printer is now on-line
and ready to go.

1-11

Installing the Tractor-Feed

The tractor-feed unit is used with continuous paper, labels or
forms, and is quite easy to install. It uses two sprockets, which can
slide back and forth to adjust to paper width. These can be locked
into position by flipping the locking levers on the back of the
sprockets. The holes along the edges on each side of the paper fit
into pins on these sprockets to feed the paper straight and evenly

through the printer.

Figure 1-8. Components of the tractor-feed mechanism.

The flip-up covers on the tractor clamp the paper into place on the
pins. With each line feed, the pins move and pull the paper around
the platen and through the printer. Paper supports, which can be
moved left or right, guide the paper out of the tractor feed.

Here’s how to install the tractor-feed:

1. Remove the printer cover and paper guide. You can just lean the
cover in the up position if you like.

1-12

2. Push in the two release levers on the back of each end of the
tractor-feed, and place the plastic hooks on the bottom of the
tractor into the tabs on the printer. The casing of the printer is
shaped to accommodate the tractor-feed, which makes it easy to
place in the correct position.

3. When you’ve set the tractor-feed in position on the printer, you
can now let go of the release levers to lock the unit into place.

4. Install the paper supports and space them evenly on the tractor
unit. You can replace the printer cover if you like.

1 Release lever on the back

Figure 1-9. Installing the tractor-feed unit.

1-13

Loading Continuous Paper

Continuous paper can be loaded through the rear of the printer or
through the bottom of the printer.

Here’s how to load continuous paper from the rear of the printer

just below the platen:

1. Remove or lean the printer cover forward.

2. Turn the power switch off and slide the print head to the left.

3. Move the paper select lever forward and open the tractor covers.

4. Flip the locking levers forward and move the tractors to the
approximate positions for the paper width. Adjust the paper
supports so they are evenly spaced.

5. Place a stack of paper on a level surface behind the printer. Bring

the top sheet of the paper forward and insert it into the platen, as
you would insert a single sheet.

6. Turn the paper knob until the paper advances past the metal

ribbon guide. Move the paper release lever back to the PIN
position (allowing the paper to be moved freely).

7. Fit the punched holes on the paper onto the pins on the tractors,

moving the tractors to accommodate the width of the paper.
Close the tractor covers to hold the paper in the pins.

8. Turn the paper feed knob until the perforation of the paper is
lined up with the top of the ribbon guide. This will assure that
you always start printing at the top of the next page.

1-14

Figure 1-10. Align the top of the paper and the print head.

9. Adjust the paper left or right by sliding the tractor. When the

paper is positioned (usually the left edge is aligned with the
print head), lock the tractors in place by flipping back the
locking levers on the back of the tractor unit.

10. Replace the printer cover and turn on the power switch.
You’re ready to start printing.

The placement of the feed paper stack and the output pile is impor
tant for smooth feeding and printer operation. The feed paper stack
must be placed either behind or below the back of the printer so the
paper can flow smoothly into the printer without interfering with
what comes out.

Wherever you place it, make sure the paper can feed into the printer
in a straight line. If the stack is off-center, it may cause the paper to

misfeed. A typical setup for paper feeding is shown in Figure 1-11.

Figure 1-11. A typical setup for printing with continuous paper.

Bottom-Feeding Continuous Paper

Bottom-feeding continuous paper is useful when you have a printer
stand which allows you to place a stack of paper underneath.
However, it’s important that the paper flows freely to avoid a
misfeed.

Loading bottom-feed paper is very similar to loading paper into the
rear of the printer. Follow all the steps described above, but load
the paper into the bottom slot of the printer instead of the rear.
When you turn the paper feed knob, the paper flows from under
neath the platen instead of through the back. Then you can place
your output pile directly behind the printer.

1-16

\

Figure 1-12. Bottom-feed paper can be used with certain printer
stands.

Paper Thickness

The MPS 1200 can print up to one original and two duplicate
copies using carbonless paper. To print multiple copies, the print
head must be adjusted using the paper thickness lever, located

just in front of the platen on the right side (see Figure 1-13).

Figure 1-13. The paper thickness lever.

1-17

The paper thickness lever has five positions. For most applications,
you can leave it at the second position from the narrowest gap
between the print head and the platen (as set at the factory). To

adjust for multiple copies, move the lever toward the front of the
printer. If the print seems too light, move the lever toward the rear
of the printer. You shouldn’t have to adjust the paper thickness
often.

THE PRINTER SELF-TEST

The MPS 1200 contains a built-in self-test, a program that prints all
the printer’s characters. The self-test assures that everything is
working properly (including the installation of the ribbon and
paper and the paper thickness setting). And it lets you see what
your printing will look like.

Running the self-test is easy; you can do it without being hooked
up to the computer. With paper loaded into the printer and the
power switch off, plug the power cord into an electrical outlet.
Then, while holding down the LF switch, turn the power switch
on.

The result is a printout of all the MPS 1200’s characters, at a speed

of 120 characters per second. Even at this speed, it will take a while,
because the MPS 1200 has a couple of pages worth of characters.
To interrupt the self-test, press the On-line switch. To resume,
press the On-line switch again.

The self-test prints either Pica or NLQ characters, depending on
which font is in use. To run the self-test with near letter quality
characters, set DIP switch 1-4 to ON. (See later in this chapter for
more information on DIP switches.) Figure 1-14 is a sample of the
printer self-test with each character set.

1-18

Pica Characters:

! "#*•/.?/ ' < )* + ,-„ / 0 1 2 3456 7 89: ; < = >? ® ABCD EFGH IJKLM NOPQ R STUVW XYZCf ] T*— * I — “ - I I-. L - .-r

! " #*7.& ' < ) * + ,- . / 0 123456789 : ; O > ?©ABCD E FGH IJKLM N O PQ R STUVW X YZ Z £ 1 1*— * I — ~ - l I-, ^ L v n
M #$*/.?< ' <> *+,-./01234 5 6 7 89 : ; < = >?©ABC D EF G HI JKLM N O PQRSTUVW X YZ C £ U t+ —* I — ~ - l I-, L Hi
#*■/.?< ' ( ) *+ , - . / 0 12 3 4 56 78 9: ; < = > “‘©ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWX YZ C £ J t-<— ♦ I — ~ -l I-, L"-_."1—
*7.?< * ( ) *+ , /012 3 45678 9 : ; <= > ? © ABCDEFGHI JKLM NO PQRSTUVWXYZC£D T«^ -* I — “ - I K ^L V / T "T® -#

7.?< * ( > *+ , - . / 0 1234 5 678 9 : ; < = > “‘©ABC D EFG H I JK LM N O P Q R STUVW XYZ l£l T<— ♦ I — _- l I-, L --T - » - # I
& ' ( ) * + , -. / 0 1 23456789: ; <=>?@AB C D EFGHI JKLMN O PQRSTUVWXYZ C£D T-H-* I — “ - I I-, ‘-’L - 1 »•_♦ I .-

' ( ) *+ , /01 23456 7 8 9: ; <=>?© ABCDEFGHIJK LM NOPQ RS TU V W XYZ C£D T-:— ♦ I — _- l I-. -,L ...T— 1 »_#I ¿x

( ) * + ,- . / 0123456739 : ; < = > “‘©ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ C £ D T«— * I — “ - I K L - 1 )•—*I .XO
) * + ,- . / 0 123456789: ; < = > “ © ABCDEFGH I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZC £ T T*— ♦ I “ — -I I-. - ,L - ^ r n » - » l .-XO*

. /012 3 45678 9 : ; < = >?@ ABCDE F G HI JKLM N OPQRSTUVWXYZCfD T * -* l— " - I K v L V T T » - # l ."XO* I

+, - . /012 3 4 56789 : ; <=> “‘©ABCD E F G HI JKLM NO PQRSTUVWX YZ C£ 1 T«— * I “ — - I K L -- T - * -# I .-XO* I*

, - . / 0 12 3 456789 : ; < = > “'©ABCD E F G HI JKLMN O PQ R S TUVW XYZ C f : T*— * I “ “““ - I K L--.-1 l* -* l .XO* l*+

- . / 0 123456789 : ; < = > “‘©ABCDEFG H I JK LM N OPQ RSTUVWX Y Z C f] T-t— * I — ~ -l h L ^ T " » - # I .XO* l*-Hi

. /0 123 4 5678 9: ; < = >?©ABCD EFGHIJKLMNOPQRS TUVWXYZI-. .XO * l*-HS I
/0 1 23 4 56 7 89 :; < =>?@ A B CDEFGH I JKLMN O PQ RSTUVW X Y Z C £11 T*—* I — ~ -l I-. L ---1— »-* 1 /XO* l*-HE Itr

NLQ Characters:

!"#$%&» <> « + ,-./01 2 3456789 : ; <= >?®ABC DEFGH1 J K LMNOPQ RSTUVW XYZ! £ 3 *«— * 1

---

-I K NxT

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Figure 1-14. The MPS 1200 self-test.

When you’re satisfied that everything is working correctly, turn
the power switch off to stop the test.

The Maintenance Self-Test

The MPS 1200 has another self-test called a maintenance self-test.
This is run by turning the power on with both the LF and On-line

buttons held down when you turn the power on.
The print-out consists of two parts, a line identifying the version of

the control program and character generators in your printer and
rows of H’s (which are used in the factory to check the printing
alignment).

To stop this test, turn the printer off, then on again.

1-19

CONNECTING YOUR COMPUTER

Your printer and computer communicate by means of a serial
cable, which comes in the box with your MPS 1200. This cable
connects from one of the two serial ports on the right side of the
printer to the serial port on your computer or disk drive (usually on
the back of a Commodore computer or drive).

WARNING: Before connecting any cables, make sure the power to

both the computer and printer is OFF, to avoid damaging
either unit.

Figure 1-15 shows the serial connection with the cable on the right
side of your printer.

The groove on the silver part of the cable must be at the top, or the

pins on the cable will not fit into the holes in the serial port. The
cable end should slide in without being forced. Technical details
about the serial connector may be found in Appendix E.

1-20

INTERNAL (DIP) SWITCHES

The MPS 1200 contains several internal switches that you can set to
determine how your printer functions. These switches are small
levers known as DIP switches (Dual In-line Package), and each has
only two settings (ON and OFF). They are set at the factory to the
most frequently-used settings, but you may want to change them
to “customize” your MPS 1200 to your own needs.

These switches are easily accessed and not hard to reset. There are
two ways to get to these switches, by removing the device interface
cartridge (see Figure 1-16) or by moving a plastic covering on the
bottom of the inside of the printer (just in front of the platen—see
Figure 1-17). If you’re going to remove the interface cartridge

(where you plug the serial cable in), make sure the power to both
the printer and computer are OFF.

Figure 1-16. Removing the device interface cartridge.

1-21

The eight switches of the DIP switches 1 (SW1) determine how your printer
will function in such aspects as:

• Device number (4 or 5)

• ASCII translation (PETASCII or standard ASCII)

• Control code (Commodore or Epson mode)

• Print style (draft or near letter quality)

1-22

• Page length (11" or 12")

• Paper end detector (on or off)

• Automatic line feed (on or off)

• Print pitch (pica or compressed)
The three switches of the DIP switches 2 (SW2) determine the Com

modore national character sets as shown in table below. Switch 2-4 has no
effect.

COU N TR Y

USA/UK/Netherlands OFF
Denmark/Norway

Sweden/Finland OFF ON

Germany
France/Belgium

Italy
Switzerland ON ON
Spain

SW2-1

OFF OFF ON
OFF

ON OFF OFF
ON

ON ON

SW2-2

OFF OFF

ON
OFF ON

SW2-3

OFF
ON

OFF
ON

Many of these features will be discussed in the due course of the

manual, and Appendix D covers everything you need to know

about setting these DIP switches.

For now, a few words about control code mode, according to DIP
switch 1-3.

Figure 1-18. The DIP Switches.

1-23

The MPS 1200 has two “modes” which determine how it reacts to
different printer control codes, Commodore mode and Epson
mode. When the switch is set to the OFF position, the MPS 1200
behaves like a Commodore 1525 or MPS 803 printer. With DIP
switch 1-3 set to ON, the MPS 1200 emulates an Epson FX printer.
Most characters, commands and escape sequences are common to
the two modes, so how you set this switch will depend on your
exact needs. As you read further into this manual, you’ll sec more
of what the differences between these modes are. The factory

setting for this switch is OFF, in the Commodore mode.

1-24

Chapter 2

Printer Basics

In this chapter, we’ll cover how to use the MPS 1200 printer with
commercial programs. We start with a discussion of how dot
matrix printers work and how they use PET ASCII/ASCII codes to
communicate with computers. We then cover how to use the MPS

1200 with word processors, spreadsheets, and database programs.

DOT MATRIX PRINTING

The MPS 1200 is called a “dot matrix” printer because each charac
ter is printed as a group, or matrix, of dots. If you look very closely
at the printed characters you can see the dots. Figure 2-1 shows
how the letter H is formed from 17 dots.

Figure 2-1. The letter H is formed by 17 dots

To understand why a dot matrix printer prints as it does, we need
to look at the print head. The print head in the MPS 1200 consists
of a stack of 9 pins placed one above the other as shown in Figure 2-2.

2-1

O
O

O
O
O

O

O

O

O

U

Figure 2-2. The print head has nine pins

When the MPS 1200 receives a signal from the computer, the
electronics inside the printer cause certain pins in the print head to
strike the ribbon, creating a vertical pattern of dots on the paper.
The print head then shifts slightly, prints another column of dots,
shifts again, and so on, until the letter is formed. As the print head
moves across the page, a line of characters is printed. Then it
reverses direction and prints another line of characters as it returns.
This process is called bidirectional printing.

The correct sequence of strikes and movement of the print head for
each character is stored in the printer’s memory. The printer selects
the character pattern you want based on a numerical code it receives
from your computer. These codes are part of a set that is used
throughout the computer industry. It is known as the Am erican

Stand a rd C od e fo r In fo rm atio n Interch ange, or ASCII (pronounced as

ask-key).

ASCII CODES

Most of the time you don’t need to be concerned about ASCII
codes. When you type a letter A on your keyboard, the computer
knows which ASCII code to send to the printer. But if you want to
send a nonprinting code to your printer, to change to italics or
compressed print for example, you need to know the ASCII code
and how to get your computer to send it.

2-2

There are 256 ASCII codes, numbered 0 to 255. The first 128

include the codes for the letters of the alphabet (both lower and
upper case), the digits 0 to 9, and punctuation marks. For example,
the letter A is ASCII 65; the digit 6 is ASCII 54. The first 128 ASCII
codes also contain a number of nonprinting codes, called control
codes. These codes, ASCII 0 through 31, are the ones that control
the MPS 1200 functions. We will have more to say about them later
in this manual.

The second 128 codes, ASCII 128 to 255, are sometimes called the

“high-bit” or “8-bit” ASCII characters. They are less standardized

than the first 128 and their meaning depends somewhat on the
particular equipment and application involved. The MPS 1200
interprets the high-bit ASCII codes as uppercase characters, graphic

characters, and special symbols.

One of the most confusing things about ASCII codes is that there

are two numbering systems for the codes. Some books and pro

grams refer to them by their decimal value (0 to 255) and others use

their hexadecimal value.

Hexadecimal Numbers

The numbers we usually use are called decimal numbers because

they are based on ten—the ten digits 0 through 9. H exad ecim al

numbers, or hex numbers for short, are based on 16—the ten digits

0 through 9 and the six letters A through F. To distinguish them

from decimal numbers, hex numbers are usually written in one of

three ways:

1. preceded by a dollar sign (e.g. $13 or $6A).

2. followed by an h (e.g. 13h or 6Ah)

3. preceded by an ampersand and H (e.g. &H13 or &H6A)
All have the same meaning; it depends on which book you are

reading. In this book, we use the second style; hex numbers are
followed with an h, as in 6Ah.

The ASCII codes in hexadecimal are OOh to FFh. Whether you use
decimal or hexadecimal ASCII codes depends on your computer
system and which software program you are using. Appendix B
contains a complete list of all the ASCII codes with their decimal
and hex values.

2-3

PETASCII Codes

There are two versions of ASCII codes available on the MPS 1200,
standard ASCII and PETASCII. Since standard ASCII codes are
limited to letters, numbers, punctuation, symbols and certain con
trol codes, there are extended versions of ASCII systems that

feature additional characters and control codes. The extended ver
sion that you may make use of with this printer, PETASCII (the
Commodore version of ASCII), differs from standard ASCII in a
few ways. One difference is in the characters available. Additional
ly, the hex values are sometimes different between the versions.

This printer (MPS 1200 European Version) has eight national character
sets. These character sets are explained in Appendix B.

The hex values are slightly different for the same characters in
ASCII and PETASCII. In this manual, where we list the BASIC
language and hex value formats for escape sequences and control
codes, we include the upper/lowercase PETASCII hex values.

Both ASCII and PETASCII values are listed in Appendix C.
DIP switch 1-2 sets ASCII translation. When it is set in the OFF

position, the printer uses PETASCII code, the ON position sets
ASCII. With the MPS 1200 set to PETASCII, both upper/lower
case and uppercase/graphic character sets are available; with ASCII,
only the upper/lowercase (text mode) set is used, although many
Commodore block graphic characters are available in the upper/
lowercase character set.

When switch 1-2 is set to the ON position (for ASCII), two things
happen. First, the MPS 1200 uses only the characters in the upper/
lowercase character set, regardless of the secondary address used in
the OPEN statement (see later in this chapter for secondary ad
dresses). Second, standard ASCII codes for alphabetic characters (A
through Z and a through z) received by the MPS 1200 are translated
to their corresponding PET ASCII values before printing.

In other words, with switch 1-2 set On, the MPS 1200 expects the
computer to send ASCII rather than PET ASCII character codes.

This is useful when using commercial programs like word proces

sors, which have standard printer setup or installation routines.

2-4

Notes On Commodore BASIC

If you’re not using a commercial program, you have to use a
programming language to communicate with your printer. Since
BASIC is the most popular programming language, we’re using it
in this manual to demonstrate the MPS 1200’s features. The MPS

1200 works just as well with other high-level languages such as C
or PASCAL. Simply send the same ASCII or PETASCII codes
with whatever print statements your language uses.

There are many different versions of BASIC around. The pro
grams to come in this manual illustrating how to use the Commo
dore MPS 1200 printer’s features are written in (not surprisingly)
Commodore BASIC. We’ll go over a few commands in the next
couple of pages so you’re familiar with Commodore BASIC as it
relates to printers.

Commodore BASIC does not use the LPRINT statement, which is
used in many other BASICs. Instead, it uses the OPEN, PRINT#
and CLOSE commands.

The OPEN statement allows your computer to access devices such
as disk drives, monitor screens and, for our purposes, printers.

Add the OPEN statement at the beginning of a program to enable
communication with the printer. The word OPEN is followed by a
logical file number, which is the number to which all other BASIC
statements will refer. This number can be from 1 to 255. The
second number after the file number is the device number. The
device number for the printer can be either 4 or 5. So, a line such as

open 1,4

opens a channel with the file number 1 to use the printer, assuming
the device select switch is set to device 4.

There can be a third number, known as a secondary address,
which will be discussed shortly.

Any file that you open must be closed when you’re done with it.
The command for this is straight-forward enough—the CLOSE
command.

2-5

This command completes and closes any files used by OPEN
statements. The number following the word CLOSE is the file
number to be closed, so the command CLOSE 1 closes logical file 1.

In between the opening and closing of a file, you communicate
with the printer. The main statement you use in Commodore
BASIC for this is the PRINT# statement.

There are a few differences between this statement and the PRINT.
First of all, the word PRINT# is followed by a number, which
refers to the device or data file previously opened. The number is
followed by a comma, and a list of things to be PRINTed. In this

manual, PRINT# statements will be used for issuing instructions

to the printer on what type or special effects to use, spacing, tabs,

graphics, etc. in addition to text characters.
Here’s a short example of an instruction to the printer:

10 open 1,4
20 p r in t # l,"hello there!"
30 close 1

HELLO THERE!

You’ll be seeing a lot of short (and not-so-short) examples like this
in the very near future.

You can print out a listing of a program on your printer with the
following:

open 1,4

cmd 1

11st

pr i nt # l:closel

(The print# 1 command in the last line was used to clear the buffer.)
CMD sends the output which normally would go to the screen (i.e.

PRINT statement, LISTS, but not POKEs into the screen) to

another device instead. This could be a printer, or a data file on tape

or disk. This device or file must be OPENed first. The CMD

command must be followed by a naumber or numeric variable

referring to the file. In the example above, the file number was 4,

from the OPEN command.

2-6

Secondary Addresses

The secondary address is an additional parameter to use with the

OPEN command. The secondary address allows you to perform
some printer control functions, such as setting the number of lines
per page or line spacing in a manner compatible with Commodore
dot matrix printers such as the 1525/MPS 801, MPS 803, 1526/
MPS 802 and 1000.

The OPEN statement with a secondary address would look like
this:

open l,4,n

with 1 being the file number, 4 specifying the printer and n deter

mining the secondary address command issued. The available val
ues for n in the secondary address are 0, 3, 6, 7 and 10. Table 2.1
lists what each does:

Table 2-1. Secondary Address Functions.

n Function

0 Selects uppercase/graphics character set
3 Sets number of lines per page (see Chapter 4)
6 Sets line feed pitch (see Chapter 4)
7 Selects uppercase/lowercase character set

10 Resets printer

If the OPEN statement does not include a third number specifying
the secondary address, a value of 0 is assumed.

Choosing a Character Set with the
Secondary Address

Using the statement

10 open 1,4,7

instructs the printer to interpret the codes for characters received

from the computer in upper and lower case rather than as capitals
and graphic symbols (which is the default with switch 1-2 set to
PETASCII.) Figure 2-4 shows both character sets.

2-7

MPS 1200 GRAPH ICS MODE

MPS 1200 TE XT MODE

0 1 2 3

4

5 6 7 8

9 A B C

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Figure 2-3. Commodore mode character sets

(USA/UK/Netherlands)

The programs in this manual all include the secondary address of 7
in the OPEN statements so the program listings appear in upper/
lower case when they’re printed out. Without this character set in
use, the programs would appear in uppercase letters and graphic
symbols. The same codes would still be sent to the printer and the
printer would act exactly the same, but the reader of this manual
probably wouldn’t fare as well as the printer in following the
programs.

CONTROL CODE AND ESCAPE

SEQUENCES

Now that we’ve reviewed some BASIC commands to communi
cate with the MPS 1200, let’s consider how you actually tell it what

you want it to do: control codes and escape sequences. As we said

earlier, the MPS 1200 has two modes, Commodore and Epson

modes, where it behaves differently when you give it certain
instructions (although most commands get the same result in either
mode). These instructions to the printer come in the form of
control codes or escape sequences.

2-8

A control code is a command given to the printer in the form of a
non-printing ASCII or PETASCII code. An example would be

10 p rint#1 ,chr*(14)

which would tell the printer to turn expanded print on. All the
control codes available on the MPS 1200 are covered in the upcom
ing chapters, and Appendix C contains all the control code com
mands for both Commodore and Epson modes.

Many MPS features are controlled with escape sequences. Escape
sequences are the same for the MPS 1200 in both Commodore and
Epson modes. They are called escape sequences because the com

mand starts with the ASCII/PETASCII code for ESCape (chr$(27))
and is followed by other codes which determine the instruction for
the printer. The sequence ESC 4 sets italic characters, and can be
issued with the command

20 print#i,chr*<27>;chr*(52)

That doesn’t look like ESC 4, but it is; chr$(27) is the ASCII code

for ESC (get used to it, you’ll be using it a lot) and chr$(52) is the
code for 4. The MPS 1200’s escape sequences are explained with
examples for each throughout this manual. Appendix C also con
tains a complete list of all the escape codes and their functions,
showing both the PETASCII and ASCII versions.

If you enter your program with your computer set to upper/
lowercase (text) mode, and your printer is set to PETASCII mode,
you may enter the escape sequences using the familiar Epson-
standard characters. For example, the above command to set italic
characters may be written as:

20 print#l,chr*<27> "4"

When keying in the example programs that follow, pay close
attention to the case (upper or lower) of the letters in the escape
sequence. If the sequence requires a capital “E”, make sure you
hold down the shift key when you type “E”.

2-9

Because ESC is used so often, many programmers define chr$(27)
as a string variable in their programs with an assignment statement.
To turn on italics, for example, you could use:

10 openl,4, 7

15 e sc $ = c h r $ (27)
20 p ri nt # l, e* c* ,,4 M
30 close 1

ESCS is much shorter to type than chr$(27). Adding one assign
ment statement at the beginning of a long program can save a lot of
typing.

Now reset the MPS 1200 by switching the power off and on before
you move on, unless you want to continue printing in italics.

Remember, to clear a program from the computer’s memory, type
NEW and press RETURN before entering a new program. This
does not reset the printer; other ways beside turning the printer off
and on will be explained at the end of this chapter.

PRINTER INSTALLATION

The MPS 1200 is compatible with most commercial programs—
word processors, spreadsheets, database and graphic drawing pro
grams. Before you can see some printing, however, most pro
grams require that you “install” your printer, that is, tell your
program what kind of printer you have.

Choosing the Right Configuration

This is where the question of which way (Commodore-compatible
or Epson-compatible) you want your MPS 1200 configured needs
to be answered. Let’s look at the differences between the two
configurations.

The differences between the two configurations are not great. A
few of the control codes, which are instructions from your comput
er to the MPS 1200, work differently in the two configurations.

Generally, if you are writing or using programs written in BASIC,
you probably want your MPS 1200 configured as a Commodore
PETASCII printer. (DIP switches 1-2 and 1-3 “OFF”).

2-10

If you are using commercial software designed to support a variety
of printers (such as word processors, spread sheet programs, etc.),
you should probably select the Epson FX compatible mode (switch
1-3 “O N”). Nearly all software supports Epson printers, and will
allow the MPS 1200 to produce special printing effects such as
bold, italics, underline, superscripts, and subscripts under program
control by the commercial software.

If your software does not allow selection of PET ASCII (or CBM
ASCII) along with the choice of Epson compatible printer control,
then set DIP switch 1-2 to “ON”, which will permit the software
to send true ASCII characters to the MPS 1200, and your printer
will print the characters properly.

Software Printer Choices

Many programs, especially word processors, include an installation
routine for your printer. Typically, the installation routine gives
you a choice of several printers or printer types. It may also ask

some questions about backspacing, line feeds, and form feeds.
Any of the following printer choices will work for the MPS 1200:

“MPS801”, “MPS803”, “MPS1000”, “Commodore printer”,
“Commodore compatible printer”, “Epson printer”, “TTY-type
printer with backspace”, “ASCII dot matrix printer.” Selecting
one of these options should do the trick.

The following summarizes the most likely uses for the configura
tions of switches 1-2 and 1-3. In particular, note the settings as they

apply to graphic drawing programs, whether the program in ques

tion was designed for use with a Commodore or Epson-compatible

printer for screen dumps.

2-11

Switch 1-2 Switch 1-3

Potential Use

OFF

OFF

MPS 801, MPS 803 emulation with Commo
dore 64 software packages such as EasyScript,

Jane and Print Shop, which use Commodore

Bit Map graphics.

OFF

ON

BASIC programmers who want to make use
of standard control codes, such as backspace,
compressed print, etc.

ON

ON

Epson FX emulation with Commodore 64 or
128 commercial software packages which
have Epson-compatible ASCII printer driv
ers. These software packages generate stan
dard ASCII upper and lowercase characters,
and often embed escape sequences in their out
put streams.

ON

OFF

No real practical use for this switch combina
tion.

Some programs need more information about your printer, how

ever. If your program wants to know, the MPS 1200 printer:

• uses device number 4 or 5

• uses no communications protocol

• does not require a printer initialization string (for normal 80-
column printing)

• can backspace (ASCII 8) if set to Epson mode

• can underline (ASCII 95 or escape sequence)

• does an automatic line feed in Commodore mode

• does not do an automatic line feed in Epson mode, unless you
change internal switch 1-7

• can do a form feed (ASCII 12)

2-12

If your program asks other questions, or doesn’t have any printer
choices that resemble those above, eliminate the choices involving
letter quality or daisy-wheel printers (with names like Diablo and
Spinwriter) and experiment. The worst that will happen is that
you’ll get very strange results or no results at all and you can make
a different printer choice.

Once you’ve completed the installation, you’re ready to use your
new MPS 1200 printer. Try a short printing sample using your
program. You will see what a good choice you made in purchasing
the MPS 1200 printer.

WORD PROCESSORS

Strange as it may seen, the special printing effects built into many
word processing programs are limited to boldface and underlining.
Fortunately, most programs provide a way to send special codes to
the MPS 1200 to take advantage of its additional capabilities such as
italics, compressed and double width print, superscripts and sub
script, graphics characters, and so on. But it takes a little maneuver
ing.

The trick is to get your word processing program to place the
necessary nonprinting codes into your text file and send them on to
the printer without interpreting them as its own commands.

Literal Characters

A “literal” character tells the word processing program that the
character following it is to be accepted literally (placed in the text
file as is) and not interpreted as a word processing command. The
literal character in many word processing programs is itself a

particular nonprinting control character. Different programs use
different keys. Check your word processor’s user manual to see
how to insert nonprinting codes into your file.

For example, to select emphasized print, you must send the code
ESCape E to the MPS 1200. To enter ESC E into your text file, key
your word processor’s literal character, ESC, and then E. It doesn’t
matter how this sequence shows on your screen; when you print
the file, the MPS 1200 will get the message that you want empha
sized print.

2-13

Remember, when inserting escape sequences manually, to send the
proper version of ASCII code related to how DIP switch 1-2 is set.
Since PET ASCII (switch 1-2 OFF) and ASCII (switch 1-2 ON) are
slightly different, make sure the version that you use is consistent
with how switch 1-2 is set.

SPREADSHEETS, DATABASES, AND
OTHER PROGRAMS

Most of these programs provide a setup option in their output or
print mode that asks you to make two settings for your printer: the
number of characters per line, and the codes to be sent to the printer
at the start of printing, called the “printer initialization string.”

The two settings are related. The number of characters per line
depends on the print mode, which is determined by the initializa
tion string you send. Table 2-2 shows printer initialization strings
for some common print modes.

Table 2-2. Printer Initialization Strings

Print Characters Initialization
Mode per Line String

10-pitch Pica

80 None

12-pitch Elite

96 ESC M

Compressed Pica 136

ESC chr$(15)*

Compressed Elite 160 ESC M ESC chr$(15)

*If you plan to use your printer mostly for financial applications,
you may want to set the internal switches so that compressed mode
is automatically selected when the MPS 1200 is turned on (sec
Appendix D). If you make this change, the initialization string for
compressed print is not needed when you send your output to the
printer.

Initializing The Printer

When you in itia lize the MPS 1200, you clear any special settings

you have made and return the printer to the settings specified by
the current internal switch settings and the Read Only Memory
(ROM) of the printer.

2-14

There are three ways to initialize the printer:

1. By turning the power switch OFF, then ON again.

2. By sending the software command ESC@.

3. By sending a secondary address of 10 in a print channel (OPEN)
command.

Table 2-3 shows you what happens during initialization:

Table 2-3. Printer Initialization Settings

Setting Description

Print head

Returned to the home position (the extreme left)

On-line status Placed on line, unless out of paper

Print buffer

Cleared, including download characters

Margins

All margins are cleared

Tab settings

All tab settings are cleared; horizontal tabs are set at
every eight columns

Character pitch

10 characters per inch, or set by switch 1-8*

Line spacing

1/6 inch

Page length

11 inches, or set by switch 1-5*

Top of form

Current paper position

Switch settings

Records current settings

Cut sheet feeder

Initialized, if installed; any paper is ejected

Tor details concerning internal switch settings, refer to Appendix D.
In this manual, the term p ow e r on default v alue s, or simply defa ults,

are those set by initialization.

IMPORTANT: It is a good idea to reset the printer after running each

program in this manual.

2-15

Chapter 3

Printing Text

Starting with this chapter we’ll look at each of the MPS 1200’s
features in detail—what the feature does, how it works, and how to
use it. We’ll show you example programs that illustrate how to
send the control codes to the MPS 1200.

If you plan to write your own programs, you’ll find the programs
in this section provide examples of proper command syntax and
may be useful as subroutines. If you don’t know BASIC, you can
still use all of the MPS 1200’s features. Just follow the code syntax
in the example programs.

This chapter covers the commands that control the way the MPS

1200 prints text. You’ll learn how to get near letter quality print

and proportional spacing, how to change pitch and character width

and height, how to use doublestrike, emphasized, italic, reverse
print, underlining, and how to print superscripts and subscripts.

When you finish this chapter you’ll be able to customize your text
printing exactly to your task and needs.

NOTE: So that your sample programs come out the same, we assume

that you have internal switch 1-2 OFF (to configure your MPS
1200 as a PET ASCII printer).

NEAR LETTER QUALITY

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27) “x1” chr$(27) “xO”

Hex 1B58 31 1B58 30

3-1

Near letter quality (NLQ) printing is a feature you will use often.
In this mode, the MPS 1200 uses a special character set very similar
to the type on a typewriter or letter-quality printer. Using NLQ
printing for your correspondence and reports gives them a polished
professional look.

To make the commands easy to remember, many of the MPS

1200’s features are turned on and off in the same fashion. Adding a
1 to the command turns the feature on; adding a 0 to the command

turns the feature off. NLQ mode uses this scheme.
The NLQ command is ESC x (the x must be lower case). To turn

on near letter quality mode, send ESC xl to the MPS 1200; to turn
it off, send ESC xO. Try it by typing the following BASIC pro

gram:

10 open 1,4,7

20 pr int#l,ch r*(2 7>"xl" ?"NL Q Mode'1
30 pr int#l ,chr*< 27>"xO";" Not The NLQ M o d e“
40 closel

NLQ Mode

Not The NLQ Mode

Sometimes it is more convenient to use their PET ASCII or ASCII
codes rather than typing “xl” and “xO”.

Using PET ASCII codes, the same program becomes:

10 ope nl,4, 7

20 pr in t# !,ch r $ (27);ch r $(88)q ch r$ (49)q"NLQ Mode"
30 p rint #l,c hr* <27 >;ch r*< 88 >;c hr*< 48) 5"Not The NLQ Mode"
40 c 1os e 1

NLQ Mode

Not The NL Q Mode

NOTE: Since the 1 and 0 work as on and off switches rather than actual

characters, you can substitute chrS(l) and chr$(0) for their
actual ASCII codes if you like.

3-2

The following program demonstrates the difference between near
letter quality characters and standard characters:

10 open 1,4,7

20 -for n=32to90: a$=a$+chr$ (n) : next n
30 pr int#l, chr$ (27) " >i 1 " ; "NLQ Mode"
40 print#l,a$
50 print#l,c hr$(27)"xO";"Not The NLQ Mode"
60 print#l,a$
70 closel

NLQ Mode

!"#$%& ’ ()# + ,-./ 0 123456789 : ;< = >?@abcdef g h i jk 1mnopq rst uv wxy z

Not The NLQ Mo de

! ' ( ) *+, /0123456789: ; < = >?@abcde-f gh i jk lmnopgrstuvwxyz

When you run this program, the complete character set for near
letter quality followed by the complete standard set will be printed.

NLQ (Commodore mode only)

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(31)

1F

OFF

chr$(159)

9F

With switch 1-3 set to Commodore mode, you can also print in
NLQ by issuing the printer control code chr$(31). chr$(159) turns
it off, as in the following example:

10 open 1, 4 , 7

20 p r i n t # l , c h r $ ( 3 1 ) ; "NLQ Mode— Commodore mode o n ly "

30 p r i n t t t l , ch r $ <1 59 );" Not The NLQ Mode"
40 c l o s e l

NLQ Mode--Commodore mode only

Not The NLQ Mode ...

Near letter quality printing looks good, doesn’t it? So why not use
this mode all the time? For certain applications, you may want to
do that. But there are some things about near letter quality mode
you should know first.

3-3

Near letter quality achieves its crisp appearance by printing each
line twice. The speed of near letter quality print is therefore slower
than standard print. If you are printing a long document, the
slower speed can make a considerable difference.

In some cases, you may want to change between near letter quality
and standard mode without using BASIC to send the MPS 1200 a

command. For example, when using a word processor you may
want to use a standard mode for quick notes and draft copies, and

near letter quality mode for finished products. For these applica

tions, the MPS 1200 provides a way to turn near letter quality
mode on and off using the control panel.

With the MPS 1200 on-line, hold the LF (line feed) switch down
while pressing the On-line switch. You will see the print head shift
twice, indicating that the MPS 1200 is now in near letter quality
mode. To change back to standard mode, repeat the procedure.
This time the print head jumps just once, indicating that the MPS
1200 has changed to standard draft mode.

You can use the control panel to change between near letter quality
and standard mode any time the on-line and ready lights are lit,
even if the mode was previously changed by a program command.
For example, you can have your word processor select near letter
quality mode automatically by including ESC “xl” in its printer
initialization string. If you later want to print a quick draft copy,
you can use the control panel to change to standard mode.

NOTE: Some word processing programs send a reset code to the

printer as they start printing. This reset code will change the
printer back to draft printing. These programs won’t allow
you to change to near letter quality using the control panel,
unless you can make the word processing program pause dur
ing printing so that you can change modes.

CHARACTER PRINT WIDTH

The MPS 1200 has three ways to change the width of a printed
character: (1) changing the basic pitch, (2) expanding the charac
ters, and (3) compressing the characters. By combining these three
methods, the MPS 1200 can print in eight different character
widths as shown in Table 3.1.

3-4

Table 3.1 Character Widths

Character Width Characters/Inch Max. Characters/Line

Pica Standard 10

80

Pica Expanded 5

40

Pica Compressed 17

136

Pica Compressed

Expanded 8.5

68

Elite Standard 12

96

Elite Expanded

6

48

Elite Compressed

20

160

Elite Compressed

Expanded 10 80

We’ll cover the commands for each of these print widths in this
section.

Pitch

The pitch tells you how many characters will be printed in one
inch. It is another term for characters per inch, or CPI.

The MPS 1200 is capable of two basic pitches: 10-pitch, called pica,

and 12-pitch, called elite. They are described below.

Pica Pitch

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27) “ P" chr$(27) “M"
Hex 1B DO 1B CD

Pica is the default pitch. When you first turn on the MPS 1200, it
will print at 10 characters per inch by default until you change it.
Pica pitch does not cancel other width commands such as expanded
or compressed print. Pica pitch can be turned off by selecting the
other pitch command, which is elite.

3-5

Elite Pitch

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) “M
1BCD

OFF

chr$(27) “P”
1B DO

You tell the MPS 1200 to change to 12-pitch elite by sending the
command ESC M. To change back to 10-pitch pica, send the

command ESC P.

To see the difference between 10- and 12-pitch, run the following

program:

10 o p e n l , 4 , 7

20 p r i n t# l ,c h r * < 2 7 > MP"

30 p r in t # l ," C o m p a r e t h i s li n e in 12 p i t c h e l i t e "
40 p r in t # l, c h r* < 2 7 ) " M "
50 p r i n t # l , " t o th i s li n e in 10 p i t c h p ic a " s p r i n t # l
60 p r i n t # l , c h r $ ( 27 ) "P " ; " You c an a l s o h av e "c hr $ (2 7 )" M "
70 p r i n t t t l , " bo th p it c h e s in one 1i n e " ; c h r $ <27)" P " ;
80 p r i n t t t l , " i f you li k e . "

100 c l o s e 1

Compa re t h i s l in e in 12 p i t c h e l i t e

to t his lin e in 10 pitch pica

You ca n a l s o ha ve both pitches in one line i f you li k e .

You will see these results:

The semicolons in program lines 60 and 70 tell BASIC not to send a
carriage return and line feed at the end of the print statement. This
BASIC technique allows you to send the MPS 1200 strings of

characters mixed with commands and still have everything print on

one line.

Pitch can also be changed with the master pitch command, ESC—3,
and with the master select command, ESC !. These master com
mands are described later in this chapter.

3-6

Expanded Print

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) “W1
1BD7 31

OFF

chr$(27) “WO”
1BD7 30

Both of the MPS 1200’s pitches can be expanded to twice their
normal width. In expanded print, the width of the characters and
the spaces are doubled. This means the maximum number of
characters per line is cut in half.

Expanded pica prints 5 characters per inch, so you can print a
maximum of 40 characters per line on the MPS 1200. Expanded
elite prints 6 characters per inch, for a maximum of 48 characters
per line.

The command to select expanded print is ESC W. Like the NLQ
command, the expanded print command uses a 1 and 0 as its on and
off switches. Sending ESC W1 to the MPS 1200 turns on expanded
print; sending ESC W0 turns off expanded print. Try the following

statements: 10

10 op e n 1,4 , 7
20 f o r n= 3 2 t o 5 6s a$ = a$ + ch r$ (n ): n e xt n
30 i f x=l t he n 60
40 p r i n t # l , c h r $ (2 7 ); c h r $ ( 8 0 ) ; "P ica"
50 g ot o 70

60 p r in t # l, c h r* < 2 7 ) "M " ; " E l it e"

70 p r i n t # l , c h r * ( 27 ) "Wl"; "e xpand it "

80 p r i n t # l , a $

90 p r i n t # l , c h r $ ( 27 )" W0"; "no, d o n ' t "

100 p r i n t # l ,a $
105 x—x +1 s i f x <2 then 30

110 c l o s e 1

3-7

Pica

e X p an d i. t;

! ' C > — _ s<S> 1 S 3 4 5 4 £ »

no, don 71

Í "#*"/.& ' ( ) / 0 1 23 45 67 8

E l i t e

expand ± t

! aa# « X S < ' < > -*h- , — - / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

no, don 't

! " #$’/.?/. '<)*+,-. /O12345678

Now change the pitch to elite with ESC M and try expanded print
again. You’ll see what a difference pitch can make.

In Commodore mode, you can also select expanded print with a
control code, chr$(14). Send chr$(14) to the printer to turn on
expanded print, and chr$(15) to turn it off.

One frequent use for expanded print is for headlines and titles. In
this case, you need to turn on expanded print for just one line and
then return to a normal character width. You can do this by
sending ESC Wl, printing the headline, and then sending ESC WO.
But there is an easier way.

One-line Expanded Print

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) chr$(14)
1B0E

OFF

chr$(27) “WO”
1BD7 30

Epson mode only
Format

ON

OFF

BASIC chr$(14) chr$(20)
Hex 0E 14

The command ESC chr$(14), or chrS(14) in Epson mode, turns on
expanded print for one line only. The MPS 1200 automatically

returns to normal print for the next line. Type these statements to
see how it works:

3-8

10 open 1,4,7

20 p r int#l,c hr $(27);chr $(14);"This line will be expanded."
30 p rint#l,"But this line won't."
40 closel

Th is line will be e x p am d ed -

But this line won't.

If you want only part of a line in expanded print, the command
chr$(20) in Epson mode can be used in mid-line to cancel chr$(14)
or ESC chr$(14). The following example shows this:

10 o p en 1,4,7

20 p r int#l,"Both "5 c h r $ ( 2 7 ) ;c h r $ (1 4 ) ;"expande d";

ch r $(20);" and normal print"

30 closel

Both e x p a n d e d and normal pr int

Note that while you can cancel one-line expanded set by ESC
chr$(14) or chr$(14) with ESC WO, you cannot cancel ESC W1
with a chr$(20) or chr$(15).

Compressed Print

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) chr$(15)
1B OF

OFF

chr$(27) chr$(18)
1B12

Epson mode only

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(15) chr$(18)
Hex OF 12

The characters in both of the MPS 1200’s pitches can be com

pressed to approximately 60% of their width so you can print fit
more characters per line. As with expanded print, both characters
and spaces are affected.

3-9

Compressed pica prints 17 characters per inch, for a maximum of
136 characters per line. Compressed elite prints 20 characters per
inch, so you can print a maximum of 160 characters per line.

You can compress the print in either pitch by sending ESC chr$(15)
(or just chr$(15) in Epson mode). The command ESC chr$(18) (or

just chr$(18) in Epson mode) turns off compressed print and re

turns you to either pica or elite pitch, whichever you set last.
Note that compressed print is not turned off automatically at the

end of a line, as was one-line expanded print. Run the following
program to see the effect of compressed print:

10 open 1,4,7

20 print#l,ch r$(27);chr$(15);"This would never fit

comfortably on a single line-.-"

30 print#l,c hr$(27);chr$(18);"if it were all regular print"

40 closel

This would never fit coafortably on a single line...

i f i t we re a ll r e g u l a r p ri nt

Compressed Expanded Print

You are also able to turn on both compressed and expanded print in
combination with pica or elite pitch. The result is a character width
about 85% of the normal pitch. Compressed expanded pica prints

8.5 characters per inch, a maximum of 68 characters per line.
Compressed expanded elite prints 10 characters per inch, which is a
maximum of 80 characters per line.

The following program demonstrates all eight of the MPS 1200’s
character widths. Key in the program, run it, and keep the printout
as a guide to the MPS 1200’s different characters widths.

3-10

10 openl,4,7

20 s c $ = c h r $ (27)
30 pr i nt #l , "CPI=Characters Per In ch":print#l
40 p ri n t #l , sc$"M" ; sc$; chr$ < 15) ;
50 pr i nt # l ,"Elite Compressed: 20 CPI"
60 printttl, sc$"P" ; sc$; chr$ (15) ;
70 pr i nt # 1 , "Pica C om pr ess ed :17 CPI"
80 pr i nt # l ,sc$" @" ;sc VM" ;
90 p ri n t# l, "Elite S ta nd ar d: 12 CPI"

100 pri n t# l ,sc$ " P ";
110 printttl,"Pica S ta nd ar d: 10 CPI"
120 pri n t# l ,sc $" M " ;sc$ ; c h r$ (15) ; s c$ " Wl " ;

130 printttl,"Elite Compressed E x p an de d :10 CPI"
140 printttl,sc$" P " ;c h r$(27);chr$ <15) ;
150 printttl,"Pica Compressed Expande d:0.5 CPI"

160 printttl,sc$"M";set; chr $(18) ;

170 printttl,"Elite Ex pa nd ed : 6 CPI"

180 printttl,sc$ "P " ;

190 printttl,"Pica Ex pande d:5 CPI"

20 0 printttl,sc$"W0";
2 10 closel

C P I = C h a ra c t e rs P er Inch

Elite (^pressed:26 CPI
Pica Conpressed:17 CPI
E lit e S tanda rd :12 CPI
P ic a S t a n d a r d : 10 CPI

Elite Compressed Expanded:10 CPI

Pica Compressed Expanded:8.5 CPI
Elite E x p a n d ed = OR I
P ic a E xpande d:5 CPI

3-11

PROPORTIONAL PRINT

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) “p1
1B 50 31

OFF

chr$(27) “pO”
1B 50 30

Until now, all of the print widths we have discussed have been
fixed. That is, each character has the same width; in pica printing,
an “i” occupies 1/10 of an inch, an “M” occupies 1/10 of an inch,
an “o” occupies 1/10 of an inch, etc. But because the shapes of the
letters are quite different, some characters (notably “i” and “1”) are
printed with a lot of space around them. A step forward in reada
bility and aesthetics comes with proportional printing, where the
space each printed character occupies is proportional to its shape.

The command to turn on proportional print is ESC pi; to return to
normal fixed spacing, use ESC pO. Note that you must use a lower

case p.

5 ope n 1,4,7

10 p rin tttl ,ch r*(27 )" p i ";
20 g osu b 100
30 pr int#:L, c hr $ (27) "p0" ;
40 g osu b 100
50 end

100 printttl,"A step -forward in r ea d ab i li ty and aesth et ic s"

110 pr in t#l , "c omes with ";

120 pri n t # 1,c hr$ (27)"4";

130 printttl,"propo rti ona l printin g";

140 printttl,chr $ (27)"5" ;

150 printttl,"where the"
160 printttl,"w idth each pri nte d ch ar a ct e r oc cu p ie s is"
170 printttl,"propo rtio nal to its s hap e."
180 printttl
190 re tur n

200 clo se 1

3-12

A step forward in readability and aesthetics
comes with prop ortio nal printing where the
width each printed character occupies is
proportional to its shape.

A b 1 0 p f o r w a r d :i. n r e a d a b i 1 i t y a n d a e s t h e t i c s

c o m 0S wi 11") /..) r o p o r t i o n a 1 p r i it t x n g w h e r e t h e
w :i. d t h e a c: h p r i n t ed c h a r a c t; e r o c c u p i e s i s
p ro p o r t i o n a 1 to i t s s h a p e .

Proportional characters are always printed in emphasized print and
are compatible with all of the styles and widths we have discussed
so far: draft, neat letter quality, expanded, compressed, elite and
pica. By changing the width (say, from pica to elite), you change
the overall width, but the printing will be the same as either regular

pica or regular elite.

Using the previous program, add the line below to make every
thing print with proportional characters. Compare the results to
your earlier printout; they will be similar, but noticeably different.

PROPORTIONAL SPACING

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27)“ ” ;chr$(n) chr$(27)“ ”;chr$(0)
Hex 1B 20 nh 1B 20 OOh

If you think we’ve discussed character print width just about
enough, bear with us for one more variation! In addition to chang
ing the width of the actual printed characters, you can also vary the
space between the characters. This feature can be used in creating
fancy justified text or if you just want the print to appear “looser.”

The command for proportional spacing is, appropriately enough,

ESC (space). Following the space is the number of additional print
columns (or dots) that you would like to place between each
character. To specify this number, you must use the chr$ function;
you cannot use a statement like PRINT#l,chr$(27)“ 9” and expect
to add 9 dots between characters.

3-13

This short program should demonstrate the effect of the propor
tional spacing command:

10 open 1,4,7

15 -for n = 11o 10
20 print#l,chr*<27>" Mchr$(n);
30 print#l,"The same letters, different spacing"
40 next n
50 prin t#l,chr*(27)" "chr*<0)
60 closel

The same letters, dif ferent spacin g

The s a me let t er s, d i f f e r e n t spa c i n g

Th e same letters, different spacing

The same letters, different spacing

The same letters, different spacing

The same letters, different spacing

The same letters, different spacing
The same letters, different spacing
The same letters, different spacing
The same letters, different spacing

The last statement returns the MPS 1200 to its default overall
character spacing: 0 dots. Proportional spacing can be combined
with all print features, including proportional printing.

JUSTIFIED PRINTING

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27)"a”chr$(n)
1B41 nh

OFF

chr$(27)“a”chr$(0)
1B41 OOh

Justified printing prints lines in the NLQ mode that are aligned in

any of four different ways. To use this command, send ESC a
followed by the ASCII code for a number from 0 to 3 to specify the
type of justification you want (see Table 3.2).

3-14

Table 3-2. Styles of Justified Printing

n Justification Style

0 Flush against the left margin (default)

1 Centered (between left and right margins)
2 Flush against the right margin
3Fully justified (flush against both margins)

With fully justified printing, the MPS 1200 adjusts the spaces
between every word on a line from 0.5 to 2 characters width. If it

fails, the word on the margin is recorrected almost to the original
position.

10 open 1,4,7
20 pr int ttl ,ch r$ (27)" xl";
30 p rin ttt l, chr$ (27) "Q"chr$<40) ;
40 p ri nt # l, ch r$ (27)"a "chr$ (0)
50 p rin ttt l, "Flush l ef t"

60 pri ntt tl, c hr$(27)Ma"chr$(l)

70 p rin ttt l, "Centered between the margins"
80 p rin tt tl, ch r* (27)"a"chr$(2)
90 p ri nt # l, "Flush right"

100 p rintttl, chr$ (27) "a"chr$(3)

110 pr intt tl, "This text is ju st ifie d flush on both sid es.

115 p rin tttl , "Notice how it a utom aticall y wraps around,

ju st ifi ed at both m argins."

120 p rin tttl ,c hr $(27)"@":close 1

Flush left

Centered between the margins

Flush right

This text is justified flush on both sides.

Notice how it automatically wraps around,

justified at both margins.

3-15

PRINT DENSITY

When printing text, it is sometimes desirable to have some words
stand out darker than the rest. Headlines are often printed in
boldface, for example. The MPS 1200 has two features that allow
you to vary the darkness, or density, of the print: emphasized and
doublestrike print. For very dark printing, you can use both at
once.

Emphasized Print

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27) “E” chr$(27) “F”
Hex 1BC5 1BC6

In emphasized print, the characters are double-printed in one pass.
Each character is printed a second time offset slightly to the right so
that the dots overlap and produce a shadow effect.

When proportional printing is in effect, the characters are automati

cally printed in emphasized mode.

5 open 1, 4,7
20 p r i n t # i , c h r$ (2 7)"E" ; " YES SIR! RIGHT AWAY, SIR
30 p r i n t # l , c h r$ (2 7) "F "; ". . - when I g et around to
40 c lo s el

YESSIR! RIGHT AWAY, SIR!

---when I get around to it-

Doublestrike Print

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27) “G” chr$(27) “ H”
Hex 1BC7 1BC8

3-16

In doublestrike, the MPS 1200 prints the entire line and then
returns to print it a second time. You probably didn’t notice, but
on the second pass the paper is rolled up very slightly so that the
dots print just below those from the first pass.

The names are slightly misleading because both features actually
darken the characters by printing them twice. The difference is in
the way the second printing is done. To see the difference, try the
following program and watch the print head as the program runs.

10 openl,4,7
20 print#l,chr*<27>"E";"Double strike"
30 printttl,ch r $ (27)"G";"Double strike and emphasized"
40 print#l,chr$(27)"F";ch r $(27)"H";"Neither"
50 closel

Your result will look like this:

Double strike

Double strike and emphasized

Neither

Now you know why combining both methods produces such dark
print. In emphasized doublestrike, each letter is printed four times.

Emphasized and doublestrike both produce a higher quality print,
but they take considerably more time to print. They also take a toll
on your printer ribbon. For these reasons, most people use them
only for headlines and occasional words that need emphasis.

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Perhaps you think we’ve covered a lot of special effects already, but
the MPS 1200 still has quite a few more to come. In this section
we’ll cover italics, underlining, reverse print, as well as superscripts
and subscripts. Except for reverse print, all of these features can be
combined with the print width and print density features we’ve
discussed already in this chapter. Together they produce over 200
varieties of print styles!

3-17

Italics

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) “4”
1B34

OFF

chr$(27) “5
1B35

Italics are another means of adding emphasis and variety to your
printing. The MPS 1200 has a complete italic character set separate
from its standard roman characters. Because of this, you can com
bine any of the features discussed in this chapter with the italic
commands. You can print in mean letter quality italics, elite italics,
compressed italics, emphasized italics, and so on.

The command to turn on italics is ESC 4. The command ESC 5
turns off italics. Try the following program to see the difference
between the MPS 1200’s roman and italic characters:

1© openl,4,7

15 for n=32 to 5 6 : a$=a$+ ch r$( n):next n

20 p rin t# l, ch r* <2 7) "4";"Italic characters"
25 print#l,a $
30 p r i nt # l,c h r$(27)"5";"Normal characters"
35 print#l,a $
80 printttl,"Normal— ";chr $ <2 7) "4 ";"and italic
90 p ri nt #l ,ch r$ <27 )"5"; "characters"

10 0 c1 os e1

You will see the following results:

Ita lic cha rac ter s

/ " # * % & ’ < ) * + , - . / 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Normal char acters

! "#*'/.?<' (>*+,-. /012345678

Nor ma l— and it ali c— characters

3-18

To print a single word or phrase in italics in the middle of a line of

roman print, just insert the italic commands before and after the
word as in line 80.

NOTE: Commodore graphic characters do not have an italic font.

Underlining

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) “-1’
1B2D 31

OFF

chr$(27) “-O'
1B2D 30

The MPS 1200 can underline any of its print styles, roman or italic.

The underline command is ESC - (hyphen). It uses 1 and 0 as its on
and off switches. Sending ESC -1 turns underlining on; sending
ESC -0 turns underlining off. You can substitute chr$(l) and
chr$(0) for the actual ASCII codes since 1 and 0 work as on and off
switches rather than the actual characters.

Another use for underlining is to draw rules, to set something
apart, to create special forms, or for “fill-in-the-blanks.” The MPS

1200 underlines everything, spaces and characters, from the point

that underlining is turned on to the point that it is turned off.
The following program illustrates a few underlining effects:

10 open 1,4,7

20 pri nt#l,"The MPS 1200 can ";

30 pr i nt #! ,c h r$(27)"-1 ";"under1 ine"

40 p r in t# l,c h r$ (27)"-0";"or let you sign on the"

50 p ri n t# !,ch r$(27)"-1"; "

60 p r in t# l,c h r$ (27)"-0";" DOTTED LINE"

70 close!

The MPS 1200 can un de r l ine
or let you sign on the

DOTTED LINE

3-19

Reverse Print

Format

BASIC
Hex

OR

BASIC

Hex

ON

chr$(27) “r”
1B52

chr$(27) chr$(126) “21”

1B7E 32 31

OFF

chr$(27) “t”
1B54

chr$(27) chr$(126) “20”
1B7E 32 30

Commodore mode only

Format ON

OFF

BASIC

chr$(18)

chr$(146)

Hex

12

92

There are two escape sequences you can use to access reverse print.

One is ESC r (make sure it’s a lower case “r”) and the other
command is ESC—21. The character before the 21 is called a
“tilde.” This symbol probably isn’t on your keyboard, so you must
use its ASCII code form: chr$(126). This version of the reverse
print command uses 1 and 0 as its on and off switches. Sending
ESC~21 turns on reverse print; sending ESC~20 turns off reverse
print. You can create many special effects using reverse print with
some ingenuity and a little programming.

In Commodore mode, you can also turn reverse on and off by
sending the control codes chr$(18) to turn reverse printing on and
chr$(146) to return to normal non-reversed printing.

5 open 1,4 ,7

10 f or n=32 to 5 6 :a $~ a$ + chr $( n):next n

20 p r i nt #l ,ch r* ( 2 7 > ; ch r$ (1 26 )"2 1" ; "R ev ers e p r i n t"
25 pr i nt # l,a$

30 pr in t # l, ch r* (27) ;c:hr$ (126) "20"; "Not rev er se p r in t"
35 p r i n t# l, a*
40 c lo se 1

Not reverse print

! "#*7.8«' <)*+,-. /0 12345678

3-20

Superscript

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27) “SO”
1BD3 30

OFF

chr$(27) “T”
1BD4

Subscript

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27)“S r

1BD3 31

OFF

chr$(27) “T”
1BD4

The superscript and subscript feature prints characters at half their
normal height. Superscript prints its characters in the top half of the
line, and subscript prints on the bottom half of the line. The width
of the “script” characters matches whatever pitch is in effect. Script
characters can be used with all of the MPS 1200’s features except
reverse print.

The script command is ESC S. It uses 0 and 1 differently from the
other commands we’ve looked at. Sending ESC SO turns on super
script; sending ESC SI turns on subscript. ESC T (for text) turns
off either mode and returns to normal (full-height) characters.

The following program shows how the script command works:

10 op en 1,4,7
20 print#!,"You";chr$(27)"SO";"TM " ;chr*(27)"T";
30 print#!,"can print in" ; chr$(27)"S 0 "; " superscript " ; chr*(27)"T " ;
40 print#l,"and";chr*(27)"SI";" subscript ";chr*(27)"T"
50 print#l,"1ike this:"

70 p r i n t # l , c h r * ( 2 7 ) "T"

80 c l o s e !

You ™ can print in and

lik e this:

Ha SCU

3-21

Footnotes and mathematical formulas are probably the most com
mon use of superscript and subscripts, but they have other uses as
well, such as packing a lot of text in a small space, as in some legal
contracts, for example.

Character Height

The MPS 1200 has another feature which is especially useful for
printing signs and headlines: vertically enlarged printing. To print
these characters, the print head makes two passes over the paper,
printing the top half in the first pass and the bottom half in the
second pass. This makes the character twice as high as regular
print.

Vertically Enlarged Print

Format ON OFF

BASIC

chr$(27) “h”

chr$(27) “ u”

Hex

OR

1B48

1B55

BASIC chr$(27) chr$(126) “11”

chr$(27) chr$(126) “10”

Hex

1B7E 31 31 1B7E 31 30

There are two escape sequences you can use to access vertically
enlarged print. One sequence is ESC h (note the lower case “h”) to
turn it on and ESC u to return to normal height printing. The other
command sequence is ESC—11, which requires you to use the
ASCII code chr$(126) for the tilde. This form of the command uses
1 and 0 as its on and off switches. Sending ESC—11 turns on
vertically enlarged print; sending ESC—10 returns to normal height
printing.

10 open 1,4,7
20 p rint#l,c hr $(27);chr$(126)"11";"Hey, You!!"
30 print#l,c hr $(27)"G";ch r$ (27);chr*(126)"10";

"That sure got your"

40 p rin t# l,ch r* (2 7> ;c hr *( 12 6) "1 1" ;" A" ; chr$ (27> ;

c h r$ ( 126 )" 10"; "tt en tio n"

50 closel

H ey, You!!

That sure got your
Attention

3-22

You can use vertically enlarged printing with any of the MPS

1200’s character widths: pica, elite, compressed, and expanded. For
really professional looking headlines, try near letter quality, ex
panded, proportional width, vertically enlarged characters. Verti

cally enlarged printing can also be mixed with most of the MPS

1200’s other print styles which you learned about in this chapter.

As you can see in the program that follows, you can combine

vertically enlarged characters and regular characters in one line.

The characters align at the top.

THE MASTER COMMANDS

As you’ve seen, the MPS 1200 has quite a number of text printing

features, with different commands to turn each feature on and off.

So many, in fact, that keeping track of which features are on and off

when writing a program can be quite a chore. Consider, for exam

ple, how you would tell the MPS 1200 to change from expanded

emphasized pica italic to underlined elite doublestrike. First, you

would turn off expanded with ESC WO, turn off emphasized with

ESC F, and turn off italic with ESC 5. Then you would turn on

underlining with ESC. . . .well, you see what we mean.

Fortunately, there is an easier way. The MPS 1200 has three master

commands that each control several features at once. They are the

master reset command, the master pitch command, and the master

print mode command.

Master Reset

Format ON

BASIC chr$(27)“@”
Hex 1B40

Master reset is the simplest master command. It cancels all features
and allows you to start from “ground zero”. It is equivalent to
switching off the power to the MPS 1200 and turning it on again.
Unless you change the MPS 1200’s internal switches, master reset
will return you to pica, roman, singlestrike, bidirectional print and
set the top-of-form.

3-23

ui ^

The master reset command is ESC @. Note: Internal switch 1-8

must be set to the OFF position to reset to pica. Try the following

program to see how it works:

10 openl,4,7

20 print#l,chr*<27>"E"chr$(27)"-l";

chr $(27)"Wl" ;

30 print#l,chr$<27) "G"chr*(27) "4" 5 chr$ (27) ;chr*(15)

"One with the works"

O print#l,ch r$ (27)"@",".- . and one without."

0 closel

On « »ith thm storks

...and one without.

You can also do a master reset by sending a secondary address of

10. For example, the statements
OPEN 10,4,10:PRINT#10:CLOSE 10
also reset the printer.

Master Pitch

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27)chr$(126)“3”chr$(n) chr$(27)chr$(126)“3”chr$(0)
Hex 1B 7E 33 nh 1B 7E 33 OOh

The master pitch command allows you to change between com
pressed and normal print in pica or elite with one command. The

master pitch command is ESC~3. To select the particular pitch
combination you want, send its ASCII code number, chrS(n) (with
n being 0, 1, 2, 5, 6 or 7) after the master pitch command. Table 3-3
shows the values for n and the corresponding pitch selection.

3-24

Table 3-3. Values for Master Pitch Numbers

n Pitch

0 Pica
1 Elite
2 Pica compressed
5 13.3 CPI
6 15 CPI
7Elite compressed * 10

Unlike some other commands we’ve covered, you cannot attach
the pitch number to the master command with a statement like
PRINT#l,chr$(27);chr$(126);“32”. You must use the chr$ func
tion to send the pitch number.

10 open 1,4,7
20 for x = l to 6
30 read n
40 printttl, c hr*( 27 )ch r* <1 26) ,,3 ,,chr*(n)
50 pr i n t# l , "Th is is just one o-f many sp ac ing possi bi li ti es "
60 next x
70 d a t a0 , 1 ,2, 5,6, 7

This is just one o-f many s pacin g po ss ib il iti es

T h is is ju st one o-f many spa cing p o s s ib il it ie s

This is just one of many spacing possibilities

This is just one o-f many spacing p o s s ib ilitie s

This is just one o-f many spacing possibilities

This is just one of

aany spacing possibilities

3-25

Master Print Mode

Format

BASIC
Hex

ON

chr$(27)“!”chr$(n)

1B21 nh

OFF

chr$(27)“!”chr$(0)
1B21 OOh

The master print mode command is one of the MPS 1200’s most
powerful commands. With it, you can select most combinations of
print pitch, character width, print quality, and special effects—
using just one command.

The master print mode command is ESC !. As with the master

pitch command, you select the print mode you want by sending the
ASCII code corresponding to its print mode number.

Each combination of features on the MPS 1200 is assigned a unique
number called the “print mode number.” For example, elite em
phasized expanded compressed underlined italics, thankfully, is
simply mode 237. To select this mouthful, you can send the com
mand ESC ! chr$(237). Try it with the program below.

10 open 1,4,7
20 p r i n t # l ,chr$(27)"!"chr*(237)
30 p r i n t #l ,"With master print, there are over

100 p oss ibl e combinations"

40 printttl,ch r $(2 7)"!" ch r $ (0) ; "And the re's alwa ys

vanilla, i-f you like."

50 closel

Hith master print, there are oyer 100 possible combinations

And there 's alwa ys vanilla, i-f you like.

The trick to using the master print mode command is knowing the

print mode number for the combination of features you want. With
over 100 combinations available, learning their numbers is not the
answer.

Fortunately, there is a simple way.
Each of the seven features selectable with the master print mode

command has a value associated with it as shown in Table 3-4.

3-26

10

20

30
40
50

Table 3-4. Values for Print Mode Numbers.

Bit Feature

Value

0 Pica 0
0 Elite

1
1 Proportional 2
2 Compressed 4

3 Emphasized 8
4 Doublestrike 16

5 Expanded

32

6 Italics

64

7 Underlining 128

The print mode number for any combination of features is the sum
of the values of the features, for example:

Elite

= 1

Emphasized

= 8
Expanded = 32
Compressed

= 4
Italic

= 64
Underlined = 128

Print Mode Number = 237

Each feature is controlled by one bit in a byte of memory. The
feature is activated when its bit is on, inactive when its bit is off. A
feature’s value is the decimal equivalent of the 8-digit binary num
ber with a 1 in the position corresponding to the feature’s bit
number.

The following program selects any of 256 different print styles. It

can be used as a reference chart showing all of the possible print
mode numbers along with a sample of each of the MPS 1200’s print
styles.

open 1,4,7
print#l,chr*<27>”!"chr*<56>
print#l, "COMMODORE MPS 1200 PRINT MODE COMMAND'1
print#l,chr*<27>"!"chr*<0>
print#l," ULN ITA EXP DDL EMP CMP PRO ELT"

3-27

60 p r i n t# ! , " 128 64 32 16 8 4 2 1

70 fo r n7=0 to 128 st ep 128

80 f o r n6=0 to 64 step 64

90 for n5=0 t o 32 s tep 32

100 f o r n4=0 to 16 s tep 16
110 f or n3=0 to 8 s tep 8
120 f or n2=0 t o 4 step 4
130 fo r n 1=0 to 2 s tep 2
140 f or n0=0 to 1 s tep 1

145

pr

i n t # 1 , "

•I.

150

if

n7

then

printttl,"

! * " S seise

print#!,

160

i f

n6 then

print#!,"

! *

";:else print#!,

170 if n5

then print#l,"

! * "5 :else

print#l,

180

if

n4

then

print#!,"

! *

";:e 1 se print#l,

190

if n 3 then print#!,"

! *

"5 seise

print#l,

200

if n2

then

printttl,"

! *

"5 seise

print#l,

210

if

n 1

then

print#!,"

! *

";seise

print#l,

220 i f

nO

then

print#!,"

! *

";seise print#!,

230 n=n0+n1+n2+n3+n4+n5+n6+n7

240 p ri nt;# l , " ! " ;
250 p r in t # l, c h r$ ( 27 ) " ! " chr$ (n) ; "P rin t M o d e rn
260 p r in t # l , c h r $ ( 2 7) " '"c hr$ (0)
270 n ext n O ,n 1 ,n 2,n 3, n4 ,n 5,n 6, n7
280 c l os e 1

3-28

SPECIAL CHARACTERS AND
SYMBOLS

In addition to letters, numbers, and punctuation in both roman and

italic, the MPS 1200 also has many accented characters and graphic
symbols in its repertoire.

International Character Sets

Format ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27) “FT chr$(n) chr$(27) “ R” chr$(11)
Hex 1BD2nh 1B D2 OBh

The MPS 1200 can print accented characters from nine languages
by redefining up to 12 of the character codes to accommodate the
accented characters and special symbols used in each language.
To select a particular set of characters, send ESC R followed by the
ASCII code number for the set you want. The values of n are
shown in Table 3-5. Although the ESC R command may be sent
while the printer is in either uppercase/graphics or upper/lowcrcase

(text) mode, the MPS 1200 will only print the international charac

ters when in text mode. In uppercase/graphics mode, the standard

Commodore graphics character set is used.

Table 3-5. Values of n for International

Character Sets.

n

Country

n

Country

0

U.S.A.

6

Italy

1

France

7

Spain

2

Germany

8

Japan

3

England

9

Norway

4

Denmark I

10

Denmark II

5

Sweden

11

Commodore standard (default)

To print a character from the international character set you select
ed, send its PETASCII code number (or its equivalent character in
standard PETASCII). The PETASCII codes that change and the
international characters are shown in Table 3-6.

3-29 •

Table 3-6. International Characters

Country

PET ASCII Code
35 36 64 91

92

93 94

95

96 123 124

125

126

U.S.A.

# $ ©

[

\

3

{

i

)

France

* $

£

a

9

§

'

£ Ü £

Germany

# $

§ A

Ö

0

A

S

Ö

U

ß

England

£ $

©

l

\

3

A

(1(

}

*-

Denmark 1

# $

©

A

0

A

✓n

a

0

£

Sweden

# a £ A

Ö A Ü

£

ä

Ö

£ u

Italy

# $

©

o

\

£

Ü £ Ö £ i

Spain

R $

©

»

¿

»

ft }

-

Japan

# $

©

c

¥

3

-

{

1

)

*-

Norway

#

a

£

A 0

A Ü

£

SB

0

£

Ü

Denmark II

# $

£

A 0 A

Ü

£

SB

0

£

u

Commodore

USA/UK

# $

©

C £ 3

*

4-

+

«

1 X

Denmark

# $ © s

0

£

'T

4-

—

A 0

A

X

Sweden

# $

© ä Ö

£

T*

4-

___

A Ü A

X

Germany # $ §

C \

3

'T

%

A Ö

0

7t

France

# $

©

C

\ 3

e i

o

K

Italy

#

$

©

c \ 3

*

e

i

•

K

Switzerland

# $ ©

c \ 3

-r

\

e

i

2

K

Spain

#

$ © c \ 3

T*

—

*

i ¿

K

Note that by selecting the U.S.A. character set, the MPS 1200 will
print standard ASCII characters not available on other Commodore
dot matrix printers.

To restore the international characters to their standard PET ASCII
form, use the command ESC R chrS(ll). International characters

can be used with any of the MPS 1200’s other features, including
near letter quality, and italics.

Example:

10 o pen 1,4,7
20 pr in t# l,c h r* < 2 7 > "R " c h r* ( 7)
30 p r i n t # l , " 3Ma" ; ch r$ (124) ; "a na en Madrid*?"
40 pr i n t # l , c hr $ (27) " R" ch r* (2 )
50 p r i n t # l , "f c h , no! En M ";ch r$(125);" n c h e n . "
60 c l o s e l

3-30

¿Mañana en Madrid ?

Äch, no! En München.

In the Spanish character set (n = 7), the left bracket, PET ASCII
code 91, is redefined as “¡” and PETASCII code 124, is redefined as
ñ. Alternately, you could change line 20 to print#l,chr$(91)“Hasta

ma”chr$(124)“ana!” which would give you the same results.

Switching Configurations

Format Epson Configuration Commodore Configuration

BASIC chr$(27) “ ~50” chr$(27) “ -51”
Hex 1B7E35 30 1B7E 35 31 * 30

This command switches the MPS 1200 printer between the Epson
FX configuration and the Commodore configuration. You can also
change the configuration in the hardware by setting DIP switch 1-3
on or off, but this method overrides the setting of the switch. This
command uses 0 and 1 as its on and off switches. Sending the

command ESC —51 switches to Commodore mode, and ESC —50
switches to Epson. Since 0 and 1 work as on and off switches rather
than as actual characters, you can substitute chrS(O) and chrS(l) for
their actual ASCII codes if you like.

Switching configurations changes the functions of several control
codes. The following program issues the same control codes in
each configuration, with very different results.

10 ope n 4 ,4 ,7
20 p r i n t # 4 , " E p s o n Mod e: 11
30 p r in t # 4 , c h r * (2 7 ) c h r * ( 1 2 6 )" 5 0 " s g os u b 50
40 pr i n t # 4 , " C o m mo d or e M od e : "
45 p r in t # 4 , c h r * (2 7 ) c h r $ ( 1 2 6 )" 5 1 ": g o s ub 50
46 p r in t # 4 , c h r $ (2 7 ) " 0 " :c lo s e 4 : end
50 pr i n t # 4 , c h r $ ( 1 4) " T h is i s c h r *( 14 ) command"
60 p r in t # 4 , " C o n t in u a t io n o-f c h r * (1 4) on n e xt 1 i n e " ; eh r * (2 7 ) "WO"
70 p rin t # 4 , e h r * (1 4 )" C h r * (1 4) p lu s " c h r * ( 1 5 )"c h r * (1 5) on th e same l in e "
80 p r in t # 4 , c h r* ( 1 5) "C hr* (15 ) p lu s " c h r * ( 18 )"c hr* (18 ) on th e same l in e "
90 p r in t # 4 , c h r * ( 1 4) " C h r * (14 ) p lu s " c h r * ( 20 ) " c h r* (2 0) on the sam e l in e "

100 pr in t # 4 : p r i n t # 4

110 r e t u rn

3-31

Epson Mode:

T h i s i s c h < 1 4 ) c o m m a m d

Continuation of chr*(14) on next line
C h r '* < 1 ^ > p lu s chr$(lS) on the same li n e
Chrf(lS) plus chr* (18) on the same line
C h r * < 1

* \-

> p lu s chr*(20) on the same line

Commodore Mode:

T h is i s c h r-* (14) c o m m a n d
C o n t i n u a t i o n o -F c h (14) on n e xt l in e

p 1 u is chr$(15) on the same line

Chr«(15> plus M m H M H M m a i
C h n ^ (14) p l u s c h ( 2 C) ) o n t h e s a m e l in e

3-32

Chapter 4

Page Formatting

Page formatting commands tell the MPS 1200 w here to print (as
opposed to text printing commands that tell it h ow to print). This
chapter describes the commands that control where your text ap
pears on the page—the distance between lines, page margins, and
page length.

THE END OF THE LINE

How does the printer know when to start a new line? There are two
ASCII codes that control the end of a line—ASCII 13, called a

carriage return,

and ASCII 10, called a line fe e d . Other related com
mands are ASCII 141, a carriage return without a line feed in
Commodore mode, and ASCII 141 and 138, which work the same
as ASCII 13 and 10 respectively, in Epson mode.

Carriage Return

BASIC chr$(13)
Hex OD

A carriage return brings the print head to the left margin, but does
not advance the paper to the next line. Therefore, many computers
automatically add a line feed (ASCII 10) to each carriage return. In
Commodore mode, a line feed is automatically added.

You can add an automatic line feed to each carriage return in Epson
mode by setting internal switch 1-7 ON if your computer does not
add line feeds for you (see Appendix D).

4-1

In Commodore mode (DIP switch 1-3 set to OFF), switch 1-7 is
ignored. You can still get a carriage return without automatic line
feed in Commodore mode by using chr$(141) instead of chr$(13).

Example:

10 op en 1,4,7

20 p ri n t #l , "This is o n";c h r f (13);"two lines'
30 print #l,"but these print";
40 print#l," on one line."
50 c1ose 1

This is on

two lines

but these print on one line.

NOTE: The semicolon in line 20 tells BASIC not to send a carriage

return (and line feed) to the printer, allowing you to continue
the next statement on the same printed line.

Line Feed

BASIC chr$(10)
Hex OA * 30

A line feed returns the print head to the left margin and advances
the paper to the next line. Many computers automatically add a line
feed to each carriage return. If yours does not, you can add a line
feed to each carriage return by setting internal switch 1-7 ON (see
Appendix D).

Example:

10 open 1,4,7
20 print#l,"This is on ";chr$(10);"two lines"
30 print#l,"Even with semicolons";chr $( 1 0 ) i t'11 be on two lines.
40 close 1

This is on
two lines
Even with semicolons

it'll be on two lines.

4-2

Carriage Return Without Line Feed
(Commodore mode only)

BASIC chr$(141)
Hex 8D

In Commodore mode (DIP switch 1-3 OFF), sending chrS(141)
causes the printer to perform a carriage return without a line feed to
move down to the next line. The following programs show how
this can be used for such effects as doubleprinting and underlining
in Commodore mode.

10 open 1,4,7
20 p r i n t # l ," Carri age Retur n without Line Fe e d";c hr$(141);
30 p r i n t # l ,"C arri age Retu rn without Line Feed"

40 clo se 1

Carriage Return without Line Feed

10 open 1,4,7
20 print#l,"Under1ined Characters";chr*(141);
30 print#!,"

______________________

"

40 close 1

Under1ineri Charac ters

A Note About BASIC

The MPS 1200 normally starts a new line with each PRINT# statement
because BASIC sends an end-of-line code for you automatically. In
Commodore BASIC, no semicolon at the end of PRINT# statement
causes the printer to perform a carriage return. Some commercial software
sends both a carriage return and a line feed at the end of each line.

4-3

The MPS 1200 can adapt to both situations by means of internal
switch 1-7. Setting this switch ON in Epson mode adds a line feed
to each carriage return the printer receives. It should be on if your
software does not send a line feed with each carriage return. If your
software sends a line feed with each carriage return, switch 1-7
should be OFF. In Commodore mode (switch 1-3 OFF), the MPS

1200 always adds a line feed to each carriage return, regardless of

the setting of switch 1-7.
You can avoid beginning a new line with a PRINT# statement by

ending the previous PRINT# statement with a semicolon.

LINE SPACING

Each time the MPS 1200 receives a line feed, the paper moves a
certain distance. But that distance, called the line spacing, need not
always be the same. The MPS 1200 has several commands that
allow you to change the line spacing.

When you turn on the printer the line spacing is set to six lines per
inch, standard typewriter spacing. This is the setting you will
probably use most often for text, but for some applications you
may wish to change to a smaller or larger line spacing.

The line spacing commands are based on multiples of 1/72 of an
inch. The reason for this odd measurement is that the pins in the
print head are spaced 1/72 inch apart. Using this measure, then,
allows you to vary the line spacing by as little as one-third of a dot
for very fine graphics.

Fixed Line Spacing

Fixed line spacing commands let you change the distance the paper
is advanced in fixed increments of 1/6 inch, 1/8 inch, or 7/72 inch.
The three commands are described below.

1/6 inch Line Spacing

BASIC chr$(27) “2”
Hex 1B32

4-4

This command sets the line spacing to 1/6 inch, printing six lines
per inch.

Example:

10 o p e n 1 ,4 , 7

20 p ri nt# l," T h e s e li ne s a re sp a ce d "

30 p r i nt# l, "at the d e fa u l t se t t i n g "
40 p r i nt# l, "of six li nes p e r inch ."
50 c l o s e 1

Th es e li n e s a re spac ed
at t he d e f au l t s e tt i n g

of six l in e s pe r inch.

1/8 inch Line Spacing

BASIC chr$(27) “0”
Hex 1B30

This command sets the line spacing to 1/8 inch, printing eight lines
per inch.

Example:

10 o p e n 1 , 4, 7

15 pr i nt# l ,ch r *< 2 7>"0"
20 pr int #l, "T h e s e lines are s p a c e d "
30 p ri nt# l, "at e i gh t li ne s p e r inch"
40 p r in t#l ," us i ng the ESC 0 c o m m a n d "
45 print#l , chr * <27 ) "2 N
50 p r int# l," an d b ac k a ga in "
60 prin t#l," to six l ine s p e r in ch"
70 pri nt#l ,"w it h the E SC 2 c omm and ."
80 c1ose 1

Th e s e li n es ar e sp a ce d
at e i g h t l i ne s pe r inch
us i n g the ES C 0 co m ma n d

and bac k a g a i n

to six lin e s pe r inch

wit h the E S C 2 c om ma nd .

4-5

7/72 inch Line Spacing

BASIC chr$(27) “1”
Hex 1B31

This command changes the line spacing to 7/72 inch, printing

approximately 10.3 lines per inch. It is used mainly with graphics

so that the tops and bottoms of the graphic characters connect, but

can be used in other applications as well (see the example below).

Example:

10 open 1,4,7
20 pr int#l, chr#<27) "SO" * chr$ (27) T "
30 print#!,"SMALL PRINT looks good“
40 pr in t#:L, " when printed on"
50 print#l,"SMALL LINES"
60 print#l,chr$(27)"@"
70 close 1

8 M A L . L F ’F. X N T l o o k « a o o d
w h « m p r i n t e d can
S M A L L L~ XNEHe

NOTE: This program uses ESC SO to select superscript.

Variable Line Spacing

The MPS 1200 has three commands that allow you to vary the line
spacing in increments of 1/72, 1/144, and 1/216 of an inch—that is,
one, one-half, and one-third of a dot. The finer increments are used
mainly for graphics. You can also vary line spacing by increments
of 1/216th of an inch using the secondary address.

Line Spacing of n/72 inch

BASIC chr$(27) “A” chr$(n) (n = 0 to 85)
H e x 1 B C 1 n h ( n h = OOh to 55h)

4-6

This command sets the line spacing to n/72 of an inch, adjusting the
line spacing to 1-dot increments. To use it, send chr$(27) “A”
followed by the ASCII code for the number of 72nds you want,
from 0 to 85. For example, chrS(27) “A” chr$(24) will change the
line spacing to 24/72 of an inch or 3 lines per inch.

Example:

10 open 1,4,7
20 p r i n t #l , chr$ (27) "A" r,chr*<24>
30 for n=l to 3
40 pr in t# l , "These lines are 24/72 of an inch apart."
50 next n
60 p ri n t # l ,c h r$(27)"®"
70 clo se 1

These lines are 24 /72 of an inch apart.

These lines are 24/7 2 of an inch apart.

These lines are 24/72 of an inch apart.

Line Spacing of n/144 inch

chr$(27) chr$(126) “0” chr$(n)
1B7E 30 nh

BASIC
Hex

(n = 0 to 125)

(nh = OOh to 7Dh)

This command sets the line spacing to n/144 of an inch, adjusting

the line spacing to 1/2-dot increments. To use it, send chr$(27)
“~0” followed by the ASCII code for the number of 144ths you
want, from 0 to 125. For example, chr$(27) “~0” chr$(12) will
change the line spacing to 12/144 of an inch or 12 lines per inch.

Example:

10 open 1,4,7
20 prin t#l ,ch r*(2 7); chr *(12 6)" 0"c hr$ (12)
30 for n= 1 to 3
40 pr i nt #l ,"These lines are 12/144 of an inch apart."
50 next n
60 print#l,chr*(27)"®"
70 close 1

» i i i

4-7

Line Spacing of n/216 inch

BASIC chr$(27) “3” chr$(n) (n = 0 to 255)

Hex1B 33 nh (nh = OOh to FFh)

This command sets the line spacing to n/216 of an inch, adjusting

the line spacing to 1/3-dot increments. To use it, send the printer
chr$(27) “3” followed by the ASCII code for the number of216ths
you want, from 0 to 255. For example, chr$(27) “3” chr$(24) will
change the line spacing to 24/216 of an inch or 9 lines per inch.

Example:

10 open 1,4,7
20 print#l,chr*<27) ,l3"chr$(24)
30 for n=l to 3
40 pr i nt #l ,"These lines are 24/216 of an inch apart."
50 next n
60 print#l,chr*<27)
70 close 1

These lines are 24/216 of an inch apart.
These lines are 24/216 of an inch apart.
These lines are 24/216 of an inch apart.

n/216 inch Spacing with Secondary
Address 6

There’s another way to change line spacing, by using the secondary
address of the OPEN command. A secondary address value of 6
controls the number of n/216 “steps” between successive lines of
print. The number you give is divided into 216 to determine the
number of lines per inch. Thus, a value of 27 produces eight lines
per inch, 72 produces three lines per inch, etc. The default value is
36, which produces 6 lines per inch. The following illustrates
spacing determined by a secondary address:

4-8

10 open 4,4,7

20 open 6,4,6

25 -for t=l to 5

30 read i
40 pr int# 6 , c hr$(i)
50 print#4,"HHHHH";
60 next t
70 close 6:close 4

100 da t a l ,27,36,72,144

A Variable Line Spacing Example

The following program demonstrates the different spacing you can
get with the variable line spacing commands:

10 open 1,4,7
20 k=0s print#l „ chr$ (27) ; »-l'1
30 sp*(1)=chr$(27)+ "A"s sp*(2)=chr*(27)

+chr$ <126)+"0": sp$ (3) =chr$ (27) + "3"

40
50

p rin t# l," S pa c in g
gosub 110

vari ed

by

1/72 o f

an inch :

60
70

p r in t # l , "Sp acing
gosub 110

vari ed

by

1/144 of

an inch

80
90

p r in t # l , " Spac ing
gosub 110

vari ed

by

1/216 o f

an inch

100 p r i n t# l ,c h r* < 2 7) " -O " ;s e n d
110 k=k + l
120 -for n=0 to 20
130 if n=9 then goto 170
140 if n = l 3 then go to 170
150 p ri nt # l,s p$(k );c h r $ (n );
160 go su b 210
170 next n
180 p r i n t # l , c h r * < 2 7 ) "2"

190 pr int #l
200 return
205 rem next line leave 40 sp aces
210 pr in t# l,"

220 return

230 do sel

4-9

Spacing varied by 1/72 o-f an inch

Spacing varied by 1/144 of an inch:

Spacing varied by 1/216 of an inch:

In this program, line 20 initializes the counter K and turns on
underlining. Line 30 defines the three variable spacing commands
as SPS(l), SP$(2), and SP$(3). The commands are actually sent in
the subroutine beginning at line 110. The counter K determines
which command is needed and line 150 sends it and the value
chr$(n) to the printer. The subroutine at line 210 then prints 35
underlined spaces. Line 180 resets the spacing to six lines per inch
and line 190 skips a line to begin the next set of lines.

4-10

f -4 K»

VARIABLE LINE FEEDS

If you want to move to another line without returning to the left
margin, the MPS 1200 provides one command to do this. It allows
you to move down in 1/216 inch increments.

Line Feed of n/216 inch

BASIC chr$(27) “J” chr$(n) (n = 0 to 255)

Hex1B CA n h ( n h = OOh to FFh)

The one-time line feed command immediately advances the paper
whatever distance you specify without changing the print head
position. To use it, send chr$(27) “J” followed by the ASCII code
for the number of 216ths you want, from 0 to 255.

Example:

10 open 1,4,7

0 print#l,"ESC J chr$<18) advances the paper"chr$(27)"J"chr$(18);
0 print#l,"one half line."

40 closel
ESC J chr$(18) advancers the paper . , . . .

r r one half line.

PAGE DESIGN

In addition to the commands to control spacing between lines, the
MPS 1200 provides several commands that allow you to adjust the
overall placement of the printing on the page.

New Page (Form Feed)

BASIC chr$(12)
Hex OC

A form feed advances the paper to the top of the next page, the
same as the FF switch on the MPS 1200’s control panel does. The
MPS 1200 measures the length of the page starting with the posi
tion of the paper when you first turn on the printer. Therefore, in
order for the form feed command to advance the paper the proper
distance, you must line up the top of the page at the print head
when you turn on the printer or after you send a master reset (ESC
@) command or secondary address 10.

4-11

You can substitute chr$(140) for chr$(12) in Epson mode to get the
same results. You can set the power-on default page length to
either 11 inches by setting internal switch 1-5 OFF, or to 12 inches
by setting switch 1-5 ON. (See Appendix D.) You can also set the

page length with ESC C.

Example:

10 open 1,4,7

20 pr int #l, "Top o-f page 1 "

30 pr int# 1, chr$ (12) ; " Top o-f page 2M
40 closel

Page Length

When you first turn on the MPS 1200, the page length is set to 11
inches (or 12 inches if internal switch 1-5 is set ON). Each form
feed, therefore, advances the paper 11 inches. Although this is the
most common page length, some applications may require a differ
ent page length setting. Labels, envelopes, and computer checks are
examples.

You can set the page length through software control in two ways:
by the number of lines, or by inches. The command to do this is
ESC C.

Set page length by lines

BASIC chr$(27) “C” chr$(n) (n = 1 to 255)
Hex 1BC3 nh (nh = 01 h to FFh)

This command sets the page length to n lines. To use this com
mand, send the printer ESC C followed by the ASCII code for the
number of lines you want, from 1 to 255. For example, chr$(27)
“C” chr$(6) sets the page length to 6 lines, a typical setting for
mailing labels.

The actual page length is set internally in inches, determined by
multiplying the lines per page by the line spacing in effect at the
time. Later changes in line spacing, therefore, have no effect on the
length of the page. (They will change the number of lines per page,
however.)

4-12

10 open 1,4,7

20 print#l,chr$<27)"C'chr*(6>
30 -for n=l to 3
40 printttl,"Name"
50 p ri n t #l , "Address"
60 p r i nt # l, "C ity , State"
70 p ri n t #l ,ch r$(12)
80 next n
90 c1ose 1

Name

Address
City, St ate

[3 Lines]

Name
Address
City, State

[3 Lines]

Name
Address
City, State

You can also set page length in Commodore mode by using secon
dary address 3 along with the control codes chr$(147) to turn
paging on and chr$(19) to turn paging off. Send chrS(147) first to
turn paging on; if you don’t include a secondary address of 3, page
length defaults to 60 lines (so 6 blank lines are left at the bottom of
the page). The number given with the file in the OPEN statement
with the secondary address of 3 (chr$(56) in line 40) specifies the
number of lines per page. So the statements

10 open 4,4,7

20 open 2,4,3

30 p r i n t # 4, c h r $(147)
40 p r i n t # 2, c h r $(56)
50 c lose 2:clo se4

set the page length to 56 lines. To turn paging off, send the printer

chr$(19). There’s a little more on using chr$(147) and chr$(19) on
setting the top and bottom margins later in this chapter.

Example:

4-13

Set page length by inches

BASIC chr$(27) “C” chr$(0) chr$(n) (n = 1 to 150)
H e x 1 B C 3 00 n h ( n h = 01 h to 96h)

This command sets the page length to n inches. To use this com
mand, send ESC C followed by chrS(O) and then the ASCII code
for the number of inches you want, from 0 to 150. For example,
chr$(27) “C” chr$(0) chr$(7) sets the page length to 7 inches, a
typical length for many computer forms. Line spacing has no effect
on the page length set in inches.

Example:

10 open 1,4,7
20 print#l,chr*<27)"C"chr*<0>;chr*<3>
30 print#l,"Customer N u mberchr $ (9);"Order Numbers"
40 print#l,ch r* (12);"Customer N u m b e r c h r$ (9);"Order Numbers"
50 print#l,chr*<27) "C"chr*<0> ;chr*<ll>
60 close 1

Customer Number: Order Numbers

Customer Numbers Order Numbers

When you run the program above, you will see the information
printed twice, three inches apart. Line 40 resets the page length to
11 inches.

MARGINS

The MPS 1200 has four commands that let you set the margins on
your page. In order for these commands to work properly, the
MPS 1200 must know where the top of the page is. Therefore,
always make sure the top of the page is lined up with the metal
ribbon guide when you turn on the MPS 1200.

4-14

Top and Bottom Margins

ON OFF

BASIC chr$(27) “N” chrS(n) chr$(27) “0”

(n = 1 to 127) 1BCF

Hex IBCEnh

(nh = 01 h to 7Fh)

The top/bottom margin command, ESC N, is sometimes called
the skip-over-perforation command. It sets the number of lines to
skip at the bottom of every page (above the perforation on continu
ous paper). To use the top/bottom margin command, send ESC N
followed by the ASCII code for the number of lines you want to
skip. For example, chr$(27) “N” chr$(6) skips six lines at the
bottom of the page.

To set the top margin, first line up the top of the page at the ribbon
guide (the first line prints approximately 3/8 inch from the top,
which is equivalent to skipping one line). To increase the top
margin, advance the paper the required number of lines—manually
or using the LF switch with the MPS 1200 off-line—and then
switch the power off and on to reset the new top of the form.

Now, when you send the ESC N command, add the number of

lines in the top margin to the number of lines in the bottom margin

and use the sum with ESC N. For example, to get a 6-line margin
at the top and bottom of each page, the total number of margin
lines is 12. Set the top of the page five lines above the ribbon guide
and send the command chr$(27) “N” chr$(12).

The ESC O (letter O) command cancels the top/bottom margin or
skip-over-perforation. When set with ESC N, the skip-over-pcr-
foration feature can also be canceled by changing the page length or
by the master reset command.

4-15

Example:

10 open 1,4,7

20 p ri nt #l ,c hr *( 27 >" C 'c hr *(8)

30 print #l,chr$<27>"N"chr*< 3>
40 -for i = l to 14
50 p r i n t# l ,"1 ine number ";i
60 next i
70 print #l,chr*<27>"®"
80 c 1 ose 1

line

number

i

line

number

line

number

TT
o

1 ine

number-

4
line number 5
line

number 6

1 ine

number

7

1 ine number

8

1 ine

number

9

1 ine number 1 0
1 ine

number

11

line

number

12

1 ine number

13

line

number 14

NOTE: In the program above, a top margin of 1 line is set by moving

the paper down one line, then turning the power off and on
again. The bottom margin is 2 lines.

4-16

Setting Margins with the Secondary

Address (Commodore mode only)

ON OFF

BASIC chr$(147) chr$(19)
Hex 93 13

In Commodore mode, chr$(147) works the same as the escape code
chr$(27)“N”chr$(6) and chr$(19) turns off paging as does the se
quence chr$(27)“0 ”. chr$(147) can be very useful in long BASIC
programs. With this code, you can print out a long listing skipping
over the page perforation. An example of this application for
LISTing long BASIC programs:

open4,4,7:cmd4,chr$(147);:list:print#4:close4

Left Margin

BASIC chr$(27) “ I” chr$(n) (n = 0 to 255)
H e x 1 B 4 C nh (nh = OOh to FFh)

The ESC 1 (lower case “1”) command sets the left margin at column
n. Printing starts at column (n + 1). To use it, send ESC 1 followed
by the ASCII code for the column number you want. For example,
chr$(27) “1” chrS(10) sets the left margin at column 10, leaving 10
blank columns (printing will start in column 11). The actual width
of the margin is determined by the character width in effect when

the margin is set. Later changes in the character width do not affect
the width of the margin.

If the margin setting exceeds the maximum number of columns in a
line for the character width in effect, the setting is ignored.

4-17

10 open 1,4,7

20 p ri n t # 1,"123456789012345678901234567890"
30 print #l,"Th e power-on left margin"

40 pr i n t# l ,"starts at the left-most"
50 p r in t # l,"print position."
60 print#! ,chr $(27) " l"chr* (10)5
70 pr int#l,"Th e left margin now starts"
80 print#l,"at column (n + 1) which"
90 print#l,"is column 11."

100 p ri nt # l,chri(27)"1"chr $ (0);
110 pr i n t# l ,"Default left margin again."

12 0 close 1

1234567890123456789012345678 90
The powei— on left margin
starts at the left-most

print position.

The left margin now starts
at column (n + 1) which

is column 1 1.

Default left margin again.

Right Margin

Example:

BASIC chr$(27) “Q” chr$(n) (n = 1 to 255)
H e x 1 B D 1 n h ( n h = 01 h to FFh)

The sequence ESC Q sets the right margin at column n. To use it,
send ESC Q followed by the ASCII code for the column number
you want. For example, chr$(27) “Q” chr$(70) sets the right mar

gin at column 70. This will allow printing up to (and including)
column 70. The actual width of the margin is determined by the
character width in effect when the margin is set. Later changes in
the character width do not affect the width of the margin.

The minimum value of n is 1 as expanded character width.

4-18