Epson LX-86TM User Manual

0 (0)

EPSON

LX-86

PRINTER

User's Manual

FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

FOR AMERICAN USERS

This equipment generates used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause interference to radio and television reception. It has been type tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception, which can be is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

-Reorient the receiving antenna

-Relocate the printer with respect to the receiver

-Plug the printer into a different outlet so that printer and receiver are on different branch circuits.

If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio/ television technician for additional suggestions. The user may find the following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications Commission helpful:

“How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems. ” This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC

20402.

Stock No.

and

uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and

determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user

004-000-00345-4.

WARNING

The connection of a non-shielded printer interface cable to this printer will invalidate the FCC Certification of this device and may cause interference levels which exceed the limits established by the FCC for this equipment. If this equipment has more than one interface connector, do not leave cables connected to unused interfaces.

Apple is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Applesoft is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Data Computer Corporation. Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.

LX-80

is a trademark of Epson America, Inc. IX-86 is a trademark of Epson America, Inc. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.

NOTICE:

The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice.

All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this

manual. However, should any errors be detected, EPSON would greatly

appreciate being informed of them.

The above notwithstanding, EPSON can assume no responsibility for any errors in this manual or their consequences.

Nagano, Japan

Contents

List

of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . .

vii

List of Tables. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Introduction

LX-86 Features

About This Manual

Setting Up Your LX-86 Printer

Printer Parts.. Printer Location Paper Feed Knob Installation. Ribbon Installation Ribbon Replacement

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Paper Loading...............................

Control Panel

Lights

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Buttons..................................

Test Pattern. Connecting the LX-86 to Your Computer First Printing Exercise

SelecType . . . . . . . . . . . .

SelecType Operation . . .

Turning SelecType on .

Selecting typestyles. . .

SelecType exercise . . . .

SelecType Tips . . . . . . . .

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Viii

1 1 2

3 4 4

10 11

12 13

15 15 15 16

Elements of Dot Matrix Printing

The Print Head Bidirectional Printing. Changing Pitches NLQ Mode

Printer Control Codes

ASCII Codes ESCape Code Printer Codes

Embeddedcodes Inserted codes.

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Programming Languages

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21 21 22 22 24

27 27 28

29 30 30

iii

IX-86 Features

Demonstration Programs Pica Printing.

Changing Pitches Cancelling Codes

Resetting the Printer

Pitch Comparison. Near Letter Quality Mode

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33 33 34

35 35 36 36 37

Print Enhancements and Special Characters

Bold Modes

Emphasized mode Master program Double-strike

Double-width Mode.

Mode Combinations. Italic Mode..

Underline Mode

Master Select.

Superscript and Subscript Special Characters.

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Epson character graphics set International characters Graphics character set.

Page Formatting

Margins

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Justification with NIQ

Skip Over Perforation

Line Spacing

Paper-Out Sensor

User-Defined Characters

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Defining Your Own Characters Designing Process.

First definition program. Running the program.

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Second definition program Running the program.

Defining NLQ Characters.

NIQ grid

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First NLQ definition program Second NLQ definition program

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39 39 39

41 42 43 43 44 45 47 47 47

53 53 54 55 55 57

59 60

61 62 63 64 65 65

68 69

Introduction to Dot Graphics

Dot Patterns Print Head

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Graph&Mode ..............................

Pin Labels First Graphics Program.

Multiple-Line Exercise Density Varieties. Reassigning Code Column Reservation Numbers WIDTH Statements Design Your Own Graphics Graphics Programming Tips

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Semicolons and command placement String variables Graphics and low ASCII codes

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Appendixes

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71 72 73 73 74 76

81 84 84 86

LX-86 Characters Epson Character Graphics

Commands in Numerical Order

Control Key Chart

Command S Near Letter Quality

Character Width Print Enhancement Mode and Character Set Selection Special Printer Features

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ummary

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Line Spacing ................................

Forms Control. Page Format.. User-defied Characters Dot Graphics

Miscellaneous Codes.

The DIP Switches

D E

Using the Optional Tractor Unit

Printer Location Tractor Unit Installation Loading Continuous Paper.

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A-l

A-3

B-l

B-4

c-1

c-2

c-4 C-6 c-9

c-11 c-13 C-16

c-19 c-20 C-23

D-l

E-l

E-2

E-4

Troubleshooting and Advanced Features

Problem / Solution Summary

Setting print styles Tabbing Graphics

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Paper-out sensor

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Beeper Error Warnings

Data Dump Mode

Coding Solutions

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Solutions for Specific Systems

Applesoft BASIC solutions. Apple II solutions. IBM-PC solutions

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F-l

Fl F3 F-3 F-3 F5

F6 F6 F-6 F7

Printer Maintenance.

Always

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Now and Then Rarely

Technical Specifications

Printing

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Character size Characters per line

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Paper Printer.

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Dimensions and Weight. Environment. Interface

The Parallel Interface

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Data Transfer Sequence

Interface timing Signal relationships

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. . . . . .

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. . . . . .

. . . . . . H-2

. . . . . *

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. * . . . .

......

G-l G-l G-l G-l

H-l H-l H-l

H-2

H-2 H-2 H-3 H-3

I-l I-3 I-3

I-3

List

Figures

l-l Printer parts

l-2

Paper feed knob installation

l-3

Ribbon cassette. l-4 Print head assembly l-5

Ribbon cassette installation l-6 Ribbon placement

l-7 IX-86 ready for paper loading

l-8 Control panel

l-9

Test patterns

l-10 Cable connection

2-l Turning SelecType on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

3-l

A capital T

3-2

The three pitches of the LX-86

3-3

IX-86 dot matrix characters

6-l Emphasized and standard print. 6-2

Double-strike and standard print.

6-3

Double-width and standard characters

6-4

Italic and pica.

6-5

The underline mode

6-6 Special graphics characters

7-1

Standard line spacing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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7 8

9 10 12

13 16 21

23 24

42 44 45

8-l Grid for designing draft characters

8-2

Correct and incorrect designs

8-3

Design for character

8-4

Using the bottom eight rows

8-5

Grid for NLQ characters

8-6

Data numbers for one column

8-7

Arrow design and data numbers

9-l Pin labels

9-2

Calculating numbers for pin patterns

9-3

Designing in different densities

9-4

Arrow design

9-5

First line of arrow figure

9-6

Result of incorrect program

9-7

Pin patterns of incorrect program

D-l DIP switch location

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60 61 62 63 66 67 68

75 75 81 82 82 84 85

D-l

vii

Continuous paper with printer stand.

E-l

Continuous paper without stand

E-2

Tractor placement.

E-3 E-4

Paper separator and paper guide Tractor release levers

E-5

Pin feed holder adjustment

E-6

Open pin feed cover

E-7

Top of page position.

E-8

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E-l E-2 E-2 E-3 E-4

E-5 E-5 E-6

I-l

Parallel interface timing

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List of Tables

2-l

SelecType modes

Summary of LX-86 pitches.

5-1 6-1

International characters in NLQ mode.

6-2

International characters in draft mode. International characters in draft italic

6-3

Graphics modes

9-l

DIP switch functions

D-l

International DIP switch settings

D-2

Pins and signals

I-l

Signal interrelations

I-2

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I-3

49 49 50

D-2

I-l, I-2

I-4

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Vlll

Introduction

The Epson IX-86

printer combines low price with the high quality

and advanced features formerly available only on more expensive

printers.

LX-86 Features

In addition to the high performance and reliability you’ve come

to expect from Epson printers, the LX-86 offers:

l Draft mode for quick printing of ordinary work l Near Letter Quality mode for top quality printing l Selection of typestyles with the control panel l Fast printing (120 characters per second in draft pica) l A variety of print styles, including Roman, italic, six widths,

and two kinds of bold printing

l User-definable characters so you can create and print your own

symbols or characters

l High-resolution graphics for charts, diagrams, and illustrations l Easy paper loading l Ribbon cassette for quick and clean ribbon changing l Epson Standard Character Graphics set, which includes char-

acter graphics that are used on IBM@ and compatible computers as well as international characters used by IBM software. These characters are shown below:

About This Manual

We’re not going to waste your time with unnecessary information, but we won’t neglect anything you need to know about the Ix-86 and its many features.

You can read as much or as little of this manual as you wish. If you have used printers before and have a specific program that you want to use with the LX-86, a quick reading of the first chapter may be all you need. If, on the other hand, you are new to computers and printers, you will find this manual easy to follow and the LX-86 easy to use. No matter what your background, if you want to learn about and experiment with all the advanced features of the LX-86, the information you need is here.

For a preview of what your LX-86 can do, look at the following samples of a few of its typestyles.

NEAR LETTER QUALITY

NLQ standard

NLQ

*DRAFT MODE

Pica

Elite

Condensed

Italic

Underlined Emphasized double-width

emphasized

ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz

ABCDEFGHI.JKLMnopqrstuvwxyz

ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz

Chapter

Setting Up Your LX-86 Printer

Setting up your LX-86 printer is a simple matter of attaching two parts, putting in the ribbon and paper, and connecting the printer to your computer.

This chapter will have you printing a test pattern within fifteen to

twenty minutes and doing more complicated work not long after.

Printer Parts

First, see that you have all the parts you need. In addition to this

manual, the printer box should contain the items shown in Figure 1-l.

* In the United States, the printer is delivered with the power

cord attached.

Figure l-l. Printer parts

In addition to the items in the box, you need a cable and possibly an interface board. The cable connects the printer to your computer, and the interface board is necessary only for those computers that can’t use the LX-86’s Centronics® paralle1 interface. Your computer manual or your dealer will tell you which cable you need and whether or not you need a special interface.

Printer Location

Now that you have unpacked your printer, you should choose a suitable location for it. The main requirement, of course, is that the printer be close enough to your computer for the cable to reach. Also remember the following:

l Use a grounded outlet, and do not use an adapter plug.

l Avoid using electrical outlets that are controlled by wall switches.

Accidentally turning off a switch can wipe out valuable information in your computer’s memory and disrupt your printing.

l Avoid using an outlet on the same circuit breaker with any large

electrical machines or appliances. These can cause disruptive power fluctuations.

l Keep your printer and computer away from base units for cordless

telephones.

l Protect the printer from direct sunlight, excessive heat, moisture,

and dust. Make sure that it is not close to a heater or other heat source.

Paper Feed Knob Installation

Now that you have chosen where to set up your LX-86, the first and simplest piece to install is the paper feed knob, which you use to manually advance the paper-lust as you do on a typewriter. To install the knob, merely push it onto the shaft found in the hole on the right side of the printer. (See Figure l-2.) The shaft has one flat side that must be matched with the flat side of the hole in the knob.

Figure 1-2. Paper feed knob installation

Ribbon Installation

The LX-86 printer uses a continuous-loop, inked fabric ribbon, which is enclosed in a cassette that makes ribbon installation and replacement a clean and easy job. The parts of this cassette are labelled in Figure

l-3.

Ribbon

Knob

Figure

l-3.

Ribbon cassette

To install the ribbon, first open the lid at the front of the LX-86 so that you can see the print head assembly shown in Figure the assembly by hand to the center of the printer so that the other

parts of the printer will not get in your way. Also be sure that the paper bail is against the black roller so it too will not be in your way.

Note: Moving the print head by hand when the printer is turned on

can harm the printer. Always be sure that the printer is turned off before you move the print head.

l-4.

Move

Figure 1-4. Print bead assembly

Then hold the ribbon cassette so that the small knob is on top and the exposed section of ribbon is away from you. Insert the cassette in its holder by first sliding the pins at the back of the ribbon cassette under the small hooks on the holder. (See Figure l-5.) Then lower the front of the cassette so that the exposed section of ribbon can fit between the print head nose and the silver ribbon guide. Push down

until the cassette fits firmly in place.

Figure 1-5. Ribbon cassette installation

Now turn the knob on the cassette in the direction of the arrow to tighten the ribbon. As you turn the knob, see that the ribbon slips down into its proper place between the print head nose and the silver ribbon guide (Figure l-6). If it doesn’t, guide it with a pen or a pencil.

Figure l-6. Ribbon placement

Ribbon Replacement

When your printing begins to become light and you need to re-

place the ribbon, lift the front of the cassette to remove it and then

follow the above instructions with a new cassette. If you have been using your printer just before you change cassettes, be aware that the print head becomes hot during use. Be careful not to touch it. Also remember never to move the print head by hand when the printer is turned on.

Paper Loading

Now put a sheet of paper in your LX-86 so you can test it. Figure

l-7 shows the names of the parts

that you need to know.

Friction lever

Figure l-7. LX-86 ready for paper loading

See that the printer is turned off, open the front lid, and push the friction lever back and the paper bail forward. Then move the print head by hand to the center of the printer and feed the paper into the paper slot in the top of the printer.

When the paper will not go any farther, turn the paper feed knob to advance it as you would with a typewriter. Turn the knob until the top of the paper is at least 3/4-inch above the ribbon guide. Then push the paper bail against the paper. If the paper becomes crooked, pull the friction-release lever forward, straighten the paper, and push the

friction lever back.

If you have the optional tractor unit for continuous pin-feed paper, see Appendix E for instructions on its use.

Control Panel

Now that your paper is loaded, it is time to plug in the printer

and see what the buttons on the control panel do. First, see that the power switch on the right side of the printer is off. Then plug in the power cord. Now turn on the power switch and look at the control panel.

Figure l-8. Control panel

There are three buttons and four indicator lights on the control panel.

Lights

The POWER light glows green when the power is on.

The READY light glows green when the printer is ready to accept data.

This light flickers somewhat during printing.

• The PAPER OUT light glows red to indicate that the printer is out of paper or the paper is loaded incorrectly.

• The ON LINE light glows green when the printer can receive data.

Buttons

The buttons have several functions, including selecting draft or NLQ

(Near Letter Quality) printing. Draft is good for quick printing of ordinary work, and NLQ has more fully-formed characters for final copies or special purposes.

This is high-quality NLQ printing.

This is fast

ON LINE/OFF LINE. This button switches the printer between

draft

printing.

on-line and off-line status. When the printer is on line, the ON LINE light glows and the printer is ready to accept data.

l FORM FEED/NLQ. When the printer is on line, pressing this

button turns on NLQ. When the printer is off line, this button advances the paper to the top of the next page.

l LINE FEED/DRAFT. When the printer is on line, this button

turns on draft printing. When the printer is off line, this button advances the paper one line at a time.

Test Pattern

Now you’ll see your Lx-86 print something even though it’s not connected to a computer yet. Make sure that your printer has paper in it and that the power switch is off. Now, hold down the LINE FEED button on the control panel while you turn the printer on with the power switch. The Lx-86 will begin printing all the letters, numbers and other characters that are stored in its ROM (Read Only Memory) for the draft mode. When the printing starts, you can release the LINE FEED button; the printing will continue until you turn the printer off or until the print head gets near the end of the page. To see the same test in the NLQ (Near Letter Quality) mode, turn the printer on while holding down the FORM FEED button. Partial results of both tests are shown in Figure 1-9.

23456789:;<=> 3456789:;<=>

456789:;<=>

56789:;<=> 6789:'<=> ?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ

789 : ;<=>

89:;<=> 9 : ;<=>

: ; <=>

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[/]ˆ_`ab

;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQTRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ_’abc

<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQTRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ._'

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ_

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ_`

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ_`a

<NLQ>

123456789: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMOPQPSTUVWXY 23456789: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMHOPQRSTUVWXYZ 3456789: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[ 456789: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\ 56789: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMHOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\] 6789: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ 789: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQESTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ89: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQESTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ_' 9: ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMHOPQRSTUVWXYK[\]ˆ_'a : ; <=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQESTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ_' ab

; <=>?BABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ

<=> ?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQESTUVWXYZ[\]ˆ ‘abed

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXY

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\

?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]

abcd

’ abc

Figure l-9. Test patterns

Connecting the LX-86 to Your Computer

Now that the test pattern has shown that your printer is working

well, it’s time to hook it up to your computer. It is best to have both the printer and the computer turned off when you do this.

Remember that each computer system has its own way of com-

municating with a printer. If your computer expects to communicate through a Centronics parallel interface, all you need is a cable. If your computer requires any other kind of interface, you will also need an

interface board.

If you don’t know what a Centronics parallel interface is, your computer manual or your dealer will tell you what you need. Then, once you have plugged your printer cable into your printer and computer, you will probably never think about interfaces again. (If you do want the technical specifications, however, you can find them in Appendix I.)

The first three steps in connecting your printer and computer are shown in Figure l-10. Plug one end of your printer cable into the cable connector of your LX-86 printer. The plug is shaped so that there is only one way it will fit the connector. Now secure the plug to the printer with the wire clips on each side of the connector. These clips insure that your cable will not be loosened or unplugged accidentally. If your cable has a grounding wire, fasten it to the grounding screw below the connector.

Figure I-10. Cable connection

Grounding

screw

Grounding

wire

Next connect the other end of the printer cable to your computer.

On most computers you can easily find the correct connector for the

printer cable, but if you are not sure, consult your computer manual

or your dealer.

First Printing Exercise

Now it is time to see something more interesting than the test pattern from your LX-86 printer. Your next step depends upon what kind of printing you plan to do. If you have a word processing or other commercial software program, just load the program in your computer, follow its printing instructions, and watch your Lx-86 print. If you plan to use your LX-86 for printing program listings, load a program and use your computer system’s listing command (LLIST for Microsoft

Note: If all the lines of your first printing exercise are printed on top

of each other, don’t worry. There is nothing wrong with your printer. All you have to do is change the setting of a small switch in the back of your printer. See the section on automatic line feeds in Appendix D.

BASIC, for example).

Chapter 2

SelecType

The LX-86’s SelecType feature can produce four special

typestyles:

This is emphasized printing.

This is

This is condensed printing.

This is in the elite mode.

SelecType Operation

Using SelecType is easy. You turn on SelecType and select a type-

style, then turn off SelecType and print.

Note: Each button has two names. For convenience, this chapter

uses the top names of the buttons.

Turning SelecType on

1. Make sure that the printer is on and that the POWER, READY, and ON LINE lights are all on.

in the double-strike mode.

Press both the OFF LINE and FORM FEED buttons at the same

time, as illustrated in Figure 2-l. Hold them down for at least a second, then release them.

Note: If the printer beeps twice before you release the buttons,

you have pressed the FORM FEED button before the OFF LINE button instead of at the same time and the LX-86 is in the NLQ mode. Press the OFF LINE button to put the printer back on line and press the DRAFT button if you do

not want NLQ. Then press both the OFF LINE and FORM FEED buttons to turn on SelecType.

Figure 2-1. Turning SelecType on

When you release the OFF LINE and FORM FEED buttons,

the LX-86 signals in three ways that SelecType is on.

• The printer beeps.

The READY light turns off.

• The ON LINE light begins flashing.

Selecting typestyles

In SelecType, each button has a function:

• OFF LINE selects typestyles. *FORM FEED sets the styles.

•LINE FEED turns SelecType off.

After turning on SelecType, follow these three steps to select

a typestyle:

1. Find the typestyle you want in Table 2-1.

Table 2-l. SelecType modes

Mode

1 2 3 4

Emphasized

Double&trike condensed Elite

Typestyle or Function

ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz

2. Press the OFF LINE button the number of times indicated in the mode column. Be sure that the printer beeps each time you

press the OFF LINE button.

3. Press the FORM FEED button to set the typestyle.

4. Press the LINE FEED button to turn SelecType off. The control panel returns to its normal functions, but the printer is off-line.

5. Press the OFF LINE button, and you are ready to print.

SelecType exercise

You don’t need to know anything about programming for this exercise because it is merely for practice. If you would rather not use BASIC, use your word processing or business program to create a short file or document of the type you will usually print.

If you do want to use BASIC for this exercise, simply turn on your computer and printer and load BASIC. Then type the short program listed below. Only the words inside the quotation marks are printed. You can put anything you want there. (If your version of BASIC does not use LPRINT, consult your BASIC manual.)

10 LPRINT “This is an example” 20 LPRINT ” of LX printing. ”

Now, run the program by typing RUN and pressing RETURN, or print your file or document by following the printing instructions of your software. The LX-86 will print your example in standard singlestrike printing, as shown below:

This is an example

of LX printing.

Now that you have created a sample, follow these steps to print it

in condensed mode:

See that both the ON LINE and READY lights are on.

2. Press the OFF LINE and FORM FEED buttons at the same time, then release them. You hear a beep to signal that SelecType is on.

3. As shown in Table 2-1, the code for condensed is three. Therefore, press the OFF LINE button three times. (Remember to make sure you hear a beep each time you press the OFF LINE button when you are in SelecType mode.)

4. Now that you have selected the condensed mode, push the FORM FEED button once to set it.

5. Push the LINE FEED button once to return the panel to its standard operation.

6. Press the OFF LINE button so the IX-86 is ready to print. Now you have set the LX-86 to print in condensed mode. Print

your sample once more. It should appear in condensed mode just as you see below:

This is an example of LX printing.

Turn off your printer to cancel the condensed setting, and-

if you wish-try this exercise with other modes. Note: Some applications programs are designed to control all

typestyle functions. These programs cancel all previous typestyle settings by sending an initialization signal before printing. Because this signal cancels SelecType settings, you will have to use the program’s print options function instead of SelecType to select your typestyles. Therefore, if SelecType does not work with a particular applications program, consult its manual on how to select typestyles.

SelecType Tips

Once you have learned the simple technique for controlling print styles with SelecType, you can use it whenever you wish. You should be aware of a few restrictions, however.

SelecType is designed to control the printing of an entire file or

document, not an individual line or word.

l If you are using the NLQ mode, remember that the following

SelecType modes are not available in NLQ: condensed, double-

strike, and elite.

If there are print codes in the document or file you are printing,

those codes will override your SelecType settings. This seldom

happens, since you usually won’t use SelecType with files that have

such codes, but if your IX-86 follows the SelecType instructions for

only part of a document, print codes in the document may

conflict with the SelecType modes.

After you turn on a mode with SelecType, it stays in effect until the

printer is turned off. If, for example, you use SelecType to print a

document in emphasized, anything you print after that will be

emphasized unless you first turn the printer off and back on.

Chapter 3

Elements of Dot Matrix Printing

This chapter is for those of you who want to know something about how your printer works. It’s a simple, non-technical explanation of the basics of dot matrix printing that will help you understand some of the later chapters.

The Print Head

The IX-86 uses a print head with nine pins or wires mounted vertically. Each time a pin is fired, it strikes the inked ribbon and presses it against the paper to produce a dot. This dot is about 1/72nd of an inch in diameter. The size varies slightly depending upon the age of the ribbon and the type of paper used. As the head moves horizontally across the page, these pins are fired time after time in different patterns to produce letters, numbers, symbols, or graphics.

For example, to print a pica capital T, the head fires the top pin, moves 1/60th of an inch, fires the top pin again, moves 1/60th of an inch, fires the top seven pins, moves 1/60th of an inch, fires the top pin, moves another 1/60th of an inch, and fires the top pin once more to finish the letter.

Figure 3-l. A capital T

Bidirectional Printing

In nearly all of our discussions in this manual, we describe the

action of the LX-86 print head as moving from left to right, as a

typewriter does. During its normal operation while printing in the

draft mode, however, the LX-86 prints bidirectionally. That is, the

print head goes from left to right only on every other line. On the

other lines it reverses everything and prints right to left.

By reversing both the dot patterns and the printing direction, the LX-86 produces a line that is correct and looks no different from a line printed from left to right. It does this to save time. Otherwise, the time the print head takes to go from the right margin back to the left would be wasted.

The intelligence of the printer takes care of all the calculations necessary for this bidirectional printing, so you don’t have to be concerned about it. You simply do your part of the work as if the printer will be printing from left to right on each line and let the LX-86 do all the necessary calculations so that you can enjoy the increased speed.

Changing Pitches

In addition to pica, in which there are 10 characters per inch,

the LX-86 can also print in other widths, or pitches. It does so by reducing the distance between pin firings. In the elite mode it prints 12 characters per inch and in the compressed mode it prints

17 characters per inch. The pattern of the dots is not changed, but

the horizontal space between them is reduced.

In Figure 3-2 are enlargements of four sample letters in each of the three pitches. These letters are chosen to show how the LX86 prints letters that are uppercase and lowercase, wide and narrow, and with

and without descenders (the bottom part of the y).

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