Epson SQ-2000 User Manual

EPSON

SQ-2000

Operating Manual

Printer

FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

FOR AMERICAN USERS

This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and 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

determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

- Reorient the receiving antenna

- Relocate the computer with respect to the receiver

Plug the computer into a different outlet so that the computer 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. 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 which exceeds 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.

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Epson America, Inc. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, Epson America, Inc. assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

Apple® is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Compaq CP/M® is a registered trademark of Digital Research, Inc. FX-80TM, FX-lOO™, and RX-80” are trademarks of Epson America, Inc. IBM-PC@ is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. LQ-1500™ Microsof™ is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. QX-10™ is a trademark of Epson America, Inc. Softalk® is a registered trademark of Softalk Publishing, Inc. SQ-2000™ TRS-80® is a registered trademark of Radio Shack, a division of Tandy Corporation. 80-Micro is published by Wayne Green Publishers.

is a trademark of Compaq Computer Corporation.

is a trademark of Epson America, Inc.

Part No. 8492004

Contents

Introduction

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10 Steps to Printing

Selecting the Right Location

Unpacking the Printer Putting on the Paper Feed Knob Installing the Ink Cartridge Setting Up the Single-Sheet Paper Guide Installing the Interface Card

Connecting the Printer to Your Computer Customizing the Printer Loading Single-Sheet Paper Self-Testing the Printer A Word About Selecting Paper

Testing your paper

Printing Your First Document

Operation

Power Switch Control Panel Buttons

ON LINE button FF (Form Feed) button LF (Line Feed) button CLEANING button SHEET FEED button

Indicators ..............................

Meaning of blinking indicators Paper-end detector

Inklow ................................

Buzzer.. ................................

Initialization

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1 1 2 3

7 8 9

10 11

13 14 15 17

18 19

20 23

23 24 24 25

25 25 25 26 26 27 27

27 28

...

111

Using the SQ-2000

Using the SQ-2000 with Word Processors

Using the SQ-2000 with other application programs

Programming with the SQ-2000

Computer-to-printer communications ASCII codes Control codes

ESCape sequences ......................

Translating the ASCII code ................

How to send control codes to printer

Using Master Select Command ..............

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29 29 30

30 31 31 32 32 33 33 35

Printer Care and Maintenance

The Ink Jet Print Head

How Automatic Print Head Cleaning Works . .

For more extensive cleaning ..............

Special cleaning Summary of Cleaning Cycles

Troubleshooting Guide ....................

User-Defined Characters

Dot-Matrix Printing

The print head The print matrix

Defining Your Own Characters ..............

Sending information to the SQ-2000

Printing User-Defined Characters

Copying ROM to RAM How Print Mode Affects User-Defined

Characters Draft mode characters Letter quality characters

Proportional mode characters ............

Mixing Print Styles

Other considerations

Defining Connecting Characters

Characters that connect vertically ..........

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43 43 44

58 59

60 60 61 61 62 62 65

DotGraphics..

How the SQ-2000 Prints Dot Graphics

Syntax of the Graphics Command Using Hand-Calculated Data to Print

Graphics.. Printing Multiple Lines of 8-Dot Graphics Using the 24-Dot Graphics Options Using the SQ-2000 as a Plotter Individual Graphics Options Commands Assigning Graphics Options

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67 67 70

71 72 75

78 85 85

Using the Hex Dump Feature

Programming Hints

High level language problems Apple Computers TRS-80 Computers IBM Personal Computers QX-10 Computers

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89 89 90 91 92 93

Appendixes

SQ-2000 Command Summary

Vertical Spacing Commands Horizontal Spacing Commands

Print Style Commands Character Set Commands Graphics Commands Miscellaneous Commands

ASCII Code Conversion Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Widths of the Proportional Characters.

Setting the DIP Switches

Location of Switches Before You Change the Switch Settings

Column DIP Switch Panel Interface DIP Switch Panels

Interface DIP switch Panel 1 ....................

SW1-1 SWl-2

SW1-3 SW1-4 Interface DIP switch Panel 2 SW2-1, SW2-2, and SW2-3 SW2-4 SW2-5 SW2-6 SW2-7

SW2-8

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A-l A-2

A-7 A-10 A-15 A-17 A-20

B-l C-l D-l

D-l D-3 D-3 D-4 D-4 D-5 D-5

D-5 D-5 D-6 D-6 D-8

D-8 D-8 D-8 D-8

Using the Optional Tractor Unit

Printer Location Installing the Tractor Unit Installing the Paper Separator Loading Continuous Paper

Specifications

Printing

Printer ....................................

Index

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E-l

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

F-l F-l F-2

Figures

1-1

Printer location

1-2

Printerparts

1-3

Interface card installed Installing the paper feed knob’

1-4

The ink cartridge

1-5

Installing the single-sheet paper guide

1-6

Removing the protective plate

1-7

Sliding in the interface card

1-8 1-9

Snapping the interface card into place

1-10 Connecting the printer and computer

1-11 Locating the DIP switches 1-12 Loading single-sheet paper 1-13 Adjusting pressure bar rollers 1-14 Self-test 1-15 DIP switch setting for self-test 1-16 Paper is too absorbent

1-17 Paper is not absorbent enough 1-18 Good print quality 1-19 Sample document

2-l Power switch and control panel 2-2 Control panel buttons 2-3 Control panel indicators

4-1

Buttons for cleaning during printing.

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6 7

7 8

9 10 11 11 12

13 14 15 16 17 17 18

18 19 21

24 24

The print head

5-1 5-2

Charactergrids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

User-defined character

5-3 5-4

Data bytes for the first column of a new

capitalA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Character design grid for border characters

5-5 5-6

Three border designs

5-7

Design grid for integral sign made of two

vertically connecting characters . . . . . . . . . .

5-8

Integral sign made of two vertically connecting

characters

6-l

Graphics data byte and print head nozzles . . .

Values assigned to the print nozzles . . . . . . . . .

6-2

Value of the graphics data byte

6-3

6-4

Design sketch and sum of nozzle values

6-5

Data layout for multiple lines of g-dot

graphics . . . . . . . . .._.....................

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . _ . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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52 53 54

55 64 64

66 68 69 70

72 73

vii

6-6

Map of 24-dot graphics

6-7

Data layout for 24-dot graphics

6-8

Eight-dot (top) and 24-dot (bottom) versions of

the density

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6-9 Figure produced by plotting program

6-10 Order of array elements

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6-11 Curve produced by minor change in plotting

program

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76 76

78 80 83

7-1

Hex dump feature

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7-2 Hex dump printout of Chapter 6 graphics

program C-l Character Q and its widths D-l Location of column DIP switch panel

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D-2 Location of interface DIP switch panels E-l Continuous paper stacked below printer

E-2 Continuous paper stacked behind printer E-3 Tractor installation

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E-4 Paper separator being assembled and

installed E-5 Tractor release levers E-6 Location of parts for tractor unit E-7 Feeding the paper into the printer E-8 Top-of-page position

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88 c-2 D-2

D-2

E-l E-2 E-2

E-3 E-4 E-5 E-6

E-7

Viii

Tables

2-1 Messages of panel indicator lights 3-1

Proportional print styles 3-2 Draft pica print styles 3-3 Draft elite print styles 3-4 Letter quality pica print styles 3-5 Letter quality elite print styles

5-l User-defined character design grids

6-l Graphics options 6-2 Individual graphics options commands

D-l Column DIP switch setting for printing area D-2 Interface DIP switch Panel 1 settings. D-3 Interface DIP switch Panel 2 settings. D-4 International character sets D-5 DIP switch settings for international

characters ..............................

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26 37

38 39 40 41

60 70

D-4 D-4 D-6 D-7

D-7

Introduction

The Epson SQ-2000 Ink Jet Printer gives you the versatility, speed, and graphics capability of a dot matrix printer, together with print quality close to that of a daisy wheel printer. A major advantage of the ink jet is its quiet operation, which sets it in a class by itself.

Features

Like a conventional dot matrix printer, the SQ-2000 uses dots to create each character. Instead of using a ribbon, it transfers the characters onto the paper through 24 ink nozzles. The print head cleans itself automatically, keeping the nozzles clear.

The SQ-2000 accepts a wide range of different types of paper; you don’t need to buy specially manufactured stock. It’s designed to work on smooth, ordinary bond paper.

The SQ-2000 offers dot graphic modes which let you create custom characters, logos, and detailed graphic designs.

About the Manual

This manual contains all the information you need to operate the SQ-2000. In the first section, you’ll find the necessary details to get your SQ-2000 up and running. The second part of the manual contains information on how to take full advantage of some of the printer’s special features.

Chapter 1 shows you how to print your first document in ten

easy steps. Chapters 2 and 3 include a description of the control

panel, information on using your printer with word processing,

and some programming tutorials. Chapter 4 describes how the printer maintains itself and contains some troubleshooting suggestions.

If you already know how to program a printer, you will find useful information on graphics capabilities in chapters 5 and 6. Chapters 7 and 8 contain additional programming information.

The Appendixes provide reference information for programming, instructions for installing an optional tractor feed unit, and specifications.

Chapter 1

Setting up your SQ-2000 is simple and straightforward, even if you’ve never used a printer before. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to set up your printer and perform your first printing job in 10 easy steps, shown on the next two pages.

steps to Printing

Unpacking the

printer

Putting

on the paper feed knob

3 Installing the ink cartridge

Installing the inferface card

4 Setting up the paper guide

Connecting the printer

Customizing the printer

Loading the paper

Self-testing the printer

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IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcde

JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdef KLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefg LMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefgh MNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghi

NOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghij

OPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijk

PQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijkl

QRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijklm

10 Printing your first document

MEMO

Text

Don Donnison, President All employees

As you all know, we have just entered an e field in sensing device industry,

rared sensors.

A smart infrared sensor incorporates microc hnology in the form of a high-speed micropr h standard infrared sensing equipment. The

ions for a sophisticated sensing device are

imited:

Industrial robots

Industrial quality assurance

Detecting electronic equipment failure Security systems

Aviation

We believe the advances we are asking will br

pany to the sensing device industry.

Figure 1-1. Continuous paper feeding

Selecting the Right Location

To make sure you’ve picked a satisfactory location for your

SQ-2000, keep the following points in mind.

The location should be:

l A flat, stable surface with enough room for continuous paper

feed as shown in the illustration.

l Served by an electrical outlet that cannot be turned off

accidentally by a wall switch or similar switch.

l Out of direct sunlight and not exposed to grease or dust. l Away from electrical interference from motors and high vol-

tage power lines.

l Not subject to temperatures below 41°F (5°C) or above 95°F

(35°C) when the printer is operating.

l Not subject to either extremely high or extremely low

humidity.

If your location meets these conditions, you’re ready to begin

setting up your new printer.

Single-sheet paper guide

Manual

Figure

tive shipping material and plastic wrapping. Save these packing materials with the carton in case you need to ship or store your printer later.

is missing or appears damaged, contact your dealer.

computer. If the back of your printer looks like the picture below, the interface card is already in place.

Unpacking the Printer

Carefully lift the SQ-2000 from the carton. Remove the protec-

Check to see that you have all the parts shown above. If a part

You should also have the printer interface card suitable for your

l-2.

Printer

parts

Caution:

Do not plug in the printer until Step 8.

Figure 1-3.

Interface

card

installed

Figure 1-4. Installing the paper feed knob

knob so that it matches the flat side of the platen shaft.

Note:

If you’re going to ship the printer, be sure to remove the knob to

safeguard against damaging it.

Putting on the Paper Feed Knob

Slip the paper feed knob into place as shown above, aligning the

Figure 1-5. The ink cartridge

Installing the Ink Cartridge

Caution:

Under no circumstances should the power be switched ON when the ink cartridge has been removed.

The ink compartment is located in the left rear corner of the

printer. To open the compartment, pull back and up on the lid

and set it aside.

Remove the ink cartridge tank from its vacuum-packed wrap-

ping.

Holding the tank with the white label toward the front of the

printer, insert the tank into the compartment. The tank has a

raised guide on the right side that fits snugly into a slot in the printer.

Gently press down on the tank until it stops. Do not force it.

The cartridge is completely inserted when the top of the tank is

below the two flexible hooking edges shown above. Now, snap the ink compartment lid back into place.

Figure 1-6. Installing the single-sheet paperguide

of paper into the SQ-2000. To install this guide, hold the guide in both hands, facing the

front of the printer.

feet into the two slots shown above.

notches in the guide’s feet on these two bars.

into place with a click.

the guide away from you. Then lift it free of the printer.

Setting Up the Single-Sheet Paper Guide

You’ll use the single-sheet paper guide to feed individual sheets

With the guide tilted away from you, lower its two notched

At the back of each slot is a round horizontal bar. Place the

Then tilt the guide toward you and press gently until it locks

To remove the guide, press on the two locking levers and tilt

Figure 1-7. Removing the protective plate

to Step 6. (Look back to Step 1 to see how the card looks when it is installed.)

Installing the Interface Card

If your printer already has the interface card installed, go ahead

Warning: If you have been operating the printer, first turn it off, then unplug it before attempting to install or remove the inter-

face card.

First, use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the two screws

shown above. Set them aside carefully so they won’t get lost. Take off the U-shaped protective metal plate to gain access to the printer. Remove the interface card from its package, taking care not to touch the electrical parts.

Now, ease the card into the printer by sliding it into the grooves as shown below. The metal back plate of the card should be toward you and the electrical parts should be on too.

Figure Z-8. Sliding in the interface card

Figure l-9. Snapping the interface card into place

Use both thumbs as shown above to push the card into place. You should feel a slight resistance when there’s about a quarter of an inch to go. Press gently with gradually increasing pressure until the card snaps into place.

If the card doesn’t seem to align correctly, remove it carefully and try again. Be sure it is properly positioned in the grooves.

Now inspect the card. It should be firmly seated, the back plate flush with the back of the printer.

Replace the two screws you removed earlier.

Figure l-10. Connecting the printer and computer

To connect the SQ-2000 to your computer, you’ll need either a parallel or serial interface cable, depending on your computer. Refer to the manual for your computer or check with your dealer

for the proper cable.

OFF. Next, plug one end of the cable into the computer and the other end into the connector on the interface card.

grounding screws next to the sockets of both machines as shown. Connect the wire clips (or screws) to secure the plugs to their sockets.

Connecting the Printer to Your Computer

First, make sure both the computer and printer are turned

If the cable comes with a grounding wire, attach it to the

DIP switch panel

olumn

Interface DIP switch panel

Figure l-21. Locating the DIP switches

to customize the printer to your special needs. These are shown

in the picture.

to suit a variety of applications.

Customizing the Printer

There are two DIP switch panels on the SQ-2000 that allow you

The switches are preset at the factory, but they can be changed

For information on the DIP switches and how to change them,

see Appendix D.

Figure l-12. Loading single-sheet paper

Loading Single-Sheet Paper

Before beginning the paper-loading procedure, plug in the

SQ-2000 and turn it on. When you turn the printer on, a number of things happen:

l The print head moves all the way to the left, and goes through

a brief self-cleaning cycle. You’ll hear a whirring noise that will last a few seconds then stop. (For more details on the SQ-2000’s self-cleaning feature, see Chapter 4.)

l The indicator lights on the control panel light up. The

POWER, READY, and ON LINE lights glow green, and the PAPER OUT light is red, indicating that there is no paper loaded in the printer.

Now you’re ready to load paper.

1. Press the ON LINE button. The ON LINE and READY lights go out, indicating that the printer is off-line-the power is on but the printer won’t print.

2. Insert a sheet of paper into the paper guide and press the SHEET FEED button. The paper automatically feeds into the printer, and the red PAPER OUT light goes out.

3. With the paper loaded, lift the dust cover and adjust the rollers on the pressure bar as shown below.

I’

Figure 1-13. Adjusting pressure bar rollers

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EFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijkl FGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijklm GHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijklmn HIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijklmno

IJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]^_'abcdefghijklmnop

Figure l-14. Self-test

l Turn OFF the printer using its ON-OFF switch.

Self-Testing the Printer

self-test

the printer, follow these steps:

First,

wide loaded into the printer.

Be sure the DIP switches under

the setting below:

Adjust

be sure that you have a sheet of paper at least 8½ inches

the dust cover are set to match

Figure l-15. DIP switch setting for self-test

the paper pressure bar as shown in Step 8.

Now, turn ON the printer while holding down the LF button.

The printer will immediately begin printing out the self-test

characters shown above.

To stop the test, simply turn OFF the printer, or

stop when it reaches the bottom of the page.

wait for it to

A Word About Selecting Paper

With an ink jet printer, paper absorbency is an important component for good print quality. Paper which is either too absorbent or not absorbent enough will give you less than optimum print quality.

You can see in Figure 1-16 what happens when paper is used which soaks up too much ink. The ink tends to bleed, causing blurred or smeared characters.

Figure 1-17 shows what can happen when paper is not absor-

bent enough. The characters take too long to dry and are easily

smeared.

standard

for

infrared sensing

a sophisticated sens

ted:

Industrial robots Industrial quality assuranc

Figure I-16. Paper is too absorbent

MEMO

Don Donnison, President All employees

you all

field in

red sensors.

Figure l-77. Paper is not absorbent enough

know,

the

we have j

sensing

dev

Most dense-weave paper (of the quality used for business correspondence) can be used in the SQ-2000 without problems. However, it’s a good practice to test the paper in your printer before purchasing a large quantity. Of course, you should also test labels and preprinted forms.

Testing your paper

To test a supply of paper, take the top sheet from the package and load it in the printer. Have your printer perform its self-test as shown in Step 9.

Now carefully look at each character in every line. If no ink

bleeds, the paper should be suitable for your SQ-2000.

Then take a new sheet from the package. This time, turn the

sheet over and run the self test on the reverse side of the paper. Some types of paper give you consistently better printing results

on one side of the paper than on the other side.

Your printing should have the crisp appearance of the sample in Figure l-18.

MEMO

Don Donnison, President All employees

you all know,

field in

the

we have ju

sensing

devi

red sensors.

A smart infrared sensor inco ology in

standard

for

the form of a infrared sensing

a sophisticated sens

hig

ited:

Industrial robots

---------- -----Industrial quality assuranc

Figure l-18. Good print quality

Paper specially manufactured for use with ink jet printers can

also be ordered from your Epson dealer.

Now you’re ready to print out your first document.

Simply follow the normal procedure for your word processor. Additional information on printing documents can be found

in Chapter 3.

Printing Your First Document

MEMO

-----

From:

To:

new infrared sensors.

technology in

with cations for unlimited:

Don

Donnison.

President

All employees

you all know,

field in

A smart infrared sensor incorporates

the sensing

the form of a

standard

Industrial robots Industrial quality assurance

________ Detecting electronic equipment failurer

___ Security systems

Aviation

________

We believe the advances we are making will bring our

infrared sensing

a sophisticated sensing device

we have just entered an

device

industry,

microcomputer

high-speed

equipment.

microprocessor

The are almost

company to the top of the sensing device industry.

Draft quality

MEMO

----

From: To:

new field in the sensing device

infrared sensors.

Don Donnison, President

All employees

As you all know, we have just entered an

industry,

exciting

“Smart”

appli-

exciting

"smart"

A smart infrared sensor incorporates microcomputer technology in the form of a high-speed microprocessor with cations

standard infrared sensing

for a sophisticated sensing device

equipment.

The are

applialmost

unlimited:

We believe the advances we are making will bring our

company to the top of the sensing device industry.

Letter quality

Figure l-19. Sample document

+ 151 hidden pages