Fujitsu DL9300, 9400 User Manual

DL9300/9400

DOT MATRIX PRINTER

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

FUJITSU LIMITED

Communications and Electronics

Tokyo, Japan

REVISION RECORD

Edition

01

Date published

July 1996

Page Revised contents

First issue

Specification No. C147-C007-01EN

The contents of this manual may be revised without prior notice.

All Rights Reserved, Copyright © 1996 FUJITSU LIMITED. Printed in Japan.
No part of this manual may be reproduced in any form without permission.

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PREFACE

This manual gives the product specifications for the DL9300/9400 dot matrix printers. The manual provides
prospective customers with required engineering specifications.

Chapter 1: describes the main features.

Chapter 2: gives the model configuration and equipment structure.

Chapter 3: gives functional, physical, electrical, and environmental specifications. It also covers paper specifi-

cations.

Chapter 4: describes the control panel together with basic status indicated by the LED indicators and functions

of the push-button switches. It also outlines the printer remote setup utility program, DLMENU.

Chapter 5: gives information on the interface, its hardware specifications, and software specifications. It also

summarizes command sets.

Chapter 6: explains maintenance.

Chapter 7: lists options and consumables.

Appendixes: give information on character sets, resident fonts, printer dimensions, and nameplate and label

locations.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 FEATURES ............................................................................................................................1-1

1.1 Print Quality and Copy Capability ............................................................................................................1-1

1.2 Print Modes ............................................................................................................................................... 1-2

1.3 Fonts and Character Sets ...........................................................................................................................1-3

1.4 Emulations and Compatibility with IBM PC Printers...............................................................................1-3

1.5 Printing Speed and Throughput.................................................................................................................1-4

1.6 Automatic Paper Loading, Switching, and Tearing-Off ........................................................................... 1-4

1.7 Control Panel ............................................................................................................................................. 1-5

1.8 Multiple Paper Paths and Switching (HCPP) ............................................................................................1-6

1.9 Automatic Print Head Gap Adjustment (APTC).......................................................................................1-8

1.10 Automatic Interface Switching................................................................................................................1-8

1.11 Printer Driver and DLMENU .................................................................................................................. 1-8

CHAPTER 2 MODEL CONFIGURATION AND EQUIPMENT STRUCTURE..................................2-1

2.1 Model Configuration .................................................................................................................................2-1

2.2 Block Diagram...........................................................................................................................................2-2

2.3 Structure .................................................................................................................................................... 2-4

2.3.1 Exterior components............................................................................................................................2-6

2.3.2 Printing mechanism ............................................................................................................................. 2-6

2.3.3 Bottom cover .......................................................................................................................................2-7

2.3.4 Options and consumables.................................................................................................................... 2-8

CHAPTER 3 SPECIFICATIONS................................................................................................................3-1

3.1 General Specifications...............................................................................................................................3-1

3.1.1 Print head and carriage ........................................................................................................................3-1

3.1.2 Forms feed ........................................................................................................................................... 3-2

3.1.3 Character sets and fonts.......................................................................................................................3-3

3.1.4 Forms...................................................................................................................................................3-4

3.1.5 Other printing features.........................................................................................................................3-5

3.1.6 Acoustic noise ..................................................................................................................................... 3-5

3.1.7 Interfaces .............................................................................................................................................3-5

3.1.8 Emulations...........................................................................................................................................3-5

3.1.9 Control panel .......................................................................................................................................3-5

3.2 Electrical Conditions .................................................................................................................................3-6

3.3 Environmental Conditions.........................................................................................................................3-6

3.4 Physical Specifications .............................................................................................................................. 3-7

i

3.5 Reliability ..................................................................................................................................................3-8

3.6 Protection and Restrictions........................................................................................................................3-8

3.6.1 Protection.............................................................................................................................................3-8

3.6.2 Restrictions ..........................................................................................................................................3-9

3.7 Details on Forms Specification .................................................................................................................3-10

3.7.1 Size and thickness................................................................................................................................3-10

3.7.2 Printing areas .......................................................................................................................................3-13

3.7.3 Multipart binding and perforations......................................................................................................3-15

3.7.4 Binding holes and preprinting .............................................................................................................3-18

3.7.5 Other precautions.................................................................................................................................3-18

CHAPTER 4 CONTROL PANEL AND DLMENU ..................................................................................4-1

4.1 Control Panel .............................................................................................................................................4-1

4.2 DLMENU ..................................................................................................................................................4-2

CHAPTER 5 INTERFACE INFORMATION ...........................................................................................5-1

5.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................................5-1

5.2 Parallel Interface Specifications ................................................................................................................5-2

5.2.1 Hardware requirements .......................................................................................................................5-2

5.2.2 Connector pin assignment ...................................................................................................................5-3

5.2.3 Data transmission timing.....................................................................................................................5-5

5.3 Serial Interface Specifications ...................................................................................................................5-7

5.3.1 Hardware requirements .......................................................................................................................5-8

5.3.2 Connector pin assignment ...................................................................................................................5-9

5.3.3 Serial data format ................................................................................................................................5-10

5.3.4 Timing diagram and cable configuration ............................................................................................5-11

5.3.5 Data protocols......................................................................................................................................5-13

5.4 Command Sets...........................................................................................................................................5-15

5.4.1 Overview .............................................................................................................................................5-15

5.4.2 DPL24C PLUS command set..............................................................................................................5-16

5.4.3 IBM Proprinter XL24E emulation command set ................................................................................5-25

5.4.4 Epson ESC/P2 emulation command set ..............................................................................................5-29

CHAPTER 6 MAINTENANCE...................................................................................................................6-1

6.1 Overview ...................................................................................................................................................6-1

6.2 Preventive Maintenance ............................................................................................................................6-1

6.3 Maintenance Philosophy ...........................................................................................................................6-1

ii

6.4 Diagnostics ................................................................................................................................................6-1

6.4.1 ROM/RAM checking ..........................................................................................................................6-1

6.4.2 Error display ........................................................................................................................................6-1

6.5 Test and Adjustment Functions for Maintenance...................................................................................... 6-2

6.5.1 Self-diagnostics ...................................................................................................................................6-2

6.5.2 Hexadecimal dump .............................................................................................................................. 6-2

6.5.3 Vertical alignment ...............................................................................................................................6-2

6.5.4 Print position adjustment.....................................................................................................................6-2

6.6 Recommended Spare Parts ........................................................................................................................ 6-3

CHAPTER 7 OPTIONS, CONSUMABLES, AND PUBLICATIONS.....................................................7-1

7.1 Options ...................................................................................................................................................... 7-1

7.2 Consumables..............................................................................................................................................7-1

7.3 Publications ...............................................................................................................................................7-1

APPENDIX A CHARACTER SETS ........................................................................................................... A-1

APPENDIX B RESIDENT FONTS ............................................................................................................. B-1

APPENDIX C PRINTER DIMENSIONS AND LABELS ........................................................................C-1

iii

ILLUSTRATIONS AND TABLES

Figure 1.1 Printing samples.............................................................................................................................1-2

Figure 1.2 Control panel..................................................................................................................................1-5

Figure 1.3 Cut-sheet feeders............................................................................................................................1-6

Figure 1.4 Multiple paper paths.......................................................................................................................1-7

Figure 2.1 Printer block diagram.....................................................................................................................2-2

Figure 2.2 Printer components (DL9400 printer)............................................................................................2-5

Figure 3.1 Printing area for continuous forms.................................................................................................3-13

Figure 3.2 Printing area for cut sheets.............................................................................................................3-14

Figure 4.1 Control panel..................................................................................................................................4-1

Figure 4.2 Main menu of the DLMENU .........................................................................................................4-3

Figure 5.1 Interface connectors .......................................................................................................................5-1

Figure 5.2 Parallel interface output circuit ......................................................................................................5-2

Figure 5.3 Parallel interface input circuits ......................................................................................................5-2

Figure 5.4 Parallel interface connector............................................................................................................5-3

Figure 5.5 Data transmission timing ...............................................................................................................5-6

Figure 5.6 Serial interface input circuit ...........................................................................................................5-8

Figure 5.7 Serial interface output circuit .........................................................................................................5-8

Figure 5.8 Serial interface connector...............................................................................................................5-9

Figure 5.9 Serial data format ...........................................................................................................................5-10

Table 3.1 Forms size and thickness .................................................................................................................3-10

Table 3.2 Paper thickness by part....................................................................................................................3-11

Table 4.1 Setup functions ................................................................................................................................4-3

Table 5.1 Parallel interface signals..................................................................................................................5-3

Table 5.2 Serial interface signals.....................................................................................................................5-9

iv

CHAPTER 1 FEATURES

The DL9300/9400 printer has a small footprint, is practically maintenance-free, and is designed to provide years
of reliable service. This printer uses a 24-wire dot matrix print head. The DL9300 is an 80-column printer and
the DL9400 is a 136-column printer.

The printer's major features are detailed in the sections which follow.

1.1 Print Quality and Copy Capability

The DL9300/9400 uses a compact print head containing 24 wires, each 0.2 mm (0.008 inch) in diameter.

Its letter-quality printing nearly equals that of daisy wheel printers, thanks to the 360 (h) × 180 (v) dpi print
resolution provided by a single pass of the 24-wire print head. Double-pass unidirectional printing applies up to
360 × 360 dpi for high-resolution graphics. Curves and very fine lines print clearly, enabling bar code printing.
Bidirectional printing increases the print speed, while unidirectional printing maintains precise print alignment.

Three types of print quality are available — letter, correspondence, and draft. Letter quality has the highest
resolution. Draft quality has the lowest resolution but is easy to read and has the highest speed. Each print
quality can be made thicker in multicopy mode which can be easily set from the control panel or by DLMENU.
Choose the quality to suit the application.

Quality

Letter
Correspondence
Draft

dpi: Dots per inch
cps: Characters per second

Paper type

Continuous forms or cut sheets
Continuous forms
Cut sheets

Resolution (dpi: h × v)

360 × 180
180 × 180
120 × 180

Paper path

Fed from the front
Fed from the rear
Fed from the CSF

Normal mode

5 copies
5 copies
5 copies

Speed (cps at 10 cpi)

100
200
360

Multicopy mode

8 copies
6 copies
5 copies

Number of copies includes the original.

1-1

1.2 Print Modes

Multiple print modes enable word processing with great flexibility.

The DL9300/9400 has the following print modes and line spacing:

Print modes: Bold, shadow, double-width, double-height, condensed, superscript, subscript,

underline, justified, and proportional. Other modes, such as italic, multisize, outline,
shaded, and overlay are available depending on the emulation used.

Line spacing: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 lines per inch

Programmable in 1/360 inch and other increments for image graphics

Both 8-bit and 24-bit graphics are available. The dot density is up to 1/360 × 1/360 inch.

Figure 1.1 shows printing samples.

1-2

Figure 1.1 Printing samples

1.3 Fonts and Character Sets

The DL9300/9400 has 18 resident fonts which are supported by a maximum of 58 national character sets. See
Appendix B for printing samples of resident fonts.

The following 15 resident fonts are letter-quality:

Bit map fonts: Courier 10, Pica 10, OCR-A 10, OCR-B 10, Prestige Elite 12, and Boldface PS
Scalable fonts: Courier (upright, italic, and bold)

Nimbus Sans
Timeless (upright, italic, and bold)

*1 Nimbus Sans is a registered trademark of URW Unternehmensberatung Karow Rubow

Weber GmbH, Hamburg.

The following three resident fonts are used for speed or condensed printing:

Correspondence, Draft, and Compressed

For downloadable fonts, up to 96K bytes of user-designed fonts can be downloaded to RAM.

(*1)

(upright, italic, and bold)

The DL9300/9400 has 56 or 58 national character sets (depending on the emulation) besides the basic character
sets. This makes the printer be adaptable to various languages. Note that some character sets cannot be used
with some fonts. See Appendix A for details.

1.4 Emulations and Compatibility with IBM PC Printers

The DL9300/9400 has two emulations in addition to the Fujitsu DPL24C PLUS command set. These are all
resident in ROM:

Fujitsu DPL24C PLUS, including bar code commands
IBM Proprinter XL24E emulation
Epson ESC/P2 emulation

The user can run many software applications without changing computer or application software, just by select­ing an emulation using the printer control panel or the DLMENU.

When the IBM Proprinter XL24E emulation is selected, the command set and aspect ratio of the graphics are
exactly the same as the IBM Proprinter when alternate graphics mode (AGM) is selected from the printer control
panel in setup mode.

Many 24-wire printers produce graphics having a different aspect ratio than other manufacturers' printers
because of different spacing of the print head wires. The DL9300/9400 produces the same aspect ratio as IBM
PC printers, including 9-wire printers. This offers the advantage of full compatibility with graphics software for
IBM printers.

1-3

1.5 Printing Speed and Throughput

The DL9300/9400 prints text at the following speeds:

Quality

Letter
Correspondence
Draft

cpi: Characters per inch
cps: Characters per second

The DL9300/9400’s buffer control enables data reception while other data is being printed. Other features, such
as logical seek, bidirectional printing, and horizontal and vertical tabulation also improve printer throughput.

The printer throughput, based on ECMA 132 (letter test pattern), is listed in the following table:

Quality

Letter
Draft

Speed at 12 cpi

120 cps
240 cps
432 cps

DL9300

156 pages/h
320 pages/h

Speed at 10 cpi

100 cps
200 cps
360 cps

DL9400

156 pages/h
320 pages/h

1.6 Automatic Paper Loading, Switching, and Tearing-Off

Paper handling is automated as follows:

Paper is loaded or unloaded automatically using the LOAD button on the control panel. The print position can
be adjusted for each paper type and path beforehand in setup mode.

Cut sheets can be used without removing continuous forms currently loaded. Pressing the LOAD button moves
the loaded continuous forms from the platen to the parking position (forms tractor). After pressing the PAPER
PATH button so as to turn on the CUT SHEET indicator, pressing the LOAD button loads a cut sheet up to the
platen. After the cut sheet is printed, pressing the PAPER PATH button so as to turn on the FRONT TRACTOR
or REAR TRACTOR indicator and pressing the LOAD button reloads the continuous forms from the parking
position.

There is no waste of paper in tearing off the continuous forms printed. Pressing the TEAR OFF button on the
control panel positions the bottom perforation of the last printed page at the tear-off edge provided at the front
cover or upper cover of the printer. After tearing off the last page, pressing any button backs the new first page
to the print position. This back-and-forth feeding is called tear-off feeding. Tear-off feeding saves pages.
Automatic tear-off feeding can be specified in setup mode; the printer waits for a while between jobs instead of
requiring the TEAR OFF button to be pressed. If a job ends and no data is sent from the computer, the printer
automatically feeds the last page to the tear-off edge.

1-4

1.7 Control Panel

The control panel has nine push-button switches, eight LED indicators, and a buzzer. Indication of functions and
statuses are easy to understand.

The control panel operates in two modes: normal and setup.

• Normal mode is used in daily operation such as paper path selection, paper loading and unloading, forms feed,
and line feed. It also enables copy control, tear-off feed, and top-of-form adjustment.

• Setup mode is used in customizing the printer to the user environment when first connecting the printer to the
computer or when printing special documents. It is also set using the DLMENU. Setup mode enables the
user to select printer features such as font settings, line and character spacing, page margins, serial interface
parameters, and other infrequently used functions.

See Chapter 4 for details.

POWER PAPER OUT

FRONT
TRACTOR

PAPER PATH

MULTI

MULTI

COPY

FRONT

FRONT DIR

MICRO

SAVE TOP

SET UP

REAR
TRACTOR

CUT
SHEET

ONLINE

LOAD

LF / FF

TEAR OFF

MICRO

Figure 1.2 Control panel

1-5

1.8 Multiple Paper Paths and Switching (HCPP)

The DL9300/9400 has a wide variety of paper feed paths for both continuous forms and cut sheets. These paths
are almost straight so that the printer can use various types of paper and be adapted to various user environments.

The DL9300/9400 uses a friction feed platen, a standard tractor unit, and an optional tractor unit as the paper
feed mechanism for continuous forms. The optional tractor unit is exactly the same with the standard one. The
tractor unit is removable and installable at the front or rear of the printer. It pushes continuous forms toward the
platen. When the printer is shipped, the tractor unit is installed at the front of the printer.

The 9300/9400 uses a mechanism that switches these three paper paths by a command. This is called host­controlled paper path (HCPP) mechanism. The HCPP mechanism switches power transmission to the tractors.
Three states are possible: front tractor selected, rear tractor selected, and cut sheet selected. Switching is
possible through software or by the control panel. The paper on the platen is unloaded to the park position or
ejected, and then the paper feed path is switched. When switching from a cut sheet to continuous forms, the
continuous forms are automatically loaded to the print position.

As the cut-sheet feed mechanism, the DL9300/9400 uses the platen and an optional single-bin cut-sheet feeder
which is also installable at the front or rear of the printer. The SF930 is available for the DL9300, and the SF940
for the DL9400.

SF940 mounted at rear of printer SF940s mounted at both front and rear of printer

Figure 1.3 Cut-sheet feeders

Two tractor units can be used at the same time. Two cut-sheet feeders can be used at the same time. However,
at the front of the printer, the tractor unit cannot be used with the cut sheet feeder at the same time.

The 9300/9400 has eight paper feed paths depending on combinations of feed mechanisms. Figure 1.4 shows
these paper paths. At the right side of each illustration are listed available paper feed paths.

Legend:

: Cut sheet
: Continuous forms

(n) : Input
[n] : Output

1-6

a. Rear tractor

[2]

(3)

b. Front tractor

[4]

[2]

c. Front and rear tractors

(4)

[3]

[1]

[1]
(1) (2)

(1) (2)

(1) Paper table → Print → Paper table
(2) Paper table → Print → Rear stacker
(3) Rear tractor → Print → Front eject

(1) Paper table → Print → Paper table
(2) Paper table → Print → Rear stacker
(4) Front tractor → Print → Rear eject

[4]

[2]

(3)

(4)

d. Rear tractor and front cut sheet feeder

[6]

(3)

e. Rear tractor and rear cut sheet feeder

(7) (8)

[3]

[3]

[1]

(1)

[3]

[1]
(1) (2)

[5]

[7]

(5) (6)

(1) Paper table → Print → Paper table
(2) Paper table → Print → Rear stacker
(3) Rear tractor → Print → Front eject
(4) Front tractor → Print → Rear eject

(1) Paper table → Print → Paper table
(3) Rear tractor → Print → Front eject
(5) Front cut sheet feeder → Print → Paper table
(6) Front cut sheet feeder → Print → Rear stacker

(3) Rear tractor → Print → Front eject
(7) Rear cut sheet feeder → Print → Paper table
(8) Rear cut sheet feeder → Print → Rear stacker

[8]

(3)

Figure 1.4 Multiple paper paths (to be continued)

1-7

f. Rear tractor and front and rear cut sheet feeders

(7) (8)

[2] [6] [8]

(3)

[3]

[1] [5] [7]

(1) (2)

(5) (6)

(1) Paper table → Print → Paper table
(2) Paper table → Print → Rear stacker
(3) Rear tractor → Print → Front eject
(5) Front cut sheet feeder → Print → Paper table
(6) Front cut sheet feeder → Print → Rear stacker
(7) Rear cut sheet feeder → Print → Paper table
(8) Rear cut sheet feeder → Print → Rear stacker

Figure 1.4 Multiple paper paths (continued)

1.9 Automatic Print Head Gap Adjustment (APTC)

The 9300/9400 automatically adjusts the gap between the print head and the platen for paper thickness when
paper is loaded. This function is usually called APTC (abbreviated from automatic paper thickness control). It
is useful for users who often change paper types.

The print head carriage has a pressure sensor on the card guide which faces the platen. When paper is loaded,
the card guide is first set to the widest gap, pressed against the platen over the paper, and then backed for the
proper gap. The gap can be also adjusted by the paper thickness indicator in manual mode (the indicator is
accessible at the left of the printer when the front cover is open).

1.10 Automatic Interface Switching

The 9300/9400 has two interfaces: Centronics parallel and RS-232C serial. The dual interface allows the user to
connect the printer to both a network environment and a PC environment at the same time. The printer will
automatically switch to the proper interface (parallel or serial) when an AUTO option is selected for the
<INTRFCE> item by the HARDWRE function in setup mode.

1.11 Printer Driver and DLMENU

The 9300/9400 is delivered with two floppy disks.

One floppy disk contains printer drivers for Windows 3.x and Windows 95. The printer driver is a control
program to be installed on the computer for controlling document printing on the user printer. This printer driver
allows the application programs to make the best use of the DL9300/9400's functions. The printer driver for
Windows 95 has the plug and play detection capability.

The other floppy disk contains the DLMENU. The DLMENU is a printer remote setup utility program which
controls printer features in setup mode from the computer display in place of the printer control panel. This
greatly releases the user from tedious operation of setting up the printer from the control panel.

1-8

CHAPTER 2 MODEL CONFIGURATION AND

EQUIPMENT STRUCTURE

This chapter gives the model configuration and equipment structure.

2.1 Model Configuration

The printer model differs with two specifications: print line and power supply.

DL9300/9400

Basic specification

Print line at 10 cpi: 80 columns (DL9300)

136 columns (DL9400)

Alternative specification

Power supply: 100-120 VAC or 220-240 VAC input

Add-on installable at factory

Front cover (transparent type)

Add-ons installable by user

Cut-sheet feeder
Tractor unit

cpi: characters per inch

Notes:

The following three emulations are standard for all versions.

• DPL24C PLUS: Fujitsu proprietary command set for DL-series serial printers

• IBM Proprinter XL24E

• Epson ESC/P2

The following two interfaces are standard and automatically switched for all versions (dual interface).

• Centronics parallel

• RS-232C serial

The printer is shipped with the standard tractor unit installed at the front of the printer.

This manual covers all models. An understanding of equipment structure helps relate the information in this
chapter to a particular model.

2-1

2.2 Block Diagram

Figure 2.1 is a block diagram of the DL9300/9400 printer.

Cut-sheet feeder

Additional tractor unit

Printer

Sensors

Note:

Gears

Standard tractor unit and platen

LF
motorTRmotor

APTC
motor

Printer control board

Option
Cable

Printing mechanism

HCPP
motor

Control panel

Print
head

100-120 VAC or
220-240 VAC

Power supply

SP
motor

Centronics

To computer

RS-232C

(1) Printing mechanism

The DL9300/9400 printing mechanism consists of a print head and carriage, a carriage drive mechanism, a
paper feed mechanism, a paper path selection mechanism, an automatic print head gap adjustment mecha­nism, and sensors. The carriage includes a ribbon feed mechanism and the other sensors.

The printing mechanism uses five motors for driving the mechanism components so as to distribute the load.
The five motors each correspond to the platen, the tractor unit, the APTC mechanism, the HCPP mechanism,
and the print head carriage.

2-2

Figure 2.1 Printer block diagram

(2) Printer control board

The printer control board consists of a main controller, memory, sensor receivers, drivers, a Centronics
parallel interface controller, and an RS-232C serial interface controller. This board governs the computer
interface, control panel, and printing mechanism using the main controller and memory that holds resident
character patterns and firmware including resident emulation programs.

(3) Control panel

The control panel is used by the user for operations such as changing or feeding paper, resetting the printer,
and selecting printer features in setup mode. The control panel indicates the printer status using a buzzer
and LED indicators.

(4) Power supply

The power supply provides power for operating the printer. Its specifications depend on the input AC
voltage.

(5) Cut-sheet feeder (user option)

The cut-sheet feeder is driven by a gear on the platen shaft. It has a cable to be connected to the printer for
controlling the feed rollers in the cut-sheet feeder. The feeder enables cut sheets to be fed and printed
continuously.

(6) Tractor unit (user option)

A second tractor unit can be installed if the user requires dual tractor feeding capability.

2-3

2.3 Structure

DL9300/9400 printer

Upper cover assembly
Front cover assembly
Paper table assembly
Rear stacker assembly

Tractor unit
Printer unit

ROM board [control board with ROM]
RS-232C board
Power supply (100-120 or 220-240 VAC)
OP board [control panel]
Printer lower unit Bottom cover

Printer mechanism assembly

AC inlet assembly
Front CSF board

Frame assembly Upper stay assembly

Front stay assembly FPSS PCA (front paper set or

Rear stay assembly RTRPE unit (rear tractor paper end)
Platen roll assembly
DV roller unit
Nip roller assembly
LF motor assembly
TR motor assembly
SW subassembly
HCPP motor assembly
Carrier unit [carriage unit]
Card guide assembly

Ribbon feed assembly

Timing belt
SP motor unit
APTC unit APTC motor unit

Print head (consumables)
Ribbon cartridge (black, consumables)

front tractor paper end sensor)

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Notes:
[ ] indicates a general name of the component or the subassembled component referred frequently

in this manual or the user's manual.
( ) shows options that determine the specification of the component.

Figure 2.2 shows printer components of the DL9400. (DL9300 is the same except for width.)

Upper coverFront cover

Power switch

Rear stacker

Upper cover

APTC mechanism

Paper thickness indicator

Paper feed mechanism

HCPP mechanism

Paper end sensor
(Front tractor)

Nip rollers

Paper table

Control panel

Upper cover

CSF connector

Print head

Carriage

Print head
Ribbon feed mechanism
Sensors

Carriage drive mechanism

Card guide

AC inlet and
CSF connector

Bottom cover

Power supply

Figure 2.2 Printer components (DL9400 printer)

ROM board

RS-232C board

Interface connectors

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2.3.1 Exterior components

This section gives information on exterior components of the printer: covers, removable mechanism units, etc.
The upper cover is fastened with screws at the back (two for the DL9300 and three for the DL9400).

(1) Upper cover

The interface cable connector is on the right side of the printer, as seen from the front of the upper cover, so
the interface cable does not interfere with the paper feed path.

(2) Front cover

The front cover is opened to replace the ribbon cartridge.

(3) Paper table

The paper table guides a cut sheet manually fed by the user. It can also stack printed cut sheets when it is set
at the "down" position.

(4) Rear stacker

The rear stacker holds printed cut sheets. It must be set at the "down" position when an optional cut-sheet
feeder is installed at the back of the printer.

(5) Control panel

The control panel consists of an LSI, nine push-button switches, eight LEDs, and a buzzer. The switches are
used for operations such as loading and feeding paper and controlling printing pressure. Some switches are
also used in setup mode in place of the DLMENU. The LEDs indicate printer basic statuses and paper feed
path conditions. The buzzer sounds to indicate certain operating and printer statuses.

2.3.2 Printing mechanism

The two screws secure the printing mechanism to the bottom cover. The two hooks on the bottom cover hold the
mechanism in position.

(1) Carriage

The carriage supports the print head and ribbon cartridge, and slides left and right on the stay shaft. The
ribbon feed gear system moves the ribbon in one direction regardless of carriage movement. It has three
sensors: LRES, TOF, and APTC. The LRES detects both left and right ends of the carriage movement. The
TOF detects the top edge of paper. The APTC detects the gap between the print head and the platen.

(2) Carriage drive mechanism

The stay shaft and the stay guide support the carriage; the stepping motor and timing belt move the carriage
horizontally.

(3) Paper feed mechanism

The stepping motor drives the platen and/or tractors through gears to feed paper. See also the HCPP mecha­nism.

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(4) Host-controlled paper path (HCPP) mechanism

The HCPP mechanism switches power transmission to the tractors. Three states are possible: front tractor
selected, rear tractor selected, and cut sheet selected. Switching is possible through software or by the
control panel. The paper on the platen is unloaded to the park position or ejected, and then the paper feed
path is switched. When switching from a cut sheet to continuous forms, the continuous forms are automati­cally loaded to the print position.

(5) Paper sensors

There are six paper sensors for controlling paper feeding:

Function Paper sensed Sensor type

Front paper set Cut sheet, continuous forms, and CSF Lever and transparent type photo-interrupter
Top-of-form Cut sheet, continuous forms, and CSF Reflective type photointerrupter
End of paper Continuous forms on the rear tractor Lever and transparent type photointerrupter
End of paper Continuous forms on the front tractor Lever and transparent type photointerrupter
Paper empty Cut sheets in the front CSF Microswitch
Paper empty Cut sheets in the rear CSF Microswitch

(6) Automatic paper thickness control (APTC) mechanism

The APTC mechanism adjusts the gap between the print head and the platen. When paper is loaded, the
print head is pressed against the platen and the sensor issues a signal when the print head is stopped by the
paper. The print head is then returned by a certain distance so that the gap (actually between the print head
and the paper) is properly adjusted regardless of the paper thickness.

2.3.3 Bottom cover

(1) Bottom cover

The bottom cover supports the printer mechanism.

(2) ROM board (control board with ROM)

The ROM board controls the host interface, control panel, and printing mechanism using an MPU and an
LSI circuit. Memory holds the resident character patterns and firmware, including resident emulation
programs. This board also has drivers and receivers for other components. The separate RS-232C serial
board is connected to this board through the cable.

(3) Power supply

The power supply outputs a constant voltage, regardless of the input AC line voltage, within ranges of 100 to
120 VAC or 220 to 240 VAC. The power supply is at the front of the printer and includes an AC line switch
and noise filter.

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(4) AC inlet and CSF connector (rear CSF)

The AC inlet consists of the power input connector, the wiring cable, and the bracket on which the connector
for the rear CSF is mounted.

(5) CSF connector (front CSF)

The connector board for the front CSF is mounted at the front right of the bottom cover.

2.3.4 Options and consumables

(1) Cut-sheet feeders

A cut-sheet feeder allows both single-part cut sheets and multi-part cut sheets to be fed automatically.
The SF930 single-bin feeder is available for DL9300, and the SF940 single-bin feeder for DL9400.

(2) Tractor unit

An additional tractor unit can be installed in the printer. Because the standard tractor unit is installed at the
front of the printer at shipment, the additional tractor is installed at the rear of the printer. However, both
tractor units are the same, and installable at either position.

(3) Front cover (transparent type)

This type of front cover has the transparent window so that printed characters are visible without opening the
cover.

(4) Ribbon cartridge

The black ribbon cartridge contains a continuous inked ribbon and is installed on the print head carriage.

(5) Print head

The 24-wire print head is easily installed on and removed from the print head carriage.

2-8

CHAPTER 3 SPECIFICATIONS

This chapter details DL9300/9400 specifications.

3.1 General Specifications

3.1.1 Print head and carriage

Printing method: 24-wire dot matrix
Wire diameter: 0.2 mm (0.008 in.)
Wire spacing (vertical): 0.141 mm (1/180 in.)
Printing direction: Bidirectional, logic-seeking or unidirectional seeking
Character cell: Letter quality 36 × 24 (10 cpi)

(horiz × vert) 30 × 24 (12 cpi)

Correspondence quality 18 × 24
Draft quality 12 × 24

Printing speed: Print quality 10 cpi 12 cpi

Letter quality 100 cps 120 cps
Correspondence quality 200 cps 240 cps
Draft quality 360 cps 432 cps

Throughput: Print quality DL9300 DL9400
(ECMA 132,
letter test pattern) Letter quality (continuous forms) 156 pages/h 156 pages/h

Draft quality (continuous forms) 320 pages/h 320 pages/h

3-1

Resolution: Letter quality 360 × 180 dots/inch
(horiz × vert) Correspondence quality 180 × 180 dots/inch

Draft quality 120 × 180 dots/inch

Graphics 360 × 360, 360 × 180, 180 × 180,

120 × 180, 90 × 180, 60 × 180 dots/inch
240 × 72, 120 × 72, 60 × 72 dots/inch
200 × 60, 100 × 60, 90 × 60,
200/3 × 60, 60 × 60, 50 × 60 dots/inch

Character spacing: 2.5, 3, 5, 6, 10, 12, 15, 17.1, 18, and 20 cpi and proportional spacing

Programmable in 1/360-inch and other increments for image graphics

Character expansion: Double or quadruple width and height (control panel or DLMENU)

Multiwidth and height (DPL24C PLUS printer command)

Characters per line:

Characters per inch (cpi)

(Character spacing)

10 80 136
12 96 163
15 120 204

17.1 136 232
18 144 244
20 160 272

3.1.2 Forms feed

Feeding: Continuous forms:

Standard tractor unit installed at front of printer at shipment, but installable at rear of printer
Optional tractor unit installable at rear or front of printer
Cut sheets:
Friction-feed platen (standard)
Cut-sheet feeder (option) installable at rear and front of printer
Note that front and rear tractor units or front and rear cut-sheet feeders can be used at the
same time. However, the front tractor unit cannot be installed with the front cut-sheet
feeder at the same time.

Characters per line (cpl)

DL9300 DL9400

Feed direction: Bidirectional (push-feed tractor)
Line spacing: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 lines per inch

Programmable in 1/360-inch and other increments for image graphics
Line feed speed: Less than 60 ms/line (at 6 lines per inch)
Forms feed speed: 6 inches per second
Paper detection: 6 sensors: front paper set, top-of-form, end of paper (front and rear tractors), paper empty

(front and rear CSFs)

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3.1.3 Character sets and fonts

Character sets: DPL24C+/XL24E IBM PC character sets 1 and 2

IBM PS/2 character sets (code pages) and other
national character sets (56 languages
in total)

Fujitsu character set (692 characters)

ESC/P2 Italic character set

Graphics character sets 1 and 2

IBM PS/2 character sets (code pages) and other
national character sets (58 languages
in total)

National character sets: USA (=code page 437), United Kingdom,
(All emulations) German, Swedish, ISO 8859-1, ECMA 94,

Code pages 437, 850, 852, 855, 860, 863, 865,
and 866,

Hungarian, Slovenian, Polish, Mazowian, Latin 2,

Kamenicky, Turkish, Cyrillic, IBM 437, IBM
851,

ELOT 928, Latin Polish, ISO Latin, Lithuanian 1,

Lithuanian 2, MIK, Macedonian, ABG, ABY,

Code page MAC, ELOT 927, DEC Greek, Greek
11,

Code page 862, Hebrew Old, and Hebrew DEC

Note:

Some national character sets do not support
some

resident fonts. See Appendix A for details.

Resident fonts: Letter quality

Bit map fonts 6 fonts

Courier 10, Pica 10, Prestige Elite 12, Boldface PS,
OCR-B 10, and OCR-A 10

Scalable fonts 9 fonts

Courier (upright, italic, bold)
Nimbus Sans (upright, italic, bold)

Timeless (upright, italic, bold)
Correspondence (*1) 1 font
*1 The correspondence font has the same print quality but higher printing speed

compared to letter quality fonts.
Draft quality 1 font
Compressed 1 font
Note:
Italic, shadow, bold, outlined, screened, enlarged, and super/subscript can be specified
by commands.

Downloadable RAM: 0, 64K, 72K, 88K, 94K, 95.75K, or 96K bytes

3-3

3.1.4 Forms

Width: Forms type DL9300 DL9400

Continuous forms
Cut sheets (sheet feeder)
Cut sheets (paper table)

Length: Forms type DL9300 DL9400

Continuous forms 102 mm (4 in.) or more 102 mm (4 in.) or more
Cut sheets (sheet feeder)
Cut sheets (paper table)

Thickness: Up to 0.65 mm (0.025 in.)
Thickness control: Automatic print head gap control (manual control possible)
Loading: Autoloading for continuous forms and cut sheets
Parking: Cut sheets are loaded without removing continuous forms from the printer;

continuous forms are unloaded to the parking position and stand by for the next
loading.

102 to 267 mm (4 to 10.5 in.) 102 to 420 mm (4 to 16.5 in.)
102 to 257 mm (4 to 10.1 in.) 102 to 420 mm (4 to 16.5 in.)
55 to 267 mm (2.2 to 10.5 in.) 55 to 420 mm (2.2 to 16.5 in.)

70 to 364 mm (2.8 to 14.3 in.) 70 to 420 mm (2.8 to 16.5 in.)
70 to 364 mm (2.8 to 14.3 in.) 70 to 420 mm (2.8 to 16.5 in.)

Cut-sheet feeder (option): DL9300 DL9400

SF930 SF940

Forms cutting: 25.4-mm (1-in.) margin tear-off
Paper detection: Left and right edges of paper

Top and bottom edges of paper

Feed path: Nearly flat

See Section 3.7 for details on forms specifications.

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