SATO CX208/212,CX208,CX212 Programming Manual

®

CX208/212

Desktop Printer

Programming

Guide

SATO America, Inc.

545 Weddell Drive

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

Main Phone: [phone]

Tech Support Hot Line: [phone]

Fax: [phone]

http://www.satoamerica.com

© Copyright 2001

SATO America, Inc.

Warning: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B computing device pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed in accordance with the instruction may cause
harmful interference to radio communications.However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
harmful interference to to radio or television reception, which can be determined by
turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try and correct the
interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet or a circuit different from that to

which the receiver is connected.

• Consult an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Caution: The FCC warns the users that changes or modifications of the unit not
expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s
authority to operate the equipment.

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or issued to third
parties in any form whatsoever without the express permission of SATO America, Inc.
The material in this document is provided for general information and is subject to
change without notice. SATO America, Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors
that might appear.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CX200 PROGRAMMING GUIDE

Introduction ..............................1

The SATO Programming Language...................1

Selecting Protocol Control Codes....................2

Using Basic ...............................2

The Print Area.............................4

Rotated Fields .............................6

Command Default Settings .......................7

Printer Configuration..........................8

Label Sensing .............................9

Command Code Page Reference ....................10

Bar Codes..............................11

Bar Codes, Expansion .......................16

Bar Codes, Variable Ratio .....................17

Base Reference Point ........................19

Characters, Custom Designed ...................21

Character Expansion ........................23

Character, Fixed Spacing ......................25

Character Pitch ...........................26

Character, Proportional Spacing ..................28

Clear Print Jobs & Memory .....................29

Continuous Forms Printing .....................30

Copy Image Area ..........................31

Cutter Command ..........................33

Fonts, U, S, M, OA, OB, XU, XS and XM ..............34

Fonts, WB,WL, XB and XL .....................36

Form Feed .............................38

Form Overlay Recall ........................39

Form Overlay Store.........................40

Graphics, Custom..........................41

Graphics, PCX ...........................43

Journal Print ............................44

Lines and Boxes ..........................45

Line Feed ..............................47

Media Size .............................48

Off-Line...............................49

Postnet ...............................50

Print Darkness ...........................51

Print Length, Expanded ......................52

Print Position ............................53

Print Quantity ...........................56

Print Speed .............................57

Repeat Label ............................58

Replace Data (Partial Edit) .....................59

Reverse Image ...........................61

Rotate, Fixed Base Reference Point.................63

Rotate, Moving Base Reference Point ...............65

Sequential Numbering .......................67

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page - i

Start/Stop Label ..........................69

Expanded Memory Option Commands ...............70

Clear Memory Area .......................71

Fonts, TrueType Recall .....................72

Fonts, TrueType Store .....................73

Graphics, Custom Recall ....................74

Graphics, Custom Store.....................75

Graphics, PCX Recall ......................76

Graphics, PCX Store ......................77

Initialize ............................79

Slot Select ...........................80

Status..............................81

Two-Dimensional Symbols .....................82

Maxicode ............................83

PDF417 .............................85

Configuration Commands .......................87

Auto-Calibrate ...........................88

Backfeed Enable ..........................89

Calibrate Sensor ..........................90

Custom Protocol Command Codes Download ...........91

Label Tear-Off ...........................93

Print Darkness Range Adjustment .................94

Print Test Label...........................95

Set Print Mode ...........................96

Set RS232 Parameters .......................97

Set Sensor Type ..........................98

Enable Options ...........................99

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page - ii

CX208/212 PROGRAMMING GUIDE

INTRODUCTION

This section presents the commands that are used with the SATO CX208/212 printers
to produce labels with logos, bar codes and alphanumeric data. The commands listed
include all revisions of firmware up to and including P2.15.

The following information is presented in this section:

• The SATO Programming Language

• Selecting Protocol Control Codes

• Using Basic

• The Print Area

• Printer Configuration

• Command Codes

THE SATO PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

A programming language for a printer is a familiar concept to most programmers. It is
a group of commands that are designed to use the internal intelligence of the printer.
The commands, which are referred to as SATO Command Codes, contain
non-printable ASCII characters (such as <STX>, <ETX>, <ESC>) and printable
characters. These commands must be assembled into an organized block of code to be
sent as one data stream to the printer, which in turn interprets the command codes
and generates the desired label output. The programmer is free to use any
programming language available to send the desired data to the printer.

The command codes used are based upon “Escape” (1B hexadecimal) sequences.
Typically there are four types of command sequences:

<ESC>{Command}

These commands generally tell the printer to perform a specific action, like “clear the
memory.”

<ESC>{Command} {Data}

Commands with this format tell the printer to perform a specific action which is
dependent upon the following data, like “print X labels”, where the value for X is
contained in the data.

These commands set the operational parameters of the printer, like “set the print
speed to 3.”

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 1

<ESC>{Command} {Parameter}

<ESC> {Command} {Parameter} {Data}

Some commands can contain both Parameter and Data elements, such as “print a
Code 39 symbol containing the data.”

SELECTING PROTOCOL CONTROL CODES

Protocol codes are the special control characters that prepare the printer to receive
instructions. For example, the <ESC> character tells the printer that a command
code will follow.

The Protocol Control Code set set is made up of six special characters. The Standard
Protocol Control codes are non-printable characters. They can be changed to printable
characters using the Protocol Control code download command. This may be useful
on host computers using protocol converters or in an application where non-printable
ASCII characters cannot be sent from the host. This manual uses the Standard
Protocol Control codes for all of the examples.

The Protocol Control codes must be downloaded from the host using the <ESC>LD
command. Once they are downloaded, the printer will not respond to standard
protocol codes. The current protocol codes active in a printer can be determined by
printing a Test Label (see CX208/212 User’s Guide, Page 9).

CX208/212 Programming Guide

USING BASIC

It may be useful to test your printer using a BASIC program on a PC. You may also
write your actual production programs in BASIC. Whatever the reason, if you will be
working in BASIC, some of the following hints may help you get started:

1. Set the WIDTH of the output device to 255 characters to avoid automatically

CONTROL

CHARACTER

STX 02 Start of Data

ETX 03 End of Data

ESC 1B Command code to follow

ENQ 05 Not Used on CX200

CAN 18 Not Used on CX200

Off-Line 40 Take printer Off-Line

HEX VALUE DESCRIPTION

sending <CR> and <LF> characters after every line. The command string
should be continuous and uninterrupted by <CR> and/or <LF> commands. The
examples given in this manual are printed on separate lines because they will not
fit on one line and do not contain any <CR> and/or <LF> characters. If these
characters are needed, they are explicitly noted by the inclusion of <CR> and
<LF> notations.

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 2

CX208/212 Programming Guide

2. If you are using the printer’s RS232 interface, it is necessary to set the COM port
on the PC such that the CTS and DSR signals will be ignored. Send your OPEN
“COM” statement in the following way:

OPEN “COM1:9600,E,8,1,CS,DS” AS #1

This sets the RS232 communication parameters of the host PC’s COM1 port for 9600
baud, Even parity, 8 Data bits, 1 Stop bit and directing the port to ignore the CTS and
DSR control signals.

3. You may want to minimize keystrokes and program size by assigning the <ESC>
character to a string variable since this character is used quite often.

The following two examples in BASIC show a typical example using these hints. Both
of these examples use the Standard Protocol codes.

Printing with the Parallel Port

5 REM Parallel Example Identifies the program as a parallel port

print label. The “REM” prevents this data
from being sent to the printer and
displays it only on the screen.

10 E$=CHR$(27) Sets the “E$” string as an <ESC>

character

20 WIDTH “LPT1:”,255 Sets the width of the output to 255

characters

30 LPRINT E$;"A"; Sends an “<ESC>A” command code to

the LPT1 parallel port

40 LPRINT E$;"H400";E$;"V100";E$;"WL1SATO"; Sends the data “SATO” to be to be

placed 400 dots horizontally and 100
dots vertically on the label and printed in

the “WL” font.
50 LPRINT E$;"Q1"; Instructs the printer to print one label.
60 LPRINT E$; “Z”; Tells the printer that the last command

has been sent. The printer can now

create and print the job.

Printing with the RS232 Port

5 REM RS232 Example Identifies the program as a RS232 port

10 E$=CHR$(27) Sets the “E$” string as an <ESC>

20 OPEN “COM1:9600,N,8,1,CS,DS” AS #1 Opens the COM1 port for output and

30 PRINT #1,CHR$ (2); Sends an <STX> (ASCII Code a

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 3

print label. The “REM” prevents this data

from being sent to the printer and

displays it only on the screen.

character.

sets the parameters as 9600 baud, No

parity, 8 Data bits, 1 Stop bit and

instructs the port to ignore the CTS and

DSR control signals.

decimal “2”) to the printer instructing it to

prepare to receive a message.

40 PRINT #1,E$;"A"; Sends an “<ESC>A” command code to

50 PRINT #1, E$;"H400";E$;"V100";E$;"WL0SATO"; Sends the data “SATO” to be to be

60 PRINT #1, E$;"Q1"; Instructs the printer to print a quantity of

70 PRINT #1, E$; “Z”; Tells the printer that the last command

80 PRINT #1,CHR$ (3); Sends an <ETX> (ASCII Code decimal

THE PRINT AREA

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0100<ESC>L0303<ESC>MSATO
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0200<ESC>B103100*SATO*
<ESC>H0070<ESC>V0310<ESC>L0101<ESC>USATO
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Print Port #1 opened by statement 20

above.

placed 400 dots horizontally and 100

dots vertically on the label and printed in

the “WL” font.

one label.

has been sent. The printer can now

create and print the job.

“3”) to the printer telling it that this is the

end of the message.

The maximum print area for the various CX208/212 printers is listed in Table 1, Print
Area. Most of your label applications will not require labels that fill the entire print
area. To make label design simplier, the media on the CX208/212 printers is center
justified, i.e. the label is always centered on the print head. An <ESC>A1 Media Size
command is then used to specify the length and width of the label. The CT printer
uses this information to automatically calculate an “offset” that will move the
Horizontal Reference point to coincide with the first printable dot position on the
specified label. It is extremely important to use the Media Size command. If you do
not, you will have to manually calculate the offset and send it to the printer using the
<ESC>A3 Base Reference Point command.

Table 1, Print Area

CX208 CX212

Resolution 203 dpi

8 dpmm

Max Print Width 832 dots

4.1 in.

104 mm

Max Label Width 4.25 in.

108 mm

Print Length 4064 dots

20 in.

508 mm

305 dpi

12 dpmm

1248 dots

4.1 in.

104 mm

4.25 in.

108 mm

3780 dots

12.6 in.

320 mm

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 4

The diagram below illustrates the maximum print area and a sample 2 inch wide by 3
inch long label placed within this area. As can be seen, your label will be oriented in
the middle of the print head as viewed from the front of the printer. The normal
reference point is located at the H1, V1 position of the print area in the normal print
orientation (no rotation).

Max

Print

Max. Print

Length

Width

Print Area

2"

Label

Feed

Direction

3"

Your

Label

Adjusted

Reference

Point

H1, V1

Normal

Reference

Point

H1, V1

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 5

ROTATED FIELDS

The printers can rotate each print field in 90° increments using the Rotate command.
There are two variations of this command.

• <ESC>% - The field rotates, but the base reference point for the field

The following data stream will rotate the print field but will not change the base
reference point of the field:

<ESC>A<ESC>%1<ESC>V800<ESC>H200<ESC>L0202<ESC>WB1E<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

CX208/212 Programming Guide

remains the same.

Base

Ref

Point

V=800

H=200

E

“%1”

Feed

Label

Direction

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 6

COMMAND DEFAULT SETTINGS

There are some types of commands that must have a value specified before a label
can be printed. If the data stream does not contain these commands, a “default” value
is assumed. The commands and the corresponding default values are:

CX208/212 Programming Guide

COMMAND

Print Rotation 0° (1)
Vertical Reference Point 0 (1)
Horizontal Reference Point 0 (1)
Character Pitch 2 (1)
Base Reference Point H=0, V=0 (2)
Character Expansion 1 (1)
Print Darkness 3 (1)
Print Speed 3 ips (2)

NOTES:

(1) The settings for these commands will revert to the default value when the printer

receives an <ESC>Z or an <ESC>*.

(2) These values transmitted with these commands will remain in effect until a new

command is received.

PRINTER CONFIGURATION

The CX208/212 printers are different from other SATO models in that they do not use
DIP switches for printer configuration. Instead, all printer configuration is done via
software commands. The parameters that can be configured are:

DEFAULT NOTE

• Sensor Calibration

• Protocol Codes

• Print Darkness Range

• Sensor Type

• RS232 Parameters

• Label Tear-Off Position

• Backfeed Enable/Disable

Because there are no DIP switches to indicate the current printer settings, a Test Label
can be printed that lists the active settings in the printer. This Test Label lists all of
the information a user needs to ascertain the printer configurtation. Test Labels can
be printed out by sending a command via software (Configuration Commands) or by
using the FEED and On-Line/Off-Line Indicator buttons on the control panel (see
Page 7 of the CX208/212 User’s Guide).

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 7

LABEL SENSING

The CX208/212 printers can use eye-mark (black bar), gap or notch label sensing.
The gap and notch sensor is a transmissive or see-thru type with an infrared light
source directed through the label/ribbon combination from above and detected by a
separate sensor underneath the label. A reflective sensor is used to detect eye-marks
printed on the bottom of the label liner or tag. The eye-mark must not reflect more
than 12% of the light. Since the same receiving sensor is used for all three types of
sensing, it must be calibrated with the media that will be used. The ribbon must be
installed while the calibration is being performed for thermal transfer printing.

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Center

Line

0.125” (3.2 mm)

Print Head

(V = 000)

0.75"

(19 mm)

See

Note 1

Min Label Pitch

0.375" (9.5 mm)

Fixed Position

Sensor

Eye-Mark centered

on underneath side

Min. Length = 1"

(25.4mm)

4.250 "(108 mm) = max label width

Gap, Notch or Bar Width

Min: 0.125" (3.2 mm)

Max: 1.0" (25 mm)

of label

Note 1: The the trailing-edge of the black eye-mark can be positioned anywhere
within the 0 to +98mm range of sensor offset adjustment and the first print line
(V=000). The first print line position can be adjusted to the desired position
using the <ESC>CB Label Tear-Off command. If the pitch offset is 19 mm (the
factory setting), placing the eye-mark trailing edge at 0 mm will place the first
print position at the top edge of the label.

Label Feed Direction

When calibrating the printer sensors, the gap or eye-mark sensor type must be
selected first using the <ESC>CI command and then the Direct Thermal or Thermal
Transfer print mode must be specified with an <ESC>CP command. These two
commands are followed by an <ESC>CA calibrate command to instruct the printer to
preform the calibration procedure. The resulting calibration values are stored in the
printer and used until the unit is recalibrated. A separate value is stored for direct
thermal and thermal transfer modes because the settings will differ significantly
because of the inclusion of the ribbon for thermal transfer. For example, the following

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 8

CX208/212 Programming Guide

command stream will calibrate the printer in the thermal transfer mode for gap
sensing:

<ESC>A<ESC>CP1<ESC>CI2<ESC>CA<ESC>Z

When Auto-Calibrate is enabled, the printer will automatically attempt to calibrate
when it detects an out-of-paper condition (10" of platen feed after a label is printed
without detecting a label edge or sense mark). If the calibration is successful, the
printer shall move paper to the next index mark and resume normal operations. If the
calibration is not successful, the printer shall indicate an out-of-paper condition by a
red READY LED and the printer shall restore the original index circuit settings.

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 9

COMMAND CODE PAGE REFERENCE

This section contains all the printer Command Codes. The commands must be sent to
the printer in an organized fashion in order for the label(s) to print.

The purpose of this section is to:

1. Explain the different commands and provide examples of their usage.

2. To provide a detailed reference for programming.

Each command begins on a separate page with its own heading. A uniform layout is
used to help you find key information about each command. For each Command
Code in this section, there will be a sample data input stream to the printer and the
expected print output. By studying the examples, you can learn how to use the
particular command within a whole block of printer code. Pay particular attention to
the “Special Notes” with each command to learn other important information.

The subject commands are highlighted in bold letters in the Reference Sheets. There
are two parts of most, but not all, commands. The first is the command character
which immediately follows the <ESC> code. It is always an upper case alpha or a
special character (such as an “&” or a “%”). It is never a lower case alpha character. If
the command requires additional variable information, it is represented by a group of
lower case alpha characters immediately following the command character. For
example, if an aaaabb is listed following the basic command, the printer will look
for six characters immediately following the command. The first four would represent
the value of aaaa and the next two the value of bb.

CX208/212 Programming Guide

The maximum number of characters defined in a parameter is represented by the
number of characters shown in the command structure. For example, a command
followed by an aaaa can have up to four characters. In general, commands with only
one parameter following the command can be entered without the leading zeroes. In
the above example, you could enter either “809” or “0809”. However, certain
commands require the exact number of matching characters. A command with two
parameters listed following the command code, such as aaaabbbb require the exact
number of digits to be entered. If the value of aaaa is “800” and the value of bbbb is
“300”, then the parameters must be entered as “08000300”. It is recommended that
you make it a practice to always enter leading zeros to prevent any mistakes.

All label illustrations in this section are designed to be printed on a CX208 using four
inch wide labels.

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 10

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Bar Codes

Command Structure 1:3 narrow/wide bar ratio: <ESC>Babbcccd

2:5 narrow/wide ratio: <ESC>BDabbcccd
1:2 narrow/wide bar ratio: <ESC>Dabbcccd

a = Bar Code Symbol

0 Codabar
1 Code 39
2 Interleaved 2 of 5 (I 2/5)
3 UPC-A / EAN-13
4 EAN-8
5 Industrial 2 of 5
A MSI
C Code 93
E UPC-E
F Bookland
G Code 128
I UCC 128

bb = Number of dots (01-12) for narrow bar and narrow space

ccc = Bar height in dots (001-600)

d = UCC 128 only. Not used for other bar code types

0 No human readable text
1 Human readable at top
2 Human readable at bottom

Example: <ESC>BD103200

Placement: Immediately preceding data to be encoded

Default: None

Command Function To print bar code images on a label. With this command, there are 13

standard bar code symbologies available to be printed and three two
dimensional symbols.

Page 11 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Input to Printer

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0025<ESC>B103100*CODE 39*
<ESC>H0155<ESC>V0130<ESC>XS*CODE 39*
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0200<ESC>BD20210045676567
<ESC>H0075<ESC>V0310<ESC>XM45676567
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0375<ESC>BD30215001234567890
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0950<ESC>BA03100123455
<ESC>H0095<ESC>V1060<ESC>XS12345
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V1125<ESC>BC03100081234ABCD
<ESC>H0080<ESC>V1240<ESC>XS1234ABCD
<ESC>H0525<ESC>V0025<ESC>B002100A12345B
<ESC>H0565<ESC>V0135<ESC>XS12345
<ESC>H0475<ESC>V0200<ESC>BD303100123456789012
<ESC>H0525<ESC>V0375<ESC>BD4031001234567
<ESC>H0525<ESC>V0550<ESC>DE03100123456
<ESC>H0500<ESC>V0600<ESC>OB0
<ESC>H0533<ESC>V0655<ESC>OB123456
<ESC>H0350<ESC>V0725<ESC>D30315009827721123
<ESC>L0101<ESC>H0320<ESC>V0800<ESC>OB0
<ESC>H0365<ESC>V0878<ESC>OB98277
<ESC>H0505<ESC>V0878<ESC>OB21123
<ESC>H0665<ESC>V0760<ESC>BF0313021826
<ESC>H0680<ESC>V0730<ESC>OB21826
<ESC>H0425<ESC>V1125<ESC>D30315000633895260
<ESC>L0101<ESC>H0395<ESC>V1200<ESC>OB0
<ESC>H0440<ESC>V1278<ESC>OB06338
<ESC>H0580<ESC>V1278<ESC>OB95260
<ESC>H0730<ESC>V1155<ESC>BF0314024
<ESC>H0745<ESC>V1125<ESC>OB24
<ESC>H0325<ESC>V0950<ESC>BG03100>GAB>B789>C123456
<ESC>H0435<ESC>V1055<ESC>XSAB789123456
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

Note: Carriage Returns and Line Feeds have been added to the command listing
for clarity and should not be included in the actual data stream.

Page 12 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Printer Output

Page 13 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

CX208/212 Programming Guide

UCC-128 Without Incrementing

<ESC>A
<ESC>H100<ESC>V100<ESC>
<ESC>Q2<ESC>Z

BI07150101234567000000001

With Incrementing

<ESC>A
<ESC>H100<ESC>V100<ESC
<ESC>Q2<ESC>Z

>F001+001

<ESC

>BI07150101234567000000001

Page 14 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Special Notes 1. UPC and EAN bar codes are not affected by the different types of

narrow to wide ratios. Instead, the <ESC>D command adds
descender bars to these codes where needed to meet UPC
specifications. The <ESC>BD command puts decender bars and
human readable text below the symbol.

2. The Code 128, UCC 128, MSI, and Code 93 bar codes are not
affected by the narrow to wide ratios.

3. The Codabar and Code 39 bar codes are affected by the
Character Pitch command. This command must be placed before
the Bar Code command.

4. Because of their unique characteristics, two-dimensional symbols
are covered separately.

5. For UCC128, the FNC1 code is automatically inserted and the
Mod 10 and Mod 103 check digits are automatically calculated.

6. For the MSI bar code, the check digit is not automatically
calculated.

7. To select UPC-A, 11 digits of data is sent. The printer adds a “0”
and automatically generates the check digit. If 12 digits of data are
sent, the printer asumes an EAN-13 symbol and automatically
generates the check digit. The last digit of the bar code data is a
modulo 10 check digit. If 13 digits of data are sent to the printer,
the check digit is not created and must be supplied by the
programmer. It must be the last character of the 13 digit string.

Page 15 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Bar Codes, Expansion

Command Structure <ESC>BWaabbb

aa = Expansion factor by which the width of all bars and spaces

will be increased (01-12)

bbb = Bar height by dot (004-600 dots)

Example: <ESC>BW02100

Placement: Immediately follows the <ESC>BT command and

precedes data to be encoded.

Default: None

Command Function This command works together with the <ESC>BT command to specify

an expansion factor and the bar code height for the particular symbol
being printed.

Input to Printer:

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0050<ESC>
<ESC>BW04100*1234*
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

BT101030103

Printer Output:

Special Notes 1. This command must be preceded by the Variable Ratio Bar Codes

<ESC>BT command.

2. The following bar codes will be affected by the Character Pitch
command: Codabar, Code 39 and Interleaved 2 of 5.

Page 16 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Bar Codes, Variable Ratio

Command Structure <ESC>BTabbccddee

a = Bar Code Symbol:

0 Codabar
1 Code 39
2 Interleaved 2 of 5

bb = Narrow space in dots (01-99)
cc = Wide space in dots (01-99)
dd = Narrow bar in dots (01-99)
ee = Wide bar in dots (01-99)

Example: <ESC>BT101030103

Placement: Following print position commands and preceding

the <ESC>BW command.

Default: Current setting

Command Function To print a bar code with a ratio other than those specified through the

standard bar code commands (B,BD, and D). This is done through
individual control of each of the bar code elements (bars, spaces) as
shown above. Remember that this command only applies to the three
bar code types shown.

Input to Printer:

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0050<ESC>
<ESC>BW03100*1234*
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

BT101030103

Printer Output:

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CX208/212 Programming Guide

Special Notes 1. This command must be immediately followed by the <ESC>BW

Bar Code Expansion command.

2. You may use only one variable ratio bar code per label.

3. If the data specified in this command is incorrect, the command is
ignored and the ratio used will be based on the previous setting.

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CX208/212 Programming Guide

Base Reference Point

Command Structure <ESC>A3H-aaaaVbbbb

- = This character is optional. When present, it specifies the

horizontal offset is in the negative direction. If it is left out
the offset direction is positive.

aaaa = Horizontal Print Offset (-0832 to +0832)

bbbb = Vertical Print Offset (see Note 7 for allowable range)

Example: <ESC>A3H100V0050

Placement: Preceding all images that are based on the new base

reference point

Default: Current V and H offset setting in the printer

configuration

Command Function To establish a new base reference point for the current label. The

base reference point is the top left corner or “origin” from where all
print position commands are based.

This command may be very helpful when using labels less than four
inches wide to place images on the printable label surface. It may also
be used to move images past preprinted fields on a label.

Input to Printer:

<ESC>A<ESC>L0202
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0025<ESC>WB0MNORMAL REFERENCE POINT
<ESC>

A3H0300V0075

<ESC>H0100<ESC>V0050<ESC>WB0MNEW REFERENCE POINT
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

Printer Output:

Page 19 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Special Notes 1. Use of this command will set the Vertical/Horizontal Offset setting

of the printer configuration until a new Base Reference Point
command is issued.

2. This command may be used more than once in a print job.

3. An alternative to using this command is to make changes to your
current Horizontal and Vertical Print Position commands.

Example:
Let’s say the current base reference point is H=1, V=1 and you
wish to move all the fields on your label downward vertically by
150 dots. You could either (1) add the Base Reference Point
command or (2) change all the vertical position commands by an
additional 150 dots.

4. For a more detailed example of the Base Reference Point
command, see “Print Area” in this section.

5. The CX208/212 printers will not “wrap” (i.e. if any part of a
character or image extends beyond the last print dot position, it
will disappear and not be visible on any part of the label).

6. The allowable ranges for the fields are:

CX208 CX212

Horizontal

aaaa

Vertical

bbbb

0 to 0832 0 to 1230

0 to 1424
0 to 4060

0 to 2100
0 to 3780

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CX208/212 Programming Guide

Characters, Custom-Designed

Command Structure Store Command: <ESC>Tabcc

Recall Command: <ESC>Kab90cc

a = 1 16x16 matrix

2 24x24 matrix

b = Specifies the character encoding method for the data

stream
H Hexadecimal characters
B Binary characters

cc = Memory location to store/recall the character. Valid

memory locations are 21 to 52 (counting in Hex) or “!” to
“R” in Binary

(data) = Data to describe the character

Example: <ESC>T1H3F

<ESC>K1H903F

Placement: The Store command is typically sent in its own data

stream to the printer, between the Start/Stop
commands.

The Recall command is sent in a secondary data
stream to print the character,and follows any necessary
position or size commands.

Default: None

Command Function To allow for the creation, storage, and printing of custom characters,

such as special fonts or logos. Up to 50 individual characters may be
stored in the custom character volatile memory.

Printer Input

<ESC>A
<ESC>

T1H3F

0100038007C00FE01FF03FF87FFCFFFE07C007C0
07C007C007C007C007C007C0
<ESC>Z

<ESC>A
<ESC>H150<ESC>V100<ESC>L0505<ESC>
<ESC>H350<ESC>V100<ESC>L1010<E SC>
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

Page 21 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers

K1H903F

K1H903F

CX208/212 Programming Guide

Printer Output

Special Notes 1. When printing the custom character using the <ESC>K Recall

command, the character is affected by the following commands:

Character Expansion
Character Pitch
Line Feed
Rotate, Fixed Base Reference Point
Rotate, Moving Base Reference Point

2. The characters are stored in volatile memory and must be
reloaded if the printer power is lost.

3. Do not use ASCII <CR> or <LF> characters (carriage return or
line feed) as line delimiters within the graphic data or the actual
image will not be printed as specified.

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CX208/212 Programming Guide

Character Expansion

Command Structure <ESC>Laabb

aa = Multiple to expand horizontally (01-12)
bb = Multiple to expand vertically (01-12)

Example: <ESC>L0304

Placement: Preceding the data to be expanded

Default: <ESC>L0101

Command Function To expand characters independently in both the horizontal and

vertical directions. The command allows you to enlarge the base size
of each font (except the vector font) up to 12 times in either direction.
Expanded characters are typically used for added emphasis or for
long distance readability.

Input to Printer

Printer Output

<ESC>A<ESC>A<ESC>H0100<ESC>V0100<ESC>XMSATO
<ESC>H0100<ESC>V0200<ESC>
<ESC>H0100<ESC>V0300<ESC>
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

L0402

<ESC>XMSATO

L0204

<ESC>XMSATO

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CX208/212 Programming Guide

Special Notes This command will expand the following fonts:

1. Fonts U, S, M, XU, XS, XM, OA & OB and fonts WB, WL, XB and
XL.

2. This command will also affect the following commands:

Character Pitch
Characters, Custom-Designed

3. The Character Expansion value is in effect for the current print job
until a new expansion command is specified.

4. The Line and Box command, if used within the data stream, may
return all subsequent text to the default expansion of1x1.
Therefore, either send the Character Expansion command before
all printed data, or send Line and Box commands last, preceding
the <ESC>Q Quantity command.

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CX208/212 Programming Guide

Character, Fixed Spacing

Command Structure <ESC>PR

Example: See Above

Placement: Preceding the data

Default: The default is Proportional Spacing.

Command Function To reset proportional spacing and place the printer back to fixed

spacing.

Printer Input

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0100<ESC>V0050<ESC>PS
<ESC>L0404<ESC>XMPROPORTIONAL SPACING
<ESC>H0100<ESC>V0180<ESC>
<ESC>L0404<ESC>XMFIXED SPACING
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

PR

Printer Output

Special Notes 1. This command only works with the proportionally spaced fonts

XU, XM, XS, XL and XB.

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CX208/212 Programming Guide

Character Pitch

Command Structure <ESC>Paa

aa = Number of dots between characters (00-99)

Example: <ESC>P03

Placement: Preceding the text to be printed

Default: <ESC>P02

Command Function To designate the amount of spacing (in dots) between characters.

This command provides a means of altering character spacing for
label constraints or to enhance readability.

Input to Printer:

Printer Output:

<ESC>A
<ESC>A<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0025<ESC>L0202<ESC>XB1SATO
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0125<ESC>L0202<ESC>
<ESC>H0025<ESC>V0225<ESC>L0202<ESC>
<ESC>Q1<ESC>Z

P20

<ESC>XB1SATO

P40

<ESC>XB1SATO

Page 26 PN 9001092 Rev. A SATO CX208/212 Printers