Star Micronics NB-15 User Manual

USER’S MANUAli

h

NOT INTENDED FOR SALE

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PN 80821206

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Federal Communications Commission

Radio Fre 3 uency Interference

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:

0 Reorient the receiving antenna
0 Relocate the computer with respect to the receiver
0 Move the computer away from the receiver
0 Plug the computer into a different outlet so that computer and receiver are on dif-

ferent 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 Radio­TV Interference Problems.” This booklet is available from the U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, D..C., 20402, Stock No. 004-000-00345-4.

For compliance with Federal Noise Interference Standard, this equipment requires a
shielded cable.

This statement will be applied only for the printers marketed in U.S.A.

Radio interferences regarding this equipment has been eliminated according to Vfg
lOr6/1984 announced by the DBP.
DBP has been informed about the introduction of this special equipment and has been
conceded the right to examine the whole series.
It is upon the responsibility of the user to assume that his own assembled system is in ac­cordance with the technical regulations under Vfg 1046/1984.
To observe FTZ-regulations it is necessary, to establish all connections to the printer
with shielded cable.
The equipment may only be opened by qualified service representatives.

This statement will be applied only for the printers marketed in West Germany.

tatement

Self Declaration

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Trademark Acknowledgement

NB-15
Apple,
Commodore C-64: Commodore usmess Machmes, Inc.
Corn aq: Compaq Computer Corporation
CP/& Digital Research
EasyWriter: Information Unlimited Software, Inc.
IBM Personal Computer, IBM PC: International Business Machines Corp.
Kaypro: Kay
Microsoft B
Osborne 1: Osborne Computer Corporation
WordStar: MicroPro International Corporation
TRS-80: Radio Shack, a division of Tandy Corporation
SuperCalc: Sorcim Corporation

NOTICE

rafstar: Star Micronics Co., Ltd.

*‘f

pple ll , Apple II+, A ple ll e, Applesoft: Apple computer Inc.

ro Corporation

R SIC: Microsoft Corporation

l Al1 rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form what-

soever, without STAR’S express permission is forbidden.
@The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice.
l Al1 efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this manual at

the time of going to press. However, should any errors be detected, STAR would

be greatly appreciate being informed of them.

l The above notwithstanding, STAR can assume no responsibility for any errors in

this manual.

8.

@Copyright 1986 Star Micronics Co., Ltd.

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A Special Message

to the New Owner

Congratulations for choosing this printer, one of the finest
available at any price. Your new printer will reward you with
many years of high-quality document printing, and is backed by
Star Micronics’ more than 30 years in manufacturing precision
parts. You already know that it represents the state of the art in
tack-sharp dot matrix printing with its rugged 24-pin print head.
Its bidirectional, logic-seeking operation gives you Letter-Quali­ty hardcopy at 100 characters per second, and draft-quality
print at speeds of up to 300 characters per second.

Its many features include:

l High-resolution graphics
l Built-in expandable buffer
l An entire range of character sets for printing in eleven

languages

l Choice of various typestyles
l Easy, front panel operation
l Automatic paper feed

And, best of all, your new printer is compatible with the most
popular personal computers and software packages-so no mat­ter how sophisticated your applications become, it will continue
to meet your needs.

These are just a few of the reasons you chose a product by
Star Micronics, one of the most respected names in dot matrix
printers. We want you to get the most from your printer with
the least effort on your part, so please take a few minutes to
read this easy-to-understand guide. You’ll find that it will help
you produce crisp, clean documents in the shortest time possi­ble.

You will also find that this printer is remarkably simple to set
up and operate, and that it’s virtually maintenance-free. Enjoy
your new Star Micronics printer!

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Setting Up Your Printer

Where shall we put it?
What have we here?

Removing the printer cover
Removing the packing tube
Removing shipping screws

Installing the platen knob
Installing the ribbon cartridge
Installing the mute cover
Installing the interface board
Installing the font cartridge

Getting to Know Your Printer

Controls and parts of the printer

Parts of the printer
Controls and indicators
Extra functions
Other controls

Selecting and loading paper

Loading single sheets

Loading sprocket-feed paper
Adjusting the print head
Extra functions with the control panel

Self-tests
Hex dump
Panel modes
Setting print start position
Setting the top of form
Setting the left and right margins

Connecting the printer

Using Commercial Software

First, some terminology
Using your printer with SuperCalc
Using your printer with word processors

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Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Controlling with BASIC

Some basics about BASIC

First steps
Establishing communications
The CHR$ function
Control codes
The escape codes
A note on command syntax
Some problem codes

Printing Text

Some special kinds of text

Letter Quality characters

Characters in the Font Cartridge
Underlines and overlines
Boldface printing

Superscripts and subscripts

Changing the print pitch

Expanded print

Condensed print

Proportional printing

Mixing print modes

Formatting Text

Lines and line spacing

Starting a new line

Changing the line spacing

Moving down the page without a carriage
return

Page control

Form feed

Changing the page length
Bottom margin
Setting left and right margins
Horizontal and vertical tabs

Horizontal tabs
One-time horizontal tabs

Vertical tabs

Vertical tab channels

33

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Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Special Features of the Printer

Now hear this
Resetting the printer
Putting your printer to sleep
Printing the bottom of the sheet
Backspace, delete, and cancel text
Immediate-print
Adjusting the width of space between

characters

Repeat characters
Uni-directional printing
The seven bit dilemma

Block graphics characters and special

symbols

International character sets

Printing BIG characters
The optional sheet feeder
Reading a hex dump

Creating Your Own Characters

Dot matrix printing
The print matrix
Defining your own characters

Rule 1: Dots cannot overlap
Rule 2: Each row is divided into three bytes
Assigning a value of character space
Assigning a value to your character

Download character definition command

Printing download characters

How to print the characters in control code

area

The print mode and the download characters

Draft download characters
Letter quality download characters

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Chapter 9

Dot Graphics

Comparing dot graphics with download
characters
Using the dot graphics command

Specifying the number of columns of dots
Specifying the graphics data

Combining text and graphics
Printing a design or logo
Plotting with your printer

How the program works
Using the 24-pin graphics

mode
Compatibility with existing software
Redefining alternate graphics codes

107

Chapter 10

Caring for Your Printer

Cleaning the printer
Replacing the ribbon

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Replacing the print head

Appendix A DIP Switch Settings

Switch functions

Appendix B

ASCII Codes and Conversion

Chart

Appendix C Function Codes

Commands to control print style

Font style controls
Font pitch controls
Special print modes

Controlling the vertical print position

Line feed controls
Form feed and related commands

Bottom margins and vertical tabs
Controlling the horizontal print position
Download character commands
Dot graphics commands
Other commands

Appendix D Command Summary in Numeric

Order

Appendix E Technical Specifications
Appendix F

The Parallel Interface

Functions of the Connector Signals

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139

147

191

195

199

Appendix G Serial Interface Specifications

Configuring the serial interface
The serial protocols

Serial busy protocols
XON/XOFF protocol
ACK protocol

203

Appendix H Connecting with Computer

Connecting with IBM-PC and Compaq

BASIC programming

Listing programs

Connecting with Apple II computers

Applesoft BASIC

Listing programs

Connecting with TRS-80 computers

TRS-80 BASIC

Listing programs
Connecting with Kaypro, Osborne, and other
CP/M computers

Using MBASIC

Listing programs

209

I

CHAPTER 1

SETTING UP YOUR

PRINTER

Subjects we’ll cover in Chapter 1 include-

. Choosing a suitable place for your printer;

l Unpacking your new printer;
l Setting it up.

WHERE SHALL WE PUT IT?

Before you do anything else, give some thought to where
you’ll be using your printer. Obviously, it will be somewhere
near your computer. And both printer and computer will lead
longer, healthier lives if they like their surroundings. For in­stance, we recommend. . .

l Using the printer on a flat surface.
l Keeping it out of direct sunlight and away from heat-

producing appliance.

l Using it only in temperatures where you are comfortable.
l Avoiding locations with a lot of dust, grease, or humidity.

l Giving it “clean” electricity. Don’t connect it to the same

circuit used by large, noise-producing appliances (such as
refrigerators).

l Making sure the line voltage is within 10% of the voltage

specified on the identification plate.

WHAT HAVE WE HERE?

Let’s open the carton and take a look at what’s inside. Check

each item in the box against Figure l-l to make sure that you
have everything (there should be six items).

igure

2) Mute cover, 3) Paper guide, 4) Platen knob, 5) Ribbon cartridge,
and 6) User’s manual.

l-l. Check to make sure you have all six items: 1) Printer,

You should also have a parallel interface board to connect
your computer to the printer. Also available are a parallel inter­face board with extra buffer memory and a serial interface
board, both optional. (More on the interfaces later.)

l Removing the printer cover

The printer’s cover is important for two reasons - it keeps
dust and dirt away from the printer’s delicate mechanism, and it
absorbs nearly all of the printer’s operating sounds. Don’t take
off the cover unless you have to change the ribbon or make an
adjustment.

Removing the printer cover is easy. Lift up the back of the

cover to disengage the three tabs at the front then lift it off the
rest of the way. To replace the cover, just slide the tabs in at the
front and lower it into place. Figure 1-2 shows the proper posi-

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tion and movement for both removing and replacing the cover.

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Figure l-2.

Remove the printer cover by lifting carefully.

n Removing the packing tube

The printer is shipped with a protective spiral tube to keep
the print head from being damaged during shipping. We have to
remove this tube. First, take off the printer cover. See the tube
on the carriage rail (Figure l-3). Pull it off carefully.

I

3

Figure 1-3. Remove the protective tube from the carriage rail.

n Removing shipping screws

There are two shipping screws inside the printer, used to hold

the internal chassis securely to the lower case during shipping.

4

To get at these, remove the printer cover from the printer. Then
remove the screws with a Phillips screwdriver as shown in
Figure l-4.

You’ll be smart to save these screws, along with the rest of
the packing material and the shipping carton, in case you ever
have to ship the printer. Tape the screws somewhere on the car­ton or packing.

Figure 1-4. There are two shipping screws inside the printer, dur-

ing shipping. They should be removed before use.

n Installing the platen knob

This is the knob that turns the rubber platen cylinder. It fits

into the hole in the right side of the printer case. Look at the
hole in the knob. See the flat side of the hole? Match the flat sur­face in the knob with the flat side of the shaft, and press the
knob onto the shaft firmly. Turn the knob a few times to make
sure that the platen rotates smoothly and easily.

n Installing the ribbon cartridge

This printer uses a neat, easy-to-change ribbon cartridge so

you don’t have to spend a lot of time threading a ribbon. And get­ting your hands all dirty to boot.

Telling you how to put in a ribbon is like explaining how to tie

your shoelaces -

it takes a lot longer to tell than to do. You can
just follow the illustrations if you wish; they’ll tell you all you
really need to know.

Or, if you feel better following written instructions, read on.

L

Figure 1-5.

snap into place.

1. Turn off the power and remove the printer cover.

2. Now slide the print head gently to the center of the
printer.

Warning: The print head gets hot during operation, so

let it cool off before you touch it.

Print head

Press the cartridge into place until the holding springs

Figure 1-6.

manually to your right or left, then the ribbon slips down by itself into
its proper position.

All you have to do is to slide the print head carriage

6

3. Using the guide holders as a fulcrum with the ribbon fac­ing away from you, as shown in Figure 1-5, lightly press
the cartridge down until the two holder springs snap shut
to hold the cartridge firmly in place.

4. Check that the cartridge fits so that the drive pins engage
the cartridge teeth.

5. Gently slide the print head carriage manually all the way
to your right or left until the ribbon automatically slips

down into its proper place between the print head and the
silver ribbon guide.

6. Put the printer cover back on and you’re finished. (A
special switch on the printer prevents the printer from
working when the cover is off.)

n Installing the mute cover

The mute cover reduces the printer’s operating sounds.

Mounting the mute cover onto the printer cover is easy.

Note the position of the guide pins on the mute cover as
shown in Figure l-7. Then hold the mute cover at each end, and
insert the guide pins into the cutout hooks of the printer cover.

Finally, lay down the free-end of the mute cover backwards.

To remove it, just reverse the procedure.

Printer

Figure 1-7.

down on the printer cover.

Install the mute cover by holding vertically, then lay

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Up to this point, we’ve been clearing the decks for action, so

to speak. There are only a couple more things left to do before

we can start printing - install the interface board and the font

cartridge.

W Installing the interface board

I I

Interface cover

Interface

Figure 1-8. Slide the I/F board into the slot.

board

The parallel interface board that comes with your printer con-

tains all the electronics that your printer needs to talk to a com-

puter. In addition, there are two optional interface (I/F) boards
that you can order: the serial interface board lets you connect to
a serial (RS-232C) computer port; the other board contains extra
buffer memory for parallel output. All three boards are installed
the same way.

To install or change an I/F board, start by turning the printer
around. Notice the snap-on cover at the left end. Take it off and
you’ll see where the board goes.

Fit the I/F board into the side slots and slide it all the way
down (don’t force it) by turning off the power switch. If the
board connector is seated snugly in its socket, you should be
able to put the cover back on and connect the cable from your
computer- you’re ready to go.

8

n Installing the font cartridge

This printer is mounted the Prestige characters as standard.
You can add two different character styles by installing the op-

tional font cartridges to the printer.

To install or change a font cartridge, start by turing off the

power switch.

Fit the font cartridge into the slots and slide it all the way.

Figure 1-9. Slide the font cartridge into front slot while the power

switch off.

CHAPTER 2

GETTING TO KNOW

YOUR PRINTER

Subjects we’ll cover in Chapter 2 include -

l Parts of the printer -

to use them;

l Paper selection and loading;
l Adjustment;
l Testing printer operation.

CONTROLS AND PARTS OF THE PRINTER

W Parts of the printer

First, we’ll go over the parts of the printer. You saw most of
these when you unpacked your printer. Now we’ll give you a
brief explanation of what they do.

what they’re for and how

PRINTER COVER - This protects the ribbon and the print

head from dust and dirt, and cuts down the sound of the printer.
MUTE COVER - This reduces the sound of the printer by in­stalling on the printer cover.

PAPER GUIDE - As you’ve guessed, this flat plastic

molding guides the paper during printing (it is raised for single

sheets and lies flat for sprocket-feed paper).
POWER CORD - This cord connects the printer to its power
source, usually a wall outlet. It’s located at the left rear of the
printer.
PRINT HEAD - This is the device that does the actual print­ing. Like the strike lever in a typewriter, tiny stiff wires in the
print head hit the paper through a ribbon.
TRACTOR FEED UNIT - The drive gear and sprockets of
the tractor feed unit move sprocket-feed paper through the
printer.
PLATEN - This is the rubber cylinder that carries paper to
the print head.

Mute cover

Printer cover

Interface cover

L

Figure 2-1.

Font cartridge slot

’

Front and rear views of the printer.

INTERFACE COVER - On the back of the printer, this con­ceals and protects the interface board. The cover is cut away to
expose the external connector to which you attach your com­puter cable.

11

SLOTS FOR FONT CARTRIDGES - These are the two
openings at the bottom right of the front of the printer. Insert­ing an optional font cartridge pushes the small door up out of
the way and exposes a connector which accepts the cartridge.

H Controls and indicators

Now let’s go over the controls and indicators of the printer,
starting with the control panel on the right. There are seven in­dicators and five keys on the control panel.

Figure 2-2. The control panel.

POWER INDICATOR - Glows green when the power is on.
PE INDICATOR - Stands for “Paper Empty”, and glows red

when the printer runs out of paper and when certain printer
malfunctions occur.
FORM LENGTH SWITCH -Tells the printer how long the
pages are so that it can generate an automatic TOF code at the
appropriate time.
TYPE STYLE INDICATORS - Shows the character set in
use: standard (STD), font 1 (Fl), or font 2 (F2).
TYPE STYLE KEY - Selects one of the three character sets
available to the printer.
MODE INDICATORS - Either DRAFT or LQ glows green
to indicate the mode (set by the Mode key or the DIP switch).
MODE KEY - Changes the print mode every time it is press­ed.
PITCH INDICATORS - Shows the character pitch current­ly set: Proportional (PROP), 136, 163, or 222 characters/line.

PRINT PITCH KEY -

Selects one of the four available

character pitches.

TOF KEY - Ejects the current sheet, feeds a new sheet, and
moves the print head to the left margin.
PAPER FEED KEY --Advances the paper one line at a time
when the On Line indicator is off. If you hold the key down, you
can get consecutive line feeds, one after the other.
ON LINE KEY and INDICATOR - Glows green when the
printer is ready to receive data from your computer (on line).
When the printer is off line, it sends a signal to the computer in­dicating that it cannot accept data. Pressing the On Line key
switches the printer on line and off line. When you turn the
power switch on, the printer is placed on line automatically.

n Extra functions

There are twelve more functions that are not directly
specified on the control panel. You can use seven of them by
pressing a key when you turn on the power; five others are ac­tivated by pressing two control keys at once.

For details, please refer to the end of this chapter.

n Other controls

There are other controls, not connected to the control panel.

Some of the more important ones are:

POWER SWITCH - The switch that turns the printer on

and off is at the back, on the left side.

PLATEN KNOB - This knob is at the middle of the right
side and lets you turn the platen by hand, just like a typewriter.
Caution: Turn the platen knob only with the Power switch c&f.

Turning the knob with the power on could damage the
drive gears.

RELEASE LEVER - The release lever is on top of the
printer, near the left rear corner. You’ll be using it often - it
controls how strongly the paper is held against the platen. The
release lever has four positions: the top setting is used for insert­ing paper, the next is for single sheets, the third is for sprocket­feed paper, and the bottom one is used when adjusting the
paper.
PAPER BAIL - The bail is the movable bar that holds the
paper against the platen. Its position depends on the setting of
the release lever.
DIP SWITCHES - There are two sets of eight switches that
are used in interfacing the printer to your particular computer.
There are also switches to set page length, line spacing, and per-

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foration skipping. See Appendix A for a complete list and ex­planation.

SELECTING AND LOADING PAPER

Your printer can handle the two basic types of paper - single
sheets (stationery, envelopes, multipart business forms, etc.)
and continuous paper (fan-fold perforated paper).

This is a good place to tell you about the release lever, which
you’ll be using often. This lever controls the pressure of the
paper against the platen.

It has four settings:

‘g -The top setting is used when you want to load paper in the

printer.
& - The second setting is for normal single sheets.
& - The third is for sprocket-feed paper.
u - The bottom one is used when you want to release the

paper completely to adjust it.

The paper bail holds the paper against the platen according to
the setting of the release lever. The bail is opened when the
release lever is in the top position, closed when the lever is in
the second or third positions, and opened by the printer when
the lever is in the bottom position.

I

Figure 2-3. Use friction feed for single sheets and tractor feed for

Release lever

continuous paper.

n Loading single sheets

Now, instead of feeding the paper in manually by turning the
platen knob, we’re going to use the release lever for automatic
feeding (the printer must be turned on). Single sheets from 5.5

to 14.5 inches wide can be used.

OK? Let’s start.

1. Move the sprockets and sheet guides on the tractor feed
unit all the way to the ends.

2. With the ribs of the paper guide toward you and the
sliding adjuster at the bottom left, insert the guide into
the slot at the back of the printer cover.

3. Insert the guide stand in the notches provided for it and
use it to prop up the paper guide.

4. Position the adjuster at the triangle marked on the guide
for standard margins, or set it according to your re­quirements.

5. Set the release lever for single sheets-the second posi­tion from the top.

‘igure 2-4. Raise the paper guide for loading single sheets.

15

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L,.

i.

6.

L.

I

L

Figure 2-5.
the notches provided for it.

Prop up the paper guide by inserting the guide stand in

L.

L

L.

L

1

Figure 2-6. You can insert a sheet of paper by using the release

lever.

16

6. Align a sheet of paper on the guide along the adjuster.

7. Turn on the power switch. (The Paper Empty indicator
will glow because there is no paper.)

8. Now set the release lever to the auto-feed setting-the
top position. The printer will advance the paper
automatically.

9. When the paper stops, set the release lever for single
sheets again.

To align paper that is not in straight-

. Set the release lever to the adjustment setting.

l Straighten the paper and adjust it for the margins you

want.

l Move the release lever back to its original setting.

Remember, you can also use the optional automatic sheet

feeder for single sheets.

n Loading sprocket-feed paper

This is the familiar computer paper, with the holes along the
sides and perforations between the sheets. It is also called
sprocket, punched, fan-fold, or just plain “computer paper.” It
can be as narrow as 4”, and up to 15.5” wide.

1. Turn on the printer and set the release lever for sprocket­feed paper.

2. If the paper guide is installed, remove it.

3. Place a stack of fan-fold paper behind the printer.

4. Open the sprocket covers, on the right and left sprocket
units, as shown in Figure 2-7.

5. Flip the clamp levers backward. This allows the two
sprocket units to move freely right and left so you can
align them with the holes in the paper.

6. Feed the end of the paper into the slot next to the platen
cover plate.

7. Fit the holes in the paper over the sprocket pins so the
paper is even, and clamp the sprocket units in place.

8. Check that the paper is still positioned correctly, and
close the sprocket covers (Figure 2-8).

9. The Paper Empty indicator should be glown. Turn the
platen knob to feed the paper until the indicator goes out.

10. Now turn the platen knob the other way just a bit, until
the indicator glows again.

I

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Sprocket cover

Figure 2-7.

pigure 2-8.

Open the sprocket covers to expose the sprocket teeth.

Ready to run with sprocket-feed paper.

18

11. Set the release lever to the auto-feed setting. The printer
will advance the paper automatically.

12. When the paper stops, set the release lever for sprocket-

feed paper again.

13. Finally, install the paper guide on the printer. You can in-

stall it either to lie flat as shown in Figure 2-8, or to raise
as shown in Figure 2-9. Now you’re ready to roll!

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‘igure 2-Y. You can raise the paper guide with sprocket-feed

1

19

Figure 2-10. The adjustment lever allows for different thicknesses
of paper.

You shouldn’t have any trouble finding the right gap setting

for your paper. If necessary, experiment; you’ll soon find the
best position for the paper you’re using.

EXTRA FUNCTIONS WITH THE COUTRUL PANEL

There are many functions that are not directly specified on
the control panel. In this section, we’ll show you these extra
functions.

While trrnirrg on the power -

Hex dump Self-test 1 Self-test 2

Type style & Print pitch
Panel mode

Figure 3- 11.

Extra functions white turning on the printer.

Self-test 1

DIP switch 2-2 ON

‘+,-./0123456769:;<=,?BABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPORSTUVWXYZ[\]

DIP switch 2-2 OFF

!“t$t&‘()*+,-./0123456784:;~=~?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPORSTUVWXYZ[\]~~~~b
!“Y$%h’()“+,-./0123456709:,
!“tSt&‘()*+,-./0123456789:;<.,7eABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]-~~8b
!“#S%h’()g+,-./01234S6709:,
!“~$tb’()~+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP~RSTUVWXYZ[\]-~~~b
!“#$X&‘()‘+.-./0123456789:

Self-test 2

.<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLtlNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]---ab

*<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLtlNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]- ‘ab

;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKL?lNOPQRSTUVWXY'Z[\]---cab

‘igure 2-12. The self-tests show you what the printer can print.

n Self-tests

Your printer has two built-in programs that printout sample
lines of letters, numbers, and other characters-to show you
that everything’s in good working order. Self-test 1 is the long
version, and self-test 2 is the short one. You can use either one
to show the characters available in the printer, to check the in­stallation of the ribbon and paper, and to check the adjustment
of the head-to-platen gap.

Best of all, you don’t have to wait another minute-you can
print the self-test without hooking up the printer to your com­puter! It’s as simple as 1, 2, 3. . .

1. Plug in the printer (don’t turn it on yet).

2. Insert a sheet of paper (or sprocket paper, either one).

3. While holding down one of the following keys, turn on
the power switch:

cdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz(~)­cdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz( I)­cdefghlJklmnopqr~tuvwxyz(~)­cdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz(: )­cdafghljklmnopqr~tuvwxyl(l)-

cdefghijklmnopqrstuvHxyz(l)-

cdefghlJklmnopqrrtuvwxyz(~)- !“tl$Xh
dafghljklmnopqr~tuvwxyz(~}- !“lLSt&’
efgh!jklmnopqr¶tuvwxyz(~)- !“?lSS&‘()

fgh~Jklmnopqrstuvwxy2(:)- !“#S%&‘O’

gh~Jklmnopqrstuvwxyz(: 1‘ !“a$%&’ ()

hlJklmnopqr~tuVWxyz{:)- !”

o$Z&'()*+,-./O~~~~S~~~~:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLM

()‘+,-./0123456769:;cl,?eABCDEFGH
)‘+,-./0123456769:;<‘>?eABCDETGHI

(

l +,-./0123456789:;c=>?@ABCDEFGHIJ

+,-./0123456789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJK

'+,-./0123456769:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKL

Paper Feed key-Self-test 1 (long)

On Line key-Self-test 2 (short)

Were you surprised? It’s fast, isn’t it? About 250 characters a
second with draft characters and 83 characters a second with
LQ characters.

When you want to terminate the long self-test function, turn

off the power switch.

n Hex dump

Can you guess what a “hex dump” is? No, it’s not where

witches throw away useless spells. A hex dump is an advanced

ability with your printer that you can use, in certain cases, to
find a problem with your system. Fortunately, such problems
rarely arise but the hex dump is available if one does. We’ll go
over hex dump in Chapter 7. Right now, we’ll just tell you how
to make a hex dump:

1. Plug in the printer (don’t turn it on yet).

2. Insert a sheet of paper, as you did for the self-tests.

3. While holding down both the Paper Feed and Mode keys,

turn on the power switch.

When you want to terminate the hex dump function, turn off

the power switch.

n Panel modes

As you’ll learn in Chapter 5, this printer has many software
controls. But if you want to print in one fixed mode, ignoring the
control codes, these Panel modes take effect for you. To set the
Panel modes, follow the procedures:

1. Plug in the printer (don’t turn it on yet).

2. While holding the key or keys as shown below, turn on
the power switch.

Key
Type Style
Mode
Print pitch
TOF

Type of Panel mode
Character set type
Print quality (draft or LQ)
Print pitch
All of the above

Notice that these modes stay on with ignoring the relative con-

trol codes until you turn off the printer.

n g-pin graphics emulation mode

You already know that this printer represents the state of the
art in tack-sharp 24-pin text printing. To complete the text abili­ty of this printer, we have also the ability to do dot graphics 9-

pin printing. The IBM graphics printer mode utilizes g-pin

graphics software which is commonly used by the IBM printer.

The IBM printer requires a different line feed pitch of either

n/72nd or n/216th inches. This printer normally uses a pitch of
nll80th inches, due to its 24-pin design. To avoid software in­compatibility with existing IBM graphics programs, this printer
has been designed to most closely emulate the requirements for
g-pin dot graphics compatibility.

This unique g-pin graphics emulation mode can be envoked as

follows:

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