Star Micronics NX-2480 User Manual

USERS MANUAL

RAINBOW

NX-2480

QBF

80825591

COLOUR

I

Federal Communications Commission
Radio Frequency Interference Statement

“l-he 12f)\’\u!+ion c,quipnwnt has ht’t’n k-std and found to compl> with [hc linlits I“ma cla5s B digital

cfmicc, pursuant [o Part 15

against harm(”ill interf’c, rcn(u, in a lresidmtial ill..’ tallation. This rquifmlmt gmmltes. Llscs ami can r.adi.
:I(C radio I“requcnc,}, rIIe:-~. and,

rausc tlarnllill irlterf?rcnm to radio

will not omllr in a

trlcwisiml. n,hicb (an be cletmmined by turning off and on, thr u!+rris FImouragmi to Iry to corrwt the
intmfrrcmw hy one or mcmfof the follcwringmeasurvs.

.

[<emimt or rckwatr the rccriving antenna

.

Incrcasc the srpamtion bclweru Ibc cquipmrnt and rcw,iwr.

.

Connrrt ill? equifxncnl intn an cn)tlc! ml a rireuit clil’fmt=ntl“ronlthat to wbich the.rrmiwr is con
ne(lmf

.

C’cmsl]lt the cfcakr or an t’x

Urlatlthorized moclili(aticms o{ this prmtuc( by (he user will wid his authority to opt’ra{r [bc t,quipnwnt
Link’ss cxprt>sslyapprowd by the party r?sponsibk klr IYmlplianw

For cmnplia,lrc wi[h tb? t’?dmal Noise> Intt’rfcrcmceStandard. tbis equipmrn[ r(,c]uires a sbit,klrd rahle.

The 220!: XY’rsicmrcp]ipmrnl has bw’n lcstml and t’oumi (o comply witb the Iimi[s f“ora Class A digikd

dmi(c,. pumuant to Pari 15 of lb,, FCC’RUICS.
lion against Imrmfu]
equipmc.n[grnm.at?s. USCS,amt ran radiate radio hcqwrlc.v encr~ aml. ii’rmt inslallrd and usml in
acwmlarlrr with lht, mstru(.tion !II:Inual. may cause harml’,)t irllerfcrcnw 1(]radio (~O1l]n,[,,l],.:ltiorl.~,

Operation of this rc~uipmcntin a resicfcntm] ar?a is
the,user will he rccluirrd to roImcrt tbc intrrrmtmc? at bis OWI ?xpensc.

For rompliancr with thr Federal ?JoisrInt?rferenc? Standarct.this cc]uipmt’nt rrqllirt>s a shiekfcd cahlr.

The choLY, Slalerm>nl applies OIII!I [o pri, tters mcukelwi in the U.S.A

Statement of The Canadian Department of Communications Radio Interference

of”FCC [3u1?s.These limits are cfcsignmi to wmkfc rwsonahl? protmtion

if not inst.allcciand used in accordance wittl (hc irl.stn]rtiml.s may

partirldar installatiorl. If this ?quiprnent dot’s <:lLIsc harmful in(erfcrrncc (0 radio or

intrrf’r,-cmm’ W)lC,II lbr cquipmer)t is opcra[cci ill a rommcrcial rrh.imnm(m(. Ttlis

cmmmunirations. However. lhrm is nc guaranter {hat interkencr

pericn<wi radio/TV (cchr!iriim for help.

These limits arc dt’signed to prmid? rrasonabk pmter

Iikcl} to rausc’ bmll)f’(11inlctfcrcrwr iII whi(.tl C:IW

1,<,p,-~sentapparril num[.ri(p]c r]”t+nctpas cl<>hmits r->)ciioFl?(tiqllc.s<l~passanl Ics Iir?,itc-sapplicahles
au.xapp, areilsnumwiqu’?s cfc la classe B prcsrrites dams
edirtc paI.1{,Minist?rr d<%C.olllrll~llli(,tllic)llsdu Canada.

The abmw statenwnl applies OFII!I 10prinlws mclrk$>t<,dill [’(I,I<zd<I.

k. R@mlltmt sllr k hrouilkig<,radioelcrtriquc.

Trademark acknowledgments

NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour,NX-2420Rainbow/Colour,NX-2420,SF-1ODW,SPC-SK: Star Mi(r(llli(s

co. Ltd.
L9S50, L9S60, LQ105O, L9106O: Seiko EIMmI Corpora(im,
IBM PC, IBM

IBM ProprinterXL24:internationalBusiness Machines Cmporatiorl.

Froprfnter X24E,IBM Pmprinter XL24E,IBMProprinter X24,

TrueTypeMacintosh:Appk. Computer Inc.
PostScript: AdobeS@t’rnslnco~orated

MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows 3.1: Microsoft Corporation

Grappler:OrangeVicrc,[m

Notice

.

rights rwwnrct. Reproduction of any pa!l of this man[ml in any kwm u,tla@n?\vr.without

All

STt\R’smprt’ss pwmissicm is strictly forbktckm

.

Tbc ([),ltrnts

.

All rf’forls tlaw Ixwt madr (c>ensure [ht. acrurary o[”the
prin[inq. IIcmewr, S11OCIMany crmrs be founci. STAR would grcatlv appreciate Ixing infmmcd of’

therll.

.

The ahc)w rlOILL-illlsl:!llcli,lg. STAR can assllnl? no rlW(l,lsit~ilitY (Or a~y ,7rl-Orsi,, this 1ll:lrlll:ll.

11( [bis ,llarlua

1arc,suhjmt (o rhang? witboul notim.

cmlmts of’ this man,lal at the (imr of’

~,Copyigbt 1993Star Mim(mics Cm I.td

Guide to this manual

Even though the NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour is basically

a very

complex functions. We have grouped this manual into
two main sections. divided into seven chapters and an
appendix.

For normal everyday use, you may never need to refer to
Section II at all. We strongly recommend however that
you read through Section-I-(Chapters 1, 2 and
connecting and–usingthe printer for the first time.

simple printer to use, it is also capable of many

3) before

SectionI

Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Features and parts

Unpacking and setting up the printer,
including setting up your computer
software

Using the printer, including loading paper,
using the display and control panel, and
printing

‘“”l

Guide to this manual... ......... ..................................................................iii

Introduction

1

Features ..... ...... .................. ........... ......................................... ........... . . I

Parts ... .......... . ...............................................................................................4

Unpacking and setting up

7

Choosing a place for the printer., .... ...................................................7

Unpacking the printer ... ..........................................................................8

Setting up your printer ....... ....................................................................9

Fitting the platen knob ...............................................................,.............9

Removing the front cover ...................................................................... 70

Installing the ribbon cartridge ...................................... . . . . . . . 70

Removing the ribbon cartridge ............................................................ 72

Installing the roller unit. ......................................................................... 72

Removing the roller unit ........................................................................13

Replacing the front cover ......................................................................73

Installing the paper guide ......................................................................

Installing the mute cover ............................................. .. . . . . . . . . 74

74

Connecting the printer to the computer ....... ................................15

Setting up your printer with your computer ...... ........................ IT

Setting up with MS. DOS.. ..................................................................... 77

MS-DOS ............................ . . . . .

MS-DOS application software ................................................................ 77

Setting up the printer in Windows ..................................................... 79

Installing TrueType fonts (for Windows) ...............................................27

Selecting different fonts .......................................................................... 22

.................................................... 77

Using your printer

23

Loading paper ...... .....................................................................................23

Adjusting the print gap ................................................,.........................24

Loading cut sheet paper .................:......................................................26

Loading and parking fanfold paper .....................................................27

Loading paper from the rear of the printer ............................................28

Loading paper from the bottom of the printer ......................................30

Parking paper .......................................... . ...... .................. . . . . . 31

Unparking the paper ................................ ...............................................32

Using the control panel

Ready and not-ready modes .........................................,.......................33

33

Pageiv

Pausing printing....., ................................................................................. 33

Feeding paper through the printer .....................................................34

One line or several lines at a time .......................................................... 34

A page at a time .......................................................................................34

Individual form tear-off ........................................................................... 34

Loading paper ..........................................................................................35

Micro-feeding paper (backwards and forwards) ............................. ..... 35

Setting the top of a form .......................................................................5’5

Changing the autoloading position ....................................................

36

Eject and park ........................................................................................... 37

Quiet printing ................................................................. ......................... 37

Changing the way your printout looks .............................................38

Selecting the different fonts ................................................................... 38

Changing the pitch of the font ...............................................................39

Changing the zoom size .......................................................................... 40

Selecting the print color ..........................................................................41

Controlling the printer’s memory ....................................................... 42

Saving Macros ..........................................................................................42

Removing the macro ...................................................... .. ......... ........... 43

Clearing the buffer ...................................................................................43

Setting the printer back to default settings ..........................................

44

Locking the printer ..................................................................................45

Font lock ...................................................................................................45

Font unlock ............................................................................................... 45

Pitch lock ..................................................................................................45

Pitch unlock ......................................................................... .................... 46

Pitch and font lock ...................................................................................46

Pitch and font unlock ...............................................................................46

Test printing .................................. .......................................................... 47

Short test. .................................................................................................47

Long test. .................................................................................................. 47

Print area test mode ................................................................................48

Hexadecimal dump mode .......................................................................49

Adjusting the dot alignment ................................................................ 50

Electronic DIP switches ......... .............................................. ........ ......52

Using the Electronic DIP switches ......................................................53

Banks and numbers .................................................................................53

Selecting the switch bank. ......................................................... ............ 53

Seiecting the switch number ............................................. .................... 54

Changing a switch’s value ......................................................................54

An example ................................................................................ ......... .... 54

Exiting Electronic DIP Switch mode ......................................... ............ 54

What you can change with the Electronic DIP Switch mode. ..... 55

Meanings of the switches ..................................................................... 56

A 1- Emulation ..........................................................................................56

Pagev

I

AZ - Auto Emulation Change (AEC) mode...... .......................................56

A3- RAM usage .......................................................................................57

A4 - Color and zoom ................................................................................57

A5 - Auto LF with CR.. .............................................................................

Auto sheet feeder ............................................................................ 57

A6 -

BI - Graphics direction ............................................................................57

B2 - Paper-out ..........................................................................................58

B3 - Tear-o ff.. ............................................................................................ 58

B4 - Reserved ...........................................................................................58

B5 and B6 - Multi-part mode .................................................................. 58

Cl and C2 - Print mode ...........................................................................59

C3 through C5 - Page length..

DI - Character table .................................................................................59

D2 through D4 - character code tables ..................................................60

D5 -CR centering .....................................................................................61

El through E5 - LQ Font selection .........................................................61

FI - Electronic DIP switch settings .........................................................62

................................................................. 59

57

Optional accessories

63

Accessories available .............................................................................63

The SF-IODW ............................................................................................63

Unpacking ............................ ....... ............... ............................................63

Installing the SF- IODWASF.......... ..........................................................64

Using the SF- IODW. .................................................................................65

The SPC-8K serial/parallel converter ..................................................67

Baud rate. ...................................... ...........................................................68

Number of bits in a word ......... .... .........................................................68

Parity .. ........................ .................. s.......... .............. ............................ . .68

Handshaking ................. .... . .......... . ............ . ..... . ............ ............ .. ... 69

Connecting the SPC-8K converter ..........................................................69

Using the SPC-8K. ................. . ............ . .......... ............ ....... .................70

The serial connector on the SPC-8K... ....................................................71

Setting up an MS-DOS computer ........................................................... 72

Setting up a Windows computer ............................................................73

Troubleshooting

75

Common problems and solutions ...................................................76

Power switch is on, but POWER indicator is neither lit nor flashing.. 76

Printer sounds as if it is printing, but is not ..........................................76

Printing is weak. .......................................................................................76

Printer tests work, but printer will not print out data from attached

- computer ..............

Font selection changes unexpectedly .................................................... 77

Printer will not feed paper properly .......................................................78

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

77

Pagevi

The printer will not print in color ........................................................... 78

Line spacing is incorrect..................,.... ...................................................79

Over-printing occurs ................................................................................79

Incorrect number of lines per page ........................................................80

Malformed text or graphics .................................................................... 80

Poor printing quality ................................................................................80

Forms are smudged .................................................................................81

Printing is too dark ..................................................................................81

Printer case is hot ....................................................................................81

Printer makes excessive noise ................................................................ 82

Printer prints beyond the edge of the paper .........................................82

Left margin moves towards the right during printing ......................... 83

Some incorrect characters are being printed ........................................84

Printer behaves erratically ...................................................................... 85

Printing ceases .........................................................................................85

Display messages (non-error) ..............................................................85

Display messages (error) .............................................................. .. .....

87

Beep tones ................................................................................................. 88

Checking system software settings ...............................................89

In Windows ...............................................................................................89

In MS. DOS.. ........................................................................ ........ ...........

90

Software commands

91

Introduction ...... ...................................................................................... ...9I

Font control commands ........................................................................ 93

Character set commands ...................................................................... 98

Character size and pitch commands ................................................ 70Z

Vertical position commands .............................................................. 770

Horizontal position commands ......................................................... 717

Graphics commands ............................................................ ......... 721

Download character commands .......................................................

725

Other printer commands ................................................................. .729

Appendix

135

Specifications ...... .................................................... 135

Parallel interface .............................................................................. 740

Character sets...... ...................................................................... 141

Standard character set #2 ................................................................... 742

International character sets. ............................................................... 744

IBM character set #2 .............................................................................

Code page #437(U. S.A.).. .................................................................... 745

Code page #850 (Multi.lingual) ..................................................... .147

145

Pagevii

Code page #860 (Portuguese) ............................................................... 148

Code page #861 (Icelandic) .................................................................... 149

Code page #863 (Canadian French) ...................................................... 150

Code page #865 (Nordic) ....................................................................... 151

Character set #1 ..................................................................................... ?52

IBM special character set.. ................................................................... 753

Glossary

Index

Costumer service information

155

167

171

Pageviii

Chapter 1

Introduction

‘ Thank you for buying a STAR NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour

printer. We are confident that it will provide you with
years of reliable, high-quality printing. We think we have
made the NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour one of the fastest,
quietest, and easiest to use dot matrix printers ever. We
hope you agree with us.

Features

colon

You only need to add a color ribbon cartridge
to print vibrant, full-color documents. You
can choose from up to 256 colors, depending
on your computer software.

Fast:

Easy to use:

The NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour speeds
through drafts at 330 characters per second

(15 pitch). When printing in its 360 dpi letter­quality mode (that’s more dots per inch than
some laser printers!), it turns out beautifully­finished work at up to 100 characters per

second.
With clearly labeled buttons, an informative

LCD screen, and easy paper loading, the NX­2480 Rainbow/Colour can be used by any-

one, even without previous computer or
printer experience.

With the NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour’s Elec­tronic DIP Switch feature, you can change the
printer’s default power-on settings from the
front panel.

Page1

LCfl screen: You can see your printer’s settings at a glance

by looking at the informative LCD screen. It
shows what font you are using, how big it is

(the font pitch) and other useful information
(this feature does not apply when you use the

printer with Windows 3.1 or later).

Fonts:~ÓZ•˜Ḋ•The NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour is a multi-font

printer, which means that it can print text in
a variety of different type styles (fonts)—10 in
all.

These include:

Draft

Roman
SanSerif Courier
Prestige Swp-t

Orator-2

SLQ Roman

Graphics:

Zooming:

ORATOR

H-Got h i c

You can print these fonts in different styles,

such as emphasized, bold, shadow, and out-

line, as well as being able to change the size

of the font.

The advanced 24.-pinprint head can print up

to 360 dots per inch (and in color too!) mak­ing it an ideal printer for graphics programs,
and for programs running under Windows

3.1 and later.

You can print documents at 50?Z0or 67?40of

their actual size. As a result, you need only
use a single sheet of paper to print large doc-

uments, such as spreadsheets.

Paper types: You can print on a wide variety of different

paper types and sizes; from fanfold computer
paper, to single sheets and stationery, to
multi-part forms. Even when fanfold paper is
loaded, the NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour allows

Page2

you to print on single sheets, saving you time

and effort. A tear-off function allows you to
tear off single printed fanfold paper sheets
from the printer without wasting paper. You
can feed fanfold paper from either the rear or
the bottom of the printer.

h optional automatic sheet feeder is also

available, which holds up to 50 sheets of

paper.

Compcdiblity:By emulating the industry-standard Epson

and IBM printers, the NX-2480 Rainbow/
Colour allows you to printjust about any­thing your computer software can generate.

The NEC graphics command set is also sup-

ported for even better graphics compatibility.

The Automatic Emulation Change feature

means that the printer can automatically
change to the appropriate printer emulation
for the application software, depending on

the data received.

Special drivers and scalable fonts are
included to allow you to produce high-quality

printout from Windows 3.1 and later applica-

tions.

Page3

Parts

This is what your new printer looks like. These diagrams
may be useful in the next few sections to identi~ the dif­ferent parts mentioned.

front

power

Theprinter(withinterfacecableconnected)

r

pa

ad

r

The printer with the front and rear covers removed and no interface

cable connected

Page4

ver

Parts - an explanation

The

paper guides hold single sheets and sets their posi-

tion so that they are fed into the printer correctly.

The paper entrances are where paper feeds into the

printer. There is one for single sheets, and two for com­puter (fanfold) paper—rear and bottom.

The release lever grips single sheets as they are fed in.

The lever should be pushed towards the back of the
printer to hold

(pulled forward) when fanfold paper is in use.

The

platen knob lets you feed paper through the printer

single sheets properly, and released

manually. Usually, though, you will find that the

[PAPER FEED] button (see “Feeding paper through the

printer” on page 34) is the most efficient way of doing
this.

The front cover protects internal components and

reduces printing noise.

The mute cover further reduces printing noise.
The display screen shows information about the prin-

ter’scurrent setting.

The control panel has buttons to control the printer.
The power switch turns the printer on and off.
The interface connector accepts the cable connector

that links the printer to the host computer.

The print head transfers the image to the paper.
The ribbon cartridge contains the ribbon which the

head uses to mark the paper.

The paper thickness adjustment lever lets you adjust

the position of the print head for different paper thick­nesses and for multi-part forms.

The roller unit helps to grip paper and pull it through

the printer.

Page5

The tractor unit grips the sides of fanfold computer

paper. When you use the tractor unit, the tractor cov­ers must be closed.

Page6

Unpacking and

Chapter 2

setting up

Choosing a place for the printer

Before you start unpacking and setting up your printer,

make sure that you have a suitable place to put it. By a

“suitable place”, we mean:

A firm, level surface where the printer will be stable,

and vibration-free.

●

Away from any heaters.

●

Away from direct sunlight.

●

Not in an excessively humid area.

●

Somewhere that is clean, dry and dust-free. Basi­cally, computer equipment works best in the same
kind of temperature and humidity as you do.

●

Allow 6“ (15cm) of free space either side of the

printer and adequate space for paper behind the
printer, if you want to use fanfold (computer) paper.

●

If you want to use the bottom feed for fanfold (com­puter) paper, you should locate the pile of paper at
least one page length (about 12” (30cm)) below the
printer.

●

Make sure the printer is connected to a steady
power supply. It should not be on the same electric
circuit as appliances like copiers or refrigerators
that cause power spikes and surges.

●

Use a power supply of the correct voltage as speci­fied cmthe printer’s identification plate.

Page7

I

Unpacking the printer

As you unpack the printer from the box, make sure that

you have all the following items:

3 Ribbon cartrid~e \\ //

2 Printer driver
and fontdisk ~ ~~

1 Printer ‘

\\\\\?

//h

Ifany of these are missing, please contact your supplier.

Optional accessories that you may have purchased are:

●

Serial-Parallel converter (SPC-8K)

●

Automatic sheet feeder (SF-IODVVl

For details of how to install these optional accessories,
see Chapter 5.

You will also need a cable to connect the printer to your
computer (available separately). For IBM or IBM-com-

patible computers, this will generally be a parallel cable,
with a 25-pin ‘D’ connector at one end and a 36-pin
Amphenol-type (Centronics) connector at the other end

(a “Centronics” printer cable). This cable should be no

longer than about 6’ (2m).

Page8

If your computer has no parallel port available, you will
need to use the Serial-Parallel converter (SPC-8K) and a
cable to connect your computer to the printer. See “The
SPC-8K serial/parallel converter” on page 67 for full
details.

Setting up your printer

Remove the printer and all supplied parts from the
packing material. Put the printer on the place you have
prepared for it. Save the packing material and carton in
case you need to move the printer in the future.

Fitting the platen knob

This knob is packed into a recess of the packaging mate-

rial in the printer box.
To fit the knob, rotate the knob on the shaft (lining up

the flattened side of the shaft with the flattened part of
the hole on the knob). After you have lined up these flat­tened sides, push the knob firmly onto the shaft.

Page9

Removing the front cover

You will need to remove the front cover (the smoked

plastic cover on the top of the printer) to install and
change ribbon cartridges. Lift the cover from the rear
using the grips on the sides, then lift up to remove the
cover from the body of the printer.

Installing the ribbon cartridge

You have the choice of using a color or

a black ribbon

with the NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour. Both ribbons are

installed and removed in the same way.

●

Take the slack out of the ribbon by turning the knob

on the ribbon cartridge clockwise (as shown by the
arrow).

Page10

Place the cartridge on the cartridge carrier inside
the printer. Make sure that the ribbon is between
the print head and the print head shield. Press the
cartridge so that it “clicks” into place. If the cart­ridge does not “click” into position on both sides,

you may need to turn the cartridge knob about 1/4

of a turn clockwise.

●

Once the cartridge is in the carrier, tighten the rib­bon again by turning the cartridge knob clockwise
(about 1/2 a turn). Check once more to make sure
that the ribbon is between the print head and print
head shield (ifit isn’t, take the cartridge out, and try
again).

Page11

I

Removing the ribbon cartridge

●

To remove the ribbon cartridge, press the cartridge
grips inward and lift the cartridge upward out of the
printer.

Installing the roller unit

● .

Open the rear cover by pushing the cover grips

backward and upward.

●

Pick up the roller unit so that the small illustration
is on top of the roller unit, and the smoked plastic

side (with six small black rollers) is facing you.

●

Page12

Hold the roller unit so that the top is tilted slightly
away from you. Slide the hooks on either side of the
back of the roller unit over the platen (the large
black roller) and under the silver bar behind and
above the platen. The hooks should both be between
the metal plates at either end of the silver bar.

●

Push the front of the roller unit down firmly, so that
the unit “clicks” into place. If it does not fit properly,
remove it and try again.

Removing the roller unit

●

Pull both gray locking tabs towards you and lift the
front of the roller unit slightly to remove the roller
unit. Pull the roller unit out of the printer towards
you.

Replacing the front cover

Once you have fitted the ribbon and roller unit, you

should replace the front cover.

Note:

●

Even though you can operate the printer with the front cover
removed, we do not suggest that you do this. The printer will
be noisy and it is also possible to drop things into the printer,
which may damage the mechanism.

Hold the cover by the grips, so that the grips are on
the side of the cover furthest from you. Tilt the top
of the cover towards you a little.

●

Insert the tabs into the slots in the case.

●

Lower the rear of the cover into position.

Page13

I

Installing the paper guide

You can set the paper guide on the NX-2480 Rainbow/

Colour in one of two positions: horizontal for fanfold
paper and vertical for single sheets.

●

Hold the paper guide, either horizontally, or verti­cally, depending on the type of paper used.

●

Fit the tabs into the slots on the printer body to

install the paper guide.

●

Make sure the guide is firmly in position.

Installing the mute cover

The mute cover helps reduce the noise from your printer
when you are printing.

Page14

●

Hold the mute cover upright so that the ridges on
the cover are towards you and at the top.

●

Slide the left tab on the mute cover into the left hole
on the front cover.

●

Drop the right tab on the mute cover into the right
slot on the front cover. Close the mute cover by
swinging it down.

Connecting the printer to the computer

We assume here that you are connecting the printer to

an IBM or IBM-compatible computer, using the parallel
interface, If you are connecting using a serial interface,
or connecting to any other type of computer, read Chap­ter 5.

Note: Before connecting or disconnecting the printer and the com-

puter, make sure that the power to both the printer and the
computer is turned OFF. If the power is on when you make or
break these connections, there is a risk that you will damage
the circuitry of the computer and/or the printer. Repairs can
be expensive!

Page15

●

Press the cable plug into the printer socket:

●

Clip the cable into the socket using the wire clips on
either side of the socket.

●

●

Page16

Connect the ‘D’ connector on the other end of the

cable to the parallel (printer) port onyour computer.

This will probably be labelled

PRN, LPT1 or something similar. Refer to your com-

Printer, Parallel,

puter’s instruction manual for details of how to
secure the cable.

Now you can turn on your printer and computer.

I

Setting up your printer with your computer

In this section, you will learn to setup your printer wtth
two different computer environments: MS-DOS or
Microsoft Windows 3.1 (or a later version of Windows). If
your computer uses a different operating system, you

should refer to Chapter 5 for details of setting up your

. printer. Refer to your computer operating system manu-

als for details of configuring the operating system.

Setting up with MS-DOS

Every program that you use with MS-DOS must be

“told” separately what printer is connected to your com­puter. This is usually done in an INSTALL or SETUP pro­gram or menu option within your application software

(word-processor, spreadsheet, or whatever).

Look for an option called “Add printer”, “Install printer”

or “Configure printer” in your application software. If
you can’t find this option easily, read your software
manual to find out how to do it.

MS-DOS

MS-DOS needs no specific commands to make it work.
To test that the printer is connected properly to the

computer, try entering the following command from the

C> prompt:
PRINT \AuTOExEc.BAT (~]

If the computer answers with:

Name of list device [PRN]:

hit [~] again. The printer should then print the
contents of the file AUTOEXEC.BAT. If the file

AUTOEXEC.BAT

sage on your computer. Most MS-DOS computers do
have a file called AUTOEXEC.BAT,however.

MS-DOS application software

The NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour can emulate (pretend to

be) a member of one of two printer families: Epson or

does not exist, you will get an error mes-

Page17

I

IBM. When you open the box containing your NX-2480
Rainbow/Colour, the printer is set to Epson emulation.

This is commonly supported by most software. If your

software package gives you a list of printers to choose
from, choose one printer from the following list (inorder
of preference):

Star NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour

I StarNX-2420Ranbow/Colour I

The shaded printers are not color printers, so if you
select one, you will not be able to print in color.

If none of the printers above is listed, choose one of the
following, in order of preference:

These two printers are not color printers, so if you select

either, you will not be able to print in color.

Note: The printers in shaded boxes do not support color. If you

select them, all output will be in black only, regardless of the
ribbon installed or the software settings.

If you select either of these IBM Proprinter models, you

may need to change your printer emulation.The Auto

Emulation feature (page 56) of the NX-2480 Rainbow/
Colour should take care of this for you. See “Al- Emula­tion” on page 56 on how to change the emulation if you
have trouble with your printer.

Page18

If your software doesn’t list printer names, but asks you
questions about your printer, you should answer “Yes”
to the following two questions:

●

“Can your printer perform a backspace?”

●

“Can your printer do a hardware form feed?”

The answers to any other questions are not so impor-

tant. Answer these using the default settings in the

software.

When you’ve set up your software, try a few test prints,

using features like bold, italic, etc. to see how it works. If
you find you have problems making your software work
with your hardware, the best source of help is usually
your software supplier.

Setting up the printer in Windows

The-NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour is ideally suited for use
with computers running Microsoft Windows system soft­ware. It works best with Windows version 3.1 or later. If
you are running an earlier version of Windows, we rec-

ommend you upgrade your computer to the latest ver-

sion. In particular, this will allow you to use the 15

TrueType fonts included on the floppy disk packaged

with this printer. ~~

To use the printer with Windows, you need to install a

file known as the printer driver file onto your computer.
This file is supplied on the floppy disk packaged with the

printer.
The following description assumes that you are using a

mouse. (Click and double-click refer to the action of
using the mouse to point at an item with the on-screen
pointer, and then pressing the left mouse button either

once, or twice in quick succession.)

If you are not using a mouse, you can still carry out the

installation. Refer to the Microsoft Windows User’s Guide

to find out how to use the keyboard instead of a mouse

to operate Windows.

Page19

To install the printer driver under Windows 3.1, do the

following:

●

Turn on the printer and start up your computer.

●

If Windows does not start up automatically, type
WIN and then press [~] or [~].

●

Double-click the

Control PaneZicon in the Main win-

dow.

●

Double-click the Printers icon

●

If you have never previously installed a printer on

your system under Windows, a list of supported

printers is displayed. (If you have already installed
one or more printers, select the Add button to dis­play the list of supported printers.)

●

Click on InstaZZ

Unlisted or Updated Printer in the

list, so that this option is highlighted.

●

Click InstaZL

A window prompts you to put in the

floppy disk supplied with the printer.

●

Insert the disk with the printer driver file on it and
click OK.A new list of printers appears.
(If you have inserted the disk into a drive other than
drive A, you must type in the drive letter followed by
a colon and a backslash, e.g. “B:\”before selecting

OK.)

●

Select NX-2480

Rainbow/Colour from the new list

of printers.

●

Click

including the NX-2480 Rainbow/Colour.

●

Click on Set As Default Printer.

●

Click on Close to return to the ControZPanel win­dow.

For instructions on how to configure the printer, see the
section of the Microsoft Windows User’s Guide called

Control Panel.

Page20

OK. The list of installed printers appears,

If you cannot print from your applications programs
after installing the driver, refer to the section “InWin-

dows” on page 89.

Note: Unless the user chooses a different printer from within the

application, Windows applications always print to the cur­rently selected default printer.

Installing TrueType fonts (for Windows)

To install the TrueType fonts that are on the floppy disk

accompanying this printer, follow the procedure below.

●

Double click the Contro[PaneZin Windows.

●

Double click on Fonts. The Fonts dialog box appears.

●

Click Add. The Add Fonts dialog box appears.

●

Insert the disk in your computer’s floppy disk drive.

●

Select the drive by letter (this is usually “A:”, some­times “B:”). The names of the fonts stored on the
disk are displayed in the List of Fonts window. Each
font name is followed by the word “TrueType”

●

Select the fonts you wish to install. If you want to

install all of them, click SelectAZZ.

●

Click OK.The Fonts dialog box reappears and instal­lation is carried out. The names of the newly
installed fonts are automatically added to the
Installed Fonts list.

●

Withinyour applicationprogram, selectPrinter Setup
from the application’sFilemenu, and reselectthe
printer.The applicationcan now displaytexton-screen
and printtext on your printerusing the new fonts.

Note: The TrueType fonts that are supplied can only be used on IBM

PC compatible computers running Windows 3.1 or higher.

Page21

Selecting different fonts

If you are running applications software under
Windows, you will select fonts from within your applica­tion (refer to your application’s manual for details].

Your application software manual will tell you the vari­ous ways in which you can type-set your text on-screen
so that it is ready to print out on the printer.

Your Windows system already includes several fonts,
such as Arial, Times New Roman and Symbol. You can
also use the 15True~pe fonts included with the
printer. If you have installed Adobe Type Manager soft­ware on your computer, you can also display and print
Adobe PostScript fonts.

Page22