FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT FOR AMERICAN USERS This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause interference to radio and television reception.
Contents Introduction 2 About This Manual Chapter 1 Setting Up Your FX Printer 1-1 Unpacking Your Printer 1-2 Selecting the Right Location 1-3 Installing the Ribbon 1-6 Loading Continuous-feed Paper 1-12 Turning On the Printer 1-12 Operating the Control Panel 1-14 SelecType 1-16 Running the Self Test 1-17 Connecting the Printer to Your Computer 1-18 Choosing the Operating Mode with DIP Switches Chapter 2 Choosing and Loading Paper 2-1 Choosing Paper 2-1 Using Single-sheet Paper 2-6 Reinstalling the
Chapter 4 FX Printer Features 4-1 Quality and Fonts 4-2 Print Size and Character Width 4-2 Pitches and Proportional Spacing 4-3 Special Effects and Emphasis 4-4 Using Different Character Sets 4-5 Page Layout and Other Commands Chapter 5 Graphics and User-defined Characters 5-2 The Print Head 5-3 Pin Labels 5-4 Graphics Commands 5-6 Simple Graphics Programming 5-8 Density Varieties 5-10 Designing Your Own Graphics 5-13 User-defined Characters Appendix A Command Summary A-4 Commands in Numerical Order A-
Appendix D Defaults and DIP Switches D-1 Default and Initialization Settings D-2 DIP Switch Settings D-3 International Character Sets Appendix E Choosing and Setting Up Optional Interfaces E-1 E-2 E-3 E-6 E-7 Compatible Interfaces Choosing an Interface Installing an Interface Inserting the Interface board Serial Interface Settings Appendix F Technical Specifications F-1 F-1 F-2 F-2 F-3 F-3 F-5 Printing Paper Mechanical Electrical Environment Parallel Interface Data Transfer Sequence Index Contents
Introduction The FX-86e and FX-286e printers combine all the well-known virtues of previous Epson 9-pin printers with many features normally exclusive to costly 24-pin printers. l The speed of draft printing is 240 characters per second in draft elite and 200 in draft pica. When you have perfected a document, you can switch to one of two Near Letter Quality fonts-Roman or Sans Serif. Draft printing is extremely fast. NLQ Roman is clear and typewriter-like. NLQ Sans Serif is crisp and distinctive.
About this Manual To make it easier to set up your new FX-86e or FX-286e, this manual includes a lo-step guide. This guide, which is printed on the inside of the back flap, summarizes the first chapter’s setting up instructions. Chapters 2 through 5 cover the basic and advanced functions, and the appendixes contain reference information, including all the details you need to use any of the printer’s commands, and some advice on solving problems.
Chapter 1 Setting Up Your FX Printer Setting up your new FX is easy. Simply follow the steps in this chapter. Note The FX-86e and FX-286e are basically the same printer except that the FX-286e can accept wider paper. Therefore, the illustrations in this manual show only the FX-86e. 1 Unpacking Your Printer First, remove the printer from the box and take off all outside plastic covering and foam supports. Make sure you have received all the parts shown in the illustration below.
Tilt the tractor cover up and remove the two foam pads underneath it. (These pads protect the tractor unit during shipping; be sure to save them.) WARNING The printer is protected by a print head protector, a platen protector and two locking tabs during shipping. These protective items must be removed before you turn on the printer. Follow the steps below Figure 1-2. Also, you should install the paper feed knob.
l l l l l l Place the printer or printer stand on a solid and level foundation. Avoid setting it on carpet or on unstable surfaces such as chairs. Use a grounded outlet-one that has three holes to match the power plug on the printer. Don’t use an adapter plug. Avoid using electrical outlets that are controlled by wall switches. If you accidentally turn off a switch, you could wipe out valuable information and stop your printing.
WARNING The power must be OFF when you move the print head. Moving the print head when the power is ON may damage your printer. If you’ve been using your printer just before changing the ribbon cartridge, be careful not to touch the print head because it becomes hot during use. 3. before installing the ribbon cartridge, turn the small knob on top in the direction of the arrow to tighten the ribbon as shown in Figure 1-3. Figure 1-3 Tightening the ribbon 4.
Figure 1-4. Installing the ribbon cartridge Figure 1-5.
4 Loading Continuous-feed Paper When you receive your FX, it is set up to print on continuous-feed paper. If you plan to use single-sheet paper, turn to Chapter 2 for instructions on setting up the printer for single sheets. If you have bought the optional automatic sheet feeder, complete the remainder of the setup steps before you install the automatic sheet feeder (which has its own manual).
Figure 1-6. Installing the paper rest 4. Pull both the paper release lever and the paper bail lever toward the front of the printer. (Figure 1-6 shows where these levers are.
Now you are ready to load the continuous-feed paper. Just follow the steps below: 1. Using Figure 1-7 as a guide, pull the locking levers on the pin-feed holders forward so that you can move the holders to the left and right. Figure 1-7. Pin-feed locking levers 2. Move the left holder so that the locking lever is about 1/4 inch from the left side and push the locking lever back to lock that holder in place. Leave the right holder unlocked. 3. Open the pin-feed covers as shown in Figure 1-8.
Figure 1-8. Open pin-feed cover 4. Guide the paper into the paper slot, and push it through until it comes up between the ribbon guide and the platen. (Moving the paper with a side-to-side motion makes it easier to push the paper through.) 5. Pull the paper up until the top is above the pin-feed holders. Fit the holes on the left side of the paper over the pins in the left holder (as shown in Figure 1-9) and close the cover. Figure 1-9.
6. Fit the right side of the paper into the right holder, moving the holder as needed to match the width of the paper. 7. Close the right cover, making sure the paper has no dips or wrinkles and lock the right holder in place. Now that you have loaded the continuous-feed paper, prepare the printer for printing. 1. Push the paper bail lever back. 2. Hold the paper guide above the printer with the edge tab on the left. Insert the right hinge tab into the right tab slot, as shown in Figure 1-10.
3. With the printer turned OFF, advance the paper with the paper feed knob on the right side of the printer until the first row of perforations is about even with the top of the ribbon. (See Figure 1-1 1.) Figure 1-11. Setting top of form This is the top of form position. It makes your printed pages end where you want them to and prevents the printer from printing on the perforations.
5 Turning On the Printer Before plugging in the power cord, see that the power switch near the back of the left side of the printer is turned off; then plug the power cord into a properly grounded socket. WARNING Before turning on the printer, be absolutely sure you have removed all packing materials. Turning on the printer when the print head cannot move may seriously damage the mechanism. Now, turn the power ON with the switch on the left side of the printer.
The three buttons nearest the front of the printer control advancing the paper and communication with the computer. The four indicator lights show when the printer is turned on and when it is ready to use. The buttons There are three large buttons on the control panel. OFF LINE/ ON LINE The green light next to this button indicates that the printer is able to receive and print data from the computer. When the light is off, the printer is off line and cannot receive any data.
PAPER OUT This comes on when the printer is out of paper. Also on the control panel are two touch switches that let you choose the print style and size. These are the SelecType buttons, which are described in the next section. 7 SelecType The SelecType feature consists of two buttons on the control panel. These buttons select the most used printing features-Near Letter Quality (NLQ) and condensed.
want to turn off either mode, press its button again. It beeps once and the indicator light turns off to show that the mode is cancelled. As you can see, SelecType makes it easy to choose either NLQ or condensed, and the indicator lights always tell you which modes you’ve selected. Trying out SelecType is a simple three-step process: 1. Create a short sample document or file with your favorite application program. 2. Press either or both of the SelecType buttons. 3.
Note Also remember that control codes in your document will override the SelecType settings. Therefore, if you have a code for NLQ in your document and you press the DRAFT SelecType button, your printing will still be in NLQ. 8 Running the Self Test The FX has a built-in self test that prints out the characters in its memory so that you can see that the printer is working properly. The self test also prints the settings of the printer’s DIP switches.
To run the same test in the draft mode, hold down the LINE FEED button instead of the FORM FEED button while you turn the printer on. The FX cannot print a draft self test, however, if the NLQ DIP switch is on. Therefore, if the Print Quality line of the self test printout says NLQ, you cannot print a draft test without changing a DIP switch. 9 Connecting the Printer to Your Computer Your FX printer communicates with your computer through a Centronics® compatible parallel interface.
10 Choosing the Operating Mode with DIP Switches The FX has 12 switches that allow you to change many of the printer’s settings to suit your individual needs. You may need to change one or two of them now. These switches, known as DIP (Dual In-line Package) switches, are in the back of the printer. See Figure 1-14. Figure 1-14. DIP switch location The switches are in two groups and are numbered, as shown in Figure 1-14.
Before you change any DIP switch settings, turn the printer around to give you easy access to the switches. Then you can easily turn the switches on and off with a thin pointed object, such as a small screwdriver or the cap of a ballpoint pen. The switches are ON when they are UP, and OFF when they are DOWN. Note When you change a DIP switch setting, turn off the power, reset the switch or switches, then turn on the power again.
DIP switch 1-4 controls the choice of operating modes. Turning the switch OFF selects Epson mode, and turning it ON selects IBM printer emulation mode. The Epson character graphics set Half of the characters used by IBM PCs and compatibles are special character graphics and international characters. Most previous Epson printers printed italics instead of these characters.
Chapter 2 Choosing and Loading Paper The FX printer can accommodate many different sizes and types of paper, using either its automatic single-sheet loading feature or its adjustable tractor. The easy-to-use tractor can handle a wide range of paper widths, and the automatic single-sheet loading feature handles individual sheets quickly and easily. For greater efficiency with individual sheets you can add an optional automatic sheet feeder.
Before you load single-sheet paper the first time, you must prepare the printer by removing the tractor unit and installing the paper guide, as described in the next five steps. (If you have previously loaded continuous-feed paper, you have already done some of the steps.) Preparing the printer 1. Remove the tractor cover that comes installed on the printer. To remove it, simply pull the back of the cover toward you until it is vertical. Then lift the cover up and off the printer. 2.
5. Hold the paper guide above the printer. Insert the right hinge tab into the right tab slot, as shown in Figure 2-2. Next, insert the left tab into the left slot. When both tabs are in the slots, push the guide back so that it is horizontal, and then pull it toward you until it stops at an angle (about 45 degrees). Figure 2-2.
Loading the paper Now you are ready to load single-sheet paper. Just follow the steps below: 1. Turn the printer ON first. Do not put the paper in the printer before you turn it on. 2. Push both the paper release lever and the paper bail lever toward the back of the printer. (Figure 2-2 shows where these levers are.) 3. Make sure the ON LINE light is OFF. If it is ON, press the ON LINE button once. 4. Place the paper on the paper guide as shown in Figure 2-3 below.
5. Pull the paper bail lever forward. This makes the paper feed into the printer. 6. When the paper stops, push the paper bail lever back. 7. Hold the printer cover vertically and fit the notches in its front corners over the pins at the front of the printer case (as shown in Figure 2-4). Then tilt the cover back into place. Figure 2-4. Installing the printer cover When you have learned this procedure, you’ll probably leave the cover on when you load single-sheet paper.
If the paper does not load If the platen (the black roller) turns but the paper does not load, remove the paper from the printer and try again, starting at Step 2. This time press the paper a little more firmly into place. If nothing happens at all, see that the printer is ON and that the ON LINE light is off. Then remove the paper and try again.
Figure 2-5.
The Paper Thickness Lever You can adjust the FX to accommodate different thicknesses of paper. You need to do this when you print carbon copies. Before moving the paper thickness lever, always turn off the power, open the printer cover or the tractor cover, and move the print head to the middle of the printer. The paper thickness lever (shown in Figure 2-6) has six positions. Figure 2-6.
If you want to change or check the lever, push it toward the platen (the black roller) until it stops. This is the first position. Then pull the lever toward you. You will feel three more click stops. The table below shows which position you should use. Table 2-I. Paper thickness lever positions Paper thickness Lever position Single With 1 copy With 2 copies 2nd 3rd 4th *Maximum total thickness IS 0.25mm Position 1 is for thinner paper, and positions 5 and 6 are for thicker paper.
Chapter 3 Using the FX with Application Programs Now that you’ve set up and tested the printer, you need to start using it with your application programs. Printer Selection Menus Most application programs let you specify the type of printer you’re using so that the program can take full advantage of the printer’s features. Many programs provide an installation or setup procedure that presents a list of printers to choose from.
Note If your application program does not list the FX-86e or FX-286e, you may want to contact the manufacturer to find whether an update is available. A quick test After setting up your application program, print a sample document to be sure the program and the FX are communicating properly. If the document doesn’t print correctly, recheck the program’s printer selection and installation procedure. If you’re still having trouble printing, consult the troubleshooting section in Appendix C.
The decimal system is the standard numbering system based on units of ten, using the numerals O-9. The hexadecimal, or hex, system is based on units of 16 and is often used by programmers. Instead of using only the numerals 0 through 9, the hex system also uses the letters A through F. For example, the decimal numbers 9, 10, 11, and 12 are 09, 0A, 0B, and 0C in hex.
Check the manual for your word processor to see if you can place printer commands in your text. If this is possible, use the Command Summary (Appendix A) in this manual to find the command, and use the manual for your word processor to find how to assign the command. If your FX is not printing correctly, check both the FX and your word processor and do the following: l l l l Make sure you’ve selected the correct printer.
Table 3-1. Characters per line FX-86e FX-286e 80 136 Condensed 96 132 233 Condensed Elite 160 272 Normal Elite 163 Therefore, if your spreadsheet asks the number of columns your printer can print, decide which mode you will use and supply the appropriate number from Table 3-1. Printer commands Unlike word processors, spreadsheet programs usually don’t let you change printer commands within a spreadsheet. Instead, one style or mode of printing is used for the whole spreadsheet.
If you’re using the program’s print facility, recheck the FX’s Command Summary to make sure you’re sending the correct commands. If you’re still having difficulty printing, check the troubleshooting section in your spreadsheet program’s manual or Appendix C of this manual. Graphics Programs The FX is capable of producing finely detailed graphic images.
Sending printer commands with BASIC You can send printer commands with any programming language. The examples in this manual are written in BASIC, because BASIC is included with most computer systems. In most forms of BASIC, and in particular Microsoft’” BASIC, the normal method of producing printed output is to use the LPRINT statement followed by the text to be printed enclosed in quotation marks, as shown below: 100 LPRINT "This text will be printed.
Chapter 4 FX Printer Features You can obtain many different printing effects with the FX printer, from arranging the printout on the paper to giving extra emphasis to particular words and phrases. This chapter shows you the features you may want to select with your software. Once you have read about the features, you can find their commands in the Command Summary. SelecType, as you know, controls the printing style of a whole document.
Print Size and Character Width To add greater variety to your documents, the FX has two pitches as well as proportional spacing and condensed, double-wide and double-high printing. All can be selected with a software command, and condensed can be selected with SelecType. Pitches and Proportional Spacing The two pitches are pica and elite. Pica is 10 characters per inch (cpi) and elite is 12 cpi. The printout below shows the difference between the two.
Another mode for headings and other special uses is double-high, which is shown below. This is double high printing Because of its height you must leave a blank line above a line of double-high. Otherwise the double-high letters will overlap the letters on the previous line. Pica and elite can be reduced to about 60% of their normal width with the condensed mode.
In double-strike mode, the FX prints each line twice, with the second slightly below the first. This makes the characters bolder. While NLQ is in use, however, double-strike is ignored because NLQ characters are already formed by two passes of the print head.
The other important change you can make to the standard character set is to change some characters for ones commonly used in other languages-chiefly European and Scandinavian-such as accented characters and symbols. In Epson mode, eight international character sets can be selected by setting DIP switches 1-6 to 1-8: USA, French, German, UK, Danish, Swedish, Italian, and Spanish. See Appendix D for the DIP switch settings. In Epson mode, these eight, and five more, can also be selected by a software command.
Chapter 5 Graphics and User-defined Characters The dot graphics mode allows your FX to produce pictures, graphs, charts, or almost any other pictorial material you can devise, and the user-defined character feature allows you or a commercial software program to put special characters in the FX’s memory so that it can print them just as if they were ordinary letters.
If you use commercial software that produces graphics, all you need to know about dot graphics is how to use the software. If, on the other hand, you wish to do your own programming or merely wish to understand how the FX prints graphics, read on. The Print Head To understand dot graphics you need to know a little about how the FX’s print head works. The FX’s print head has nine pins. As it moves across the page, electrical impulses cause the pins to fire.
Dot patterns The FX’s print head is able to print graphics in addition to text because graphic images are formed on the FX about the same way that pictures in newspapers and magazines are printed. If you look closely at a newspaper photograph, you can see that it is made up of many small dots. The FX also forms its images with patterns of dots, as many as 240 dot positions per inch horizontally and 72 dots vertically.
To fire any one pin, you send its number. To fire more than one pin at the same time, add up the numbers of the pins and send the sum to the printer. Therefore, with these labels for the pins, you fire the top pin by sending 128. To fire the bottom pin, you send 1. If you want to fire only the top and bottom pins, you simply add 128 and 1, then send 129. By adding the appropriate label numbers together, you can fire any combination of pins.
The graphics command format There are several different graphics commands giving different horizontal dot densities and printing speeds. Because the format is almost the same for all the commands, however, the example here keeps things simple by using only the single-density graphics command, ESC K. In single-density graphics, there are 60 dots per inch horizontally. The command to enter single-density graphics mode is ESC K nl n2.
Graphics data After receiving a graphics command such as ESC K nl n2, the printer prints the number of codes specified by nl and n2 as graphics data, no matter what codes they are. This means that you must be sure to supply exactly the right amount of graphics data. If you supply too little, the printer will stop and wait for more data and will seem to be locked. The next data sent will then be printed as graphics, even if it is really text.
WIDTH statements Some software (including most versions of BASIC) automatically inserts carriage return and line feed codes after every 80 or 130 characters. This is usually no problem with text, but it can spoil your graphics. Two extra columns of graphics are printed in the middle of the ones you send, and are left over and printed as text. In some versions of BASIC you can prevent unwanted control codes in graphics by putting a WIDTH statement at the beginning of all graphics programs.
1. The computer is prevented from adding any extra characters by the WIDTH statement (line 100). 2. The line spacing is changed to 8/72 of an inch-the height of the dot patterns used in the program (line 110). 3. The program goes through the graphics commands the required number of times (lines 120 and 170). 4. A new graphics command is used for each line printed (lines 130160).
Table 5-1. Graphics modes Option Single-density Double-density High-speed double-density* Alternate Code Quadruple-density* CRT I Plotter (1:1) ESC K ESC L ESC Y ESC Z none none CRT II Double-density plotter none none m 0 1 Horiz. density (dots/in.) 60 120 2 3 120 4 5 80 72 6 7 144 240 90 *Adjacent dots cannot be printed in this mode.
A little experimentation should tell you whether the reassigning code can improve your graphics printouts. Designing Your Own Graphics This section takes you through the development of a graphics program. The example is not especially complicated, but it does include the same steps you would use for a more complex figure. You should plan your figure with dots on graph paper, but before beginning to place the dots, you must decide which graphics density you want.
Now look at the high-speed double-density design in Figure 5-3. It should point you in the right direction for your own work. Figure 5-3. Arrow design After plotting the dots on a grid, you calculate the numbers for each pin pattern by dividing the design grid into separate print lines. For the arrow design, the grid was divided into two lines, each seven dots high. Then each column was examined to calculate the graphics data. The results for the first line are shown in Figure 5-4.
The numbers for the second line were calculated in the same way. Once the numbers for the pin patterns are calculated, they are put in the program in DATA statements, separated by commas. The program works in a similar way to the last example. This time it selects 7/72-inch line spacing because only seven pins are used. Because the data is not repetitive, each column of graphics data is read from the DATA statements and sent to the printer. The design is 41 dot positions wide.
User-defined Characters The FX has a command that allows you to define and print characters of your own design. You can design an entirely new alphabet or typeface, create mathematical or scientific symbols, or create graphic patterns to serve as building blocks for larger designs. These user-defined characters work only in draft mode. Also, you can buy commercial software programs that assist you in creating characters or supply you with sets of characters already created.
Figure 5-5 uses the top eight, but you can also use the bottom eight by using the grid on the right as explained later in this section. Once the character is planned on the grid, you simply add the pin values for each column together, just as you do for graphics. Then, the next step in defining a character is to send this information to the printer. Figure 5-5.
Following the specification of the range of characters to be defined in this command is one number (al) that specifies the width of the character and whether it uses the top eight pins or the bottom eight pins. The last part of the character definition is the actual data that defines the dot patterns for each column of each character. Since a character can use up to eleven columns, you must supply eleven data numbers for each character even if some of the columns are blank.
Run the program to see the printout below: As you can see, both sets of characters (the original ROM characters that the printer normally uses and the user-defined character set) remain in the printer available for your use. The command to switch between the two sets is used in lines 180 and 200 and has the following format: ESC % n If n is 0, the normal ROM character set is selected. (This is the default.) If n is 1, the user-defined character set is selected.
Note This command will cancel any user-defined characters you have already created. You must send this command to the printer before you define characters. Specifying the width and height The example program uses 136 for al (in line 130 of the definition program), but you can use other values. The number a1 specifies two things: the width of the character and its position on the grid. The width is used when the character is printed in proportional mode.
The sample below shows the heart character printed in two different styles. Other considerations Keep in mind that user-defined characters are stored in RAM, which is not permanent. Whenever the printer power is turned off or your computer sends an initialization (NT) signal, all of the user-defined characters are lost. For example, some computers send an INIT signal each time BASIC is loaded or when certain application programs start up, and most computers do it if you have to reset them.
Appendix A Command Summary This appendix lists and describes all the commands, both Epson (ESC/P) mode and IBM printer emulation mode, available on the FX. The first part of this appendix lists all commands in numerical order and gives the page number where each is fully described. If you know which command you are looking for, consult the numerical list to find the page number where it is described.
For the following commands that use only 0 or 1 for the variable, either the ASCII codes 1 and 0 or the characters 1 and 0 can be used: ESC S, ESC U, ESC X, ESC p, ESC W, ESC S, ESC - , and ESC % For example, in BASIC you can turn on double-wide with either of these statements: LPRINT CHR$(27);"W";CHR$(l) LPRINT CHR$(27);"W";"l" The simplest type of command consists of a single character to be sent to the printer.
Control key chart Some application programs can use control key codes for decimal values O-27. The table below gives you the proper values. The Control Key column indicates that you press the control key at the same time you press the key for the letter or symbol in that column. For example, you press the control key and A at the same time to send the value 1. Some programs that use this system cannot use control-@, and many programs use the control keys for other purposes. Dec. Hex.
Commands in Numerical Order This section lists all the FX commands, with their decimal and hexadecimal values. The numbers in the columns on the right are the page numbers in this appendix where a complete description of the command can be found. If the Epson and IBM printer emulation mode page numbers are the same, the command is the same in both modes and is described only in the Epson mode section.
ESC / ESC 0 ESC 1 ESC 2 ESC 2 ESC 3 ESC 4 ESC 4 ESC 5 ESC 5 ESC 6 ESC 6 ESC 7 ESC 7 ESC 8 ESC 9 ESC : ESC : ESC < ESC = ESC = ESC > ESC ? ESC @ ESC A ESC A ESC B ESC C ESC CO ESC D ESC E ESC F ESC G ESC H ESC I ESC I 47 2F Select vertical tab channel 48 30 Select l/8-inch line spacing 49 3 1 Select 7/72-inch line spacing 50 32 Select l/6-inch line spacing 50 32 Select programmable line spacing 5 1 33 Select n/216-inch line spacing 52 34 Select italic mode 52 34 Set top of form 53 35 Cancel italic mode 53 3
ESC J ESC K ESC L ESC M ESC N ESC O ESC P ESC I’ ESC Q ESC Q3 ESC Q22 ESC R ESC R ESC SO ESC S l ESC T ESC U ESC W ESC X ESC Y ESC Z ESC [@ ESC \ ESC \ ESC A ESC A ESC _ ESC a ESC b ESC k ESC l ESC p ESC s ESC t ESC w ESC x A.
Epson (ESC/P) Commands The following section lists and describes all the Epson (ESC/P) commands. Printer Operation Initialization Initialize Printer ESC @ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B @ 40 64 Comments: Resets the printer mode and clears the buffer of printable data on the print line preceding the command.
Deselect Printer DC3 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: DC3 19 13 Comments: Puts the printer into the deselected state until select printer code (DC1) is received. The printer cannot be reselected with the ON LINE button. Speed Turn Half-speed Mode On/Off ESCs Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B s 115 73 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: (The characters “0” and “1” 1: Mode is turned ON. can also be used.
Turn Unidirectional Mode On/Off ESC U Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B U 85 55 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: (The characters “0” and “1” 1: Mode is turned ON. can also be used.) 0: Mode is turned OFF. Text printing is normally bidirectional. This command selects unidirectional printing for more accurate positioning.
ESC EM Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Turn Automatic Sheet Feed Mode On/Off ESC 27 1B EM 25 19 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 4: Mode is turned ON. 0: Mode is turned OFF. The variables are the characters “0” (48 decimal or 30 hex) and “4” (52 decimal or 34 hex). Do not use 1 decimal, 01 hex, 4 decimal, or 04 hex. The command should not be used unless the automatic sheet feeder is installed. It is ignored if any value other than “0” or “4” is used for n.
ESC > Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set MSB to 1 ESC > 27 62 1B 3E Comments: Sets the MSB bit of all incoming data as 1. Cancel MSB Control ESC # Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC # 27 35 1B 23 Comments: Cancels the MSB control set by ESC = or ESC ). Beeper BEL Format: Beeper BEL ASCII code: 7 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 07 Comments: Sounds the printer’s beeper.
Data Control CR Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Carriage Return CR 13 0D Comments: Prints the data in the buffer and returns the print position to the left margin. A line feed may be added if DIP switch 2-4 is ON or the AUTO PEED XT line on the parallel interface is held LOW. Cancel Line CAN Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: CAN 24 18 Comments: Removes all text on the print line, but does not affect control codes.
Vertical Motion Form feeding Form Feed FF Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: FF 12 0C Comments: Prints the data in the print buffer and advances the paper to the top of the next form according to the current page length. Set Page Length in Lines ESC C Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B C 67 43 n n n Comments: Sets the page length to n lines in the current line spacing. The value of n must be from 1-127. The top of form position is set to the current line.
Set Skip-over-perforation ESC N Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B N 78 4E n n n Comments: The variable n is the number of lines skipped between the last line printed on one page and the first line on the next page. For example, with the standard settings for line spacing (l/&inch), and page length (66 lines), ESC N 6 causes the FX to print 60 lines and then skip 6. DIP switch 2-3 performs the same function. This setting is cancelled by ESC O and also by ESC C or ESC C NUL.
Select l/&inch Line Spacing ESC 0 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 0 27 48 1B 30 Comments: Sets the line spacing to l/8 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The 0 is the character zero and not ASCII code 0. ESC 1 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select 7/72-inch Line Spacing ESC 1 27 49 1B 31 Comments: Sets the line spacing to 7/72 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The 1 is the character one and not lower case L or ASCII code 1.
Select n/2 16-inch Line Spacing ESC 3 Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1 B 3 51 33 n n n Comments: Sets the line spacing to n/216 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The “3” is the character three and not ASCII code 3. The value of n must be from O-255. Select n/72-inch Line Spacing ESC A Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1 B A 65 41 n n n Comments: Sets the line spacing to n/72 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands.
Vertical tabbing VT Tab Vertically Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: VT 11 0B Comments: Advances the paper to the next tab setting in the channel selected by ESC /. If no channel has been selected, channel 0 is used. If no vertical tabs have been selected, the paper advances one line. Set Vertical Tabs ESC B Format: ASCII code: ESC 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1 B B 66 42 n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n2 ... ... ... NUL 0 00 Comments: Sets up to 16 vertical tabs in the current line spacing.
Select Vertical Tab Channel Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC / c 27 1B 47 c 2F c Comments: This command is used to select the vertical tab channel, with the value of c from 0-7. All subsequent VT commands use the channel selected by this command. Horizontal Motion Margins Set Left Margin ESC l Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1 B I 108 6C n n n Comments: Sets the left margin to n columns in the current pitch.
Print head movement Backspace BS Format: BS ASCII code: Decimal: 8 Hexadecimal: 08 Comments: Prints out data in the print buffer, then moves the print position one space to the left. Backspacing can be performed up to, but not beyond, the left margin setting. The BS code is also ignored if ESC a 2, or 3 has been sent. In Epson mode, if this code is received immediately after graphics printing, the print position of subsequent data is moved back to the point at which graphics printing started.
Set Relative Position ESC \ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B \ 92 5C n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n2 Comments: Determines the position (relative to the current position) at which printing of following data will start. To find nl and n2, first calculate the displacement required in 1/120ths of an inch. If the displacement is to the left, subtract it from 65536. Send the resulting number using this formula: total number of dots = n1 + (n2 x 256).
ESC D Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Horizontal Tabs NUL ESC D n1 n2 . . . 27 68 n1 n2 . . . 0 1B 44 n1 n2 . . . 0 0 Comments: This command allows setting of up to 32 horizontal tabs, which are entered as n1, n2, n3, etc. (from 1-137) with the NUL character or any value less than the previous one terminating the command. ESC D NUL clears all tabs. The settings on power up or after an ESC @ command are every eight characters.
ESC ! Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Master Select ESC 27 ! 33 1B 21 n n n Comments: Selects any valid combination of the modes in the table below. The variable n is determined by adding together the values of the desired modes from the table. Table A-1.
Select Elite Pitch ESC M Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC M 27 77 1B 4D Comments: Selects elite pitch (12 characters per inch). Turn Proportional Mode On/Off ESC p Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: 27 p 112 1B 70 ESC n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 1: Mode is turned ON. (The characters “0” and “1” 0: Mode is turned OFF. can also be used.) The width of proportional characters varies from character to character.
Select Condensed Mode ESC SI Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC SI 27 15 IB 0F Comments: Duplicates the SI command. Cancel Condensed Mode DC2 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: DC2 18 12 Comments: Cancels condensed printing set by SI, ESC SI, SelecType, or DIP switch 1-1. so Select Double-wide Mode (one line) Format: ASCII code: so 14 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 0 E Comments: Double-wide mode doubles the width of all characters.
Cancel Double-wide Mode (one line) DC4 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: DC4 20 14 Comments: Cancels one-line double-wide printing selected by SO or ESC SO, but not double-wide printing selected by ESC W or ESC !. Turn Double-wide Mode On/Off ESC W Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B W 87 57 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: (The characters “0” and "1” 1: The mode is turned ON. 0: The mode is turned OFF. can also be used.
Print Enhancement Select Emphasized Mode ESC E Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC E 27 1B 69 45 Comments: Makes text bolder by printing each dot twice, with the second dot slightly to the right of the first. Cancel Emphasized Mode ESC F Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1 B F 70 46 Comments: Cancels emphasized, the mode selected by ESC E.
Cancel Double-strike Mode ESC H Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC H 1B 48 27 72 Comments: Turns off the double-strike mode selected by ESC G. Select Superscript Mode ESC S0 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B S 83 53 NUL 0 00 Comments: Prints characters about two-thirds of the normal height in the upper part of the character space. The ASCII code 0 or the character “0” can be used in this command. It is cancelled with ESC T.
Turn Underlining Mode On/Off ESC Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B 45 2 D n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: (The characters “0” and “1” 1: Mode is turned ON. can also be used.) 0: Mode is turned OFF. This mode provides continuous underlining, including spaces. Word Processing ESC a Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1 B NLQ Justification a 97 61 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 0: Selects left justification.
Set Intercharacter Space ESC SP (space) Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B SP 32 20 n n n Comments: Sets the amount of space added to the right of each character, in addition to the space already allowed in the design of the character. The number of units of space is equal to n, which should be from O-63. Each unit of space is 1/120th of an inch.
Select Italic Mode ESC 4 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 4 27 1B 52 34 Comments: Causes characters from the italic character set to be printed. This command is valid even if the Epson Character Graphics set has been selected by ESC t or the DIP switch 1-3, but character graphics cannot be italicized. Cancel Italic Mode ESC 5 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 5 27 53 1B 35 Comments: Cancels the mode selected by ESC 4.
User-defined Characters Note: See Chapter 5 for sample programs and full information on this topic. Define User-defined Characters ESC & Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC & 27 38 1B 26 NUL d1 d2 . . . d n 0 d1 d2 . . . d n 00 d1 d2 . . . d n Comments: This command allows characters to be redefined in the currently selected mode.
Printable Code Area Expansion ESC 6 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 6 27 54 1B 36 Comments: Enables the printing of codes 128 through 159 (decimal) as characters, not control codes. This allows the use of these characters for user-defined characters. Cancel ESC 6 ESC 7 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B 7 55 37 Comments: This code causes codes 128 through 159 to be treated as control codes. This is the default.
Graphics Note: See Chapter 5 for sample graphics programs. Select Single-density Graphics Mode ESC K Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B K 75 4B n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n2 Comments: Turns on eight-pin single-density graphics mode (60 dots per inch). The total number of columns = nl + (n2 x 256).
Select Quadruple-density Graphics Mode ESC Z Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC Z n1 27 90 nl n2 n2 1B 5A n1 n2 Comments: Turns on eight-pin quadruple-density graphics mode (240 dots per inch). The total number of columns = nl + (n2 x 256). ESC * Select Graphics Mode Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B * 42 2A m n1 m n1 m n1 n2 n2 n2 Comments: Turns on graphics mode m. See the table below for details on the available modes.
Reassign Graphics Mode ESC ? Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B ? 63 3F s s s n n n Comments: Changes one graphics mode to another. The variable s is a character (K, L, Y or Z), which is reassigned to a mode n (0-7). Select 9-Pin Graphics Mode ESC ^ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B * 94 5E m m m n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n2 Comments: Turns on 9-pin Graphics Mode. For this command the variable m defines density of print (0 for single and 1 for double).
IBM Printer Emulation Mode Commands The Epson mode and the IBM printer emulation mode share many of the same commands. Therefore, this part of the summary merely lists and does not describe the commands already described in the Epson mode command summary. The commands that are different are described in detail.
Commands that Are Different from Epson Commands Printer Operation Deselect Printer (FX-86e) ESC Q3 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B Q 81 51 ETX 3 03 Comments: Places the printer in an off line state until the printer is turned off and back on or until it receives a DC1 code.
Select Programmable Line Spacing ESC 2 Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 2 50 32 Comments: Executes the line spacing stored in memory by ESC A. If no ESC A command has been sent, ESC 2 sets the line spacing to l/6 of an inch. (The 2 is the character two and not ASCII code 2.) Perform n/216-inch Line Feed ESC J Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B J 74 4A n n n Comments: Advances the paper by one line at a spacing of n/216 of an inch.
Turn Automatic Line Feed On/Off ESC 5 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B 5 53 35 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 1: Mode is turned ON. 0: Mode is turned OFF. If the mode is on, the printer adds a line feed to each carriage return. If the mode is off, it does not. This command duplicates the function of DIP switch 2-4.
Set Horizontal Tabs ESC D Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 D 68 1B n1 n1 44 n2 . . . N U L n2 . . . 0 n1 n2 . . . 00 Comments: This command allows setting of up to 32 horizontal tabs, which are entered as nl, n2, n3, etc. (in the range 1 to 137) with the NUL character terminating the command. The tab settings must be entered in ascending order. ESC D NUL clears all tabs. The settings on power up are every eight characters.
Print Size/Width/Enhancements Four modes in the IBM printer emulation mode are incompatible with each other. These modes are pica, elite, condensed, and proportional. (Proportional is available only on the FX-286e.) Therefore, if you select any one of these, you cancel all the others. Select Elite Pitch Esc: Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B : 58 3A Comments: Elite pitch has 12 characters per inch.
Cancel Condensed/Elite/Proportional DC2 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: DC2 18 12 Comments: Cancels condensed, elite, and proportional printing and selects pica printing. The command does not cancel double-wide. ESC [@ Select Double-high Printing (FX-286e) Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: @ n1 ESC [ 27 91 64 n1 1B 5B 40 n1 n2 n2 n2 m1 m1 m1 m2 m2 m2 m3 m3 m3 m4 m4 m4 Comments: The following values must be used: nl = 4, n2 = 0, ml = 0, and m2 = 0.
Turn Overscore On/Off ESC _ Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B _ 95 5F n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 1: Mode is turned ON. 0: Mode is turned OFF. Character Sets Select International Character Set ESC 6 Format: ASCII code: ESC 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 6 54 36 Comments: Selects the international character set (Table 2). See the character set tables in Appendix B.
Print Characters from Symbol Set Esc \ Format: ESC \ n 7 ASCII code: 27 92 n 1 Decimal: 5C n 1 Hexadecimal: 1 B n2 data n2 data n2 data Comments: Prints a number of characters from the symbol set. The number of characters = nl + (n2 x 256). See the character tables in Appendix B for the symbol set and the codes to use for data.
User-Defined Characters Define User-defined Characters ESC = Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B = 61 3D n1 n2 . n1 n2 . n1 n2 . . . . . . .
Appendix B Character Tables This appendix contains tables of the complete Epson mode character set, including the extra characters for the 13 Epson international character sets, and the IBM printer emulation mode character sets. The tables give a printout of each character, the codes in decimal and hexadecimal, and the proportional width of each character. Epson Mode The first half of the Epson mode table covers the standard ASCII character codes from 0 to 127.
Table B-1.
Table B-1, continued Dec Hex Character Width 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 2A 2B 2C 2D 2E 2F 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 3A 3B 3C 3D 3E 3F SP ! " # $ % & ' ( ) * + , .
Table B-1, continued Dec Hex 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 6A 6B 6C 6D 6E 6F 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 7A 7B 7C 7D 7E 7F B - 4 Character Width j 5 12 11 11 11 12 10 11 11 8 10 k 10 l m n 8 12 11 12 11 11 11 12 11 12 12 12 10 12 10 9 5 9 12 ' a b c d e f g h i o P q r S t U V W X Y z { | } ~ DEL Character Tables
Table B-1, continued Decimal Hex Character 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 NUL SOH STX ETX EOT 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 8A 8B 8C 8D 8E 8F 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 9A 9B 9C 9D 9E 9F Character Tables ENQ ACK BEL BS HT LF VT FF CR SO SI DLE DC1 DC2 DC3 DC4 NAK SYN ETB CAN EM SUB ESC FS GS RS US Graphics Widths: character normal italic 12 11 10 12 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 8 10 8 12 12 12 12 12 10 10 10 1
Table B-1, continued Decimal Hex Width Italic character 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 SP / " B - 6 A0 Al A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 AA AB AC AD AE AF B0 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 BA BB BC BD BE BF # $ % & ' ( ) * + , .
Table B-1, continued Decimal Hex 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 C0 Cl C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 Width Italic character @ A B C D E F G H I CA J CB CC CD CE CF D0 Dl D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 DA DB DC DD DE DF K L M Character Tables N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z [ \ ] ^ 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 12 12 10 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 12 12 7 11 10 12 Graphics Widths: character normal italic
Table B-1, continued Decimal Hex 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 B - 8 E0 El E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 EA EB EC ED EE EF F0 Fl F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 FA FB FC FD FE FF Width Italic character 5 .
Epson International Character Sets Twelve character codes between 35 and 126 can represent more than one character each, depending upon the international character set you select. You can make the choice either by setting DIP switches 1-6 through 1-8 or by using the ESC R command. The table below shows all 13 character sets, together with the number to use with ESC R to select each one. The DIP switch combinations to select any of the first eight character sets are in Appendix D.
Table B-3.
IBM Printer Emulation Mode This section shows the characters available in IBM printer emulation mode. There are two main character tables: standard (CG Table 1) and international (CG Table 2). The standard table is selected when DIP switches 1-6 to 1-8 are all UP; the international table is selected by any other setting of these three switches. You can also switch between the two tables using the ESC 6 and ESC 7 commands. To print characters from the symbol set use either the ESC A command or ESC \.
Table B-4.
Table B-4, continued Dec Hex Character Width Dec 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 2A 2B 2C 2D 2E 2F 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 3A 3B 3C 3D 3E 3F SP ! " # $ % & Character ' ( ) * + , .
Table B-4, continued Dec Hex Character Width 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 6A 6B 6C 6D 6E 6F 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 7A 7B 7C 7D 7E 7F , 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 B-14 a b c d e f g h i j k 1 m n 0 P q r S t u V w x Y z { | } ~ 6 12 11 11 11 12 12 11 12 8 10 10 8 12 12 11 11 11 11 12 10 12 12 12 10 12 10 9 4 9 12 12 Character Tables
Table B-4, continued Decimal Hex Standard (CG Table 1) 128 129 130 131 132 133 NUL SOH STX ETX EOT 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 8A 8B 8C 8D 8E 8F 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 9A 9B 9C 9D 9E 9F Character Tables ENQ ACK BEL BS HT LF VT FF CR SO SI DLE DC1 DC2 DC3 DC4 NAK SYN ETB CAN EM SUB ESC FS GS RS US International (CG Table 2) Width 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 9 10 8 12 12 12 12 12
Table B-4, continued Decimal Hex 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 B-16 A0 Al A2 A3 A4 A5 A6 A7 A8 A9 AA AB AC AD AE AF B0 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 BA BB BC BD BE BF Standard (CG Table 1) International (CG Table 2) Width 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 Character Tables
Table B-4, continued Decimal Hex 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 co Cl C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 CA CB CC CD CE CF D0 Dl D2 D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 DA DB DC DD DE DF Character Tables Standard (CG Table 1) International (CG Table 2) Width 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 B-17
Table B-4, concluded Decimal Hex 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 B-18 E0 El E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 EA EB EC ED EE EF F0 Fl F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 F8 F9 FA FB FC FD FE FF Standard (CG Table 1) International (CG Table 2) Width 12 12 11 12 12 12 12 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 10 12 12 12 10 10 12 12 12 11 8 6 6 12 10 8 8 12 Character Tables
Appendix C Problem Solving and Maintenance This appendix presents solutions for possible problems, explanations of the FX’s advanced features, tips on maintaining and transporting your printer, and instructions on replacing the print head. General Troubleshooting Recommendation Problem Printer does not print Make sure that the printer is turned on and is on line. Both the POWER and ON LINE lights should be on. Make sure that the printer and computer are connected.
Problem Printing is patchy, faint, uneven, or intermittent Recommendation Check that the ribbon is seated correctly. Check that the ribbon moves freely in the cartridge. If you have been using the ribbon for a long time or for a large amount of printing, it may need to be replaced. It is also possible for the print head to wear out if the printer is used frequently and for long periods at a time. See page C-6 for instructions on replacing the print head.
Troubleshooting Graphics Problems Recommendation Problem Strange dot patterns appear in graphics printouts Many computers have problems sending one or more of the codes between 0 and 13. Try to avoid these characters. Be sure that no other commands or carriage returns come between the graphics command and its data. Printer freezes when printing graphics If the printer freezes in graphics mode, you have probably not sent enough data.
The data dump on the previous page was made while writing an earlier version of this appendix. By comparing the column of characters at the right with the printout of hex codes, you can see that the capital A (for Appendix) in the third row, was printed as 41. You can use the table of character codes (Appendix B) to find out what character corresponds to each code. If you look at the first character of the dump, you can see that the ESC character appears in hex as 1B, and in the character column as a dot.
The extra line feed character is usually no problem, unless you want to send ASCII code 13 on its own as part of a graphics statement or a character definition. To do this, use the OPEN statement to assign a file number to the printer (LPTl:) and use the PRINT# statement in place of LPRINT. You also need to use a slightly different WIDTH statement. To prepare the printer in this way, use a line like this: 100 OPEN "LPTl: AS #l : WIDTH #l, 255 A third problem exists with IBM PC BASIC release 2.0.
Replacing the print head As soon as the print head fails, stop using the printer and contact your Epson dealer for a replacement head. The catalog number is #8731. To replace the head, follow these steps: 1. Turn the printer OFF. 2. If the printer has been recently used, the print head will be hot. Let it cool. 3. Open the printer or tractor cover. 4. Remove the ribbon, 5. Release the head lock levers. (See Figure C-1.) Figure C-1. Replacing the pint head 6.
7. Connect the new print head to the flat cable, place the new print head in the head mount, and move the head lock levers back to their original positions. Now your new print head is ready to use. Transporting the Printer There are several precautions you should take when packing the printer for transportation: l l Remove the ribbon. Move the print head to the right, pull the paper bail forward, and replace the print head protector and the locking tabs.
Appendix C Problem Solving and Maintenance This appendix presents solutions for possible problems, explanations of the FX’s advanced features, tips on maintaining and transporting your printer, and instructions on replacing the print head. General Troubleshooting Recommendation Problem Printer does not print Make sure that the printer is turned on and is on line. Both the POWER and ON LINE lights should be on. Make sure that the printer and computer are connected.
Problem Printing is patchy, faint, uneven, or intermrttent Recommendation Check that the ribbon is seated correctly. Check that the ribbon moves freely in the cartridge. If you have been using the ribbon for a long time or for a large amount of printing, it may need to be replaced. It is also possible for the print head to wear out if the printer is used frequently and for long periods at a time. See page C-6 for instructions on replacing the print head.
Troubleshooting Graphics Problems Recommendation Problem Strange dot patterns appear in graphics printouts Many computers have problems sending one or more of the codes between 0 and 13. Try to avoid these characters. Be sure that no other commands or carriage returns come between the graphics command and its data. Printer freezes when printing graphics If the printer freezes in graphics mode, you have probably not sent enough data.
The data dump on the previous page was made while writing an earlier version of this appendix. By comparing the column of characters at the right with the printout of hex codes, you can see that the capital A (for Appendix) in the third row, was printed as 41. You can use the table of character codes (Appendix B) to find out what character corresponds to each code. If you look at the first character of the dump, you can see that the ESC character appears in hex as 1B, and in the character column as a dot.
The extra line feed character is usually no problem, unless you want to send ASCII code 13 on its own as part of a graphics statement or a character definition. To do this, use the OPEN statement to assign a file number to the printer (LPT1:) and use the PRINT# statement in place of LPRINT. You also need to use a slightly different WIDTH statement. To prepare the printer in this way, use a line like this: 100 OPEN "LPT1: AS #1 : WIDTH #1, 255 A third problem exists with IBM PC BASIC release 2.0.
Replacing the print head As soon as the print head fails, stop using the printer and contact your Epson dealer for a replacement head. The catalog number is #8731. To replace the head, follow these steps: 1. Turn the printer OFE 2. If the printer has been recently used, the print head will be hot. Let it cool. 3. Open the printer or tractor cover. 4. Remove the ribbon, 5. Release the head lock levers. (See Figure C-1.) Figure C-I. Replacing the pint head 6.
Figure C-2. Disconnecting the cable 7. Connect the new print head to the flat cable, place the new print head in the head mount, and move the head lock levers back to their original positions. Now your new print head is ready to use. Transporting the Printer There are several precautions you should take when packing the printer for transportation: l l Remove the ribbon. Move the print head to the right, pull the paper bail forward, and replace the print head protector and the locking tabs.
Appendix D Defaults and DIP Switches This appendix lists all of the default settings and lists and explains the settings of all the DIP switches. Default and Initialization Settings The FX can be initialized (returned to a fixed set of conditions) in three different ways: when it is turned on, when it receives an INIT signal at the parallel interface (pin 31 becomes LOW), and when it receives the ESC @ command. The following conditions are always reset: l The print head returns to the home position.
DIP Switch Settings The FX has twelve DIP (Dual In-line Package) switches that allow you to change many of the printer’s settings to suit your individual needs. The DIP switches are in two groups, mounted on the back panel, as shown in Figure D-1. Figure D-1. DIP switch location Each individual switch is numbered so that DIP switch 1-1 is the switch at the far left side and the one at the far right is DIP switch 2-4.
Table D-1. DIP switch group 1 Switch number 1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-6 Action when ON Function Condensed Select condensed or normal characters Select slashed or unslashed zero Select character table* Select printer commands 0 Graphics IBM printer emulation mode NLQ Select print quality Select international character set 1-7 I 1-8 ‘In IBM printer emulation mode, a CR I IS added See Table D-3 to an LF or ESC J if this switch I IS OFF Table D-2.
symbol set cannot be selected permanently because it causes printer commands to be ignored. The DIP switch settings to select the different character sets are shown in Table D-3. Table D-3.
Appendix E Choosing and Setting Up Optional Interfaces This appendix contains information on Epson interfaces compatible with the FX-86e and FX-286e printers, instructions on choosing the right interface for a particular job, and instructions for installing internally mounted interface boards. Compatible Interfaces You can use a number of optional interfaces that supplement the FX’s built-in parallel interface and the standard 8K data buffer.
Choosing an Interface This section describes the interfaces. IEEE-488 and Apple interfaces The IEEE-488 system allows you to connect computers, printers, and other peripherals so that they can share data freely. Epson offers two types of IEEE-488 interfaces. The #8161 offers the basic ability to operate in the IEEE-488 address and listen-only modes. The #8165 has the basic features and an 8K data buffer and a line monitor function, which provides a diagnostic printout of IEEE-488 commands.
Table E-2. Serial interface #8145 #8143 X-on/X-off control Self test yes no no loopback Built-in data buffer none 2K #8148 yes loopback/ line monitor 218K X-on/X-off protocol is a system in which the printer transmits a code to the computer to indicate that it cannot accept more data, and a second code when it is once more ready. The loopback self test mode allows direct testing of the functions of the interface without connecting a computer; line monitor mode is rather like the FX data dump mode.
WARNING Do not remove the cover unless the printer is turned OFF because high voltages are present inside the printer when the power is on. Also do not touch contacts on the circuit board of the printer because many of the components can be destroyed by the static electricity charge that may build up on your body. 1. Turn off the power to both the printer and the computer and unplug the power cable and disconnect the interface cable from the printer. 2.
Figure E-2. Releasing the retaining clips 7. Lift the case so that you can unclip the control panel, as shown on the left side of Figure E-3. 8. Tilt the upper case up and slip the control panel through the opening as shown in Figure E-3, being careful not to strain the connector linked to the control panel. Figure E-3.
9. Lift the upper case to release the hinges at the rear edge, then lift it away from the printer. After you have removed the case, you can then follow the directions in the next section on inserting the interface board. After you have inserted the board, you replace the case by reversing steps 2 to 9. Inserting the Interface Board 1. Remove the upper case of the printer, following the steps described in the previous section. 2.
4. Insert the interface board beneath the printer mechanism, as indicated by the lines in Figure E-5, and plug it into the connector marked CN2 on the main circuit board of the printer. Figure E-5. Inserting the board I Figure E-6. Connecting frame ground wire 5. Secure the board to the three supports using the screws provided. 6. Connect the frame ground wire to the FG terminal tag on the interface board, as shown in Figure E-6. 7.
If you can, change the settings on the computer rather than the interface board because the interface is set up at the factory to give optimum performance in a wide range of conditions. If your dealer has installed the interface for you, he or she should also be able to adjust the computer and interface to achieve a good match. If you do need to change the settings on the interface yourself, (perhaps in order to use a different computer), the tables below will help you match the computer and interface.
Table E-6.
Appendix F Technical Specifications This appendix contains the specifications for the FX-86e and the FX-286e, including the built-in parallel interface.
Mechanical Ribbon Cartridge, exclusive to FX, black #8750 for FX-86e or #8755 for FX-286e Life expectancy (in characters, at 14 dots/character): 3 million MCBF 5 million lines (excluding the print head) Print head life 100 million characters, at 14 dots/character Dimensions and Weight Height (including tractor): Width (with paper feed knob): Depth: Weight (including tractor): FX-86e 5.6 in. 16.5 in. 13.1 in. 16.9 lbs. FX-286e 5.6 in. 21.3 in. 13.4 in. 22.2 lbs.
Environment Temperature Operation: 40°F to 95°F (5 C” to 35 C o) Storage: -25°F to 150°F (-30 C” to 65 C o) Humidity Operation: 10% to 80% without condensation Storage: 5% to 85% without condensation Shock Operation: Up to 1 G within 1ms Storage: Up to 2 G within 1ms Vibration Operation: Up to 0.25 G at up to 55Hz Storage: Up to 0.5 G at up, to 55Hz Parallel Interface Connector pin assignments and a description of respective interface signals are shown in Table F- 1, Table F-I.
Table F-1. Pins and signals continued Signal 11 Return Pin 29 12 30 Signal BUSY PE 13 14 AUTO FEED XT 15 16 17 NC OV CHASSIS GND NC GND 18 19-30 INIT 31 32 - ERROR 33 34 35 GND NC - 36 SLCT IN DirecDescription tion OUT A HIGH signal indicates that the printer cannot receive data. The signal goes HIGH in the following cases: 1) During data entry (ea. char.
2. “Return” denotes the twisted-pair return, to be connected at signal ground level. For the interface wiring, be sure to use a twisted-pair cable for each signal and to complete the connection on the return side. To prevent noise, these cables should be shielded and connected to the chassis of the host computer or the printer but not at both ends. 3. All interface conditions are based on TTL level. Both the rise and the fall times of each signal must be less than 0.2 microseconds. 4.
Table F-2. Printing enabled/disabled signals and control conditions On-Line (Indicator on) SLCT IN DC1/DC3 (Data on/off contr.) ERROR BUSY ACKNLG Printing (Disabled/enabled) ENABLED DC1/DC3 LOW HIGH HIGH/LOW PULSED EA. CHAR. (normal cond.) (interface) (no effect) HIGH PULSED EA. CHAR. ENABLED ON-LINE DC1 RECV’D HIGH/LOW HIGH HIGH HIGH/LOW PULSED EA. CHAR.
Index Command descriptions are not indexed here. For page references for specific commands, see pages A-4-6 or the Quick Reference card. A American Standard Code for Information Interchange, 3-2 Apple interfaces, E-1 - 2 Application programs, 3-1-7 ASCII, 3-2 Automatic sheet feeder, Z-1- 3 B Bail, paper, 1-10, 2-4 - 5 BASIC, 3-6 - 7 Baud rate. See Serial interface Beeper, C-2 Bit image graphics. See Graphics Buffer, E-2 - 3 Buttons, 1-13 Buzzer.
E K Electrical specifications, F-2 Elite, 4-2 Emphasized, 4-3 — 4 ESC/E 1-19 Escape code (ESC), 3-2. See also Commands Knob, paper feed, 1-11 F Foreign language characters. See International characters FORM FEED, 1-6 G Graphics, 5-1- 18, D-3 Graphics software, 3-6 L Levers, 2-2 Lights, 1-13 LINE FEED, 1-13 Loading paper.
Paper guide, 1-10, 2-2 PAPER OUT light, 1-14 Paper release lever, 1-7 Paper rest, 2-3 Paper thickness lever, 2-8 Parallel interface, 1- 17, F-3 - 6 Parity.
EPSON’ FX-86e/286e Quick Reference
DIP Switch Settings Switch number 1-1 Function 1-4 Select condensed or normal characters Select slashed or unslashed zero Select character table* Select printer commands 1-5 1-6 Select print quality Select international character set 1-2 1-3 Action when ON Action when OFF Condensed Normal 0 Graphics IBM printer emulation mode NLQ See 0 Italics ESCIP Draft able 3 1-7 1-8 I In IBM printer emulation mode, a CR is added to an LF or ESC J if this switch is OFF. Table 2.
Table 3.
The following list of commands is in the order used in the command summary (Appendix A). To find details of the command you want to use, refer to the page number in the column for your operating mode-Epson or IBM printer emulation mode. Note that for commands consisting of two or more codes, the decimal and hexadecimal columns show only the second code.
ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC VT ESC ESC ESC 3 A A J 5 B b / 51 33 65 41 65 41 74 4A 53 35 11 OB 66 42 98 62 47 2F Select n/216-inch line spacing Select n/72-inch line spacing Set n/72-inch line spacing Perform n/216-inch line feed Turn automatic line feed on/off Tab vertically Set vertical tabs Set vertical tabs in channels Select vertical tab channel A-16 A-16 Set left margin Set right margin Set left and right margins Restore default tab settings Backspace Set absolute print position Set relative position Tab
Print enhancement ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC ESC E F G H SO S1 T _ 69 45 70 46 71 47 72 48 83 53 83 53 84 54 45 2D 95 SF Select emphasized mode Cancel emphasized mode Select double-strike mode Cancel double-strike mode Select superscript mode Select subscript mode Cancel superscript/subscript Turn underlining on/off Overscore on/off A-26 A-26 A-26 A-27 A-27 A-27 A-27 A-28 NLQ justification Set intercharacter space A-28 A-29 Select character table Select italic mode Cancel italic mode Select inte
10 1 Steps to Printing with the FXA86e/286e Unpacking Your Printer 2 Selecting the Right Location 3 Installing the Ribbon
Featuring: Setting Up Choosing and Loading Paper Printer Features Graphics User-defined Characters EPSON AMERICA, INC.
