Specifications

Connecting via the
Serial Port
11-17Printer-Host Connection
copy con printest.ps↵
showpage↵
^D^Z↵
Sending the Test File
To test serial communication, type this command at the DOS prompt
to send the PRINTEST.PS file you just created to the printer:
print printest.ps↵
If prompted for the name of the list device, type
com1↵
If the printer and host are communicating, a blank page ejects from
the printer. If a blank page does not eject and you typed the file cor-
rectly, check the following:
 In your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, do the printer's serial port set-
tings match those of the PC. Look for a command line like this
in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
mode com1:9600,n,8,1,p
In this example, the serial port settings are 9600 for baud
rate, n (no) parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit. The p stands for
infinite retry.
Now check the start-up page, which prints when you turn on
the printer (unless you disabled it). This tells you the current
serial port settings for the printer. If the serial settings (baud
rate, parity, data bits, and stop bits) shown on the start-up
page match those in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you need
make no further changes. Go to the section “Printing Soft-
ware” later in this chapter.
If the printer's serial port settings are different from your PC's,
you must make them match. Refer to the following section,
“Changing Serial Port Settings,” to do this.