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CONTENTS TABLE OF TABLES INTRODUCTION L*. L L.. -- SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER The Complete Printer Package Placement of the Printer How to Assemble the Printer Features of the Printer The Control Panel Dual In-Line Package (DIP) Switches How to Load Paper Into the Printer Adjusting the Print Head Gap How to Print the Self-Test Connect the Interface Cable to Your Computer L.
GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR SPREADSHEET PACKAGE Printing Commands and Parameters for Three Popular Spreadsheets VisiCalc VisiCalc Setup Codes The VisiCalc Print Command SuperCalc The SuperCalc Setup Codes Lotus l-2-3 The Lotus Print Commands The Lotus Options Menu EXPLORING PRINT FEATURES The Letter-Quality (LQ) Mode Double-Strike Printing Emphasized Printing Underlining Text Proportional Printing The Draft-Quality Mode A Variety of Pitch Sizes Pica Pitch Elite Pitch Condensed Pitch Combining Print Features
PROGRAMMING IN BASIC A Word About MBASIC The Character String (CHR$) Expanded Type Emphasized and Double-Strike Printing Underlined Printing Superscripts and Subscripts Line Spacing and Reverse Line Feed 47 BASIC MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES Preventive Maintenance How to Clean the Printer Replacing the Fuse Replacing the Print Head Checking the Printer for Correct Operation 53 APPENDIX A 67 FUNCTION CODE REFERENCE Font Styles and Print Controls Formatting Controls APPENDIX B INSTALLING THE PRlNTER INTO Y
I APPENDIX E 111 CHARACTER SETS OF THE PRINTER Letter-Quality (LQ) Character Set Draft-Quality (DQ) Character Set International Character Set Block Graphics Character Set APPENDIX F 115 DESIGNING BIT-IMAGE GRAPHICS Four Modes for Bit-Image Graphics Printing 8-Bit Graphics APPENDIX TECHNICAL APPENDIX G 125 SPECIFICATIONS H INTERFACES The Parallel Interface The Serial Interface The IEEE-488 Interface 129 INDEX 137 FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS FREQUENCY INTERFERENCE STAR MICRONICS COMMAND _ COMMISSI
TABLE OF TABLES l-l. 2-l. 2-2. 3-l. 3-2. 3-3. 4-1. 4-2. 4-3. 4-4. 4-5. 4-6. 4-7. 4-8. 4-9. 4-10 4-l 1 5-1. 5-2. 5-3. 5-4. 5-5. 5-6. 6-l. A-l. D-l. D-2. F-l. F-2. H-l. H-2. H-3.
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INTRODUCTION Congratulations for choosing this printer, one of the finest available at any price. Your new printer will reward you with many years of high-quality document printing, and is backed by Star Micronics’ more than 30 years in manufacturing precision parts. You already know that it represents the state of the art in tack-sharp dot matrix Its bidirectional, printing with its rugged 24-pin print head.
SECTION SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU: l The Complete dow Printer Package To Assemble the Printer for Operation Gestures of the Printer *Dual In-Line Package (DIP) Switches *How to Load Paper into the Printer *How to Print the Se/f-Test As you unpack your new printer, please take special the complete contents of the printer package: cassette care to verify Spare Cut sheet guide Figure 1-l.
You’ll find your Star Micronics warranty and registration card with this book. Please read the warranty carefully, and mail us the completed registration card as soon as possible. We place a high value on the information only you can provide. This printer has been precision-packed to ensure its arrival in perfect working order. Lift the front cover, and you’ll find the packing material used to protect it during shipment.
n HOW TO ASSEMBLE THE PRINTER Now you’re ready to set up your printer the printer is turned off before you begin. Load the ribbon for operation. Make sure cassette: Loading and replacing and clean procedure: the one-piece ribbon cassette is a simple Figure 1-3. cassette. Loading the ribbon Turn the knob on the cassette counter-clockwise to tighten the ribbon. Snap carriage, tration.
Your printer has been supplied with an extended-use multistrike Because this type of ribbon has no end detector, ribbon cassette. we suggest that you replace it whenever the print quality becomes faded or uneven. _NOTE: Always make sure the printer is off before removing or replacing the ribbon cassette. If the printer has been in operation, be careful not to touch the print head or metal housing on the carriage-they will be very hot. Use both hands to remove the cassette, grasping it by the edges.
your printer. If you’re not using a surge protector, make sure that your printer and computer are the only devices plugged into the AC outlet. n FEATURES OF THE PRINTER The simple steps you’ve just performed have readied the printer for operation. Before you turn on the printer, take a few minutes to become familiar with its features. ‘?Q p Paper out detector open detector Ower ywitch Control’ panel 1 \ Bker Figure 1-5. Features case of the printer Release lever: Adjusts tension on paper.
Front cover open detector: Puts printer into “Pause” mode when cover is opened during operation. Power switch: Turns printer on or off. Fuse holder: Contains 5MT 2 amp fuse. Buffer case: Contains optional buffer and parallel or serial interface. Interface connector: Connects cable (parallel or serial, depending on configuration) to your computer. Feeds paper to the tractor feed Entry slot for form feed paper: guides. Adjustable tractor feed guides: Directs form feed paper to the platen.
On line button: When “on-line” the printer will accept data and instructions from your computer. The TOF, FF and LF switches are inoperative while the printer is on-line. When “off-line” data transmissions are disabled and the control panel switches are enabled. Used to set the starting point for sinTop of form (TOF) button: gle-sheet or form feed paper. Form feed (FF) button: Used to manually advance form feed paper. Line feed (LF) button: Press to advance paper one line at a time.
@Letter-quality/draft-quality print selection .International Character Sets Throughout this manual, we’ll show you how to use these switches to tailor the printer’s printing to your exact specifications. (For more information on the positioning of the DIP switches, please see Appendix D.
When the paper is in this position, printing begins at about 2 inches from the top of the page. You can adjust the start-point as you wish, by using the Line Feed button to advance the paper one line at a time. Remember to first put the printer into the “Pause” mode by pressing the “Pause” button. Figure l-8. Loading Figure 1-9. Aligning single-sheet paper. the page with the cutting edge of the shield.
Form-feed loading: Your printer’s venient features form-feed paper paperso you continuous feed. built-in tractor feed device is one of the most conever offered in a printer. It works with standard as well as with laser-perforated, form-feed bond can produce top quality documents with a swift, Here’s how it works: *Turn off the power switch to avoid damaging the gears and raise the hinged back cover. (If you have attached the cut-sheet guide, you’ll need to remove it now.
Figure l-11. Form feed paper correctly @Close the paper printer on. bail and the front loaded. and back covers; turn the You can now check the operation of the automatic tractor feed. Press the Form Feed (FF) button to advance the paper to the next page, after pressing the “Pause” button. n ADJUSTING THE PRINT HEAD GAP This printer is designed to accommodate paper of varying thicknesses, as well as multilayer forms.
- Figure 1-12. Adjust the print head gap. By experimenting with this lever, you will learn which position yield the highest quality print for the paper you’re using. will n HOW TO PRINT THE SELF-TEST Eager to see the beautiful, high-density dot matrix characters your new printer can produce? We thought so! You can easily view a sample of its work by printing the self-test. The self-test confirms both the correct operation of the printer and the proper loading of paper and ribbon cassette.
NOTE: Always be sure the ribbon cassette is in place and there is paper in the printer when you begin printing. The printer will print a five-line sample of letters, symbols in the letter-quality and draft-quality modes. .To eject the page, press the Pause button; numbers and then press Form Feed FF). Now take a close ginning. . look.
There’s only one way to attach (For information Star dealer.) the connector, so you can’t go wrong. on serial and IEEE-488 interfaces, please see your In the next section, you’ll see how easy it is to use the printer your favorite word processing programs.
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WORD PRINTER PROCESS/A/G WITH THE WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU: @HOWto Use ASC// Codes for the Features dnstalling Your Word Processing You Want Package If you’re already familiar with ASCII codes, you may want to to the next part in this section, where you’ll begin using them in word processing program. For those who are new to codes, on and we’ll show you how to use them to get the most from printer.
Most computers, printers, and peripheral devices understand specific types of codes known as ASCII codes. ASCII (pronounced “ask-key”) stands for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. This standard code provides a common ground for computers and related devices to “talk” to each other, and transfer data in a way that each can understand.
with the corresponding hexadecimal value in Appendix confirm that you’re entering the code correctly. B, you can It’s important to remember that decimal and hexadecimal are simply different expressions of the same ASCII code-and are other expressions of ASCII codes as well.
allow you to send your text “simply” to the printer. send codes for special features as you need them. manual will advise you on how to do this.) You can then (The software Your best option, however, is with a program that offers a “custom” installation for printers. Custom installations usually require some highly detailed information about the way your printer works, but they give the best results. Following are the basic categories of information you’ll need for a custom installation program. .
Remember, your software manual is the primary source of information for printing with your word processing package. But if you’re ever in need, your dealer is there to lend a hand. *********** In the next section, we’ll show you how to print several popular spreadsheet programs with your printer.
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SECTION GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR SPREADSHEET PACKAGE WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU: *How to Print Spreadsheet Reports Using Three Popular Programs Next to word processing, the spreadsheet has become the most widely accepted microcomputer application for use in both home and business. And it’s an area where your printer really shines. Its ability to print in the condensed modes-as well as in pica and elite-gives you a new level of flexibility in electronic spreadsheets.
review the command with your printer. structure necessary to print VisiCalc reports VisiCalc setup codes VisiCalc’s setup option allows you to use the advanced features of your printer by first sending the proper codes to it. (In the following examples, the control character is entered by typing the “ “‘I, or caret.) To get to the setup mode, type”/P”.
.. c.. b.. b.. L L. . A..- b, . Remember, in the expanded at twice their normal width. The VisiCalc print command After you’ve designed your spreadsheet and entered all the necessary information, you print with the VisiCalc /P command. As described in the software manual, this command is used to delineate the size of the spreadsheet (or section of the whole), from the active cell in the upper left-hand corner to the boundary you will choose in the lower right-hand corner.
n LOTUS 7-2-3 One of the most popular “integrated” software products, Lotus 1-2-3 combines spreadsheet, word processing and database applications in a single package. However, the process of printing a spreadsheet is very similar to that used in VisiCalc and SuperCalc. The Lotus print commands As described in the Lotus manual, the printing procedure is begun with the command /PP.
key. (If you are in the LQ mode, you can switch to draft mode with the code \027 \053.) Table 3-3. Lotus Pitch Size Pica l-2-3 setup codes for draft mode pitch sizes. Columns Per Line 80 Setup Codes \027 \080 In the following sections, we’ll show you more of the features you’ll use to create professional-quality documents with your printer.
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L EXPLORING PRINT FEATURES WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU: @How to Put Emphasis @Using the Versatility into Your Letter-Quality Draft-Quality @Combining Features Mode for Speed Text and With the Macro Instruction *HOW to Use the international Character Sets As you know, your printer will print letter-quality type at 60 characters per second and draft-quality type as fast as 144 characters per second.
n THE LETTER-QUALITY (LQ) MODE Although DQ is the original factory default setting, you can change the default to the Letter-Quality (LQ) mode either by turning OFF DIP switch 1-5 (turn this back ON to reactivate DQ) or by entering the codes through your word processing program (see the “DraftQuality Mode” later in this section). But before you begin experimenting in DQ, let’s take a look at the options you have in the letter-quality mode.
Like most of the print features, the emphasized mode will-once activated-remain on until you turn it off. Here are the codes: n. Table 4-2. The codes FUNCTION c. L- for emphasized ESCAPE CODE printing. DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE Activate Emphasized Print E 27 69 1B 45 Cancel Emphasized Print F 27 70 1B 46 Underlining text The underlining accent your text: THIS feature offers you a third, more subtle way to IS UNDERLINED LQ PRINTING. Figure 4-4.
LETTER QUALITY CHARACTERS CAN PRINT WITH PROPORTIONAL SPACING OR NORMAL PICA PITCH. Figure 4-5. An examole of proportional prlntlng. Table 4-4. The codes FUNCTION for proportional ESCAPE CODE printing DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE Activate Proportional pl 27 1121 lB7001 Cancel Proportional p0 27 1120 1B 7000 n THE DRAFT-QUALITY Table 4-5. Codes for the LQ and DQ modes.
specifications. You can also use pitch size to integrate different kinds of text into a printed page. The following are descriptions of the available draft-quality pitch sizes. Pica pitch As we have said, pica printing yields 10 characters per inch and 80 characters per line. Pica is commonly used in business letters, thesis papers, reports, -and in general, wherever it’s important that your document be easy to read or scan.
i _- WBJECT: ORDERING STATIONERY SUPPLIES I Imld 1,ike to place an order fotl stationery supplies -Frcxn your mail order catalog. Enclosed is my order form and a check for $247. Please pr~~~~ss this order as soon as possible. Thank you. Figure 4-7. Elite printing in the draft mode. To access .- the elite pitch: *Turn off DIP switch l-6 (if it had been turned on), or @Enter one of the following codes through your software: Table 4-7. The codes used to activate elite printing.
w ~;M311~NDG FEATURES WITH THE MACRO As you gain in experience with y.our printer, you will undoubtedly develop a flair for combining its many print styles. For example, you might want to combine expanded, pica, and letter-quality, or try condensed and expanded print with underlining. Whatever your preference for combined styles, this printer makes them easy to use with the macro instruction command.
Table 4-10. DIP switch Sets. settings for the International Character COUNTRY SWITCH 2-1 SWITCH 2-2 SWITCH 2-3 USA ON ON ON France OFF ON ON Germanv ON OFF ON England OFF OFF ON Denmark ON ON OFF - Sweden OFF ON OFF Italy ON OFF OFF Spain OFF OFF OFF - Character - Table 4-l 1. Codes used to activate Sets.
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SECTION CREATING PAGE FORMATS WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU: @How to Set the Left and Right Margins @HOWto Determine the Page Length, and the Number of Lines Per Page, and the Top and Bottom Margins *How to Control Line Spacing @Superscripts and Subscripts @Setting and Using Vertical and Horizontal Tabs In Section 4, we showed you the wide range of printing capabilities offered by your printer. Now let’s take a look at how you can fit these elements into a good-looking format that’s right for you.
in table 5-1, you will need to enter a specific value for “n” to signify the positions of the left and right margins. In each case, you may substitute any number between 1 and 132~just make sure that the left margin has a smaller value than the right margin. After you have set the margins, the printer will automatically perform the carriage return and line feed. Table 5-1. Setting FUNCTION the left and right ESCAPE CODE Set Left Margin I Set Right Margin Q margins.
1 and 127 - just be sure that this number is greater than the value you chose for the top margin. Table 5-2. Setting the page length, number of lines per page, and the top and bottom margins.
As Figure 5-l shows, when you print with DIP switch l-3 in the off position, your line spacing will be 1/8th inch, the European standard. This setting will yield 8 lines per inch, or 88 lines on an 1l-inch form. Of course, you are by no means limited to these two settings-by entering codes you can have complete control of the line spacing function. In fact, you can adjust line spacing to 1/60th or i/l20th of an inch by sending the proper codes included in Table 5-3.
n VERTICAL TABS When you are tabulating reports or printing certain kinds of text, you may find it useful to leave a number of lines blank between sections of print. This printer’s vertical tab feature allows you to do this with the codes shown in Table 5-5. Table 5-5. Setting and using vertical tabs. hNCTlON ESCAPE CODE DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE 27 66 nl IB 42 nl n2...00 1 Set Vertical B nl n2...0 n2...
Table 5-6. Setting and using horizontal FUNCTION ESCAPE CODE tabs. DECIMAL CODE HEXADECIMAL CODE 27 68 nl 1B 44 nl Set Horizontal Tabs Advance to Next Horizontal Tab D nl n2...0 n2...0 9 n2...00 09 1 ****+****** In this section, we’ve shown you some of methods you will use to create a custom format. more, as a quick review of Appendix A will show. we’ll show you how to use some of these features in BASIC.
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SECTION PROGRAMMNG IN BASIC WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU: *How to Use the Character Commands String to Capture BASIC Gome Examples of Short Programs tures of the printer Utilizing Fea- If you’re like most personal computer owners, you’ll probably use your printer primarily for printing your spreadsheet and word processing applications.
NEW 10 LPRINT 20 LPRINT 30 LPRINT 40 LPRINT CHR$(27) CHR$(87) CHR$(l); IS EXPANDED” CHR$(27) CHR$(87) CHR$(O); “BUT THIS LINE IS NOT.” “THIS LINE Figure 6-1. A sample of expanded type. As you can see, the command represented by the first statement, CHR$(27) CHR$(87) CHR$(l), turns on the expanded print function; the command represented by the third statement, CHR$(27) CHR$(87) CHR$(O), turns it off.
40 LPRINT CHR$(27) CHR$(69); ‘SELECT EMPHASIZED 50 LPRINT “THIS IS EMPHASIZED PRINTING” 60 LPRINT CHR$(27) CHR$(‘Il); ‘SELECT DOUBLE-STRIKE 70 LPRINT “AND THIS IS BOTH AT ONCE” 80 LPRINT CHR$(27) CHR$(72) CHR$(27) CHR$(70); ‘CANCEL DOUBLE-STRIKE AND EMPHASIZED 90 LPRINT “NOW YOU’RE BACK TO NORMAL PRINTING” IS DOUBLE-STRIKE PRINTING IS EMPHASIZED PRINTING AND THIS IS BOTH AT ONCE THIS THIS NOW YOU’RE BACK TO NORMAL PRINTING Figure 6-2. Double-strike and emphasized print in BASIC.
Superscripts and subscripts When you need to reference footnotes or write math formulas, your printer’s superscripts and subscripts will come in handy.
L. : c. 80 LPRINT “NOW YOU ARE PRINTJNG WITH 1/6TH INC l-i ” 90 LPRINT “LINE SPACING,WHITH IS THE AMERICAN STANDARD. ” 100 LPRINT CHR$(lO); 110 LPRINT CHR$(27) CHR$(lO); 120 LPRINT “THIS COMMAND CAUSES THE PRINTER” “TO REVERSE THE PAPER ONE ENTIRE LI 130 LPRINT NE. ” * Here is an example of the line space settings for the program: c. THIS COMMAND SETS TO 1/8TH INCH,THE NOW .
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SECTION . BASIC MAINTENANCE PROCEDURES WHAT THIS SECTION SHOWS YOU: *HOW to Clean the Printer *HOW to Replace the Fuse *How to Replace the Print Head Ghecking L. the Printer for Correct Operation c n PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE Over the years you will come to appreciate your printer for its extremely accurate and reliable operation. It was designed to have a minimum of moving parts, and this will contribute to the printer’s many years of trouble-free service.
W HOW TO CLEAN THE PRINTER In order to maintain optimum performance of your printer, you’ll want to clean it inside and out on a periodic basis. First be sure to turn the power off and disconnect the printer from the power source. Exterior Use a soft cloth moistened in denatured alcohol to remove any dust and dirt from the case of the printer. However, be careful not to moisten either the printing mechanism or any electronic parts.
@Ifthe metal strip is bent or broken, you’ll want to replace it. (Be sure to get a 5MT 2-amp fuse, or its equivalent.) Figure 7-1. Replacing the fuse in the printer n REPLACING THE PRINT HEAD The print head in your printer isvery durable and has an extremely long design life. However, like most mechanical devices, it may eventually wear out. If you ever do need to change the print head, you’ll find that it, too, is easy to replace.
- @To keep the screws from vibrating loose, apply “Screw Lock” adhesive (or a similar product), available at your dealer or a local hardware store. *Check to see that the print head and its cable are secure before you resume printing. H M&KING THE PRINTER FOR CORRECT OPER- On occasion, you may find that your printer isn’t operating normally according to the parameters we’ve set out in this manual.
!: aPower lamp is on, but printer will not operate. .. Make sure the printer is on-line and the front cover is closed. The front-cover-open detector keeps the printer in the “Pause” mode until you close the cover firmly. Mechanical This group of checks is related to the mechanical operation of the printer, especially the flow of paper and ribbon through the machine. *Single sheets don’t advance properly through the machine.
Your computer is sending its own automatic line feed with every carriage return (duplicating a similar intruction by the printer). Make sure DIP switch 1-8 is in the “on” position. lThe printer prints over Itself without advancing the paper. Check to see that DIP switch l-8 is turned off. This ensures that an automatic line feed will be added to each carriage return-a command that your computer does not perform by itself.
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