All Interface Types; Receive Buffer; Ack/Nak Protocol - SATO MB200i Service Manual

Unit 3: Interface Secifications

ALL INTERFACE TYPES

RECEIVE BUFFER

The data stream is received from the host to the printer one job at a time. This allows the
software program to maintain control of the job print queue so that it can move a high priority job
in front of ones of lesser importance.
The printer receives and prints one job at a time. If a print job exceeds the buffer size,
transmission will be rejected by the printer. Error conditions that occur during the Print Data
transmission will cause the printer to return a NAK.

ACK/NAK PROTOCOL

Bi-Directional ACK/NAK protocol is used for error control. In a normal transmission sequence
when the transmission is received, the printer will return an ACK (06H) signifying that it was
received without a transmission error. After the transmission command structure has been
analyzed, a status byte is returned to the host. This status byte informs the host of the validity of
the command structure.
If the command structure is error free, the printer proceeds with the print operation. When the
print operation is completed, a Printer Status message is returned to the host. If an error was
detected during the initial transmission sequence, a NAK (15H) will be returned signalling to the
host that the received transmission contained errors and must be resent. If the returned Status
byte indicates a command structure error, the error must then be corrected before the print data
is resent to the printer.
A valid transmission to the printer must be bounded by an STX/ETX pair, with the STX (02H)
signifying the start of the Print Data and ending with an ETX (03H) signifying the end.
SATO MB2i Service Manual PN 9001145B Page 3-8