Page 1 NX-1020 RAINBOW USERS MANUAL NOT INTENDED FOR SALE...
Page 2 All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this manual at the time of press. However, should any errors LX detected, STAR would greatiy appreciate of them. The above notwithstanding, 0 Copyright 1990 Star Micronics Co., Ltd. Commission Interference Statement...
Page 3 HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL This manual is organized into nine chapters. To learn how to make the best use of your printer you are urged to read through chapters 1 through 3. The remaining chapters may be treated as a reference guide for programming operations, etc.
Page 4 Chapter 6 - MS-DOS and your printer Since the PC or PC-AT family of computers running under MS-DOS is currently the most popular configuration of microcomputer, we have in- cluded a few hints and tips to help you use your printer with such systems. Since virtually all PCs are sold with a Microsoft BASIC interpreter, we have also included some hints, and a sample program in this language to demonstrate the capabilities of the printer.
Page 5 FEATURES OF THE PRINTER This printer has a full complement of features, making it an excellent partner for a personal computer. It supports the IBM/Epson printer commands and character sets, enabling it to print just about anything your computer can generate, both text and graphics.
Page 6: Table Of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 SETTING UP THE PRINTER Locating the Printer Unpacking and Inspection Checking the carton contents Identifying printer parts Setting Up Mounting the platen knob Install the ribbon cartridge and the roller unit Connecting the printer to your computer Loading Single Sheets Automatic loading Manual loading...
Page 7 Forward micro-feed Reverse micro-feed Changing the auto loading value Clearing the buffer/All reset Selecting the print color Store macro definition Chapter 3 DEFAULT SETTINGS How to set the EDS mode Functions of the EDS settings Bidirectional test/Adjustment mode Chapter 4 PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS Font Control Commands Character Set Commands Character Size and Pitch Commands...
Page 8 Chapter 7 TROUBLESHOOTING Troubleshooting Power supply Printing Paper feeding Maintenance Replacing the Print Head Chapter 8 SPECIFICATIONS Chapter 9 CHARACTER SETS Standard Character Set #l Standard Character Set #2 International Character Sets IBM Character Set #2 Code page #437 (U.S.A.) Code page #850 (Multi-lingual) Code page #860 (Portuguese) Code page #861 (Icelandic)
Page 9: Chapter 1 Setting Up The Printer
Chapter 1 SETTING UP THE PRINTER Subjects covered in Chapter 1 include - Locating the printer Unpacking and inspection (part names) Setting up and connecting Loading single sheets Loading and parking fanfold forms Adjusting the printing gap LOCATING THE PRINTER Before you start unpacking and setting up your printer, make sure that you have a suitable place on which to locate it.
Page 10: Unpacking And Inspection
UNPACKING AND INSPECTION Checking the carton contents Now unpack the contents of the shipping carton, and check each item in the box against Figure l- 1 to make sure that you have everything (there should be six items). If any of these items are missing, contact your supplier.
Page 11: Identifying Printer Parts
The optional accessories which you may have ordered with your printer are: Monochrome ribbon cartridge (ZX9) Serial-Parallel converter (SPC-8K) Automatic sheet feeder (SF- IODN) Roll paper holder (RH-IOZ) Identifying printer parts Make an external inspection of the printer. Note the locations of the following parts in Figure l-2.
Page 12: Setting Up
SETTING UP Place the printer in the desired location, and remove all packing material from inside the top cover. This packing material is intended to prevent damage to the printer while in transit. You will want to keep all the packing material, along with the printer carton, in case you have to move the printer to a new location.
Page 13 F/gum T-4. Removing the top cover 1. Turn the tension knob counterclockwise on the ribbon cartridge to tighten the ribbon if it is slack. 2. Guide the ribbon between the print head and the silver print head shield, making certain that the spindles on the cartridge holder fit into the sockets on the cartridge itself.
Page 14 3. The ribbon should pass between the print head and the print head shield (see Figure l-6). Figum 7-6. Pass the ribbon between the print head and print head shield 4. After you have installed the ribbon cartridge, install the roller unit. 5.
Page 15 Figure T-7. Install the roller unit onto the printer To replace the top cover, insert the tabs into the slots on the printer case. Swing the front edge down to close the cover. Leave the top cover closed during normal operation. The cover keeps out dust and dirt and reduces the printer’s operating sounds.
Page 16: Connecting The Printer To Your Computer
Connecting the printer to your computer Connect the printer to your computer using a standard parallel interface cable. On a PC or PC/AT-type computer, this means that you use the 25pin D-type connector at the computer end, and the Amphenol-type 36-pin con- nector at the printer end.
Page 17: Loading Single Sheets
LOADING SINGLE SHEETS This section will take you through the procedures for loading single sheets of paper. If you are using the optional automatic sheet feeder (SF- lODN), refer to the ASF instruction booklet. Automatic loading Single sheets can be loaded manually with the power off, or automatically with the power on.
Page 18 4. Make sure that the release lever is back. If fanfold paper is already mounted in the printer, press the ( button to park the paper in the off-line state, then move the release lever backwards. 5. Place a single sheet between the guides, placing the side on which you want to print towards the back of the printer.
Page 19: Manual Loading
Manual loading It is also possible to load paper manually while the printer’s power is off. The procedure is: Place the paper guide in position by inserting the tabs, located on the bottom of the assembly, into the slots on the rear cover of the printer. Check that printer power is off and the release lever is back.
Page 20: Loading And Parking Fanfold Forms
LOADING AND PARKING FANFOLD FORMS Fanfold forms have holes along the sides and perforations between the sheets. They are also called sprocket forms, punched forms, or just plain “computer paper”. This printer accepts forms up to 10” wide. This section will take you through the procedures for loading, parking and unparking fanfold forms.
Page 21 6. Move the tractor units downwards by gripping the positioning levers on both side of the tractor unit as shown in Figure 1-12. Tractor cover mp lever Figure 1-72. Move the tractor units downwards for loading the paper from the rear 7.
Page 22 8. Adjust the spacing of the tractor units by sliding them along the bar, using the clamp lever at the back of each unit to release and lock them in position. When the clamp lever is up, the unit is released, and when it is down, the unit is locked.
Page 23: Loading The Paper From The Bottom Of The Printer
Loading the paper from the bottom of the printer You can load the fanfold paper from the bottom of the printer with the following procedure. 1. Remove the top cover and the roller unit. 2. Open the rear cover using the two grips at the side, and push backwards. 3.
Page 24: Paper Parking
Figuro I-16. Mount the fanfold paper from the bottom of the printer. 7. Now close the tractor covers, again making sure that the paper holes are aligned with the pins on the tractor units. If they are not aligned pIoperly, you will have problems with paper feeding, possibly resulting in tearing and jamming of the paper.
Page 25: Paper Unparking
5. Move the release lever to the back. 6. Mount the paper guide in the upright position. Now you can load single sheets either automatically or manually, as explained previously. The fanfold paper remains parked at the back of the printer.
Page 26: Loading Multi-Part Forms
LOADING MULTI-PART FORMS You can print on continuous multi-part forms with the built-in tractor unit. You can use multi-part forms that have up to four parts including the original when the Multi-part mode is selected with the EDS setting. (For details, please refer to Chapter 3.) It is recommended to use forms jointed by dotted or pasting under the normal office condition.
Page 27: Adjusting The Printing Gap
ADJUSTING THE PRINTING GAP The distance between the print head and the platen can be adjusted to accommodate different paper thicknesses. To make this adjustment, remove the top cover. The adjustment lever is located at the left side of the printer mechanism.
Page 28 The following table provides the recommended lever positions for each paper types as a reference. Weight (g/ml) Paper Type (Each paper) 52-82 Single 83 - 90 40-58 2-PlY 3-PlY 40-58 40-58 4-PlY NOTE: Pressure sensitive paper is recommended for the multi-part paper. Multi-part mode is recommended when using the 4-ply paper.
Page 29: Chapter 2 Control Panel Operations
Chapter 2 CONTROL PANEL OPERATIONS The control panel buttons can be pressed individually to perform the opera- tions indicated by their names. Other functions can be achieved by holding these buttons down when you turn the printer’s power on, or by pressing the control panel buttons in combination.
Page 30: On Line Button
ON LINE button The ( ON LINE ) button sets the printer on-line and off-line. The status changes each time you press the button. When the printer is on-line, it can receive and print data from the computer. When the printer is off-line, it stops printing and sends the computer a signal indicating that it cannot accept data.
Page 31: Set/Eject/Park Button
If you also press the C paper will feed automatically to the top of the next page. This is explained later. If you press this button while on-line, this will alternately flash the indicator on and off. When in Quiet mode with the printer will print slightly slower, but at a reduced noise level.
Page 32: Font Button
FONT button This button selects the font to be printed. Draft font is selected at power-up unless the default settings are changed. To change to HS Draft (High-Speed Draft) or one of the NLQ (Near Letter Quality) fonts, set the printer off-line, then press the (FONT) button repeatedly until the indicators beside the desired selection illumiuate.
Page 33: Power-Up Functions
POWER-UP FUNCTIONS In addition to their normal functions, all the control panel buttons have special functions that operate if you hold them down while switching power Figutv 2-2 Power-up functions of control panel Short test mode If the printer is turned on while the ( ON LINE > button is pressed, the printer will enter the short self-test mode.
Page 34: Long Test Mode
Long test mode If the printer is turned on while the (PAPER FEED) button is pressed, the printer will enter the long self-test mode. The printer will print the version number of the printer’s ROM and the current EDS settings, followed by the whole character set printed in each font and pitch available.
Page 35: Print Area Test Mode
Since the self-test occupies the full width of the carriage, it is recommended that the printer is loaded with the widest paper possible to avoid damage to the print head and/or platen. In addition, the total number of lines printed is considerable, more than can be accomodated on a single sheet, so fanfold paper is recommended for this test.
Page 36: Hexadecimal Dump
Hexadecimal dump This feature is useful for programmets who are debugging printing pro- grams and want to see the actual codes the printer is receiving. (Some computers change the codes the programmer intended.) In this mode, all data received will be printed in a hexadecimal dump format, rather than the control codes being acted on as command codes.
Page 37 Most BASICS, however, are not quite that straightforward. For exarrmle. the IBM-PC will give you a printout similar to Fi-gure 2-6. ,:ir, <Cl! t-1.: 3-r 8’1*+ c-1” \fS 1/T \‘18 *-<ii <Ifi t-IF< <Ii- CilJ <-,a t.,F I:,F !CC i ! i,&...
Page 38: Switch Combination Functions
SWITCH COMBINATION FUNCTIONS Several additional functions can be achieved by pressing the control panel buttons in combinations. Change color Figutu 2-7. Switch combination functions of mntrol panel Form feed If you are using single sheets, this operation ejects the current page. If you are using fanfold forms, it feeds to the top of the next page.
Page 39: Forward Micro-Feed
3. Press and hold the ( 4. While holding the ( then release both buttons at the same time. The printer will beep to indicate that the top-of-form position has been set. Forward micro-feed For fine alignment, you can feed the paper forward in very small increments as follows: 1.
Page 40: Clearing The Buffer/All Reset
This value will remain unless you power off the printer. If you want to retain this value even after you turn off the power, store it using the Macro Definition function, which is described below. Note that you can only change this value immediately after loading paper. If you feed paper, you cannot change the auto loading value.
Page 41: Store Macro Definition
1. Press the( ) button to set the printer off-line. ON LINE 2. Press the m button and hold it down. 3. While holding the (FONT) button, press the ( Each time you press the FONT PITCH will blink to show the current color as shown below. 4.
Page 42 MEMO...
Page 43: Chapter 3 Default Settings
Chapter 3 Most printers use a bank of DIP (Dual In-line Package) switches inside the printer to achieve various functions. However, this printer can change the power-up default settings by using the Electronic DIP Switch (EDS) mode. This chapter explains how to use the EDS mode. HOW TO SET THE EDS MODE The EDS mode has 16 kinds of functions you can set as the power-on default.
Page 44: Functions Of The Eds Settings
FUNCTIONS OF THE EDS SETTINGS The printer is factory-set with all EDS switches in the ON position. These are the standard settings. By changing the settings, you can alter various printer functions to match your requirements. The following questions will help you choose the proper settings.
Page 45 Switch A-2: Does your software download characters to the printer’? In order to download characters this switch must be in the OFF position. The printer then uses its RAM memory for storing character patterns and provides only a one-line print buffer. If you leave this switch ON, the printer uses its RAM memory as an input buffer, allowing the computer to send data faster than the printer prints.
Page 46 Switches C-l and C-2: Which print mode do you want to set? These switches select the default print pitch and the fonts as shown below. piEE&gg NOTE:If you change these switches after you have stored the macro, these settings will override the macro setting. Switches C-3 and C-4: What is the page length of your paper? Leave these switches ON if you will be using 1 l-inch forms.
Page 47 Switches D-2 to D-4: Do you want an international character set or IBM code page? International character sets differ in their assignment of 12 character codes in the Standard Italic character set. See the character tables at the back of this manual.
Page 48: Bidirectional Test/Adjustment Mode
BIDIRECTIONAL TEST/ADJUSTMENT MODE This mode is used to adjust the alignment of the print head on successive bidirectional passes. After a period of some months, your printer may work itself out of alignment on left and right printing passes. This will be most evident in NLQ printing.
Page 49: Chapter 4 Printer Control Commands
Chapter 4 PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS The printer has two emulation modes: Standard mode and IBM mode. In standard mode, the printer emulates the functions of the Epson FX-850 or EX-800 for color print. In IBM mode, the printer emulates the IBM Proprinter III. Additional command codes are included as a superset of these emulations.
Page 50: Font Control Commands
FONT CONTROL COMMANDS Select draft quality characters ASCII klode “(..(.* “F’ ,.).. &SC> "0' Std. <ESC> “X” co> &SC> "I" "0" <ESC> “I” <O> Changes from near letter quality to draft quality. Ignored if the (FONT) button was pressed during power-up. Select draft elite characters ASCII Mode...
Page 51 Select NLQ font Mode ASCII Both <ESC> “k” Selects an NLQ font according to the value of n. In draft mode, this command remains dormant and takes effect later when NLQ is selected. Ignored if the (FONT) button was pressed during power- n Font 0 Courier (initial value) 1 Sanserif...
Page 52 Select Orator characters ASCII Mode Both “(” ,‘(., “F’ .,yl Changes to the Orator NLQ font. Ignored if the (FONT) button was pressed during power-up. Select italic characters ASCII Mode Std. cESC> “4” Causes subsequent characters to be printed in italics. Select NLQ italic characters Mode ASCII...
Page 53 Cancel emphasized printing Mode ASCII <ESC> “F’ Both Cancels emphasized printing. Double-s trike printing Mode ASCII Both <ESC> “G” Causes subsequent characters to be printed in double-strike mode with a slight vertical paper motion in between, causing a thickening of horizontal strokes. For bold print, use of double-strike is recommended in NLQ mode, and combined use of emphasized and double-strike is recom- mended in draft mode.
Page 54 Stop underlining Mode ASCII <ESC> “I “0’ Both <ES& “I <()> Stops underlining. Start 0 verlining Mode ASCII <ESC> ” ” “1” <ESC> ‘I-” cl> Causes subsequent characters to be overlined. Spaces skipped by horizontal tabulation are not overlined. Stop overlining 1 Mode 1 ASCII <Esc>...
Page 55: Character Set Commands
Cancel superscript or subscript Mode ASCII Both <ESC> ‘T” Stops printing superscripts or subscripts and returns to normal printing. CHARACTER SET COMMANDS Select standard character set ASCII Mode <ES6 “t” “0” Both <ESC> Y’ <o> Selects the standard character set. This is the power-up default in Standard mode if EDS switch D-l is OFF.
Page 56 Select international character set Mode ASCII Std. <ES& “R” Selects an international character set in the Standard character set according to the value of n. n Character set 0 U.S.A 1 France 2 Germany 3 England 4 Denmark1 5 Sweden 6 Italy 7 Spain I The first eight of these character sets (from U.S.A.
Page 57 Enable printing of a// character codes Mode ASCII eESC> ‘T’ Enables printing of all characters in the IBM character set, including those assigned to character codes which are normally considered control codes. This command remains in effect for the next nl + n2 x 256 character, where nl and n2 are numbers between 0 and 255.
Page 58: Character Size And Pitch Commands
CHARACTER SIZE AND PITCH COMMANDS Pica pitch ASCII <ESC> “F”’ <Dc2> In Standard mode, changes from elite to pica pitch (10 cpi) or from condensed elite to condensed pica (17 cpi). In IBM mode, changes from either elite or condensed to pica (10 cpi). Ignored if the(FiTGi) button was pressed during power-up.
Page 59 Cancel condensed printing Mode ASCII cDC2> Both In Standard mode, changes from condensed pica to normal pica or from condensed elite to normal elite. In IBM mode, always changes to normal pica. Ignored if the @liTi button was pressed during power-up.
Page 60 Cancel one-line expanded printing Mode ASCII <Jx4> Both Stops one-line expanded printing set with <SO> or <ESC> <SO>. Does not cancel <ES0 Select proportional spacing Mode ASCII “‘p” <ESC> “1” Std. “p” <ESC> cl> <ESC> “I”’ cl> Causes subsequent characters to be proportionally spaced. Ignored if the (PITCFI) button was pressed during power-up.
Page 61 Examples: n = 1 gives elite; n = 9 (1 + 8) gives emphasized elite; n = 137 (1 + 8 + 128) gives underlined emphasized elite. Function Underline Italic Expanded Double strike Emphasized Condensed [ *] Proportional [ *] Elite [*] [ *] Ignored if the (PITCH) button was pressed during power-up.
Page 62 Select character size Mode ASCII Both “(,, ‘.(.. ‘6s” .,),, Selects a combination of character height and width according to the value of n, as below. Does not move the base line. n Character width 0 Single width 1 Double width 2 Single width 3 Double width Double-height characters are always printed at near letter quality.
Page 63: Vertical Position Commands
Select character height, width, and line spacing ASCII Mode <ESC> “[” “@I” Selects a combination of character height, width, and line spacing according to the value of rr and m, as below. Does not move the base line. Line spacing Unchanged Unchanged Unchanged...
Page 64 Set line spacing to 7/72 inch Mode ASCII Both cBsc> “1” Sets the distance the paper advances or reverses in subsequent line feeds to 7/72 inch. Set line spacing to I/6 inch Mode ASCII Std. <Esc> “2” Sets the distance the paper advances or reverses in subsequent line feeds to l/6 inch.
Page 65 Execute <ES& ‘A” ASCII Mode <ESC> “2” Sets the line spacing to the value defined by the last preceding <ESC> “A” command. Sets the line spacing to l/6 inch if there is no preceding <ES0 Line feed Mode ASCII Both <LF>...
Page 66 Perform one n/216=inch reverse line feed Mode ASCII Std. <ESC> “j” Feeds the paper once by n/216 inches in the reverse direction, where n is between 1 and 255. Does not move the print position right or left. Does not change the line-spacing setting. Feed paper n lines hnode ASCII...
Page 67 Set page length to n inches Mode ASCII Both <ES& Sets the page length to n inches, where n is between 1 and 32 in Standard mode or between 1 and 64 in IBM mode. The current line becomes the top of the page. Set bottom margin Mode ASCII...
Page 68 Return to top of current page Mode ASCII Std. <ESC> <FF> Feeds the paper backward to the top of the current page. Ignored when friction feed is used. Disable paper-out detector Mode ASCII Both cESC> “8” Causes the printer to disregard the signal sent by the paper-out detector, enabling printing to the bottom of the paper.
Page 69 Set vertical tab stops every n lines Mode ASCII <ESC> Std. cESC> Cancels all current vertical tab stops and sets new tab stops every n lines, where n is between 2 and 127. Set vertical tab stops in channel Mode ASCII <ESC>...
Page 70: Horizontal Position Commands
HORIZONTAL POSITION COMMANDS Set left margin [Mode 1 ASCII 1 std. 1 cESC> “1” Sets the left margin at column n (where n is between 0 and 255) in the current character pitch (pica pitch if proportional spacing is selected). The left margin does not move if the character pitch is changed later.
Page 71 Set leff and right margins Mode ASCII <ESC> Sets the left margin at column nl and the right margin at column n2. See the preceding commands for margin restrictions and other notes. Carriage return Mode ASCII Both <CR> Prints the current line and returns the next print position to the left margin.
Page 72 Left justify IMode 1 ASCII <ESC> “a” “0” Std. <ESC> “a” CO> Aligns subsequent text with the left margin, leaving the right margin ragged. Center text Mode ASCII <ESC> “a” “1” Std. <ESC> “a” cl> Centers subsequent text between the left and right margins. Right justify Mode ASCII...
Page 73 Set horizontal tab stops Mode ASCII Both cESC> “D” Cancels all current horizontal tab stops and sets new tab stops at columns nl, n2, etc. in the current character pitch (pica pitch if pro- portional spacing is currently selected), where nl, ~2, etc. are numbers between 1 and 255.
Page 74 Relative horizontal tab Mode ASCII Std. cESC> ‘T’ Moves the print position right or left a specified distance (maximum 8 inches). Ignored if the resulting position is beyond the right or left margin. The formulas for the distance and direction are as follows: If n2 is between 0 and 63, the print head moves right by 256)/120 inches.
Page 75: Graphics Commands
Print normal-density 8-bit graphics Mode ASCII <ESC> “K” Both prints bit-image graphics at 60 dots per inch horizontally. The graphic image is 8 dots high and width is 8 inches (480 dots). byte value from 0 to 255 representing 8 vertical dots, with the most significant bit at the top and the least significant bit at the bottom.
Page 76 Print quadruple-density 8-bit graphics Mode ASCII cESC> ‘7” Both Prints bit-image graphics at 240 dots per inch horizontally (maxi- mum 1920 dots wide), skipping every second dot in the horizontal direction. See <ES0 Select graphics mode Mode ASCII cESC> “*” Std.
Page 77 Print O-pin graphics Mode ASCII <ESC> “*” Std. Selects one of eight graphics modes depending on the value of n0 and prints g-pin bit-image graphics in this mode. The graphics image is 9 dots high and nl + n2 x 256 dots wide. Maximum width is 8 inches.
Page 78: Download Character Commands
DOWNLOAD CHARACTER COMMANDS Define draft download characters ASCII cESC> “&” CO> nl Defines one or more new draft characters and stores them in RAM for later use. EDS switch A-2 must be OFF; otherwise RAM is used as an input buffer, not for downloading characters, and this com- mand is ignored.
Page 79 Define NLQ download characters Mode ASCII cESC> “&I’ CO> nl Std. Defines one or more new NLQ characters and stores them in RAM for later use. EDS switch A-2 must be OFF. NLQ mode must be se- lected before this command is executed. The parameters are differ- ent from the draft character command.
Page 80 Define NLQ download characters ASCII <ESC> “=” Defines one or more new NLQ characters and stores them in RAM for later use. EDS switch A-2 must be OFF. NLQ mode must be selected before this command is executed. The parameters are the same as for the draft character command except that the dot density is doubled in each direction, so each character consists of 16 dots vertically and 23 dots horizontally and requires 46 data bytes.
Page 81 Select draft download character set Mode ASCII cEsc> “I” “ ” "I" <4> cESC> Selects the download character set and draft quality. Ignored if the (FONT) button was pressed during power-up or if EDS switch A-2 is ON. Select draft elite download character set Mode ASCII <Esc>...
Page 82: Color Selection Commandes
Select ROM character set ASCII Mode <ESC> “%” “0” Std. <ESC> ‘%” <0> Stops using the download character set and n9um.s to the built-in ROM character set. Ignored when EDS switch A-2 is ON. COLOR SELECTION COMMANDS select print color Mode ASCII <ESC>...
Page 83 Select cyan Mode ASCII Both "(" Changes the print color to Cyan. Ignored if the color ribbon is not installed. Select violet Mode ASCII Both “(,, Changes the print color to Violet. Ignored if the color ribbon is not installed. Sekt yellow Mode...
Page 84: Other Printer Control Commands
OTHER PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS Set MSB to I Mode ASCII Std. <ESC> “>” Sets the most significant bit of each subsequent byte received to 1, allowing users with a 7-bit interface to access characters with ASCII codes greater than 127. Set MSB to 0 Mode ASCII...
Page 85 Quiet print Mode ASCII <ESC> 2” “1” Std. <ESC> ‘Y’ cl> Selects the quiet print mode, in which the printer prints each line in two passes to reduce the sound of printing. You can also set the quiet mode with the control panel button. Cancel quiet print Mode ASCII...
Page 86 Bell Mode ASCII Both &EL> Sounds a brief beep tone from the printer’s beeper. Bidirectional printing Mode ASCII Both <ESC> “u” “0” <ESC> "U" <O> Causes subsequent printing to be done in the normal bidirectional mode, which is faster than unidirectional printing. Unidirectional printing Mode ASCII...
Page 87 Auto feed Mode ASCII <ESC> <4> Both "4" ,.(,, ,a(,, Selects the automatic sheet feeder. Ignored if EDS switch A-4 is ON (ASF inactive). Eject paper from ASF Wode ASCII <ESC> “R” BO~JI "R" ,,(w ,a(,, Ejects the current page. Ignored if EDS switch A-4 is ON (ASF in- active).
Page 88 MEMO...
Page 89: Chapter 5 Download Characters
chapter 5 DOWNLOAD With this printer you can create new characters and symbols, download their dot data, and have them printed in place of selected characters in the regu- lar character set. Characters that can be generated in this way range from simple but useful symbols like the check mark through complex Chinese or Japanese characters.
Page 90: Defining The Attribute Data
The minimum width of a character is five dots. The user-defined characters may use eight dots vertically. Dots cannot overlap - that is, you may not have a dot inside a box next to one that is on a line. You may define any position in the ASCII table.
Page 91: Assigning The Character Data
Next, you must specify the left space and the last print column of the character. Being able to specify the width of the character allows you to specify the precise area inside the grid that the character will occupy, so that narrow characters will look attractive next to wide ones.
Page 92: Sample Program
Sample program To demonstrate how to use the download characters, let’s use the “car” character and some other user-defined characters to print a small graph. This program will do just that with the Standard mode: 1000 LPRINT CHR$(27);"xO"; 1010 LPRINT CHR$(27);"&";CHR$(OJ; 1020 LPRINT CHR$(60);CHR$(62);...
Page 93 1360 LPRINT CHR$(9);"+--"; 1370 SCALE$="--+--'I 1380 FOR I=2 TO 8 STEP 2 1390 LPRINT SCALE$; 1400 NEXT I 1410 LPRINT 'I--+" 1420 LPRINT CHR$(9);" 1430 FOR I=2 TO 8 STEP 2 1440 LPRINT u ";I; 1450 NEXT I 1460 LPRINT CHR$(27);"%";CHR$(O) 1470 LPRINT CHR$(27);"S";CHR$(O) 1480 LPRINT CHR$(9);"MILLIONS OF 1490 LPRINT CHR$(27);"T"...
Page 94: Defining Your Own Nlq Characters
DEFINING YOUR OWN NLQ CHARACTERS As you probably noticed, NLQ characters are printed by two passes of the print head. Half of the character is printed on the first pass, and the remain- der on the second pass. The paper is rolled up half a dot height in between passes to let the print head print dots on the second pass that overlap the previous dots, in order to fill in the spaces and produce denser characters.
Page 95 three attribute bytes, the first byte describes the character’s left space, the second byte describes the character width. And the third byte describes the right space. Appropriate allocation of data in these three bytes lets you place the character where you like within the grid. Use the grid in Figure 5-4 to help plot the data.
Page 96 The following program demonstrates how to use the NLQ download characters with the Standard mode: 1000 LPRINT CHR$(27);"xl" 1010 LPRINT CHR$(27);"&";CHR$(O); 1020 LPRINT CHR$(60);CHR$(62); 1030 FOR N=60 TO 62 1040 LPRINT CHR$(O);CHR$(23);CHR$(O); 1050 FOR M=l TO 69 1060 READ 1070 LPRINT CHR$(MM); 1080 NEXT M 1090 NEXT N 1100 LPRINT...
Page 97 1400 NEXT I 1410 LPRINT CHR$(27);"%";CHR$(O) 1420 LPRINT CHR$(27);"S";CHR$(O); 1430 LPRINT CHR$(9); "MILLIONS OF DOLLARS" 1440 LPRINT CHR$(27);"T" 1450 END 1500 DATA 1510 DATA 1520 DATA 0, 64,128, 63,128. 1530 DATA 1540 DATA 1550 DATA 63,128, 1560 DATA 0, 16,128, 1570 DATA 1580 DATA 1,248,...
Page 98: Assigning The Character Data With The Ibm Mode
Assigning the character data with the IBM mode Fundamentally, the process to define and print downloaded NLQ character with the IBM mode is the same as for draft characters, except that you must supply about four times as much character data, and you must design the character with the two passes of the print head in mind.
Page 99 First tul... “ASS ,I,) 101 I I Dot data 1st: 2nd: &urn 67. Add the values of the dots in the boxes first, and then add the value on the lines NLQ characters with the regular character set, the remarks’regarding the simultaneous use of regular and download characters in the draft character section apply equally to NLQ characters.
Page 100 1180 LPRINT "AUTOS";CHR$(9); 1190 FOR I=.4 TO 9.3 STEP .4 1200 LPRINT CHR$(61); 1210 NEXT I 1220 LPRINT 1230 LPRINT "CHEMICALS";CHR$(9); 1240 FOR I=.4 TO 8.7 STEP .4 1250 LPRINT CHR$(60); 1260 NEXT I 1270 LPRINT 1280 LPRINT "GUNS";CHR$(9); 1290 FOR I=.4 TO 1.4 STEP .4 1300 LPRINT CHR$(62);...
Page 101 U (r . 3 . EXPORTS AUT@S CALS UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU CHEMI GUNS t----+----t----+----+----+ s: L., x Cl N $13 c::, I= r:) r, L,,...
Page 102 MEMO...
Page 103: Chapter 6 Ms-Dos And Your Printer
chapter 6 When using your printer with an IBM PC, PC-XT, or PC-AT or compatible, you will probably be using PC-DOS or MS-DOS as an operating system. A number of software tricks may be useful here. This chapter is not, however, a substitute for the operating system manuals supplied with your computer.
Page 104: Embedding Printer Commands
Pica Elite Condensed pica Condensed elite Proportional Sometimes the software installation will ask you for an initialization sequence to return to the default settings. The command for your printer is <ES0 Make sum that the EDS switches are set for the conect printer emulation, and that you have selected the appropriate character set using the EDS switches.
Page 105 If you want to print a title in double-size Orator, then change to regular-size fonts for other text, you can use these commands as follows: File as seen on computer screen: ((F))7 ((SII.3 Printer commands ((F))O ((S))O Font commands ((F))lcan be ((FII4embedded ((F))7anywhere ((F))9in a document.
Page 106: Programming The Printer With Dos Commands
The printer supports various commands in addition to the above, such as quadruple-size printing. Most of these other commands consist of the escape code followed by one or more letters or numbers. If your software enables you to place the escape code in your files, or if you are able to define this as a user option during installation, you can also embed these escape sequences.
Page 107 COPY and TYPE do not permit you to execute other commands while the file is printing. If you want a particular font, or print pitch, you can make these settings from the control panel before you start printing. See Chapter 2. If you print from the DOS command level very often, it will be advantageous to create a printer setup file.
Page 108 “V indicates that the following character is a control code. “V[ enters the <ESC> code. <ES0 has character code 27, and “[,‘ is the 27th character from A in the ASCII sequence. Similarly, “VA enters the control code cl>. See your DOS manual if you need further information about EDLlN. You can now set up the printer by sending it the file NLQELITFDAT.
Page 109: Programming With Basic
PROGRAMMING As an example of programming the printer on Microsoft BASIC, we have listed the program for the IBM-PC. This program runs in the printer’s Standard mode, and the downloadable condition (EDS switch A-l ON and A-2 OFF). 1000 ' Set control codes 1010 E$=CHR$(27) 1020 D$=E$+"xO"...
Page 110 1490 NEXT I 1500 LPRINT E$;"aO" 1510 LPRINT E$;"3";CHR$(36); 'Set l/6" Line spacing 1520 LPRINT E$;" ";CHR$(O); 1530 LPRINT E$;"Q";CHR$(BO) 1540 LPRINT 1550 ' 1560 LPRINT C$;"Other features:" 1570 LPRINT H$;E$;"4";"Italics";E$;"5";", I': 1580 LPRINT E$;"E";"Emphasized";E$;"F";", I'; 1590 LPRINT E$;"G";"Double-strike";E$;"H";", " 1600 LPRINT H$;E$;"-l";"Underlining";E$;"-0";".
Page 111 2070 FOR M=O TO 11 2080 READ MM 2090 LPRINT CHRSMM); 2100 NEXT M 2110 RETURN 2120 I 2130 ' Define NLQ download character 2140 LPRINT c$;E$;"&";CHR$~O~:CHR$~~~):CHR$~~~): 2150 LPRINT CHR$(O):CHR$(23):CHR$(O): 2160 RESTORE 2270 2170 FOR TO 69 2180 READ MM 2190 LPRINT CHR$(MM);...
Page 112: How The Program Works
How the program works This program begins by assigning a number of printer commands to BASIC string variables (lines 1000 to 1070). You can find most of these commands near the beginning of chapter 4. The WIDTH “LPTl:” 255 statement in line 1090 means infinite line width. It prevents the IBM-PC from inserting unwanted carriage returns and line feeds in graphics data.
Page 113 Font setting: “.! ,. .I ,. ‘; . ..a _ I::. : : .:>. ;’ ..i :.::. -t <<:s Sanset-if characters, OHATCIR CHARACTERS, Print pitches are: Pica pitch Condensed pjca pitch (17 CPI), Proportional spacing, Expanded Double-sized, Quad-sized. Various line Other...
Page 114 MEMO...
Page 115: Chapter 7 Troubleshooting And Maintenance
chapter 7 The following section on troubleshooting and maintenance is intended only as a brief guide. Remember that your printer is a highly sophisticated electronic device, which also contains high voltage inside. For that reason, only carry out those operations described in this chapter. CAUTION: Any attempt to carry out operations other than those described here may result in electric shock and/or damage to the printer.
Page 116: Power Supply
Power supply If the indicator does not illuminate, check the following: POWER Check Is the power cable properly plugged into the electrical outlet? Is power being supplied to the outlet? Is the printer voltage correct? Printing If your printer does not print, or suddenly stops printing, check the follow- ing: Check Is the interface...
Page 117 If the print is faint, or uneven, check the following: Check Is the ribbon properly stalled? Is the ribbon worn out? If dots are missing in the printing, check the following: Check Are dots missing at random in the printing? ls a line of dots missing con- sistently throughout...
Page 118: Paper Feeding
Paper feeding If cut sheet paper (without the ASF) is not feeding smoothly, check the following: Check Is the paper release lever pushed back (to the c posi- tion)? Is the paper guide in place and vertical? Are the left and right guides too close together? Is the ASF selected with the EDS settings?
Page 119 Check Are you trying to feed paper using the front panel buttons ON LINE while the indicator is illuminated? Is the paper too thick? If the ASF is not operating or is not feeding paper correctly, check the following: Check Has the ASF option been selected with...
Page 120 If the paper park function does not appear to be working correctly, check the following: Check Is the paper release lever in the C position? Has the fanfold paper been properly parked? If text is being printed all on one line, or with extra blank lines, check the following: Check Is the text all on the same...
Page 121: Maintenance
MAINTENANCE Essentially, your printer is a robust piece of equipement, but should be treated with a modicum of care in order to avoid malfunctions. For example: Keep your printer in a “comfortable” environment. Roughly speaking, if you are comfortable, then the environment is suitable for your printer, too (see Chapter 1).
Page 122 Flgun, 7-T. Replacing the print head 6. Disengage the cable from the connector holding it down, then remove the print head. 7. Plug the cable into the connector of the new print head. 8. Place the new print head on its support, seating it on the two pins. 9.
Page 123: Chapter 8 Specifications
chapter 8 Printing system ......Serial Impact Dot-matrix Printing speed ....... . Pica High-Speed Draft Draft Print direction .
Page 124 Chamcter dot matrix ......9 x 11 (Draft) Bit image dot-matrix ..... . . DPI Normal Double High-speed double*...
Page 125 Ribbon life Monochrome (ZX9) ..3 million characters (draft pica) Color (ZX9CL) ....1 million characters (draft pica) Dimensions .
Page 126 The following describes the pinout of the parallel (Centronics-type) inter- face connector (signals which are low when active are overlined): 1 Name CHASSIS 19-30 1 GND 1 RESET ERROR EXT GND 34.35 SELECT IN 1 Function Chassis ground (isolated from signal ground) +5V DC output from printer Twisted pair ground return 1 When this...
Page 127: Chapter 9 Character Sets
chapter 9 The following tables show the standard and IBM character sets. The decimal character code of each character is shown in an inset to the lower right of the character. The hexadecimal code can be found by reading the entries at the top and left edges of the table.
Page 128 STANDARD CHARACTER SET #I...
Page 129 (iii (EEL) j-iii ITi- (8s) 1136 ITii j-iii ITiY j-5 I1M) (176 1192 j-iii l-iii 1199 j-iii 1215 l-iii...
Page 130: Standard Character Set #L
STANDARD CHARACTER SET #2 Other characters are identical to standard character set #l.
Page 131: International Character Sets
INTERNATIONAL CHARACTER SETS When an international character set is selected by a command from software, the following changes are made in the character set: 1 Country NORWAY #lxJzlEBA DENMARK2 #$lzlE0A X$@C\I IRISH LEGAL The command for selecting the international character sets is: cESC>...
Page 132: Ibm Character Set #2
IBM CHARACTER SET #2 Code Page #437 (U.S.A.)
Page 133 0 c 128 1 ii 1133 1149 1165 6& )134 l-iii fiz I 135 I 151 11401 115bl 4 fiii t 1197 1182 fiii -n-lt- I 167 ” I 183 ” I 199...
Page 134 Code Page #850 (Mu/i-lingual) Other charcters are identical to Code Parre #437 I fa I1521 113bl I1371 I1531 lAl%-k--JY-hI 11381 I1541 I140 I156 -B-6--- lEoI “’ (1761 1 lbsl 11841 12001 I1701 . . 1 I172 " b (136 ITj2...
Page 135 Code Page #860 (Pomguese) Other charcters are identical to Code Pane #437. 11321 I 133 (134 I1381 1154( I 141 lic2 A-C,- I’ I I1431 h481 ll641’ ]lM-1 I 149 1 165 ’ I 181 ’ I fiiii /iii 1182 11701”...
Page 136: Code Page #861 (Icelandic)
Code Page #861 (Icelandic) Other charcters are identical to Code Page ##437. I I441 I 16ol I1281 I - ! I1761 1192) 12081 1224) I2401...
Page 137: Code Page #863 (Canadian French)
Code Page #863 (Canadian French) Other charcters are identical to Code Page #+437. )224 1240...
Page 138: Code Page #865 (Nordic)
Code Page #865 (Nordic) Other charcters are identical to Code Page #437.
Page 139 IBM CHARACTER Other characters are identical to character set #2. The duplication of control codes enables systems with a 7-bit interface to obtain control functions when the most significant bit is set to 1 by the cESC> ‘5” command in the standard mode. SET #1...
Page 140: Ibm Special Character Set
IBM SPECIAL CHARACTER SET Additional characters can be printed by special commands.
Page 141 Absolute horizontal tab, 66 Ascender, 70,82 Auto feed, 79 Auto loading, 3 1 Automatic line feed, 37,63 Automatic sheet feeder, 9,37,78,117 Backspace, 63 BASIC, 28,84,88,91,101 Beeper, 78 Bidirectional printing, 40,78 Bit-image printing, 6769,104 Bold printing, 45 Bottom feed, 15 Bottom margin, 59 Buffer, 32,37, 116 Cancel command, 76 Carriage return, 63...
Page 142 Gap, 19 Graphics, 67, 104 Graphics commands, 67-69 Hexadecimal dump, 28-29 Horizontal position commands, 62-66 Horizontal tabulation, 65 HS draft, 24 IBM character sets, 47,124-132 IBM code page, 39.48 IBM mode, 36,38 IBM-PC, 29 Interface: signals, 118 specifications, 116 International characters, 39,48, 123 Italic printing, 44 Justification, 64 Left margin, 62,63...
Page 143 Quadruple-size characters, 53 Quiet print, 23,77 Rear cover, 3, 12 Release lever, 3, 10, 12 Reset printer, 79 Reverse line feed, 57 Reverse micro-feed, 3 1 Ribbon cartridge, 4,116 Right margin, 62,63 Roller unit, 3,7 ROM character set, 74 Sanserif font, 24,43 Script font, 24,43 25,26 Self tests,...
Page 144: Command Summary
COMMAND SUMMARY Standard Mode The following commands take effect with the Standard mode. CONTROL CODE <BEL> CBS> CHT> <LF> <VT> cFF> <CR> <so> <Sb <DCI> <DC22 <Dc3> <Dc4> <CAN> <Esc> cLl-5. -&SC> <FF> <Esc> <so> <Esc> <Sk= &SC> & <Esc>...
Page 145 CONTROL CODE CESQ “8” -&sQ”9” <ES0 “:” <o> n <o> -zEsQ “<” <EsG “2 <Esc> “>’ <ESCb”?“nm CEscb “@” cE.SQ “A” n CESQ “B” nl n2 . . . “c’ n -3330 CESO”C’&n dSQ”D”nlnZ...& CESQ “E” &SD “F cE.sQ “G’ CESQ “H”...
Page 146 FUNCTION Select dwble or quadruple size Perform one n/216-inch reverse line seled NLQ font Set left margin select fixed spacing mpomcnal spacing Select Select & ed spacing select pmpomulal spacing Select print color Cancel quiet mode Quid Cancel quiet mode Quid mode Se.lect standard character set Select IBM character set...
Page 147 IBM Mode The following commands take effect with the IBM mode. CONTROL CODE <BEb <BS> <HT> cLF> <VT> cFF> <CR> <so> <Sb <DCl> <DC2> <DC4> <CAN> &SD <so> <Esc> <Sb cESQ <o> <ESD <4> &SC> “R” <Esc> ...
Page 148 CONTROLCODE <EsQ”l”<vb cEse”p’csb <EsQ “r’ “0 <Es6 “r’ “1” CESQ “I-’ “T <EsD “r’ “3” <EsQ “r’ “4’ <EsQ “I” “7 CESQ “I-’ “7 cESG “r’ n cEsa”K”nln2mlmz . . . cEsc&“$lynl”... ” -T* <o> CEsa “p’ Cl> -& &+ <EsQ “s”...
Page 149 CONTROL CODE FUNCTION Select Sanserif characters Select Script characters Select Orator characters Select draft quality chatacten Eject ps r from ASF Select c r aractcr size Set print start position on ASF PAGE...

Star Micronics NX-1020 User Manual

Chapter 1 SETTING up the PRINTER

Chapter 2 CONTROL PANEL OPERATIONS

Chapter 3 DEFAULT SETTINGS

Chapter 4 PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS

Chapter 5 DOWNLOAD CHARACTERS

Chapter 6 MS-DOS and YOUR PRINTER

Chapter 7 TROUBLESHOOTING and MAINTENANCE

Chapter 8 SPECIFICATIONS

Chapter 9 CHARACTER SETS

Quick Links

Related Manuals for Star Micronics NX-1020

Summary of Contents for Star Micronics NX-1020

Table of Contents