Star Micronics LC-6211 User Manual
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Star Micronics LC-6211 User Manual

Star Micronics LC-6211 User Manual

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USERS MANUAL
LC-6211
DOT MATRIX PRINTER
HF 80825040

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Summary of Contents for Star Micronics LC-6211

  • Page 1 USERS MANUAL LC-6211 DOT MATRIX PRINTER HF 80825040...

  • Page 2: Trademark Acknowledgments

    Trademark acknowledgments LC-6211, LC-10, LC-90, LC-100, NX-1000, NX-1010, NX-1040, SPC-8K: Star Micronics Co. Ltd. EX-800, FX-850, LX-810, LX-850: Seiko Epson Corporation IBM PC: International Business Machines Corporation. MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows 3.1: Microsoft Corporation Notice • All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form whatsoever, without STAR’s express permission, is strictly forbidden.

  • Page 3: About This Manual

    About this manual This manual describes how to set up, use, and care for the Star LC-6211 printer. The following is a list of what you can expect to find in each chapter. Chapter 1 Choosing a place for your printer, unpacking and setup, ribbon cassette installation, loading paper, connecting to your printer Chapter 2...

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Contents Chapter 1: Printer Setup … 1 Choosing a place for the printer … 1 Unpacking the printer … 2 General guide … 3 Installing the platen knob … 4 Opening the front cover … 4 Installing the ribbon cartridge … 5 Removing the ribbon cartridge …...
  • Page 5 Paper Out … 23 Line Spacing … 23 Strobe Timing … 23 Print Mode … 23 Banking Character … 24 Zero style … 24 Character Table … 24 Page Length … 24 Chapter 4: Paper Handling … 25 Selecting paper types … 25 Cut-Sheet Paper …...

  • Page 7: Chapter 1: Printer Setup

    Chapter 1: Printer Setup This chapter contains important information on setting up your printer. Be sure to read this chapter carefully before using the printer for the first time. In this chapter you will learn about: Choosing a place for the printer Unpacking and setting up the printer Installing the ribbon cassette Loading paper...

  • Page 8: Unpacking The Printer

    Printer Setup Unpacking the printer Check to make sure that the carton contains each of the items shown in the following illustration. Platen knob Ribbon cartridge Printer Users manual If anything is missing, contact the store where you bought the printer and ask them to supply the missing part.

  • Page 9: General Guide

    General guide General guide The following illustrations show the major component parts of the your printer. Front cover Adjustment lever Paper guide Power switch Platen knob Interface connector Control panel Tractor unit Release lever...

  • Page 10: Installing The Platen Knob

    Printer Setup Installing the platen knob The platen knob is packed into a recess in the packaging material. Install the knob on the shaft located inside the large hole on the right side of the printer. Make sure that the flat side of the shaft is aligned with the corresponding flat surface inside the knob’s spindle.

  • Page 11: Installing The Ribbon Cartridge

    Installing the ribbon cartridge Installing the ribbon cartridge Make sure that printer is unplugged from its power outlet. Open the front cover of the printer. By hand, move the cartridge holder to the center position of the paper guide where there is a cutout to allow easy installation and removal of the ribbon cartridge.

  • Page 12: Removing The Ribbon Cartridge

    Printer Setup Carefully place the cartridge onto the cartridge holder making sure that the spindle of the holder fits into the socket on the bottom of the cartridge. Press down gently but firmly on the cartridge until it snaps securely into place.

  • Page 13: Connecting To A Power Outlet And Turning Power On And Off

    Connecting to a power outlet and turning power on and off By hand, move the cartridge holder to the center position of the paper guide where there is a cutout to allow easy installation and removal of the ribbon cartridge. Important! Never try to move the print head while the printer is plugged into a power outlet.

  • Page 14: Loading Paper

    Printer Setup Set the switch on the front of the printer to ON to turn power on, and to OFF to turn power off. O F F Important! We recommend that you unplug the printer from the power outlet whenever you do not plan to use it for long periods.
  • Page 15 Loading paper Set the release lever on the back of the printer to the fanfold position. Fanfold Cut-sheet Release lever Set the adjustment lever to the value that matches the thickness of the paper you are using. The setting for normal paper is 1. Set the lever to a larger value for thicker paper, or to a smaller value for thinner paper.
  • Page 16 Printer Setup Note that there is a guide inside the printer in front of the left tractor. The mark of the guide indicates where the left margin of the printing will be. Once the left tractor is aligned the way you want it, push the gray lever back down to lock it in place.
  • Page 17 Loading paper Press the control panel’s SET/EJECT/PARK button and the paper will feed to the starting position.

  • Page 18: Printing On Fanfold Paper

    Printer Setup Printing on fanfold paper When printing on fanfold paper, take care not to print too close to the perforations that separate each sheet. The following shows the recommended print area for fanfold paper and cut-sheet paper. Fanfold paper Cut-sheet paper 4 mm (0.16") 4 mm (0.16")

  • Page 19: Unparking Fanfold Paper

    Unparking fanfold paper Set the release lever on the back of the printer to the cut-sheet position. The paper is now parked, and you can load cut-sheet paper into the printer using the procedures under “Manual sheet feeding” on page 27. Unparking fanfold paper After you are finished printing on cut-sheet paper, use the following procedure to unparkin fanfold paper and make it available for printing.

  • Page 20: Connecting To Your Computer

    Printer Setup Connecting to your computer The computer sends data to the printer through a cable. This printer does not come with a cable, so you must purchase one of your own. You will probably want to use a standard parallel cable for connection, but note that you can also use an optional serial-to-parallel interface converter (SPC-8K).
  • Page 21 Connecting to your computer Plug the other end of the parallel cable into the socket on the side of the printer and secure it in place with the clips. Note: Consult with your dealer for details on how to set up your computer when using the optional SPC-8K serial-to-parallel interface converter.

  • Page 22: Chapter 2: Control Panel Operations

    Chapter 2: Control Panel Operations The control panel gives you push-button control over the printer’s power and paper feed operations. It also includes indicator lights that tell you the current status of the printer at a glance. POWER MICRO FEED SET/EJECT LINE PARK...

  • Page 23: Paper Loading

    Paper loading Paper loading Prepare either cut-sheet or fanfold paper for feeding. For details on how to prepare for paper feeding, see page 8 for fanfold paper and page 27 for cut-sheet paper. The POWER indicator flashes to indicate there is no paper in the printer. Press SET/EJECT/PARK to feed the paper into the printer.

  • Page 24: Parking Fanfold Paper

    Control Panel Operations Parking fanfold paper Make sure the printer is off-line (ON LINE indicator is not lit). Press SET/EJECT/PARK to eject the paper. After the paper is ejected, the printer will beep and the POWER indicator will flash to indicate there is no paper in the printer. Later, you can press SET/EJECT/PARK again to feed the paper back into the printer.

  • Page 25: Setting The Printing Speed

    Setting the printing speed Setting the printing speed Make sure the printer is on-line (ON LINE indicator is lit). Press the control panel’s LINE FEED button to switch between NLQ (NLQ indicator is lit) and draft (NLQ indicator is not lit) printing. NLQ printing provides high quality, but is somewhat slower.

  • Page 26: Chapter 3: Using The Eds Mode

    Chapter 3: Using the EDS Mode The letters “EDS” stand for “Electronic DIP Switches.” Just like the small DIP switches that are used by many computers, printers, and other devices, the EDS lets you configure the printer so that it matches your system and software needs. This chapter describes how to enter the printer’s EDS Mode and provides details about available settings and how to change them.

  • Page 27: Entering The Eds Mode

    Entering the EDS Mode Entering the EDS Mode Turn off the printer. Make sure that paper is loaded in the printer. While holding down the control panel’s SET/EJECT/PARK button, turn the printer back on. This causes the following message to be printed. Note: The paper is not fed after the message is printed, so you will have to open up the printer’s front cover to read it.

  • Page 28: Eds Mode Settings

    Using the EDS Mode EDS Mode Settings RAM Usage Specify whether RAM should be used as an input buffer or as a download buffer. Selecting Input Buffer tells the printer to use available RAM to store data it receives from the computer. This speeds up the printing operation, but it also means that RAM cannot be used to store character patterns used to define down loaded characters.

  • Page 29: Paper Out

    EDS Mode Settings Paper Out Enable or disable the paper out detect function. When paper out detection is set to Enabled, the printer automatically stops printing whenever it senses there is no more paper. When set to Disabled, the printer continues printing as long as there is data. Selecting Disabled makes it possible to print right up to the bottom of a page, but it also creates the danger of printing when there is no paper loaded in the printer, which can damage the print head and platen.

  • Page 30: Banking Character

    Using the EDS Mode Banking Character Enable or disable banking character font. When the banking character is set to Enabled, the printer uses a special banking font to print the dollar sign and numerals 0 through 9. When set to Disabled, the special banking font is not used.

  • Page 31: Chapter 4: Paper Handling

    Chapter 4: Paper Handling Your printer is designed to print on a variety of different paper types. This chapter tells you everything you need to know about paper, and how to set the printer up for manual paper feed. In this chapter, you will learn about: Selecting the best type of paper to use Adjusting for paper thickness Manual sheet feeding...

  • Page 32: Adjusting For Paper Thickness

    Paper Handling Adjusting for paper thickness Paper comes in different weights, normally expressed as gsm (grams per square meter) or lbs (pounds). Some form paper also has multiple pages that make them quite thick. Use the following procedure to change the gap between the print head and the platen and adjust for paper thickness.

  • Page 33: Automatic Fanfold Feeding

    Automatic fanfold feeding The following table provides a general guide for setting the adjustment lever. Experiment with different settings until you find the one that gives you the print quality you want. Recommended Paper Type Weight Per Sheet Thickness Position 14 lbs (52 gsm) 0.06 mm 17 lbs (64 gsm)
  • Page 34 Paper Handling Set the release lever on the back of the printer to the cut-sheet position. Fanfold Cut-sheet Release lever Set the adjustment lever to the value that matches the thickness of the paper you are using. The setting for normal paper is 1. Set the lever to a larger value for thicker paper, or to a smaller value for thinner paper.
  • Page 35 Manual sheet feeding Note that the mark of the guide indicates where the left margin of the printing will be. Scale Paper guide Making sure that the left edge of the paper is against the paper guide, insert a sheet of paper into the front of the printer. Paper guide Paper Table...

  • Page 36: Clearing Paper Jams

    Paper Handling Note: If you are inserting letterhead paper, insert the sheet so that it is face up with the letterhead portion up. Clearing paper jams Use the following procedure to clear paper jams from the printer. Unplug the printer from its AC power outlet. Open the front cover of the printer.

  • Page 37: Chapter 5: Using The Printer With Ms-Dos

    Chapter 5: Using the Printer with MS-DOS This chapter contains information about how to use the printer with applications software running under MS-DOS. In this chapter, you will learn about: How to set up for printing with MS-DOS Setting up for printing with MS-DOS To print from an application running under MS-DOS, you must first select the printer from within the application.

  • Page 38: Appendix A: Troubleshooting

    Appendix A: Troubleshooting The appendix tells you what you need to know if you experience problems with your printer. It tells you how to test the printer, how to check system software settings, and how to adjust the vertical alignment. In addition, there is information on actions to take for specific problems, and on the meanings of printer beep tones.

  • Page 39: Hexadecimal Dump

    Hexadecimal dump This procedure prints in hexadecimal format all codes (character codes and control codes) that are sent to the printer by the computer. The printer does not execute any control codes (such as 0A - linefeed), it just prints them out. The hexadecimal dump is useful when you are writing programs for printer control.

  • Page 40: Troubleshooting Guide

    Troubleshooting If the three lines do not align properly, use SET/EJECT/PARK to move the middle line to the left or LINE FEED to move it to the right. The above step performs alignment for DRAFT mode only. You must make separate adjustments for the D-DENSITY/SPEED, NLQ, NORMAL- DENSITY, PLOTTER GRAPHICS, CRT GRAPHICS-1, CRT GRAPHICS-II, and DOUBLE-DENSITY modes as well.
  • Page 41 Problem Possible Cause Recommended Action Printer test works, but printer Your application program’s or Check the printer selection will not print out data from system software’s printer of your application software. the attached computer. selection is wrong. The computer’s system Check the system software software is not set up settings.

  • Page 42: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting Problem Possible Cause Recommended Action Lines print over each other. Auto line feed with carriage Use the EDS Mode to enable return is disabled by the EDS auto line feed with carriage setting. return. See “Auto LF with CR” on page 22. Jamming paper.
  • Page 43 Problem Possible Cause Recommended Action Forms are smudged. The printer is not set up Set up the printer for the correctly for the thickness of paper thickness you are Printing is too dark. paper being used. using. See “Adjusting for paper thickness”...
  • Page 44 Troubleshooting Problem Possible Cause Recommended Action Left margin moves to the The paper is not loaded Remove all paper from the right during printing. correctly, causing the print printer and reload it. Try head to jam. printing again. The ribbon cartridge is not Make sure that the ribbon installed correctly, causing cartridge is installed...

  • Page 45: Checking System Software Settings In Windows

    Problem Possible Cause Recommended Action Printer behaves erratically. The interface cable is Check to make sure that the connected incorrectly or printer interface cable is Printing suddenly stops. damaged. connected correctly. If it is, try a different cable. Static electricity caused by Make sure that the printer is interference from nearby not too close to any devices...
  • Page 46 Troubleshooting To check the port Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Main window. Double-click the Printers icon. Double-click on the name of your Star printer in the list of installed printers. Click on Connect. Make sure that your printer cable is connected to the port highlighted in the list of ports.

  • Page 47: Appendix B: Specifications

    Appendix B: Specifications Printing System Serial Impact Dot-Matrix Printing Speed Pitch Draft (cps/dpi) NLQ (cps/dpi) Pica (10 cpi) 180/120H 45/240H Elite (12 cpi) 216/120H 54/240H Condensed pica (17 cpi) 154/240H 77/240H Condensed elite (20 cpi) 180/240H 90/240H H: half-dot Print Direction Draft: Bi-directional logic seeking NLQ:...
  • Page 48 Copies: Original + 6 Emulation ESC/P Maximum Buffer Size Without download: 15.2 kB With download: 0.5 kB Interface Standard: Centronics parallel Option: RS-232C serial Ribbon Type On-carriage, dedicated Monochrome (X9): Black only Ribbon Life 2 million characters (ASCII Draft) Dimensions and Weight Width: 20.67 / 525 mm Depth:...

  • Page 49: Appendix C: Interface Pin Outs

    Appendix C: Interface Pin Outs Parallel Interface Name Function STROBE Goes low for 0.5 s when active. DATA0 These signals represent information for the 1st through 8th bit of parallel data, respectively. Each signal is HIGH when data is logical 1, and LOW when logical DATA1 DATA2 DATA3...

  • Page 50: Appendix D: Character Sets

    Appendix D: Character Sets Character Set #2 (Graphics Character Table) Character Set #2 (Italic Character Table)
  • Page 51 Character Set #1 Other characters are the same as those for Character Set #2, above. International Character Set The character codes shown in the table are hexadecimal.

  • Page 52: Appendix E: Printer Control Codes

    Printer Control Codes Appendix E: Printer Control Codes This appendix lists the printer’s control commands. It gives the name of each control command and the applicable ASCII code. Font and Character Set Control Commands Description ASCII Code Select italic ESC 4 Cancel italic ESC 5 Select Character Set #2...
  • Page 53 Top/Bottom Margin and Vertical Tab Commands Description ASCII Code Advance paper to next vertical tab position Reverse feed paper one line ESC LF Select VFU channels ESC /n Set vertical tab positions ESC Bn…NULL Set bottom margin ESC Nn Cancel bottom margin ESC O Set VFU in a channel ESC bnm…NULL...

  • Page 54: Line Spacing Commands

    Printer Control Codes Line Spacing Commands Description ASCII Code Advance paper one line (line feed) Reverse paper one line ESC LF Set line spacing to 1/8 ESC 0 Set line spacing to 7/72 ESC 1 Set line spacing to 1/6 ESC 2 Set line spacing to n/216 ESC 3n...

  • Page 55: Other Commands

    Horizontal Print Position Control Commands Description ASCII Code Move print head to next horizontal tab position Return print head to left margin (carriage return) Move print head to absolute horizontal position ESC $ n 1 n 2 Add n dot spaces between characters ESC SPn Set horizontal tab positions ESC Dn…NULL...

  • Page 56: Appendix F: Glossary

    Glossary Appendix F: Glossary Centronics cable Parallel cable normally used to connect the printer to the computer. control code A numeric code that instructs the computer to perform an operation. For example, the computer sends the printer a form feed control code (12) to tell it to eject the current page.
  • Page 57 adjusting dot alignment default printer selection checking 26, 27 adjustment lever dot alignment application printer selection adjusting checking download buffer Auto LF with CR Draft AUTOEXEC.BAT Banking Character settings bidirectional printing EDS Mode Auto LF with CR Banking Character cable Character Table 14, 15, 40 parallel...
  • Page 58 printing on specifications 13, 19 tear-off function unparking form feed off-line front cover switching to opening ON-LINE indicator on-line glossary switching to Graphics Character Table Graphics Direction Page Length paper hexadecimal dump automatic feeding clearing top of form fanfold handling input buffer length interface pin outs...
  • Page 59 printer control codes Reverse printing system software settings problem Windows problems causes and solutions dark printing Tear-off erratic operation 13, 19 tear-off function excessive noise 8, 32 test print hot printer case incorrect characters top of form left margin movement clearing line spacing setting...

  • Page 60: Customer Service Information

    Star Micronics Bulletin Board Service: Australia and New Zealand: 61-2-748-2960 Customer response Star Micronics Co., Ltd. invites your suggestions and comments on your printer and this man- ual. Please address your correspondence to Attn: Product Manager Worldwide Headquarters New Zealand Market STAR MICRONICS CO., LTD.

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