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Epson LX-86TM User Manual

Epson printer user's manual
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EPSON
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Summary of Contents for Epson LX-86TM

  • Page 1 ® EPSON PRINTER LX-86 User's Manual...

  • Page 2: Fcc Compliance Statement For American Users

    The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice. All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this manual. However, should any errors be detected, EPSON would greatly appreciate being informed of them.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    ESCape Code ....... Printer Codes .......
  • Page 4 Special Characters......Epson character graphics set ....
  • Page 5 Using the Optional Tractor Unit ....Printer Location ......
  • Page 6 IBM-PC solutions ......Printer Maintenance......

  • Page 7: List Of Figures

    Printer parts ....... . l-2 Paper feed knob installation ....

  • Page 8: List Of Tables

    Continuous paper with printer stand... . . Continuous paper without stand ....Tractor placement......

  • Page 9: Introduction

    The Epson IX-86 printer combines low price with the high quality and advanced features formerly available only on more expensive printers. LX-86 Features In addition to the high performance and reliability you’ve come to expect from Epson printers, the LX-86 offers:...

  • Page 10: About This Manual

    About This Manual We’re not going to waste your time with unnecessary information, but we won’t neglect anything you need to know about the Ix-86 and its many features. You can read as much or as little of this manual as you wish. If you have used printers before and have a specific program that you want to use with the LX-86, a quick reading of the first chapter may be all you need.

  • Page 11: Setting Up Your Lx-86 Printer

    Setting Up Your LX-86 Printer Setting up your LX-86 printer is a simple matter of attaching two parts, putting in the ribbon and paper, and connecting the printer to your computer. This chapter will have you printing a test pattern within fifteen to twenty minutes and doing more complicated work not long after.

  • Page 12: Printer Location

    (See Figure l-2.) The shaft has one flat side that must be matched with the flat side of the hole in the knob.

  • Page 13: Ribbon Installation

    Figure 1-2. Paper feed knob installation Ribbon Installation The LX-86 printer uses a continuous-loop, inked fabric ribbon, which is enclosed in a cassette that makes ribbon installation and replacement a clean and easy job. The parts of this cassette are labelled l-3.
  • Page 14 Also be sure that the paper bail is against the black roller so it too will not be in your way.
  • Page 15 Then hold the ribbon cassette so that the small knob is top and the exposed section of ribbon is away from you. Insert the cassette in its holder by first sliding the pins at the back of the ribbon cassette under the small hooks on the holder.

  • Page 16: Ribbon Replacement

    Be careful not to touch it. Also remember never to move the print head by hand when the printer is turned on.

  • Page 17: Paper Loading

    Paper Loading Now put a sheet of paper in your LX-86 so you can test it. Figure l-7 shows the names of the parts that you need to know. Friction lever Figure l-7. LX-86 ready for paper loading...

  • Page 18: Control Panel

    See that the printer is turned off, open the front lid, and push the friction lever back and the paper bail forward. Then move the print head by hand to the center of the printer and feed the paper into the paper slot in the top of the printer.

  • Page 19: Lights

    The READY light glows green when the printer is ready to accept data. This light flickers somewhat during printing. • The PAPER OUT light glows red to indicate that the printer is out of paper or the paper is loaded incorrectly.

  • Page 20: Test Pattern

    Test Pattern Now you’ll see your Lx-86 print something even though it’s not connected to a computer yet. Make sure that your printer has paper in it and that the power switch is off. Now, hold down the LINE FEED button on the control panel while you turn the printer on with the power switch.

  • Page 21: Connecting The Lx-86 To Your Computer

    Appendix I.) The first three steps in connecting your printer and computer are shown in Figure l-10. Plug one end of your printer cable into the cable connector of your there is only one way it will fit the connector. Now secure the plug to the printer with the wire clips on each side of the connector.

  • Page 22: First Printing Exercise

    Note: If all the lines of your first printing exercise are printed on top of each other, don’t worry. There is nothing wrong with your printer. All you have to do is change the setting of a small switch in the back of your printer. See the section on automa- tic line feeds in Appendix D.

  • Page 23: Selectype

    Turning SelecType on 1. Make sure that the printer is on and that the POWER, READY, and ON LINE lights are all on. Press both the OFF LINE and FORM FEED buttons at the same time, as illustrated in Figure 2-l.

  • Page 24: Selecting Typestyles

    LINE button instead of at the same time and the LX-86 is in the NLQ mode. Press the OFF LINE button to put the printer back on line and press the DRAFT button if you do not want NLQ. Then press both the OFF LINE and FORM FEED buttons to turn on SelecType.

  • Page 25: Selectype Exercise

    Elite 2. Press the OFF LINE button the number of times indicated in the mode column. Be sure that the printer beeps each time you press the OFF LINE button. 3. Press the FORM FEED button to set the typestyle.
  • Page 26 This is an example of LX printing. Turn off your printer to cancel the condensed setting, and- if you wish-try this exercise with other modes. Note: Some applications programs are designed to control all typestyle functions. These programs cancel all previous typestyle settings by sending an initialization signal before printing.

  • Page 27: Selectype Tips

    SelecType modes. After you turn on a mode with SelecType, it stays in effect until the printer is turned off. If, for example, you use SelecType to print a document in emphasized, anything you print after that will be...

  • Page 28: Elements Of Dot Matrix Printing

    Elements of Dot Matrix Printing This chapter is for those of you who want to know something about how your printer works. It’s a simple, non-technical explana- tion of the basics of dot matrix printing that will help you understand some of the later chapters.

  • Page 29: Bidirectional Printing

    You simply do your part of the work as if the printer will be printing from left to right on each line and let the LX-86 do all the necessary calculations so that you can enjoy the increased speed.

  • Page 31: Nlq Mode

    In Figure 3-3 there is a grid of lines behind the pica characters so that you can more easily see how they are designed. As you look at these characters you can see three rules that govern their design: the column on the right side is always left blank so that there will be spaces between the and the bottom row;...
  • Page 32 The panel buttons make it especially easy to change from draft to NLQ, but you can also select and cancel the NLQ mode with a software command which you can find in Chapter 5.

  • Page 33: Printer Control Codes

    When the computer tells the printer to print that letter, it sends the number to the printer, which must then convert the number to a pattern of pins that will fire to print the dots that make up that letter.

  • Page 34: Escape Code

    With the ESCape code, for which decimal 27 is used, printers and computers are not restricted to only 256 instructions. The ESCape code is a signal that the next code will be a printer control code instead of text to print. For example, if the printer receives the num- ber 69, it prints a capital E because 69 is the ASCII code for that letter.

  • Page 35: Printer Codes

    Inserting LX-86 printer codes in your text along with a special code that tells the printer that the inserted codes are not text or data. There are three common formats for sending printer codes. Your applications software or its manual should tell you which one to use.

  • Page 36: Embeddedcodes

    Please note that these are not the same as the control key codes mentioned above. Once you tell such a program that you are using an Epson printer, it will know which codes to send. (Often you don’t even need to specify which Epson printer you are using.) You usually tell the...

  • Page 37: Programming Languages

    If neither of the methods described above seems appropriate for your application, you can write a program in BASIC or any other programming language to send control codes to your printer. In the chapter on page formatting you will find examples of such programs.

  • Page 38: Ix-86 Features

    Even if you never use BASIC again, you will know the capabili- ties of your printer, capabilities that can often solve your printing problems. For example, if you need a special symbol you will know that you can turn to the chapter on user-defined characters and create such a character.

  • Page 39: Pica Printing

    In fact, because of Epson’s long-standing popularity, many prog- rams are designed to use Epson printers quite easily. Often all you need to do is specify in an installation program that you are using an Epson printer.

  • Page 40: Changing Pitches

    BASIC to another type of software. For example, if you print a memo with a word processing program after you run the program above, the printer will still be in condensed mode; therefore, the memo will be in condensed print.

  • Page 41: Resetting The Printer

    Either one of these methods returns the printer to what are called its defaults, which are the standard settings that are in effect every time you turn the printer on. The two effects of resetting the printer that you should be concerned with are: it returns the...

  • Page 42: Near Letter Quality Mode

    In fact, if you need even more than the that condensed gives you, you can combine elite and condensed for a mode we call condensed elite. It is not really another pitch, because the size of the characters is the same as in the condensed space mode;...
  • Page 43 E l i t e p r i n t Condensed print Condensed elite print Remember that you don’t have to use BASIC to change modes; you can use any method that sends the printer the proper codes. Codes ESC "x" 1 1 0 . 0 0 10.00...

  • Page 44: Print Enhancements And Special Characters

    Print Enhancements and Special Characters Now that you have seen how you can change the pitch of your IX-86 printing, we can show you many more ways to vary and enhance your printing. So that you won’t have to type in dozens of programs to try all the features, we give you just one master program that can demonstrate any feature.

  • Page 45: Master Program

    Emphasized works only in draft pica and NLQ modes. In elite and condensed the dots are already so close together that even with the reduced print speed, the LX-86 cannot fire, retract, and again fire the pins quickly enough to print overlapping dots. You do sacrifice some print speed and ribbon life with emphasized, because the print head slows down and prints twice as many dots, but the increase in print quality is well worth it.

  • Page 46: Double-Strike

    Double-strike The other bold mode on the LX-86 is double-strike. For this mode the printer prints each line, then moves the paper up slightly and prints the line again. Each dot is printed twice, with the second one slightly below the first as you can see in Figure S t a n d a r d P r i n t Figure 6-2.

  • Page 47: Double-Width Mode

    Double-width Mode Perhaps the most dramatic mode on the LX-86 is double-width. It produces extra-wide characters that are good for titles and headings. For this mode, the dot pattern of each character is expanded and a duplicate set of dots is printed one dot to the right.

  • Page 48: Mode Combinations

    This will give you the same results as the first time you ran the program, but it will leave the printer in emphasized mode so that you can add another mode. Then run the program again (without turning off the printer). The second time enter “W1”...

  • Page 49: Underline Mode

    S t a n d a r d P i c a P r i n t I t a l i c P i c a P r i n t The code to turn italic mode on is ESCape “4”. Try it in the master program if you wish.

  • Page 50: Master Select

    This uses the underline Figure 6-5. The underline mode As shown in Figure 6-5, the underline mode is continuous, but some word processing and other applications programs produce an underline that leaves spaces between characters as demonstrated in the printout below. uses This the under-line...
  • Page 51 If you try to combine emphasized with either of the two narrow pitches, you won’t harm your printer; it will simply use a priority list in its memory to determine which mode to use.

  • Page 52: Superscript And Subscript

    E=MC This fact As you can see, you can use superscript or subscript for an indi- vidual character. Just find out how to send printer codes in your applications program; then send the proper codes to the printer. Special Characters The LX-86 has three groups of special characters that can add distinction to your printing.

  • Page 53: International Characters

    If n is the command turns the Character Graphics set on; if n is the command turns that set off. If you prefer to have the Character Graphics set on most of the time, see Appendix D for instructions on using the DIP switches. The Character Graphics set is actually two sets, the standard and the international.

  • Page 54: International Characters In Nlq Mode

    You select the character set in one of two ways: with an ESCape code or with a switch in the back of your printer. The ESCape code in BASIC has the following format: L P R I N T C H R $ ( 2 7 ) “ R ” C H R $ ( n ) in which n stands for the appropriate number from the list above.

  • Page 55: 6-3. International Characters In Draft Italic

    @ key, the É symbol will be generated. If your keyboard does not have one of the keys that you need, you will have to send the proper ASCII number to the printer in another way, such as a programming language or inserted or embedded codes.

  • Page 56: Graphics Character Set

    Sending the codes for these characters to the printer is a two-step process just as it is for the international characters. In BASIC, first you send CHR$(27) “m”CHR$(4) to turn on the graphics character...
  • Page 57 The next printout shows the characters in emphasized double- width pica: Because normal line spacing leaves space between the lines of graphics characters just as it does between lines of text, you must change the line spacing when you combine line graphics characters to form boxes or other figures.

  • Page 58: Page Formatting

    Just remember that once you run a pro- gram that sets margins, those margins are in effect until you change them with new margin commands or turn off or reset the printer. Chapter 7 and a right margin of...

  • Page 59: Justification With Nlq

    You should be aware that a few applications programs reset the printer before each document or file they print. These programs will, of course, cancel your new margin settings. See Chapter 2 to find out how to test for a reset code in your program.

  • Page 60: Skip Over Perforation

    Line Spacing Ordinarily you don’t have to worry about how the printer moves the paper so that it doesn’t print lines of text on top of each other; the LX-86 takes care of this without any special instructions. If, however,...
  • Page 61 l/6 inch 1/6 inch Figure 7-l. Standard line spacing The default line spacing illustrated in Figure 7-l is the only one you need for almost all printing of text, but in some cases you may want to increase or decrease the space between lines. The LX-86 has several commands to do this.

  • Page 62: Paper-Out Sensor

    Paper-Out Sensor Under the platen (the black roller) of your LX-86 printer is a small switch that senses whether or not paper is in the printer. When the end of the paper passes this switch, it sends a signal that sounds the beeper and stops your printing.

  • Page 63: User-Defined Characters

    DATA numbers, and running another program to put the character in your printer’s RAM (Random Access Memory) for use whenever you need it. Because the high-resolution NLQ (Near Letter Quality) mode...

  • Page 64: Designing Process

    After you have created your own characters with our programs, certain keys that you seldom use will generate the user-defined char- acters. For example, you will be able to type < to print . Your user-defined characters can be utilitarian or imaginative, any- thing from a scientific symbol to script letters for your initials.

  • Page 65: First Definition Program

    When you place your dots on this grid, remember that dots cannot go on horizontal lines, but they can go on vertical lines so long as they do not overlap any other dots. As you design your characters, draw the dots as large as you see them in the example on the left in Figure 8-2.

  • Page 66: Running The Program

    So that you can see how the program works, we’ll present the steps used to create the symbol for Mercury. First is the grid we used to design the character. Figure 8-3. Design for character Running the program Now run the program. For each of the nine columns, the pro- gram asks for the numbers of the rows in which you want dots to appear.

  • Page 67: Second Definition Program

    Now wait a moment for your computer to calculate the dot pat- terns and your LX-86 to print the new character in two different typestyles. Your printout also gives you nine numbers, which you will use in the next program. You should get the printout you see below: When you get to this point with a character of your own, you see how it looks and whether or not you like it.

  • Page 68: Running The Program

    90 FOR P=58 TO 63: LPRINT CHR$(P);" ";: NEXT P 95 LPRINT 100 K=l: IF K>3 THEN A=58 ELSE A=60 110 LPRINT CHR$(27)": "CHR$(O)CHR$(O)CHR$(O); 120 LPRINT CHR$(27)"%"CHR$(l)CHR$(O); 130 LPRINT CHR$(27)"&"CHR$(0)CHR$(A)CHR$( A-1+K); 140 FOR Z=1 TO K 150 LPRINT CHR$(128); 160 FOR X=1 TO 9 170 READ R 160 LPRINT CHR$(R);: NEXT X 190 LPRINT CHR$(O)CHR$(0);...

  • Page 69: Defining Nlq Characters

    The two lines when printed by your own program provide you with a key to the characters your LX-86 will now print. When you press the key for one of the characters in the top row, the printer will print the corresponding character in the bottom row. In the example above, if you type<...

  • Page 70: Grid For Nlq Characters

    Figure 8-5. Grid for NLQ characters On this grid you can use any numbered line or space. As you can see, that includes the bottom line and the line on the right side. You should remember to leave one or two columns blank for space be- tween characters, however.

  • Page 71: Data Numbers For One Column

    First data number Second data number Third data number Figure 8-6. Data numbers To calculate the data numbers for this column, you see which dots are used in the top group (the top eight positions) and add their values together. Then you go down to the middle group (the next 8 posi- tions) and add the values of any dots that are used there..

  • Page 72: First Nlq Definition Program

    Figure 8-7. Arrow design and data numbers If you look at each column individually, you can see how the numbers were calculated. First NLQ definition program Now type in and run the following program. It has the data num- bers for the arrow design. For a character of your own, change the data numbers in lines 130-150.

  • Page 73: Second Nlq Definition Program

    10 LPRINT CHRS(27);"xl"; 20 LPRINT CHR$(27);":" ;CHR$(O);CHR$(O);CHR$(O); 30 LPRINT CHR$(27);"%";CHR$(l);CHR$(O); 40 LPRINT CHR$(27);"&";CHR$(O);"<<"; 50 LPRINT CHR$(O);CHR$(12);CHRS(O); 60 FOR X=1 TO 36 70 READ C: LPRINT CHR$(C); 80 NEXT X 90 LPRINT "YOUR CHARACTER 100 LPRINT "IN DOUBLE-WIDTH EMPHASIZED PICA: "; 110 LPRINT CHR$(27);"!*<...
  • Page 74 When you run this program it prints six characters, then redefines one or more of them and prints them again. As with the draft charac- ters, you use this two-line printout as a guide to the new characters your IX-86 will print. You can use them with an applications prog- ram or a program you write yourself.

  • Page 75: Introduction To Dot Graphics

    Introduction to Dot Graphics The Epson dot graphics mode allows your LX-86 printer to pro- duce pictures, graphs, charts, or almost any other illustrative or crea- tive material you can devise. Instead of using the standard letters, numerals, and symbols stored in the LX-86’s ROM (Read Only Memory), the graphics mode prints dots column by column and line by line.

  • Page 76: Dot Patterns

    MYSTERIES If you have a program that produces graphics, all you need to know about Epson dot graphics is how to use the software. If, on the other hand, you wish to do your own programming or merely wish to understand how the LX-86 prints graphics, read on.

  • Page 77: Print Head

    In the standard graphics mode it uses only the top eight pins on the print head because the computer uses eight data lines to communicate with the printer. Therefore, each of the top eight pins of the print head corresponds to one of the To print figures taller than eight than one pass.

  • Page 78: Pin Labels

    Pin Labels Once you put the printer into graphics mode and reserve the number of columns you want, your next step is to tell the print head which pins to fire in each column. There are 256 possible combina- tions of eight pins, and you send only one number for each column.
  • Page 79 To fire any one pin, you send its number. To fire more than one pin at the same time, add up the numbers of the pins and send the sum to the printer. With these labels for the pins, you fire the top pin by sending 128.

  • Page 80: First Graphics Program

    Now that you know the principles of Epson graphics, we’ll give you two simple exercises, more densities, and then something more complex as a basis for writing your own programs.
  • Page 81 30 LPRINT CHR$(27)"K"CHR$(100)CHR$(O); 50: LPRINT CHR$(85)CHR$(42); FOR X=1 TO 50 NEXT X If you run the program now, you’ll see how one line of the pattern looks: see a how more than one line combines to form a figure, enter and run the following program, which uses two of the lines you have already typed and adds several more.

  • Page 82: Density Varieties

    You cannot print more than one line of graphics without having the graphics command issued more than once. Line 90 is the reset code to return the printer to its defaults. Density Varieties Although all the examples so far in this chapter have been in the single-density graphics mode, the density modes and two nine-pin ones.

  • Page 83: Reassigning Code

    You are familiar with the command format that uses the ESCape code and a letter, but LX-86 graphics commands can also be in the following format: L P R I N T C H R $ ( 2 7 ) “ * “ C H R $ ( M ) C H R $ ( N 1 ) C H R $ ( N 2 ) ; with m being the mode number found in the left column of Table 9-1.

  • Page 84: Width Statements

    the maximum number of dots you can reserve on the IX86, then, is: C H R $ ( 2 7 ) " Z " C H R $ ( 1 2 8 ) C H R $ ( 7 ) ; or, in the other format: C H R $ ( 2 7 ) "...

  • Page 85: Design Your Own Graphics

    Design Your Own Graphics In this section we take you through the development of a graphics program. The example is not especially complicated, but it does in- clude the same steps you would use for a more complex figure so that you have the basis for designing graphics on your LX-86.

  • Page 86: Arrow Design

    Figure 9-4. Arrow design After plotting all the dots as in Figure 9-4, you calculate the num- bers for each pin pattern by dividing the design grid into separate print lines. For the arrow design the grid was divided into three lines, each seven dots high.
  • Page 87 Otherwise the program is a straightforward graphics program that uses 7-dot line spacing and reads numbers from DATA statements and sends them to the printer. If you want to see the figure in other densities, change the “Y” in line 600 to “L” or “Z”.

  • Page 88: Graphics Programming Tips

    Graphics Programming Tips Now that we’ve shown you how to design your own graphics, we’ll review and emphasize a few elements of graphics programming. As usual, we use MBASIC in the examples, but the principles apply to any programming language. Semicolons and command placement After the graphics command is issued, every number sent to the IX-86 is interpreted as a pin pattern and printed on paper.

  • Page 89: Pin Patterns Of Incorrect Program

    27 and 49 (the ASCII codes for ESCape and “1”). Since there is no semicolon at the end of this line, the numbers 13 and 10 are sent again, and again they are printed as pin patterns.

  • Page 90: String Variables

    You may also wonder why the program prints not only the differ- ent pin patterns but also the character “J” a number of times. The reason lies in the number of columns you reserved with the graphics command. After the LX-86 receives all the numbers reserved by a graphics command-50 in this case-it leaves the graphics mode and resumes interpreting numbers as printable characters or print com- mands.

  • Page 91: Graphics And Low Ascii Codes

    If a program sends the ASCII code for form feed (12) to the printer, the computer system intercepts it and sends instead the code for line feed (10) several times.

  • Page 92: Ix-86 Characters

    This appendix gives the control codes and characters for each code from 0 through 255 decimal (00 through FF hex). Page A-3 shows the characters in the Epson Character Graphics set. Further information on the character sets is in Chapter 6.
  • Page 93 none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none ” & 55 56 < > Dec Hex CHR ----...

  • Page 94: Epson Character Graphics

    Epson Character Graphics Standard Dec Hex CHR Dec Hex CHR 128 80 none 129 81 none 193 C1 130 82 none 194 C2 none 195 C3 132 84 none 196 C4 none 197 C5 134 86 none 198 C6 135 87...

  • Page 95: Commands In Numerical Order

    Commands in Numerical Order This appendix lists all the LX-86 commands in numerical order. The page number column indicates where a complete description can be found. Note that for commands from ESC SO onwards, the decimal and hexadecimal columns show only the second code; the first code for those commands is the ESCape code.
  • Page 96 Disable paper out sensor Enable paper out sensor Copy ROM into RAM Unidirectional mode ( 1 -line) Reassign graphics mode Initialize the printer Select n/ 72 inch line spacing Set vertical tabs Set page length in lines Set page length in inches...
  • Page 97 ASCII ESC G ESC H ESC J ESC K ESC L ESC M ESC N ESC O ESC P ESC Q ESC R ESC SO ESC Sl ESC T ESC U ESC W ESC Y ESC Z ESC /\ ESC a ESC b ESC e ESC f...

  • Page 98: Control Key Chart

    Control Key Chart Some applications programs can use control key codes for decimal values O-27. The table below gives you the proper values. The Con- trol key column indicates that you press the control key at the same time you press the key for the letter or symbol in that column. For example, you press the control key and A at the same time to send the value Some programs that use this system cannot use control-@, and...

  • Page 99: Command Summary

    Command Summary This appendix lists and describes all the commands available on the LX-86. This summary is divided into the following topics: Near Letter Quality Character Width Print Enhancement Mode and Character Set Special Features Line Spacing Each command has a format section and a comment section. The format section gives the ASCII, decimal, and hexadecimal codes for the command, and the comment section describes and explains the command.

  • Page 100: Character Width

    Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: See Chapter 7 for information on this command. Character Width Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: O F Explanation: This command is only effective in draft mode. It produces characters that are approximately 60% of their normal width. ESC SI Format: ASCII code:...
  • Page 101 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: O E Explanation: Double-width mode doubles the width of all characters, including spaces. It is cancelled by a carriage return or DC4. ESC SO Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Duplicates the SO command. Format: A S C I I c o d e : D C 4 Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 4...

  • Page 102: Print Enhancement

    ESC M Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Selects elite pitch (12 characters per inch). ESC P Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Selects pica pitch (10 characters per inch). This is the default character width; so this command is normally used to cancel the elite pitch.
  • Page 103 ESC G Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Makes text bolder by printing each line twice, with the second printing slightly below the first. ESC H Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Turns off double-strike mode selected by ESC G. ESC S Format: ASCII code:...

  • Page 104: Mode And Character Set Selection

    Places the printer into the deselected state until the select printer code DC1 is received. Format: ASCII code: D C 1 Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Returns the printer to the selected state if it has been switched off by the printer deselect code DC3. Select Underlining Deselect Printer Select Printer...
  • Page 105 ESC @ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Resets the printer to the power-on state, including top of form. Clears the buffer of printable data on the print line preceding the command. ( n ) Master Select Select Italic Mode...
  • Page 106 ESCR Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Some character codes produce different characters for different countries. The characters are outlined in Chapter 6. The value of n determines which character set is printed. The countries corresponding to the values of n are the following: n C o u n t r y France Germany...

  • Page 107: Special Printer Features

    Explanation: When the character graphics set is selected, this code selects the Standard Character Graphics set. See the table on page A-3. This is the default. Special Printer Features Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 0 8 Explanation: The print position is moved one space to the left.
  • Page 108 ESC EM Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Control: Explanation: This command is used with the optional automatic-sheet feeder. When n= 0 the feeder is turned off, when n = 4 it is turned on. Using DIP Switch l-3 produces the same effect. ESC <...

  • Page 109: Line Spacing

    ESC s Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Selects half speed printing if n= 1 or returns to full speed if n=0. Line Spacing Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 0 A Explanation: When this command is received, the data in the print buffer is printed and the paper advances one line in the current line...
  • Page 110 ESC 1 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Selects the line spacing to 7/72 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The “1” is the digit one and not lower case L. ESC 2 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Selects the line spacing to l/6 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands.

  • Page 111: Forms Control

    ESC J Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Advances the paper by one line at a spacing of n/216 of an inch. The value of n should be in the range 0 to 255. This command does not send a carriage return with the line feed. ESC A Format: ASCII code:...
  • Page 112 12. ESC 9 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Turns on paper-out sensor so that the printer beeper sounds when the printer runs out of paper. ESC C Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Sets the page length to n lines.
  • Page 113 ESC CO Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Sets the page length to n inches where n has a value of 1 to 22. ESC N Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: The variable n is the number of lines between the last line printed one page and the first line on the next page.

  • Page 114: Page Format

    Page Format ESC B Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: This command allows setting of up to 16 vertical tabs. The tabs can be set in 8 channels using the ESC b command. This command sets the tabs in channel 0. These are entered as nl, n2, n3, etc.
  • Page 115 ESC / Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: This command is used to set the vertical tab channel, where c has the value 0 to 7. Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 0 B Explanation: Advances the paper to the next tab setting in the channel selected by ESC / .
  • Page 116 ESC D Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: This command allows setting of up to 32 horizontal tabs. These are entered as nl, n2, n3, etc. (in the range 1 to 137) with the NUL character as the terminator. The tab settings nl, n2, n3, etc.

  • Page 117: User-Defied Characters

    ESC Q Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: This command sets the right margin to n columns in the current pitch. This command clears previous tab settings and all previ- ous characters in the print line. ESCI Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation:...

  • Page 118: Dot Graphics

    ESC & Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: This command allows characters to be re-defined in the cur- rently selected mode. ESC % Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: This code selects the user-defined set if n = 1 and the normal set if n=0.
  • Page 119 ESC L Format: ASCII code: L (n1) (n2) (data1) (data2) . . . (data(d)) Decimal: 76 (n1) (n2) (data1) (data2) . . . (data(d)) Hexadecimal: 4C (n1) (n2) (data1) (data2) . . . (data(d)) Explanation: Turns on Low-Speed Double Density Graphics Mode, printing 960 dots per 8-inch line.
  • Page 120 ESC Z Format: ASCII code: Z (n1) (n2) (data1) (data2) . . . (data(d)) Decimal: 90 (n1) (n2) (data1) (data2) . . . (data(d)) Hexadecimal: 5A (n1) (n2) (data1) (data2) . . . (data(d)) Explanation: Turns on Quadruple Density Graphics Mode, printing’ 1920 dots per 8-inch line.

  • Page 121: Miscellaneous Codes

    (0 for single and 1 for double) and d is the total number of dots required. nl and n2 are calculated thus: nl=d MOD 256 and n2=INT (d/256). and are followed by two times d data bytes. The printer expects two data items for each column of print. Miscellaneous Codes...
  • Page 122 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Explanation: Sounds the beeper. Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 7 F Explanation: Removes the previous text character on the print line but does not affect control codes. Does not work at left margin. Format: ASCII code: Decimal:...

  • Page 123: The Dip Switches

    The design of the LX-86 g ives you easy access to the switches. You can see them in the back of the printer as indicated in Figure D-l. Figure D-l. DIP switch location Appendix D...

  • Page 124: International Dip Switch Settings

    Any changes made while the power is on will be ignored until you turn the printer off and back on. So set all switches with the power off.
  • Page 125 Switch l-5 controls the paper-end detector. When it is ON, the detector is inactive, causing printing to continue even when the print- er is out of paper. When it is OFF, the printer stops when the end of the paper passes the paper-end detector. Some computer systems ignore the setting of this switch.

  • Page 126: Using The Optional Tractor Unit

    Printer Location When you use the tractor and continuous paper, you must put your LX-86 where the paper can flow freely in and out of the printer. Use a printer stand or any other arrangement that fits your working area. Just make sure that the paper coming out of the printer does not interfere with the paper going in and that the paper going in does not catch on the printer cable.

  • Page 127: Tractor Unit Installation

    Figure E-2. Continuous paper without stand Tractor Unit Installation To install the removable tractor unit, first pull the friction lever toward the front of the printer. Then hold the tractor with the gears to the right as shown in Figure E-3. Figure E-3. Tractor placement...

  • Page 128: Paper Separator And Paper Guide

    The separator keeps the paper that is coming out of the printer from being pulled back in. Pull out the paper guide at the back of the printer. This guide helps keep the incoming paper from catching on the printer cable.

  • Page 129: Loading Continuous Paper

    Loading Continuous Paper Once your tractor is installed, you can load continuous paper. See that the printer is turned off, and open the front lid. Then move the print head to the center of the printer, and pull the paper bail away from the platen (the black roller) just as you did for single sheet loading.

  • Page 130: Open Pin Feed Cover

    Figure E-6. Pin feed bolder adjustment and feed the Next, open the pin feed covers as shown in Figure E-7 paper under the paper separator and into the paper slot; push the paper through until it comes up between the ribbon guide and the platen.

  • Page 131: Top Of

    Once you have set the top of page, each time you finish printing a document, push the ON LINE button to put the printer off-line and then push the FF button once o advance the paper so that you can tear off your just-printed page and the paper will be in the right position to begin the next docum e n t .

  • Page 132: Troubleshooting And Advanced Features

    Troubleshooting and Advanced Features This appendix approaches troubleshooting from several directions. The first section uses a columnar format to match solutions with problems. Other sections cover beeper error warnings, hexadecimal data dumping, coding and seven-bit solutions, and specific solutions for several popular personal computer systems. Problem/Solution Summary Possible problems are listed on the left and solutions on the right.
  • Page 133 Be sure that no other commands or carriage returns come between the graphics command and its data. See Chapter 9. in graphics The printer expects a certain number of pin patterns, deter- mined by n patiently until the quota is full.

  • Page 134: Paper-Out Sensor

    If the printer beeps and stops printing when it is not out of paper, turn the printer off and check to see if the paper is loaded correctly. If the paper is loaded correctly, turn the printer back on and try to print again.
  • Page 135 Therefore, if you ran the following BASIC program while your IX-86 was in the data dump mode, you would get the printout below it. The printer will print all but this last line and then stop. Press the ON LINE button to make the printer print the last line.

  • Page 136: Coding Solutions

    A hex printout of a program shows you exactly what the printer is receiving, regardless of what the computer is sending. The following test program lets you check to see what codes, if any, are problems for your computer system.

  • Page 137: Solutions For Specific Systems

    If one of our programs contains an INPUT statement or a PRINT statement, there will be a message that should go to the screen before anything is sent to the printer. In these programs, leave the first lines as they are and after the INPUT and/or PRINT statements, add a line that states PR#l ;...

  • Page 138: Ibm-Pc Solutions

    You can divert all output to the printer instead of to the screen by sending the following line to the printer: PR#1 PRINT CHR$(9)"80N"...
  • Page 139 First you open the printer as a random file: OPEN “LPT1 : ” Although this allows you to send any code to the printer, you can no longer use the LPRINT command. Instead, you must use a PRINT # 1 command : “...

  • Page 140: Technical Specifications

    Technical Specifications Printing Printing method ....Impact dot matrix Printing speed ....120 characters per second in draft Paper feed speed .

  • Page 141: Characters Per Line

    Number of copies ... . . One original plus one copy; Printer Ribbon ......Cassette ribbon, black MTBF .

  • Page 142: Environment

    Environment Temperature ..... O perating Humidity ......Operating 10% to 80% (no condensa- Shock .

  • Page 143: Test Patterns

    C-l -C-24 Control panel, 10 - 11 Selecting typestyles with. See SelecType Cut-sheet feeder option, D-2 -D-3 Data dump mode, F3 - P-5 Dimensions of printer, H-2 DIP switches, D-l -D-3 Dot graphics. See Graphics Dot matrix, 21-25 Double-strike mode, 41...
  • Page 144 Italic mode, 43 -- 44 Justification with NLQ, 54 Knob. See Paper-feed knob Lever. See Friction lever Line feed automatic, DIP switch setting for, D-2 -- D-3 button, 10 -- 11 Line spacing, 55 -- 56 Location of printer, 4, E-l -E-2 Lubrication, G-l...
  • Page 145 Maintenance, G-l Margins, 53 -- 54 Master Select, 45 -- 47 Matrix. See Dot matrix Near Letter Quality (NLQ) mode, 24 -- 25, 37 ON LINE light and button, 10 -- 11 See also SelecType Page formatting, 53 -- 57 Panel buttons, selecting typestyles with.
  • Page 146 Underline mode, 44 -- 45 User-defined characters, 59 -- 70 WIDTH statements, 80 Zero, slashed, D-2 -D-3...

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