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LaserPrinter 4: StarMicronicsCo., Ltd. PageMaker: Aldus Corporation BitStream, Zapf Humanist: BitstreamInc. Canon: CanonInc. HP, LaserJet ffP: Hewlett-Packard Company LaaerControl: Insight Dcvelcpment Inc. IBM PC: Intematicmal B usiness MachinesCorp. Optim~ Century Schoolbook: Linotype Corporation Lotus 1-2-3: Lotus DevelopmentCorporation MS-DOS, Microsoft BASIC, Window%Word: Microsoft corporation MultiMate: Multimatcfntematicnal Epson, FX-8SO:.%&o...
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About this manual This Star LaserPrinter4 ApplicationsManual gives you the information you need to programthe Star MicronicsLaserPrinter4. Why wouldyou read this book? Mostpeopleusing a laser printerjust run softwarepackageswithbuilt-inprinterdrivers,whichlookaftereverything theircomputerssendtheirprinters. Butmanyofus- smallbusinesspeople and home computerusers, not to mention the wizards who write those softwarepackages—wanttobenefitfromallthenewfeaturesofferedbyour pnntem.
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For most of us, the “Fonts”chapterwillbe useful: how to use the fonts built into the LaserPrinter 4, plus those that come on cartridges or computerdisks. You may neverlook at chapters4 and 5, whichcover Star LaserPrinter 4 commands.
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Conventions Incidentally, o neof thoseTechnicalSupplementtablessuggestsa coupleof typographicconventionswe’lluse. Baseten (decimal)numberswillgener- ally be used here; if we have to use base sixteennumbers(hexadecimal) we’ll expresslysay so. Andsecond,thelowercaseL ispracticallyidenticalto thenumberone(1ver- sus 1). BecauselowercaseL is used in manycommanddescriptions, w e’ll use the character/to avoidconfusion. The Star LaserPrinter4 OperationsManual Thismanualisthecompanion to theStarLaserPrin?er4 OperatwnsiWanuaZ that camewithyourprinter.
Getting to Know Your Star LaserPrinter T& chapterintroducesboththe hardwareand softwareaspectsof the Star LaserPrinter4’s personality,from fonts and print engine to ASCII and Escape sequences. 1.1 STARLASERPRINTER 4 HARDWARE 1.1.1 Versatility YourStarMicronicsStarLaserPrinter4workswithpracticallyall commer- cial softwareprogramsandcomputers.Withfeaturesthatgo beyondStar’s easy, affordable9-pinand fast, quality-printing 24-pindot matrixprinters the Star Laser Printer is the logical next step in the series of fine Star Micronicsprintem.
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TheStarLaserPrinter4isidealfordesktoppublishing. T hepagesitproduces makeperfectphotocopyor instant-printmasters.And all the main desktop publishingsystems,includingAldusCorporation’s PageMaker andXerox VenturaPubisher,worksplendidlywiththeStarLaserPrinter4.With“page makeup”programsliketheseyou willbe able—maybefor the firsttime— to delivercommunicationswith the impactof top-notchgraphics. 1.1.2Font options Youcan print with an amazinglywidevarietyof typefontsand sizes.The Star LaserPrinter4 comeswith seven built-infonts, which can be printed from 8.5 pointsto 12pointsin size (apoint is about 1/72of an inch).
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The serial interfaceacceptsjust one bit at a time from your computer.A parallelinterfacecanhandlea wholebyteatonce,bymovingdatabitsside- by-sidealongseparatewires.Youchoosewhichinterfacemethodyouwant to useby selectingit on the controlpanel,as explainedin yourStarLuser- Printer4 OperationsManual. 1.2.4 TheStar LaserPrinter4 is a computer The StarLaserPrinter4 firstmaps the charactemto be printedinto its own randomaccessmemory(RAM).Thatis, theprinterbuildsa “picture”in its memorycorresponding to thepageyouwantto print.Whenthat’sdonethe printercan reproducethepageontopaperon itsown,lettingyourcomputer get on with other work.
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1.2.5 ThePrint engine It’s the print engine that-formsthe actual charactersand graphics.The enginedirectsitslaser,apinpointstreamof lightpulses,throughmirrorsand lensesonto the surfaceof a positively-charged rotatingdrum. Photosensitive drum Asthelaserscans,it “draws”thepage-mapstoredin yourprinter’smemory. Wherevera lightpulsestrikes,that tiny part of the drumdropsto a neutral electricalcharge. That spot then attracts fine toner powder as the drum rotatespast the powdercompartment.
1.2 STARLASERPRINTER 4 SOFTWARE 1.2.1 Binaryand hexadecimalarithmetic 1fyou already know what hexadecimalnumbers are, you can skip this sectionand go aheadto read aboutASCII. The decimalnumber systemwith which we’re all familiaris a positional counting system. There’s the “ones” position, the “tens” position, the “hundreds”positionandsoon.
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Thateight-bitbinarystring,or byte,canbe brokenintotwohalves.The left or high-orderpart containing0100is calledthe zoneportion;the rightpart holdingthe 1010iscalledthedigitsportion.Andinthehexadecimal n umber system, the zone and digit parts of that byte are representedas 4 and A respectively(lookthem up in the list above). So the laser printerunderstandsthe symbolJ as 01001010, whichwe can also representas the decimalnumber74 or the hexadecimalnumber4A.
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o x 27 = o 1 x 26 = 64 25 = o 24 = o 23 = 8 x 2’ = o 1x 21 = 2 0 x 2° = Q 74 Decimal zone digits 0100 1010 Binary The ASCII table in the TechnicalSupplementshows all these equivalent ~presentationsfor the symbolsyour laser printer understands.The table organizesthemin ascendingorder.In fact,ASCIIis organizedin a waythat actuallymakessense.
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<ESC> control code has a special meaning: <ESC> means “the next characterspecifiesa command,not somethingto be printed”. Thereforeif you sendjust the character4 to the printerit will print a 4 and that’sall. Butif yousendthe cESC> codejustbefore the4 thentheprinter (in FX-850 mode) will switch over to italics text. Extendingthe control codesthis way givesyou manymorecommandsto controlyourprinter.In...
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WordPerfect a ndMicrosoftWord a~ strongatthis,butareby no meansthe only good font manipulator. If you have troubleusing a particularprogramwith yourStar LaserPrinter 4, you’ll probably get answers most quickly by asking your software supplierhow the programinteractswith yourprinter. Inthismanualwe referto programs,fontsandotherproductssoldby several companies. P leasemalizethatmentioningtheseproductsdoesnotmeanStar Micronicsendomesthem in any way.
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WIDTHstatementas shown.That lets us print over the wholepage area. The <BEL>controlcode— ASCIIcode7 —is sentin BASICas CHR$(7). ThecESG codeitselfis CHR$(27).Andbecausewe’reusingthecharacter 4 as part of an cESC> command,we type CHR$(52)insteadof “4”. So if you start BASICand type thesecommands: 10 ‘ EXAMPLE 20 WIDTH “LPT1 :“,255 30 LPRINTCHR$ (7) 40 LPRINTCHR$ (27) ;...
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Most programminglanguages,and someversionsof BASIC,let you treat the printeras a file to whichyou can senddata.Whenyou write a program withoneof theselanguagesyou“open”theprinterfile,printintoit, andthen “close”the file whenyou’redone.This programming jargon soundsfunny if you’renot used to it— but it works. A fewprogramminglanguageslet yousendcommandsto theprintera third way. Applesoft BASIC is one. With it, you can switch between printer outputand screenoutput.
The specificcommandsyou can sendto yourprinterto makeit emulate,or work like, other printers are described in chapters 4 and 5. The most importantfact aboutprintercommands,though,is that you may not even needto knowhowto use them.If yoursoftwaresystemsincludetheirown printer drivers, you may want to read only this chapter and skip all of chaptem4 and 5.
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[TEST/>]buttonforthrecsecondhandreleaseitjust afterSTATUSSHEET is displayedwhenthe laser printeris offline,it finishesprintingthe current page and then feedsin and prints a statussheet. Somebuttonson the panellet you performtwo functions.Holdingone of those buttons down, rather than quickly pressing it, selects a different operation.For example,holdingdown the [TEST/>]button for over six secondsafter STATUSSHEETis displayedmakesthe Star LaserPrinter4 print its test pattern.
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On the otherhand,yoursoftwarewillprobablychangethe currentsettings many times withinthe samedocument,with every changeof font or print style. 2.1.4 How to changeparameters With the printeroffline,if you press the [PROGRAM]buttonthe printer goesinto“program’ ’mode. Youcanthenstepthroughthelaserprinter’sfour levelsof programmenu to configureyourprinter(see page46-48,opera- tionsManual).That’stheprocessofchangingcertainprintersettingssoyour...
It’s actuallyprettyeasy. Flippingthroughand settingparametersfrom the panel is describedin detailin the StarL.userPrinter 4 OperationsManual. Basically,all you do is press the [ < ] or [ > ] buttonsto scrollthroughthe sequenceof possibleparametersandvalues,whichis clearlyshownon the paneldisplay.Youpress [ v ] whenyouwantto go downandscrollthrough a lower menu level. And you also press [ particularmenu item as the valuefor a currentparametersetting.
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Serialinterface:rate If you askfor the Serialinterfaceyou’llhaveto tell yourprintermoreabout how the datawillbe comingin-in particularits rate and unit size and the meaningsof any specialbits. The Rate parameterspecifieshow fast data will be arriving,measuredin baud(namedaftertheFrenchcommunications e ngineerJeanBaudot).Pick any of the followingdata transferrates: 300 baud 600 baud 1200baud 2400baud...
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Somepmgrammem calltheXONand XOFFcontrolcodes“kisson andkiss off’ otherscallthesameprotocolDC1andDC3(fordevicecontrol).Either way,thesecodeslet yourprinterrunthe show,tellingthe computerwhento start and stop sendingdata. Yourprinterasksto havedata held back when its memoryis nearlyfull or when it sensesan ERRORcondition. DTR (DataTerminalReady)protocoldoes the same thing slightlydiffer- ently.The printersendsa continuoushigh-voltagesignaloverthe cableas long as it can accept data, but drops the voltage to say “whoa” to the computer.
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You selectwhichemulationyou want eitherby selectingit from the print programmenuon the StarLaserPrinter4’s controlpanel,or by sendingthe printerone of the supersetcommandsat the end of this chapter. 2.2.4 Whatare the emulatedprinters like? Mostof thetimeyouwillprobablychooseHPLaserJet11P emulation, w hich is the defaultwhen you turn on the Star LaserPrinter4. That’sbecausethe LaserJetIIP, like the Star LaserPrinter4, is a laserprinter.This emulation...
2.2.6 Hints: Thehex dump To make your Star LaserPrinter4 ‘printin hexadecimalratherthan the usualASCIIsymbols,pressthecontrolpanelbuttonsthatput the printer offline and in PROGRAMmode. Moveto the EMULATIONparame- ter’s HEX DUMPsettingand selectON. SomecontrolorEscapecodescanbeproblemson a fewcomputers;those computemchangecertaincodeswhensendingthemto the printer.If you thinkyou havethisproblemyouneedto see exactlywhatyourprinteris receiving. W erecommendyouruna shortprogramthatloopsthroughand printsthe ASCIItable.Print in hexadecimalratherthan theusualASCII symbols.
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2.3.2 Hints:Paper, labels and transparencies The best paperfor the StarLaserPrinter 4 has a smoothfinish and is of 60to 105g/m2weight.Anypaperdesignedforphotocopiers shoulddothe trickthough;Xemx4024andCanonNP printnicely. Highqualitycotton bondpaper,whichcontainsupto25percentcottonfibres,workspassably well with even heavierweights.
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If you frequentlychangepaperweights,you will probablyget skewing problems—lines that print at an anglebecauseof misfeeding.For best results,whenyourStarLaserPrinter4is firstsetup havethepaperfeeder “squared”for paperof at least 60 grams.Lighterpaper,thoughcheaper, isn’t reallythe way to economize. Wantto printon yourown preprintedletterhead?Fine—so long as your logo’isn’t thermographed. T hick coloredink may look luxurious,but it can also windup stuckalloveryourprinter’sroller.Stayawayfrom any inksthatsoftenat relativelylowtemperatures;...
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2.3.3 TheLAYOUTparameter The layoutor@mat or setup of a page refersto how text is positionedon the page. Layout includespage orientation,margins and the spacing of charactersacrossand lines down the page. You can controlthese with the LAYOUTparameter. You probably won’t use the LAYOUT parameter on the front panel’s piograrnmenu very much though.Mostof the time you’lleitherleavethe Star LaserPrinter4 with its defaultsettings,or look after page formatting with commandsyou send fmm your computer.
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Line Feed code,usuallywhenit bumpsinto the right margin. You’llprobablylet yourcomputerprogramset thelinedepth.Butfromthe panelyou can set the VMI value in incrementsfrom 1/48to 255/48of an inch. 2.3.4 Movingtheprint position:a preview Wh.h dot-matrixanddaisywheel p rinters,youpickwheretoprintonthepage eitherby movingtheprintheadbackandforthor bymovingthepaperitself. Laserpnntemdon’thaveprintheads, b uttheprincipleremainsthesame:you haveto sayexactlywhereon thepageeachpictureandstringof textisto go, so each page can be constructedin the printer’smemory.
The commandsthatmovethe printpositionin all theseways are described in chapters4 and 5, with the specificprinteremulationyou wantto use. 2.4 CONTROLLINGTHE PRINTING 2.4.1 TheEMULATEATTRIBUTES parameter TheEMULATEATI’RIBUTES parameterdefinesf&t attributesand setup values(if any) for each of the Star LaserPrinter4’s two emulationmodes.
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Strokeweightdefineshow bold a typefaceprints. Finally, typt$aceitself means the artisticdesign of a font. Your printer’s internaltypefacesinclude,LinePrinterand Courier.With the Star Laser- Printer 4 you can also use Helvet, Gothic, Script, Caslon, Orator and hundredsmom typefaces,whichyouload intothe printerfrom cartridgeor computerdisk. Whenyou enablefontsetupparameterson the controlpanel,it meansyou startoff with particularfontattributesas defaultswhenyou first choosean emulatioq.WiththeFX-850emulationyoucanenableproportional s pacing...
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2.5.3 The ChangeEmulationcommand YoucanthinkofthesupersetChangeEmulationcommandasthekeyto your Star LaserPrinter4. The ChangeEmulationsupersetcommand lets you switchfmm one set of printercommandsto another“on the fly,” through software. ThisisthecommandthatdefineswhatothercommandstheStarLaserPrinter 4 will accept.WithChangeEmulationyouindicatewhichprinteremulation programyou wantthe printerto use. [ so you can quicklyspot...
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<ESC> [ E n For the value of n you enter a numberfrom this table: EMULATION O(zero)HP LaserJetUP EpsonFX-850 2.5.4 The Select Orientationcommand The SelectOrientationsupersetcommandlets you changethe “attitude”in whichthe Star LaserPrinter4 prints. To changefmm oneorientationto theotheryousendthisSelectOrientation Escape sequence: <ESC> [ O n...
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tationcommandyoumaywantto followit withEscapesequencesto change thesideandtopmarginsandpaperlengthsettings.(Alternatively, y oucould put the printerofflineand reset these fmm the controlpanel, as described underLAYOUTearlier.) 2.5.5 ThePaper Size command The Paper Size supersetcommandlets you changethe papersizein which the Star LaserPrinter4 prints. This is the commandthat defines what size the Star LaserPrinter4 will accept.
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For the value of n you enter a numberfrom this table: PAPER FEEDER Multi-purposetray Multi-purposetray optionalcassette Optionalcassette Optionalcassettefor onesheet,thenswitchesto theMuM- purposetray Thiscommand,if givenatthebeginningof a page,controlsthefeederof the sheeton which to printthat page. If the commandis notatthebeginningof thepage,it willforcea FormFeed and controlthe feeder of the sheet on which to print the new page which follows.
tie fontsyouuse determinewhatyourpageswilllooklike. In this chapter we’ll first clari~ the meaningsof wordspeopleuse when they talk about fonts. Next we’ll examinethe threekindsof fonts(internal,cartridgeand down- loaded) that you can use on your Star LaserPrinter4. We’ll cover the particularsets of symbolsyou can choosefor those fontstoo. Finally,we’ll find out how to load the printerwith your selectionof fonts.
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Italiccharacters(sometimescalled“oblique”)are slanted.Ordinaryupright charactemm oftencalled“reman”.YourStarLaserPrinter4 comeswith a built-inupright Couriertypeface.Moreover,from any of the Star Laser- Printer 4’s built-intypefacesyou can select a subset of upright symbols calledRoman-8. Afont is a completeset of charactersin a particularsizeandtypeface.In the worldof laserprintm, thethreevariablesmentionedabove—weight,width and style—are a few~ontattributes(sometimescalled “font characteris- tics”).
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The o has beenkerned closer to th- A font is a complete characters in a particular size and type[ ace. Uu Proportional spacing L;ading is tho baselineto baseline m~asuremcnt. 3.1.3 Font spacingandpitch You probably first heard the word pitch in connectionwith typewriters. Typewntersnonnallyusemonospacedspacing: t heygiveeachcharacterthe same amountof spaceon the line.
Everysizeofprintyouwant,pluseveryitalicorboldfacevecsion, h asitsown bit map and is normallyconsidereda separatefont. It takesa gooddeal of printermemoryto hold all the fontsyoumightwant at any givenmoment. Star Las&Pnnter 4 fonts can be grouped into three categories:internal, cartridge,and downloadablefonts. 3.2.2 Internalfonts The StarLaserPrinter4 has sevenbuilt-ininternulfontsthat resideperma- nently in its read-onlymemory (ROM).That’s why these are sometimes...
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3.2.3 Cartridgeand downloadedfonts YourStar LaserPrinter4 can use two otherkindsof fonts,alongwiththose built into the printer. Curtridgefonts,like the internalones, are permanentlystored on ROM chips.The differenceis thatthoseROMsarein removablecartridges.Your Star LaserPrinter4 has a slot for one font cartridge. A cartridgemay hold anywherefrom half a dozen to two dozen fonts, all differingfmm the internalfontsin size, style,strokeweightor symbolset.
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Outlinefontsdemandawesomecomputingpowerof the printerthough, so they’ve been available only on laser printers considerablymore expensive than the Star LaserPrinter 4. Now, with programs like Fontware,your Star LaserPrinter4 can turn out elegantprintin any size withoutthat high price. Don’t hesitateto ask your Star dealerwhere you can buy cartridgeand downloadablefonts.
3.3 SYMBOLSETS summarizebriefly,to put the subjectof symbolsets in context. Let’s The attributesof a font determinewhat that font will look like when it is printed. We covered all but orientationat the start of this chapter, and orientationin the last chapter.A font’sattributesinclude: orientation(portraitor landscape) symbol (whichwe’ll look at next)
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Youprobablywon’tchangesymbolsetsveryoften,unlessyouneedspecial symbolsfor your tradeor regularlywritein a languageother than English. Whenyoudoneedthem,though,inoneoranotheremulationmodeyourStar LaserPrinter4 supportssymbolsets for all these countries: U.S. (ASCII) UnitedKingdom Germany Italy Spain Besidestheseyourprintersupportssetscontaining just symbols,suchasthe Greek alphabet(13), logicsymbols(S), arrows(t), the qjistered trademark symbol(@)and so on. 3.3.2 Each emulationhas symbolsets Yourlaser printer worksby emulatingor followingcommandsdeveloped originallyfor otherprinters.One of the StarLaserPrinter8’s advantagesis thatit offefi youa choiceofseveralbuilt-insymbolsetsforeachfontineach emulation.
If you wanta characterthat’snot in the font you’reusing,don’thesitateto grab it. Just sendthe Escapesequencesthat selectyourdesiredsymbolset, print with it, then go back to your originalfont. 3.4 MANAGINGFONTS You can see whichfonts are currentlyselectedon your Star LaserPrinter4 by printinga statussheetin offlinemode,as mentionedat the beginningof this chapter.AnotherTESTmodemenu item,describedin the StarLuser-...
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A few of today’scomputerprogramslet you see severaldifferentfont sizesandtypefaceson yourcomputerscreen.Thatcapabilityisnecessary if you wantto see on-screenexactlywhatwillprint on yourStar Laser- Printer 4. Desktoppublishemcall this capabilityWYSIWYG—“what you see is what you get”. Whenyou designyourpages,don’tvary fontsizejustto fit text intothe spaceavailable.Go with a size that’seasy to read and be consistent.
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Optjonalfonts 7 t 1 p 3.4.4 Usjngcartrjdgefonts t a f o a c 2 u e D n i 3.4.5 How to downloadfonts t d i c o a c o o t t u t C...
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3.4.6 Downloadinga font:exampleone i f a c f t f w b t s 3.4.7 Downloadinga font: exampletwo “ y k i an P o T ( t b y h Y o N f y t u d...
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“ f a t a f c Y f y o a y 3.4.8 Hints:Managingmemory 4 i y i H L o f f i t c...
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i i t w i y u a p A a g t t i i a m i a c i h t s i a n i n a o a n...
HP LaserJetIIP C o m m a n d s ‘ i H L 1 i a l A t e 4.1.1 Whatdo LaserJetIIP commands/ooklike? E f r < i a s C i t 1 i a e a w d i C “...
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< i a a < & 6 M 4.1.2 CombiningEscapesequences a < ( 2 ) ; “ & ; “ w t s o i a B i c “ “ t b i A c b c b o r...
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< < < < (S 1s 4.2.1 Self test < t z i l i i m i i d botiface Cowzkr. 4 i p i t o I t p o a t u i y...
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4.2.2 Set numberof copies u t 9 c < & X t d i c 4.2.3 Set feed selection c d i p Y u t < & F n e 4.2.4 Reset t s a y < b i t...
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4.2.5 Example:Printercontrols < < < A a B i i i w i i d Youcan n w p t & “ : “ , ; “ Z “ ( 2 ) ; “ ; “ a i p o a l i i m “...
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4.3.1 Page Length < & n i t n a “ a a p o a p o a p o t p i c b a n o t 6 l p i a t h t l t “...
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< & w g o yous “ 4.3.2 Side margins Executive & o i p n @ L s o p o a c O B 1...
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< 4.3.3 Topmargin o a l t s t ‘ < & 4.3.4 Textlengthand the bottommargin f n y n t b t c t “ o a “ i t c n t b t n “...
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< & t s t < & B i y 4.3.5 Example:Page formatting top margin=8 Iirme { len length. 100 lines bottom margin 4 lines – ( “ t d i t column 10 column 70 ,,, . ,:.: occasional footnotes...
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A i p s w c < & 1 & 1 & < 4.4.1 Many ways to move Y c m t o u o b s o a p t b i m t t s 4 t m...
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4.4.2 Linesper inch < & F n y o 4 I y 4.4.3 Definingthe spaceand column o t l i t w i i m a t C i 1 u < < & n H o a t w...
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4.4.5 Definingline depth b i i o a i < &/n C 4.4.6 Movingthe PRINTpositionhorizontally t “ o a “ t s t t “ i a l Ot 3 I n i z w b p o a i...
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4.4.7 Horizontalmoves:by columns,decipoints and dots & n C f n y S t m & 4 B t m < & + < & n H f n y b a+ o s Y c m < * n X f n y b a + o –...
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< t d t 4.4.8Moving theprint position vertically A i y m 4.4.9 Verticalmoves:bylines, decipointsand dots < & n R < & 4 B t m & + < & n V a a t i n p o t p...
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< * n Y f ny p e b a + o – s S t m < < * – 4.4.10 Combiningmove commands A w m < < & + 4.4.11 Backspace < a + o u o d...
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4.4.12 Carriagereturn <cFb 4.4.13-Linefeeds o a l < asc> = < & 4.4.14 Form feed This a i s <m i s b t –.5 t < b a t u t l y t a n...
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< & n G F n e < < < o < < 4.4.16 Autowrap w g u < < a < a < a < a < < & 2 G f e...
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&snc I f n B i f n y f a w 4.4.17 Pushingand popping theprint position “ c “ i o t w t k o u t 2 p t t l i n w...
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1 t p Font selection a t f b i a i S i y t p i t 4.5.2 Selectingprimary or secondaryfonts O t t Y c d i t f < o b f i a E...
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< < <so> Assigningfont ID numbers w t d a < < a I n t a i a I n *C n < i b u i t p i T m n a s...
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Selectingdownloadedfonts w t s i a y < ( n X n i y < ) n X Font attributes w t s i y d just zips b c g i t u f “ a I n u < o <...
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’ 4 i m a i m <Esc> & f n y Y u t s f y h a a o a p Ot g p o 1 t g l s i R a t c...
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Example:Assigningfont numbers d a p “ “ “ t a c ; “ ( : “ ( ( 1 ) : ( 2 ) : “ c I ) : “ C6 ; “ ( : “ (...
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4.6.1 Font designis tedious i a f a e o o a f 4.6.2 How to downloadyour own fonts i a a i s t t d t i t a t s i y o t m o u t 2...
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I t y a I t y “ < i t p < a‘ < i a n t b s a I n I i i t o i a t b c w b d < T g y...
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<ESC> 103E And immediatelyafterit you sendthe bits thatmakeup the characterg. 4) Describing each character in your font The next step is to describeeach of yourcharacters,“mapping”whereyou wanteach dot to go. Send this commandbeforeeach character: <ESC>...
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to describe and map your character. Sixteen bytes are needed for the description;the bit-map takes as many bytes as you’ve put into each charactercell—perhapstwo or tie As withthe fontheader,eachbytein the characterdescriptionis a number, sent as the symbol at that positionin the ASCII table. Codingcharacter descriptionsis tricky too, so again we recommend you ask your Star Micronicsdealer for help.
1) Definethe resolution 2) Set the orientationof the graphicimage 3) Issue the commandto start graphics 4) Issuethe commandto set the compressiontechnique(if any)of the graphicaldata 5) Send the commandswhichtransferthe graphicsdata 6) Send the commandto end graphics Beforegraphicsare sent to the printer,the resolutionmust be set. This is achievedusing the followingcommand: <ESC>*t n R...
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If the first byteof thepairis equalto zero,thedatainthesecondbyteis notrepeated. Where n=2,the data to followis in TaggedImage File Format (TIFF) confofrningto RV.4.O standards.The demandsof spacedo not allow a detailed discussion of TIFF standards here, but briefly, TIFF files combinefeaturesof non-encodedandnon-encoded. f des. Manyproprie- tary graphicspackagesuseTIFFencodingwhenstoringandtransmitting graphicdata.
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Definingthedimensionsoftheareayouwantto filljust meansindicatingthe horizontalandverticalsizeofthepattcm,or therule’slengthandthickness. You can indicatedimensionsin eitherdotsor decipoints(tenthsof a point). At 300dotsor 720decipointsto the inch,decipointmeasurementsaremore accurate.The printer converts decipointvalues into dots, using 2.4 de- cipoints to the dot. It rounds up fractions to the next integer. So 1225 decipointswouldworkoutto510.4dots,andthepnnterroundsthisupto511 dots.
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Alternatively,to show the verticaldimensionin decipoints,you send this command: <ESC> *c n V in whichn is thenumberof decipointsin therule’sthicknessor thepattern’s verticallength. 4.7.4 Choosingand printinga rule or pattern Youneedbothof the nexttwo commandsto chooseandprintthe particular patternyou wantto fill yourdefinedarea.Thesecommandsworktogether. WiththePrintPatterncommand(whichactuallycomessecond)youspecify whetheryouwantto fillyourrectangularareawithasolidblackrule,a finely dotted gray-scale pattern, or a predefine linear pattern.
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patternyouwant.Youalwayssendthe SpecifyPatterncommandbefo~ the PrintPatterncommand,even if you want a solidblack rule. To indicatethe particularpatternyou want, send the followingcommand. The general meaning of the n value you enter actuallydepends on the commandyou put afterthis: <ESC> *C n If youwant a solidblackruleit doesn’tmatterwhatyouput in for n, as the printerignoresit.
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If you want a linearpattern,for n you enterhere a patternnumberbetween 1 ~d 6 inclusive,identifyingone of the linearpatternsbelow. You always send the followingPrint Pattern command after Patterncommand.This PrintPatterncommandidentifieswhetherthe area youhavedefinedis tobefilledwitha rule,dottedgray-scalepattern,orlinear pattern: <ESC> *C n For n enter a valuefrom the followingtable.(If you selecta linearpattern here, but a dotted pattern in the previous SpecifyPattern command,the printerwill ignorethis Print Patterncommand.) n VALUE...
4.Z5 Examples:Patterngraphics To specifya blockfiveincheswideyoucoulduse ahorizontaldimensionof 1500dots (5 inchestimes 300 dots).That commandwouldlook like this: <ESC> 1500A To print that area with a 25 percentgray-scalepattern,the commandsyou send wouldbe: <ESC> <ESC> Butto printanareafilledwiththehorizontalbar pattern,thecommandsyou send wouldbe: <ESC> <ESC> (Youcouldcombinethesecommandsas <ESG *c lg 3P .) 4.8 MACROS...
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For examplesay you wantto deletea macronumbered80.You wouldfirst selectthatmacrowiththecommandcESC>&f80Y. Thenyouwoulddelete it with the Macro ControlcommandcESC> &f 8X as describedbelow. 4.8.2 Macro Control The Macro Control command performs several jobs for you, such as defining,mnning and deletingmacros. To manage macros you send the followingcommand: <ESC>&f n X...
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Deletelast specifiedmacro. Makelast specifiedmacrotemporary. Makelast specifiedmacropermanent. 4.8.3 Examp/e:Macros The followingprogramloads and runs a macro.The macrumovesan inch and a half rightand downthreeinchesfromthe top left comer of the page, whereit prints a 25 percentgray-scalebar. It then ejectsthe paper. 100 LPRINT CHR$ ( 27) ; “&f6X”...
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Lines500 through700 selectthe 180-dotdeep and 7200-dotwidepattern andprintit. Line 800doestheformfeedthatforcesthe actualprinting.Line 900 endsthe downloadingprocess. At the two line we selectour macro and actuallyrun it.
IBM PersonalComputer,which was marketedwith a modifiedEpson printer,thousandsof softwarepro- grams alreadywork with Epsonprintercommands. If youhaveaprogramthatdoesn’tworkwithlaserprintercommands, y ou’ll ahnostcertainlyfindit willworkwiththecommandsintheStarLaserPrinter 4’s FX-850emulationmode.YourStarLaserPrinter4willprintany docu- ments you createwith standardEpsoncommands. We followthe samesequencein this chapteras we did in earlierchaptem: first someprintermanagementandpagesetupcommands,thenwe’llcover commandsthatmovetheprintposition,andfinallywe’llprintourdocument with our choiceof font attributes.
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Butsomecommandsincludetwo nvariables,whichamshownas nl andn2. Thesenormally~pmsent bytesto be addedtogetherto produceonesum,in whichnl representssingleunits and n2 represents256-unitgroups. Finally, a few commandscan have many n variables(such as tab stops), which am listed the same way. And one or two includea second kind of variable,whichaR shownin thischapteras singlelowercaseletters,suchas c or m.
left-to-right(unidirectional) p rintingcontrol<ESC>U print quiet (half speed) print immediate (“incremental”or “typewriter”mode) 5.2 CONTROLLINGTHE PRINTER 5.2.1 Puttingtheprinter onlineor offline You can send <XOF- and <XON> controlcodes (describedin Chapter2 under“SerialInterface”)to putyourprinterofflineandthenonlineagain.If youareusingaparallelinterface,anydatayourcomputersendsafteryouput the printerofflinewill not be printed. To put the printerofflinesendthis controlcode: <XoF~(sometimes shownas cDC3>) To puttheprinterbackonline,eitherpressONLINEon the controlpanelor send this command:...
5.3 FORMATTINGPAGES 5.3.1 Page /ength You can definepagelengthin eitherinchesor lines-a matterof personal preference.WhenyoufirststartFX-850emulationyourprintersetsthepage lengthto 11 inchesand 66 lines. The deftition of a “line” dependson the lines-per-inchspacing. If you changeline spacingafter you set the page length,the page length won’t change. Andif youprintpagesactuallylongerthanthe installedpapertray, the Star LaserPrinter4 will printthem on two sheetseach.
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For example,say you have set the pagelengthto 84 lines (legalsize paper at 6 linesper inch),with the top-of-page8 linesdown.You then send: <ESC>N16 Thiswillgiveyou81inesoftopmargin(impliedbyyourtop-of-page setting) and 8 linesof bottommargin.Theprinterknowsyou want84-16=68 lines Qftext, so it printsthose,skips8 linesat thebottomof the firstpage,plus 8 mo~ lines at the top of the nextpageto makeup the totalperforationskip of 16lines.
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Samerules applyfor the rightmargin:you sendthis command: <ESC>Q n in whichn is the columnnumberfor the rightmargin. 5.3.4 How to centerorjustify text If your text processor won’t center or line up text for you, your Star LaserPrinter4 candothejob. Ymtifiedtextprintsflushagainstoneorboth side marginson both the rightand left sidesof the page.
LINE SPACING 1/8inch 7f72inch 1/6inch incrementsof 1/216inch incrementsof 1/72inch 5.4 MOVINGTHE PRINTPOSITION 5.4.1 Space easiestcommandfor movingthe print positionto the right acrossthe pageisjust the spacecontrolcode,the samecharactersentby the spacebar on a keyboard: <Sl% The actualdefinitionof a space(whichcan also be thoughtof as the width of a print column)is set by the pitch.
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<m 5.4.5 Line feed commands line spacingcommandsdefinewhat a “line”means for the following commands.The defaultverticalspacingis six lines per inch. Youuse this Line Feedcommandto movethe printposition,not to the left margin,butjust down the page one line: <LF>...
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To turn on left-to-rightprintingforjust one line, this is the command: <ESC>< 5.4.8 Movinghorizontallyfrom the left margin Two horizontalmotion commandssend the print positionto a particular positionon the line.Thesecommandsare basedon FX-850dots.Unfortu- natelythe FX-850offers only 60 or 120dots per inch, ratherthan the Star LaserPrinter4’susualdensityof 300 dots.
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Confused?Hem’s an example.This command: <ESC>$141 moves14+ (256x 1)=270 incrementsfromtheleftmargin.Thatworksout to 270/60inches,whichis four and a half inches. 5.4.9 Movinghorizontallyfrom the currentposi- tion The other horizontalmovecommand,whichmovesawayfrom the current printposition,comesin smallerincrementsof 1/120inch.Tomovethisway, firstdecidewhetheryouwantto moverightor left,andby howmany 1/120 inch increments.Then send this command: cESC>\ nl n2...
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<HT> 5.4.11 Verticaltabs Verticaltabs work much the same way. When you send the VerticalTab Movecommand,theprintpositionmovesdownto thenextverticaltab stop. No tabs are set when you first start FX-850emulation.
To removeall venical tab stops,send this command: <ESC>B dW.JL> 5.4.12 Veflical tabs in channels This next pair of commands,whichlets you storeanduse severaldifferent sets of vertical tabs, is rarely used. They’re mostly for putting data into prepriritedforms,or for unusualreportsthat need differenttab settingson differentpages.
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To choose between access to italics or to character graphics, send this command: <ESC>t n in whichfor n if you enter 5.5.4 /international c haracters Monmver,you can overlaythe symbolset with particularcountry-specific symbols.To choosewhichinternational s ymbolsyouwishto overlay,send thiS command: <ESC>R n...
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Spain I Japan Norway DenmarkU Spain II Latin America 12 The particularsymbolsthe commandwill give you are shownin the chart below. (xxJNTRY US (ASCII) France Germany England Demk Sweden Italy Spain I Japan Ncmay DenrnarkII SpinII Latin America 35 36 64 91 92 91 94 96 123124125126 #$@[\l #$~~ouA,aoufi E$@[\]...
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You shouldalwayshaveaproportionally spacedfontselectedwhenyousendthis command.Also, you can’t condenseproportionallyspacedtext. To turn proportionalprintingon or off, send this command: <ESC>p n in whichif n is anevennumbersuchas 2 or 4 yougetproportional p rinting, andif nis anoddnumbersuchas 1or 3yougetthelast-selected monospaced pitch.
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5.5.7 Characterspacing FX-850 emulation lets you control the amount of space inserted after charactm, sometimescalled the oflset. You might want, for example,to justify a line of print yourself. With the CharacterSpacingcommandyou can add to the distanceeach characteradvances,in incrementsof l/120th inch.The commanddoesnot affectthe selectedpitch.
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To shift into condensedprint, send eitherof thesecommands: <S1> or Condensedprintwill stayon untilyou selecta differentprintmodeor send the followingCancelCondensedprint controlcode,whichreturnsprinting to the 10-pitchdefault: <DC2> 5.5.10 Extendedprint Extendedprint is wider than it is high; FX-850 owners sometimescall it “double-width”print. Extendedprint looks good in headings. Selecting extendedprintmeansselectinga fontwithwidercharacters.Youcan select extendedprint eitherfor one line or for several.
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5.5.12 Style FX-850 emulationlets youuse italicscharactemwithoutdefiningitalicsas a separatefont, sinceit can store italicsin the upperhalf of its symbolset. To selectitaliccharacters,sendthis command: <ESC>4 And to return to uprightcharacters,send this command: <ESC>5 Note: in neitherof thesecommandsdo you sendthe actualnumber4 or 5. Instead,use the ASCIIsymbolsfor thosenumbers.
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5.5.14 Typeface The Star LaserPrinter4 uses Courierfont as its defaultFX-850font. You use the Select Emulationsupersetcommandto switch into another emulationto selecta cartridgeor downloadedfont,but youwon’tbe ableto bring that font back into FX-850mode.That’sbecauseFX-850emulation alwaysstarts with Courieras its defaultfont. 5.5.15 Underline The underlinecommandunder FX-850 emulationputs underlinesunder spaces as well as characters.To turn underlineon or off you send this command: <ESC>–...
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An example:Proportionalboldextendedlooksgoodas a title.To getit you addup then valuesforthosethree(2 + 8 + 32= 42),andsendthecommand: <ESC> ! 42 5.5.17 Subscriptsand superscripts Subscriptmodeprintscharactersat half of the normalheightiin the lower partoftieline space.Superscript m odeprintscharactersathalfofthenormal height,but in the upperpart of the line space.Youmay wantsubscriptsand superscriptsfor foomote numbers or mathematicalformulas.
GRAPHICS If you are using a commercialgraphicsprogram,such as Lotus 1-2-3, you won’tneed to use the commandsin this section.Usuallyyou’lljust draw your imageon your screenand then send it to the printer. Shouldyouwantto sendyourowngraphicscommandsinFX-850emulation mode, though, it’s best to start off knowing a little binary arithmetic.If you’re rusty on binary you can reviewcomputerarithmeticin Chapter 1.
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That translatesto 150+ (Ox 256)= 150columns. Buttoprint260columnsofgraphicsatthesamedensity,youwouldsendthis command: <ESC>K 4 1 This one translatesto 4 + (1 x 256)= 260 columns. Rememberto put exactlythe Otherwise you’ll inadvertentlyuse text as graphics data, or vice versa. Anotherhint:in BASIC,theWIDTHstatementcanhelpyoukeepunwanted carnage returnsfrom messingup your graphics.
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Sothis’’all-purpose” g raphicscommandmeansyoucandoourfirstexample two differentways: <ESC>K 1500 and <ESC>* O1500 5.6.4 Changinga command’sdensity Youcan actuallyswitchthedensitythatagraphicscommandnormallygives you. Why would you want to do that? If you have a programcontainingmany <ESC> K commandsand want to switch to double-densitycESC> L, it couldmean changinga lot of commands.It’s easierto sendone command...
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256-columngroupsof data you are sending(betweenOand 4). And nl is the numberof leftovercolumns(Oto 255). Why can n2 indicateup to 4 groups, when the limit is 3 with eight-dot graphics? Because you send twice as many data bytes with nine-dot graphics.
Technical Supplement l%is final chapterin your Star LaserPrinter4 ApplicationsManualholds two main sections.The first on willhelp you with yourprogrammingjob, whilethe last providesthe symbolset tables. We’vesummarizedallcommandsin ASCIIorderhere.You’llfindthemor- ganizedby functionin chapters4 and 5. The StarLaserPrinter’ssymbolsetshavebeenincludedso thatyou can see exactly what charactersare availableto you. Roman-8includesstandard ASCII and is the defaultfor all emulations.
COMMAND SUMMARY LaserJet11P EmulationPrinter Commands 6.1.1 HP Command CBS> -m-r> <LF> . <m <m <so> <S1> <ESC>&a n C 4E3SC> &a n H <ESC>&a n L <ESC>&a n M cESC> &a n R cESC> &a n V <ESC>&d@ <ESC>&d n D <ESC>&f n S <ESC>&f n X <ESC>&f n Y...
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Command <ESC>( n @ <ESC>( n X <ESC>(s n B cESC> (s n H <ESC>(s n P d3SC> (s n S <ESC> (S n <ESC> (S n <ESC> (S n <ESC>) n <ESC>) n @ <ESC>) n X <ESC>)s n B <ESC>...
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Command <ESC>Y *SC> <ESC> [ C n <ESC> [ E n <ESC> [ O n <ESC>[ S n <ESC> EpsonFX-850EmulationPrinter Commands 6.1.2 Command <BEL> <BS> <HT> cLF> <VT> <m <cm <so> <Sb <S1> <DC1> <DC2> <DC3> <DC4> <CAN> <DEL> dxc> <s0>...
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Command <ESC> CEsc> 5 <ESC>< CEsc> = <ESC>> <ESC>? <ESC>@ <ESC>A n <ESC>B nl n2.. .cNUL> Set verticaltab stops <ESC>C -dWJL>n <ESC>C n <ESC>D nl n2.. .@IUL>Set horizontaltab stops <ESC>E <ESC>F <ESC>G <ESC>H <ESC>J n <ESC>K nl n2 <ESC>L nl n2 <ESC>M <ESC>N n <ESC>O...
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Command 43SC> 6n <ESC> <ESC>t n <ESC>w n Function Set left margin Select./cancel proportionalspacing Selectcharacterset Select/canceldouble-height c haracters Page...
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SYMBOL SETS This sectiongivestablesof the symbolsets for the Star LaserPrinter4. The decimalcharactercode of each characteris shown in an inset to the lower rightof the character. Thehexadecimal c odecanbe foundby readingtheentriesat thetop andleft edgesof the table.For example,the character“A” is in column4 and row l: soitshexadecimal c haractercodeis41.
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ID Number Symbol Name <HT> (EM> <M> <SUB> <VT> cESCJ 11[ I 271 I 43!‘ 1 591 I 751 <W> — 151 I 31!‘ 1 471 21: German I 72 I 56 I 24 ‘ I 40 K— +— : — —...
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Number Symbol Name HP Spanish 15! I 31]‘ I 47] I 631 I 791 —1 95...
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FX-850mode,108 HP LaserJetIIP mode,65, 70-71 plottergraphics,115 pointsize,2,24,25,32 poppingprintposition HP LaserJetHPmode,62-63 portraitorientation. S ee font orientation primaryfonts,63-64 printdensity,22 printdirectioncommands,111 printdrum,4 printengine,4 printercontrolcommands,13-30 FX-850mode,95 HP LaserJetIIP mode,47-49 printerdrivers,6,9,27 printerparameters,13-30 PrintPatterncommand HP LaserJetIIP mode,85-88 printpositioncommands,21,24-25 F’X-850 mode,99-104 HP LaserJetHPmode,54-62 printspoolers,44 PROGRAMbutton,15...
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FX-850mode,112 superscripts, 3 7 FX-850mode,112 supersetcommands, 2 6-29 symbolsets,20,37-39,65 FX-850mode,105 HP LaserJetHP mode,66-70 tab commands FX-850mode,102-104 HP LaserJetHPmode,58 templates, 4 0 TESTbutton,14 TextLengthcommand HP LaserJetIIP mode,50-51 top margincommands FX-850mode,96-97 HP LaserJetIIP mode,52 tmnsparencies, 2 2 Transparent p rintcommand,75 typeface,26,31-32,65 typefacecommands...
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