Controllingthepage - Star Micronics 8 Series Applications Manual

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Hints: The hex dump
To make your Star LaserPrinter8 print in hexadecimalrather than the
usual ASCII symbols,press the front panel buttonsthat put the pnntcr
offlineand in PROGRAMmode.Moveto the COMMANDparameter's
HEX DUMPsettingand selectON.
SomccontrolorEscapecodescanbeproblemsonafewcomputcrs;those
computerschangecertaincodeswhensendingthemto the printer.If you
thinkyouhavethisproblemyouneed to see exactlywhatyourprinteris
receiving. W erecommendyouruna shortprogramthatloopsthroughand
printsthe ASCIItable.Print in hexadecimalratherthan the usualASCII
symbols.
If you spot a problemcodeyou can try to bypassthe problem,either by
sendingeach codedirectlyto the printer,or by changingyour system
printerdriver.Suchcomputer-specific solutions,though,are beyondthe
scopeof this manual.We suggestthat if necessaryyou consultanother
programmermore familiarwith yourcomputer.
Actually,if youaredebugginganyprogramyou may findthishex-dump
mode helpful.It can be a greattrouble-shooter.
CONTROLLING THE PAGE
In this section we look at two controls you have over how the Star
LaserPrinter8 handles and formats its pages: You can set values for the
PAPERFEED and LAYOUTparameterson the front panel.At the end of
this sectionwe'll also previewdifferentwaysto movethe print position.
The PAPER FEED parameter
The PAPERFEEDparameterlets you specifybothwhatkind of paperyou
want and how the printeris to handleautomaticprint-positionmovements
(carriagereturnsand so on).
Oneconvenientthingabouta laserprinteris thatit doesn'tneed
continuous
forms,
sometimescalled~an~oki p aper. Other printers feed in a stack of
forms—withpagesalljoinedbyperforations-by havingsprocketsengage
andpull
alongpinfeed
holespunchedalongeachsideof thepaper.Afterit's
printed you have to tear off the pinfeed-holestrips and then separatethe
pages.
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