Epson MX-70 User manual

User’s Manual
for
MX-70 Printer
by
David A. Lien
COMPUSOFT® PUBLISHING
A Division of CompuSoft, Inc.
P.O. Box 19669 l San Diego, California 92119 U.S.A.

This Book was prepared especially for Epson America, Inc. by CompuSoft® Publish-
ing. All rights, domestic and international are reserved by CompuSoft®, Inc. Requests
for permission to reproduce or distribute this User’s Manual should be addressed to:
COPYRIGHT DEPT
CompuSoft®, Inc.
P.O. Box 19669
San Diego, CA 92119
Copyright © 1981 by CompuSoft® Publishing,
A Division of CompuSoft®, Inc.
San Diego, CA 92119
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. No patent liability is assumed
with respect to the use of the information contained herein. While every precaution has been
taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors or
omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein.
CompuSoft® is a registered trademark of CompuSoft®, Inc.
International Standard Book Number: o-932760-06-6
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: M-70726
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America

FCC Compliance Statement
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy. If not installed and
used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions,
it may cause interference to radio and television reception. It has been type
tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computing device in
accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules, which
are designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference in a
residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that interference will
not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference
to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equip-
ment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one
or more of the following measures:
- Reorient the receiving antenna
- Relocate the computer with respect to the receiver
- Move the computer into a different outlet so that computer and re-
ceiver are on different branch circuits.
If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio/
television technician for additional suggestions. The user may find the following
booklet prepared by the Federal Communications Commission helpful:
“How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems.”
This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washing-
ton, DC 20402, Stock No. 004-000-00345-4.
iii

Trademark Acknowledgements
TRS-80 is a Trade Mark of Radio Shack. Centronics is a Trade Mark of
Centronics, Inc. Apple is a Trade Mark of Apple Computers, Inc. Microsoft is a
Trade Mark of Microsoft, Inc.

A Personal Note From the Author
Congratulations on your decision to buy an Epson MX-70 printer! In my
opinion, it’s the best dollar value in a low cost printer on the market today. Like
its big brothers the MX-80 and MX-100, its mechanical features are unsur-
passed for the cost. Its electronics features are ideal for the user looking for top
value in a printer for general utility use, and high resolution graphics.
“WHO NEEDS A LEARNERS MANUAL FOR A PRINTER?” The answer -
ALMOST EVERYONE EXCEPT A COMPUTER PROFESSIONAL.
Today’s printers are very sophisticated compared to those of even a year ago.
Most are not fully utilized because the instructions are too vague and confus-
ing. We’re doing our best to eliminate that problem with the Epson MX-series.
Z encourage you to learn all about your new MX-70. You paid for it. Put it
to work.
Dr. David A. Lien
San Diego - 1981

vi

MX-70 Table of Contents
FCC Compliance Notice ............................................
Trademark Credits ................................................
Personal Note from the Author .....................................
Introduction ......................................................
Chapter 1: The Starting Line .......................................
Chapter2:SenditaMessage .......................................
Chapter 3: More Print Control Commands ...........................
Chapter 4: An Introduction to Dot Matrix Printing ....................
Chapter 5: Graphtrax II ............................................
Chapter 6: Advanced Graphics .....................................
Chapter 7: The Final Push ..........................................
Chapter 8: Using the HIRES Screen Dump Program ...................
Appendix A: ASCII Charts for MX-70 ................................
Appendix B: Control Codes .........................................
Appendix C: Character Set .........................................
Appendix D: TRS-80 Differences ....................................
Appendix E: Use with Atari ........................................
Appendix F: Use with Apple ........................................
Appendix G: Special Notes on Other Computers, Languages/Interfaces ...
Appendix H: Technical Specifications ................................
Appendix I: Control Circuit Board and Initialization ...................
Appendix J: Pinout Chart ..........................................
Appendix K: Parallel Interface Timing ...............................
Appendix L: Printer Maintenance ...................................
Appendix M: Schematic Diagram ...................................
Index ............................................................
Notice ...........................................................
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iv
V
ix
1
13
23
31
41
49
59
67
79
81
83
85
89
91
95
97
99
101
103
105
107
109
111
vii

USER’S SERVICE
MANUAL
WARNING
High voltage exists inside this unit and
the case should be opened only by a qual-
ified person!
viii

USER’S SERVICE
MANUAL
WARNING
High voltage exists inside this unit and
the case should be opened only by a qual-
ified person!
viii

Introduction
“But do I REALLY have to take a course on ‘How to operate a printer’ to use
this one?” No - not if you only want to use it for mundane printing. It prints
“mundanes” very nicely.
If you want to use the exotic features it offers, approach your new printer in the
same way as your first computer - with a healthy curiosity and an open mind.
They probably far exceed what you expected from a printer inexpensive enough
to call your own.
The MX-70 printer works with virtually any computer properly interfaced to it.
This “Learner’s Manual” uses the popular Apple II Plus as its “driver” since
the Apple’s high resolution graphics features so closely parallel the printers.
What’s taught here applies to all computers, though not all are powerful enough
to utilize every MX-70 feature. More on that in good time.
Impatient readers should head for the appendices and usual reference materials
at the back. The rest of us will believe that this is no ordinary printer and take
the time to learn to use it right - the first time.
A good working knowledge of the BASIC* language is all that’s required as we
begin, with Chapter 1.
“Users who feel their BASIC skills are a little rusty are referred to the following
books by the same author:
The BASIC Handbook (2nd Edition), Encyclopedia of the BASIC Lan-
guage. 480 Pages. Available through CompuSoft Publishing, Box
19669, San Diego, CA 92119.
Learning TRS-80 BASIC. Available through CompuSoft Publishing, Box
19669, San Diego, CA 92119.
ix