Panasonic KX-P3123 - KX-P 3123 B/W Dot-matrix Printer User manual

Operating Instructions
Impact Dot Matrix Printer
KX-P3123
•
• Quiet
• •
• • •

2
FOR USER IN THE UNITED STATES ONLY
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and,
if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio
communications. However, there
is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the
user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following
measures:
o Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
o Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
o Connecttheequipment into an outletonacircuitdifferentfrom that to which the receiver
is connected.
o Consult the dealer or an experienced radiofTV technician for help.
The user may find the booklet "Something About Interference" available from FCC local
regional offices helpful.
FCC Warning: To assure continued FCC emission limit compliance, the user must use
onlythe recommended shield interfacingcable when connectingto ahostcomputer. Also,
any unauthorized changes or modifications to this equipment would void the users
authority
to operate this device.
All Rights Reserved. © COPYRIGHT 1993 KYUSHU MATSUSHITA ELECTRIC CO., LTD.

WARNING
• The power source voltage of this unit is listed on the nameplate. Plug the printer only
into an outlet with the proper voltage.
• To prevent fire
or shock hazard, do not expose this product to rain or any type of
moisture.
• When you operate this equipment, the outlet should be near the equipment and should
be easily accessible.
The serial number of the unit may be found on the label on the rear of the unit. For your
convenience, note this number below, and retain this book, along with your proof of
purchase, to serve as a permanent record of your purchase
in the event of a theft, or for
future reference.
MODEL NO. KX-P3123 NAME OF DEALER
SERIAL NO. DATE OF PURCHASE
IBM and IBM-PC are registered trademarks of International Business Machines
Corporation.
Proprinter is a trademark
of International Business Machines Corporation.
Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
Epson ESC/P2 is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
Adobe, ATM and the ATM logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc., which may be
registered
in certain jurisdictions.
Any details given
in these operating instructions are subject to change without notice.
3

Table of Contents
4
Introduction
Features ................................ 7
Chap. 1 Before You Start
Cautions ................................ 8
Operating Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Unpacking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 10
Assembling the Parts ........................... 11
Parts of the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
Chap. 2 Setup
Connecting to a Computer ................. 14
Ribbon Cassette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. 15
Installing the Ribbon Cassette .................... 15
Removing the Ribbon Cassette
................... 18
Paper Feed Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 20
Installing Paper
.......................... 21
Fanfold Paper (Push Tractor Mode/RearFeeding) . . . .. 21
Fanfold Paper (Pull Tractor Mode/Bottom Feeding) . . .. 25
Single Sheets and Envelopes (Friction Mode) ........ 29
Characters Alignment
........................... 31
Printer-Driver Selection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 32
Installing a Printer-Driver (Windows Ver. 3.1) • • • •• 33
Self Test ................................ 35
Chap. 3 Using the Printer
SUPER QUIET Mode ...................... 36
Feeding Paper
........................... 37
(Form Feed/Line Feed/Micro Line Feed/
Reverse Micro Line Feed)
....................... 37
Tear Off (Rear Feeding Only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. 37
Paper Parking (Rear Feeding Only) ................ 39
Setting the Top of Form (TOF) .................... 41

Table of Contents
Setting the Control Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 43
Printing Out the Current Settings in MACROs . . . . . . . .. 43
Setting the FONT/PITCH/FORM LENGTH. . . . . . . . . . .. 44
Setting.the LEFT/RIGHT MARGIN ................. 46
Defining MACRO (MACRO Save)
.................. 48
Recalling a Defined MACRO (MACRO Recall) ........ 50
Recalling FACTORY Settings (Default Settings)
....... 51
Setting a COLOR ............................... 53
Chap. 4 Initial Setup Mode·
Using the Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 55
Printing Out the Current Settings ................... 58
Setting the Initial Setup Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 59
Resetting to FACTORY Settings
................... 61
Using the Setup Disk ...................... 62
Running the Initial Setup Program .................. 65
Printing Settings ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 66
Setting Selections on Setup Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 66
Save to Disk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 68
Load from Disk
... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 69.
Send to Printer ................................. 69
Resetting to FACTORY Settings ................... 71
Help .......................................... 71
Chap. 5 Software Commandis
Epson ESCIP2™ Mode (Epson LQ-570 Mode) ••••• 73
IBM Proprinter X24E Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 79
Command Reference Program
(Using the Setup Disk) ••••••••••••••.•••••••• 84
Chap. 6 Maintenance & Troub~es~ooting
Periodic Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 87
Troubleshooting .................. . . . . . . .. 88
5

Tab~e oi Contents
Appendix
PrinterSpecifications ..................... 90
Paper Specifications ...................... 92
Fanfold Paper ............ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 92
Single Sheets ................................. 92
Envelopes '" ............................... " 92
Printing Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. 93
Interfacing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 94
Paraliellnterfacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 94
Initialization ............................. 97
Hex Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 98
Character Set Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
.. 99
Glossary ................................ 105
Index
................................... 111
Options and Supplies ..................... 114
6

Congratulations on purchasing a Panasonlc printer.
This printer is a versatile, high quality 24'pin dot matrix printer which is designed to meet the needs
of your office.
This printer has been factory set to operate with most of the popular software packages.
Your application software should control the printer functions.
In most cases, there will be no need to
change the initial printer settings.
PrinterEmu/ation: Epson LQ-570 and IBM Proprinter X24E
Setup Disk: A printer-driver for Windows Ver. 3.1, initial setup
program and command reference program
ATM Disk: Adobe Type Manager with 13 scalable Adobe fonts for
Windows Ver. 3.0 or higher
Super Quiet Mode: Reduces printing noise
C%r Printing: 7 colors with the optional color kit (KX-PCK11)
Fonts: 3 Draft ( Pica, Elite ,Micron )
Printing Speed:
PaperHandling:
Paper Paths:
6 Letter Quality (Courier ,Bold PS, Prestige ,S=ip.t ,
Sans Serif, Roman )
1 Super Letter Quality (Roman )
4 Scalable fonts (Roman ,Sans Serif, Courier ,Prestige )
Draft -192 characters per second (12 cpi)
LQ -64 characters per second (12 cpi)
SLQ -32 characters per second (12 cpi)
Friction and Tractor (Pull and Push)
Rear, Bottom, Top
Tear Off: Advances fanfold paper's perforation to tear position
PaperParking: Allows single sheets/envelopes to be used without
removing/wasting fanfold paper
CutSheet Feeder Option Provides fast and automatic feeding of single sheets
(KX-PT10):
Seria//nterface Option You may select parallel or serial when either serial
(KX-PS13 and KX-PS14): interface board is installed
7

8
,
Operating Environment
"
• Do not use the printer under the following conditions.
Extremely high or low temperature
[temperature range: 1
0-3S"C (SO-9S"F)]
Areas of poor ventilation
[a minimum of 4" (10 cm) clearance on all
sides is necessary to insure proper ventilation]
Areas with extreme vibration
Extremely high or low humidity
(humidity range:
30-80% RH)
Areas of high dust concentration
Areas on an unstable
or unlevel surface

Cautions
Precautions
The following precautions are recommended to extend the life of the printer.
Keep all liquids away from
the printer.
-Accidental spillage of a liquid into the printer
can cause severe damage.
Do not operatethe printer without paper
and a ribbon cassette installed.
Do
not obstruct the movement of the
printhead while
in operation.
Do
not place books, paper, or other items
on
top of the printer.
Avoid prolonged use without allowing the
printhead time to cool.
Ifthe printer is
not going to be used for an
extended period,
unplug the power cord.
9

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Unpacking
10
Having unpacked the printer, make sure none of the contents shown below are missing or damaged.
Report damages or shortages to the store from which the unit was purchased.
Printer(KX-P3123)
Platen knob
Setup disk
• This setup disk contains a printer-driver
for Windows Ver.
3.1 (!IF P. 33), an
initial setup program (!IF P. 55) and a
command reference program
(!IF P.84).
• To use this setup disk you need to have
an IBM-PC or a compatible computer
with a 3.5" floppy disk drive.
Note:
Ribbon cassette (KX-P1S0)
Operating manual
ATM disk
• For detailed information on ATM
disk, refer to ATM disk manual.
• It is recommended that you save the original carton and packing materials for proper shipping
and transporting
of the printer.

Assembling the Parts
o Insert the platen knob into the hole
on the right side of the printer and rotate it
slowly until
it slips onto the shaft. Push the
platen knob onto the platen shaft to secure.
& Open the smoked plastic cover.
Unpacking
f) Fold the smoked plastic cover
forward, and remove the protective
paper.
r::~_:smoked plastic cover
o Remove the top cover pad.
Top cover pad
Protective
paper
Tab
Top cover
11
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Parts of the Printer
Control Panel
CD Control table
This control table shows the details of the
setting for each item.
® Row indicators
This indicates the selected item.
@ Column indicators
This indicates the elements of each item.
@ SUPER QUIET (TOF) switch
Pressing this switch reduces print noise,
however, it also reduces the printing speed.
Pressing this switch altemately turns the
SUPER QUIET mode on/off. (1I@f P.36)
In the FUNcTION mode, pressing this
switch sets the Top of Form (TOF).
([email protected])
@ TEAR OFF (OTHERS) switch
Pressing this switch will advance or reverse
the paper for tearing off
in the OFF LINE
mode, or when not printing
in the ON LINE
mode.
(1I@f P.37)
12
In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this
switch will advance the column position
for the OTHERS on the control table.
Smoked plastic
cover
Power switch (1I@f P. 14)
Platen knob
@ LOAD/PARK (SET) switch
Pressing this switch will load/park the paper
in the OFF LINE mode, or when not printing
in the ON LINE mode. (1I@f P. 39)
In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this
switch will set or release the itemsonthe
control table.
(J) ON LINE (FONT) switch
This switch opens and closes the
communication lines with the computer.
In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this
switch advancesthe column position for
the FONT on the control table.
@ FF (PITCH) switch
Pressing this switch advances the paper to
the top of form on next page in the OFF LINE
mode orwhen the printeris notprinting in the
ON LINE mode (depending on your TOF
setting).
In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this
switch advancesthe column position for
the PITCH on the control table.

I Parts
of the Printer
(Rear View)
Paper support
(DE P.22)
Tractors
(
DE P.22)
Top cover
Smoked plastic
cover(DE P.11)
Head Gap Lever
Adjusts the
gap between the platen and the
printhead. The lever moves in increments of
0.0028 inch (0.07 mm).
"0, Position Used for
~ ..... -2
~ ...... , 1or 2 Thinner sheets
! ::::: 3, 4, 5 and 6 Thick or multiple
v ' sheets, envelopes
• L- ________ ~ __ ~ ____ ~ __ ~
ACPo;w:'1e~rc~ordllll~JJ
(~'~
Paper Feed Selector
" LJ" (Friction)
, []" (Tractor)
Single sheets
and envelopes
Fanfold paper
Serial interface cover
Serial No. Label
L-____ Centronics parallel interface
connector (DE P. 14, 94)
Nameplate Frame
ground
terminal (DE P. 14)
@ LF (FORM LENGTH) switch
Pressing this switch advancesthe paperone
line at a time. Holding this switch will
advance the paper continuously until the
switch is released. These functions are
active in the OFF LINE mode or when not
printing
in the ON LINE mode.
In the FUNCTION mode, pressing the
switch advances the column for the
FORM LENGTH on the control table.
@) FUNCTION switch
This switch allows you to enter and exit the
FUNCTION mode.
(j] ON LINE/FUNCTION indicator
This indicator is lit when the printer is in the
ON LINE mode, and is out in the OFF LINE
mode. It blinks
in the FUNCTION mode.
@ SUPER QUIET indicator
This indicator is lit when the printer is in the
SUPER QUIET mode.
@ POWER/PAPER OUT indicator
This indicator is lit when the power is on and
paper is installed. It blinks
when paper is not
installed.
13
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Connecting to a Computer
1a (Rear View)
--
Parallel interface cable
1b
Frame ground terminal
Frame ground wire
2 (Rear View)
OF~ [±]
POWER
1ACl .. i===::d
~
14
Attach oneend of theparallel interface
cable to your printer as shown, and
the other end to your computer.
Be sure to secure the printer clips.
rNOie: '
I • If you do not have a parallel interface
cable, you will need to purchase one
i from your local computerstoreordealer.
L.___ . __ . ' .... __ .
If the cable has a frame ground wire,
connect
it to the frame ground
terminal.
Plug the printer into a grounded 3
prong AC socket.
When power is supplied to the printer, the
power indicator on the control panel will
light.

Ribbon Cassette
-,. , , ..
Installing the Ribbon Cassette
1
Smoked plastic cover
OF~I [B IbN
POWER
o
Tab
2
3 (Top View)
Carriage
,
o Turn the power switch off for
safety.
f) Fold the smoked plastic cover
forward by lifting tab on right side.
o Raise the smoked plastic cover.
f) Removethe smoked plasticcover.
Caution:
• The printhead may be hot. Use caution
when the cover is open.
Gently slide the carriage toward the
center of the unit.
15

Ribbon Cassette
4
5
6
16
"
:1
,
p
Head gap lever
Ribbon
Ribbon mask
Platen Printhead nose
Move the head gap lever to the (+)
position.
Rotate the knob
on the ribbon
cassette to remove any slack.
Slip the ribbon between the ribbon
mask
and the printhead nose.

7
8
9
Blue wing tab
Replace the smoked plastic cover to
its original position.
2~
3~~
4 G
5·· ~
6-- !
Head gap lever
Ribbon Cassette
Press down on rear of the cassette
until the blue wing tab snaps into
place.
Adjustthe head gap leverforthe thick-
ness of the paper you are using.
Position Use for
1 or2 Thinner sheets
3,4,5 and 6 Thick or multiple sheets or
envelopes
17
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Ribbon Cassette
Removing the Ribbon Cassette
1 Smoked plastic cover
o~! ~ IbN
POWER
o
Tab
2
3 (Top View)
Carriage
18
o Turn the power switch off for
safety.
f) Fold the smoked plastic cover
forward by liftingtab on right side.
o Raise the smoked plastic cover.
f) Removethe smoked plasticcover.
Caution: ~
• The printhead may be hot. Use caution j
when the cover is open.
Gently slide the carriage toward the
center of the unit.

4
Head gap lever
5
Blue wing tab
Ribbon Cassette
Move the head gap lever to the (+)
position.
Spreadthe bluewingtaband lift upthe
cassette.
19

Paper Feed Selection
20
This printer has two paperfeed mechanisms to support 3 paperpaths. One mechanism is TRACTOR
mode for continuously fed paper. In the tractor mode you can choose between PUSH or PULL.
The other paper feed mechanism is FRICTION mode. In the friction mode you can feed single sheets
or envelopes through the top. The optional KX-PT10 Cut Sheet Feeder will accommodate automatic
feeding of single sheets, from the top paper path.
Push Tractor Mode" [] "(Rear Feeding)
-fanfold paper (1 part)
--" -
-multipart forms consisting of 2 parts
,.-1
~
~'----
( ®
~Dy
'"
Rear
feeding
Pull Tractor Mode" [] "(Bottom Feeding)
-multipart forms consisting of 3 or 4
,.-1
G6
,L-
parts (
CE5
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"',,:"
-labels
-fanfold paper (1 part)
Bottom feeding
Friction Mode" Ll "
-single sheets #Top
(The KX-PT10 allows you to automatically feeding
feed up to 80 sheets of 20
Ib paper.)
,.......1
~/
-envelopes
(
~0
.:.!
Note:
• When feeding paper from the bottom, do not use reverse line feed. Paper may notfeed
correctly and print quality may not be optimum.
• Paper Parking is not available when the paper is installed from the bottom.
'1' • Multipartforms consisting of 2 parts maybe used for rear feeding (Push mode). For 3 or
L _~~4 ~art fo~~~e recommend botto~~f~e~~g ~P_ul~odel ~~ ~~mum print q_ua_l_ity~.~~~-,