Star Micronics lC-10 User manual

LC-IO
COLOURPRINTER
USERS MANUAL
NOT INTENDED FOR SALE
PN 8082025 I

Federal Communications Commission
Radio Frequency Interference Statement
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly,
that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, 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 15of 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 equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct
the interference by otle or more of the following measures:
l Reorient the receiving antenna
l Relocate the computer or printer with respect to the receiver
l Move the computer or printer away from the receiver
l Plug the computer or printer into a different outlet so that it and the receiver are on
different branch circuits.
If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced redio/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, Washington,
DC., 20402, Stock No. 004-000-00345-4.
For compliance with the Federal Noise Interference Standard, this equipment requires a shielded
cable.
--
The above statement applies only to printers marketed in the U.S.A.
Self Declaration
Radio interference regarding this equipment has been eliminated according to Vfg 1046/1984
announced by the DBP.
DBP has been informed of the introduction of this special equipment and has been granted the
right to examine the whole series.
It is the user’s responsibility to see that his own assembled system is in accordance with the
technical regulations under Vfg 1046/1984.
To conform to FTZ-regulations it is necessary to make all connections to the printer with shielded
cable.
The equipment may only be opened by qualified service representatives.
The above statement applies only to printers marketed in West Germany.
Trademark Acknowledgements
LC-10, NL.40, NP-10, NX-10/15, ND-lo/H, M-10/15: Star Micronics Co., Ltd.
IBM PC, IBM Proprinter II, PC-DOS: International Business Machines Corp.
Microsoft BASIC, MSDOS: Microsoft Corporation
LX-800, FX-%e, EX400, LX&l/W Seiko Epson Corp.
NOTICE
l All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form whatsoever
without STAR’s express permission is forbidden.
l The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice.
l All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this manual at the
time of press. However, should any errors be detected, STAR would greatly appreciate
being informed of them.
l The above notwithstanding, STAR can assume no responsibility for any errors in this
manual.
@Copyright 1987 Star Micronics Co., Ltd.

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
This manual is organized into five chapters and four appendixes. To
learn how to make the best use of your printer you are urged to read all
of chapters 1 through 5. The appendixes can be referred to as necessary.
Chapter 1 explains how to get the printer unpacked and set up. Read this
chapter before you do anything else.
Chapter 2 explains the control panel. After getting set up, read this chapter
and try out the procedures in it to find out how the printer works.
Chapter 3 gives tips on using word-processing programs and other com-
mercial software with this printer. Read this chapter in conjunction with
your software manual.
Chapter 4 is addressed to do-it-yourself programmers. It shows simple
programming examples using DOS commands and BASIC.
Chapter 5 covers maintenance and troubleshooting. Look through this
chapter to see what it contains, then refer to it as necessary later.
Appendix A lists the printer’s technical specifications.
Appendix B details the functions of escape sequences and other printer
commands.
Appendix C presents a BASIC program you can use to define and download
new characters.
Appendix D presents tables of the printer’s character sets.

FEATURES OF THE PRINTER
This printer is a compact, colour, dot-matrix printer that supports the
IBM/Epson commands and character sets. An excellent partner for your
personal computer, it prints text and graphics in black-and-white or six bright
colours. A print sample generated by a BASIC program is included inside
the back cover. With more advanced software, you can produce even more
striking colour graphics. Besides colour printing, some of the features of
this printer are:
l Extensive software support
Since it is compatible with the Epson and IBM printers, it works with
any software that supports those printers. That includes most word-pro-
cessing and graphics programs, spreadsheets, and integrated software
packages.
l Embeddable commands
Commands for NLQ type styles, colour printing, bold, italic, and ex-
tra-large characters can be embedded in documents without the escape code,
so you can use these features easily even if your word-processing software
does not support them.
l Easy operation
Clearly understandable lamp displays and beep tones provide immediate
feedback when you press the switches on the control panel. The four switches
can operate in combinations to perform a surprising variety of functions,
including margen setting and micro-alignment.
l Easy care and maintenance
The colour ribbon cartridge can be replaced in seconds; the print head
in a few minutes.
l Versatile paper handling
Single sheets, fanfold forms, and multi-copy forms (up to triple-ply)
are ail accepted, and you can use either tractor or friction feed. A speical
feature enables you to keep fanfold forms parked in readiness while printing
on other paper.
l Fast draht-quality printing
At 120 characters per second, the printer can print a page faster than
you can read it. Characters are naturally shaped, with true descenders.
l High-resolution near-letter-quality printing
When you select an NLQ type style, the printer slows down and employs
a dense matrix of up to 18 by 23 dots to print clear, well-formed characters.
l Large variety of type styles and sizes
The printer has one draht style and four NLQ styles (Courier, Sanserif,
and Orator with small capitals or lower case), plus italics for all styles, plus
condensed print, bold print, double-sized print, quadruple-sized print-see
the print sample inside the back cover.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 SETTING UP THE PRINTER 1
Locating the printer 1
Unpacking and inspection 1
Check the carton contents
Setting up 3
Mount the platen knob
Remove the top cover
Install the ribbon cartridge
Replace the top cover
Connect the printer to the computer
Connect the printer’s power cord
Loading single sheets 6
Mount the paper guide
Semiautomatic loading
Manual loading
Loading and parking fanfold forms 9
Paper parking
Paper unparking
Test printing 12
Short self test
Long selft test
Interface test
Adjusting the printing gap 14
DIP switch settings 14
Chapter 2 CONTROL PANEL OPERATIONS 19
Switches and indicators 19
Power indicator
On Line switch
Paper Feed switch
Print Pitch switch
NLQ Type Style switch
Power-up functions 23
Short test pattern
Long test pattern
Stay in panel pitch
Stay in panel style
Hexadecimal dump
Switch combination functions 26
Paper parking
Page feed

Top of form
Forward micro-feed
Reverse micro-feed
Left margin
Right margin
Clearing the buffer
Chapter 3 USING THE PRINTER WITH
COMMERCIAL SOFTWARE
Installing your software
Printer menu
Printer command options
Type styles
Page width
Initialization sequence
Setting the DIP switches
Using your software
Page alignment
Type style and pitch selection
Embedding printer commands
31
31
33
33
Chapter 4 USING THE PRINTER
WITH DOS AND BASIC 37
Hard-copying the screen (MS DOS and PC-DOS) 37
Programming the printer with DOS commands 38
Programming the printer with BASIC 40
Chapter 5 MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING A7
Cleaning the printer 47
Replacing the ribbon 47
Replacing the print head 48
Troubleshooting 50
Appendix A TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS 53 -
Appendix B PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS 59
Font control commands 59
Colour printing commands 64
Character set commands 64
Character size and pitch commands 66
Vertical position commands 71
Horizontal position commands 76
Graphics commands 80
Download character commands 82
Macro instruction commands 85
Other printer control commands 85

I
Appendix C DOWNLOAD CHARACTER GENERATOR 89
Draft character
NLQ character
Appendix D CHARACTER SETS 97
Standard character set 98
IBM character set #2 100
IBM character set #l 102
Additional character set 103
International character sets 104
INDEX 105
REFERENCE CARD Inside the cover

SETTING UP THE PRINTER
Subjects covered in Chapter 1 include -
l Locating the printer
l Unpacking and inspection (names of parts)
0 Setting up
l Loading single sheets
l Loading and parking fanfold forms
l Test printing
l Adjusting the printing gap
l Setting the DIP switches
LOCATING THE PRINTER
Give some thought to the best place to put the printer. Both the printer
and computer should be used in a normal indoor environment. For best
performance, we recommend:
l Place the printer on a flat surface.
l Keep it out of direct sunlight and away from heat-producing appliances.
l Use it only in temperatures where you are comfortable.
l Avoid locations with dust, grease, or high humidity.
l Supply it “clean” electricity. Don’t connect it to the same circuit as a large,
noise-producing appliance such as a refrigerator.
l Make sure the line voltage is within 10% of the voltage specified on the
identification plate.
l If you will be using fanfold forms, place the printer where the forms can
feed up to it from below, with at least a full page hanging free.
UNPACKING AND INSPECTION
Check the carton contents
Open the carton and check each item in the box against Figure l-1 to
make sure that you have everything (there should be five items).
L
.
E

Figure 1-f. Check to make sure you have all five items: 1) Printer, 2) Paper guide, 3) Platen
knob, 4) Ribbon cartridge, and 5) User’s manual.
Make an external inspection of the printer. Note the locations of the
following parts:
Bail lever: opens and closes the paper bail which holds the paper
against the platen.
2

Bail lever
Poa
Release lever: releases the platen. This lever must be down for
printing on single sheets, and up for fanfold forms.
Top cover: protects the print head and other parts.
Rear cover: protects the sprocket feed mechanism.
Entry slot: for inserting single sheets of paper.
Control panel: controls various printer functions.
Power switch: switches power on and off.
Connector: for connecting the computer to the printer.
SETTING UP
Mount the platen knob
The platen knob is packed into a recess of the white foam packing
material which held your printer inside the packing box. Be careful to remove
the knob before disposing of the packing.
Mount the platen knob on its shaft on the right side of the printer. Turn
it until you can push it in all the way.
Power should always be off when you turn the platen knob. Turning
the platen by hand while power is on can damage the printer’s gears.
3

Remove the top cower
Lift the front edge of the printer’s clear plastic top cover. Then disengage
the tabs at the back of the cover and remove the cover completely.
igure 1-4. Removing the top cover
-
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hstall the ribbon cartridge
The top side of the ribbon cartridge has a handle for turning the ribbon.
Turn this handle in the direction of the arrow to tighten the ribbon.
Next place the ribbon cartridge on the print head assembly, guiding the
ribbon between the print head and the metal platen guard. Press down lightly
on the cartridge until it locks into place.
Caution: Don’t touch the brass gear on the carriage.
I
Figure l-5. Installing the ribbon cartridge
Replace the top cover
Hold the cover upright and engage the tabs at the back. Then swing
the front edge down until the cover is closed.
Leave the cover closed during normal operation. It keeps out dust and
dirt and reduces the printer’s operating sounds. Open the cover only to
change the ribbon or make an adjustment.
Connect the printer to the computer
Connect the printer end of the interface cable to the connector socket
on the right side of the printer as shown in Figure 1-6.
Make sure the computer is turned OFF, then connect the other end
of the cable to your computer as described in the computer manual.

Figure l-6. r;onnectmg tne mtertace caue
Connect the printer’s power cord.
Check that the printer’s power switch (located at the left front) is OFF.
Then plug the printer’s power cord into an AC wall outlet.
Never plug or unplug the power cord while the printer is turned on.
LOADING SINGLE SHEETS
This section will take you through the procedures for loading single
sheets of paper.
If you are using the optional automatic sheet feeder (ASF), read the
ASF instruction booklet.
Mount the paper guide
The paper guide fits into the two holes on top of the rear cover. Mount
the guide and raise it to the upright position.
6

igure i-7. Mounting the paper guide for single sheets
Semiautomatic loading
Single sheets can be manually with off, or
matically with on. We start the way with
loading.
1. that the lever is and the lever back closed),
then power on. will hear short beep and the
indicator on control panel flash. These are the printer’s paper-out
signals.
Place a sheet on paper guide insert it into the
slot. You feel a resistance as paper engages paper
detector Work the past this and insert down
as as it go.
3. the bail forward. When bail opens, printer feeds
paper automatically.
Move the lever back. paper will slightly forward
ending in to print a top of about inch.

lever
Manual loading
It is also possible to load paper manually while the printer’s power is
off. The procedure is:
1. Check that printer power is off and the release lever at the back of the
printer is down.
2. Insert a single sheet of paper into the entry slot as far as it will go, the
same way as for semiautomatic loading.
3. Move the bail lever on top of the printer forward to open the paper
bail.
4. Turn the platen knob clockwise until the front edge of the paper comes
out from under the top cover.
5. If the paper is not straight, move the release lever to the up position,
straighten the paper by hand, then move the release lever back down.
6. Move the bail lever back to close the paper bail.
8

LOADING AND PARKING FANFOLD FORMS
Fanfold forms have holes along the sides and perforations between the
sheets. They are also called sprocket forms, punched forms, or just plain
“computer paper”. This printer accepts forms up to 10” wide. Fanfold forms
are loaded, parked, and unparked as explained next.
1. Place a stack of fanfold paper behind and at least one page-length below
the printer.
2. Turn the printer’s power OFF.
3. Set the release lever to the up position. If there is paper in the printer,
remove it. (Since the platen is released, you can just pull the paper out.)
4. Move the bail lever forward to open the bail.
5. Remove the paper guide and put it aside for the moment.
6. Remove the rear cover. Grip it by its front edge and lift upwards and
backwards as in Figure l-9.
Figure 7-9. Opening the rear cover
7. Open the sprocket covers on the right and left sprocket units, as shown
in Figure l-10.
8. Flip the clamp levers down. This allows the two sprocket units to move
freely right and left so you can align them with the holes in the paper.
9. Insert the front edge of the paper over the paper detector lever and tuck
it in under the platen.
9

lever
Figure l-10. Opening the sprocket covers to expose the sprocket teeth
igure l-71. Closing the sprocket covers
10. Fit the holes in the paper over the sprocket pins. Check that the paper
is even.
11. Close the sprocket covers (Figure l-l 1).
12. Raise one of the clamp levers to lock one sprocket unit in place.
-

13. Turn the platen knob to feed the paper forward until it comes out from
under the top cover.
14. Move the bail lever back to close the bail.
15. Check that the paper is feeding in flat, then raise the other clamp lever
to lock the other sprocket unit.
16. Replace the rear cover. Hold it tilted upward and insert the two tabs
at the bottom into their slots. Then rotate the cover forward, pressing
down on the thumb pads on the left and right to snap it into place.
17. Mount the paper guide in the horizontal position shown in Figure 1-12,
so that it will separate the printed from the unprinted paper.
‘gure 1-12. Mounting the paper guide for fanfold forms
Now you are ready to switch power on and print.
Paper parking
After loading fanfold paper, you do not have to unload it when you
want to print on a single sheet. The printer will “park” it for you if you
follow the procedure below.
1. Paper parking starts with power ON, fanfold paper loaded in printing
position, the release lever up, and the bail lever back.
2. Press the On Line switch on the control panel to set the printer off-line
(On Line indicator off).
11

3. Tear off the printed form at the last perforation, leaving not more than
about half a page showing above the top cover. If necessary, press the
Paper Feed switch to feed paper forward until a perforation is located
just above the top cover, and tear there.
4. Press the Print Pitch switch on the control panel and hold it down.
5. Still holding the Print Pitch switch down, press the Paper Feed switch.
The printer will automatically feed the fanfold form backward until the
paper is completely free of the platen.
6. Move the release lever to the down position.
7. Mount the paper guide in the upright position.
Now you can load single sheets either semiautomatically or manually,
as explained previously. The fanfold paper remains parked at the back of
the printer.
When you want to resume using fanfold paper, the procedure is as
follows.
Paper unparking
1. Remove all single sheets from the printer and close the paper bail.
2. Mount the paper guide in the horizontal position.
3. Move the release lever to the up position.
4. With power ON, move the bail lever forward. The printer will auto-
matically feed the parked fanfold paper into position for printing.
5. Move the bail lever back to close the bail. Now you are ready to print.
TEST PRINTING
After loading paper, you can test the printer as described next.
Short self test
This procedure prints a seven-line “barber-pole” test pattern, each line
in a different colour. The lines are eight inches wide, so the paper should
be at least that wide. -
1. Check that paper is in position for printing.
2. With power off, press the On Line switch on the control panel and hold
it down.
3. Still holding the On Line switch down, turn the printer’s power on.
The printer will automatically start printing its short test pattern. You
can release the On Line switch after printing starts. To remove the paper
at the end of the test, switch power OFF, then turn the platen knob. (Don’t
turn the platen knob while power is on.)
12
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I
Figure 7-13. Short test pattern
Long se/f test
To see the printer’s variety of type styles, you can run the long version
of the printer’s self test.
1. Check that paper is in position for printing.
2. With power off, press the Paper Feed switch on the control panel and
hold it down.
3. Still holding the Paper Feed switch down, turn the printer’s power ON.
The printer will automatically start printing a test pattern of its full
character set in various type styles. Watch the lights on the control panel;
they indicate which type style is printing. The test pattern varies depending
on the setting of DIP switch l-6 (ON - Standard mode, OFF - IBM mode),
but more about that later.
This test repeats indefinitely in a cycle of 30 or 70 lines. To stop the
test, switch power off.
interface test
After confirming that the printer works by itself, it is time to test the
interface with the computer. The simplest way to do this is with a direct
command. Power up both the printer and computer, load paper, then try
a command like one of the following:
MS-DOS or PC-DOS command:
A>ECHO THE INTERFACE WORKS >PRN
Microsoft BASIC command:
LPRINT “THE INTERFACE WORKS“
Or you can try any other command understood by your computer to
print a line of text. Consult your computer manual if you need help. If you
repeat the command a few times, the printout will come into view.
Next you may want to try a test printout with word-processing software,
but for this to succeed you will have to set the printer’s DIP switches (see
the end of this chapter) and install your software to support the printer
correctly (see Chapter 3).