Star Micronics LC-15 User manual

MULTI - FONT
USERS MANUAL
8082
0390

MULTI-FONT
LC-15
USERS MANUAL
NOTINTENDEDFORSALE

Trademark Acknowledgements
LC-15, ND-10/15, NR-10/15: Star Micronics Co., Ltd.
IBM PC, PC-AT, PC-XT, Proprinter XL, Proprinter II, PC-DOS: InternationalBusinessMachines
Corp.
Microsoft BASIC, MS-DOS: Microsoft Corporation
FX-1050, EX-1000, FX86e, FX286e: Seiko Epson Corp
NOTICE
●All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form whatsoever without
STAR’s express permission is forbidden.
●The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice.
●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.
●The above notwithstanding, STAR can assume no responsibility for any errors in this manual.
OCopyright1989StarMicronicsCo.,Ltd.

I
HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
Thismanualisorganizedintoninechapters.Tolearnhowtomakethebest
useofyourprinteryouareurgedto readthroughchapters1through3.The
remainingchaptersmay be treatedas a~fenmce guideforprogramming
operations,etc. It assumesadegreeof acknowledgeoff the operationof
computm (forinstance,itassumesyouknowabouthexadecimalnumbers).
Thechaptersareas follows:
Chapter 1— Settingup theprinter
Thischapterexplainshowtogettheprinterunpackedandsetup. Readthis
chapterbeforeyoudo anythingelse.
Chapter 2—Controlpaneloperations
Thereare anumberof controlson the frontpanelwhichperformvarious
functionsrelatedto paperhandling,printmodesandfontselection.
Aftergettingsetup,readthischapterandtryouttheproceduresinittofind
outhowtheprinterworks.
Chapter 3—DIP switchsettings
Thischapterexplainshowto settheDIPswitchesto makesystemsettings
on theprinter.
Chapter 4—Printercontrolcommands
Thischapterexplainsthedifferentemulationsprovidedbyyourprinter,and
the softwarecommandsusedto driveit. This sectionis of use if you are
writingor modifyingprogramsto takeadvantageof theprinter’sfeatures.
Chapter S—Downloadcharacters
Thischapterexplainstheproceduresto createyourowncharacters.

I
Chapter 6—MS-DOSandyourprinter
Sincethe PC or PC-ATfamilyof computersrunningunderMS-DOSis
currentlythe mostpopularconflgmationof microcomputer,we have in-
cludedafewhintsandtipstohelpyouuseyourprinterwithsuchsystems.
SincevirtuallyallPCsaresoldwithaMicrosoftBASICinterpreter,wehave
also included some hints, and asample program in this language to
demonstratethe capabilitiesof theprinter.
Chapter 7—Troubleshootingandmaintenance
Thissectiongivesachecklistofpointstocheckifyourprinterisnotworking
in the expectedway.It alsoincludesdetailsof someroutinemaintenance
operationsyoucancarryoutyourself.Itisnot,however,acompleteservice
manual.Callaqualifiedserviceengineerifyouareunsureofyourabilityto
carryoutanymaintenanceor servicingoperations.
Chapter 8—Specifications
Thissectiongivesthespecificationsof yourprinter.
Chapter 9—Charactersets
Thesechartsgivethedifferentcharactersetsavailable,andthedifferences
betweennationalcharactersets(assetup withtheDIP switches).

FEATURES OF THE PRINTER
Thisprinterisaconvenient,monochromeprinterwithoutfrillsbutwithafull
complementof features,making it an excellentpartner for apersonal
computer.It supportstheIBM/Epsonprintercommandsandcharactersets,
enablingittoprintjustaboutanythingyourcomputercangenerate,bothtext
andgraphics.Someof itsmainfeatwesarethefollowing:
●Extensivesoftwaresupport
Sinceitis compatiblewiththeEpsonandIBMprinters,it workswithany
softwarethatsupportsthoseprintem.Thatincludesmostword-processing
andgraphicsprograms,spread-sheets,andintegratedsoftwarepackages.
.Easyoperation
Clearlyunderstandableindicatordisplaysandbeeptonesprovideimmedi-
ate feedbackwhen you press the buttonson the controlpanel.The five
buttonscan operate in combinationsto perform asurprisingvariety of
functions,includingmicro-alignment.
.Easycareandmaintenance
The ribboncartridgecan be replacedin secondsthe print head in afew
minutes.
.Versatilepaperhandling
Singlesheets,fanfoldforms,andmulti-copyforms(uptotriple-ply)areall
accepted,andyoucanuse eithertractoror frictionfeed.Aspecialfeature
enablesyou to keep fanfoldformsparkedin readinesswhileprintingon
otherpaper.
●Largevarietyof typestylesandsizes
TheprinterhasonedraftstyleandfourNLQstyles(Courier,Sansenf,and
Oratorwith small capitalsor lower case),plus italicsfor all styles,plus
condensedprint,boldprint,double-sizedprint,quadruple-sizedprint.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1SETTING UP THE PRINTER ...............................................1
Locatingtheprinter..........................................................................1
UnpackingandInspection................................................................2
Checkthecartoncontents........................................................2
Partsnameoftheprinter..........................................................3
SettingUp.........................................................................................4
Mounttheplatenknob.............................................................4
Installtheribboncartridge.......................................................5
Connection...............................................................................6
LoadingSingleSheets
......................................................................8
Automaticloading....................................................................8
Manualloading......................................................................10
LoadingandParkingFanfoldForms..............................................11
Loadingthepaperfromtherearoftheprinter.......................11
Loadingthepaperfromthebottomoftheprinter..................13
Paperparking.........................................................................15
Paperunparking.....................................................................15
AdjustingthePrintingGap.............................................................16
Chapter 2CONTROL PANEL OPERATIONS ..................................17
ButtonsandIndicators....................................................................17
ONLINEbutton....................................................................18
PAPERFEEDbutton.............................................................19
SET/EJECTPARKbutton.....................................................19
PRINTPITCHbutton............................................................19
NLQTYPESTYLEbutton....................................................20
Power-UpFunctions
...........................................#...........................21
Shorttestmode......................................................................2l
Longtestmode
.......................................................................22
Printareatestmode
................................................................22
Stayinpanelpitch..................................................................22
Stayinpanelstyle..................................................................23
Stayinpanelpitchandstyle..................................................23
Hexadecimaldump................................................................23
SwitchCombinationFunctions......................................................26
Formfeed...............................................................................26
Topofform............................................................................27
Forwardmicro-feed...............................................................27
Reversemicro-feed................................................................27
Clearingthebuffer.................................................................28

I
Chapter 3DIP SWITCH SETTING ..................................................29
LocationoftheDIPSwitches.........................................................29
FunctionsoftheDIPSwitches.......................................................30
Chapter 4PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS................................33
FontControlCommands
................................................................34
CharacterSetCommands...............................................................39
CharacterSizeandPitchCommands.............................................41
VerticalPositionCommands..........................................................47
HorizontalPositionCommands
.....................................................53
GraphicsCommands......................................................................58
DownloadCharacterCommands
...................................................60
MacroInstructionCommands
........................................................64
OtherPrinterControlCommands..................................................64
Chapter 5DOWNLOAD CHARACTERS ............................................69
DesigningYourOwnDraftCharacters..........................................69
Definingtheattributedata.....................................................7O
Assigningthecharacterdata..................................................72
Sampleprogram.....................................................................72
DefiningYourOwnNLQCharacters............................................74
Chapter 6MS-DOS ANDYOUR PRINTER ........................................77
InstallingApplicationSoftwarewithYourPrinter........................77
EmbeddingPrinterCommands......................................................78
ProgrammingthePrinterwithDOSCommands
............................80
ProgrammingwithBASIC.............................................................82
Howtheprogramworks
.........................................................86
ModificationsforIBMmode.................................................88
Chapter 7TROUBLESHOOTING ANDMAINTENANCE ............89
Troubleshooting
.............................................................................89
Powersupply..........................................................................90
Ranting...................................................................................90
Paperfeeding.........................................................................92
Maintenance...................................................................................95
ReplacingthePrintHead
................................................................95

Chapter 8SPECIFICATIONS ..................................................................99
Chapter 9CHARACTER SETS .............................................................103
StandardCharacterSet.................................................................104
IBMCharacterSet#2...................................................................106
IBMCharacterSet#1...................................................................108
IBMSpecialCharacterSet...........................................................109
InternationalCharacterSets.........................................................1lt)
INDEX .................................................................................................. 111
COMMAND SUMMARY ........................................................................114

chapter 1
SETTING UP THE PRINTER
Subjects covered in Chapter 1include—
●Locatingtheprinter
●Unpackingandinspection(namesof parts)
.Settingup andconnection
●Loadingsinglesheets
●Loadingandparkingfanfoldforms
●Adjustingtheprintinggap
LOCATINGTHE PRINTER
Beforeyoustartunpackingandsettingup yourprinter,makesurethatyou
haveasuitableplaceonwhichtolocateit.By“asuitableplace”,wemean:
.
.
.
9
.
●
.
●
—
Afirm,levelsurfacewhichis fairlyvibration-free
Awayfromexcessiveheat(suchasdirectsunlight,heaters,etc)
Awayfromexcessivehumidity
Awayfromexcessivedust
Supplyit“clean”electricity.Don’tconnectittothesamecircuitasalarge,
noise-producingappliancesuchas arefrigerator.
Makesurethelinevoltageis within10%ofthevoltagespecifiedon the
identificationplate.
Alocationwithsufficientspacetolocatetheprinterandanypaperto be
fedintoit, as wellastheprintedpapercomingout.
If youareusingaparallelconnectiontoyourcomputer,makesurethatit
iswithin2m(6ft)oftheprinter(anRS-232comectionusingtheoptional
RS-232interfacecanbemadeoverlongerdistances).
1

UNPACKINGAND INSPECTION
Checkthecartoncontents
Nowunpackthecontentsoftheprintershippingcarton,andcheckeachitem
in theboxagainstFigure1-1tomakesurethatyouhaveeverything(there
shouldbe fiveitems).
If anyof theseitemsaremissing,contactyoursupplier.
Figuru I-I. Check tomake sureyou haveall five items: 1)Printer, 2) Peperguide, 3) Platen knob, 4) Ribbon
cartridge, and 5) Uaer’s manual.
2

Theoptionalaccessorieswhichyoumayhaveorderedwithyourprinterare:
●Serial(RS-232)interfaceboard
●Automaticsheetfeeder
●Pulltractorunit
Partsnameof theprinter
Makeanexternalinspectionoftheprinter.Notethelocationsofthefollow-
ingparts:
11
Entry slot
ase lever
!J
Figure1-2 The printer’s external parts
Bail lever: opensandclosesthepaperbailwhichholdsthepaper
againstthe platen.
Releaselever: releases the platen. This lever must be down for
printingon singlesheets,andup for fanfoldforms.
Top cover: protectstheprintheadandotherparts.
Rear cover: protectsthesprocketfeedmechanism.
Entry slot: for insertingsinglesheetsof paper.
Control panel: controlsvariousprinterfunctions.
Power switch: switchespoweron andoff.
Connector: forconnectingthecomputerto theprinter.

SEITING UP
Placethepnnterinthepositionwhereitisgoingtobepermanentlysited,and
removeallpackingmaterialfrominsidethetopcover.Thispackingmaterial
isintendedtopreventdarnagetotheprinterintransit.Youmayliketokeep
thispackingwiththeprintercartonifyouintendtransportingtheprinterfor
use at adifferentlocation.
Mounttheplatenknob
Theplatenknobispackedintoarecessofthewhitefoampackingmaterial
whichheldyourprinterinsidetheprintercarton.Becarefulto removethe
knobbeforedisposingof thepacking.
Mounttheplatenknobontheshaftontheright-handsideoftheprinter.Turn
theknobon theshaftbeforepushingtheknobfullyintoposition.
Figure 1-3.Mounting the platen knob
Installtheribboncartridge
Removethetop coverbyliftingthefront(usingthetwo gripsattheside),
andpullingtowardsyou.Nowinstalltheribbon.
4

I
F@IIU 1-4.Remoting the top cover
1. Usethetensioningknobontheribboncartridgeto tightentheribbonif
it is slack(turnclockwise).
2. Use the grips on the side of the ribboncartridgeto help locate the
cartridge(squeezetheminwardsgently),andmakesurethatthespindles
on thecartridgeholderfit intothesocketson thecartridgeitself.
igura 7-5.Installing the ribbon cartridge 5

3. Theribbonshouldpassbetweentheprintheadandthepnnthead shield
(seeFigure 1-6).
Ffgure 1-6. Pass the ribbon between the print head and print head shield
Now,holdthetopcoveruprightandengagethetabsattheback.Thenswing
thefrontedgedownuntilthecoveris closed.
Leavethetopcoverclosedduringnormaloperation.Itkeepsoutdustanddirt
andreducestheprinter’soperatingsounds.Openthecoveronlyto change
theribbonor makean adjustment.
Connection
Connecttheprinterto yourcomputer,usingastandardparallel-typecable.
On aPC orPC/AT-typecomputer,thismeansthatyouusethe25-wayD-
type connector at the computer end, and the Amphenol-type36-way
connectoratthepnnterend.Thepinoutsoftheprinter’sconnectoraregiven
in Chapter8if youneedacablefor connectionto anothercomputer.
Plugtheprinterintoasuitablemainsoutlet.However,DONOTturnonthe
powerswitchatthefrontof theprinteryet.
6

Interface
Connector
cable
Figut-o1-7.Connecting the interface cable
Ifyouwanttousetheoptionalserialinterface,slideouttheparallelinterface
boardby grippingthe flipson both sides.Then insertthe optionalserial
interfaceboardalltheway,as shownin Figure1-8.
Figura 1-8. Replacing the interface board

LOADING SINGLE SHEETS
This
sectionwilltakeyouthroughtheproceduresforloadingsinglesheets
of paper.
If youare usingthe optionalautomaticsheetfeeder(ASF),read the ASF
instructionbooklet.
Automaticloading
Singlesheetscanbeloadedmanuallywithpoweroff,orautomaticallywith
poweron. Wewillstarttheeasywaywithautomaticloading.
1. Placethepaperguideinposition,locatingthelugsonthebottomofthe
assemblyintotheslotsontherearcoverof theprinter.
Figurs 1-9.Mounting the paper guide for single sheets
2. Makesurethatthereleaseleveris down.
If the fanfoldpaperis mountedon the printer,pressthe( “ERKCTj
buttonto parkthepaper,thenmovethereleaseleverdownwards.
8

3.
4.
Adjustthepaperguidestomatchthesizeofpaperyouwillbeusing(re-
memberingthatprintingwillstartsomedistancefromtheleft-handedge
ofthe carriage).
Placeasinglesheetbetweentheguides,placingthesideon whichyou
wanttoprinttowardsthebackoftheprinter.Gentlypushthepaperdown
in theguidesuntilyoufeelit stop.
lever
Figure 1-10. Loading asingle sheet
5.
6,
Turnonthepowerusingtheswitchatthefrontoftheprinter.Theprinter
willbeep,indicatingthatnopaperisinpositionforprinting.Theorange
POWER indicatoralsoflashesto showthis.
Nowpressthe(SEHWCT )button. Thepaperbailwillmoveclearof
thepaper,andthepaperwillbefedandadjustedpasttheprintheadto a
positionreadyforprinting.Thepaperbailwillbemovedbacktogripthe
paperagainsttheplaten,andtheprintheadwillmovetothestartposition.
9

Manualloading
Itisalsopossibletoloadpapermanuallywhiletheprinter’spowerisoff.The
procedureis:
1.
2,
3,
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Placethepaperguideinposition,locatingthelugsonthebottomofthe
assemblyintotheslotson therearcoverof theprinter.
Checkthatprinterpoweris off andthereleaseleverat thebackof the
printeris down.
Openthetopcover,thenmovethebailleverontopofthepnnterforward
to openthepaperbail.
Adjustthepaperguidestomatchthesizeofpaperyouwillbeusing(re-
memberingthatprintingwillstartsomedistancefromtheleft-handedge
of thecarriage).
Placeasinglesheetbetweentheguides,placingthesideon whichyou
wanttoprinttowardsthebackoftheprinter.Gentlypushthepaperdown
in theguidesuntilyoufeelit stop.
Turn-theplatenknobclockwiseuntilthefrontedgeof thepapercomes
outfromunderthetop cover.
If the paper is not straight,movethe releaseleverto the up position,
straightenthepaperby hand,thenmovethereleaseleverbackdown.
Movethebailleverbackto closethepaperbail.
10

LOADING AND PARKING FANFOLD FORMS
Fanfold forms have holes alongthe sides and perforationsbetweenthe
sheets.They are alsocalledsprocketforms,punchedforms,orjust plain
“computerpaper”.Thisprinteracceptsformsupto 16”wide.Fanfoldforms
areloaded,parked,andunparkedasexplainednext.
Loadingthepaperfromtherearof theprinter
Youcanloadthefanfoldpapereitherfromtherearorfromthebottomofthe
printer.If you are goingto load the paperfromthe bottomread the next
section.
1. Placeastackoffanfoldpaperbehindandatleastonepage-lengthbelow
theprinter.
2. Turntheprinter’spowerOFF.
3. Pmshthe releaselever to the upwardposition.This has the effect of
~leasingthepaperfromtheplatenroller,andengagingthetractorfeed.
4. Removethepaperguideandputit asideforthemoment.
5. Removethe~arcover. Gripitbyitsrearedge andliftupwardsandback-
wardsasin Figure1-11.
Figure T-IT. Opening the rear cover
11