Star Micronics LC-20 User manual

USERS MANUAL
LC-2 0
DOT MATRIX PRINTER
80820476

Trademark Acknowledgements
LC-20, NX-1OOO,LC.1O,ND.10/15: StarMicronicsCo., Lid.
IBM PC, PC-AT, PC-XT, ProprinterIII, ProprhrterII, PC.DOS: InternationalBusinessMachines
Corp.
Microaoft BASIC, MS-DOS: MicrosoftCorporation
LX.85Q FX86q Fx286e: seikO @sOn Corp.
NOTICE
●All rights reserved. Reproduction of aoy partof this manual in any form whatsoeverwithout
. .
.%~~~~?~%~~%;~;~~;% ckgewitiattim.
●All effortshavebeenmadeto ensuretheaccuracyof thecontentsof thismanrralatthetime of
press,However,shotddanyerrorahe detected,STARwouldgreatlya~reciate being informed
of them.
●The abovenotwithstanding,STAR cartassumeno responsibilityforanyerrorsin thismanual.
@Copyright1990StarMicronicsCo.,Ltd.

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
Thismanualisorganizedintoninechapters.Tolearnhowto makethebest
useof yourprinteryouareurgedto readthroughchapten 1through3.The
remainingchaptersmay be treatedas areferenceguidefor programming
operations,etc. It assumes adegree of knowledgeof the operation of
computexx(forinstance,itassumesyouknowabouthexadecimalnumbers).
Thechaptexxare as follows:
Chapter 1— Settingup theprinter
Thischapterexplainshowto gettheprinterunpackedandsetup. Readthis
chapterbeforeyoudo anythingelse.
Chapter 2—Controlpaneloperations
There are anumberof controlson the frontpanelwhichperformvarious
functionsrelatedto paperhandling,printmodesandfontselection.
Aftergettingsetup,readthischapterandtry outthevariousproceduresin
itto findouthowtheprinterworks.
Chapter 3—DIP switchsettings
Thischapterexplainshowto settheDIPswitchesto makesystemsettings
on theprinter.
Chapter 4—Printercontrolcommands
Thischapterexplainsthediffe~ntemulationsprovidedbyyourprinter,and
the softwarecommandsused to driveit. This sectionis of use if you are
writingor modifiing progr~s to takeadvantageoftheprinter’sfeatures.
Chapter 5—Downloadcharactem
Thischapterexplainstheproceduresto createyourowncharacters.

Chapter6—MS-DOSandyourprinter
Sincethe PC or PC-ATfamilyof computemrunningunderMS-DOSis
curnmtlythe most popularconfigurationof microcomputer,we have in-
cludedafewhintsandtipsto helpyouuseyourprinterwithsuchsystems.
SincevirtuallyallPCsaresoldwithaMicrosoftBASICinterpreter,wehave
also included some hints, and asample program in this language to
demonstratethecapabilitiesof theprinter.
Chapter 7—Troubleshootingandmaintenance
Thissectiongivesachecklistofpointstocheckifyourprinterisnotworking
in theexpectedway.It alsoincludesdetailsof someroutinemaintenance
operationsyoucancarryoutyourself.Itisno~however,acompleteservice
manual.Callaqualifiedserviceengineerifyouareunsureofyourabilityto
carryoutanymaintenanceor servicingoperations.
Chapter 8—Specifications
Thissectiongivesthe specificationsof yourprinter.
Chapter 9—Charactersets
Thesechartsgivethedifferentcharactersetsavailable,andthedifferences
betweennationalcharactersets(assetup withtheDIP switches).

FEATURES OF THE PRINTER
Thisprinterisaconvenient,monochromeprinterwithoutfiillsbutwithafull
complementof features, making it an excellentpartner for apersonal
computer.It supportstheIBM/Epsonprintercommandsandcharactersets,
enablingittoprintjustaboutanythingyourcomputercangenerate,bothtext
and graphics.Someof itsmainfeaturesarethefollowing:
.ExtensivesoftwareSupport
Sinceit is compatiblewiththeEpsonandIBMprinters,it workswithany
softwarethatsupportsthoseprintem.Thatincludesmostword-processing
andgraphicsprograms,spread-sheets,andintegratedsoftwarepackages.
.Easy”operation
Clearlyunderstandableindicatordisplaysandbeeptonesprovideimmedi-
ate feedbackwhen you press the buttonson the controlpanel.The four
buttonscanoperateincombinationstoperformasurprisingvarietyoffunc-
tions,includingmicro-alignment.
.Easycare andmaintenance
The ribboncartridgecan be replacedin secondsthe print head in afew
minutes.
.Versatilepaperhandling
Singlesheets,fanfoldforms,andmulti-copyforms(uptotriple-ply)areall
accepted,and youcanuse eithertractoror frictionfeed.Aspecialfeature
enablesyou to keep fanfoldformsparkedin readinesswhileprintingon
otherpaper.
●Largevarietyof fontsandsizes
The printerhas onedraftfontandfourNLQ fonts(Courier,Sanserif,and
Oratorwith smallcapitalsor lower case), italicsfor all styles,plus con-
densedprint,boldprint,double-sizedprint,andquadruple-sizedprint.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1SETTING UP THE PRINTER
LocatingthePrinter
UnpackingandInspection
Checkthecartoncontents
Partsnameoftheprinter
Setting
Up
Mount the platen knob
Install the ribbon cartridge
Comection
Loading Single Sheets
Automatic loading
Manual loading
Loading and Parking Fanfold Forms
Loading the paper
Paper parking
Paper unparking
Adjusting the PrintingGap
Chapter 2CONTROL PANEL OPERATIONS
ButtonsandIndicators
ONLINEbutton
PAPERFEEDbutton
PITCHbutton
FONTbutton
Power-UpFunctions
Shorttestmode
Longtestmode
Stayinpanelpitch
Stayinpanelfont
Stayinpanelpitchandfont
Hexadecimaldump
SwitchCombinationFunctions
Formfeed
PaperParking
Topofform
Forwardmicro-feed
Reversemicro-feed
Clearingthebuffer
1
1
2
2
3
4
4
4
7
8
8
10
11
11
14
14
15
17
17
18
19
19
20
21
21
22
22
22
22
23
25
25
26
26
26
27
27

Chapter 3DIP SWITCH SETTINGS
LocationoftheDIPSwitches
FunctionsoftheDIPSwitches
Chapter 4PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS
FontControlCommands
CharacterSetCommands
CharacterSizeandPitchCommands
VerticalPositionCommands
HorizontalPositionCommands
GraphicsCommands
DownloadCharacterCommands
OtherPrinterControlCommands
Chapter 5DOWNLOAD CHARACTERS
DesigningYourOwnDraftCharacters
Definingtheattributedata
Assigningthechamcterdata
Sampleprogram
DefiningYourOwnNLQCharacters
Chapter 6MS-DOSANDYOUR PRINTER
InstallingApplicationSoftwarewithYourPrinter
EmbeddingPrinterCommands
ProgrammingthePrinterwithDOSCommands
ProgrammingwithBASIC
Howtheprogramworks
Chapter 7TROUBLESHOOTING ANDMAINTENANCE
Troubleshooting
Powersupply
Printing
Paperfeeding
Maintenance
ReplacingthePrintHead
29
29
30
33
34
39
41
47
53
58
61
65
69
69
70
72
72
74
77
77
78
80
82
86
89
89
90
90
92
95
95

.
Chapter 8SPECIFICATIONS
Chapter 9CHARACTER SETS
StandardCharacterSet
InternationalCharacterSets
IBMCharacter
Set #2
IBMCharacterSet#1
IBM Special Character Set
INDEX
COMMANDSUMMARY
99
103
104
106
107
109
110
113
116

chapter 1
SETTING UP THE PRINTER
Subjects covered in Chapter 1include—
●
●
✎
✎
●
✘
Locatingtheprinter
Unpackingandinspection(namesof parts)
Settingup andconnection
Loadingsinglesheets
Loadingandparkingfanfoldforms
Adjustingtheprintinggap
LOCATING THE PRINTER
Beforeyoustartunpackingandsettingup yourprinter,makesurethatyou
haveasuitableplaceonwhichtolocateit.By“asuitableplace”,wemean:
.
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
Afirm,levelsurfacewhichis fairlyvibration-free
Awayfromexcessiveheat(suchasdirectsunlight,heaters,etc)
Awayfromexcessivehumidity
Awayfromexcessivedust
Supplyitwith“clean”electricity.Donotconnectittothesamecircuitas
alarge,noise-producingappliancesuchas arefrigerator.
Make sure the line voltage is the voltage specified on the printer’s
identificationplate.
To discomect theprintertheplughasto be disconnectedfromthe wall
socket,whichhasto be locatedcloseto theprinter,andeasyto access.
Installthe printerwherethemis sufficientroomfor the paper and any
paperbeingfedin or printedout.
Ifyouareconnectingyourprinterwithaparallelcable,makesurethatthe
cableis within2m {6-fi)of theprinter.An RS-232connectionusingthe
optionalSPC-8Kinterfacecanbemadeoverlongerdistances.

I
UNPACKINGAND INSPECTION
Checkthecartoncontents
Nowunpackthecontentsoftheshippingcarton,andcheckeachiteminthe
boxagainstFigwe 1-1tomakesurethatyouhaveeverything(thereshould
befiveitems).
If anyoftheseitemsaremissing,contactyoursupplier.
Figure 1-1.Checkto make sureyou haveall five items: 1)Printer,2) Paperguide, 3) Platen knob, 4) Ribbon
cartridge, and 5) User’s manual.
2

Theoptionalaccessorieswhichyoumayhaveorderedwithyourprinterare:
●Serial-Parallelconverter(SPC-8K)
●Automaticsheetfeeder(SF-1ODR)
Partsnameof theprinter
Makeanexternalinspectionoftheprinter.Notethelocationsofthefollow-
ingpartsinFigure1-2.
Power
ver
sknob
Control panil
Figut@1-2 The printer’s external parts
Bail lever: opensandclosesthepaperbailwhichholdsthe
paperagainsttheplaten.
Releaselever: releasestheplaten.Thislevermustbebackfor
singlesheets,andup for fanfoldforms.
Top cover: protectstheprintheadandotherinternalparts.
Rear cover: protectsthe sprocketfeedmechanism.
Entry slot: for insertingsinglesheetsof paper.
Control panel: controlsvariousprinterfunctions.
Power switch: turnspoweron andoff.
Interface connector: forconnectingthe computerto theprinter.

SETIWJGUP
Placetheprinterin the desiredlocation,andremoveall packingmaterial
from insidethe top cover.This packingmaterialis intendedto prevent
damagetotheprinterwhileintransit.Youwillwanttokeepallthepacking
material,alongwiththeprintercarton,incaseyouhavetomovetheprinter
to anewlocation.
Mounttheplatenknob
Theplatenknobispackedintoarecessofthewhitefoampackingmaterial
whichheldyourprinterinsidethecarton.Besureto removetheknobfrom
thepackaging.
Mounttheknobon theplatenshaft,whichis on theright-handsideof the
printer.Rotatethe knob on the shaft beforepushingthe knob fully into
position.
~
.Platen knob
Figure 1-3.Mounting the platen knob
lnsta//theribboncartridge
Removethetopcoverbyliftingthefront(usingthetwogripsoneitherside),
andpullingthecovertowardsyou.Nowinstalltheribbon.
4

Figure 1-4. Removing the lop cover
1. Turn the tension knob counterclockwiseon the ribbon cartridgeto
tightentheribbonif itis slack.
2. Guidetheribbonbetweentheprintheadandtheplaten,makingcertain
that the spindleson the cartridgeholder fit into the socketson the
cartridgeitself.
Figure 1-5.Installing the ribbon cartridge

I
3. Theribbonshouldpassbetweentheprintheadandtheprinthead shield
(seeFigure 1-6).
Print head
\Print head shield
I‘h~,.kribbo.
IIIL
@J\
Figure 1-6. Pass the ribbon between the print head and print haad shield
To replacethe topcover,insertthetabsintothe slotson the printercase.
Swingthefrontedgedownto closethecover.
Leavethetop coverclosedduringnormaloperation.The coverkeepsout
dustanddirtandreducestheprinter’soperatingsounds.Openthecoveronly
to changetheribbonor makean adjustment.
6

Connection
Connecttheprinterto yourcomputerusing astandardparallelinterface
cable.OnaPCorPC/AT-typecomputer,thismeansthatyouusethe25-pin
D-typeconnectoratthecomputerend,andtheAmphenol-type36-pincon-
nector at the printerend. The configurationof the printer’sconnectoris
given in Chapter8should you need acable for connectionto another
computer.
If you need to connectto aserial port, use the optionalSerial-Parallel
converter,SPC-8K.
\!j$”
’06’
&I
*
,/ Interface
Connector
cable
Figure 1-7.Connecting the interface cable
Plugtheprinterintoasuitableoutlet.However,DONOTturnonthepower
switchatthefrontoftheprinteryet.
7

LOADING SINGLE SHEETS
This
sectionwilltakeyouthroughtheproceduresforloadingsinglesheets
ofpaper.
Ifyouareusingtheoptionalautomaticsheetfeeder(AN?),refertotheASF
instructionbooklet.
Automaticloading
Singlesheetscanbeloadedmanuallywiththepoweroff,or automatically
withthepoweron. Wewillstarttheeasywaywithautomaticloading.
1. Placethepaperguidein positionby insertingthe tabs,locatedon the
bottomof theassembly,intotheslotson therearcoveroftheprinter.
lever
Figure T-8.Mounting the paper guide for single sheets
8

2.
3.
4.
5.
Makesurethatthereleaseleveris down.
Iffanfoldpaperisalreadymountedintheprinter,pressthePAPER FEED
buttonwhileholdingthe FONTbuttonto parkthe paperin theoff-line
state,thenmovethereleaseleverdownwards.
Adjustthe paperguidesto matchthe sizeof paperyou willbe using.
Rememberthatprintingwillstartsomedistancefromtheleft-handedge
ofthe carriage.
Turnonthepowerusingtheswitchlocatedatthefrontoftheprinter.The
pnnterwillbeep,indicatingthatthereisnopaperinpositionforpnnting.
TheorangePOWERindicatorwillalsoflashto confirmthis.
Placeasinglesheetbetweentheguides,placingthesideon whichyou
wanttoprinttowardsthebackoftheprinter.Gentlypushthepaperdown
in theguidesuntilyoufeelit stop.
I
Figure 7-9.Loading asingle sheet
6. Movethebailleverforward.Whenthebailopens,theprinterfeedsthe
paperautomatically.
7. Movethe bailleverback.The paperwillfeed slightlyforwardagain,
endinginpositionto printwithatopmarginof aboutoneinch.
9

I
Manualloading
Itisalsopossibletoloadpapermanuallywhiletheprinter’spowerisoff.The
procedureis:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Placethe paperguidein positionby insertingthe tabs,locatedon the
bottomof theassembly,intotheslotsontherearcoveroftheprinter.
Checkthatprinterpowerisoff andthereleaseleveris down.
Openthetopcover,thenmovethebailleverontopof theprinterfonvard
to openthepaperbail.
Adjustthe paperguidesto matchthe sizeof paperyou willbe using.
Rememberthatprintingwillstartsomedistancefromtheleft-handedge
ofthe carriage.
Placeasinglesheetbetweentheguides,placingthesideonwhichyou
wanttoprinttowardsthebackoftheprinter.Gentlypushthepaperdown
in theguidesuntilyoufeelit stop.
Turntheplatenknobclockwiseuntilthefrontedgeof thepapercomes
outfromunderthetopcover.
If the paper is not straight, move the release lever forward, then
straightenthepaperby handandmovethereleaseleverbackdown.
Movethebailleverbackto closethepaperbail.
10

LOADING AND PARKING FANFOLD FORMS
Fanfold forms have holes along the sides and perforationsbetweenthe
sheets.They are alsocalledsprocketforms,punchedforms,orjust plain
“computerpaper”.Thisprinteracceptsformsupto 10”wide.Thissection
willtake you throughthe proceduresfor loading,parkingand unparking
fanfoldforms.
Loadingthepaper
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Placeastackoffanfoldpaperbehindandatleastonepage-lengthbelow
theprinter.
Turntheprinter’spowerOFF.
Pushthereleaseleverforward.Thishastheeffectofreleasingthepaper
fromtheplatenroller,andengagingthetractorfeed.
Removethepaperguideandputit asideforthemoment.
Removethe rear cover using the two grips on either side, and push
backwardsas shownin Figure1-10.
Rear cover
I
Figure 1-10.Removingtherearcover

6.
7.
Withthesprocketcoversopen,mountthepaperby aligningholeswith
thepinson thesprockets.
Adjustthespacingofthesprocketsby slidingthemalongthebar,using
theclampleveratthebackofeachsprocketto releaseandlockthemin
position.Whentheleverisdown,thesprocketis released,andwhenit
is up,the sprocketis locked.
I
Figuru 7-11. Mount the fanfold psper over the sprockets.
8.
9.
Nowclosethe sprocketcovers,againmakingsurethatthepaperholes
are alignedwith the pins on the sprockets.If they are not aligned
properly,youwillhaveproblemswithpaperfeeding,possiblyresulting
in tearingandjammingof thepaper.
Turnonthepowerusingtheswitchlocatedatthefrontoftheprinter.The
printerwill‘beep,indicatingthatttiepaperis not yetfullyloaded.This
is alsoconfirmedby theorangePOWERindicatorflashing.
10.Movethebailleverforward.Whenthebailopens,theprinterfeedsthe
paperautomatically.
11.Movethe bailleverback.The paperwill feed slightlyforwardagain,
endingin positionto printwithatopmarginof aboutoneinch.
12.Replacetherearcover.Holdit tiltedupwardandinsertthefourtabsat
thebottomintotheirslots.Thenrotatethecoverupwards,pressingthe
thumbpadson theleft andrightto snapitintoplace.
12