Star Micronics LC-200 User manual

USERS MANUAL
LC-2 00
DOT MATRIX PRINTER
ZX 80820487

LC-200
DOT MATRIX PRINTER
USERS MANUAL
NOT INTENDED FORSALE

Self Declaration
Radio interference.regardingthis equipmenthas been eliminatedaccordingto Vfg 1046/1984 an-
nouncedby the DBP.
DBPhasbeeninformedof theintroductionof thisspeciafequipmentandhasbeen grantedtherightto
examinethe whole series.
Itis the user’sresponsibilityto see drathis own assembledsystemis in accordancewiththetechnieal
regulationsunderVfg 1046/1984.
Toeonfonnto FIZ-regulationsitis necessarytomakeallccxurectionstotheprirrterwithshieldedcable.
The eqniprtentmay only be openedby qualifiedservicerepresentatives.
Theabove statementapplies only toprinters marketedin West Germany.
Trademark Acknowledgements
LC-200, NX-1OOO,LC-10, ND-10/15: StarMicronicsCo., Ltd.
IBM PC, PC-AT, PC-XT, Proprinter 111,Proprinter II, PC-DOS: InternationalBusinessMachines
Coro.
Mi&oaoft BASIC, MS-DOS: MicrosoftCorporaticm
FX-850, EX-800, LX-850, LX-81O:Seiko EpsonCorp.
NOTICE
●Alf rights resewed. Reproductionof anypartof this manualin anyform whatsoeverwidrout
STAR’s expresspermissionis forbidden.
●The contentsof thismanuafaresubjeetto changewihot notice.
●All effortshavebeenmadeto ensuredreaccuracyof ke contentsof thismanualatthe time of
press.However,shouldanyerrorsbe detected,STARwouldgreatlyappreciatebeinginformed
of them.
●llre abovenotwithstanding,STAR can assumeno responsibilityfor anyerrorsin this manual.
@Copyright1990StarMicronicsCo.,Ltd.

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
Thismanualisorganizedintoninechapters.Tolearnhowtomakethebest
useofyourprinteryouareurgedto readthroughchapters1through3.The
remainingchaptersmay be treatedas areferenceguidefor programming
operations,etc. It assumes adegree of knowledgeof the operationof
computers(forinstance,itassumesyouknowabouthexadecimalnumbers).
Thechaptemareas 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
it to findouthowtheprinterworks.
Chapter 3—Defaultsettings
ThischapterexplainshowtousetheElectronicDIPSwitch(EDS)modeto
makesystemsettingsontheprinter.
Chapter 4—Printercontrolcommands
Thischapterexplainsthedifferentemulationsprovidedbyyourprinter,and
the softwarecommandsusedto driveit. This sectionis of use if you are
writingor modifyingprogramsto takeadvantageoftheprinter’sfeatures.
Chapter 5—Downloadcharacters
This chapterexplainstheproceduresto createyourowncharacters.

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Chapter 6—MS-DOSandyourprinter
Sincethe PC or PC-AT familyof computersrunningunderMS-DOSis
currentlythe most popularconf@ration of microcomputer,we have in-
cludedafewhintsandtipstohelpyouuseyourprinterwithsuchsystems.
SincevirtuallyallPCsaresoldwithaMicrosoftBASICinterpreter,wehave
also included some hints, and asample program in this language to
demonstratethe capabilitiesof theprinter.
Chapter 7—Troubleshootingandmaintenance
Thissectiongivesachecklistofpointstocheckifyourpnnterisnotworking
in the expectedway.It alsoincludesdetailsof someroutinemaintenance
operationsyoucancarryoutyourself.Itisnot,however,acompleteservice
manual.Callaqualifiedserviceengineerifyouareunsureofyourabilityto
carryoutanymaintenanceor semicingoperations.
Chapter 8—Specifications
Thissectiongivesthespecificationsof yourprinter.
Chapter 9—Charactersets
Thesechartsshowthe differentcharactersetsavailable.

FEATURES OF THE PRINTER
Thisprinterhasafullcomplementoffeatures,makingitanexcellentpartner
forapersonalcomputer.ItsupportstheIBM/Epsonprintercommandsand
charactersets,enablingit to printjust aboutanythingyourcomputercan
generate,bothtextandgraphics.Someofitsmainfeaturesarethefollowing:
●Extensivesoftwaresupport
Sinceitis compatiblewiththeEpsonandIBMprinters,it workswithany
softwarethatsupportsthoseprinters.Thatincludesmostword-processing
andgraphicsprograms,spread-sheets,andintegratedsoftwarepackages.
.Easy operation
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 printhead in afew
minutes.
●Versatilepaperhandling
Singlesheets,fanfoldforms,andmulti-partforms(uptoquadruple-ply)are
all accepted,and you can use eitherpush/pulltractor or frictionfeed. A
specialfeatureenablesyoutokeepfanfoldformsparkedinreadinesswhile
printingon otherpaper.
.Large variety of fonts and sizes
Theprinterhasonedraftfont,oneHigh-SpeedDraftfontandfourNLQfonts
(Courier,Sanserif,OratorandScript),italicsforallstyles,pluscondensed
print,boldprint,double-sizedprint,andquadruple-sizedprint.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1SETTING UP THE PRINTER
LocatingthePrinter
UnpackingandInspection
Checkingthecartoncontents
Identifyingprinterparts
SettingUp
Mountingtheplatenknob
Installtheribboncartridgeandtherollerunit
Connectingtheprintertoyourcomputer
LoadingSingleSheets
Automaticloading
Manualloading
LoadingandParkingFanfoldForms
Loadingthepaperffomtherearof theprinter
Loadingthepaperffomthebottomof theprinter
Paperparking
Paperunparking
LoadingMulti-PartForms
AdjustingthePrintingGap
Chapter 2CONTROL PANEL OPERATIONS
ButtonsandIndicators
ONLINEbutton
PAPERFEEDbutton
SET/E.JECT/PARKbutton
PITCHbutton
FONTbutton
Power-UpFunctions
Shorttestmode
Longtestmode
Printareatestmode
Stayinpanelpitch
Stayinpanelfont
Stayinpanelpitchandfont
Hexadecimaldump
SwitchCombinationFunctions
Formfeed
Topof form
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1
2
2
3
4
4
4
8
9
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12
15
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25
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30
30
30

Forwardmicro-feed
Reversemicro-feed
Changingtheautoloadingvalue
Clearingthebuffer/Allreset
Selectingtheprintcolor
Storemacrodefinition
Chapter 3DEFAULT SETTINGS
HowtosettheEDSmode
FunctionsoftheEDSsettings
Bidirectionaltest./Adjustmentmode
Chapter 4PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS
FontControlCommands
CharacterSetCommands
CharacterSizeandPitchCommands
VerticalPositionCommands
HorizontalPositionCommands
GraphicsCommands
DownloadCharacterCommands
ColorSelectionCommandes
OtherPrinterControlCommands
Chapter 5DOWNLOAD CHARACTERS
DesigningYourOwnDraftCharacters
Definingtheattributedata
Assigningthecharacterdata
Sampleprogram
DefiningYourOwnNLQCharacters
AssigningthecharacterdatawiththeStandardmode
AssigningthecharacterdatawiththeIBMmode
Chapter 6MS-DOS AND YOUR PRINTER
InstallingApplicationSoftwarewithYourPrinter
EmbeddingPrinterCommands
ProgrammingthePrinterwithDOSCommands
ProgrammingwithBASIC
Howtheprogramworks
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31
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32
32
33
35
35
36
40
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55
62
67
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90
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101
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Chapter 7TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE
Troubleshooting
Powersupply
Printing
Paperfeeding
Maintenance
ReplacingthePrintHead
Chapter 8SPECIFICATIONS
Chapter 9CHARACTER SETS
StandardCharacterSet#l
StandardCharacterSet#2
InternationalCharacterSets
IBMCharacterSet#2
Codepage#437(U.S.A.)
Codepage#850(Multi-lingual)
Codepage#860(Portuguese)
Codepage#861(Icelandic)
Codepage#863(CanadianFrench)
Codepage#865(Nordic)
IBMCharacterSet#1
IBMSpecialCharacterSet
INDEX
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108
108
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113
115
119
120
122
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126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
COMMAND SUMMARY 136

chapter 1
SETTING UP THE PRINTER
Subjects covered in Chapter 1include—
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Locatingtheprinter
Unpackingandinspection(partnames)
Settingup andcomecting
Loadingsinglesheets
Loadingandparkingfanfoldforms
Adjustingtheprintinggap
LOCATING THE PRINTER
Beforeyoustartunpackingandsettingup yourprinter,makesurethatyou
haveasuitableplaceonwhichtolocateit.By“a suitabIeplace”,wemean:
●
✎
✎
✎
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✎
✎
.0
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 disconnecttheprintertheplughasto be disconnectedfromthewall
socket,whichhasto be locatedcloseto theprinter,andeasyto access.
Installthe printerwherethereis sufficientroomfor the paper and any
paperbeingfedin orprintedout.
Ifyouareconnectingyourprinterwithaparallelcable,makesurethatthe
cableis within2m (6ft)of theprinter.An RS-232connectionusingthe
optionalSPC-8Kinterfacecanbemadeoverlongerdistances.

UNPACKINGAND INSPECTION
Checkingthecartoncontents
Now unpackthecontentsoftheshippingcarton,andcheckeachiteminthe
boxagainstFigure1-1tomakesurethatyouhaveeverything(thereshould
be sevenitems).
If anyof theseitemsaremissing,contactyoursupplier.
FigureI-I. Check tomake sureyou haveall sevenitems: 1)Printer,2) Paperguide, 3) Roller unit, 4) Platen
knob, 5) Color ribbon cartridge, 6) Monochrome ribbon cartridge, and 7) Manual set (User’s manual, User’s
guide and Sticker).

Theoptionalaccessorieswhichyoumayhaveorderedwithyourprinterare:
●Serial-Parallelconverter(SPC-8K)
●Automaticsheetfeeder(SF-1ODN)
●Rollpaperholder(RH-1OZ)
Identifyingprinterparts
Make an external inspection of the printer. Note the locations of the
followingpartsin Figure1-2.
Figure 7-2.The printer’s external parts
Roller unit:
Release lever:
Top cover:
Rear cover:
Entry slot:
Control panel:
Power switch:
Interface connector:
holdsthepaperagainsttheplaten.
releasestheplaten.ThisIevermustbebackfor
singlesheets,andforwardfor fanfoldforms.
protectstheprintheadandotherinternalparts.
protectsthetractorfeedmechanism.
for insertingsinglesheetsofpaper.
controlsvariousprinterfunctions.
turnspoweron andoff.
for connectingthecomputerto theprinter.

SEITING UP
Placetheprinterin the desiredlocation,andremoveallpackingmaterial
from insidethe top cover.This packingmaterialis intendedto prevent
darnagetotheprinterwhileintransit.Youwillwanttokeepallthepacking
material,alongwiththeprintercarton,incaseyouhavetomovetheprinter
to anewlocation.
Mountingtheplatenknob
Theplatenknobispackedintoarecessofthewhitefoampackingmaterial
whichheldyourprinterinsidethecarton.Besureto removetheknobfrom
thepackaging.
Mounttheknobon theplatenshaft,whichis ontheright-handsideof the
printer.Rotatethe knob on the shaftbeforepushingthe knob fully into
position.
1
Figure1-3.Mounting the platen knob
Installtheribboncartridgeand therollerunit
.
Removethetopcoverbyliftingupthefront(usingthetwogripsoneither
side),andpullingthecovertowardsyou(seeFigure 1-4).Nowinstallthe
ribbon.(Ifyouwanttoprintwithblackonly,installthemonochromeribbon
cartridge,2X9.)
4—

F@r8 1-4.Removing the top cover
1. Turn the tension knob counterclockwise on the ribbon cartridge to
tighten the ribbon if it is slack.
2. Guide the ribbonbetweenthe Printhead andthe silverprinthead shield,
making certain that the spindles on the cartridge holder fit into the
~~cketson thecartridge itself.
Figure 1-5.Instelliflg the ribbon cartridge

3. ‘l%enbbonshoul dpassbetweentheprintheadandtheprinthead shield
(seeFigure 1-6).
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Figure 7-6. Passthe ribbon between the print head and print head shield
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Afteryouhaveinstalledtheribboncartridge,installtherollerunit.
Opentherear coverusingthetwogripson eitherside.
Grippingthelockleversonbothsidesoftherollerunit,fitthemounting
bracketsontothe shaftinsideoftheprintermechanism.Youwillneed
to tiltthe rollerunitslightlybackward.
Securethe roller unit firmly by loweringinto position,as shown in
Figure 1-7.
Closetherearcover.
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Roll
[e-mail] the roller unit onto the printer
To replacethe top cover,insertthetabs intothe slotson the printercase.
Swingthefrontedgedownto closethecover.
Leavethe top coverclosedduringnormaloperation.The coverkeepsout
dustanddirtandreducestheprinter’soperatingsounds.Openthecoveronly
to changethe ribbonor makean adjustment.
NOTE: When you remove the color ribbon cartridge,press the ribbon
releasecatchtowardyouwithyourindexfinger.Oncetheribbonis
freeof theprinthead,thecartridgeliftsouteasily.

Connectingtheprintertoyour computer
Connecttheprinterto your computerusing astandardparallelinterface
cable.OnaPCorPC/AT-typecomputer,thismeansthatyouusethe25-pin
D-typeconnectoratthecomputerend,andtheAmphenol-type36-pincon-
nector at the printerend. The contlgurationof the printer’sconnectoris
given in Chapter8should you need acable for connectingto another
computer.
If youneedto connectto aserialport,usetheoptionalSerial-Parallelcon-
verter,SPC-8K.
Interface cable
Figure 1-8.Connecting the interface cable
Plug theprinter into asuitableoutlet. However, DO NOT turn on thepower
switch at the front of the printer yet.
NOTE: To disconnect the printer the plug has to be disconnected from the
wall socket, which has to be located close to the printer, and easy to
access.
8

LOADING SINGLE SHEETS
This
sectionwilltakeyouthroughtheproceduresforloadingsinglesheets
of paper.
Ifyouareusingtheoptionalautomaticsheetfeeder(SF-10DN),refertothe
ASFinstructionbooklet.
Automaticloading
Single sheets can be loaded manually with the power off, or automatically
with the power on. We will start the easy way with automatic loading.
1. Place the paper guide in position by inserting the tabs, located on the
bottomofthe assembly,intothe slotson therearcoverof theprinter.
Figure1-9.Mounting the paper guide for single sheets
2. Adjustthepaperguidestomatchthesizeofthepaperyou willbeusing.
Rememberthatprintingwillstartsomedistancefromtheleft-handedge
of the carriage.
3. Turnonthepowerusingtheswitchlocatedatthefrontoftheprinter. The
printerwillbeep,indicatingthatthereisnopaperinpositionforpnnting.
TheorangePOWERindicatorwillalsoflashto confhn this.

4.
5.
6.
7.
—
Make surethatthe releaseleveris back.
Iffanfoldpaperisalreadymountedintheprinter,presstheCst~~.~~c1)
buttontoparkthepaperintheoff-linestate,thenmovethereleaselever
backwards.
Placeasinglesheetbetweentheguides,placingthesideon whichyou
wanttoprinttowardsthebackoftheprinter.Gentlypushthepaperdown
in theguidesuntilyoufeelit stop.
Nowpressthe (S,~A.&ICT )button.Thepaperwillbefedintotheprinter
andadjustedpasttheprintheadto apositionreadyforprinting.
Ifyouwanttosetthepapertoadifferentposition,settheprinteroff-line
by pressingthe(ONLINE )button, then set the paper by using the
micro-feedfunction.(Fordetails,referto Chapter2.)
lever
Figure 1-10.Loading asingle sheet
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Manualloading
Itisalsopossibletoloadpapermanuallywhiletheprinter’spowerisoff.The
procedureis:
1. Placethe paperguidein positionby insertingthe tabs,locatedon the
bottomofthe assembly,intothe slotson therearcoverof theprinter.
2. Checkthatprinterpoweris off andthereleaseleveris back.
3. Adjustthe paperguidesto matchthe sizeof paperyou willbe using.
Rememberthatprintingwillstartsomedistancefromtheleft-handedge
of the carriage.
4. Placeasinglesheetbetweentheguides,placingthesideon whichyou
wanttoprinttowardsthebackoftheprinter.Gentlypushthepaperdown
in theguidesuntilyoufeelit stop.
5. Turntheplatenknobclockwiseuntilthefrontedgeofthepapercomes
outfromunderthetopcover.
6. If the paper is not straight, move the release lever forward, then
straightenthepaperby handandmovethereleaseleverback.
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