Star Micronics LC-6211 User manual

USERS MANUAL
LC-6211
HF 80825040
DOT MATRIX PRINTER

Trademark acknowledgments
LC-6211, LC-10, LC-90, LC-100, NX-1000, NX-1010, NX-1040, SPC-8K: Star Micronics Co. Ltd.
EX-800, FX-850, LX-810, LX-850: Seiko Epson Corporation
IBM PC: International Business Machines Corporation.
MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows, Windows 3.1: Microsoft Corporation
Notice
• All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form whatsoever, without STAR’s express
permission, is strictly 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 printing. How-
ever, should any errors be found, STAR would greatly appreciate being informed of them.
• The above notwithstanding, STAR can assume no responsibility for any errors in this manual.
© Copyright 1995 Star Micronics Co., Ltd.

About this manual
This manual describes how to set up, use, and care for the Star LC-6211 printer.
The following is a list of what you can expect to find in each chapter.
Chapter 1 Choosing a place for your printer, unpacking and setup,
ribbon cassette installation, loading paper, connecting to
your printer
Chapter 2 How to use the control panel
Chapter 3 How to use the printers Electronic DIP Switch (EDS)
Mode to set up the printer to match the needs of your
system and software
Chapter 4 Selecting the best type of paper, adjusting for paper
thickness, manual sheet feeding, clearing paper jams
Chapter 5 How to set up for printing with MS-DOS
Appendix A How to deal with printing problems
Appendix B Specifications
Appendix C Interface information
Appendix D Character sets
Appendix E Printer control codes
Appendix F Glossary

Contents
Chapter 1: Printer Setup … 1
Choosing a place for the printer … 1
Unpacking the printer … 2
General guide … 3
Installing the platen knob … 4
Opening the front cover … 4
Installing the ribbon cartridge … 5
Removing the ribbon cartridge … 6
Connecting to a power outlet and turning power on and off … 7
Loading paper … 8
Printing on fanfold paper … 12
Parking fanfold paper … 12
Unparking fanfold paper … 13
Using the tear-off function … 13
Connecting to your computer … 14
Chapter 2: Control Panel Operations … 16
Switching between on-line and off-line … 16
Paper loading … 17
Line feed … 17
Paper eject (cut-sheet paper) … 17
Form feed (fanfold paper) … 17
Parking fanfold paper … 18
Micro feed … 18
Setting the top of form position … 18
Clearing a top of form setting … 18
Setting the printing speed … 19
Tear-off function … 19
Chapter 3: Using the EDS Mode … 20
Entering the EDS Mode … 21
EDS Mode Settings … 22
RAM Usage … 22
Graphics Direction … 22
Tear-off … 22
Auto LF with CR … 22

Paper Out … 23
Line Spacing … 23
Strobe Timing … 23
Print Mode … 23
Banking Character … 24
Zero style … 24
Character Table … 24
Page Length … 24
Chapter 4: Paper Handling … 25
Selecting paper types … 25
Cut-Sheet Paper … 25
Fanfold Paper … 25
Adjusting for paper thickness … 26
Automatic fanfold feeding … 27
Manual sheet feeding … 27
Clearing paper jams … 30
Chapter 5: Using the Printer with MS-DOS … 31
Setting up for printing with MS-DOS … 31
Appendix A: Troubleshooting … 32
Appendix B: Specifications … 41
Appendix C: Interface Pin Outs … 43
Appendix D: Character Sets … 44
Appendix E: Printer Control Codes … 46
Appendix F: Glossary … 50

1
Chapter 1: Printer Setup
This chapter contains important information on setting up your printer. Be sure
to read this chapter carefully before using the printer for the first time. In this
chapter you will learn about:
❏Choosing a place for the printer
❏Unpacking and setting up the printer
❏Installing the ribbon cassette
❏Loading paper
❏Connecting to your computer
Choosing a place for the printer
Before actually unpacking the printer, you should take a few minutes to think
about where you plan to use it. Remember the following points when doing this.
✓Choose a firm, level surface where the printer will not be exposed to
vibration.
✓The power outlet you plan to connect to for power should be nearby and
unobstructed.
✓Make sure that the printer is close enough to your computer for you to
connect the two with your printer cable.
✓Allow six inches (15 centimeters) of free space on either side of the printer.
If you are going to use fanfold paper, make sure that there is adequate space
for paper behind the printer.
✓Make sure that the printer is not exposed to direct sunlight.
✓Make sure that the printer is well away from heaters.
✓Make sure that the surrounding area is clean, dry, and free of dust.
✓Make sure that the printer is connected to a reliable power outlet. It should
not be on the same electric circuit as copiers, refrigerators, or other
appliances that cause power spikes.
✓Use a power outlet that matches the power rating noted on the label affixed
to the bottom of your printer.
✓Make sure that the room where you are using the printer is not too humid.

2Printer Setup
Unpacking the printer
Check to make sure that the carton contains each of the items shown in the
following illustration.
If anything is missing, contact the store where you bought the printer and ask
them to supply the missing part.
A serial-to-parallel interface converter (SPC-8K) is also available as an option.
Consult with your dealer for details.
Note:
It is a good idea to keep the original box and all the packing materials just in
case you later need to pack the printer up again and send it somewhere at a
later date.
Printer
Users manual
Platen knob Ribbon cartridge

General guide 3
General guide
The following illustrations show the major component parts of the your printer.
Front cover
Adjustment lever
Paper guide
Power switch
Control panel Interface connector
Platen knob
Tractor unit
Release lever

4Printer Setup
Installing the platen knob
The platen knob is packed into a recess in the packaging material.
❏Install the knob on the shaft located inside the large hole on the right side of
the printer. Make sure that the flat side of the shaft is aligned with the
corresponding flat surface inside the knob’s spindle. Press the knob
carefully but firmly into place as far as it will go.
Opening the front cover
❏Hook your fingers under the two small tabs on either side of the front cover
and pull forward and up to swing the front cover open.
Front cover

Installing the ribbon cartridge 5
Installing the ribbon cartridge
❏Make sure that printer is unplugged from its power outlet.
❏Open the front cover of the printer.
❏By hand, move the cartridge holder to the center position of the paper guide
where there is a cutout to allow easy installation and removal of the ribbon
cartridge.
Important!
Never try to move the print head while the printer is plugged into a power
outlet. Doing so can damage the printer. If you have just used the printer, let
the print head cool for a few minutes before you touch it.
❏Remove the ribbon cartridge from its package.
❏Rotate the knob on the ribbon cartridge clockwise to take up any slack in
the ribbon.
Cartridge holder

6Printer Setup
❏Carefully place the cartridge onto the cartridge holder making sure that the
spindle of the holder fits into the socket on the bottom of the cartridge.
❏Press down gently but firmly on the cartridge until it snaps securely into
place.
❏Rotate the knob on the cartridge again to take up any slack.
❏Close the front cover of the printer.
Important!
Printing that is poor quality or too light is almost always due to a ribbon that is
simply worn out or “used up.” If you experience problems with print quality,
check the condition of the ribbon. If the black part looks gray and well-worn,
replace the ribbon with a new one.
Removing the ribbon cartridge
Use the following procedure to remove the ribbon cartridge from the printer
when you want to replace it with a new one.
❏Make sure that printer is unplugged from its power outlet.
❏Open the front cover of the printer.

Connecting to a power outlet and turning power on and off 7
❏By hand, move the cartridge holder to the center position of the paper guide
where there is a cutout to allow easy installation and removal of the ribbon
cartridge.
Important!
Never try to move the print head while the printer is plugged into a power
outlet. Doing so can damage the printer. If you have just used the printer, let
the print head cool for a few minutes before you touch it.
❏Using your thumb and forefinger to squeeze the two tabs on the ribbon
cartridge towards the center, carefully remove the cartridge from the holder.
❏Use the procedure under “Installing the ribbon cartridge” on page 5 to
install a new cartridge.
Connecting to a power outlet and turning power on and off
❏Plug the power cord of the printer into a standard power outlet whose
voltage matches the power rating noted on the label affixed to the bottom of
your printer.

8Printer Setup
❏Set the switch on the front of the printer to ON to turn power on, and to
OFF to turn power off.
Important!
We recommend that you unplug the printer from the power outlet whenever you
do not plan to use it for long periods. Because of the this, you should locate the
printer so that the power outlet it is plugged into is nearby and easy to access.
At this point you may want to perform a test of the printer to make sure it is
working properly. See “Testing the Printer” on page 32 for details on how to
perform tests.
Loading paper
This section tells you how to load fanfold paper. Note that you can also use cut-
sheetpaperandmulti-pageformpaper.Fordetailsonusingothertypesofpaper,
see “Paper Handling” on page 25 of this manual.
❏Position the stack of paper behind the printer.
❏Unplug the printer from its AC power supply.
ON
IOFF
O

Loading paper 9
❏Set the release lever on the back of the printer to the fanfold position.
❏Set the adjustment lever to the value that matches the thickness of the paper
you are using. The setting for normal paper is 1. Set the lever to a larger
value for thicker paper, or to a smaller value for thinner paper. See the table
on page 27 for details.
❏Unlock the tractor on the left (when viewing the printer from behind) by
pulling its gray lever up, and adjust the position of the left tractor.
Release lever
Fanfold
Cut-sheet
7
5
3
1
Adjustment lever

10 Printer Setup
Note that there is a guide inside the printer in front of the left tractor. The ▼
mark of the guide indicates where the left margin of the printing will be.
❏Once the left tractor is aligned the way you want it, push the gray lever
back down to lock it in place.
❏Now move the tractor on the right to the approximate position of the right
side of the paper you are using. Pull its gray lever up to unlock it, and push
the lever back down to lock it into place. Also move the center paper
support so that it is approximately halfway between the two tractors.
❏Open the covers of both tractors and align the paper so that the pins on the
tractors are inserted into the holes of the paper.
❏Close the tractor covers. At this point you can make final adjustments to the
paper position by releasing the gray levers and moving the tractors. After
making these adjustments, be sure that you re-lock the tractors by pushing
the gray levers back into their original positions.
❏Plug the printer back into its AC power source. The printer will beep a
number of times to indicate that paper is not loaded properly.
Sheet guide Pin tractor

Loading paper 11
❏Press the control panel’s SET/EJECT/PARK button and the paper will
feed to the starting position.

12 Printer Setup
Printing on fanfold paper
When printing on fanfold paper, take care not to print too close to the
perforations that separate each sheet. The following shows the recommended
print area for fanfold paper and cut-sheet paper.
Parking fanfold paper
It is not necessary to remove fanfold paper currently loaded in the printer in
order to print on cut-sheet paper fed by hand. Instead, simply use the following
procedure to park the fanfold paper.
❏Tear off the paper at a perforation so there is no more than half a page
sticking out of the front cover of the printer.
If necessary, you can press the control panel’s ON LINE button to put the
printer on-line. and then use the SET/EJECT/PARK button to feed the
paper until a perforation is just past the front cover.
❏Press the control panel’s ON LINE button to put the printer off-line.
❏Press the control panel’s SET/EJECT/PARK button. The printer
automatically reverse feeds the fanfold paper until it is no longer in contact
with the platen.
4 mm (0.16")
18 mm
18 mm
(0.7")
6 mm (0.25")
Bottom of
Form
Perforation
Cut-sheet paper
5 mm
6 mm (0.25")
5 mm
4 mm (0.16")
(0.2") (0.2")
(0.7")
4 mm (0.16")
4 mm (0.16")
Fanfold paper

Unparking fanfold paper 13
❏Set the release lever on the back of the printer to the cut-sheet position.
The paper is now parked, and you can load cut-sheet paper into the printer
using the procedures under “Manual sheet feeding” on page 27.
Unparking fanfold paper
After you are finished printing on cut-sheet paper, use the following procedure
to unparkin fanfold paper and make it available for printing.
❏If any cut-sheet paper is still in the printer, put the printer off-line and then
press the control panel’s SET/EJECT/PARK button to eject it.
❏Check to make sure the printer is off-line.
❏Set the release lever on the back of the printer to the fanfold position.
❏Press the control panel’s SET/EJECT/PARK button. The printer
automatically feeds the fanfold paper back into position, ready for printing.
Using the tear-off function
The following procedure makes it easy to tear off fanfold paper without
disturbing the current position of the paper.
❏Check to make sure that the printer is on-line.
❏Press the control panel’s SET/EJECT/PARK button.
The printer feeds the perforation of the fanfold paper to the tear-off edge of
the printer cover.
❏Tear off the paper.
❏When you resume printing, the printer reverse feeds the paper to its former
position.

14 Printer Setup
Connecting to your computer
The computer sends data to the printer through a cable. This printer does not
come with a cable, so you must purchase one of your own. You will probably
want to use a standard parallel cable for connection, but note that you can also
use an optional serial-to-parallel interface converter (SPC-8K).
Important!
The following instructions apply to the Centronics parallel cable that is used
with an IBM-compatible personal computer. Note that they do not apply to all
types of computers and cables. If you are unsure about what type of cable you
should use to connect with your computer, consult with your dealer.
For an IBM-compatible personal computer:
✓Use a standard 36-pin Centronics parallel cable.
✓The parallel cable should be no longer than six feet (two meters). Longer
cables can result in poor transfer of information.
Important!
Make sure that the printer is unplugged from the AC outlet and that the
computer is switched off before connecting them.
❏Plug one end of the parallel cable into the parallel port of your computer.
The parallel port should be labelled “Printer,” “Parallel,” “PRN,” “LPT1,”
or something similar.