Star Micronics LC24-15 User manual

MULTI-FONT
LC24-15
USERS MANUAL
NOT INTENDED FOR SALE

Self Declaration
Radio interference regarding this equipment has been eliminated according to Vfg 1046/1984 an-
nounced 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 ahm~ statement applies only to printers marketed in West Gemanp.
Trademark Acknowlidgements
LC24-15, NB-15, NB24-15: Star Micronics Co., Ltd.
IBM PC, PC-AT, PC-XT. Proprinter XL24, Proprinter X24, Proprinter II, PC-DOS: InternatIonal
Business Machinks Corp. .
Microsoft BASIC, MS-DOS; Microsoft Corporation
LQ-1050, LQ-850, LQ-1000: 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.
9 The above notwithstanding, STAR can assume no responsibility for any errors in this manual.
0 Copyright 1989 Star Micronics Co., Ltd.

HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL
This manual is organized into nine chapters. To learn how to make the best
use of your printer you are urged to read through chapters 1through 3. The
remaining chapters may be treated as a reference guide for programming
operations, etc. It assumes a degree of acknowledge off the operation of
computers (for instance, it assumes you know about hexadecimal numbers).
The chapters are as follows:
Chapter 1 - Setting up the printer
This chapter explains how to get the printer unpacked and set up. Read this
chapter before you do anything else.
Chapter 2 - Control panel operations
There are a number of controls on the front panel which perform various
functions related to paper handling, print modes and font selection.
After getting set up, read this chapter and try out the procedures in it to find
out how the printer works.
Chapter 3 - DIP switch settings
This chapter explains how to set the DIP switches to make system settings
on the ‘printer.
Chapter 4 - Printer control commands
This chapter explains the different emulations provided by your printer, and
the software commands used to drive it. This section is of use if you are
writing or modifying programs to take advantage of the printer’s features.
Chapter 5 - Download characters
This chapter explains the procedures to create your own characters.

Chapter 6 - MS-DOS and your printer
Since the PC or PC-AT family of computers running under MS-DOS is
currently the most popular configuration of microcomputer, we have in-
cluded a few hints and tips to help you use your printer with such systems.
Since virtually all PCs aresold with aMicrosoft BASIC interpreter, we have
also included some hints, and a sample program in this language to
demonstrate the capabilities of the printer.
Chapter 7 - Troubleshooting and maintenance
This section gives achecklist of points to check if your printer isnot working
in the expected way. It also includes details of some routine maintenance
operations you can carry out yourself. It is not, however, acomplete service
manual. Call a qualified service engineer if you are unsure of your ability to
carry out any maintenance or servicing operations.
Chapter 8 - Specifications
This section gives the specifications of your printer.
Chapter 9 - Character sets
These charts give the different character sets available, and the differences
between national character sets (as set up with the DIP switches).

FEATURES OF THE PRINTER
This printer is aconvenient, monochrome printer without frills but with afull
complement of features, making it an excellent partner for a personal
computer. It supports the IBM/Epson printer commands and character sets,
enabling it to print just about anything your computer can generate, both text
and graphics. Some of its main features are the following:
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-processing
and graphics programs, spread-sheets, and integrated software packages.
l Easy operation
Clearly understandable indicator displays and beep tones provide immedi-
ate feedback when you press the buttons on the control panel. The five
buttons can operate in combinations to perform a surprising variety of
functions, including micro-alignment.
l Easy care and maintenance
The 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 all
accepted, and you can use either tractor or friction feed. A special feature
enables you to keep fanfold forms parked in readiness while printing on
other paper.
l Large variety of font styles and sizes
The printer has one draft style and four LQ styles (Courier, Sanserif, Orator
and Script), plus italics for all styles, plus condensed print, bold print,
. double-sized print, quadruple-sized print.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1 SETTING UP THE PRINTER ...............................................
1
Locating the Printer .......................................................................... 1
Unpacking and Inspection ................................................................ 2
Cheek the carton contents ........................................................ 2
Parts name of the printer 3
..........................................................
Setting Up ......................................................................................... 4
Mount the platen knob ............................................................. 4
Install the ribbon cartridge ...................................................... .4
Install the optional IC card.. .................................................... .7
Connection ............................................................................... 8
Loading Single Sheets .................................................................... 10
Automatic loading .................................................................. 10
Manual loading ...................................................................... 12
Loading and Parking Fanfold Forms .............................................. 13
Loading the fanfold forms .................................................... .13
Loading the paper with pull tractor unit.. ............................... 15
Paper parking ......................................................................... 17
Paper unparking ..................................................................... 17
Adjusting the Printing Gap.. .......................................................... .18
Chapter 2 CONTROL PANEL OPERATIONS .................................
.19
Buttons and Indicators .................................................................... 19
ON LINE button ................................................................... .20
PAPER FEED button .......................................................... .
..
21
SET/EJECT PARK button ..................................................... 21
PITCH button ........................................................................ .21
STYLE button ....................................................................... .22
Power-Up Functions ...................................................................... .23
Short test mode ..................................................................... .23
Long test mode ....................................................................... 24
Print area test mode.. ....
.
........................................................ .24
Stay in panel pitch ................................................................. .24
Stay in panel style .................................................................. 25
Stay in panel pitch and style .................................................. 25
Hexadecimal dump ............................................................... .25
Switch Combination Functions ...................................................... 28
Form feed .............................................................................. .28
Top of form ........................................................................... .29
Forward micro-feed .............................................................. .29
Reverse micro-feed ............................................................... .29
Clearing the buffer ................................................................. 30

Chapter 3 DIP SWITCH SETTINGS ................................................31
Location of the DIP Switches .........................................................31
Functions of the DIP Switches .......................................................32
Chapter 4 PRINTER CONTROL COMMANDS ................................37
Font Control Commands ................................................................38
Character Set Commands ...............................................................43
Character Size and Pitch Commands ...................................*.........
45
Vertical Position Commands ..........................................................53
Horizontal Position Commands .....................................................
60
Graphics Commands ......................................................................65
Download Character Commands ...................................................
69
Other Printer Control Commands ..................................................71
Chapter 5 DOWNLOAD CHARACTERS ............................................77
Defining Your Own Characters ......................................................77
Assigning the character data ..................................................78
Assigning a value of character apace .....................................79
Sample program .....................................................................79
Chapter 6 MS-DOS AND YOUR PRINTER ........................................83
Installing Application Software with Your Printer ........................83
Embedding Printer Commands ......................................................84
Programming the Printer with DOS Commands ............................86
Programming with BASIC .............................................................88
How the program works .........................................................94
* Modifications for IBM mode .................................................96
Chapter 7 TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE ............97
Troubleshooting .............................................................................97
Power supply ..........................................................................98
Printing ...................................................................................98
Paper feeding ....I...................................................................100
Maintenance .................................................................................103
Replacing the Ribbon ...................................................................103
Replacing the Print Head ..............................................................104
Replacing the Battery in the RAM Card ......................................106

Chapter 8 SPECIFICATIONS ................................................................107
Chapter 9 CHARACTER SETS .............................................................111
Standard Character Set .................................................................112
IBM Character Set #2 ................................................................... 114
IBM Character Set #l ................................................................... 116
IBM Special Character Set ........................................................... 117
International Character Sets ,...,.................................................... 118
INDEX ................................................................................................. 119 --
COMMAND SUMMARY ........................................................................122

Chapter I
SETTING UP THE PRINTER
Subjects covered in Chapter 1 include -
l Locating the printer
l Unpacking and inspection (names of parts)
l Setting up and connection
l Loading single sheets
l Loading and parking fanfold forms
l Adjusting the printing gap
LOCATING THE PRINTER
Before you start unpacking and setting up your printer, make sure that you
have a suitable place on which to locate it. By “a suitable place”, we mean:
l A firm, level surface which is fairly vibration-free
l Away from excessive heat (such as direct sunlight, heaters, etc)
l Away from excessive humidity
l Away from excessive dust
l Supply it“clean” electricity. Don’t connect itto the same circuit asalarge,
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 A location with sufficient space to locate the printer and any paper to be
fed into it, as well as the printed paper coming out.
l If you are using aparallel connection to your computer, make sure that it
is within 2m (6ft) of the printer (an RS-232 connection using the optional
RS-232 interface can be made over longer distances).
1

UNPACKING AND INSPECTION
Check the carton contents
Now unpack the contents of the printer shipping carton, and check each item
in the box against Figure l-l to make sure that you have everything (there
should be five items).
If any of these items are missing, contact your supplier.
F/gum I-1. Check 10make sure you have all five items: 1) Printer, 2) Paper guide, 3) Platen knob, 4) Ribbon
cartridge, and 5) User’s manual.

The optional accessories which you may have ordered with your printer are:
l Serial (RS-232) interface board
l Automatic sheet feeder
l Pull tractor unit
l Font card
l RAM card
Parts name of the printer
Make an external inspection of the printer. Note the locations of the follow-
ing parts:
Power
Entry slot
Release lever
Figure 7-Z. The printer’s external parts
Bail lever: opens and closes the paper bail which holds the paper
against the platen.
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.
Card slot: for inserting optional Font card or RAM card.
Connector: for connecting the computer to the printer.

SETTING UP
Place the printer in the position where itis going tobe permanently sited, and
remove allpacking material from inside the top cover. This packing material
is intended to prevent damage to the printer in transit. You may like to keep
this packing with the printer carton if you intend transporting the printer for
use at a different location.
Mount the platen knob
The platen knob is packed into a recess of the white foam packing material
which held your printer inside the printer carton. Be careful to remove the
knob before disposing of the packing.
Mount the platen knob on the shaft on the right-hand side of the printer. Turn
the knob on me shaft before pushing the knob fully into position.
knob
Figure 1-3. Mounting the platen knob
Install the ribbon cartridge
Remove the top cover by lifting the front (using the two grips at the side),
and pulling towards you. Now install the ribbon.
--
4

Figure T-4. Removing the top cover
1. Use the tensioning knob on the ribbon cartridge to tighten the ribbon if
it is slack (turn clockwise).
2. Use the grips on the side of the ribbon cartridge to help locate the
cartridge (squeeze them inwards gently), and make sure that the spindles
on the cartridge holder fit into the sockets on the cartridge itself.
Figure 1-5. Installing the ribbon cartrldge

3. The ribbon should pass between the print head and the print head shield
(see Figure l-6).
Figum i-6. Pass the ribbon between the print head and print head shield
Now, hold the top cover upright and engage the tabs at the back. Then swing
the front edge down until the cover is closed.
Leave the top cover closed during normal operation. Itkeeps out dust and dirt
and reduces the printer’s operating sounds. Open the cover only to change
the ribbon or make an adjustment.
6

Install the optional IC card
This printer has five built-in character styles (fonts), and an11K-byte data
buffer.
You can add more fonts or expand the data buffer by installing oprional IC
cards (Font card or RAM card).
To install or change an IC card, first turn off the power switch. Then, insert
the IC card into the slot atthe bottom right front of the printer and slide it all
the way in.
Figure 1-7. Slide the IC card into the front slot with the power switch off.
7

Connection
Connect the printer to your computer, using a standard parallel-type cable.
On a PC or PC/AT-type computer, this means that you use the 25way D-
type connector at the computer end, and the Amphenol-type 36-way
connector atthe printer end. The pinouts of the printer’s connector are given
in Chapter 8 if you need a cable for connection to another computer.
Plug the printer into a suitable mains outlet. However, DO NOT turn on the
power switch at the front of the printer yet.
r
\
cable
Figutv 1-8. Connecting the interface cable
If you want to use the optional serial interface, slide out the parallel interface
board by gripping the flips on both sides. Then insert the optional serial
interface board all the way, as shown in Figure l-9.
8

Figure 1-9. Replacing the interface board
9

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.
Automatic loading
Single sheets can be loaded manually with power off, or automatically with
power on. We will start the easy way with automatic loading.
1. Place the paper guide in position, locating the lugs on the bottom of the
assembly into the slots on the rear cover of the printer.
Figure 7-70. Mounting the paper guide for single sheeis
2. Make sure that the release lever is down.
If the fanfold paper is mounted on the printer, press the ( SE&!!RT 1
button to park the paper, then move the release lever downwards.
10

3. Adjust the paper guides to match the size of paper you will be using (re-
membering that printing will start some distance from the left-hand edge
of the carriage).
4. Place a single sheet between the guides, placing the side on which you
want to print towards the back of the printer. Gently push the paper down
in the guides until you feel it stop.
Adjustable paper guides
lever
I
Figure 1-77. Loading a single sheet
5. Turn on the power using the switch at the front of the printer. The printer
will beep, indicating that no paper is in position for printing. The orange
f OWER indicator also flashes to show this.
6. Now press the ( sEEWT >button. The paper bail will move clear of
the paper, and the paper will be fed and adjusted past the print head to a
position ready for printing. The paper bail will be moved back to grip the
paper against the platen, and the print head will move to the start position.
11

Manual loading
It isalso possible to load paper manually while the printer’s power is off. The
procedure is:
1. Place the paper guide in position, locating the lugs on the bottom of the
assembly into the slots on the rear cover of the printer.
2. Check that printer power is off and the release lever at the back of the
printer is down.
3. Open the top cover, then move the bail lever on top of the printer forward
to open the paper bail.
4. Adjust the paper guides to match the size of paper you will be using (re-
membering that printing will start some distance from the left-hand edge
of the carriage).
5. Place a single sheet between the guides, placing the side on which you
want to print towards the back of the printer. Gently push the paper down
in the guides until you feel it stop.
6. Turn the platen knob clockwise until the front edge of the paper comes
out from under the top cover.
7. 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.
8. Move the bail lever back to close the paper bail.
12