FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT FOR AMERICAN USERS This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause interference to radio and television reception.
Contents 1 Introduction Features .............................................................................. Options ............................................................................... About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Application Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where to Get Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selecting an International Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20 Choosing a Character Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22 Using the Data Dump Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-24 Chapter 4 Software and Graphics Enhancing Your Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . User-defined Characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 9 Command Summary Using the Command Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commands in Numerical Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Commands Arranged by Topic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1 9-2 9-5 9-8 Appendix A-1 Proportional Width Table ................................................... A-2 Character Table ...................................................................
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Introduction The Epson® LQ-510 is an advanced 24-pin dot matrix printer combining compact design and high performance with a wide range of features. Features In addition to the high-quality printing and ease of operation you have come to expect from Epson printers, the LQ-510 offers the following features: • Easy paper handling, featuring automatic single-sheet loading.
l l Fourteen international character sets, a legal symbol set, an italic character table, and the Epson Extended Graphics character table. The ability to handle a wide range of paper types, including envelopes and labels. Options A variety of printer options is available for use with your LQ-510 printer. For detailed information on installing and using these options, see Chapter 5.
Introduction l Pull Tractor Unit (C800062) This option improves the performance of continuous paper handling. It is especially useful with continuous multi-part forms, l Multi-Font Module (#7407) The optional Multi-Font module adds to the number of fonts available in the Letter Quality mode. l Film Ribbon Cartridge (#7768) The optional film ribbon cartridge provides you with even higher quality printing than the standard fabric ribbon.
Introduction l Interface Boards Optional interface boards are available to supplement the printer’s built-in parallel interface. Guidelines for choosing the right interface and instructions on installing the boards are given in Chapter 5. About This Manual This user’s manual provides fully illustrated, step-by-step instructions on setting up and operating your Epson LQ-510 printer.
Introduction • Chapter 4 shows you how to get the most from your printer. It includes advice on the use of software commands, graphics, and creating your own user-defined characters. See Chapter 9 for a useful summary of printer commands. • If the printer does not operate properly or the printed results are not what you expect, see Chapter 7 for troubleshooting instructions. • Other chapters and the appendix contain information on printer options, general maintenance, and specifications.
Where to Get Help Customer support and service for Epson products are provided by a network of authorized Epson Dealers and Customer Care Centers throughout the United States. Epson America provides product information and support to its dealers and Customer Care Centers. Therefore, we ask that you contact the business where you purchased your Epson product to request assistance. If the people there do not have the answer to your question, they can obtain it through our dealer support program.
Chapter 1 Setting Up the Printer Unpacking the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checking the Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 1-2 Choosing a Place for the Printer ......................................................... 1-4 Assembling the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the Platen Knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the Ribbon Cartridge. . . . . . . . . . .
Unpacking the Printer Checking the Parts When you unpack the printer, make sure that you have all the parts shown below and that none have been damaged.
Unpacking the Printer After removing the parts, save the packaging materials in case you ever need to transport your printer. Note: Be sure to lift the printer cover and remove the pieces of white packing material.
Choosing a Place for the Printer There are several important things to consider when selecting a place to set up your printer. Keep the following in mind: • Place the printer on a flat, hard, stable surface. A soft surface, such as a padded counter or carpeted area, will block the ventilation slots and may cause overheating. • Place the printer close enough to the computer for the printer cable to reach.
Choosing a Place for the Printer The illustration below shows a good printer location. Note: Before using a printer stand, read these requirements and suggestions. l l l l l The stand should be able to support at least twice the weight of the LQ-510 printer (approximately 26 pounds, or 12 kilograms). Never use a stand that supports the printer at an angle of more than 15 degrees from horizontal. With a cut sheet feeder, your printer must be kept level.
Assembling the Printer After you’ve decided on the best place to set up your printer, the next step is to install the platen knob, Installing the Platen Knob The platen knob is used to feed the paper manually in the event of a paper jam or other paper feeding problem. The platen knob is packed in an indentation in the printer’s white foam packing material. 1. Remove the printer cover. 2. Insert the knob into the hole on the printer’s side and rotate it slowly until it slips onto the shaft.
Assembling the Printer 3. Push firmly on the platen knob until it fits against the printer case. CAUTION: Do not use the platen knob to adjust the position of the paper. This interferes with the automatic paper loading system and may cause a paper jam. Installing the Ribbon Cartridge Your printer’s ribbon cartridge is designed for easy installation and removal. Before installing the ribbon cartridge, make sure the printer is turned off. Install the ribbon cartridge as follows. 1.
Assembling the Printer CAUTION: Never move the print head while the printer is turned on because this can damage the printer. Also, if you have been using the printer, the print head may be hot; let it cool for a few minutes before touching it. 2. Turn the ribbon-tightening knob in the direction of the arrow. This removes slack in the ribbon and makes it easier to install. 3. Open the paper tension unit cover.
Assembling the Printer 4. Hold the ribbon cartridge by its handle and push it firmly down into position, making sure the plastic hooks fit into the slots. Note: Press lightly on both ends of the cartridge to make sure the plastic hooks are properly seated. 5. Use a pointed object, such as a ball point pen, to guide the ribbon between the print head and ribbon guide while you turn the ribbon-tightening knob to help feed the ribbon into place.
Assembling Printer 6. Slide the print head from side to side to make sure it moves smoothly. Also check that the ribbon is not twisted or creased. 7. Close the paper tension unit cover. Attaching the Paper Guide When you use single sheets, the paper guide helps to feed the paper smoothly and efficiently into the printer. Attach the paper guide using the following procedure.
Assembling the Printer 1. Place the paper guide on the printer as shown below. 2. Raise the paper guide until it locks into place. Note: To lower the paper guide, lift up slightly to release it from its locked position; then gently lower it down onto the printer.
Assembling the Printer 3. Attach the printer cover by fitting the hooks on the cover into the notches at the front of the printer and tilting the cover back into place.
Testing the Printer Now that your printer is fully assembled, you can use its built-in self test function to see that the printer is working correctly before you connect it to a computer. You should perform this test to make sure that your printer was not damaged during shipping and that the ribbon is correctly installed. Before running the self test, you need to connect the printer to an electrical outlet and load a sheet of paper. Plugging in the Printer 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off.
Testing the Printer 2. Plug the power cable into a properly grounded electrical outlet. Running the Self Test The self test can be run in the draft or Letter Quality mode, depending on which button you hold down as you turn on the printer. Although the self test can be run with continuous paper, use single-sheet paper now because single-sheet loading is easier. 1. Make sure the printer is turned off. 2. Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position.
Testing the Printer 3. While holding down the LINE FEED button (draft mode) or FORM FEED button (Letter Quality mode), turn on the printer. The printer beeps several times and POWER and PAPER OUT lights come on.
Testing the Printer 4. Move the left edge guide so that it locks in place next to the guide mark. 5. Adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper. Next, slide a sheet of paper down between the edge guides until it meets resistance.
Testing the Printer WARNING: Never run the self test using paper that is narrower than A4 size (8.27 inches or 210 mm) or letter size (8.5 inches or 216 mm) to prevent the print head from printing directly onto the platen. 6. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to load the paper. 7. Press the ON LINE button to start the self test. A list of DIP switch settings is printed first, followed by a series of characters. The self test continues until the paper runs out or until you press the ON LINE button.
Testing the Printer 8. If the test results are satisfactory and you wish to stop the test, press the ON LINE button. If the test results are not satisfactory, see Checking the Operation later in this chapter for possible causes and solutions. Note: To resume the test, press the ON LINE button once more. 9. If the paper is still loaded, press the LOAD/EJECT button or LINE FEED button to eject it. Then turn off the printer.
Testing the Printer Here is part of a typical self test printed in draft mode. Draft mode Note: When using the optional cut sheet feeder, the first page of the self test printout is slightly different. For details, see the Cut Sheet Feeder section in Chapter 5.
Testing the Printer Here is part of a typical self test printed in Letter Quality mode.
Testing the Printer Checking the Operation If the self test does not print properly, check the control panel and the print head area. If paper is jammed, turn off the printer. Then remove the paper using the platen knob and load a new sheet. See that all packing material and shipping restraints have been removed from inside the printer. (You can also see Chapter 7 for further information.) Problem Solution The printer does not print. The printer sounds like it is printing, but nothing is printed.
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer If the self test printed correctly, you are now ready to connect the printer to your computer. If your computer has a parallel interface and you have a suitable shielded cable, you should be able to connect your printer immediately. The steps below describe how to connect the parallel interface cable. If your computer requires another type of interface, you need to install an optional interface board. See the Interface Boards section in Chapter 5.
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer 2. Plug the cable connector securely into the printer. 3. Squeeze the wire clips together until they lock in place on either side of the connector.
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer 4. If your cable has a ground wire, connect it to the ground screw beneath the interface connector. 5. Plug the other end of the cable into the computer. If there is a ground wire at the computer end of the cable, attach it to the ground connector at the back of the computer.
Setting Up Your Application Software Now that you have set up and tested the LQ-510, you should make sure that it works with your application programs. Most application programs let you specify the type of printer you are using so that the program can take full advantage of the printer’s features. Many of these programs provide an installation or setup menu that presents a list of printers to choose from. If your application program has a printer selection menu, use the instructions below.
1-26 Setting Up the Printer
Chapter 2 Paper Handling Using Single Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loading Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reloading During Printing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 2-2 2-5 Using Continuous Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6 Positioning Your Continuous Paper Supply . . . . . . . . . 2-6 Loading Continuous Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using Single Sheets Your printer can accommodate single sheets with a width of 7.2 inches or 182 mm to 10 inches or 254 mm. If you do most of your printing on single sheets, you may find it more convenient to install the optional cut sheet feeder. This option automatically inserts a new sheet and can hold up to 150 pages. For more details, see Chapter 5. Loading Paper 1. 2-2 Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position.
Using Single Sheets 2. Turn on the printer. (The green POWER light should come on.) Note: Do not insert paper in the printer before turning on the printer. 3. Move the left edge guide so that it locks in place next to the guide mark. (You may want to change this position later, depending on the margin settings of your application program.
Using Single Sheets 4. Adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper. Then slide the paper down between the edge guides until it meets resistance. 5. Press the LOAD/EJECT button once to load the paper automatically.
Using Single Sheets CAUTION: Never advance the paper using the platen knob while the printer is turned on. If the platen turns without loading the paper, remove the paper and reinsert it more firmly. Then press the LOAD/EJECT button again. 6. Press the ON LINE button to set the printer on line. When the ON LINE light is lit, the printer can accept data from your computer. You are now ready to begin printing.
Using Continuous Paper The push tractor built into your LQ-510 printer is remarkably easy to load and operate. Its low-profile design takes up little space and can handle paper up to 10 inches or 254 mm wide. Positioning Your Continuous Paper Supply An important consideration for achieving smooth and trouble-free paper feeding is the position of your paper supply. Three ways of positioning your printer and continuous paper supply are shown below.
Using Continuous Paper Loading Continuous Paper 1. Be sure that the printer is turned off, then remove the paper guide. Set the paper release lever to the continuous paper position. This position is marked by the icon shown in the illustration below. 2. Release the sprocket units by pulling the sprocket lock levers forward as shown below.
Using Continuous Paper 3. Slide the left sprocket unit until it is one-half inch from the farthest left position and press the lever back to lock it in place. 4. Slide the right sprocket unit so that it roughly matches the width of your paper, but do not lock it.
Using Continuous Paper 5. Move the paper support midway between the two sprocket units. 6. Open both sprocket covers. CAUTION: Make sure that your paper has a clean, straight edge before inserting it into the printer.
Using Continuous Paper 7. Fit the first three holes in the paper over the pins of both sprockets. 8. 2-10 Close the sprocket covers.
Using Continuous Paper 9. Slide the right sprocket unit to a position where the paper is straight and has no wrinkles. Then lock it in place. 10. Reattach the paper guide as shown below. Then slide the edge guides apart to the sides of the paper guide as shown.
Using Continuous Paper 11. Turn on the printer. It will beep because there is no paper in the printer. Then press the LOAD/EJECT button to feed paper to the loading position. 12. Press the ON LINE button to set the printer on line so that it can accept data. The printer remembers the loading position and advances each page to the same position. If you need to adjust the loading position, use the micro-adjustment feature. See the section on setting the loading position in Chapter 3.
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets Even with continuous paper loaded in the printer, the SmartPark feature allows you to easily switch to single-sheet printing without removing the continuous paper from the tractor. Switching to Single Sheets To switch from continuous paper to single sheets, follow the steps below. 1. If the printer is on line, press the ON LINE button to set the printer off line. 2. Tear off any outgoing sheets.
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets CAUTION: Make sure you tear off your printed document before pressing the LOAD/EJECT button. Reverse-feeding several pages at a time may result in a paper jam. This is especially true for narrow paper (less than 6 inches or 152.4 mm wide). 3. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to feed the continuous paper backward out of the printer and into the standby position. The paper is still attached to the tractor but no longer in the paper path.
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets 4. Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position. This position is marked by the icon shown in the illustration below. 5. Stand the paper guide upright and adjust the edge guides to roughly match the width of your paper.
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets 6. Insert a sheet of paper between the edge guides until the bottom meets resistance. Slide the edge guides to exactly match the width of your paper. 7. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to automatically feed the singlesheet paper to the loading position. Then, press the ON LINE button to set the printer on line.
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets Switching Back to Continuous Paper It is also easy to switch back to printing with continuous paper. Before switching to continuous paper, make sure that the single sheet is ejected and the printer is off line. 1. Slide the edge guides apart so they do not interfere with continuous paper feeding. 2. Lower the paper guide onto the printer.
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets 3. Pull the paper release lever forward to the continuous paper position. 4. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to feed the continuous paper to the loading position.
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets 5. Press the ON LINE button to set the printer on line so that it can accept data.
Printing on Special Paper In addition to printing on single sheets and continuous paper, your printer can also print on a wide variety of paper types, including multi-part forms, labels, and envelopes. Before printing on special types of paper, you need to change the paper thickness setting. WARNING: When printing on multi-part forms, labels, or envelopes, make sure that your application program settings keep the printing entirely within the printable area.
Printing on Special Paper To change the paper thickness setting, follow these steps. 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off. Then remove the printer cover. WARNING: If the printer has just been in use, the print head may be hot. Allow it to cool before touching it. 2. Slide the print head to the middle of the printer.
Printing on Special Paper 3. Select the paper thickness you want according to the table below. For normal use, the lever should always be set to position 2 on the scale. Paper Type Lever Position Paper (single sheets or continuous) 2 Thin paper 2 24 lb paper 3 Multi-part forms 2-sheet 3-sheet 3 4 Labels 4 Envelopes Air mail Plain Bond (20 lb) Bond (24 lb) 4 or 5 6 6 7 Note: Lever position 1 is used only when the printed characters are too light.
Printing on Special Paper 4. Reattach the printer cover as shown below. To help you check the position of the paper thickness lever, the orange MULTI-PART light on the control panel comes on if the lever is set to position 4 or higher. WARNING: Always return the lever to position 2 when you go back to printing on ordinary paper. Continuous printing with the lever set at a position higher than 2 can shorten the life of the print head.
Printing on Special Paper Except for the paper thickness lever setting, you load multi-part paper the same way as continuous paper. For details, see the section on loading continuous paper in this chapter. Also see the sections on setting the loading position and page length in Chapter 3. CAUTION: Multi-part forms should not be used with the single-sheet feeding system or the optional cut sheet feeder.
Printing on Special Paper You load labels the same way that you load continuous paper except that the paper thickness lever must be adjusted for printing labels. See the section on loading continuous paper earlier in this chapter. For the correct paper thickness setting, see the table on page 2-22. WARNING: Never feed labels backward through the printer. Labels can easily peel off the backing and jam the printer. Therefore, never use the LOAD/EJECT button to eject labels.
Printing on Special Paper Envelopes You can feed envelopes individually using the single-sheet loading feature. Before loading envelopes, adjust the position of the paper thickness lever according to the table on page 2-22. For details on paper handling, see Using Single Sheets on page 2-2. When manually feeding an envelope, you may have to push it down slightly while pressing the LOAD/EJECT button to get it to feed properly. CAUTION: The printable area for envelopes is shown on the next page.
CAUTION: Envelope printing is only available at normal temperature (41°F to 95°F or 5°C to 35°C). To make sure that the printing fits within the printable area, always print a test sample using a normal sheet of paper before printing on envelopes.
Chapter 3 Using the Printer Operating the Control Panel ............................................ 3-2 Setting the DIP Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing a DIP Switch Setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The DIP Switch Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The DIP Switch Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page Length 3-6 3-6 3-7 3-9 .....................................................................
Operating the Control Panel The indicator lights give you the current status of the printer. The buttons and paper handling functions let you control many of the printer settings. Lights MULTI-PART (orange) On when the paper thickness lever is set to position 4 or higher. When this light is blinking, the micro-adjustment function can be used. POWER (green) On when the POWER switch is on and power is supplied. READY (green) On when the printer is ready to accept input data. Flickers during printing.
Buttons ON LINE This button controls the printer’s on line and off line status. Press this button to put the printer on line or to take it off line. When the printer is on line, the ON LINE light is on and the printer can receive and print data from the computer. FORM FEED When the printer is off line, press this button to eject a single sheet of paper or to advance continuous paper to the top of the next page.
Operating the Control Panel SelecType FONT This button is used to select LQ ROMAN, LQ SANS SERIF, DRAFT mode, or a cartridge font (if installed). The two orange indicator lights show the selected font. See Selecting Typestyles later in this chapter. CONDENSED This button is used to turn the condensed mode on and off. The orange indicator light is on when the printer is in the condensed mode. In the condensed mode, all characters are printed at approximately 60 percent of their normal width.
Operating the Control Panel Other control panel features The control panel of your printer also gives you access to several special functions. Self test: Both a draft and Letter Quality self test function are built into the printer. The self test printout lets you check the current DIP switch settings and operating status of the printer. You can start the printer’s self test by holding down the LINE FEED button or the FORM FEED button while turning on the printer.
Setting the DIP Switches The LQ-510 has two sets of DIP (Dual Inline Package) switches located under a small cover above the control panel. By changing the settings of these switches, you can control various printer features, such as the character set and page length. The new settings become effective when the printer is turned on, reset, or initialized. DIP switch settings are shown in the DIP switch tables starting on page 3-7. Descriptions of all the DIP switch functions begin on page 3-9.
The DIP Switch Tables The tables below show the settings for each DIP switch. The shaded areas show the default or factory settings.
Setting the DIP Switches Table 1 International character sets SW 1-1 SW 1-2 SW 1-3 ON ON ON ON OFF ON Country USA France Germany ON ON OFF ON OFF OFF ON ON OFF OFF Italy OFF OFF OFF Spain OFF OFF OFF UK Denmark Sweden Table 2 Font selection Font SW 1-4 SW 1-5 Roman OFF OFF Sans Serif ON OFF Slot OFF ON Draft ON ON Table 3 Character spacing Spacing SW 2-7 SW 2-8 10 cpi OFF OFF 12 cpi ON OFF 15 cpi OFF ON Proportional ON ON cpi: characters per inch.
Setting the DIP Switches The DIP Switch Functions Auto line feed When auto line feed is on (DIP switch 2-4 on), each carriage return code (CR) is automatically followed by a line feed code (LF). Input buffer capacity The input buffer stores data from your computer. If you want to free your computer for other tasks while the printer prints, change the setting of switch 2-5 to 8 KB (on). Before using user-defined characters, however, be sure to set the input buffer to 1 KB (off).
Page Length When the setting of DIP switch 2-1 is off, the page length is set to 11 inches, or 27.94 cm. When it is on, the page length is 12 inches, or 30.48 cm. Be sure to set the page length to match the paper you are using. Other page lengths can be set using the commands ESC C and ESC C 0. See the Command Summary in Chapter 9 for details.
Skip Over Perforation By changing the setting of DIP switch 2-3, you can set skip over perforation to on or off. If this feature is on when using continuous paper, a one-inch margin is provided between the last printable line on one page and the first printable line on the next page. This feature is very convenient if your application program does not provide for top and bottom margins.
Adjusting the Loading Position The Loading Position The loading position is the position of the paper when it has been automatically loaded by the printer. This position is important because it determines where the printing begins on the page. If the printing is too high or too low on the page, change the loading position using the micro-adjustment feature described in the next section. CAUTION: Never use the platen knob to feed paper except in case of a paper jam or other paper feeding problem.
Adjusting the Loading Position Using Micro-adjustment 1. Make sure that the printer is turned on and that either a single sheet or continuous paper is ready to be loaded. 2. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to feed paper to the loading position. Then press the ON LINE button; the MULTI-PART light begins to blink. MULTIPART Note: You can use the FORM FEED and LINE FEED buttons for micro-adjustment only while the MULTI-PART light is blinking. 3.
Using Short Tear-Off When you are finished printing, the short tear-off feature automatically feeds the perforation of the continuous paper to the tear-off edge of the printer cover so that you can tear off the last sheet. When you resume printing, the paper feeds backward to the loading position. This feature lets you save the paper normally lost between documents. To use this feature, set DIP switch 2-2 to on. Then load continuous paper in the normal way.
Using Short Tear-Off If the page perforation is not properly aligned with the tear-off edge, you can adjust the tear-off position using micro-adjustment, as described below. Note: Short tear-off is not performed unless printing of a page is completed and the paper has advanced to the top of the next page. If the paper has not advanced to the top of the next page, press the ON LINE button to put the printer off line and press the FORM FEED button to advance the paper.
Using Short Tear-Off 1. Make sure the printer feeds the paper to the tear-off position after printing the document. 2. The MULTI-PART light should begin blinking, indicating that you can now use the micro-adjustment feature to make fine adjustments to the tear-off position. 3. To make fine adjustments to the tear-off position, press the FORM FEED button to feed the paper forward or the LINE FEED button to feed it backward. You can now tear off your document from the perforation and resume printing.
Selecting Typestyles You can produce a wide range of typestyles by selecting different character fonts, widths, and other enhancements from the SelecType control panel or by using software commands. This section describes only the features controlled by SelecType. To use software commands, see the Command Summary in Chapter 9. You can use the SelecType section of the control panel to choose fonts and condensed printing. Orange lights indicate which features you have chosen.
Selecting Typestyles Character Fonts The LQ-510 printer has three built-in fonts: DRAFT ROMAN SANS SERIF The DRAFT mode uses fewer dots per character for high-speed printing, which makes it ideal for rough drafts and editing work. ROMAN and SANS SERIF are Letter Quality (LQ) fonts. Letter Quality takes a little longer to print, but produces nicely formed characters suitable for most documentation requirements. Other fonts are available on optional font cartridges. See Multi-Font Module in Chapter 5.
Selecting Typestyles Condensed Mode You can use the condensed mode to change the size of printed characters. In the condensed mode, characters are approximately 60 percent of the width of normal characters. Hence, condensed printing is very useful for spreadsheets and other applications where you need to print the maximum amount of information on a page. You can combine the condensed mode with 10 and 12 cpi printing, but not proportional and 15 cpi.
Selecting an International Character Set International character sets provide you with the characters and symbols used in other languages. You can select one of eight international character sets by changing the DIP switch settings. Whenever the printer is turned on, reset, or initialized, the character set selected by the DIP switches becomes the default character set. To select an international character set, set DIP switches 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 according to the table below.
Selecting an International Character Set In addition to the eight character sets shown above, the seven international character sets that follow can be selected with a software command: ESC R. For more information, see the Command Summary in Chapter 9.
Choosing a Character Table DIP switch 1-7 selects either the italic character table or the Epson Extended Graphics character table. The Epson Extended Graphics character table contains international accented characters, Greek characters, mathematic symbols, and character graphics for printing lines, corners, and shaded areas. If you have an IBM® or IBM-compatible computer, select the Epson Extended Graphics table when you wish to print character graphics as they are displayed on the screen.
Choosing a Character Table To select a character table, set DIP switch 1-7 according to the table below. Character table DIP SW 1-7 Italics OFF Graphics ON CAUTION: To change the setting of a DIP switch, first turn off the printer, change the DIP switch, and then turn the printer back on. Tables showing which characters are printed in each of the character tables are listed in the Appendix.
Using the Data Dump Mode The data dump mode is a special feature that makes it easy for experienced users to identify the cause of communication problems between the printer and application programs. The data dump mode gives a printout of the codes reaching the printer. To use the data dump mode, follow these steps: 1. Make sure that the printer is loaded with either single-sheet or continuous paper.
Using the Data Dump Mode 2. If the printer is on, switch it off, then hold down the FORM FEED and LINE FEED buttons at the same time you turn on the printer. 3. Run any program that causes the printer to print (either an application program or one in any programming language). Your printer prints out all the codes sent to the printer, as shown below. (In order to print the last line, you will have to take the printer off line.
Using the Data Dump Mode 4. To turn off the data dump mode after you have taken the printer off line, turn off the printer. By comparing the characters printed in the text field on the right side of the data dump printout (see step 3) with the printout of hex codes, you can check which codes are being sent to the printer. To interpret the data dump printout, examine the first three hex codes on the second line of the printout sample (20 20 54).
Chapter 4 Software and Graphics Enhancing Your Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 Character Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 Character Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3 Special Effects and Emphasis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4 Selecting Typestyles With Master Select . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6 Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enhancing Your Printing You can obtain a wide variety of printing effects with the LQ-510, from changing the number of characters per inch to using special effects on selected words and phrases. This section gives you a sampling of the features you may select with your software. For software control of these features, see the instructions for your application programs or look up their specific commands in the Command Summary in Chapter 9.
Enhancing Your Printing The following printout compares 10 cpi spacing with proportional spacing: This is 10 cpi printing. This is proportional printing. Note: Proportional spacing is not available in the draft mode. Character Size In addition to the basic cpi spacings and proportional spacing, the LQ-510 offers three other modes that can change the size of your printing. These modes are double-wide, double-high, and condensed.
Enhancing Your Printing Both 10 and 12 cpi printing can be reduced to about 60 percent of their normal width using the condensed mode. This mode is particularly useful for printing wide spreadsheets because condensed 12 cpi printing allows you to print up to 160 characters on an 8-inch line. The condensed mode can be selected with a software command, or by using SelecType (See Chapter 3). Even if you turn the condensed mode on with SelecType, you can still turn it off with a software command.
Enhancing Your Printing In double-strike mode, the print head prints each line twice, making the text bolder. For even greater boldness, emphasized and doublestrike can be combined. The following samples show the different effects you can achieve using these modes alone and in combination. This is ROMAN printing. This is ROMAN, emphasized. This i s R O M A N , d o u b l e - s t r i k e . This is ROMAN, with both. Italic printing You can print italics by using the ESC 4 software command.
Enhancing Your Printing Superscripts and subscripts Superscripts and subscripts can be used for printing footnote numbers and mathematical formulas. The example below shows underlining and subscripts combined in a mathematical formula. average = (al t a2 + . . . . n .. . . . . + an ) Outline and shadow The outline and shadow features are useful for adding variation and emphasis to text that you wish to stand out, such as headings.
Enhancing Your Printing The variable n is a number that identifies the mode or combination of modes. To find the value of n, use the following table to add up either the decimal or hexadecimal numbers for the features you want. Feature Dec. Hex.
Enhancing Your Printing The print quality and font must be set separately, using SelecType or the ESC x and ESC k commands. There are two more things to consider when using the Master Select command: l l 4-8 Master Select cancels any of the other listed features that you do not set. For example, if you have already set a different character width and you use Master Select to set emphasized doublestrike, the character width is reset to 10 cpi. Proportional spacing overrides 10, 12, and 15 cpi.
Graphics The dot graphics mode allows your printer to produce pictures, graphs, charts, or almost any other pictorial image you can create. Because many commercial software programs use graphics, you may be able to print pictures and graphs like the ones on this page and the next by simply giving your software a few instructions. The quickest and easiest way to print graphics on your printer is to use a commercial graphics program.
Graphics Income Breakdown The Print Head To understand dot graphics you need to know a little about how your printer’s print head works. The print head has 24 pins. As the print head moves across the page, electrical impulses cause the pins to fire. Each time a pin fires, it strikes the inked ribbon and presses it against the paper producing a small dot. As the print head moves along, the pins fire time after time in different patterns forming letters, numbers, and symbols.
Graphics closely at a newspaper photograph, you will find that it is made up of thousands of small dots. Your printer also forms its images with patterns of dots, as many as 360 dots per inch, horizontally and 360 dots per inch, vertically. The images printed by this printer can, therefore, be as finely detailed as the ones at the beginning of this section. Twenty-four-pin graphics The graphics mode that takes full advantage of this printer’s print head is 24-pin graphics.
Graphics To fire any one pin, you send its number to the printer. To fire more than one pin at the same time, add up the numbers of the pins and send the total. Using these labels for the pins, you fire the top pin by sending 128. To fire the bottom pin, you send 1. If you want to fire only the top and bottom pins, you simply add 128 and 1, and send 129. By adding the appropriate label numbers together, you can fire any combination of pins.
Graphics The Graphics Command The graphics mode command is quite different from the other commands used by the printer. For most of the other printer modes, such as emphasized and double-wide, one ESC code turns the mode on and another turns it off. For graphics, the command is more complicated because the code that turns on a graphics mode also specifies how many columns it will use. After the printer receives this code, it interprets the numbers that follow as pin patterns and prints them on the paper.
Graphics Column Reservation Numbers The graphics command requires more than one number to specify how many columns to reserve because one line can use thousands of columns, but the printer does not use numbers larger than 255 in decimal. Therefore the graphics mode command uses two numbers, n1 and n2, for reserving columns. To find n1 and n2, divide the total number of columns by 256. The result is n2; the remainder is n1.
Graphics Type in and run the following program. Be especially careful to include both semicolons. The program produces the printout you see below: 10 20 30 40 WIDTH "LPT1:",255 LPRINT CHR$(27)"*"CHR$(32)CHR$(40)CHR$(0); FOR X=1 TO 120 LPRINT CHR$(170); 50 NEXT X Line 20 selects single-density 24-pin graphics mode (mode 32) and also reserves 40 columns for graphics. Since 24-pin graphics requires three bytes of data for each column, line 30 begins a loop to supply 120 bytes of data.
Graphics The illustration below shows how you can use a grid on paper to plan where you want dots to be printed. This grid is for a single line of graphics 42 columns long. Since each line of 24-pin graphics is approximately 1/8th of an inch high and since triple-density graphics prints 180 dots per inch, horizontally, a design planned on this grid will be about 1/8th of an inch high and less than 1/4th of an inch wide.
Graphics Below is the same grid divided into three sections to make the data calculation easier. At the bottom of each section of each column is the total of the pin numbers for that section. This gives you the total of 126 data numbers necessary to print this small figure.
Graphics Below is the BASIC program that prints the design shown on the previous pages. Note that the data numbers in lines 80 through 140 are the same numbers that are at the bottom of each section in the last illustration. The WIDTH statement in line 10 is for IBM PC BASIC; the WIDTH statement format may be different for your system.
Graphics Notice that the dots overlap quite a bit. This design was printed using the triple-density, 24-pin graphics option because the density is the same (180 dots per inch) in both directions.
User-defined Characters With this printer, it is possible to define and print characters of your own design. You can design an entirely new alphabet or typeface, create special characters for use as mathematical or scientific symbols, or create graphic patterns with user-defined characters to serve as building blocks for larger designs. Below, you can see samples of typefaces created with the userdefined character function. Note: To use user-defined characters, you must turn DIP switch 2-5 off.
User-defined Characters Design grids To design a character you use a grid that is 24 dots high-one dot for each pin on the printer’s print head. The width of the character matrix depends on the character set in use. For draft characters, the grid is nine dots wide, for Letter Quality it is 29 dots wide, and for proportional characters it is 37 dots wide. The dots for both Letter Quality and proportional characters are spaced more closely together than those for draft characters.
User-defined Characters There is one restriction in designing characters. Dots in the same row may not print in adjacent columns. This means that there must be an empty dot position both to the left and right of each dot that prints. This is true in draft, Letter Quality, and proportional mode. Defining Your Characters The first step in defining characters is to place the dots on a grid just as you want them to print.
User-defined Characters Data numbers The bits within each byte have values of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, and 128. In the vertical column of dots, the bits are arranged so that the most significant bit (with a value of 128) is at the top of the column and the least significant bit (with a value of 1) is at the bottom. The next illustration shows how to use this method to calculate the data numbers for the character in this example.
User-defined Characters You have seen how to design a character by placing dots on a grid and translating the dots to decimal equivalents. The last step in defining a character is sending this information to your printer. Sending Information to Your Printer The printer loads characters in the print style (Letter Quality, draft, or proportional) that the printer is currently using. It also records whether italic, superscript, or subscript is turned on.
User-defined Characters An example will show how to specify n1 and n2. For instance, if you wanted to redefine the characters A through Z, n1 would be A (or ASCII code 65) and n2 would be Z (or ASCII code 90). So the command ESC & 0 AZ (followed by the appropriate data) would replace the entire alphabet of capital letters. Following the specification of the range of characters to be defined in this command are three data bytes, d0, d1, and d2, that specify the width of the character and the space around it.
User-defined Characters This example of a character definition program should make this clear: 10 LPRINT CHR$(27)"x0" 20 LPRINT CHR$(27)"&"CHR$(0); 30 LPRINT "@@"; 40 LPRINT CHR$(l)CHR$(9)CHRS(l); 50 FOR I=1 TO 27 60 READ A: LPRINT CHR$(A); 70 NEXT I 80 LPRINT "@@@@@" 90 LPRINT CHR$(27)"%"CHR$(l); 100 LPRINT "@@@@@" 110 LPRINT CHE1$(27)"%"CHR$(0); 120 LPRINT "@@@@@" 130 END 140 DATA 1,0,0,2,0,0,4,0,0 150 DATA 8,0,0,23,255,240,8,0,0 160 DATA 4,0,0,2,0,0,1,0,0 In line 10, the ESC x0 command selects draft pr
User-defined Characters Printing User-defined Characters If you entered the previous program example, you defined an arrow and placed it in the RAM location for ASCII code 64 (replacing the @ sign). You can now print out a three-line sample of your work. The first and third lines (printed by lines 80 and 120) print the normal @ sign. The second line (printed by line 100) prints out the arrow that you defined.
User-defined Characters Copying ROM Characters to RAM After running the program, if you select the user-defined character set and try to print other characters, the only one that will print is your arrow. Since no other characters are in the printer’s userdefined RAM, there is nothing else to print. Other characters sent to the printer do not even print as spaces; it’s as if they were not sent at all.
User-defined Characters Letter Quality Characters If you select Letter Quality printing with the ESC xl command, you can design user-defined characters using up to 29 columns of the Letter Quality/Proportional grid. The dot columns are spaced closer together horizontally than draft dot columns (the horizontal dot spacing is 1/360th of an inch as opposed to 1/120th of an inch for draft characters).
User-defined Characters Since superscript and subscript characters are smaller, when you define them you only need two bytes of data for each vertical row of dots. Design grids for these characters are shown in the figure below: Draft pica Letter Quality and Proportional Mixing Print Styles Each of the three user-defined character modes (draft, Letter Quality, and proportional) can be used in combination with most of your printer’s various print styles.
User-defined Characters If you define characters in one mode, then switch to another mode and select the user-defined character set, the command is ignored and nothing is printed. The user-defined character definitions, however, remain unaffected. If you switch back to the mode in which they were defined, you can then select and print them. Keep in mind that user-defined characters are stored in RAM, which is not permanent memory.
4-32 Software and Graphics
Chapter 5 Using the Printer Options The Cut Sheet Feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paper Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Testing the Printer in the Cut Sheet Feeder Mode . . . . . Operating the Cut Sheet Feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Single-sheet Insertion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Cut Sheet Feeder The optional cut sheet feeder (C806122) makes it possible to handle single-sheet paper more easily and more efficiently. Up to 150 sheets of standard bond paper can be fed automatically into the printer without reloading. Installation 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off. Then remove the paper guide and printer cover. 2. 5-2 Replace the clear plastic part of the printer cover with the clear plastic part included with the cut sheet feeder.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 3. Make sure that the paper release lever is pushed all the way to the rear.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 4. Insert the metal brackets into the cut sheet feeder. Then tilt the cut sheet feeder slightly forward to fit the notches at the base of the unit over the black pins inside the printer. Tilt the feeder back until it rests on top of the printer. 5. 5-4 Attach the printer cover as shown in the illustration below.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 6. Turn on the cut sheet feeder mode by setting DIP switch 1-8 to on. 7. Turn on the printer. Paper Handling 1. Make sure that the cut sheet feeder mode is turned on with DIP switch 1-8 and turn on the printer.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 2. Pull the paper set levers all the way forward until the paper supports retract and lock open to allow for paper loading. 3. Slide the left paper guide to where the fin on the edge guide is slightly left of the arrow on the panel. Next, slide the right paper guide so that it roughly matches the width of your paper.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 4. Take a stack of paper and fan it as shown. This keeps the paper from sticking and ensures that only one sheet feeds at a time. Tap the side and bottom of the paper on a flat surface to even the stack. Note: For best results, use typewriter quality paper. If you plan to use paper with a glossy or textured surface, test it before using it to print documents. Do not use multi-part forms, carbon paper, envelopes, or labels in the cut sheet feeder.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 5. Insert the stack of paper between the paper guides, aligning it with the left edge of the guide. Then adjust the right paper guide until the paper is held firmly, but not so tightly that it causes the paper to buckle. Make sure the paper can move up and down freely. 6. 5-8 Push the paper set levers back until they click into place and clamp the paper against the guide rollers.
The Cut Sheet Feeder Testing the Printer in the Cut Sheet Feeder Mode When you perform the cut sheet feeder self test, the printer counts the number of lines on the page. As shown on the following page, the number of lines counted is printed out at the bottom of the first test page. This number is the default page-length setting. This setting, however, can be overridden by software commands. Running the self test is the same as when the cut sheet feeder mode is off.
A part of the printout of the first sheet is shown below. The printout of the second sheet is similar to the original self test described in Chapter 1. This is the first line. This is line XX. 3. The self test continues until the paper runs out or until you press the ON LINE button. To stop the test, press the ON LINE button. Note: To resume the test, press the ON LINE button once more. 4. To end the self test when paper is loaded, press the LOAD/EJECT button to eject the paper.
The Cut Sheet Feeder Operating the Cut Sheet Feeder After stacking paper in the cut sheet feeder, turn on the printer and make sure that the ON LINE light is on. In on line status, a new sheet of paper loads automatically whenever a printable character or line feed command is sent to the printer. Paper out condition When the printer is on line and receives print data from the computer, the first sheet loads automatically. Subsequent sheets load automatically as necessary.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 1. Press the ON LINE button to set the printer off line. 2. Align the single sheet to be fed with the mark on the left paper guide; then slide the sheet into the printer path until you feel resistance.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 3. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to load the sheet. Control panel operation To operate the cut sheet feeder manually from the control panel when the printer is in the cut sheet feeder mode, first make sure that the printer is off line. LINE FEED When there is paper in the printer, press this button to feed the paper one line or hold it down to feed the paper continuously. FORM FEED When there is no paper in the printer, press this button to load the paper.
The Cut Sheet Feeder Software operation The following commands cause the printer to eject the sheet in the printer without loading the next sheet. FF: Form Feed ESC EM R: Ejects a sheet in the cut sheet feeder mode Note: The ESC EM command is a software command used to control the operation of the cut sheet feeder. For more information about this command, see the Command Summary in Chapter 9.
The Cut Sheet Feeder Removing the Cut Sheet Feeder 1. Turn off the printer and remove any paper remaining in the bin and printer. 2. Remove the printer cover and tilt the cut sheet feeder back. Release its notches from the printer’s pins, and then lift up and remove the cut sheet feeder.
The Cut Sheet Feeder 3. Set DIP switch 1-8 to off (to turn off the cut sheet feeder mode). 4. Replace the clear plastic part of the printer cover with the clear plastic part that was on it originally. Removal of the cut sheet feeder is now completed. Be sure to store the removed cut sheet feeder in its original box and packing materials.
The Pull Tractor The optional pull tractor (C800062) provides optimum continuous paper handling. The pull tractor is especially useful with continuous multi-part forms and labels. For best results, use the pull tractor along with the built-in push tractor as described in this section. Installation 1. Turn off the printer and remove the printer cover and paper guide. 2. Remove the paper tension unit cover.
The Pull Tractor 3. Fit the rear notches on the tractor over the rear mounting pins in the printer. Then tilt the tractor unit toward you until the front latches click in place over the black front mounting pins. Push down on the front latches to be sure they are firmly seated. 4. Pull the paper release lever to the continuous paper position and turn on the printer.
The Pull Tractor Paper Handling 1. Make sure that the printer is turned on and that the paper release lever is set forward to the continuous paper position. 2. Set the first three holes of the continuous paper onto the built-in push tractor as described in Chapter 2.
The Pull Tractor 3. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to load the continuous paper; then press the FORM FEED button. This advances the paper one page so that you can fit the paper onto the pull tractor. Note: After you press the FORM FEED button, be careful not to touch any of the buttons on the control panel until step 10. CAUTION: Never use the platen knob while the printer is turned on. To adjust the loading position, use the microadjustment feature described in Chapter 3. 4.
The Pull Tractor 5. Adjust the sprocket units to match the width of the paper; then adjust the paper support so that it is halfway between the sprocket units. 6. Fit the holes in the paper over the tractor pins on the sprocket units and close the sprocket covers.
The Pull Tractor 7. If the paper does not fit exactly onto the tractor pins or if the paper buckles, press in on the gray pull tractor knob and turn it in the desired direction until the paper fits properly. 8. 5-22 See that the paper is not crooked or wrinkled and lock the sprocket units in place.
The Pull Tractor 9. Replace the clear plastic part of the printer cover with the clear plastic part included with the pull tractor. 10. Install the paper guide; then install the pull tractor cover as shown below and press the ON LINE button to set the printer on line. Although the pull tractor can be used in combination with the builtin push tractor as described above, the pull tractor can also be used by itself.
The Pull Tractor Note: Do not use the short tear-off feature with the pull tractor. Removing the Pull Tractor 1. Make sure to tear off the printed document and remove the tractor cover and paper guide. Then turn on the printer.
The Pull Tractor 2. Press the ON LINE button to set the printer off line. Then, press the LOAD/EJECT button until the continuous paper feeds backward out of the paper path to the standby position. The PAPER OUT light comes on when the paper is completely out of the paper path. 3. Remove the continuous paper from the push tractor unit.
The Pull Tractor 4. Hold the front latches between your thumb and index finger a gently lift them up, slowly tilting the unit back. Then push th paper release lever to the rear. 5. Replace the paper tension unit cover as shown below.
The Pull Tractor 6. Remove the tractor cover from the printer cover and reassemble the printer cover. 7. Install the paper guide and printer cover.
The Multi-Font Module The optional Multi-Font Module gives you an easy way to have access to seven more fonts for your printer. After you install the Multi-Font Module in its slot, you can use any one of the following fonts as your default font when the printer is turned on and any of the others optionally by sending a command to the printer. CAUTION: Do not insert the Multi-Font Module when the printer is turned on.
The Multi-Font Module We’ve just seen your excellent ad for m i n i a t u r e z e b r a s in a r e c e n t b a c k i s s u e o f Trader's Times. What is the price schedule for quantities over one gross? OCR-B We've just seen your Trader's Times. What is for quantities over one excellent ad for back issue of the price schedule gross? m i n i a t u r e zebras in a recent We've just seen your excellent ad for m i n i a t u r e z e b r a s in a r e c e n t Trader's for back Times.
The Multi-Font Module Orator W E ' VE JUST SEEN YOUR EXCELLENT AD FOR MINIATURE ZEBRAS IN A RECENT BACK ISSUE OF T R A D E R ' S T I M E S. WHAT I S THE P R I C E S C H E D U L E FOR QUANTITIES OVER ONE GROSS? Orator-S We've just seen your excellent ad for miniature zebras in a recent back issue of Trader's Times, What is the price schedule for quantities over one gross? Installation 1. Turn off the printer. See the font family table on page 5-33 and dial the rotary switch to the font of your choice.
The Multi-Font Module 2. Hold the module with the rotary switch on the top and plug it into the slot.
The Multi-Font Module 3. Turn the printer on; then select the slot by pressing the FONT switch on the operating panel. WARNING: Always turn off the power before inserting or removing the module; otherwise you may seriously damage the printer or the module.
The Multi-Font Module Selecting a Font This table shows the family numbers and characters per inch of the fonts in the Multi-Font Module. Family number Characters per inch Courier Font name 2 10, 12, 15 Prestige 3 10, 12, 15 Script 4 10, 12, 15 OCR-B 5 10 OCR-A 6 10 Orator 7 10 Orator-S 8 10 There are two ways to select a font from the module: l l With the printer turned off, dial the family number of the font with the rotary switch on the module.
The Interface Boards A number of optional interfaces are available in case your computer is either not provided with a parallel interface or you wish to increase the memory capacity of your printer’s buffer. Choosing an Interface Optional interfaces can be divided into three main categories which are described briefly below.
The Interface Boards Compatible Interfaces The following is a list of Epson interfaces that are compatible with your LQ-510 printer. Interface number Name #8143 New Serial Interface #8148 Intelligent serial interface #8165 Intelligent IEEE-488 interface #8172 32 KB buffered parallel interface All Epson interfaces have the Epson name printed on them.
The Interface Boards 2. Remove the screw securing the interface board cover and lift off the cover. 3. Remove the screw labeled CG from the main board.
The Interface Boards Installing the board There are two basic interface board designs-one with the FG wire not attached and one with the FG wire attached. This slight difference changes the way the boards are installed in the printer but does not affect the operation of the interface in any way. Check to see which type of interface board you have. FG wire not attached See below FG wire attached Skip to page 5-39 FG wire not attached 1.
The Interface Boards 2. Carefully insert the pins on the optional interface board into the mating connector on the main board; then secure the board with the screws provided. 3. Attach the plug end of the FG wire onto the FG pin located on top of the interface board. 4. Set the DIP switches on the interface board according to the manual accompanying it.
The Interface Boards FG wire attached 1. Carefully place the interface board next to the printer as shown below. Use the CG screw to connect the round end of the FG (frame ground) wire to the main board. 2. Holding the interface board level, rotate it into position and attach it to the main board. Make sure that the connector pins are properly inserted into the mating connector.
The Interface Boards 3. Secure the board with the screws provided. 4. For all interface boards except #8l43 New Serial Interface board, set the DIP switches on the interface board according to the manual accompanying it. If you have the #8143, see page 5-41. Attaching the interface board cover I. Bend back the hinge plate on the interface board cover as shown below. Note: When you reattach the interface board, rebend the plate to cover the opening.
The Interface Boards 2. Reattach the board cover. CAUTION: When an optional interface board is installed, be sure to disconnect the printer cable from the printer’s built-in parallel interface. Two interface cables must not be connected at the same time. #8143 New Serial Interface If you are using an optional interface, it may be necessary for you to alter the communication protocol of the printer or the computer so that they can communicate properly.
The Interface Boards For all other data transfer conventions, such as word structure or communications protocol, use the information in the manual supplied with your #8143 optional interface. Baud rate selection You can select baud rates from 75 to 19,200 BPS (Bits Per Second). When setting the baud rate, make sure you use the bit rate selection table for printers with buffers (in the #8143 interface manual).
Chapter 6 Maintenance Cleaning the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 Replacing the Ribbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4 Transporting the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cleaning the Printer To keep your printer operating at its best, you should clean it thoroughly several times a year. Follow the steps below: 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off. Then remove the paper guide or the cut sheet feeder. 2. Using a soft brush, carefully remove all dust and dirt.
3. If the outer case or paper guide is dirty or dusty, clean it with a soft, clean cloth dampened with a mild detergent solution. Keep the printer cover in place to prevent water from getting inside the printer. WARNINGS: l Never use alcohols or thinners to clean the printer, since these chemicals can damage the components as well as the case. l l l Be careful not to get water on the printer mechanism or electronic components. Do not use a hard or abrasive brush.
Replacing the Ribbon Replace the ribbon when the printout becomes too faint. The #7753 standard ribbon cartridge or #7768 film ribbon cartridge are recommended for the LQ-510 printer. Do not use ribbons designed for nine-pin printers. 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off. Then remove the printer cover.
Replacing the Ribbon 2. Open the paper tension unit cover. 3. To remove the ribbon cartridge, grip it by the black plastic tab and lift the cartridge straight up and out of the printer. WARNING: If the printer has just been used, the print head may be hot. Let it cool before attempting to replace the ribbon.
Replacing the Ribbon 4. Slide the print head to the middle of the printer. 5. To remove slack in the new ribbon, turn the ribbon-tightening knob in the direction of the arrow.
Replacing the Ribbon 6. Push the new ribbon cartridge firmly into position, making sure the plastic hooks fit into the slots, as shown below. Note: Press lightly on both sides of the cartridge to make sure the hooks are properly inserted.
Replacing the Ribbon 7. Use a pointed object, such as a ball point pen, to guide the ribbon between the print head and ribbon guide while you turn the ribbon-tightening knob to help feed the ribbon into place. Be careful not to puncture the ribbon. 8. Slide the print head from side to side to make sure it moves smoothly. Also see that the ribbon is not twisted or creased.
Replacing the Ribbon 9. Close the paper tension unit cover. 10. Insert the hooks on the printer cover unit into the printer, and then tilt the printer cover back into place.
Transporting the Printer Before you transport your printer some distance, carefully repack it in the original box and packing materials according to the following instructions. 1. Make sure the printer is turned off. Then remove any installed options, as well as the paper guide and printer cover. WARNING: Turn the printer off before unplugging the power cable from the AC outlet. 2. Unplug the power cable from the electrical outlet.
Chapter 7 Troubleshooting Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 Power Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4 Printing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5 Paper Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14 Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Problems and Solutions This chapter discusses problems you may encounter while operating your printer and their likely solutions. If you are having difficulty achieving the desired printing result, first locate the problem in the table below and then see the appropriate page for the solution. Power supply l Power is not being supplied. See 7-4 Printing l The printer does not print. See 7-5 l The print is faint or uneven. See 7-6 Dots are missing in the printed characters or graphics.
Options l l l l Using the cut sheet feeder, the paper does not feed properly. See 7-24 Using the pull tractor with the push tractor, continuous paper does not feed properly. See 7-28 Using the font module, the module’s fonts do not print. See 7-32 Using an optional interface, the printer does not operate properly.
Power Supply Problem Solution Power is not being supplied. The POWER light does not go on. The power cable may be loose or not properly plugged into the electrical outlet. Turn off the printer and see that the power cable is properly plugged in to the electrical outlet. The power switch is off. Turn on the switch. Power is not being supplied to the electrical outlet. Plug another electrical device into the outlet to determine whether the outlet is operating properly.
Printing Problem Solution The printer does not print. The ON LINE light is on but nothing is printed. The software may not be installed properly for your printer. Check the printer settings and make the necessary changes. The interface cable may be loose. Check both ends of the cable between the printer and the computer. Secure the connector using the wire retaining clips. You may not be using the correct interface cable. Make sure your interface cable meets the printer and the computer specifications.
Problem Solution The printer does not print (continued). The printer sounds like it is printing, but nothing is printed. The ribbon cartridge may not be installed properly. Turn off the printer, reinstall the ribbon cartridge, and take up any slack in the ribbon. The ribbon may be worn. Replace the ribbon cartridge. See Chapter 6. The printer makes a strange noise, the buzzer sounds several times, and the printer stops abruptly. This indicates an error in printer operation.
Printing Problem Solution The print is faint or uneven (continued). The printout is faint. The ribbon may be worn out. A worn ribbon can damage the print head and should be replaced. Install a new ribbon cartridge. See Chapter 6. The paper thickness lever may not be set correctly for the paper you are using. Set the paper thickness lever to match the thickness of your paper. See Chapter 2. Dots are missing in the printed characters or graphics. A line of dots is missing in the printout.
Printing Problem Solution Printed characters are not what you expected. The typestyle or characters that are set by the software cannot be printed. The software may not be correctly installed for your printer. Use the program’s setup (or install) procedure to check the printer settings, and reset as needed. The Roman, Sans Serif, or Draft font is selected in your software, but the characters are printed in a different The wrong font is selected.
Printing Problem Solution Printed characters are not what you expected (continued). Graphic characters or lines are being printed instead of the selected italic characters. The wrong character table is selected. If your application program is capable of sending control codes, specify the italic character table using ESC t 0. You can also select the italic character table by changing a DIP switch setting. To do this, turn off the power, set DIP switch 1-7 to off; then turn on the power. See Chapter 3.
Printing Problem Solution Printed characters are not what you expected (continued). The characters printed are smaller than expected. The condensed mode may be set. Check to see if the CONDENSED light on the control panel is on. If it is lit, press the CONDENSED button to cancel the mode. Also, if your application program is capable of sending control codes, you can cancel the condensed mode by sending the DC2 code to the printer. See Chapter 9. The typestyle selected by SelecType is not printed.
Printing Problem Solution The print position is not what you expected. page. The loading position may be incorrect. Use micro-adjustment to adjust the loading position. See Chapter 3. If the problem persists, check the top margin set by your application software and adjust it. One line of printing has taken up two lines. Auto line feed may be on. Turn off DIP switch 2-4. Printing starts too high or too low on the The margin setting may not be correct.
Printing Problem Solution The print position is not what you expected (continued). Page length does not match the length of the paper. Check the page length set by your application software and adjust it if necessary. If you are using the cut sheet feeder, the self test function prints the number of printable lines that can fit on a single sheet. Use this feature to determine the correct page length setting. See Chapter 3. Regular gaps occur in the printout. One-inch skip over perforation may be set.
Printing Problem Solution The print position is not what you expected (continued). Vertical printed lines do not align or gaps appear in lines or graphics. The printer is usually set for bidirectional printing. This can cause a slight misalignment of graphics characters. When precise printing of vertical lines is necessary, contact your service center to have them perform the bidirectional print alignment adjustment or select the unidirectional print mode by sending ESC U or ESC < to the printer.
Paper Handling The following section guides you through problems in handling single sheets and continuous paper. If you are having problems using the optional cut sheet feeder or pull tractor, see the section on options later in this chapter. Problem Solution Single sheets do not feed properly. The LOAD/EJECT button was pressed, but the platen did not move and paper was not fed. You may be trying to feed paper using one of the control panel buttons while the printer is on line (ON LINE light is on).
Paper Handling Problem Solution Single sheets do not feed properly (continued). The LOAD/EJECT button was pressed and the platen rotated, but paper was not fed. The paper release lever may be set in the wrong position. Push paper release lever back to the single-sheet position. See Chapter 2. The left and right edge guides may be too close together, preventing the paper from feeding smoothly. Adjust the position of the edge guides so that the paper can move up and down freely. See Chapter 2.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Single sheets do not feed properly (continued). When the LOAD/EJECT button is pressed, the paper feeds through and then out of the printer. The paper may have been between the edge guides before the printer was turned on. When loading single sheets, be sure that paper is not in the paper guide before you turn the printer on. The paper feed is crooked. The paper guide may not be attached, or it may not be in the correct position.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly. When the LOAD/EJECT button is pressed, the platen does not rotate and paper does not feed. You may be trying to feed paper using the control panel buttons while the printer is on line (ON LINE light on). Press the ON LINE button once to set the printer off line, then try feeding paper. After feeding paper, press the ON LINE button again to set the printer on line. See Chapter 3.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). The paper feed is crooked or the paper jams. The paper supply may be obstructed by a cable or some other object. Make sure that the paper feeds smoothly into the printer. See Chapter 2. Your supply of continuous paper may be too far from the printer. Position your paper supply within 3 feet (1 meter) of the printer. See Chapter 2. The paper may be caught on the edge guides.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). The paper feed is crooked or the paper jams (continued). The sprocket lock levers may be unlocked, or the sprocket covers may be open. Position the sprocket units to match the width of your paper. Then, lock them in place by pressing the sprocket lock levers away from you. See Chapter 2. The paper guide may be in the upright position.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). Skip over perforation is set, but the perforation does not fall in the center of the skip. The loading position of the paper may be too high or too low. Use the microadjustment to reset the loading position. The loading position of the paper shifts slightly while printing several pages. The paper you are trying to feed may be too heavy for the built-in push tractor.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). The LOAD/EJECT button is pressed to eject the paper, the paper feed stops, and paper does not fully eject or it jams. You may have tried to back feed too many pages. Before ejecting the paper, always tear off the last printed page. See Chapter 3. You may be trying to eject labels. Labels may jam when they are fed backward, so always use the FORM FEED button and feed labels forward to eject them.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Switching between single sheets and continuous paper cannot be performed properly (continued). The paper release lever is correctly set for continuous paper, but when the LOAD/EJECT button is pressed, the platen rotates backward and the paper comes off the sprockets. A single sheet may be in the paper guide, causing the continuous paper to back out and to come off the sprockets.
Paper Handling Problem Solution Switching between single sheets and continuous paper cannot be performed properly (continued). Even with the paper release lever set correctly to the singlesheet position, the single sheet and continuous paper feed together and jam. The continuous paper may not have fed backward far enough to reach the standby position before you changed the position of the paper release lever. Remove the jammed paper and try again.
Options Problem Solution Using the cut sheet feeder, the paper does not feed properly. The LOAD/EJECT button is pressed, but the platen does not move and the paper does not feed. You may be pressing the LOAD/EJECT button while the printer is on line. Always put the printer off line before feeding the paper. Paper feeds automatically when the cut sheet feeder receives a print command from the computer (only while the printer is on line).
Options Problem Solution Using the cut sheet feeder, the paper does not feed properly (continued). After a print command is sent from the computer, the platen rotates, but paper does not feed. The PAPER OUT light is on. DIP switch 1-8 is set to off. DIP switch 1-8 must be set to on in order to use the cut sheet feeder. See Chapters 3 and 5. The cut sheet feeder may be incorrectly installed on the printer.
Options Problem Solution Using the cut sheet feeder, the paper does not feed properly (continued). After a print command is sent from the computer, the platen rotates, but paper does not feed. The PAPER OUT light is on (continued). Paper may be jammed near the print head. Remove the paper jam (temporarily remove the cut sheet feeder if necessary). You may have loaded too many sheets in the cut sheet feeder’s bin. Remove the sheets. The bin can hold a maximum of 150 sheets.
Options Problem Solution Using the cut sheet feeder, the paper does not feed properly (continued). The paper feed is crooked. The paper may be old or creased. Discard it and load new, clean sheets of paper. The left and right paper guides may be too far apart. Adjust the paper guides to the width of the paper. There may be too much outgoing paper. Never let more than 80 sheets of outgoing paper accumulate while printing. The weight of your paper may be too heavy or too light for the cut sheet feeder.
Options Problem Solution Using the cut sheet feeder, the paper does not feed properly (continued). One page of printing has spread to two pages. The page length setting may be wrong. Run a self test in cut sheet feeder mode. The printer will automatically measure the paper loaded and set the correct page length. See Chapter 5. You may have to change the top or bottom margin or page length for your application program.
Options Problem Solution Using the pull tractor with the push tractor, continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). Paper feed is crooked or the paper jams. Something may be obstructing the paper feed, like an object on top of the paper stack or a cable caught on the paper. Make sure that nothing prevents the smooth flow of paper and position the paper so that it feeds straight in line with the sprockets. The supply of paper may be too far from the printer.
Options Problem Solution Using the pull tractor with the push tractor, continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). Paper feed is crooked or the paper jams (continued). The paper may be slack. Adjust the position of the sprockets to take up any slack along the width of the paper. Remove slack lengthwise by pressing in and rotating the pull tractor knob on the right. Do not turn the platen knob. The paper thickness lever may not be correctly set.
Options Problem Solution Using the pull tractor with the push tractor, continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). When the printing ends the paper feeds abruptly, and as it resumes printing, the paper feeds backward and comes off the pull tractor sprockets. The short tear-off function may be selected. The short tear-off function cannot be used with the pull tractor, so be sure to set DIP switch 2-2 to off. See Chapter 3.
O p t i o n s Problem Solution Using the font module, the module’s fonts do not print. The font module is set, but the fonts in the module do not print. The font module may not be fully inserted in the slot. Check it and insert the module properly if necessary. The font module may be inserted the wrong way. Align the (>) marks on the module and the slot and insert it properly. The font in the module may not be correctly selected. Select the slot by pressing the FONT button on the control panel.
Options Problem Solution Using an optional interface, the printer does not operate properly (continued). The printer does not print or the printout is not what you expected (continued). You may be trying to use an interface with the wrong specification. Check the specifications to make sure that you can use the interface with this printer. You may be trying to use a cable with the wrong specification. Make sure that the cable matches the specifications of the interface.
Options If the printer still does not operate properly after checking the above points, run a self test of the interface to make sure that there are no on-board defects. If any abnormality is found, contact your Epson dealer.
Chapter 8 Technical Specifications Printer Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printing.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paper.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Environment . . . . . . . . . .
Printer Specifications Printing 24-pin impact dot matrix Print method: Print speed: Quality Characters per inch Characters/second/line 10 150 12 180 10 50 12 60 Draft LQ Printing direction: Bidirectional logic-seeking for text printing. Unidirectional for graphics (can also be switched to bidirectional by using the proper software command when DIP switch 2-6 is on).
Printer Specifications Printable columns: Character spacing Maximum printed characters 10 cpi 80 10 cpi condensed 137 12 cpi 96 12 cpi condensed 160 Input buffer: 8 KB/1 KB (DIP switch selectable) Optional fonts: LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ LQ Epson Epson Epson Epson Epson Epson Epson Courier Prestige Script OCR-B OCR-A Orator Orator-S Character fonts: Font Epson Draft Available sizes (Characters per inch) 10, 12, 15 Epson Roman 10, 12, 15, Proportional Epson Sans Serif 10, 12, 15, Proportional
Printer Specifications Paper Paper width: Single sheet Continuous Envelope Labels (continuous only) Paper Length: Single sheet Printable area: Single sheet 8-4 Technical Specifications 7.2 to 10.1 inches (182 to 257 mm) 4 to 10 inches (101 to 254 mm) 6.5 or 9.5 inches (166 or 240 mm) 21/2 x 15/16 inches (minimum) (63.5 x 23.8 mm) 7.2 to 14.
Printer Specifications Continuous paper 0.51 inches (13 mm) or more (both sides) when the 4 to 9.5 inch (101 mm to 242 mm) width paper is used. 0.98 inches (25 mm) or more (both sides) when the 10 inch (254 mm) width paper is used. Note: Envelope printing is only available at normal temperature. Load the envelope with its long side horizontal.
Printer Specifications Paper weight: Single Sheet Continuous Multi-part forms Envelope 14 lb to 24 lb 14 lb to 22 lb 12 lb to 15 lb per sheet. Maximum number sheets = 3 12 lb to 24 lb Paper thickness: Single Sheet 0.0025 to 0.0055 inches (0.065 to 0.14 mm) 0.0025 to 0.01 inches (0.065 to 0.25 mm) 0.0063 to 0.0197 inches (0.16 to 0.52 mm) 0.01 inches (Maximum 0.28 mm) Continuous Envelope Label (with backing) Copy Capacity: . . 8-6 Up to 3 sheets including the original.
Printer Specifications Mechanical Paper feeding methods: Friction Push tractor Cut sheet feeder (optional) Pull tractor (optional) Ribbon: Cartridge ribbon, available in black: #7753 #7768 (film) Life expectancy of ribbon: #7753: 2,000,000 characters (in Letter Quality characters, at 48 dots/character) #7768: 200,000 characters (in Letter Quality characters, at 48 dots/character) MCBF: For all components excluding print head: 3,000,000 lines MTBF: 4000 power on hours (duty 25%) Print head life: 20
Printer Specifications Electrical Voltage: 120 VAC ± 10% Power consumption: 100 watts maximum Frequency: 50 ± 0.5 Hz, 60 ± 0.5 Hz Insulation resistance: 10 Mohms between AC power line and chassis Dielectric strength (between AC line and chassis): Can withstand 1.
Interface Specifications Your printer is equipped with an B-bit parallel interface. For specifications on optional interfaces, refer to their manuals. Pin Assignments for the Parallel Interface Connector pin assignments and a description of their respective interface signals are shown in the following table. Signal Return Pin Pin 1 19 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Signal Directior Description STROBE IN STROBE pulse to read data. Pulse width must be more than 0.5 microseconds at the receiving terminal.
Interface Specifications 8-10 Technical Specifications
Interface Specifications The column heading “Direction” refers to the direction of signal flow as viewed from the printer. “Return” denotes the twisted-pair return, to be connected at signal ground level. For the interface wiring, be sure to use a twisted-pair cable for each signal and to complete the connection on the return side. These cables should be shielded and connected to the chassis of the host computer and the printer. All interface conditions are based on TTL level.
Interface Specifications Printing Enabled/Disabled Signals and Control Conditions The table below shows the relationship between printing being enabled or disabled, the on line/off line status, and the receipt of the data on/off control characters, DC1 or DC3. ON LINE SLCT IN DC1/DC3 ERROR BUSY (Indicator (Data on/off on) control) ACKNLG Printing (Disabled/ enabled) on line Low (J1 DC1/DC3 High interface) (no effect) High/Low Pulsed ea. char. Enabled (normal cond.
Option Specifications Single-bin Cut Sheet Feeder (Optional) Dimensions and weight: 17.5 in (W) x 17.1 in (D) x 16.7 in (H) (444 mm (W) x 434 mm (D) x 423 mm (H)) (mounted on the printer) approx. 2.4 lb (1.
Option Specifications Paper: Width 7.17 to 8.50 inches (182 to 216 mm) Length 8.27 to 14.30 inches (257 to 364 mm) Thickness 0.0028 to 0.0055 inches (0.07 to 0.14 mm) Weight 17 lb to 24 lb (64 g/m2 to 90g/m2) Printable area l 24 lb paper printing is only available at normal temperature. Paper feed accuracy cannot be assured within 0.9” (22 mm) from either the top or bottom edges of the paper.
Initialization There are two ways that the printer can be initialized (returned to the default settings) through the hardware and one way through the software. These are described in the following table: Hardware initialization l l Software initialization l The power is turned on. The printer receives an INIT signal at the parallel interface (pin 31 goes LOW). The software sends the ESC @ (initialize the printer) command.
Initialization Also, the data buffer is cleared when the printer is initialized by turning on the power or by an INIT signal. Note: The user-defined character set is not cleared when the printer is initialized with the software command (ESC @).
Chapter 9 Command Summary Using the Command Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Control Key Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2 9-4 Commands in Numerical Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5 Commands Arranged by Topic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printer Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MSB Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the Command Summary This chapter lists and describes all the commands available on the LQ-510. The first part of this chapter lists all commands in numerical order and gives the number of the page where each is fully described. If you know which command you are looking for, consult the numerical list. Note: The Quick Reference card at the end of the book also contains a list of the commands divided by topic, with page number references that direct you to full explanations of the commands.
Using the Command Summary The simplest type of command consists of a single character to be sent to the printer. For instance, to print in condensed mode, the code format is: ASCII code: SI Decimal: 15 Hexadecimal: 0F This code can be sent from a program by sending the code 15 directly. More complex commands consist of two or more character codes.
Using the Command Summary Control Key Chart Some application programs use control key codes for decimal values O-27. The table below gives you the proper values. The Control Key column indicates that you press the control key at the same time you press the key for the letter or symbol in that column. For example, you press the control key and A at the same time to send the value 1.
Commands in Numerical Order The following list shows control codes and ESC sequences with their decimal and hexadecimal values, and the page where the description of the command can be found. ASCII Dec. Hex. Description Page Beeper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Backspace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tab Horizontally . . . . . . . . . . . . . Line Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tab Vertically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Form Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commands in Numerical Order Hex. Description Page 42 43 45 2A 2B 2D 9-39 9-15 ESC / ESC 0 ESC 2 ESC 3 ESC 4 ESC 5 ESC 6 ESC 7 ESC : ESC < 47 48 50 51 52 53 54 55 58 60 2F 30 32 33 34 35 36 37 3A 3C ESC = ESC > ESC ? ESC @ ESC A ESC B ESC C ESC C 0 ESC D ESC E ESC F ESC G ESC H ESC J ESC K 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 67 68 69 70 71 72 74 75 3D 3E 3F 40 41 42 43 43 44 45 46 47 48 4A 4B ESC L 76 4C ESC M 77 4D Select Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . Set n/360-inch Line Spacing. . . .
Commands in Numerical Order ASCII Dec. ESC N ESC 0 ESC P ESC Q ESC R Page Hex. Description 78 79 80 81 82 4E 4F 50 51 52 ESC S 0 ESC S 1 ESC T 83 83 84 53 53 54 ESC U 85 55 ESC W 87 57 ESC Y 89 59 ESC Z 90 5A ESC \ ESC a ESC b ESC g ESC k ESC 1 ESC p 92 97 98 103 107 108 112 5C 61 62 67 6B 6C 70 ESC q ESC t ESC w 113 116 119 71 74 77 ESC x 120 78 Set Skip Over Perforation . . . . . . 9-14 Cancel Skip Over Perforation. . . 9-14 Select 10 CPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commands Arranged by Topic This following section lists and describes all the commands by topic. See the Quick Reference card at the back of this book for a handy list of commands by topic. Printer Operation Initialize Printer ESC @ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B @ 64 40 Comments: Resets the printer mode and clears the current print line preceding the command.
Commands Arranged by Topic Deselect Printer DC3 Format: ASCII code: DC3 Decimal: 19 Hexadecimal: 13 Comments: Puts the printer into the deselected state until the select printer code (DCl) is received. The printer cannot be reselected with the ON LINE button. Delete Character DEL Format: ASCII code: DEL Decimal: 127 Hexadecimal: 7F Comments: Removes the last text character on the print line but does not affect control codes.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC U Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Turn Unidirectional Mode On/Off ESC 27 1B U 85 55 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 1: Turns the mode on 0: Turns the mode off Printing is normally bidirectional. This command selects unidirectional printing for more accurate positioning. This setting can also be performed by SelecType.
Commands Arranged by Topic MSB Control MSB means the Most Significant Bit. MSB control (ESC =, ESC >, and ESC #) does not work for graphics or user-defined characters. ESC = Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set MSB to 0 ESC 27 1B = 61 3D Comments: Sets the MSB of all incoming data to 0. Some computers always send data with the MSB set to 1, which means that italics or character graphics are always printed. ESC = can overcome this problem.
Commands Arranged by Topic BEL Format: BEL ASCII code: 7 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 07 Beeper Comments: Sounds the printer’s beeper. Data Control CR Format: ASCII code: CR Decimal: 13 Hexadecimal: 0D Carriage Return Comments: Prints the data in the print buffer and returns the print position to the left margin. A line feed is added if the AUTO FEED XT line on the parallel interface is held LOW.
Commands Arranged by Topic Vertical Motion Form Feed FF Format: FF ASCII code: 12 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 0C Comments: Prints the data in the print buffer and advances the paper to the top of the next form according to the current page length. When using a cut sheet feeder, FF ejects the sheet into the stacker. ESC C Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Page Length in Lines ESC 27 1B C 67 43 n n n Comments: Sets the page length to n lines in the current line spacing.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC N Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Skip Over Perforation ESC 27 1B N 78 4E n n n Comments: The variable n is the number of lines skipped between the last line printed on one page and the first line to print on the next page. For example, with the standard setting for line spacing (l/6-inch), and page length (66 lines), ESC N 6 prints 60 lines and then skips 6. This setting is cancelled by ESC 0, ESC C, or ESC C 0. The value of n must be from 1 to 127.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC 0 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select 1/8-inch Line Spacing ESC 27 1B 0 48 30 Comments: Sets the line spacing to l/8 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The 0 is the digit zero and not ASCII code 0. ESC 2 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select 1/6-inch Line Spacing ESC 27 1B 2 50 32 Comments: Sets the line spacing to l/6 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The 2 is the digit two and not ASCII code 2.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC 3 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set n/180-inch Line Spacing ESC 27 1B 3 51 33 n n n Comments: Sets the line spacing to n/180 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The 3 is the digit three and not ASCII code 3. The value of n must be from 0 to 255. ESC A Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set n/60-inch Line Spacing ESC 27 1B A 65 41 n n n Comments: Sets the line spacing to n/60 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands.
Commands Arranged by Topic VT Format: ASCII code: VT Decimal: 11 Hexadecimal: 0B Tab Vertically Comments: Advances the paper to the next vertical tab position in the channel selected by ESC /. If no channel has been selected, channel 0 is used. If no vertical tabs have been set, the paper advances one line. ESC B Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Vertical Tabs ESC 27 1B B 66 n1 42 n1 n2 ... n2 ... n1 n2 ... 0 0 00 Comments: Sets up to 16 vertical tabs in the current line spacing.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC b Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Vertical Tabs in Channels ESC 27 1B b 98 62 c c c n1 n1 n2 n2 n1 n2 ... ... ... 0 0 00 Comments: Functions the same as ESC B, except that the variable c selects a channel for the vertical tabs, which must be from 0 to 7. Therefore, up to eight sets of vertical tabs can be set. The channels are selected by ESC /. To clear the tabs in channel c, use ESC b c 0.
Commands Arranged by Topic Horizontal Motion ESC 1 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Left Margin ESC 27 1B 1 108 6C n n n Comments: Sets the left margin to n columns in the current character size. Settings made in the proportional mode are treated as 10 cpi. This command clears previous tab settings and all previous characters in the print line. Use lowercase 1 (as in left), not the numeral one. The minimum space between the margins is the width of one double-wide 10 cpi character.
Commands Arranged by Topic Backspace BS Format: ASCII code: BS Decimal: 8 Hexadecimal: 08 Comments: Prints out data in the print buffer, then moves the print position one space to the left. Backspacing is possible up to, but not beyond, the left margin setting. The BS code is ignored if ESC a2 or ESC a3 has been sent.
C o m m a n d s ESC \ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: A r r a n g e d b y T o p i c Set Relative Print Position ESC 27 1B \ 92 5C n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n2 Comments: Determines the position (relative to the current position) at which printing of subsequent data will start. To find n1 and n2, first calculate the displacement required in dots. If the displacement is to the left, subtract it from 65536. Send the resulting number using this formula: total number of dots = n1 + (256 x n2).
Commands Arranged by Topic Set Horizontal Tabs ESC D Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B D 68 44 n1 n1 n2 n2 n1 n2 ... ... ... 0 0 00 Comments: This command allows setting of up to 32 horizontal tabs, which are entered as n1, n2, n3, etc., (from 1 to 255) with the number 0 character terminating the command. The tab settings must be entered in ascending order. ESC D 0 clears all tabs.
Commands Arranged by Topic Select Typestyle Family ESC k Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B k 107 6B n n n Comments: This command affects only the Letter Quality typestyle, not draft. If n = 0, typestyle in the printer is used. To select one of the other typestyles, use the family number of the font as shown below. For example, to choose the Prestige font, use 3 for the value of n.
Commands Arranged by Topic Print Size and Character Width ESC P Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select 10 CPI ESC 27 1B P 80 50 Comments: Selects 10 character per inch printing. This command is normally used to cancel 12 or 15 cpi. ESC M Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select 12 CPI ESC 27 1B M 77 4D Comments: Selects 12 character per inch printing.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC p Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Turn Proportional Mode On/Off ESC 27 1B p 112 70 n n n Comments: Turns proportional mode on and off. The following values can be used for n: 1: Turns mode on. 0: Turns mode off. The width of proportional characters varies from character to character. Therefore, a narrow letter like i receives less space than a wide letter like W. Proportional character widths are given in the Appendix.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC SI Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Condensed Mode ESC 27 1B SI 15 0F Comments: Duplicates the SI command and the function of the condensed button on the control panel. DC2 Format: ASCII code: DC2 Decimal: 18 Hexadecimal: 12 Cancel Condensed Mode Comments: Cancels condensed mode set by SI, ESC SI, or SelecType and returns printing to normal.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC SO Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Double-wide Mode (one line) ESC 27 1B SO 14 0 E Comments: Duplicates the SO command. ESC W Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Turn Double-wide Mode On/Off ESC 27 1B W 87 57 n n n Comments: Doubles the width of all characters. The following values can be used for n: 1: Turns mode on. 0: Turns mode off.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC w Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Turn Double-high Mode On/Off ESC 27 1B w 119 77 n n n Comments: Doubles the height of all characters. The following values can be used for n: 1: Turns mode on. 0: Turns mode off. Cannot be used with the pull tractor.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC G Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Double-strike Mode ESC 27 1B G 71 47 Comments: Makes text bolder by printing each line twice, with the second printing slightly below the first. ESC H Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Cancel Double-strike Mode ESC 27 1B H 72 48 Comments: Cancels the double-strike mode selected by ESC G.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC S l Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Subscript Mode ESC 27 1B S 83 53 1 1 01 Comments: Prints characters about two-thirds of the normal character height in the lower part of the character space. ESC T Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Cancel Superscript/Subscript Mode ESC 27 1B T 84 54 Comments: Cancels either superscript or subscript.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC ( Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B Select Score ( 40 28 n1 45 n1 2D n1 n2 n2 n2 m m m d1 d1 d1 d2 d2 d2 Comments: Use decimal or hexadecimal values for all variables, not ASCII characters. Use the following values for the first 3 variables: n1 must be 3. n2 must be 0. m must be 1. The value of d1 determines the location of the score: d1 = 1 for underline. d1 = 2 for strike-through. d1 = 3 for overscore.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Turn Underline Mode On/Off ESC 27 1B 45 2D n n n Comments: This mode provides continuous underlining including spaces. The following values can be used for n: 1: Turns mode on. 0: Turns mode off. Areas skipped with HT or ESC $ are not underlined. ESC q Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Character Style ESC 27 1B q 113 71 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 0: Selects normal.
Commands Arranged by Topic Word Processing ESC a Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Justification ESC 27 1B a 97 61 n n n Comments: Sets the type of justification. The following values can be used for n: 0: Selects left justification. 1: Selects centering. 2: Selects right justification. 3: Selects full justification. The default setting is n = 0. Full justification (n = 3) is performed when the buffer becomes full; HT and BS are invalid except in n = 0 mode.
Commands Arranged by Topic Character Tables ESC t Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Character Table ESC 27 1B t 116 74 n n n Comments: Selects the character table used by codes 128 to 255. Selecting Epson Extended Graphics characters does not disable italic printing. Italic printing can still be selected by ESC 4. The following values can be used for n: 0: Selects italics character table. 1: Selects Epson Extended Graphics character table.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC 5 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Cancel Italic Mode ESC 27 1B 5 53 35 Comments: Cancels the mode selected by ESC 4. ESC R Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select an International Character Set ESC 27 1B R 82 52 n n n Comments: Selects one of the international character sets.
Commands Arranged by Topic User-defined Characters See Chapter 4 for sample programs and full information on this topic. ESC & Format: ESC ASCII code: Decimal: 27 Hexadecimal: 1B Define User-defined Characters & 38 26 0 0 00 n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n2 d1 d1 d1 d2 data d2 d a t a d2 data Comments: This command allows characters to be redefined in the currently selected mode. When defining characters, DIP switch 2-5 must be set to off.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC % Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select User-defined Set ESC 27 1B % 37 25 n n n Comments: This sequence is used to print the user-defined (download) character set. ESC & is required to define the character set. The following values can be used for n: 0: Selects the normal set. 1: Selects the user-defined set.
Commands Arranged by Topic Graphics See Chapter 4 for sample graphics programs. See the table under ESC * for graphics modes. ESC K Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Single-density Graphics Mode ESC 27 1B K 75 4B n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n2 Comments: Turns on 8-pin, single-density graphics mode. The total number of columns = n1 + (n2 x 256).
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC Z Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Quadruple-density Graphics Mode ESC 27 1B Z 90 5A n1 n 2 n1 n2 n1 n 2 Comments: Turns on 8-pin, quadruple-density graphics mode. The total number of columns = n1 + (n2 x 256). ESC * Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Graphics Mode ESC 27 1B * 42 2A m m m n1 n1 n1 n2 n2 n 2 Comments: Turns on graphics mode m. Refer to the following table for details on the available modes.
Commands Arranged by Topic ESC ? Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Reassign Graphics Mode ESC 27 1B ? 63 3F S s s m m m Comments: Changes from one graphics mode to another. The variable s is a character (K, L, Y or Z). The variable m corresponds to the mode m in the ESC * command.
Appendix Proportional Width Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2 Character Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proportional Width Table This table lists the widths of your printer’s proportional characters. The values given are in 360ths of an inch. (For example, a value of 36 is 36/360ths of an inch.) You may need to enter these widths into a special table for your processing program so it can calculate the number of proportional characters that will fit on a line. The characters with no code indicated are international characters or graphics.
Proportional Width Table Code 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 4A 48 4C 4D 4E 4F 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 5A 5B 5C 5D 5E 5F 60 61 62 63 CHR @ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Width 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 24/16 30/20 361/24 36/24 42/28 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 42/28 36/24 42/28 36/24 36/24 b 30/20 24/16 30/20 24/16 30/20 30/20 18/12 30/20 36/24 C 30/20 [ \ ] ^ _ ` a Code 64 65 66 67 68 69 6A 6B 6C 6D 6E 6F 70 71 72 73 74 75 76
Proportional Width Table Code CHR Width 30/20 30/20 18/12 18/12 18/12 36/24 36/24 36/24 42/28 42/28 30/20 30/20 30/20 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 42/28 30/20 30/20 36/24 42/28 30/20 30/20 18/12 30/20 36/24 36/24 36/24 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 A-4 Code B0 B1 B2 B3 B4 B5 B6 B7 B8 B9 BA BB BC BD BE BF co Cl C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 CA CB CC CD CE CF D0 D1 D2 Width 30/20 30/20 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
Proportional Width Table Code D3 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 DA DB DC DD DE DF E0 El E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 EA EB EC ED EE EF F0 F1 F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 CHR Width 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 Code F8 F9 FA FB FC FD FE CHR Width 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 24/16 30 30 30/20 30 36/24 30 30 30/20 36/24 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 A-5
Character Tables These character tables are selected by DIP switch 1-7 or the ESC t software command. For the Epson Extended Graphics character table, use of the ESC 6 or ESC 7 software command lets you select whether to print hex codes 80 to 9F as characters (ESC 6) or control codes (ESC 7). Italic Character Table CODE 0 1 2 0 1 I.
Character Tables Epson Extended Graphics Character Table CODE 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 9 A B C D E F 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F A-7
A-8
Glossary Note that these definitions apply specifically to printers. If a word is italicized, see that topic for more information. application program A software program that helps you carry out a particular task, such as word processing or financial planning. ASCII Acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standardized coding system for assigning numerical codes to letters and symbols.
byte A unit of information consisting of eight bits. carriage return (CR) The control code that returns the print position to the left margin. When issued together with a line feed, the print position moves to the left margin of the next line. In bidirectional printing, the print head may not physically move to the left margin. character set A collection of letters, numbers, and symbols that provides you with the characters used in a particular language.
decimal See number systems. default A value or setting that takes effect when the equipment is turned on, reset, or initialized. DIP switches Small switches in a printer that control various printer functions and set the default status of the printer when it is turned on or initialized. DIP stands for Dual In-line Package. dot graphics A graphic design formed by patterns of dots. Also called bit image graphics.
Epson Extended Graphics character table The Epson Extended Graphics character table contains international accented characters, Greek characters, and character graphics for printing lines, corners, and shaded areas. ESC (escape) code A special control code used to begin most printer commands. ESC/P Abbreviation for Epson Standard Code for Printers. The system of commands lets you perform software control of your printer from your computer.
Letter Quality One of two print qualities available on your printer. Letter Quality provides better readability and appearance at a reduced print speed. See also draft mode. line feed Both a control code and a panel button that advances the paper one line space. loading position The position to which the paper is automatically loaded. It can be adjusted by using the micro-adjustment feature. memory The printer, like a computer, has a memory.
binary is base 2 and uses only the digits 0 and 1. All information in computer systems is handled in binary form represented by electrical signals that are on or off. A binary digit is often called a bit; any decimal number between 0 and 255 can be expressed by an eight-bit binary number. on line When the printer is on line, it is able to communicate with the computer connected to it.
pull tractor unit An optional device that feeds continuous paper and multi-part forms through the printer. push tractor A built-in device that feeds continuous paper through the printer. RAM Acronym for Random Access Memory. The portion of the printer’s memory used as a buffer and as a place for storing user-defined characters. All data stored in RAM is lost when the printer is turned off.
12 cpi A character spacing in which each character is slightly narrower than normal, so that there are 12 characters per inch. Also referred to as elite. unidirectional printing Printing in one direction only. Allows more precise vertical alignment than bidirectional printing. Often used for printing graphics. user-defined characters Characters that are defined and stored in the printer by the user. Also known as download characters.
Index Command descriptions are not indexed here. To locate the page number of a specific command, see Chapter 9 or the Quick Reference card.
DIP switches, function descriptions, 3-9—l 1,3—14, 3-20—23 function tables, 3-7—8 setting, 3-6—9 Dot graphics mode, 4-9—19, 9-38—40 Double-high mode, 4-3—4, 9-28 Double-strike mode, 4-4—5, 4-6—8, 9-29 Double-wide mode, 4-3-4, 4-6—8, 9-26—27 Downloading user-defined characters, 4-24—26, 9-36 Draft font, 3-18 E Emphasized mode, 4-4—5, 4-6—8, 9-28 Envelopes, 2-26—27 Epson Extended Graphics, 3-22—23, A-7 F Font button, 3-4 Fonts, see also Multi-Font Module designing, 4-20—31 downloading, 4-22—26 draft, 3-18 let
M Master select, 4-6—8 Mathematic symbols, 3-22—23 Micro-adjustment, 3-13 Moving printer, 6-10 print head, 1-8 Multi-Font Module, 5-28—33 font descriptions, 5-28—30 installation, 5-30—32 selecting fonts, 5-33 Multi-part forms, 2-23 Multi-part light, 3-2 O On line button, 3-3 On line light, 3-2 Options see Cut-sheet feeder see Interface boards see Multi-Font Module see Pull tractor Outline mode, 4-6, 9-32 Overline mode, 4-5, 9-31 P Page length, 3-10 Paper copy capacity, 8-6 length, 8-4, 8-14 loading, 2-1—27
Printer cover, 1-12 Printer stand, 1-5 Print head, 1-8, 4-10—12 Printing direction, 3-9 Problems, see Troubleshooting Proportional spacing, 4-2—3, 4-6—8, 9-25, A-2—5 Pull tractor, 5-17—27 installing, 5-17—18 loading paper, 5-19—23 removing, 5-24—27 Push tractor, 2-6—18 Ready light, 3-2 Ribbon cartridge installing, 1-7—9 replacing, 6-4—9 specifications, 8-7 Roman font, 3-18 Sans serif font, 3-18 SelecType options, 3-17—19, 5-33 Self test, printer, 1-14—21, 5-9-10 Serial interface, see Interface boards Sett
Tractor see Pull tractor see Push tractor Transporting printer, 6-10 Troubleshooting, 7-1—34 optional accessories, 7-24—34 paper handling, 7-14—23 power supply, 7-4 printing, 7-5—13 Typestyles, 3-17—19, 4-6—8, 4-20—31, see also Fonts Underline mode, 4-5, 4-6—8, 9-31 Unpacking printer, 1-2—3 Ventilation, 1-4 Index 5
6 Index
Character Tables ASCII Dec. ESC ESC ESC ESC t 4 5 R Hex. 74 34 35 52 116 52 53 82 Description pg Select Character Tables Select Italic Mode Cancel Italic Mode Select an International Character Set 9-34 9-34 9-35 9-35 User-defined Characters ASCII Dec. ESC & 38 2 6 ESC: 58 ESC % ESC 6 37 54 3A 25 36 ESC 7 55 37 Dec. Hex. 4B 4C Hex.
Control and ESCape Codes by Function The following control codes are listed briefly for quick reference. For a more detailed explanation, see the page reference in Chapter 9. Variables are not included in this quick reference due to their complexity. For those codes that contain variables, such as ESC Q n for setting the right margin, see Chapter 9.
Horizontal Motion ASCII Dec. Hex. ESC I ESC Q BS 108 81 8 6C ESC $ ESC \ HT ESC D 36 92 9 68 24 5C 09 44 Overall Printing Style ASCII Dec. Hex.
