EPSON ® LQ-850/950/1050 User’s Manual
FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT FOR AMERICAN USERS This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS 1. Read all of these instructions and save them for later reference. 2. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the product. 3. Unplug this product from the wall outlet before cleaning. Do not use liquid cleaners or aerosol cleaners. Use a damp cloth for cleaning the outside of the unit. 4. Do not use this product near water. 5. Do not place this product on an unstable cart, stand, or table. The product may fall, causing serious damage to the product. 6.
10. If an extension cord is used with this product, make sure that the total of the ampere ratings on the products plugged into the extension cord do not exceed the extension cord ampere rating. Also, make sure that the total of all products plugged into the wall outlet does not exceed 15 amperes. 11. Never push objects of any kind into this product through cabinet slots, as they may touch dangerous voltage points or short out parts that could result in a risk of fire or electric shock.
Contents Introduction Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Application Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where to Get Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selecting an International Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting a Graphics Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choosing a Character Table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Data Dump Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26 3-28 3-31 3-35 Chapter 4 Software and Graphics Enhancing Your Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphics.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 Proportional Width Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction ® The Epson LQ-850, LQ-950, and LQ-1050 are advanced 24-pin impact dot matrix printers, combining high performance and reliability 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-850, LQ-950, and LQ-1050 offer the following features: Easy paper handling, featuring automatic single-sheet loading.
l A micro-adjustment feature that allows you to feed the paper forward or backward in 1/180-inch increments to finely adjust the loading and short tear-off positions. l An auto-load feature lets you load a single sheet of paper automatically when not using the optional cut sheet feeder, l The Epson Extended Graphics character table, 14 international character sets, a legal symbol set, and an italic character table. l The ability to handle a wide range of paper types, including envelopes and labels.
l l l Pull Tractor Unit (#7311/#7312/#7313) This option improves the performance of continuous paper handling. It is especially useful with continuous multi-part forms. Multi-Font Module (#7407) The optional Multi-Font module adds to the number of fonts available in the Letter Quality mode. You can use two MultiFont modules with your printer. Film Ribbon Cartridge (#7768/#7769/#7770) The optional film ribbon cartridge provides you with even higher quality printing than the standard fabric ribbon.
l Interface Boards Optional interface boards are available to supplement the printer’s built-m parallel and serial interfaces. 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 printer. Finding your way around l Chapter 1 contains information on unpacking, setting up, testing, and connecting the printer.
Chapter 4 shows you how to get the most from your printer. It includes advice on the use of software commands and 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.
Application Notes Also included in the box with your printer is a booklet called Application Notes. It contains information on using specific software applications with your printer. Be sure to look at the booklet after you set up your printer. Where to Get Help A network of authorized Epson dealers and service centers throughout the United States provides customer support and service for Epson products. Epson America provides product information and toll-free support to its dealers and service centers.
Chapter 1 Setting Up the Printer Unpacking the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checking the Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Removing the Protective Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 1-2 1-3 Choosing a Place for the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8 Assembling the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the Platen Knob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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.
WARNING: Several different versions of the printer have been designed for different electrical standards. The label on the back of the printer shows the power supply voltage. If the voltage shown is not the correct voltage for your country, contact your dealer. You cannot adjust the printer for use on another voltage. After removing the parts, save the packing materials in case you ever need to transport your printer.
2. Remove any pieces of white packing material you find inside the printer. 3. Use the cross-head screwdriver that came with the printer to unscrew and remove the two transport locking brackets. Look straight down inside the printer to find the locking brackets. The brackets are orange and their screws are red.
4. Remove th 5.
6. Remove the left and right locking tabs. 7. Attach the printer cover unit.
8. Close the paper guide cover. WARNING: Be sure to remove all protective materials before you turn on the printer.
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.
The illustration below shows a good printer arrangement. Note: Before using a printer stand, read these requirements and suggestions. l The stand should be able to support at least twice the weight of the printer. l Never use a stand that supports the printer at an angle of more than 15 degrees from horizontal. l 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 You use the platen knob 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. Insert the platen knob into the hole on the printer’s side and rotate it slowly until it slips onto the shaft.
2. Push firmly on the platen knob until it fits against the printer case. 01 . 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 cartridges are designed for easy installation and removal. You install the standard ribbon cartridge and the optional film ribbon cartridge in the same way. A standard ribbon cartridge comes with your printer.
3. Slide the print head to the middle of the printer. 0I . 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. 4. Turn the ribbon-tightening knob in the direction of the arrow. This removes slack in the ribbon and makes it easier to install.
5. Hold the ribbon cartridge by its black, fin-like handles with the exposed ribbon away from you. (The LQ-850 ribbon cartridge has only one handle.) Push the cartridge firmly into position, making sure the plastic hooks fit into the slots inside the printer. Note: Press lightly on both ends of the cartridge to make sure the plastic hooks are properly seated.
6. Use a pointed object, such as a ballpoint 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. 7. Slide the print head from side to side to make sure it moves smoothly. Also check that the ribbon is not twisted or creased. Make sure the paper thickness lever on the left is set to position 2. See The Paper Thickness Lever in Chapter 2 if you are printing on special paper.
CAUTION: Film ribbon cartridges must be used and stored within the following temperature ranges: Operation: 41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C) Storage: -22°F to 104°F (-30°C to 40°C) Storing and using a film ribbon at high temperatures shortens the ribbon’s life expectancy, which is normally 200,000 characters (#7768 and #7769) or 300,000 characters (#7770). If you continue to use the ribbon beyond its life expectancy, printing suddenly becomes faint and the ribbon may snap.
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.
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. 4. Close the paper guide cover.
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. 2.
Running the Self Test The self test prints out the settings of the printer’s DIP switches and the characters in the printer’s memory. The test can be run in either high-speed draft, normal draft, or Letter Quality (LQ) mode. You select the draft mode or Letter Quality mode, depending on which button you hold down as you turn on the printer. You choose between the high-speed draft and the normal draft mode by changing your printer’s DIP switch settings. Your printers default setting is high-speed draft mode.
2. Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position. 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 the POWER and PAPER OUT lights come on.
4. Move the left edge guide to the right or left until it rests against the triangular guide mark on the paper guide. 5. Adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper.
6. Next, slide a sheet of paper down between the edge guides until it meets resistance. After about two seconds, the printer loads the paper automatically and then starts 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.
7. 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.
8. To end the self test, press the FORM FEED button to eject any paper that is still loaded. Then turn off the printer. WARNING: After turning the power off, always wait at least five seconds before turning it back on. Turning the power on and off rapidly can damage the printer.
Here are parts of typical self tests. Normal draft mode ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZC\l^_'abcdefghijklm~ BCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZC\I^ abcdefghijklmnc CDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\]n-~abcdefghijklmnol DEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ [\I“ ‘abcdefghi jkl.
High-speed draft mode I"#$%&'()*+,-./01234567S9:;(=>?@ABCDEFGHIJ~L~ !"#$%&'(py- ./0123456787 :,<->?@ABCDEFGHXJKLM~ "#$%&'()*+,-./0123456789 :;<=>?@ABCDEFGHXJKLMNC #f$&&'()*+,-m/O123456789 :;<=>?@fWCDEFGHIJKLMNOF $%&'()S-t -./0123456789: ;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPCi %&'(>*+,L ./OX23456789 :;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJKLMi'dOPOS a'()*+,-. /0123456789:; <=>?@ABCDEFGHI.
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 if is printing, but nothing is printed.
Problem Solution The print is faint or uneven. Printed characters have part missing at the bottom as shown here. ABCD The printout is faint. The ribbon cartridge may not be properly installed. Remove the ribbon cartridge and reinstall it; make sure the cartridge hooks are inserted securely into the printer. The ribbon may be worn out. A worn ribbon can damage the print head and should be replaced. Install a new ribbon cartridge as soon as possible. See Replacing the Ribbon in Chapter 6.
Problem Solution Dots are missing in the printed characters or graphics. (continued) Dots are missing in random positions. There is either too much slack in the ribbon or the ribbon has come loose and caught on something. Stop printing, turn off the printer, and reinstall the ribbon cartridge. If the printer still does not print the self test correctly, contact your Epson dealer.
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer Your printer has two separate interface connections: a parallel interface and an RS-232C compatible serial interface. If you are not sure which one is required by your computer, check your computer manual for this information. If you have a suitable shielded cable, you should be able to connect to most computers immediately. If you have one of the few computers that require a different type of interface, you need to install an optional interface board.
The Parallel Interface Connect the parallel interface cable as described below: 1. Make sure that both your printer and computer are turned off. 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.
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. The Serial Interface Connect the serial interface cable as described below: 1. Make sure both your printer and computer are turned off.
2. Plug the connector securely into the printer. WARNING: Do not plug more than one interface cable into the printer at once. This may damage the printer. 3. Plug the other end of the cable into the computer.
Setting Up Your Application Software Now that you have set up and tested the printer, 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.
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 up to a maximum width of 10.1 inches (257 mm) on the LQ-850,13.0 inches (330 mm) on the LQ-950, or 14.3 inches (364 mm) on the LQ-1050. 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. Make sure the printer is turned off. 2.
3. Turn on the printer. The POWER and PAPER OUT lights come on. Note: Do not insert paper in the printer before turning on the printer. 4. Move the left edge guide until it rests against the guide mark. (You may want to change this position later, depending on the margin settings of your application program.
5. Adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper. 6. Slide the paper down between the edge guides until it meets resistance and the PAPER OUT light goes off. After about two seconds, the printer loads the paper automatically, and is set to ON LINE so that it can accept data from your computer.
WARNING: Never advance the paper using the platen knob except in the case of a paper jam or other paper feed problem. Using the platen knob while the printer is on may damage the printer and affect the loading and short tear-off positions. Note: If the platen turns without loading the paper, press the ON LINE button to take the printer off line and completely remove the paper. Then re-insert the paper more firmly.
Using Continuous Paper The tractor built into your printer is remarkably easy to load and operate. Its low-profile design takes up little space and can handle paper up to 10.0 inches or 254 mm wide on the LQ-850, up to 12.0 inches or 305 mm on the LQ-950, and up to 16.0 inches or 406 mm wide on the LQ-1050. Positioning Your Continuous Paper Supply An important consideration for achieving smooth and trouble-free paper feeding is the position of your paper supply.
Be sure to align the paper supply with the paper loaded in the tractor so that the paper feeds smoothly into the printer. Loading Continuous Paper 1. Be sure that the printer is turned off. 2. Pull the paper release lever forward to the continuous paper position. This position is marked by the icon shown in the illustration below.
3. Open the paper guide cover and remove the paper guide. 4.
5. Release the sprocket units by pulling the sprocket lock levers forward as shown below. 6. Slide the left sprocket unit all the way to the left and press the lever back to lock it in place.
Note: The first printable column position is indicated by the mark shown in the illustration below. 7. Slide the right sprocket unit so that it roughly matches the width of your paper, but do not lock it.
8. Move the paper support midway between the two sprocket units. 9. Open both sprocket covers. 01 . CAUTION: Make sure that the first sheet of paper has a clean, straight edge before inserting it into the printer.
10. Fit the first four holes in the paper over the pins of both sprockets. 11. Close the sprocket covers.
12. Slide the right sprocket unit to a position where the paper is straight and has no wrinkles. Then lock it in place. 13. Reattach the paper guide on top of the paper as shown below. Then slide the edge guides together so that they meet at about the middle of the paper’s width. 0I . CAUTION: When using continuous paper, always make sure that the paper edge guides are pushed together in the middle of the paper guide.
Note: For normal use, the paper thickness lever is s et to position 2. If you are using special paper, see The Paper Thickness Lever later in this chapter for details. 14. Close the paper guide cover and turn on the printer. 15. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to feed paper to the loading position.
16. 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 Adjusting the Loading Position in Chapter 3. 0I . CAUTION: Never adjust the loading position using the platen knob and never turn the platen knob while the printer is turned on.
- 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. Open the paper guide cover.
2. Tear off any outgoing sheets. If the paper has advanced past the print head, you need to press the FORM FEED button to advance your document to a point where it can be easily removed. 0I . 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).
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. The PAPER OUT light comes on when the paper is completely out of the paper path. CAUTION: Pressing the LOAD/EJECT button once may not feed the paper far back enough to reach the standby position. If the PAPER OUT light does not come on, press the LOAD/EJECT button again.
4. Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position. 5.
6. Move the left edge guide until it rests against the guide mark. Adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper. 7. Close the paper guide cover.
8. Slide a sheet of paper down between the edge guides until it meets resistance and the PAPER OUT light goes off. After about two seconds, the printer loads the paper automatically and sets itself ON LINE. 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. Open the paper guide cover. 2. Lift up slightly on the paper guide and then lower it onto the back of the printer.
3. Slide the left and right edge guides together so that they meet at about the middle of the continuous paper's width. 4. Pull the paper release lever forward to the continuous paper position, then close the paper guide cover.
5. 2-24 Press the LOAD/EJECT button to feed the continuous paper to the loading position. Then, 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. If you are printing preprinted or multi-part forms or labels, it is recommended that you use the optional pull tractor. See The Pull Tractor in Chapter 5. Before printing on special types of paper, you need to change the paper thickness setting.
Note: For normal use, set the paper thickness lever to position 2 on the scale. If you have installed the optional film ribbon cartridge, and you want to use the single sheets or continuous paper, set the paper thickness lever to position 1. The following table gives you general guidelines for selecting the right paper thickness lever position for the type of paper you are using: Note: If the lever is set to position 4 or higher, the printing speed may be reduced slightly.
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. Be careful not to touch it.
2. 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. 3. Reattach the printer cover unit.
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 past the edge of envelopes, multi-part forms, labels, or thicker-than-normal paper can damage the print head.
When you set the paper thickness lever to position 4 or above, the MULTI-PART light comes on and the printer reduces its printing speed. 0I . CAUTION: Do not use multi-part forms with the singlesheet feeding system or the optional cut sheet feeder. Labels If you need to print labels, always use labels mounted on a continuous backing sheet with sprocket holes for use with a tractor. Do not try to print labels as single sheets because labels on a shiny backing sheet almost always slip a little.
To eject labels from the printer, follow these steps: 1. Open the paper guide cover and remove the paper guide. 2. Tear off the sheet of labels at the perforation behind the push tractor.
3. Press the ON LINE button to set the printer off line. Then press the FORM FEED button to eject the labels. 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 Paper Thickness Lever table earlier in this chapter. For details on paper handling, see Using Single Sheets earlier in this chapter.
When manually feeding an envelope, you may have to push it down slightly to get it to feed properly. After about two seconds, the envelope loads automatically. 0I. CAUTION: The printable area for envelopes is shown on the next page. The print head must not go past the left or right edge of the envelope or other thick paper. Make sure that your application program page setup keeps the printing entirely within this printable area. Always keep the longer side of the envelope horizontal. If you use No.
0.33 inch (8.5 mm) or more 0.87 inch (22 mm) or more 0I . CAUTION: Envelope printing is available only 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6 3-6 3-7 3-10 Page Length . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 0 POWER 0 READY 0 MULTI-PART 0 PAPER OUl 0 ON LINE 0 SANS SERIF c l MULTI-PART (orange) On when the paper thickness lever is set to position 4 or higher. (For regular paper, this light should not be on.) When this light is blinking, the microadjustment function can be used.
Buttons ON LINE 0 POWER 0 READY 0 MULTI-PART 0 PAPER OUT SelecType 0 SANS SERIF 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.
SelecType FONT 0 POWER 0 READY 0 PAPER OUT 0 MULTtPART SelecType 1 nON LINE FONT 0 DRAFT 0 ROMAN 0 SANS SERIF I[ 0 SLOT A cl FORM FEEI 0 SLOT B Press this button to select LQ ROMAN, LQ SANS SERIF, DRAFT mode, or a cartridge font (if installed). The two orange indicator lights show the font you select. See Selecting Typestyles later in this chapter. PITCH Press this button to select the character spacing. You can choose 10 CPI, 12 CPI, 15 CPI, or PS (proportional spacing).
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 (for draft mode) or the FORM FEED button (for Letter Quality mode) while turning on the printer.
Setting the DIP Switches The printer has two sets of DIP (Dual Mine Package) switches located on the back 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 you turn on, reset, or initialize the printer. Changing a DIP Switch Setting To change a DIP switch setting, follow these steps: 1. Turn off the printer. 2. Locate the DIP switches on the back of the printer. 3.
The DIP Switch Tables The tables below describe the DIP switch settings. The shaded settings are the preset factory settings. DIP Switch 1 SW Description 1-1 1-2 1-3 ON International character set/ Graphics character set OFF See table 1, 4 1-4 Character table Graphics Italics Unidir. Bidir.
Table 1 International character sets See Selecting an International Character Set later in this chapter for other character sets. International character sets are selectable only when the DIP switch l-4 is OFF.
Table 3 Baud rate selection f%gpJ 300 bps ON ON Table 4 Graphics character sets Graphics character sets are selectable only is ON. when the DIP switch 1-4 Table 5 Page length selection ( 12 inches 1 ON 1 OFF 8.5 inches OFF ON 11.
The DIP Switch Functions Auto line feed When auto line feed is on (DIP switch 2-8 on), each carriage return code (CR) is automatically followed by a line feed code (LF). Printing direction With unidirectional printing, the print head prints in one direction only. This allows for precise vertical alignment, making it ideal for printing graphics such as lines and boxes. When DIP switch l-5 is on, the printer prints unidirectionally; when it is off, the printer prints bidirectionally.
Page Length To obtain one of the four page lengths, set DIP switches 2-l and 2-2 according to the Page length selection table. The page lengths are: 8.5 inches (216 mm), 11 inches (279 mm), 11.7 inches (296 mm), and 12 inches (305 mm). Page length selection Page length SW 2-1 SW 2-2 11 inches OFF OFF 12 inches ON OFF 8.5 inches OFF ON 11.7 inches ON ON Note: If you are using the cut sheet feeder, the page length is automatically set when you run the printer’s self test.
._._,, ‘. Skip Over Perforation By changing the setting of DIP switch l-8, 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.
Note: Most application programs take care of top and bottom margins. Use skip over perforation only if your program does not provide these margins. The skip over perforation setting can be set to values other than one inch by using the ESC N command. See the Command Summary in Chapter 9 for details.
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. You can set separate loading positions for single sheets, continuous paper, and sheets loaded by the cut sheet feeder.
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 ::::I MULTI-PART LOAD / EJECT 111 n ON LINE BIN 1 II) II) BIN2 cl Note: You can use the FORM FEED and LINE FEED buttons for micro-adjustment only while the MULTI-PART light is blinking. 3.
Note: When the paper reaches the factory-set loading position, the printer beeps and micro-adjustment feeding pauses for a moment before continuing. You can use this factory setting as a reference point when adjusting the printer’s loading position. When the paper reaches either the minimum or maximum top margin, the printer beeps and the paper stops moving. Once you have adjusted your paper, the printer remembers this new loading position.
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. Note: You can use the tear-off feature only with the built-in tractor feeding system. To use this feature, set DIP switch 2-7 to on.
WARNING: Never use short tear-off with labels. Otherwise, labels may come off their backing and jam the printer. When you have finished printing, and if the perforation is at the top of form position, the printer automatically feeds the perforation of the continuous paper to the tear-off edge of the printer cover. You can then tear off the page using the tear-off edge as shown below.
Adjusting the Tear-off Position If the paper’s perforation does not meet the tear-off edge, you can adjust the tear-off position using the micro-adjustment feature. 1. Make sure the printer feeds the paper to the tear-off position after printing the document. 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.
2. 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. The printer remembers this new tear-off position even after the printer is turned off and on again.
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.
To select a font, press the FONT button until the font’s orange indicator light comes on. Note that font selection skips over SLOT A or SLOT B if no optional font module is installed in that slot. FONT 0 DRAFT 0 ROMAN 0 SANS SERIF 0 SLOT A 0 SLOT B There are two printing speeds for the DRAFT font, high-speed draft and normal draft. These printing speeds are controlled by DIP switch 1-6. The following samples show the character set available for each font.
DRAFT (normal draft) We’ve just seen your excellent ad for miniature zebras in a recent back issue of !:.r.ade.r,I.s ,. . Tmes. - What is the price schedule for quantities over one gross? 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? SANS SERIF We’ve just seen your excellent ad for miniature zebras in a recent back issue of Trader’s Times.
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 fonts take a little longer to print, but produce nicely formed characters suitable for most documentation requirements. Other fonts are available on optional font cartridges. See The MultiFont Module in Chapter 5.
The following printout compares the three pitches with proportional spacing. This is 10 cpi printing. This is 12 cpi printing. Thia is 15 cpi printing. This is proportional spacing. 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.
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. DE? switch 1-4 must be off.
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.
Selecting a Graphics Character Set To obtain the desired graphics character set, set DIP switches l-l, 1-2, and l-3 according to the DIP switch table for international character sets shown earlier in this chapter. International character sets are selectable only when DIP switch 1-4 is ON.
Canada-French 0 23456789ABCDEF 1 0 C P ' p C ti I I:i Lr a E $4DTdtftk!" §%5EUeuhf.
Choosing a Character Table DIP switch 1-4 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, comers, 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.
Italics CODE 0 0123456789ABCDEF A O@P’p !lAQaq fl 2 B R b r #3CScs 84DTdt %SEUeu &GFVfv ‘7GWgw (8HXhx 19IYiy * : J 2 j z B + C E t CL\11 -=Mlm} .
Epson Extended Graphics :ODE 0 1 23456789ABCDEF 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F Using the Printer 3-33
To select a character table, set DIP switch 1-4 according to the table below. 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. 2.
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.) 18 40 16 52 00 1B 74 01 1 50 1B 70 00 20 20 20 54 68 69 73 20 69 : 61 6E 20 65 78 61 6D 75 69 20 64 75 20 6F 70 60 73 69 6C 70 20 74 65 20 66 20 20 6F 6.
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. If characters are printable, they appear as their true ASCII characters. Non-printable codes, such as control codes, are represented by dots. To interpret the data dump printout, examine the first three hex codes on the second line of the printout sample (20 20 54).
Software and Graphics Enhancing Your Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Print Quality and Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character Spacing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Character Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Special Effects and Emphasis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting Typestyles With Master Select . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Enhancing Your Printing You can obtain a wide variety of printing effects with the LQ-850, LQ-950, and LQ-1050 printers, 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.
Note: High-speed draft is available only with 10 cpi printing. Underlining and double-width printing can be combined with high-speed draft. If other enhancements or character spacings are selected, the printer switches to normal draft speed. High-speed draft resumes again after the feature is turned off. Character Spacing To add greater variety to your documents, the printer has three cpi spacings, as well as proportional spacing. Each one can be selected with a software command.
The following printout compares 10 cpi spacing with proportional spacing: This is 10 cpi printing. This is proportional spacing. Note: Proportional spacing is not available in the draft mode. Character Size In addition to the basic cpi spacings and proportional spacing, the printer offers three other modes that can change the size of your printing. These modes are double-wide, double-high, and condensed.
Both 10 and 12 cpi printing and proportional spacing 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.
Emphasized and double-strike printing Emphasized and double-strike printing can give words and phrases added prominence. In emphasized mode, the printer prints each character twice as the print head moves across the paper, with the dots in the second pass printed slightly to the right of the first pass. This process produces darker, more fully formed characters. In double-strike mode, the print head prints each line twice, making the text bolder.
Underlining, strike-through, and overlining The underline, strike-through, and overline modes are useful for highlighting selected text. This feature can be used to score spaces, subscripts, and superscripts without a break. You can choose from a variety of line styles, including single, double, broken, or continuous. See the ESC ( - command in Chapter 9 for more information. This is continuous underlining.
Selecting Typestyles With Master Select Your printer has a special ESCape code called Master Select that allows you to choose many combinations of these nine modes: 10 cpi, 12 cpi, proportional spacing, condensed, emphasized, doublestrike, double-wide, italics, and underline. For more information on sending ESCape codes to your printer, see Chapter 9.
For example, to print a title you may want to use double-wide 12 cpi characters printed in the double-strike mode. You would add three numbers together to calculate the value of n. 12 cpi 1 Double-strike 16 Double-wide 32 n = 49 After calculating the value of n, you use the Master Select command to send the value to the printer. ASCII: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B ! 33 21 1 49 31 The print quality and font must be set separately, using SelecType or the ESC x and ESC k commands.
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.
Income Breakdown Marketing a Advertising Salaries an Production r o f i t ture veIopment 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.
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.
Pin labels To tell the printer which pins to fire in each column, you first divide each of the vertical columns into three sections of eight pins each and consider each section separately. Since there are 256 possible combinations of the eight pins in each section, you need a numbering system that allows you to use a single number to specify which of the 256 possible patterns you want. This numbering system is shown below: 126 64 32 16 : 2 1 To fire any one pin, you send its number to the printer.
With this numbering system, any combination of the eight pins adds up to a decimal number between 0 and 255, and no numbers are duplicated. Because there are 24 pins in each column, you must make a calculation for each of the three sections in each column. As you can see, this method of planning and printing dot graphics requires considerable calculation. Because triple-density uses 180 columns per inch, printing a single line of triple-density graphics only one inch long requires 540 numbers.
In this command, m selects the graphics option and nl and n2 specify the number of columns to reserve for graphics. The available graphics options are listed below: l Adjacent dots cannot be printed in this mode. 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.
For example, if you wish to send 1632 columns of graphics data, nl should be 96 and n2 should be 6 because 1632 = 96 + (6 x 256). The printer interprets the number of bytes specified by nl and n2 as graphics data, no matter what codes they are. This means that you must be sure to supply enough bytes of graphics data or the printer will stop and wait for more data and will seem to be locked. If, on the other hand, you supply too much graphics data, the excess will be interpreted and printed as regular text.
Designing Your Own Graphics With what you know now, you can use the simplest application of graphics-calculating by hand the data to print the graphic image. While this method is the most tedious, it helps you understand dot graphics. It is also useful for small graphic elements that are used many times. 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.
Write the assigned values of the pins next to your design, then total the values for each column of dots. These totals are the values that you send to the printer as graphics data to print the design. 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.
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. 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 go WIDTH "LPT1*".255 LpRINr ~i27)"+"~(39)~(42)~(0); FOR X-l TO 126 READ N LPRINT CK@(N): NEXT X LPm DATA 0.0.63.0.0,127,0.0,255,0.3.255.0~15,255.0.31.
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.
The reassigning command The LQ-850, LQ-950, and LQ-1050 have a command that allows you to change the graphics option assigned to any of the four individual graphics option commands. The command looks like this: ESC?sm The letters represents the command that you wish to change the assignment for (K, L, Y, or Z) and m is the number of the graphics option that you want to assign to it.
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.
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. The illustrations below show the two design grids.
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. The examples shown here, like the ones in the graphics section, use an x to represent each dot.
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. On the left side of the figure, the data numbers are calculated for the middle column.
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.
:I I ,, “, ; L ‘,.i’, Following the specification of the range of characters to be defined in this command are three data bytes, d0, dl, and d2, that specify the width of the character and the space around it. The left space (in dot columns) is specified by &I, and the right space is specified by d2. The second byte, dl, specifies the number of columns of dots that are printed to make up the character.
This example of a character definition program should make this clear: 10 LPRINT CHR$(27)"xO" 20 LZRINI' CHR$(27)"6XHR$(O); 30 LPRIm %w40 LaETJm cmcsil)~(9)cJwl): 50 E-OR I-l TO 27 60 READ A: LF'RINT CHR$(A); 70 !axT I 80 LPRlN'P~" 90 LFTUNT CHR$(27)"%"CHR$(1); 100 LETUNT ~@smw 110 WRINT CHR$(27)"%"CHR$(O); 120 lLETutm wiixs@" 130 END 140 DATA 1.0.0.2.0,0.4.0,0 150 DATA 8.0.0.23.255.240.8,O.O 160 DATA 4.0,0.2,0,0.1.0,0 In line 10, the ESC x0 command selects draft printing.
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.
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.
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). Proportional mode characters Selecting the proportional character mode yields user-defined characters of the highest resolution.
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 You can use each of the three user-defined character modes (draft, Letter Quality, and proportional) in combination with most of your printer’s various print styles. For instance, emphasized mode works with userdefined 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.
Chapter 5 Using the Printer Options The Cut Sheet Feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paper Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Testing the Printer in the Cut Sheet Feeder Mode . . . . . Loading Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Operating the Cut Sheet Feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Cut Sheet Feeder The optional cut sheet feeder makes it possible to handle singlesheet paper more easily and more efficiently. Up to 150 sheets of standard bond paper can be fed automatically into the printer without reloading. You can also feed envelopes using the cut sheet feeder. You can use the following cut sheet feeders with the printers: The double-bin sheet feeders have a front bin (bin 1) and a back bin (bin 2) in which you can store two different types of paper.
Installation 1. Assemble the cut sheet feeder following the instructions provided in its accompanying manual. 2. Make sure the printer is turned off. Then remove the printer cover unit and the paper guide.
: 3. Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position. 4. Remove the paper tension unit by pressing the levers back to open the mounting latches. At the same time, lift up on the front of the unit.
Chapter 5 Using the Printer Options The Cut Sheet Feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Paper Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Testing the Printer in the Cut Sheet Feeder Mode . . . . . Loading Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Operating the Cut Sheet Feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The Cut Sheet Feeder The optional cut sheet feeder makes it possible to handle singlesheet paper more easily and more efficiently. Up to 150 sheets of standard bond paper can be fed automatically into the printer without reloading. You can also feed envelopes using the cut sheet feeder. You can use the following cut sheet feeders with the printers: The double-bin sheet feeders have a front bin (bin 1) and a back bin (bin 2) in which you can store two different types of paper.
Installation 1. Assemble the cut sheet feeder following the instructions provided in its accompanying manual. 2. Make sure the printer is turned off. Then remove the printer cover unit and the paper guide.
: 3. Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position. 4. Remove the paper tension unit by pressing the levers back to open the mounting latches. At the same time, lift up on the front of the unit.
5. Tilt the cut sheet feeder slightly forward to fit the notches at the base of the unit over the pins on the printer. Then tilt the feeder back until it rests on top of the printer. 6. Separate the paper guide cover (transparent gray plastic) from the printer cover. With the underside of the paper guide cover toward you, notice the two plastic tabs that secure the paper guide cover to the printer cover. Press back on the inside edge o each of these tabs to release the paper guide cover.
7. Raise the cut sheet feeder’s paper path guide and attach the printer cover.
8. Close the paper path guide. 9. Turn on the cut sheet feeder mode by setting DIP switch 1-7 to ON.
Note: Always make sure that the printer is turned off before changing the DIP switch settings. 10. Turn on the printer. Paper Handling 1. Make sure that the cut sheet feeder mode is turned on with DIP switch l-7. 2. Pull the left and right paper set levers of the selected bin all the way forward until the paper guides retract and lock open to allow for paper loading. Note: Make sure the front levers on the left and right paper guides are up when using normal paper.
3. Slide the left paper guide to where the fin on the edge guide matches the arrow on the panel. Next, slide the right paper guide so that it roughly matches the width of your paper. 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, or labels in 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. Push the paper set levers back until they clamp the paper against the guide rollers. The levers will not close completely if too much paper is used. If this happens, remove some paper from the stack and try again. 7. If you use the double-bin cut sheet feeder, you can select the paper bin number with the control panel on the printer. When the printer is on line, press the LOAD/EJECT button to change between bin 1 and bin 2. The printer beeps once if you select bin 1 and twice for bin 2.
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. The steps below are for a self test in draft mode. 1.
2. While holding down the LINE FEED button, turn on the printer. (For Letter Quality mode, press the FORM FEED button instead of the LINE FEED button.) 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 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. Then turn off the printer. Loading Envelopes You can print on plain, bond, or air mail envelopes. The cut sheet feeder can hold up to 25 plain or bond envelopes, or 30 air mail envelopes.
2. Push down on the two front levers on the left and right paper guides until they lock into position.
3. Take a stack of envelopes and fan it; then tap the stack on a flat surface to even the edges. Insert the envelopes into the front bin. 4. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to load an envelope. Then press the ON LINE button to start printing. 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.
l When the specified paper bin is empty, the printer automatically goes off line and the PAPER OUT light goes on. To resume printing, add more paper and press the ON LINE button. Note: If you turn off your printer during the time the printer detects a paper out or paper jam condition, any data remaining in the printer’s buffer is discarded.
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.
2. Install the cut sheet feeder as described in this section, making sure that DIP switch 1-7 is set to ON. 3. If a single sheet is still in the printer, eject it by pressing the LOAD/EJECT button.
4. To switch from the cut sheet feeder to continuous paper, pull the paper release lever forward to the continuous paper position. You do not need to change the setting of DIP switch 1-7.
5. Raise the paper path guide until it clicks open. This guide directs the flow of continuous paper out of the front of the printer. 6. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to load continuous paper. Note: With the paper release lever forward and the printer off line, the control panel functions normally, allowing you to use the micro-adjustment feature to finely adjust the loading position of your paper. 0I . CAUTION: Never attempt to print on labels when the cut sheet feeder is installed.
2. Close the paper path guide and set the printer on line. 3. Push the paper release lever back to the single-sheet position.
Loading Single Sheets Your cut sheet feeder also has a single-sheet loading feature. This feature is especially useful because it allows you to switch to a different type or size of paper without replacing the stack of paper already in your cut sheet feeder. 1. Make sure that the paper release lever is in the single-sheet position 0I . CAUTION: If you are using the double-bin cut sheet feeder, make sure that bin 1 is selected by the LOAD/EJECT button or with the ESC EM software command. 2.
4. Press the LOAD/EJECT button to load the sheet. Note: If you want to load two or more consecutive single sheets, pull the paper set levers on the cut sheet feeder forward. Removing the Cut Sheet Feeder 1. Turn off the printer and remove any paper stacked in the cut sheet feeder. 2. Open the cut sheet feeder’s paper path guide and remove the printer cover.
3. Tilt the back of the cut sheet feeder forward to release its notches from the printer’s pins. Then lift up and remove the cut sheet feeder.
4. Replace the paper tension unit as shown below. Tilt the unit back and position the back notches on the unit over the rear mounting pins of the printer. Press the levers open as you tilt the unit toward you until the front latches click in place over the front mounting pins located behind the paper bail. 5. Attach the paper guide cover to the printer cover as shown below. Then install the printer cover unit onto the printer. 6. Set DIP switch 1-7 to OFF to turn off the cut sheet feeder mode.
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 provides optimum continuous paper handling. The pull tractor is especially useful with continuous preprinted forms, multi-part forms, and labels. Use of the pull tractor is also recommended for obtaining the highest quality graphics. For best results, use the pull tractor along with the built-in push tractor as described in this section. You can use the following pull tractors with the printers: Installation 1.
3. Remove the paper tension unit by pressing the levers back to open the mounting latches. At the same time, lift up the front of the unit. 4. Hold the pull tractor with the knob to the right. Fit the rear notches on the tractor over the rear mounting pins of the printer, as shown in the following illustration.
5. Tilt the tractor unit toward you until the front latches click in place over the front mounting pins of the printer. 6. Pull the paper release lever all the way forward to the continuous paper position. 0I . 5-30 CAUTION: You cannot use the short tear-off function with the pull tractor. Before you start printing with the pull tractor, be sure that DIP switch 2-7 is set to OFF.
Paper Handling 1. With the printer cover unit removed, load continuous paper in the push tractor as described in Chapter 2. However, position the left sprocket unit about 1/4 inch from the left before locking it in place. When you have paper loaded, turn on the printer. 2. Make sure that the printer is off line and then press the LOAD/EJECT button to load the paper. Next, press the FORM FEED button to advance the paper one page so that you can fit the paper onto the pull tractor.
CAUTION: Never use the platen knob to feed the paper while the printer is turned on. If you need to adjust the loading position, use the micro-adjustment function described in Chapter 3. 3. Open the sprocket covers of the pull tractor and pull the sprocket lock levers toward you to release them.
4. Adjust the sprocket units so that they are parallel with the push tractor sprockets. Place the paper supports evenly between the sprocket units. (There is only one paper support on the LQ-850 and LQ-950.) 5. Fit the holes of the paper over the tractor pins on the sprocket units, adjusting the position of the sprocket units as necessary.
6. If the paper does not fit exactly onto the tractor pins or if the paper buckles, press in on the pull tractor knob and turn it in the desired direction until the paper fits properly. 7. Close the sprocket covers.
8. See that the paper is not crooked or wrinkled and lock the sprocket units in place. 0I . CAUTION: Make sure that the sprocket units of the two tractor units are properly aligned. 9. Slide the rollers on the paper bail bar so they are evenly distributed across the width of your paper, making sure that the right and left rollers are at both edges of your paper.
10. Attach the paper guide. Then slide the edge guides together so they meet at about the middle of the paper’s width. 11. Install the pull tractor cover. 12. Press the ON LINE button to set the printer on line. Note: Do not use the short tear-off feature with the pull tractor.
Removing the Pull Tractor 1. Remove the pull tractor cover and the paper guide. 2. Tear off any printed sheets or extra blank sheets.
3. Press the ON LINE button to take the printer off line and 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. Note: Make sure you tear off the printed document before removing paper with the LOAD/EJECT button. Reverse-feeding several pages at a time may result in a paper jam.
4. Remove the continuous paper from the push tractor unit. Then, push the paper release lever backward. 5. Turn off the printer. Then, pressing the tabs on the pull tractor, tilt it back and lift it off the printer.
6. Replace the paper tension unit as shown below. Tilt the unit back and position the back notches on the unit over the rear mounting pins of the printer. Press the levers open as you tilt the unit forward until the front latches click in place over the front mounting pins located behind the paper bail. 7. Install the paper guide and the printer cover unit.
The Multi-Font Module The optional Multi-Font Module (#7407) gives you an easy way to have access to seven more fonts for your printer. After you install the Multi-Font Module in either slot A or slot B of the printer, the following fonts are available: Courier, Prestige, Script, OCR-A, OCR-B, Orator, and Orator-S. You can use any one of these fonts as your default font when the printer is turned on and any of the others optionally by sending a command to the printer. 0I .
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? We've just seen your excellent ad for miniature zebras in a recent back issue of Trader's Times.
OCR-B !“#SX&‘O*+,-. /0123456789:;<=>?aABCDEFGHIJK LHNOPQRSTUVWXYZC\l*-' abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv wxyzCI)C~CBBBIC9~~iCi~~~~~~~~~~~~~~f~R~~i6~ fifia9irl*+i<> We've just seen your excellent ad for miniature zebras in a recent back issue of Trader's Times. What is the price for quantities over one gross? schedule Note: The OCR-A and OCR-B fonts can be read by an optical character reader (also known as a document reader or image scanner) for input into another computer.
Orator-S !“#$%&‘()*+,-* /012~4~6789:;<=>?@ABCDEFGHIJK ~bcdefghljklmnopqrstuv LMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ[\] wxyz{tl u~aa6acee~rfiAA~~au~Ou~~~~~~R~6f6~ f+iFi~O~f-~ s * i 4 1 We've Just seen your excellent ad for mlnlature zebras in a recent back issue of Trader’s Times. What is the prlce schedule for quantities over one gross? Installation WARNING: Always turn off the printer before you insert or remove the module. Installing or removing the module while the power is on may damage the printer. 1.
2. Dial the rotary switch on the font module to select the font you want according to the table in the next section, Selecting a Font. 3. Insert the font module securely into slot A or B so that the arrow marks on the font module and the slot are facing each other.
4. Attach the font compartment cover. 5. Turn on the printer. Then select SLOT A or SLOT B by pressing the FONT button on the SelecType panel. 0 SANS SERIF Note: This font module selection remains valid even after you turn off, reset, or initialize the printer.
Selecting a Font This table shows the family numbers and characters per inch of the fonts in the Multi-Font Module. Font name Family number Characters per inch Courier 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 that supplement the capabilities of your printer’s built-in serial and parallel interfaces. Choosing an Interface Optional interfaces can be divided into three main categories which are described briefly below. IEEE-488 interfaces offer standardized connections, trouble-free operation, and the ability to connect computers, printers, and other devices on the same line so that they may share data freely.
Compatible Interfaces The following is a list of Epson interfaces that are compatible with your printer. Interface number Name #8143 New serial interface #8148 Intelligent serial interface #8165 Intelligent IEEE-488 interface #8172 32KB buffered parallel interface #8641 Coax interface #8642 Twinax interface Note: Some interfaces may not be available in all countries. All Epson interfaces have the Epson name printed on them.
Removing the upper case 1. Turn off the power to the printer and the computer. Next, unplug the power cord from the electrical outlet and disconnect the interface cable from the printer. WARNING: High voltages are present inside the printer when the power is on. Do not attempt to remove the cover unless the printer is turned off and the power cord is unplugged.
3. Using a cross-head screwdriver, remove the two retaining screws: one located at the front of the printer, the other at the back near the printer’s fan. 4. Detach the upper case by pressing in on the two retaining clips inside the front of the printer. The clips on the upper case release from the printer’s lower case.
5. Partially raise the upper case. Look under the control panel and notice the clip that secures the control panel to the upper case. Now reach under the control panel and release the front clip. 6. Slip the control panel back through the upper case.
7. With the control panel free of the upper case, tilt the case straight back to detach the rear hinges, and then lift it off.
8. Remove the shield plate above the parallel interface by pressing in on the plastic clips located at the back of the plate. (The following illustration shows a rear view of the printer.) 9. Remove the power cable attached to the main board by grasping the clip at its base and pulling gently, but firmly, straight up. You may need to move the clip back and forth slightly as you pull upward to free it from the board.
10. Remove the screw labeled CG (chassis ground) from the main board. The ground connector screw is located next to the power cable connector. Then set it aside in a safe place. Installing the board There are two basic types of interface board designs, which slightly change the way they are installed in the printer. The frame ground wire is attached for one type and not attached for the other. This difference does not affect the operation of the interface in any way.
If the FG wire is not attached, follow these steps: 1. Set the DIP switches on the interface board according to the manual accompanying your interface board. (If you are installing the #8143 board, see the next section, #8143 New Serial Interface.) 2. Use the CG screw to attach the round end of the FG wire to the main board and position the other end as shown.
3. Reattach the power cable, making sure that the small fins on the white plastic clip are toward the inside of the printer. Take extra care to see that the holes of the clip are aligned with the pins of the connector.
4. Fit the interface board under the built-in tractor aligning the board with the CN2 connector on the main board and with the interface port of the back of the printer. Carefully insert the pins on the optional interface board into the mating connector on the main board. Then secure the board with three of the screws provided.
5. Attach the plug end of the FG wire onto the FG pin located on top of the interface board. If the FG wire is attached, follow these steps: 1. Set the DIP switches on the interface board according to the manual accompanying your interface board. (If you are installing the #8143 board, see the next section, #8143 New Serial Interface.
2. Carefully place the interface next to the printer as shown below. Use the CG screw to connect the round end of the FG wire to the main board.
3. Reattach the power cable, making sure that the small fins on the white plastic clip are toward the inside of the printer. Take extra care to see that the holes of the clip are aligned with the pins of the connector.
4. Holding the interface board level, rotate it clockwise into position and attach it to the main board. Make sure the connector pins are properly inserted into the mating connector. 5. Secure the board with three of the screws provided.
Attaching the upper case 1. Fit the rear hinges of the upper case into the openings in the lower case; then partially lower the upper case. 0t . CAUTION: Take care not to pinch the FG wire between the upper and lower sections of the case.
2. Slide the control panel out through the upper case. Make sure the control panel cable is clear of the upper case. Then reinsert the control panel into the upper case. Press down on the front of the control panel until the front clip snaps into place. 3. Close the upper case. Make sure you press down on the front of the case until it locks into place.
4. Secure the upper case with the two retaining screws. 5. Replace all parts and options you removed earlier. WARNING: Before you use the optional interface board, be sure to disconnect the interface cable for the printer’s built-in parallel or serial interface. Two interface cables must not be installed at the same time.
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).
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 and any installed options. 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, because these chemicals can damage the components as well as the case. l Be careful not to get water on the printer mechanism or electronic components. l Do not use a hard or abrasive brush.
Replacing the Ribbon Replace the ribbon when the printout becomes too faint. The following Epson replacement ribbon cartridges are available: Printer Standard ribbon Film ribbon LQ-850 #7753 #7768 LQ-950 #7767 #7769 LQ-1050 #7754 #7770 Do not use ribbons designed for nine-pin printers. 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off. Then remove the printer cover unit. WARNING: If you have used the printer recently, the print head may be hot. Let it cool before attempting to replace the ribbon.
2. To remove the ribbon cartridge, grip it by the two black handles and lift the cartridge straight up and out of the printer. (Ribbon cartridges #7753 and #7768 have only one handle.) 3. Slide the print head to the middle of the printer.
4. To remove slack in the new ribbon, turn the ribbon-tightening knob in the direction of the arrow. 5. 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.
6. Use a pointed object, such as a ballpoint 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. 7. Slide the print head from side to side to make sure it moves smoothly. Also see that the ribbon is not twisted or creased.
8.
Transporting the Printer Before you transport your printer some distance, carefully replace it in the original box and packing materials, as described below. 1. Turn off the printer, then remove any installed options. 2. Unplug the power cord from the electrical outlet and disconnect the interface cable between the printer and the computer. 3. Remove the printer cover unit and the paper guide. 4. Remove the ribbon cartridge and the platen knob.
5. Slide the print head to the middle of the printer. While holding the paper bail bar open, reattach the left and right locking tabs. 6. Slide the print head all the way to the left and insert the print head protector as shown below.
7. Using the cross-head screwdriver, reattach the two transport locking brackets. 8. Reattach the printer cover unit. WARNING: When you carry the printer, never hold it by the font compartment cover. If this cover comes off, you may drop the printer.
9. Fit the printer back into the white packing material and then back into its original box.
Chapter 7 Troubleshooting Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2 Power Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4 Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5 Paper Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-16 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 l 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 7-27 Using the pull tractor with the push tractor, continuous paper does not feed properly. See 7-31 Using the font module, the module’s fonts do not print. See 7-35 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 not be properly plugged into the electrical outlet. Turn off the printer and properly plug the power cable into the electrical outlet. The power switch is off. Turn it on. 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.
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.
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 font. The wrong font is selected.
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 l-4 to off; then turn on the power. See Chapter 3.
Problem Solution Printed characters are not what you expected (continued). The wrong graphics characters are printed. The wrong graphics character set is selected. To set the desired graphics character set, turn off the power and set DIP switches l-l, l-2 and l-3 to the correct positions for the graphics character set you want. See Chapter 3. 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.
Problem Solution Printed characters are not what you expected (continued). The printer prints a series of strange characters. Your printer and the computer may not be communicating correctly. Make sure that you are using the correct interface cable and that the communication protocol is correct. See your computer’s manual for more information. Make sure the interface cable is fastened securely to both the printer and the computer. The print position is not what you expected.
Problem Solution The print position is not what you expected (continued). Text is printed with an extra blank line in between, even after setting the auto line feed setting to off. Your interface cable may not be configured correctly. Disable the AUTO FEED XT signal of your interface. Line spacing is incorrect. Line spacing is too tight or too far apart. If your application program is capable of sending control codes, specify the line spacing using ESC 0, ESC 2, ESC 3, or ESC A. See Chapter 9.
Problem Solution The print position is not what you expected (continued). Page length does not match the length of the paper. The page length may be set incorrectly. Change the page length setting with DIP switches 2-l and 2-2. See Chapter 3. If your program allows you to send control codes to the printer, specify page size by sending ESC C or ESC C 0. See Chapter 9. If this does not resolve the problem, check the page length set by your application software and adjust it if necessary.
Problem Solution The print position is not what you expected (continued). Skip over perforation is set, but the perforation does not fall in the center of the skip. The page length for continuous paper may be set incorrectly. Set DIP switches 2-l and 2-2 to the correct positions for the page length you want. See Chapter 3. If your program allows you to use control codes, you can also use the ESC C or ESC C 0 command to set the page length. See Chapter 9.
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).
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.
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.
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 take 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.
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.
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.
Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). Skip over perforation does not function. You may not have turned off the power after setting DIP switch l-8 to ON. To make new DIP switch settings effective, turn the power off, then on again. Skip over perforation is set, but the perforation does not fall in the center of the skip. The page length for one page of continuous paper may be set incorrectly. Set DIP switches 2-l and 2-2. See Chapter 3.
Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). The short tear-off function is selected (DIP switch 2-7 is on), but it does not work. You may not have turned off the power after setting the DIP switch. To make new DIP switch settings effective turn the power off, then on again. There may still be data in the print buffer. The short tear-off function works only if the data in the print buffer is completely printed and the next print position is at the top of the next page.
Problem Solution Continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). When printing labels, the labels either do not feed or feed incorrectly. You may not be using the correct type of labels. Read through the section on printing on special paper for the correct type of labels to use. See Chapter 2. You may be trying to back-feed labels through the printer. This can cause labels to come off their backing and jam the printer. Do not feed labels using the LOAD/EJECT button.
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 rofates 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. When using continuous paper, always make sure to remove any single sheets remaining in the paper guide.
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 take 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).
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 l-7 is set to off. DIP switch l-7 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.
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.
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.
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. When printing envelopes, the envelopes either do not feed or feed incorrectly.
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.
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.
Problem Solution Using the pull tractor with the push tractor, continuous paper does not feed properly (continued). Skip over perforation is set, but the skip has shifted from the perforation, or the perforation does not fall in the center of the skip. The page length for one page of the continuous paper may be set incorrectly. Use DIP switches 2-1 and 2-2. See Chapter 3. You can use control codes ESC C or ESC C 0 to set the correct page length. See Chapter 9.
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 (b> marks on the module and the slot and insert it properly. See Chapter 5. The font in the module may not be correctly selected. Select the slot by pressing the FONT button on the control panel.
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. See Chapter 5. The DIP switch settings may not be set correctly.
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). Two cables may be installed on the printer; only one cable may be attached at any time. 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 Print method: 24-pin impact dot matrix Print speed: Characters per inch Characters/second/line High-speed draft 10 300 Normal draft 10 246 12 295 10 82 12 98 Quality Letter Quality Printing direction: Bidirectional logic-seeking for text and graphics. Unidirectional for graphics. (Unidirectional can be selected with a DIP switch or by using the proper software command.
Printable columns: Maximum printed characters Character spacing 10 cpi 10 cpi condensed 12 cpi 12 cpi condensed Buffer: LQ-850 LQ-950 LQ-1050 80 110 136 137 188 233 96 132 164 160 220 272 I 6KB or 0KB (panel button selectable) Character fonts: Font Available sizes (Characters per inch) High-speed draft 10 1 Normal Draft Epson Roman Epson Sans Serif Characters: I 10. 12.
Paper Paper feeding methods: Friction Built-in push feed tractor with paper tension unit Pull tractor (optional) Single-bin or double-bin cut sheet feeder (optional) Paper width and length: LQ-850 Single sheet width length Continuous paper width 7.2 to 10.1 inches (182 to 257 mm) 7.2 to 14.3 inches (182 to 364 mm) I LQ-950 7.2 to 13.0 inches (182 to 330 mm) 7.2 to 14.3 inches (182 to 364 mm) LQ-1050 I 7.2 to 14.3 inches (182 to 364 mm) 7.2 to 14.3 inches (182 to 364 mm) 4.0 to 10.0 inches 4.0 to 12.
Printable area: 1-JI Single sheet 0.33 inch (8.5 mm) minimum * 0.12 inch (3.0 mm) minimum Printable area 1’ t 0.53 inch (13.5 mm) minimum Note: For the LQ-850, printing on paper from 9 to 10.1 inches wide increases the minimum right and left margins to 0.53 inches (13.5 mm). For the LQ-950, printing on paper from 12.0 to 13.0 inches wide increases the minimum right and left margins to 0.59 inches (15.0 mm).
Continuous paper 0.35 inch (9 mm) minimum 0.47 inch (12mm) minimum Note: The minimum for the right and left margins increases to 0.98 inch (25.0 mm) when printing on IO-inch wide paper on the LQ-850 or on 16-inch wide paper on the LQ-1050. Envelope yi3; in;; minimum ' ~~~~~~~~0.iz~~~3.0mm~ 0.53 inch (13.5 mm) --$ minimum Note: Envelope printing is only available at normal operating conditions. Load the envelope with its long side horizontal.
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 = 4 12 lb to 24 lb Paper thickness: Single Sheet 0.0025 to 0.0055 inch (0.065 to 0.14 mm) 0.0025 to 0.012 inch (0.065 to 0.32 mm) 0.0063 to 0.0197 inch (0.16 to 0.52 mm) maximum 0.0075 inch (0.
Mechanical Ribbon: Black ribbon cartridge #7753/#7767/#7754: Life expectancy (in Letter Quality characters, at 48 dots/character) 2 million characters Film ribbon cartridge #7768/#7769/#7770: Life expectancy (in Letter Quality characters) #7768/#7769: 0.2 million characters 0.
Electrical Voltage: 120 VAC f 10% Power consumption: (self test printing: draft mode) LQ-850: 55 W LQ-950: 60 W LQ-1050: 60 W Frequency: 49.5 f 0.5 Hz Insulation resistance: 10M ohms between AC power line and chassis Dielectric strength (between AC line and chassis): Can withstand 1.00 kV rms applied for one minute or 1.
Interface Specifications Your printer is equipped with both a parallel and a serial interface. For specifications on optional interfaces, see the manuals provided with the interfaces. Parallel Interface Pin assignments for the parallel interface Connector pin assignments and a description of their respective interface signals are shown in the following table.
19-30 - GND - Twisted-pair return signal ground level. 31 16 INIT IN When this level becomes LOW, the printer controller is reset to its power-up state and the print buffer is cleared. This level is normally HIGH; its pulse width must be more than 50 microseconds at the receiving terminal. 32 - ERROR 33 - GND - Same as for Pins 19-30. NC - Not used. 34 - 35 36 - - SLCT IN OUT OUT IN This level becomes LOW when the printer is: 1) in paper out state 2) off line 3) in error state.
b The column heading “Direction” refers to the direction of signal flow as viewed from the printer. 0 “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. l All interface conditions are based on TTL level.
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. ERROR BUSY ACKNLG Printing (Disabled/ enabled) High High/Low Pulsed ea. char. Enabled (normal cond.) DC1 Recv’d High High/Low Pulsed ea. char.
Signal level Mark (1) -3 V to -27 V Space (0) +3 V to +27 V Handshaking Handshaking by DTR signal or X-on/X-off. The DTR signal changes to mark-meaning the printer is not ready to receive data-when the number of bytes free in the input buffer goes down to 256. The signal changes to space-meaning that the printer is now readywhen the number of bytes in the input buffer rises to 528. Error handling A * character is printed if a parity error is detected. All other errors are ignored.
Option Specifications Cut Sheet Feeder Dimensions and weight: #7348 14.45 inches 23.82 inches 20.20 inches (367 mm) (605 mm) (513 mm) 9.9 Ibs (4.5 kg) Dimensions: mounted on printer. Bin and Stacker capacity: Single sheet: Up to 150 sheets of 22 lb Wg/m2) paper Up to 185 sheets of 17 lb (64gh-d) paper (total thickness should be up to 0.59 inch or 15 mm> Envelopes:* Up to 25 (plain and bond type) Up to 30 (air mail) *For double-bin cut sheet feeder, envelopes can only be used in bin 1.
Reliability (total cycle of bin 1 and bin 2) MCBF: 100,000 cycles Paper: Paper storage condition: Temperature: 64°F to 72°F (18’C to 22°C) Humidity: 40% to 60% Environmental Temperature: Operation: Storage: Humidity (without condensation): Operation: 15% to 80% 5% to 90% Storage: 41°F to 95°F (5°C to 35°C) -22’F to 158°F (-30°C to 70°C) Notes: l 24 lb paper printing is only available at normal operating conditions. l Envelope printing is only available at normal operating conditions.
Initialization There are three ways that the printer can be initialized (returned to a fixed set of conditions). 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. These three kinds of initialization have slightly different effects.
Default Settings The following table shows the default conditions that become valid when the printer is initialized.
Chapter 9 Command Summary Using the Command Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Control Key Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2 9-3 9-4 Commands in Numerical Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5 Commands Arranged by Topic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Printer Operation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Using the Command Summary This chapter lists and describes all the commands available on the printer. 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.
All three formats are equivalent, so you can pick the one best suited to your purpose. Variables are represented by italicized letters such as n, nl, and m. The variables are explained in the comments section. Note: Some application programs use control key sequences. See the Control Key Chart later in this chapter. Examples The simplest type of command consists of a single character to be sent to the printer.
For the following commands that use only 0 or 1 for the variable, either the decimal or hexadecimal values 1 and 0 or the ASCII ch.u~acte~s 1 and 0 can be used: ESC U, ESC x, ESC p, ESC W, ESC S, ESC-, ESC %, and ESC w. For example, in BASIC you can turn on proportional spacing with either of these statements: LPRINT CHR$ (27);"p";CHR$(l) LPRINT CHR$(27);"p";"l" Control Key Chart Some application programs use control key codes for decimal values O-27. The table below gives you the proper values.
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ASCII Dec. ESC * ESC + ESC - 42 43 45 Hex. Description Page 2A 2B 2D Select Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . Set n/360-inch Line Spacing. . . . Turn Underline Mode On/Off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Select Vertical Tab Channel . . . . Select l/8-inch Line Spacing . . . Select 1/6-inch Line Spacing . . . Set n/180-inch Line Spacing. . . . Select Italic Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . Cancel Italic Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . Enable Printable Characters . . . .
Page Hex. Description 78 79 80 81 82 4E 4F 50 51 52 ESC S0 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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-24 Set Right Margin . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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 Initialization ESC @ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Initialize Printer ESC 27 1B @ 64 40 Comments: Resets the printer mode and clears the current print line preceding the command. See Initialization in Chapter 8.
Deselect Printer DC3 Format: DC3 ASCII code: 19 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 13 Comments: Puts the printer into the deselected state until the select printer code (DC1) is received. The printer cannot be reselected with the ON LINE button. Delete Character DEL Format: DEL ASCII code: 127 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 7F Comments: Removes the last text character on the print line but does not affect control codes.
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.
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 6=1 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.
BEL Format: BEL ASCII code: Decimal: 7 Hexadecimal: 07 Beeuer Comments: Sounds the printer’s beeper Data Control CR Format: CR ASCII code: 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 or if DIP switch 2-8 is on.
Vertical Motion Form feeding 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. The default page length is 66 lines; you can change the page length with ESC C. When using a cut sheet feeder, FF ejects the sheet into the stacker but does not load a new sheet.
ESC C0 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Page Length in Inches ESC 27 1B C 67 43 0 0 00 n n n Comments: Sets the page length to n inches. The value of n must be from 1 to 22. The top of form position is reset to the current line. Overrides the DIP switch page length setting.
Line feeding Line Feed LF Format: LF ASCII code: 10 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 0A Comments: When this command is received, the data in the print buffer is printed and the paper advances one line in the current line spacing. ESC + Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set n/360-inch Line Spacing ESC 27 1B + 43 2B n n n Comments: Sets line spacing to n/360 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The value of n must be from 0 to 255.
ESC 2 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select l/6-inch Line Spacing ESC 27 18 2 50 32 Comments: Sets the line spacing to l/6 of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. This line spacing is the default at power on. ESC 3 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set rz/l80-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 value of n must be from 0 to 255.
ESC J Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Perform nll804nch Line Feed ESC 27 1B J 74 4A n n n Comments: Advances the paper n/180 of an inch. The value of n must be from 0 to 255. This command produces an immediate line feed but does not affect subsequent line spacing and does not produce a carriage return. 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 /.
ESC b Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Vertical Tabs in Channels ESC 27 b 98 c nl n2 . . . 0 nl n2 . . 0 1B 62 c nl n2 . . . 00 c 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.
Horizontal Motion Margins ESC 1 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Left Margin ESC 27 1 108 1B 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.
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.
ESC \ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Relative Print Position ESC 27 1B \ 92 SC nl n2 nl n2 nl n2 Comments: Determines the position (relative to the current position) at which printing of subsequent data will start. To find nl 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 = nl + (256 x n2).
ESC D Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Set Horizontal Tabs ESC 27 D 68 nl nl . n2 . . . 0 n2 . . . 0 1B 44 nl n2 . . . 00 Comments: This command allows setting of up to 32 horizontal tabs, which are entered as nl, 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. The default settings, when power is turned on or after an ESC @ command, are at every eight characters.
ESC k Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Typestyle Family ESC 27 1B k 107 6B n n n Comments: This command affects only the Letter Quality typestyle, not draft. If n = 0, the Roman 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.
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. ESC g Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select 15 CPI ESC 27 1B 1:3 67 Comments: Selects 15 character per inch printing, and cancels 10 or 12 cpi.
ESC p Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Turn Proportional Mode On/Off ESC 27 1B 1E 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. This command overrides the condensed mode and fixed cpi fonts.
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.
ESC SO Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Double-wide Mode (one line) ESC 27 1B SO 14 0E 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.
, Turn Double-high Mode On/Off Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: ESC 27 1B n 1: n 77 n Comments: Doubles the height of all characters. The following values can be used for n: 1: Turns mode on. 0: Turns mode off. You may need to adjust line spacing to compensate for the height of these characters. Cannot be used with the pull tractor.
ESC F Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Cancel Emphasized Mode ESC 27 1B F 70 46 Comments: Cancels the emphasized mode selected by ESC E. 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.
ESC S0 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Superscript Mode ESC 27 1B S 83 53 0 0 00 Comments: Prints characters about two-thirds of the normal character height in the upper part of the character space. ESC S1 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(Format: ESC ASCII code: 27 Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1B Select Score ( 28 40 2D nl n2 45 nl n2 nl n2 m m m dl dl dl d2 d2 d2 Comments: Use decimal or hexadecimal values for all variables, not ASCII characters. Use the following values for the first 3 variables: nl must be 3. n2 must be 0. mmustbel. The value of d1 determines the location of the score: d1 = 1 for underline. d1 = 2 for strike-through. d1 = 3 for overscore.
ESCFormat: 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 1?3 71 n n n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 0: Selects normal. 1: Selects outline. 2: Selects shadow.
Word Processing ESC a Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Justification ESC 27 1B n 9”7 n 61 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, BS, and spacing commands should not be used with justification.
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.
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.
User-defined Characters See Chapter 4 for sample programs and full information on this topic. ESC & Format: ASCII code: ESC Decimal: 27 Hexadecimal: 1B Define User-defined Characters & 38 26 d2...dn d2...dn d2...dn dl dl dl 0 0 00 Comments: This command allows characters to be redefined in the currently selected mode.
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.
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 K 27 75 1B 4B nl nl nl n2 n2 n2 Comments: Turns on 8-pin, single-density graphics mode. The total number of columns = nl + (n2 x 256).
ESC Z Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Quadruple-density Graphics Mode ESC 27 1B Z 90 5A nl nl nl n2 n2 n2 Comments: Turns on 8-pin, quadruple-density graphics mode. The total number of columns = nl + (n2 x 256). ESC * Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Select Graphics Mode ESC 27 1B 42 2A * rn nl m nl m nl n2 n2 n2 Comments: Turns on graphics mode m. See the following table for details on the available modes. The total number of columns = nl + (n2 x 256).
ESC ? Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Reassign Graphics Mode ESC 27 1B ? 63 3F s m s m s 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.
Code CHR Width Code CHR Width 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 4A 4B 4C 4D 4E 4F 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 5A 5B 5C 5D 5E 5F 60 61 62 63 e 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 24116 30120 36124 36124 42128 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 36124 42128 36124 42128 36124 36124 30/20 24116 30120 24/l 6 30120 30120 18112 30120 36124 30120 64 65 66 67 68 69 6A 6B 6C 6D 6E 6F 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 7A 78 7c 70 7E d e f 36/24 30120 24116 36124 36124 18112 24/l 6 36124 18112 42
Code A-4 Width 30120 30/20 18112 18112 18112 36124 36124 36124 42/28 42128 30120 30120 30120 36124 36124 36124 36124 42128 30120 30120 36124 42128 30/20 30120 18112 30120 36124 36124 36124 30120 30120 30120 30120 30/20 30120 30120 30120 BO Bl 82 83 84 85 B6 87 88 89 BA BB BC BD BE BF co Cl c2 c3 c4 c5 C6 c7 C8 c9 CA CB cc CD CE CF Do Dl 02 CHR < 9 :;: .‘.‘.’ .I;_.::_.::. ..:: ::.. :@$ ::x.y,:y,.:.
Code 03 D4 D5 D6 D7 D8 D9 DA DB DC DD DE DF EO El E2 E3 E4 E5 E6 E7 E8 E9 EA EB EC ED EE EF FO Fl F2 F3 F4 F5 F6 F7 Wldth 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 3C!l20 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30120 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 30 F8 F9 FA FB FC FD FE CHR . . i 2 I a a D 0 0 ..
-.“- Character Tables These character tables are selected by DIP switch 1-4 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).
Epson Extended Graphics Character Table A-7
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.
data dump Sometimes called hex dump. A troubleshooting feature. When the printer is in the data dump mode, each code that it receives is printed in hexadecimal notation. 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.
draft mode One of three print qualities available on your printer. Draft uses fewer dots per character for high-speed printing. See also high-speed draft and Letter Quality. emphasized printing A way of producing darker characters. In a single pass of the print head, characters receive twice the number of dots.
high-speed draft One of three print qualities available on your printer. High-speed draft uses a minimum number of dots per character for high-speed printing. See also draft mode and Letter Quality. initialize To establish the initial default status of the printer by turning the printer on, or by sending an INIT signal or code (ESC @). input buffer The memory in the printer in which data sent from the computer is stored while waiting to be printed.
memory The printer, like a computer, has a memory. When you print a file from a computer, the contents of the file are transferred quickly from the computer’s memory to the printer’s memory. The printer then prints information from its own memory at a much slower rate. This way of printing frees the computer to do other work while the printer is still working. The printer memory is sometimes called the buffer memory or input buffer.
paper-out sensor A small switch behind the platen that sends a signal when it is not in contact with paper, informing the printer and remote computer that there is no paper loaded, and causing the PAPER OUT light to go on. paper tension unit The part of the printer that fits above the platen to assure proper paper tension in the printing area. parallel interface An interface that connects the computer and the printer. A parallel interface transmits data one character or code at a time.
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. reset To return a printer to its defaults, either by a command, an INIT signal, code, or by turning the printer off and on. self test A method of checking the operation of the printer.
tractor The part of the printer that moves continuous paper through the printer by its sprockets gripping the holes in continuous paper. 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. 10 cpi A character spacing of 10 characters per inch.
Index Command descriptions are not indexed here. To locate the page number of a specific command, see Chapter 9 or the Quick Reference card.
Control panel buttons, 3-3 features, 3-5 lights, 3-2 operating, 3-2-5 SelecType, 3-4 Courier font, 5-41, 5-47 Cross-head screwdriver, 1-4 Cut sheet feeder, 1-9, 3-7, 3-11, 5-2-27 bins, 3-3 continuous paper, 5-18-22 control panel operation, 5-17 controlling, 9-10 installing 5-3-8 loading envelopes, 5-14-16 operating 5-16-17 paper handling, 5-8-11 paper out condition, 5-16-17 removing, 5-24-27 self test, 5-12-14 single sheets, 5-23-24 software operation, 5-18 testing printer, 5-12-14 D Data dump mode, 3-5, 3
H L Handshaking timing #8143 serial interface, 5-66 Hex dump, see Data dump mode High-speed draft, 4-2-3 font, 3-21-22 mode, 1-19, 1-26, 3-7, 3-10 Horizontal motion, 9-19-22 tabbing, 9-21-22 Labels, 2-18, 2-25--26, 2-30-32 Letter quality mode, 1-19, 1-26, 4-2-3, 9-22 Lights, control panel, 3-2 Line feeding, 9-15-18 spacing, 9-15-16 LINE FEED button, 3-3 LOAD/EJECT button, 3-3 Loading position, 3-14 adjusting, 3-14-16 Locking brackets, 1-3-4, 6-11 tabs, 1-3, 1-6, 6-10 I Initialization printer, 9-8-9 spec
O OCR-A font, 5-42, 5-47 OCR-B font, 5-43, 5-47 ON LINE button, 3-3 light, 3-2 Operation, checking l-27-29 Options problems, 7-27-37 see Cut Sheet Feeder see Interface boards see Multi-Font Module see Pull Tractor Orator font, 5-43, 5-47 Orator-S font, 5-44, 5-47 Outline mode, 4-7, 9-32 Overline mode, 4-7, 9-31 P Packing materials, 1-3-4, 6-9, 6-12 Page length, 9-13-14 selection, 3-7, 3-9, 3-11 Paper feeding 8-4 length, 8-4 loading, 2-2-5 manual feed, 1-10 positioning 2-6 printable area, 8-5-6 reloading, 2
Printer assembling, 1-10-17 cleaning, 6-2-3 connecting to computer, 1-30-33 location for, 1-8-9 maintaining 6-2-12 options, using 5-2-66 plugging in, 1-18 setting up, 1-2-34 software control, 9-8-40 specifications, 8-2-18 testing 1-18-29 transporting 6-9-12 unpacking, 1-2-7 using, 3-2-37 Printer stand, 1-9 Printing enhancing, 4-2-9 problems, 7-5-15 speeds, 4-2 Problems, 7-2-37 options, 7-27-37 paper handling, 7-16-26 power supply, 7-4 printing 7-5-15 solutions, 7-2-37 Proportional spacing 3-4, 4-3-4, 4-8
Specifications, 8-2-18 cut sheet feeder, 8-15-16 electrical, 8-9 environmental, 8-9 initialization, 8-17-18 interface, 8-10-14 mechanical, 8-8 options, 8-15-16 paper, 8-4-7 parallel interface, 8-10-13 printer, 8-2-9 printing, 8-2-3 serial interface, 8-13-14 Strike-through mode, 4-7 Subscripts, 4-5, 4-7, 9-30 Superscripts, 4-5, 4-7, 9-30 Switches, see DIP switches T Tear-off mode, see Short tear-off Tear-off position, adjusting, 3-19-20 Technical specifications, see Specifications Tractor, see Pull tractor
EPSON ® LQ-850/950/1050 Quick Reference
Commands Arranged by Topic This section lists all the commands. The numbers in the columns on the right are the page numbers in Chapter 9 where a complete description of the command can be found.
Horizontal Motion Overall Printing Style Code Dee Hex ESC x ESC k 120 107 33 78 6B 21 ESC ! Function Select Letter Quality or Draft Select Type-style Family Master Select Page 9-22 9-23 9-23 Print Size and Character Width E Print Enhancement Word Processing Code ESC a ESCSPbpace) Dee 97 32 Hex 61 20 Function Select Justification Set Intercharacter Soace Page 9-33 F)-93
Character Tables Code 1 Dee ) Hex 1 Function FSC --- t ESC 4 i ESC 5 ESC R 116 1 52 74 34 53 82 35 52 ) Page 1 Select Character Table I Select _-. Itdic .-..- MO& ..-- f car ~cel Italic Mode Select an International Character Set 9-34 9-34 9-35 9-35 User-defined Characters Graphics Code ESC K Dee 75 ESC L ESC Y FSC 7 --- FSS? --- I 76 09 90 -47 .- 1 63 I ESC ? Hex l 48 4G 59 SA -.- I ?A 1 -.
EPSON® Printed in Japan 90.01-40.
