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Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 Installation and Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inserting the Printer Interface Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . Printing the Test Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecting the Printer to Your Commodore . . . . . . . Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using Your Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction to Dot Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Dot Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Print Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Graphics Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pin Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . First Graphics Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Multiple-Line Exercise . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction The Epson HomeWriter- printer combines low price with the high quality and advanced capabilities formerly available only on more expensive printers. HomeWriter- Features In addition to the reliability and quality you’ve come to expect from Epson printers, the HomeWriter- has many features.
We’re not going to waste your time with unnecessary information, but we won’t neglect anything you need to know about the HomeWriter- and its many features. You can read as much or as little of this manual as you wish. If you have used printers before and have a specific program that you want to use with the HomeWriter-10, a quick reading of the first chapter may be all you need.
Chapter 1 Installation and Operation After you have set up your printer and loaded the paper (following the directions in the Setup Instructions), you are ready to plug in your Printer Interface Cartridge (PIC™) and begin printing. Inserting the Printer Interface Cartridge Inserting the PIC is easy. Simply follow the directions on the HomeWriter- instruction card. Once the PIC is installed, you are ready to test your printer.
The HomeWriter- will begin printing letters, numbers, symbols, and graphics characters in the draft mode. It won’t stop until you turn it off or until it gets near the end of the paper. To see the same test in the NLQ (Near Letter Quality) mode, turn the printer on while pressing FF. Figure l-l shows what both test patterns look like. NLQ Standard Figure 1-1.
Control Panel When your HomeWriter- is connected to your computer system, turn on the printer and look at the control panel on the top. Figure 1-2. Control panel You have already used the touch-sensitive control panel for a special purpose, printing the test patterns. Here are the main functions of the lights and rectangles on this panel: l l l l The POWER light glows green when the power is on. The READY light glows green when the printer is ready to accept data.
In addition to the lights, the control panel has three touch-sensitive rectangles. Their functions are: l ON LINE switches the printer between on-line and off-line status. When the printer is on-line, the ON LINE light glows and the printer is ready to accept data. The following two functions work only when the ON LINE light is off. If the ON LINE light is on, press ON LINE before you use these. l l FF (Form Feed) advances continuous paper to the top of the next page.
Chapter 2 SelecType Your HomeWriter- offers several methods of enhancing your printing. In addition to reversed and expanded print, which are standard on Commodore printers, your Epson printer has four special typestyles. These typestyles are especially easy to use with Epson’s SelecType feature. Choosing print modes on the HomeWriter- with SelecType is simple. This feature changes the function of the three touch-sensitive rectangles on the control panel-ON LINE, FF, and LF.
Dot Matrix Printing To understand the difference between standard printing and the four typestyles available with SelecType, it will help to know something about dot matrix printing-the printing method of the HomeWriter-10. In dot matrix printing all letters, symbols, and graphics are made up of patterns of dots. The standard printing mode uses 10 to 15 dots for most letters. In this mode the letters are clear and readable and the printing is extremely fast.
Because emphasized is faster than the NLQ mode, for some purposes you may want to use it instead of NLQ. Double-Strike In the double-strike mode, the HomeWriter- prints each line twice, with the second slightly below the first. Therefore, it is like emphasized except that the dots are offset vertically rather than horizontally. Both modes are bolder than standard printing-you can look at the printout below and decide which one you prefer.
Turning SelecType mode on To turn SelecType on make sure that the printer is on (with the POWER, READY, and ON LINE lights all on), and then press both ON LINE and FF at the same time, as illustrated in Figure 2-l. The HomeWriter- beeps to signal that the SelecType mode is on; the READY light turns off; and the ON LINE light begins flashing. Now that SelecType mode is on, the panel has new functions (also shown in Figure 2-l). Figure 2-1.
Table 2-1. SelecType modes Mode 1 2 3 4 Function NLQ Emphasized Double-strike Compressed ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz ABCDEFGHIJKLMnopqrstuvwxyz After you press ON LINE the required number of times, you press FF to set your selection. Then you press LF to turn off SelecType and return the panel to its standard operation. After returning the control panel to its standard operation, press ON LINE so that the printer will be ready to print.
You don’t need to know anything about programming for this exercise. It is merely for practice. If you would rather not use BASIC, use your word processing or business program to create a short file or document of the type you will usually print. When you create your file, remember that SelecType is designed for letters and numbers rather than graphics. If you do want to use BASIC for this exercise, simply turn on your computer, printer, (and disk drive if you have one).
Now you have set the HomeWriter- to print in compressed mode. Merely push ON LINE to put your printer back on-line and print your sample once more. It should appear in compressed mode just as ours does below: THE LETTERS IN THIS EXAMPLE ARE MADE UP OF TINY DOTS. Turn off your printer to cancel the compressed setting, and-if you wish-try this exercise with other modes. Mode combination Two of the SelecType modes (NLQ and emphasized) can be combined to create a striking effect.
SelecType Tips Any mode you turn on with SelecType usually stays in effect until the printer is turned off. If, for example, you use SelecType to print a document in emphasized, anything you print after that will be emphasized unless you turn the printer off and back on first. Remember that if you like one of the typestyles in this chapter well enough to use it most of the time, you can turn it on and keep it on with a special switch in the back of your printer. See Appendix C for instructions.
Chapter 3 HomeWriter-10 Features In this chapter and the next we describe the printing and graphics features of the HomeWriter-10, but many of you won’t need these chapters. How much of the rest of this manual you use depends upon three things: l How much you already know about computers and printers l What kind of printing you are interested in l What software you plan to use.
do is turn on your computer and type in the programs exactly as you see them in this manual. If you have any questions, see your Commodore User’s Guide. Although all the example programs are in BASIC, you can of course change them to any programming language that you prefer to use. Simply follow the instructions in the manual for your programming language. The HomeWriter- and BASIC In order to send any information to the printer, you must first open a file for it.
There is also a direct mode for sending commands or text to the printer. To use this mode type the following without a line number before it: OPEN1,4: CMD1 After you type this and press RETURN, everything that would normally be sent to the screen is sent to the printer instead. To see how this mode works, type the following and press RETURN. PRINT "DIRECT MODE" The words DIRECT MODE will be printed on paper instead of on the screen.
Expanded printing The expanded mode (sometimes called double width) of the HomeWriter- doubles the width of all the letters, symbols, and graphics characters. This mode produces striking headings and titles. You can see printing in this mode by entering the following program. 10 OPEN1,4 20 PRINT#1,CHR$(14)"EXPANDED PRINTING" 30 CLOSE1 When you have entered the program, type RUN and press RETURN. You should see the results below.
On the HomeWriter- printing modes are cancelled in three different ways: l l l With a specific cancelling code, such as the CHR$(15) that you used to cancel expanded printing. By turning the printer off and back on. Automatically at the end of a line. Unlike expanded, most printing effects stay on only for one line. Therefore, you don’t have to turn them off if you use them for one whole line.
Uppercase/Graphic/Lowercase modes As you know, the screen of your Commodore computer has two modes for displaying letters of the alphabet and graphics characters. They are the uppercase/graphic mode and the upper/lowercase mode. In the uppercase/graphic mode (also called the cursor up mode), all letters are uppercase (capitalized) and many graphics characters are available.
For the first method, you use the number seven as the secondary address when you open the file for printing. This number goes after the device number, as shown in the example below. new 10 open3,4,7 20 print#3,"This is upper/lowercase." 30 close3 When you run the program, you should get the following results: This is upper/lower case. To test the CHR$(17) code, type and run the following program.
NEW 10 OPEN6,4 20 PRINT#6,"012345678901234567890" 30 PRINT#6,CHR$(16); 40 PRINT#6,"15 THIS STARTS IN COLUMN 15." 50 CLOSE6 012345678901234567890 THIS STARTS IN COLUMN 15. The second type of horizontal tab gives more exact spacing by dividing the page into 480 columns, each 1/6th of a character wide. This type uses CHR$(27) and CHR$(16) followed by two other CHR$ numbers. These other numbers specify the column where printing starts.
Line spacing The CHR$(8) code turns on the graphics mode, which is discussed in the next chapter, but this code has another use. The CHR$(8) code also reduces the space between print lines. For printing text you want space between the lines, but occasionally with graphics characters you will want the space between lines eliminated so that the characters can combine into larger figures. The next program shows what we mean. Lines 20-50 in this program use several graphics characters.
Chapter 4 Introduction to Dot Graphics The dot graphics mode allows your HomeWriter- to produce pictures, graphs, and charts. Instead of using the letters of the alphabet or the graphic characters from your keyboard, the graphics mode prints patterns of dots. You plan where you want the dots to appear and then use a program to tell the HomeWriter- where to put them.
The quickest and easiest way to print graphics on your HomeWriter-10 is to use a commercial graphics program. With such programs you usually create an image on your monitor or TV screen and then give a command to send the image to the printer. If you use commercial software that produces graphics, all you need to know about dot graphics is how to use the software. If, on the other hand, you want to do your own programming or want to understand how the HomeWriter- prints graphics, read on.
Pull out the paper guide at the back of the printer until you hear it click into place. This guide helps keep the incoming paper from catching on the printer cable, Then fit the notches in the bottom corners of the separator over the pins at the front of the paper slot. The separator keeps the paper that is coming out of the printer from being pulled back in. Figure 1-2. Paper separator and paper guide When you want to use single sheet paper in your LX-SO, you can remove the tractor unit quite easily.
EPSON Tractor Unit #8304G This sheet describes the procedures for installing and removing the tractor unit option. This unit makes it possible to use continuous paper 4 to 10 inches wide. Installation To install the removable tractor unit, first pull the friction lever toward the front of the printer. Then hold the tractor with the gears to the right as shown in Figure l-l. Figure 1-1. Tractor placement In each tractor slot are two pegs that fit into the notches on the tractor fittings.
The Print Head To understand how the graphics mode works, you need to know a little about the print head on the HomeWriter-10. The print head has nine pins or wires mounted vertically. Each time a pin is fired, it strikes the inked ribbon and presses it against the paper to produce a dot. This dot is about 1/72nd of an inch in diameter, depending upon the age of the ribbon and the type of paper used.
Pin Labels Once the printer is in the graphics mode, your next step is to tell the print head which pins to fire in each column. There are 128 possible combinations of seven pins, and you send only one number for each column. The numbering system that allows you to use a single number to specify any one of the 128 possible patterns is shown in Figure 4-1. Because only seven of the nine pins are used in the graphics mode, only seven are shown in our diagrams. Figure 4-1.
With this numbering system any combination of the seven pins adds up to a number between 128 and 255, and no numbers are duplicated. Now that you know the principles of dot graphics, here are two simple exercises and a more complex example that shows you how to design your own graphics. One-Line Graphics Program Your first graphics exercise is a program that prints a single pattern of dots 40 times. Type it in first, and then read the explanation that follows.
Multiple-Line Program Here is a program that shows you how the HomeWriter- combines several lines of graphics for a figure taller than seven dots. Start with a short program that prints two patterns alternately for 100 columns. Since there are two pin patterns in the loop, it needs to be executed only 50 times.
Now run the program to see the six print lines combine into a pattern: Notice that the graphics command can be in effect for only one print line. The command is in lines 30 and 60 so that it is issued each time a new print line is begun. You cannot print more than one line of graphics without having the graphics command issued more than once. The PRINT#4 at the end of lines 60 and 100 causes the end of the print line.
Figure 4-3. Arrow design After finishing the design, you divide it into print lines and calculate the CHR$ numbers for each column. The arrow design can be divided into three print lines, each seven dots high. Then you look at the pattern of dots in each column to calculate the CHR$ numbers. The results for the first print line are shown in Figure 4-4. The pin values are on the left side and the sums are at the bottom of each column. Figure 4-4.
After figuring these numbers for each column in every print line, you put them into DATA statements in the arrow graphics program. First, here’s the whole program and its printout. Following the printout is an explanation of a method used to reduce the number of DATA numbers that have to be typed.
Repeating graphics data The HomeWriter- has a special command for repeating a CHR$ number in simple graphics programs. To send one CHR$ number repeatedly, the command is CHR$(8)CHR$(26) followed by the number of repetitions and then by the data number to be repeated.
Appendix A HomeWriter-10 Characters This appendix is a listing of the characters produced by each of the decimal codes from 0 through 255. For each code we provide the decimal number (Dec) the hexadecimal number (Hex) and a printout of the character that is printed by that code (Char). If the code does not produce a printable character, the word none is in the Char column. This listing is given twice, once for the uppercase/graphic mode and once for the upper/lowercase mode.
Uppercase/Graphic (Cursor Up) Mode Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 A-2 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none 20
Uppercase/Graphic (Cursor Up) Mode Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 E0 blank 225 E1 226 E2 227 E3
Upper/Lowercase (Cursor Down) Mode Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 A-4 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none none 20
Upper/Lowercase (Cursor Down) Mode Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char Dec Hex Char 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 A0 blank 161 A1 162 A2 163 A3 164 A4 165 A5 166 A6 167 A7 168 A8 169 A9 170 AA 171 AB 172 AC 173 AD 174 AE 175 AF 176 B0 177 B1 178 B2 179 B3 180 B4 181 B5 182 B6 183 B7 184 B8 185 B9 186 BA 187 BB 188 BC 189 BD 190 BE 191 BF 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 2
Appendix B HomeWriter-10 Control Codes The control codes in this appendix are described and then listed in numerical order. The listings use the format for BASIC, but you can convert them to the proper format for any other programming language. Control Codes by Function Expanded print is turned on by CHR$(14) and off by CHR$(15). Reverse print is turned on by CHR$(18) and turned off by CHR$(146), a line feed, or a carriage return. Uppercase/graphic mode is the default.
The line spacing is changed from the standard 6 lines per inch to 9 lines per inch by CHR$(8). CHR$(15) changes the line spacing back to 6 lines per inch. The graphics mode is turned on by CHR$(8). When the graphics mode is on, all CHR$ numbers above 127 are printed as pin patterns. See Chapter 4 for the pin numbering system. Graphics data can be repeated with CHR$(26). The format is: CHR$(8) . . . CHR$(26)CHR$(nl)CHR$(n2) where nl is the number of repetitions and n2 is the data number to be repeated.
Appendix C The DIP Switches Several tiny switches called DIP (for Dual In-Line Package) switches are in the back of your HomeWriter- printer. They control a number of important printer functions. For most uses they can be left as they are set at the factory, but you may want to change some settings. The design of the HomeWriter- gives you easy access to the switches. You can see them in the back of the printer as indicated in Figure C-l. Figure C-l.
Always turn the power OFF (with the switch on the right side of the printer) before you change the setting of any of these switches. Any changes made while the power is on will be ignored until you turn the printer off and back on. So set all switches with the power off. In Table C-l we show you the functions of all the switches. Then we explain each of them. Table C-1. DIP switch functions Switch 1 No.
Switch 1-5 controls the paper-end detector. When switch l-5 is ON, the detector is inactive, allowing printing to continue even when the printer is out of paper. When switch l-5 is OFF, the printer stops when the end of the paper passes the paper-end detector. The paper-end detector is a small switch under the platen (the black roller) of your HomeWriter-10. With switch l-5 OFF, when the end of the paper passes this switch, it sends a signal that sounds the beeper and stops the printing.
Appendix D Using the Optional Tractor Unit With the optional tractor unit you can use continuous paper with pin feed holes along the sides. The unit is adjustable so that the continuous paper can be any width from 4 to 10 inches. Printer Location When you use the tractor and continuous paper, you must put your HomeWriter- where the paper can flow freely in and out of the printer. You can use a printer stand or any other arrangement that allows you to put the paper below the printer.
Figure D-2. Continuous paper without stand Tractor Unit Installation To install the removable tractor unit, first pull the friction lever toward the front of the printer. Then hold the tractor with the gears to the right as shown in Figure D-3. Figure D-3.
In each tractor slot are two pegs that fit into the notches on the tractor fittings. Tilt the tractor back so that the rear notches fit over the rear pegs. Then tilt the unit forward until it clicks into place. That’s all there is to it. Now install the paper separator and pull out the paper guide as shown in Figure D-4. Fit the notches in the bottom corners of the separator over the pins at the front of the paper slot.
Figure D-5. Tractor release levers Loading Continuous Paper Once your tractor is installed, you can load continuous paper. See that the printer is turned off, and open the front lid. Then move the print head to the center of the printer, and pull the paper bail away from the platen (the black roller) just as you did for single sheet loading. (Look at the HomeWriter-10 Setup Instructions if you need to check on the names of any of these parts.
Figure D-6. Pin feed holder adjustment Next, open the pin feed covers as shown in Figure D-7 and feed the paper under the paper separator and into the paper slot; push the paper through until it comes up between the ribbon guide and the platen. Figure D-7.
Next pull the paper up until the top is above the pin-feed holders. Fit the holes on the left side of the paper over the pins in the left holder and close the cover. Now fit the right side of the paper in the right holder, moving the holder as needed to match the width of the paper. Close the second cover, make sure the paper has no dips or wrinkles, lock the right holder in place, and push the paper bail against the paper. Now you are ready to set the top of page position.
Appendix E Troubleshooting and Advanced Features This appendix presents a few additional tips for using your HomeWriter-10. Problem/Solution Summary Difficult paper feeding and irregular print darkness can occur if you are printing self-adhesive labels and one comes off of the backing and sticks behind the platen. If this happens, take your HomeWriter- to a qualified service person; do not attempt to remove the label yourself.
Hex Code Dump Mode The HomeWriter- has a special feature that makes it easy for experienced printer users to find the causes of problems. Called the hex code dump mode, it gives a printout of exactly what codes reach the printer. Turn on this mode by turning on the printer while holding down both the FF and LF buttons. The printer responds by printing the words HEX CODE DUMP (CURSOR UP MODE).
The first code in the first line is hex 0E, which is the same as decimal 14, which is the code for expanded printing. Since it is not a printable code, a dot is printed in the first position in the guide section. The next eight codes are for the letters EXPANDED, as you can see in the guide section. The next code (hex 0D, decimal 13) is for a carriage return, which ends the print line.
EPSON AMERICA, INC. LIMITED WARRANTY Epson America, Inc. hereby warrants that it will repair or replace, at its option, any part of the Epson product with which this warranty is enclosed which proves defective by reason of improper workmanship and/or material, without charge for parts or labor, for a period of one (1) year.
