Star Micronics LC-100+ - Manual

Contents Chapter 1: Printer Setup ... 1 Choosing a place for the printer ... 1Unpacking the printer ... 2General guide ... 3Installing the platen knob ... 4Opening the front cover ... 4Installing the ribbon cassette ... 5Removing the ribbon cassette ... 7Installing the paper guide ... 8Connecting to...

1 Chapter 1: Printer Setup This chapter contains important information on setting up your printer. Be sure to read this chapter carefully before using the printer for the first time. In this chapter you will learn about: ❏ Choosing a place for the printer ❏ Unpacking and setting up the printer ❏ Ins...

2 Printer Setup Unpacking the printer Check to make sure that the carton contains each of the items shown in the following illustration. If anything is missing, contact the store where you bought the printer and ask them to supply the missing part. Note that it is a good idea to keep the original bo...

General guide 3 General guide The following illustrations show the major components of your printer.

4 Printer Setup Installing the platen knob The platen knob is packed into a recess in the packaging material. ❏ Install the knob on the shaft located inside the large hole on the right side of the printer. Make sure that the two splines of the platen shaft inside the printer fit into the slots insid...

Installing the ribbon cassette 5 Note: You can completely remove the front cover from the printer or you can stand it up without removing it. You should normally leave the front cover closed, because it protects against objects getting into the printer, and it cuts down on printer noise. Installing ...

Removing the ribbon cassette 7 ✓ Are you getting muddy-looking colors from a color ribbon? The more green, orange, and purple colors you use, the quicker the primary colors (blue, red, yellow) will become mixed with other colors. This will cause a drop in performance of the ribbon. ✓ Remember that c...

8 Printer Setup Installing the paper guide ❏ Insert the two tabs on the bottom of the paper guide into the holes provided on the rear cover of the printer. ❏ To remove the paper guide from the printer, simply pull the tabs out of the holes. Note: Lay the paper guide down flat when using fanfold pape...

Loading fanfold paper 9 Note: We recommend that you unplug the printer from the power outlet whenever you do not plan to use it for long periods. Because of the this, you should locate the printer so that the power outlet it is plugged into is nearby and easy to access. At this point you may want to...

Loading fanfold paper 11 far apart). After making these adjustments, be sure that you re-lock the tractors by pulling the gray levers into the locked position. ❏ Close the rear cover and press down gently on it until it locks into place with a click. Note: If you removed the rear cover, first insert...

12 Printer Setup ❏ Pull the bail lever toward the front of the printer. This will feed the paper to the starting position. ❏ After the paper is fully fed (indicated by the printer’s beeping), return the bail lever back to its original position toward the back of the printer. Important! Never return ...

Parking fanfold paper 13 Parking fanfold paper It is not necessary to remove fanfold paper currently loaded in the printer in order to print on cut-sheet paper. Instead, simply use the following procedure to park the fanfold paper. ❏ Tear off the paper at a perforation so there is no more than half ...

14 Printer Setup Using the tear-off function The following procedure makes it easy to tear off fanfold paper. ❏ Check to make sure that the printer is on-line. ❏ Press the FONT button to perform the long tear-off operation, or press the PITCH button to perform the short tear-off operation. The long ...

16 Chapter 2: Control Panel Operations The control panel gives you push-button control over the printer’s operations. It includes indicator lights, which tell you the current status of the printer at a glance. This chapter describes control panel functions that can be performed while the printer is ...

Selecting a font 17 Selecting a font ❏ Make sure the printer is off-line ( ON LINE indicator is not lit). ❏ Press FONT to change the font selection. An indicator lights to the left of the name of the font that is currently selected.The following shows the fonts that are available. Note: The font set...

18 Control Panel Operations Setting the character pitch The character pitch setting controls how many characters are printed per inch. Use the following procedure to select the pitch you want. ❏ Make sure the printer is off-line ( ON LINE indicator is not lit). ❏ Press PITCH to change the pitch sele...

Line feed 19 The printer is now in the Pitch Lock Mode. You could enter the Pitch Lock Mode and Font Lock Mode (page 17) at the same time by holding down both FONT and PITCH when you turn on printer power. To exit the Pitch Lock Mode, simply turn the printer off. Important! Font and pitch lock will ...

20 Control Panel Operations Micro feed Use the following operation to feed the paper in very small increments. This makes it possible to align the print head exactly where you want it. ❏ Make sure the printer is off-line ( ON LINE indicator is not lit). ❏ While holding down ON LINE , press PAPER FEE...

Selecting the Quiet Print Mode 21 Selecting the Quiet Print Mode The Quiet Print Mode lets you print with less noise than that produced with normal printing. Use the following procedure to enter and exit the Quiet Print Mode. Important! Though the Quiet Print Mode prints more quietly, it also causes...

22 Control Panel Operations ❏ After you have the paper at the position you want, hold down ON LINE and press PAPER FEED to make the current print head position the new auto load position. The printer will beep twice to indicate that the new auto load position is set. ❏ To clear the new auto load pos...

Clearing the printer’s buffer 23 Clearing the printer’s buffer When the printer receives data from a computer, it temporarily stores it in a memory called a buffer. If you stop a printing job partway through, there is the chance that some data will remain in the buffer. The following procedure clear...

24 Chapter 3: Using the EDS Mode The letters “EDS” stand for “Electronic DIP Switches.” Just like the small DIP switches that are used by many computers, printers, and other devices, the EDS lets you configure the printer so that it matches your system and software needs. This chapter describes how ...

Selecting a bank 25 Selecting a bank ❏ While in the EDS Mode, use the control panel’s FONT button to select a bank. When the DRAFT indicator flashes, the font and pitch indicators show which bank is currently selected. Selecting a switch ❏ While in the EDS Mode, use the control panel’s PITCH button ...

26 Using the EDS Mode Printing the current switch settings ❏ To print the current EDS switch settings while in n the EDS Mode, press and hold the control panel’s ON LINE button and then press the PAPER FEED button. Asterisks on the printout show whether a switch is turned on or off. Exiting the EDS ...

EDS Mode Settings 27 Switch 3: RAM Usage Specifies whether RAM should be used as an input buffer (ON) or as a download buffer (OFF). Selecting input buffer (ON) tells the printer to use available RAM to store data it receives from the computer, which speeds up the printing. Selecting download buffer...

28 Using the EDS Mode BANK B Switch 1: NLQ Direction Selects uni-directional (ON) or bi-directional (OFF) printing for NLQ (Near Letter Quality) printing. Bi-directional printing (OFF) is faster, while uni-directional (ON) printing generally provides better print quality. Switch 2: Auto Tear-off (Lo...

EDS Mode Settings 29 BANK C Switch 1: Print Mode Selects Draft (ON) or NLQ (OFF) as the print mode. NLQ (OFF) provides near letter quality output, while Draft (ON) provides draft quality. Draft quality printing may be less attractive than near letter quality, but the printing operation is faster. Sw...

30 Using the EDS Mode BANK D Switches 1, 2, 3, 4: Page Length Turn these switches on or off to form the pattern that matches the Page Length setting you want to use. Switches 5, 6: Ribbon Select Turn these switches on or off to form the pattern that matches the ribbon you are using. Page Length SW1 ...

EDS Mode Settings 31 BANK E Switches 1, 2, 3, 4, 5: Code Page/International Character Set If your EDS settings specify IBM emulation (Bank A, Switch 1 OFF) with either character table (Bank A, Switch 2), or Standard emulation (Bank A, Switch 1 ON) with the graphics character table (Bank A, Switch 2 ...

32 Using the EDS Mode If your EDS settings specify Standard emulation (Bank A, Switch 1 ON) with the italic character table (Bank A, Switch 2 OFF), use the Bank E switches to select the international character set you want to use. This setting determines the assignment of 14 character codes in the S...

33 Chapter 4: Using the Printer with MS-DOS This chapter contains information about how to use the printer with applications software running under MS-DOS. In this chapter, you will learn about: ❏ How to set up for printing with MS-DOS Setting up for printing with MS-DOS To print from an application...

34 Using the Printer with MS-DOS If none of the printers listed above are available in the application, choose one of the printers listed below. Once again, you should choose the printer that is nearest to the top in the following list. For these printers, you should use the EDS Mode or User Setup U...

Selecting paper types 35 Chapter 5: Paper Handling Your printer is designed to print on a variety of paper types. This chapter tells you everything you need to know about paper, and how to set the printer up for manual paper feed. In this chapter, you will learn about: ❏ Selecting the best type of p...

36 Paper Handling Adjusting for paper thickness Paper comes in different weights, normally expressed as gsm (grams per square meter) or lbs (pounds). Some types of forms have multiple pages that make them quite thick. Use the following procedure to change the gap between the print head and the plate...

Automatic fanfold feeding 37 Automatic fanfold feeding ❏ See “Loading fanfold paper” on page 9 for details on using fanfold paper. Manual sheet feeding You can use the following procedure to manually feed single sheets of paper into the printer. ❏ Make sure that there is no fanfold paper in the prin...

38 Paper Handling ❏ Insert a sheet of paper into the paper guide, with the side you want to print on facing the back of the printer. Gently push the paper down into the printer until you feel it stop. ❏ Pull the bail lever toward the front of the printer. This will feed the paper to the starting pos...

39 Chapter 6: Optional Accessories This chapter explains how to install and use the following optional accessories that are available for this printer: ❏ Automatic Sheet Feeder (SF-10DT) ❏ Serial-to-Parallel Converter (SPC-8K) Important! Always make sure that printer power is turned off whenever ins...

40 Optional Accessories Installing the Automatic Sheet Feeder ❏ Use the printer’s EDS Mode to change the setting of Bank A Switch 4 to OFF (page 27), which tells the printer that the Automatic Sheet Feeder is installed. ❏ Open the front cover by lifting up on it while pressing in gently on its sides...

Automatic Sheet Feeder (SF-10DT) 41 ❏ Install the printer cover that comes with the Automatic Sheet Feeder. ❏ Install the hopper attachment as shown below. ❏ Install the stacker attachment by squeezing it so its hooked ends can fit into the grooves of the sheet feeder as illustrated below. Groove St...

42 Optional Accessories Now you can load paper into the hopper and use the Auto Sheet Feeder for printing. Important! Keep the printer’s front cover and paper guide in a safe place in case you need to use them again in the future. To remove the Automatic Sheet Feeder from the printer, simply perform...

44 Optional Accessories Serial-to-Parallel Interface Converter This section describes how to connect and set up the SPC-8K Serial-To-Parallel Interface converter. Connecting the Interface Converter ❏ Unplug the printer from its AC power outlet. ❏ Set the DIP switches on the SPC-8K to the settings yo...

45 Important! ❏ Make sure that the serial-to-parallel converter is resting on a stable, level surface where it will not be subject to vibration or damage. Setting the converter’s DIP switches [CORRECT METHOD] [INCORRECT METHOD] You should set the converter’s DIP switches so they match the settings y...

Testing the printer 47 Appendix A: Troubleshooting The appendix will provide help if you experience problems with your printer. It tells you how to test the printer, how to check system software settings, and how to adjust the vertical alignment. In addition, there is information on actions to take ...

48 Troubleshooting Long test ❏ Make sure that paper is loaded in the printer. ❏ Turn the printer off. ❏ While holding down the control panel’s PAPER FEED button, turn the printer on. The long test prints the title followed by seven lines of text. If you are using a color ribbon, each line of text is...

Adjusting the dot alignment 49 Adjusting the dot alignment You may never have to use the procedure described in this section, but after you have been using your printer for some time you may find that the dots of some graphics do not align correctly. For example, what should look like: may come out ...

50 Troubleshooting Troubleshooting guide Use the following table to help track down the causes of problems and to determine the best solution to deal with them. Problem Possible Cause Recommended Action The ON LINE indicator does not light. The printer is not receiving power. Check whether the power...

56 Checking system software settings in Windows Whenever you have problems printing from a Windows application, you should check the following four sthings: ✓ Is the printer you are using set as the default printer? ✓ Is the drive setup correctly? ✓ Is the printer you are using correctly selected in...

Checking system software settings in MS-DOS 57 To check the port ❏ Double-click the Control Panel icon in the Main window. ❏ Double-click the Printers icon. ❏ Double-click on the name of your Star printer in the list of installed printers. ❏ Click on Connect . ❏ Make sure that your printer cable is ...

58 Specifications Appendix B: Specifications Printing System Serial Impact Dot-Matrix Printing Speed Pitch Draft (cps/dpi) NLQ (cps/dpi) Pica (10 cpi) 160/120H 40/240H Elite (12 cpi) 192/120H 48/240H Condensed pica (17 cpi) 137/240H 69/240H Condensed elite (20 cpi) 160/240H 80/240H H: half-dot Print...

60 Appendix C: Interface Pin Outs Parallel Interface Pin Name Function 1 STROBE Goes low for ≥ 0.5 µ s when active. 2 DATA0 These signals represent information for the 1st through 8th bit of parallel data, respectively. Each signal is HIGH when data is logical 1, and LOW when logical 0. 3 DATA1 4 DA...

Checking system software settings in MS-DOS 61 Appendix D: Character Sets Standard Italic Character Set #2 International Character Set The character codes shown in the table are hexadecimal.

62 Character Sets IBM Character Set #2Code Page #437 (IBM-PC) Code Page #850Multi-lingual Other characters are the same as those for Code Page #437 Code Page #852Latin-2 Other characters are the same as those for Code Page #437.

66 Character Sets Character Set #1 Other characters are the same as those for Character Set #2. IBM Special Character Set The following characters can be printed using the <ESC> ^ command. Code Page #3848Brazil-ABICOMP The other characters are the same as in code page #437.

Checking system software settings in MS-DOS 67 Appendix E: Printer Control Codes This appendix lists the printer’s control commands. It gives the name of each control command, along with the applicable emulation mode (Standard, IBM, or Both), and the applicable ASCII code. Font and Character Set Con...

70 Printer Control Codes Line Spacing Commands Description Mode ASCII Code Advance paper one line (line feed) Both LF Reverse paper one line STD ESC LF Set line spacing to 1/8 ″ Both ESC 0 Set line spacing to 7/72 ″ IBM ESC 1 Set line spacing to 1/6 ″ STD ESC 2 Execute ESC A IBM ESC 2 Set line spaci...

72 Glossary Appendix F: Glossary adjustment lever Controls the darkness of the printing by adjusting for the thickness of the paper you are printing on. Centronics cable Parallel cable normally used to connect the printer to the computer. control code A numeric code that instructs the printer to per...

73 Appendix G: Control Panel Operation Guide Note: A dot means press and hold and an arrow means to just press. A dot and arrow tied together means hold one while pressing the other. DRAFT COURIER 10CPI 12CPI SANSERIF FONT ALT QUIET POWER PROP COND PITCH MACRO PAPER FEED PARK QUIET ON LINE On-Line C...