Star Micronics LC-240C - Manual

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. A push tractor unit (PT-10Y) and a Serial-To-Parall...

General guide 3 General guide The following illustrations show the major component parts of the your printer. For a description of what each part does, see the Glossary on page 72 of this manual. Control panel Front cover Automatic sheet feeder Paper support Interface connector Paper button Power bu...

4 Printer Setup Opening the front cover ❏ Hook your fingers under the two small tabs on either side of the front cover and pull upwards to swing the front cover open. Note: You can completely remove the front cover from the printer. However, we recommend that you normally leave it in place. The cove...

About ribbon cartridges 5 About ribbon cartridges The type of ribbon cartridge that comes with your printer depends on whether it is a color printer or a monochrome printer. Monochrome printer models come with a monochrome ribbon cartridge with a built-in print head shield, while color printer model...

Installing the paper support 7 ❏ Replace the front cover of the printer. Press down on the raised parts at the back of the cover until it snaps securely shut. Installing the paper support ❏ Insert the ends of the paper support into the slots on the printer as shown in the following illustration. Con...

Connecting to a power outlet 9 Connecting to a power outlet ❏ Plug the power cord of the printer into a standard power outlet whose voltage matches the power rating noted on the label affixed to the bottom of your printer. Note that the printer does not have a power switch to turn power on and off. ...

Loading paper 11 ❏ Pick up the stack of paper with both hands, and fan through the paper with your thumb. This prevents paper from sticking together when it is fed by the automatic feeder. Note: The automatic sheet feeder can hold about 55 sheets of paper at one time. ❏ Make sure that all four edges...

12 Printer Setup ❏ Slide the left-hand paper guide to the right so that the stack of paper now sits snugly between the two guides. The paper should be able to slide freely into the printer, but it should not be able to move from side to side. ❏ Push the paper tray cover of the automatic sheet feeder...

14 Printer Setup Re-installing the automatic sheet feeder ❏ Open the front cover of the printer. ❏ Carefully lower the automatic sheet feeder into the printer, making sure that the two round tabs on either end of it enter into the corresponding slots inside the printer. You should have the automatic...

15 Chapter 2: User Setup Utility In addition to the Windows 3.1 driver, the 3.5” floppy disk drive that comes with this printer also contains a User Setup Utility that gives you total control over a variety of printing features and functions. In this chapter you will learn about: ❏ Installing the Us...

Starting up the User Setup Utility 17 Starting up the User Setup Utility ❏ To start up the User Setup Utility, move to the directory you specified under “Installing the User Setup Utility” on page 15. If you want to move to the directory we named “star” in our example in the previous section, you wo...

18 User Setup Utility Important! Your printer cannot read the settings if your computer and printer are connected through an optional Serial-To-Parallel Interface Converter. In such a case, you can still use the User Setup Utility to send settings to the printer, but you cannot read the printer’s cu...

Using the General window 19 The other type of parameter box are “toggle” type, which means that you select one setting or the other. Note that with both types of parameter boxes, the currently selected setting is indicated by a ball inside the parentheses on the left of the setting. Asterisks to the...

20 User Setup Utility Emulation ❏ Select either standard emulation or IBM emulation. Note that the emulation you choose determines the character set and printer control commands that are applied for printing. See “Character Sets” on page 60 for the character sets used by each type of emulation. See ...

Using the General window 21 RAM Usage ❏ Specify whether RAM should be used as an input buffer or as a download buffer. Selecting Input Buffer tells the printer to use available RAM to store data it receives from the computer. This speeds up the printing operation, but it also means that RAM cannot b...

22 User Setup Utility Using the Font window ❏ While in the User Setup Utility, select Font from the menu bar. The following describes the various settings that are available for each parameter on this screen. LQ Font ❏ Select the font that you want to use as the printer’s default letter-quality font...

Using the Font window 23 Font Lock ❏ Switch the font lock on ( Enabled ) or off ( Disabled ). When font lock is enabled, the printer will not allow the font to be changed by the software application you are using. When disabled, the application software can control the fonts used for printing. Zero ...

24 User Setup Utility Using the Paper window While in the User Setup Utility, select Paper from the menu bar. The following describes the various settings that are available for each parameter on this screen. Page Length ❏ Specify the length of the paper you are using. Line Spacing ❏ Select the line...

Using the Paper window 25 Top Margin ❏ Select the spacing from the top of the paper to the first line of printing. Paper Out ❏ Switch the paper out detect function on ( Enabled ) or off ( Disabled ). When paper out detection is enabled, the printer automatically stops printing whenever it senses the...

26 User Setup Utility Adjusting the printer’s vertical alignment ❏ While in the User Setup Utility, select Adjust . from the menu bar. The above window is used to test and adjust the vertical alignment of the printer in each printing mode. You may never have to use the procedure described in this se...

Changing the printer port 27 ❏ If you see that your printer requires adjustment, select the box for the mode you want to adjust (by clicking inside it with the mouse or by moving to it by pressing Tab ). ❏ Next, select a negative value to shift the lower row left, or a positive value to shift the li...

28 User Setup Utility Saving setup data as a new configuration file Use the following procedure to save the current User Setup Utility settings as a configuration file. ❏ While in the User Setup Utility, select the Save item from the menu bar. ❏ Input the name that you want to assign to the configur...

Importing setup data from a configuration file 29 Importing setup data from a configuration file Use the following procedure to load setup data from a previously saved configuration file. ❏ While in the User Setup Utility, select the Load item from the menu bar. The currently selected configuration ...

30 Exiting the User Setup Utility ❏ While in the User Setup Utility, select the Exit item from the menu bar. ❏ Specify whether or not you want to send the settings to the printer by clicking on the corresponding item on the screen. Or you can use the up and down arrow keys to highlight the selection...

31 Chapter 3: Using the Printer with Windows 3.1 This chapter contains specific information you need to know when using the printer with Microsoft Windows 3.1. It also tells you how to install the printer driver on your computer so that it can control the printer correctly. In this chapter, you will...

32 Using the Printer with Windows 3.1 You can also accomplish the same result by clicking on Browse… and selecting the drive where the driver floppy is loaded. Next you should select INSTALL.EXE and click OK . ❏ Click on the language that you want to use and then click on Install to start the instal...

Getting ready to print 33 Getting ready to print Before printing, there are a number of things you must first do to set up the printer. You must select the printer driver, and the paper source, size, and orientation. Use the following procedure to make these selections. Note: You do not need to perf...

34 Using the Printer with Windows 3.1 Note: The Paper Source pull down menu in the above window gives lets you choose between Auto Sheet Feeder and Manual Feed. If you are using the optional push tractor unit, you must use the Paper Source menu to specify the push tractor unit as the paper source. T...

Printing a document 35 Use this window to specify the range of the pages to be printed, the quality of the printing (in dots per inch), and the number of copies you want to print. Note also that there are boxes that you can select to specify printing to a file or collating (printing from back to fro...

36 Using the Printer with Windows 3.1 Installing TrueType fonts The TrueType fonts that are supplied on the 3.5” floppy disk that comes with the printer can be used only when you are running Windows 3.1 or later. Use the following procedure to install the fonts. ❏ Launch Windows. ❏ Open the Windows ...

37 Chapter 4: Control Panel Operations The control panel gives you push-button control over the printer’s power and paper feed operations. It also includes an indicator light that tells you the current status of the printer at a glance. Note: For full details on paper handling, see page 39 of this m...

38 Control Panel Operations To switch between the Ready and Not-Ready Modes ❏ Press Power to switch the computer between being the Ready and Not- Ready Modes. ❏ When the printer is in the Ready Mode, the READY indicator is lit and the printer can receive data from the computer. This means that you s...

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

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

Automatic sheet feeding 41 Automatic sheet feeding Your printer comes with a built-in automatic sheet feeder that can hold up to 55 sheets of paper. See page 9 of this manual for details on using the auto sheet feeder. ❏ To feed paper into the printer, press the control panel’s PAPER button twice. M...

43 Chapter 6: 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 ❏ How to select fonts from within an application Setting up for ...

44 Using the Printer with MS-DOS ❏ If none of the printers listed above is available in the application, choose one of the following. Once again, you should choose the one that is nearest to the top in the following list. Use User Setup Utility to select IBM emulation (page 20). The above two printe...

45 Chapter 7: Other Printing Features This chapter details other features that you are sure to find helpful, no matter what kind of document you are printing. They provide you with the versatility to make your output look exactly as you want it. In this chapter, you will learn about: ❏ How to pause ...

46 Appendix A: Troubleshooting The appendix tells you what you need to know 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 for sp...

Testing the printer 47 Short test The short test prints the version number of the software contained in the printer’s ROM, followed by seven lines of text. If you are using a color ribbon, each line is printed using a different color. Long test A long test continually prints the version number of th...

48 Troubleshooting Instead of a normal printout, data will be printed in sixteen columns of hexadecimal numbers (two groups of eight numbers each). The equivalent printalble characters (or dots in the case of unprintable codes) are printed to the right of each row of hexadecimal numbers.After you st...

Troubleshooting guide 49 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 READY indicator does not light or flash. The printer is not receiving power. Check whet...

Checking system software settings in Windows 55 Checking system software settings in Windows Whenever you have problems printing from a Windows application, you should check the following three things: ✓ Is the printer you are using set as the default printer? ✓ Is the printer you are using correctl...

56 Troubleshooting Checking system software settings in MS-DOS If you are using a parallel cable and cannot print a text file using the MS-DOS PRINT command, you may have a problem with your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Open the file and look for the following line: MODE LPT1:=COM 1 or MODE LPT1:=COM 2 These ...

57 Appendix B: Specifications Printing System Serial Impact Dot-Matrix Printing Speed Pitch Draft (cps/dpi) LQ (cps/dpi) Pica (10 cpi) 160/120H 53/360H Elite (12 cpi) 192/120H 64/360H Semi-condensed (15 cpi (S)) 240/120H 80/360H Semi-condensed (15 cpi (I)) 120/240H 80/360H Condensed pica (17 cpi) 13...

58 Specifications Paper Single-sheet (manual feeding)Paper width: 7 ″ to 10.5 ″ / 178 to 267 mm Paper length: 5.5 ″ to 14 ″ / 140 to 356 mm Paper thickness: 0.00276 ″ to 0.00472 ″ / 0.07 to 0.12 mm Paper weight: 52 to 90 g/m 2 / 45 to 77 kg / 14 to 24 lbs. Single sheet (automatic sheet feeding)Paper...

59 Appendix C: Interface Pin Outs Parallel Interface Pin Name Function 1 STROBE Goes low for ≥ 0.5 µ s when active. 2 DATA0 High when active. 3 DATA1 High when active. 4 DATA2 High when active. 5 DATA3 High when active. 6 DATA4 High when active. 7 DATA5 High when active. 8 DATA6 High when active. 9 ...

60 Appendix D: Character Sets Standard Character Set #2 International Character Set The character codes shown in the table are hexadecimal.

62 Character Sets Code Page #860Portuguese Other characters are the same as those for Code Page #437. Code Page #861Icelandic Other characters are the same as those for Code Page #437. Code Page #863Canadian French Other characters are the same as those for Code Page #437. Code Page #865Nordic Other...

Checking the port settings in the User Setup Utility 65 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 ...

66 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 Control Commands Description Mode ASCII Code Se...

Checking the port settings in the User Setup Utility 67 Print Pitch Control Commands Description Mode ASCII Code Select one line expanded print Both SO Same as SO Both ESC SO Select condensed print Both SI Same as SI Both ESC SI Cancel condensed print STD DC2 Set print pitch to pica IBM DC2 Cancel o...

68 Printer Control Codes Special Print Mode Commands Description Mode ASCII Code Set master print mode STD ESC! Cancel underlining Both ESC-0 Select underlining Both ESC-1 Select emphasized print Both ESC E Cancel emphasized print Both ESC F Select double-strike print Both ESC G Cancel double-strike...

Checking the port settings in the User Setup Utility 69 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...

70 Printer Control Codes Horizontal Print Position Control Commands Description Mode ASCII Code Move print head to next horizontal tab position Both HT Return print head to left margin (carriage return) Both CR Move print head to absolute horizontal position STD ESC $ n1 n2 Add n dot spaces between ...

Checking the port settings in the User Setup Utility 71 Set initial condition IBM ESC [K Ignored STD ESC h n Stop printing IBM ESC j Select printing color Both ESC r n Cancel double-high mode STD ESC w0 Select double-high mode STD ESC w1 Ignored STD ESC ~ n NEC Commands Description Mode ASCII Code S...

72 Appendix F: Glossary A.E.C Automatic Emulation Change feature that allows the printer to automatically select the proper emulation mode (standard or IBM). automatic sheet feeder Device built into the printer that automatically feeds individual sheets for printing. Centronics cable Parallel cable ...

Customer service information If you experience any technical difficulties with your Star printer, please refer to Appendix A How to deal with printing problems. This chapter describes easy methods to diagnose and resolve some of the problems that you may encounter.For further technical support, you ...