Epson P-80 manual

EPSON ® P-80 PORTABLE PRINTER User's Manual[...]

FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT FOR AMERICAN USERS This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause interference to radio and television reception. It has been type tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B computi[...]

Contents 1 2 Introduction ................................. . 1 P-80 Features ................................ . 1 About This Manual ........................... . 1 Setting Up Your P-80 .......................... . 3 Printer Preparation ........................... . 3 Covers ................................... . 5 Paper guide ......................[...]

5 6 A B C D Combining Print Modes ....................... . 33 Dot-Matrix Printing ........................... . 33 Print Pitches ................................. . 34 Pitch Mode Combinations ..................... . 35 Expandedmode ............................ . 35 Print Quality Modes .......................... . 36 Dress-up Modes ................[...]

E Specifications of the P-80 ...................... . E-1 Printing ..................................... . E-1 Paper ....................................... . E-2 Printer ...................................... . E-2 Interface .................................... . E-3 Specifications .............................. . E-3 Interface Connector .........[...]

List of Figures 1-1 Unpacking the P-80 ........................ . 4 1-2 Identifying the printer parts ................. . 4 1-3 Locking lever ............................. . 5 1-4 Paper guide .............................. . 6 1-5 Lifting the front cover ...................... . 7 1-6 Installing the ribbon ....................... . 8 1-7 Manual-fee[...]

1-1 Settings for switch 1 ........................ 10 1-2 International character switch settings ........ . 11 1-3 Settings for switch 2 ....................... . 12 1-4 Baud rate switch settings ................... . 12 4-1 5-1 Summary of modes ........................ . 37 5-2 Typestyles ............................... . 38 E-1 Characters.......[...]

Introduction The Epson P-80 is a portable, battery-operated printer that enables you to print anywhere you go. It adds state-of-the-art thermal transfer technology to other features that have made Epson printers so popu- lar. P-80 Features Because the P-80 is lightweight and portable, it is ideal to take along with you anywhere, yet it still functi[...]

The first three chapters of this manual help you set up, operate, and maintain your printer. Chapter 4 contains information on how to use control codes with your printer. Chapter 5 shows you how to combine print modes and Chapter 6 explains the printer’s graphics features. The appendixes contain helpful information about selecting print styles an[...]

Chapter 1 Setting Up Your P-80 In this chapter, you’ll learn how to prepare your printer for opera- tion and how to connect it to your computer. But first, take inventory. With your P-80 you should receive the items shown in Figure 1-1. They are: 1. Your P-80 printer 2. Two thermal ribbon cassettes 3. An AC adapter 4. Five sheets of paper 5. This[...]

Figure 1-1. Unpacking the P-80 (Top view) Figure 1-2. Identifying the printer parts 4[...]

Covers The front and back covers are designed to keep your P-80 free from dust. It is a good idea to keep them closed when your printer is not in use. The front cover protects the print mechanism and reduces the noise level when the printer is on. The serrated edge serves as a convenient tear-off point. It’s a good idea to keep the front cover cl[...]

Note: Before you continue, take a moment to look inside your printer. You will see a gray bar with a line and the word paper. Remove the thin transparent strip covering this bar. Paper guide As mentioned above, when the back cover is vertical, it serves as a paper guide. The paper guide helps you align your paper correctly to ensure that it feeds p[...]

Ribbon installation When you are using thermal paper, you do not have to install the ribbon cassette. With any other type of paper, install the ribbon cas- sette as described below. Chapter 3 gives an explanation of the types of paper to use. Before installing the ribbon cassette, you need to lift the front cover (Figure l-5). Firmly grasp both sid[...]

Figure 1-6. Installing the ribbon 8[...]

4. Hold the cassette so that the exposed ribbon is on the left side and the closed ends of the ribbon holes are on top. Place the cassette over the print mechanism. Make sure the ribbon is placed in front of the silver print head. Press down and snap it into place. That’s all there is to it. Now just close the front cover. Manual-feed knob The ma[...]

Figure 1-8. DIP switches Note: Make certain the printer is turned OFF when you change DIP switch settings. The P-80 checks these settings only at power- up and it will ignore any changes made with the power on (until it is turned off and back on). Switch 1 The functions of the four switches that make up switch 1 are sum- marized in Table 1-1. Table[...]

You can also access the International characters by using a control code. See Chapter 4 for an explanation of control codes and Appendix B for the appropriate code. Table 1-2. International character switch settings Country SW 1-1 SW 1-2 SW 1-3 U.S.A. ON ON ON France OFF ON ON Germany ON OFF ON England OFF OFF ON Denmark ON ON OFF Sweden OFF ON OFF[...]

Table 1-3. Settings for Switch 2 Switch No. Function OFF ON Factory setting SW-2-1 Data bit length 8 bits 7 bits OFF 2-2 Party check No OFF 2-3 Parity 2-4 Stop bit 2-5 Yes Odd Even 2 bits 1 bit OFF OFF O N 2-6 2-7 2-8 Baud rate setting (See Table l-4.) OFF ON OFF The factory-set baud rate for the P-80 is 4800. If your computer requires another baud[...]

For many computers, you merely plug the printer cable into your computer. However, some computers require a printer interface card, either mounted inside or outside the computer. Check your computer installation or operations manual for details on how to connect your computer to your printer, or consult your dealer. As mentioned above, the P-80 use[...]

Chapter 2 Operation and Maintenance Your P-80 is now connected to your computer and ready for opera- tion. In this chapter you’ll learn how to use the controls and indicators on the printer to operate it correctly. You’ll also learn how to recharge the battery and maintain your P-80 to keep it printing smoothly for a long time. Switches and Ind[...]

POWER switch — This switch activates the power when it is in the ON position. Push this switch on and you will hear the print head prepare itself for printing. ON LINE switch — This switch allows you to switch back and forth from on-line to off-line status. When the printer is on-line, it is ready to receive data from the computer. When the pri[...]

Figure 2-2. Paper control switches PAPER SURFACE switch — This switch adjusts the print head speed to improve the print quality on standard paper. Push this lever toward the front when using coarse paper; push it back when using smooth or thermal paper. Note: You have to set the paper surface switch with the power OFF for the change to take effec[...]

The battery needs charging when the print becomes very slow and the ON LINE light blinks. To charge the battery, first turn the power OFF. Then plug the AC adapter into the back of the printer as shown in Figure 2-3. The battery charges in six to seven hours. Figure 2-3. Plugging in the AC adapter The printer can be used with the AC adapter connect[...]

Battery Replacement Your P-80 uses a nickel cadmium battery. If the red light keeps flash- ing after the battery has been charged, the battery has come to the end of its life and must be replaced. Nickel cadmium batteries are available through your Epson dealer. To replace the battery, follow the steps below. 1. See that the power switch is OFF, 2.[...]

Figure 2-5. Lifting the cover 4. With the battery holder cover open, locate the battery connector near the POWER switch. It is marked CN7. Unplug the battery connector noting the direction of insertion. Remove the battery with a screwdriver as shown in Figure 2-6. Figure 2-6. Removing the battery 20[...]

5. Place the new nickel cadmium battery into the battery holder with the connector cable at the bottom. Insert the battery connector into the slot marked CN7. 6. To reinstall the battery holder cover, you first need to remove the front cover. 7. Push the battery holder cover back into place, at the back of the printer, seeing that the tabs on each [...]

Maintenance As with any mechanical device, the best maintenace of your P-80 is preventive maintenance. Here are some general guidelines to follow: 1. Keep your printer in a safe, clean location away from extreme tem- peratures. 2. Clean particles and dust from the printer with a soft cloth or brush. 3. Clean the outside of the printer with a mild c[...]

Chapter 3 Installing Paper By this point, you’re probably anxious to start printing. In this chapter, you’ll learn the different types of paper your P-80 can use and how to install the paper. Then you can start to print by having the printer perform a self-test. Paper Types The type of paper to use with your P-80 is thermal paper. It will give [...]

Remember to adjust the PAPER SURFACE switch for the type of paper you are using. For coarse paper, set the switch to RGH; for smooth or thermal paper, set the switch to SMT. Paper sizes The printer uses single-sheet paper and handles any paper the width of the platen (8½ inches) or narrower. You can also use continuous- feed paper or roll paper. T[...]

Figure 3-1. Loading the paper 4. Turn the manual-feed knob clockwise until the paper feeds through to the front as shown in Figure 3-1. 5. Put the power switch in the ON position if you have not done so already. You are now ready to print. 25[...]

Removing the paper When you are finished printing, remove the paper by using the manual-feed knob. If your paper is almost out of the printer, you can release it by placing the lock lever in the FREE position. The P-80 Self-Test It’s time to see how your P-80 operates. The P-80 self-test is a built- in program that prints all the standard charact[...]

Chapter 4 Control Codes This chapter explains how a computer uses control codes to send instructions to your printer. Specifically, you’ll learn how the control codes work with the P-80. (Appendix A shows a complete listing of all the P-80 control codes.) If you are going to use your printer with commercial software pack- ages, it is not necessar[...]

alphanumeric characters and special symbols. For instance, 65 repre- sents the capital letter “A”, while 90 represents the capital letter “Z.” On the P-80, the graphics character set is stored at codes 128 through 159. Other ASCII numbers control computer and printer functions. Table 4-1 summarizes the range of the ASCII codes used by the P[...]

following chart shows many different ways of referring to the code for the carriage return function. Carriage return Its common name CR The abbreviation of its name 13 The decimal ASCII code 0DH Its hexadecimal ASCII code CTRL/M Its control-code name CHR$(13) Its usage in BASIC As you can see there are many different ways to refer to a single code.[...]

You will have a better understanding of how the (ESC) codes work when you use them in your programming. Appendix A lists all the ASCII codes and Appendix B summarizes their functions. A BASIC example Keep in mind that the ASCII codes and the ESCape sequences are mostly used with programming languages. One example is to use your printer to print lis[...]

Underline mode does not use the underline character which is prob- ably used in your word processing software. Since the underline char- acter is only five dots wide, it does not print in the space between each text character. Type and run a new program: NEW 10 FOR X=1 TO 41: LPRINT CHR$(95);: NEXT X 20 LPRINT CHR$(13); 30 LPRINT "THIS PROGRAM[...]

Chapter 5 Combining Print Modes One of the most pleasing aspects of your P-80 printer is its variety of print modes that can be combined to make different typestyles. You access these print modes through programming languages such as BASIC. You can also access them through your word processing pro- gram, if your program allows you to insert print c[...]

Figure 5-1. Main columns and intermediate positions Although each P-80 character is designed to be five or fewer col- umns wide, dots can also be placed midway between each main col- umn. This means that the dot pattern is printed twice, shifted one half dot to the right. Figure 5-2 shows how the dots printed in these inter- mediate columns actuall[...]

just over 17 characters per inch. The smaller characters allow for spreadsheets, or other work that requires compact printing, to be squeezed on an 8½-inch page. In Figure 5-3, you can see the difference in the two pitches. Pica is the default, the pitch in effect when the printer is turned on. 1 inch Pic a ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZab Compresse d[...]

Print Quality Modes There are two modes that produce boldface (darker) characters which make your printout more distinctive. These modes are Double- Strike and Emphasized. Each gets its bold effect by printing overlap- ping dots as explained earlier in this chapter. Figure 5-5 shows the difference between Single-Strike (the default), and Emphasized[...]

together, the one with less priority is temporarily ignored. Only when the higher priority mode is turned off, will the lower priority mode take effect. For example, suppose you activate both Emphasized and Com- pressed. Since these modes cannot be combined, the printer must make a choice. In this case, the printer chooses Emphasized because it is [...]

4. When two modes conflict, the one of lesser priority is masked (not cancelled). For example, Compressed and Emphasized cannot be printed at the same time. When both are active, printing is in Emphasized. When Emphasized is cancelled, printing is in Com- pressed. 5. When Expanded is active, Compressed takes priority over Empha- sized. 6. Emphasize[...]

Chapter 6 Graphics Your P-80 is capable of printing special graphics characters and dot graphics, but you do need some programming knowledge to use these graphics features. This chapter is included for those who wish to design their own programs to take advantage of the printer’s graphics capabilities. Some computers allow you to draw figures on [...]

80 FOR X=150 TO 159 90 LPRINT CHR$(X)" "; 100 NEXT X: LPRINT 110 LPRINT CHR$(27)"@" Remember that you can print these characters in different pitches and weights. For example, if you want to see them in Pica, delete line 10 from your program to produce the result below. You probably can think of many uses for the graphics charac[...]

120 130 140 DATA 134,-6,32,134,-6,149,134,-l DATA 134,152,32,152,32,152,32,134,-6,32,134,-1 DATA 137,-6,133,129,-6,133,138,0 Now that you have seen the program work, you can substitute your own DATA lines to make it print any combination of graphics characters you need. Notice that each DATA line corresponds to a print line, and each ends with -1, [...]

Each time the print head makes a horizontal pass, it prints a pattern of dots. To print figures taller than 7 or 8 dots, the print head must make more than one pass. Each pass of the print head contains one piece of the total pattern, which can be as tall or short as you desire. You don’t have to use the whole page or even an entire line for your[...]

you can use a 2 or 3 for n 2 . A 2 in the second slot means reserve 2 groups of 256 dots (512) plus whatever is in the first slot and so on-up to 3 times 256 (or 768) dots. An easy way to determine the correct numbers for n 1 and n 1 is to figure the maximum number of dots per line in the density you want to use (480 in Single-Density and 960 in Do[...]

Figure 6-1. Labelling elements Decimal sum of the desired pin pattern Figure 6-2. Element combinations 4 4[...]

The place values in a binary number are powers of two. Figure 6-2 shows how you use a decimal sum—74—to fire a particular pattern. If you try adding several numbers together, you’ll see that with this sys- tem you get no duplicates. The number 6 represents elements 2 and 4 (since 2 + 4 = 6) and there is no other way to get 6 by adding powers [...]

The width of one space invader in this program is 12-dot positions (plus one blank space). This means that 13-dot positions are enough data to describe a single invader. We will use a series of 20 invaders for this program. This gives you a total of 260 (13 x 20) dot positions for data. To find n 1 and n 2 , divide 260 by 256 and you get a quotient[...]

Note: If you don’t understand how the numbers were determined, refer to Figures 6-1 and 6-2. It takes a while for your system to compute the data so be patient. Your printout should look like this: Run the program once more, but this time use Double-Density mode. When the program asks you for a control code, enter L. Enter the rest of the data ex[...]

WIDTH statements Many computer systems automatically insert a carriage return and a line feed after every 80 characters. This insertion usually causes no problem with text, but it can spoil your graphics. In the Graphics mode, some systems insert the control codes after 120 columns, which may be in the middle of a line. You can usually prevent thes[...]

Figure 6-4. Result of incorrect program Once the graphics mode is in effect, every number sent to the printer is interpreted as a dot pattern and printed on the paper. Since no semicolon appears at the end of line 20, the numbers 13 and 10- the codes for carriage return and line feed-are sent to the printer after CHR$(0), and interpreted as dot pat[...]

l Do not put any other commands between the graphics command and its data. We hope this example helps you identify errors if one of your own programs gives you unexpected results. 50[...]

Appendix A ASCII Codes and Character Sets This appendix provides information about the ASCII codes used on the P-80 printer. The first section shows the available codes between 0 and 32 with their decimal and hexadecimal numbers, abbreviations, and the control keys associated with each code. The first section also displays, in ASCII order, the deci[...]

Decimal Hexadecimal 20 14 27 1B 32 20 Decimal 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 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 Hexadecimal Character 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 2A 2B 2C 2D 2E 2F 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 3A 3B 3C 3D 3E 3F 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 Abbreviation <DC4> <ESC> <SP> [...]

Decimal Hexadecimal 111 6F 112 70 113 71 114 72 115 73 116 74 117 75 118 76 119 77 Character o p q r s t u V W International Characters Decimal Hexadecimal Character 120 78 x 121 79 y 122 7A z 123 7B { 124 7C | 125 7D } 126 7E ~ 127 7F none Graphics Characters A-3[...]

Special Characters A-4[...]

Appendix B Control Code Summary This appendix gives a brief summary of the P-80 control codes. You cause a control code to be sent to an output device by using another command. The most common command for sending a code to the screen is PRINT and to the printer is LPRINT. If your computer does not use these commands, check its reference manual and [...]

ESC Dec Hex Symbol Function - 10 0A LF - 12 0C FF - 13 0D CR - 14 0E SO - 15 0F SI - 18 12 DC2 - 20 14 DC4 - 27 1B ESC ESC 45 2D - ESC 48 30 0 ESC 50 32 2 ESC 51 33 3 Line feed. Empties the printer buffer, performs a line feed at the current line spacing, and resets the buffer character count to 0. Form feed. Empties the printer buffer, then advanc[...]

ESC Dec Hex Symbol Function ESC 52 34 4 Turns Italic mode ON. ESC 53 35 5 Turns Italic mode OFF ESC 64 40 @ Reset Code, which resets the printer to its power-up state, including resetting top of form. Clears all text and control codes from the print buffer. ESC 65 41 A ESC 67 43 C ESC 67 43 C ESC 69 45 E ESC 70 46 F Turns Emphasized mode OFF ESC 71[...]

ESC Dec Hex Symbol Function ESC 76 4C L Turns Double-Density Graphics mode ON. Prints 960 dots per 8-inch line. Format: CHR$(27)”L”CHR$(n 1 )CHR$(n 2 ) followed by n data numbers, where n = total number of dot columns, n 1 = n MOD 256, n 2 = INT (n/256). For example, to print 960 dots, n 1 = 192, n 2 = 3. ESC 82 52 R Selects an international ch[...]

Appendix C Control Codes by Function This appendix shows the same control codes as Appendix B; they are arranged by categories and by ASCII order within the categories. Character Width (Pitch) CHR$(5) Turns Compressed Mode ON. CHR$(18) Turns Compressed Mode OFF. CHR$(14) Turns One-Line Expanded Mode ON. CHR$(20) Turns One-Line Expanded Mode OFF. CH[...]

Mode and Character-Set Selection CHR$(27)“4” Turns Italic Mode ON. CHR$(27)“5” Turns Italic Mode OFF. CHR$(27)"@” Reset Code. CHR$(27)“R” CHR$(n) Selects an international character set. Line Spacing CHR$(27)“0” Sets line spacing to l/S-inch. CHR$(27)“2” Sets line spacing to 1/6-inch (default). CHR$(27)“A”CHR$(n) Sets [...]

Appendix D Using Your P-80 with the Geneva™ PX-8™ Since your P-80 is a portable printer, it is a suitable companion for any portable computer. With the P-80, you can print anywhere, thus eliminating the need to wait until you have access to a desktop printer. The Geneva is one example of a portable computer. It comes with a pre-installed utilit[...]

Note: If you do not use a dot command, or omit page numbers, as described above, the P-80 stops printing near the bottom of the page. Although printing has stopped, the printer and the com- puter remain in the print stage. To end your print session, in WordStar, press the P to stop print and then Y to abandon print. If you are going to be using Wor[...]

Figure D-l. Connecting the Geneva to the P-80 Be sure you have properly connected your printer and it is ON and on-line before you begin to print. If the P-80 won’t respond to any of the computer’s print commands, hold down CTRL and press STOP on the Geneva. Then check to see that you have the proper serial port connection, the cable is connect[...]

Appendix E Specifications of the P-80 Printing Printing Method Printing Direction Paper feed speed Character Sets Thermal transfer Unidirectional (left to right) 2 lines per second (at 1/6 inch/line) 96 Roman characters 96 Italic characters 32 Graphics characters 8 International character sets Line Spacing 1/6 inch (default), 1/8 inch or programmab[...]

Table E-1 Characters Character Pica Pica Pica Pica Pica Pica Italic Italic Italic Italic italic Italic CPL= Expanded Emphasized Emphasized Condensed Condensed Expanded Expanded Expanded Emphasized Emphasized Condensed Condensed Expanded Expanded characters per line CPI = characters per inch CPS = characters per second Print mode Paper Paper types S[...]

Printing capability with fully charged batter- ies: 60,000 characters (approximately 30 pages on 8½ by 11 paper with 2,000 charac- ters per page) Environment Temperature: 5°C to 35°C Humidity: 10% to 80% RH Ribbon Cassette ribbon, black, model #8760 Ribbon life expectancy 40,OOO characters (approximately 20 pages with 2,000 characters per page) [...]

Interface Signals E-4[...]

Index A A4•Legal6 AC adapter 17-18 Arrows 6 ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) 27-30, A-l codes and graphics 39, A-3 codes and international characters A-3 codes and special characters A-4 codes listed for all characters A-2 -A-4 codes on the P-80 28 Automatic line feed 11 B Baud rate 12 B56 Back cover 5 BASIC 30-31, 33, 3[...]

D Density. See Graphics mode Dimensions, of printer E-2 DIP switches 9-12 switch 1 10 switch 2 11 DENSITY switch 16 Dot in dot graphics 39, 41, 45 matrix 33 positions 33 Double-Density graphics 42-43, 47, B-4, C-2 Double-Strike mode 36-37, B-3, C-l Dress-Up Modes. See Underline mode; Italic mode E Emphasized mode 36-37, 40, B-3, C-l Environment, of[...]

width of 48 See also Graphics mode Graphics mode 42, 47-48 Single-Density 42-43, 45, B-3, C-2 Double-Density 42-43, 47, B-4, C-2 H Hinges 7 Holders. See Paper holders Horizontal tab B-l, C-2 I Indicators 15 Installation battery 19-21 printer cable 12-13 ribbon cassette 7-9 Interface E-3 connector E-3 signals E-4 specifications E-3 International cha[...]

M Maintenance 22 Manual-feed knob 9, 25-26 Metal paper stand 6 Modes, combining 33, 35-38 priorities 36 summary, table of 37 See also specific modes by name 0 Off line 16 ON LINE light 16 ON LINE switch 16-18 OPEN 5 Orange tab 7 P Paper coarse 24 loading 24 placement 24 roll paper 24, E-2 sizes 24 thermal 7, 23 types 23 widths 6 Paper control switc[...]

Portable Scheduler D-l Portable WordStar 33, 37-38, D-l-D-2 POWER switch 16 PRINT command 30, B-l Print head 9 and dot graphics, 41-43 life of E-3 Print modes 33, 36 See also specific print mode Print typestyles D-2 Print width. See Characters, specifications of Printer parts 3-4 Printer preparation 3 Priorities. See Modes, priorities R Reset code [...]

T Technical specifications E-l-E-4 characters E-2 interface E-2-E-4 paper E-2 printer E-2-E-3 printing E-I Temperature, of printer 22, E-3 Test. See Self-test Typestyles chart D-2 U Underline mode 30, 36, 38, B-2, C-l W Weight, of printer E-2 Width See Characters, specifications of statement 48 Index-6[...]

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ASCII Code Summary Dec 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 l8 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 Hex CHR 00 none 01 none 02 none 03 none 04 none 05 none 06 none 07 08 none none 09 HT 0A LF 0B none 0C FF 0D CR 0E SO OF SI 10 none 11 none 12 DC2 13 none 14 DC4 15 none 16 none [...]

Character Width (Pitch) CHR$(15) Turns Compressed Mode ON. CHR$(18) Turns Compressed Mode OFF. CHR$(14) Turns One-Line Expanded Mode ON. CHR$(20) Turns One-Line Expanded Mode OFF. CHR!$(27)“W0” Turns either Expanded Mode OFF. CHR$(27)“Wl” Turns Continuous Expanded Mode ON. Character Weight CHR$(27)“E” Turns Emphasized Mode ON. CHR$(27)?[...]

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. This warranty period com[...]