EN
Specifications A-19
Serial Cable Specifications
Serial communication is simply the transmission of data one bit at 
a time. With just one bit to transmit at a time, data can be transferred 
with a simple electrical circuit consisting of only two wires. In this 
fashion, an eight-bit byte is transmitted one bit at a time and the 
individual bits are reassembled into the original byte on the 
receiving end. Bit transmission occurs from the least significant bit 
to the most significant bit.
Data Terminal 
Equipment (DTE)
Transmit on pin 2 and receive on pin 3. A printer is typically a DTE device.
Data 
Communications 
Equipment (DCE)
Transmit on pin 3 and receive on pin 2. A modem is typically a DCE 
device.
Asynchronous 
Communication
Asynchronous communication or start/stop transmission is the concept 
of enclosing a character with a start and stop bit. The RS-232 
specification defines the standards for asynchronous serial 
communication.
Parity Parity is a method of error checking at the bit level.
HP LaserJet 
Serial Data 
Format
Transmission is asynchronous, with one start bit, eight data bits and one 
stop bit. Parity is not used. HP LaserJet printers are DTE devices.
Serial Interface 
Protocol 
(handshaking)
Handshaking is the method by which the flow of data between two 
devices is controlled. The two methods of flow control that are used by 
HP LaserJet printers are software flow control, in which one device 
controls another by the content of the data, and hardware flow control, 
in which one device can control another by changing the voltage on a 
wire.
Software Flow 
Control (software 
handshaking)
Xon/Xoff is a data stream handshake protocol that sends Xon (DC1; 11 
Hex) to the computer from the printer’s transmit data pin when the printer 
is able to accept data and sends Xoff (DC3; 13 Hex) when the printer is 
not ready for data.
Hardware Flow 
Control (hardware 
handshaking)
By definition, hardware handshaking is performed when two programs 
manipulate RS-232 control pins-DTR, DSR, RTS, and CTS to achieve a 
hardware-based form of flow control. In DTR/DSR handshaking, the 
sender asserts DTR (Data Terminal Ready) before sending the first 
character in a stream of data and waits for DSR (Data Set Ready) to be 
asserted in return. RTS/CTS handshaking is similar, but uses the 
Request To Send and Clear To Send pins rather than Data Terminal 
Ready. In either case, the sender delays transmitting data until the 
receiver is ready.
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