Star Micronics 8 Series - Chapter 2: Controlling Your Printer; Printer Parameters

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YoucancontrolyourStarLaserPrinter8 intwoways,eitherthroughfront
panelparameters or throughsoftwarecommands. In thischapterwe will
considerprintercontrolsmostlyfrom the perspectiveof the frontpanel.
However,we’llalsomeetfourspecialcommands,the StarLaserPrinter8
superset.
Throughout this manual we approach parameters and commands the same
way: overall pnnter-level controls first, then page-level controls (layout and
print position movements), and finally character-level controls
(fontsand
graphics).We’lldiscussthesein generaltermsin thischapter.
Thespecificcommandsyoucansendto yourprintertomakeit emulare,or
worklike, otherprintersare describedin chapters4 through7. The most
importantfactaboutprintercommands,though,is thatyou maynot even
needtoknowhowtousethem.If yoursoftwaresystemsincludetheirown
printer drivers, you may want to read only this chapter and skip all of
chaptem4 through7.
PRINTER PARAMETERS
The front panel
TheeasiestwaytocontrolyourStarLaserPrinter8isthroughitsfrontpanel,
asexplainedinmoredetailinyourStarLaserPrinter8 OperationsManuai.
Whenyourprinteris online(connectedto and underthe controlof your
computer),its front panel display shows you the printer’s status. For
example,the READYlight blinkswhen the printer is warmingup. The
DATAlightcomesonwhenevertheprinterisholdingdataithasn’tprinted
yet.
WhenyoupresstheON
LINE button,theprinterchangesfromnormalto
ofline modeandcannotacceptdatafromyourcomputer.Whentheprinter
isofflineyoucanusetheotherpanelbuttons.Forinstance,if youpressthe
TEST/PREVIOUS button when the laser printer is offline, it finishes
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