Star Micronics NL-10 User's Manual
Contents
1. This booklet is available from the U S Govertnment Printing Office Washington D C 20402 Stock No 004 000 00345 4 For compliance with Federal Noise Interference Standard this equipment requires a shielded cable This statement will be applied only for the printers marketed in U S A Self Declaration Radio interferences regarding this equipment has been eliminated according to Vfg 1046 1984 announced by the DBP DBP has been informed about the introduction of this special equipment and has been conceded the right to examine the whole series It is upon the responsibility of the user to assume that his own assembled system is in accordance with the technical regulations under Vfg 1046 1984 To observe FTZ regulations it is necessary to establish all connections to the printer with shielded cable The equipment may only be opened by qualified service representatives This statement will be applied only for the printers marketed in West Germany Trademark Acknowledgement NL 10 Star Micronics Co Ltd NOTICE e All rights reserved Reproduction of any part of this manual in any form whatso ever without STAR S express permission is forbidden e The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice e All efforts have been made to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this manual at the time of going to press However should any errors be detected STAR would be greatly appreciate being informed of them e The a2. 2 8 9 The Power indicator should be blinking Turn the platen knob to feed the paper until the indicator stops blinking 10 Now turn the platen knob the other way just a bit until the indicator starts blinking again 11 Set the release lever to the auto feed setting The printer will advance the paper automatically 12 When the paper stops set the release lever for sprocket feed paper again 13 Finally install the paper guide on the printer Figure 2 8 Now you re ready to roll 18 Figure 2 8 Ready to run with sprocket feed paper ADJUSTING THE PRINT HEAD The distance between the print head and the platen must be adjusted to accom modate papers of different thicknesses To make this adjustment move the adjust ment lever which is under the printer cover and immediately in front of the release lever Figure 2 9 Pulliing the adjustment lever towards you will widen the gap pushing it away from you will narrow the gap There are four positions you can feel the lever clicking into the various notches The first step illustrated is the one most commonly used for single sheets of paper You souldn t have any trouble finding the right gap setting for your paper If necessary experiment you ll soon find the best position for the paper you re using 19 er KB gt D A ai 2 v Ad Adjustment lever Figure 2 9 The adjustment lever allows for different thicknesses of paper 20 MEMO CHA
3. on a flat surface e Keeping it out of direct sunlight and away from heat producing appliances e Using it only in temperatures where you are comfortable e Avoiding areas with a lot of dust grease or humidity e Giving it clean electricity Don t connect it to the same circuit used by large noise producing appliances such as refrigerators e The line voltage should be within 10 of the voltage specified on the identification plate WHAT HAVE WE HERE Now let s take a look at what s in the carton Open it up and check each item in the box against Figure 1 1 There should be four items Figure 1 1 Check to make sure you have all four items 1 printer 2 paper guide 3 ribbon cartridge and 4 user s manual In addition to your printer you also need an Interface cartridge that connects your computer to this printer These are sold separately because each brand of computer uses a different inter face cartridge EB Removing the printer cover The printer s cover is important for two reasons it keeps dust and dirt away from the printer s delicate mechanism and absorbs nearly all of the printer s operating noise Don t take off the cover except when you have to change the ribbon or to make an adjustment Removing the printer cover is easy Lift up the back of the cover to disengage the two tabs at the front and then lift it off the rest of teh way To replace it just slide the tabs in at the front a
4. 13 PAPER BAIL The bail is the movable bar that holds the paper against the platen Its position depends on the setting of the release lever DIP SWITCHES This is a set of eight switches that are used in interfacing the printer to your computer There are also switches to set page length line spacing perforation skipping and selecting the international character sets See the manual of your interface cartridge for a complete list and explanation SELECTING AND LOADING PAPER Your printer can handle the two basic types of paper single sheets stationery envelopes multipart business forms etc and continuous paper fan folded per forated paper This is a good place to tell you about the release lever which you ll be using often This lever controls the pressure of the paper against the platen It has four settings a The top setting is used when you want to load paper in the printer k The second setting is for sprocket feed paper f The third is for sprocket feed paper W The bottom one is used when you want to release the paper completely to adjust it Release lever Paper baii Figure 2 3 Use friction feed for single sheets and tractor feed for continuous paper 14 The paper bail holds the paper against the platen according to the setting of the release lever The bail is opened when the release lever is in the top position closed when the lever is in the second or third positions a
5. 8 Pull out the ribbon and thread it as shown in Figure 3 3 It s easy for the ribbon to get twisted along its path so be careful 24 Figure 3 3 Make sure that the ribbon is not twisted when you thread it through its path 9 Firmly pull the idler gear towrds you and guide the ribbon between the idler gear and the ribbon drive gear 10 Remove the top and the bottom of the ribbon holder 11 Replace the ribbon cartridge top cover 12 Now you re almost finished Remount the cartridge to the printer Notice that five replacements is the maximum after which you should buy a completelt new cartridge REPLACING THE PRINT HEAD The dot matrix print head has a remarkably long life It will print perhaps 100 000 000 characers before you have to replace it You ll know when that time comes when printing is too faint even after you replace the ribbon cartridge Warning The print head gets hot during operation so let it cool off before you touch it To replace the print head start by turning off the Power switch and unplugging the power cord Then follow this procedure 25 1 Remove the printer cover and the ribbon cartridge 2 Remove the print head left along the carriage until you can see the connector cover Remove the cover from the printer frame for datails see Figure 3 4 Unplug the print head cable from the head cable board Figure 3 4 Replacement of the print head is simple 3 Hold back the tab that locks t
6. NL 10 USERS MANUAL PN 80820108 Federal Communications Commission Radio Frequency Interference Statement 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 com ply with the limits for a Class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in Subpart J of Part 15 of FCC Rules which are designed to provide reasonable protec tion against such interfernce in a residential installation However ther is no guarantee that interfernce will not occur in a particular installation If this equipment does cause interference to radeo or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures e Reorient the receiving antenna e Relocate the conputer with rewpect to the receiver e Move the computer away from the receiver e Plug the computer into a different outlet so that computer and receiver are on different branch circuits If necessary the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio television tech nician for additional suggestions The user may find the following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications Commission helpful How to Identify and Resolve Ra dio TV Interference Problems
7. PTER 3 CARING FOR YOUR PRINTER As any good mechanic will tell you dust and heat are the biggest enemies of every mechanism And your printer is no exception The best maintenance is pre ventive maintenance so the first step in keeping your printer healthy and happy is to make sure it s in a clean dust free location The range of temperature should be comfortable for both you and your computer printer system Please refer to Chapter 1 for more tips on locating your printer Subjects we ll cover in Chapter 3 include e Cleaning the printer e Changing the ribbon e Replacing the print head CLEANING THE PRINTER Another important rule for keeping your printer young and healthy is to clean it regularly inside and out Just use a damp towel every week or so you can moisten the towel with alcohol for stubborn dirt but be careful not to get any alcohol on the printer mechanism Use a soft brush to remove dust and lint from inside the printer but be very careful not to bend or injure any electronic parts or wiring It doesn t take much to do expenseve damage so don t fuss where you re not supposed to besides peri odic cleaning the only other maintenance you ll have to do will be changing the ribbon cartridge or the print head 22 REPLACING THE RIBBON This printer uses an endless ribbon cartridge which means that the inked rib bon inside is recycled automatically Eventually though printing will be
8. RINT HEAD This is the unit that does the actual printing Like the strike lever in a typewriter tiny stiff wires in the print head hit the paper through a ribbon TRACTOR FEED UNIT The drive gear and sprockets of the tractor feed unit move sprocket feed paper through the printer PLATEN This is the rubber cylinder that carries paper to the print head 10 Interface compartment JA Power switch N Power cord Figure 2 1 Front and rear views of the printer INTERFACE COMPARTMENT On the back of the printer this space holds the interface cartridge for your computer 11 El Controls and indicators More detail of panel of panel operation keys and Con trol codes can be found in Interface Cartridge manual Now let s go over the controls and indicators of the printer starting with the control panel on the right There are seven indicators and five keys on the control panel su sch 7 DHAFT ye Fy i BE GRRE 2010 e A MODE TOF ED ON LINE NO BG Figure 2 2 The control panel POWER INDICATOR Glows red when the power in on or blinks when the printer 1s out of paper or some other error occurs BOLD KEY and INDICATOR Pressing this key selects boldface printing DRAFT INDICATORS 80 96 136 Glows green to indicate the number of characters per line when the priner is in the draft mode set by the Mode key or the software control NEO INDICATOR Glows green when the printer is printing in the Ne
9. ar Letter Quality NLQ mode set by the Mode key or the software control MODE KEY Changes the print mode every time it is pressed TOF KEY Ejects the current sheet feeds a new sheet and moves the print head to the left margin PAPER FEED KEY Advances the paper one line at a time when the On Line indicator is off If you hold the key down you ll get consecutive line feeds one after the other ON LINE KEY and INDICATOR Glows green when the printer is ready to receive data from your computer on line When the printer is off line it sends a signal to the computer indicating that it cannot accept data Pressing the On Line key switches the printer on line and off line EB Extra functions There are seven more functions that are not directly specified on the control panel You can use three of them by pressing a key when you turn on the power four others are activated by pressing two control keys at once Here s a summary 12 WHILE TURNING ON THE POWER Test print 1 long form Holding down the Paper Feed key causes the printer to output the full test print Test print 2 short form Holding down the On Line key causes the printer to output theabridged test print Hex dump Holding down both the Paper Feed key and Mode key puts the printer into the hex dump mode more on this in the programming manual DURING NORMAL OPERATION Micro feed Pressing the Paper Feed key while holding down the On Line ke
10. bove notwithstanding STAR can assume no responsibility for errors in this manual Copyright 1985 Star Micronics Co Ltd A Special Message to the New Owner Congratulations You are now the proud owner of one of the best dot matrix printers around With a touch of your finger you can choose fast quality draft printing or superb near letter quality printing Despite its advanced features your printer is amazingly easy to use And it s compatible with nearly every computer on the market by using a separated Interface Cartridge We hope you ll find this manual easy and pleasant to use It was master minded by experts in microcomputers and written by professionals skilled in presenting technical details accurately and in Plain English Take a look at the Table of Contents and you ll see what we mean Every impor tant topic has a section of its own and descriptions are clear but to the point You ll find everything you need to know about the printer We suggest that every body take the time to scan Chapters 1 and 2 the Setting Up Your Printer and Getting to Know Your Printer no matter how knowledgeable you are For those of you who want to learn everything you can about your printer you ll have a ball With an almost infinite variety of dot graphics to explore you ll find the interface cartridge manual fascinating special effects control codes and dot graphics We ve supplied ple
11. come too faint to read easily and you ll want to change the ribbon However it is less expensive and more economical to replace only the ribbon portion inside the cartridge If this money saving method does interest you read on Follow this procedure to remove the old ribbon and insert the new one in the original cartridge not recommended for people with ten thumbs 1 First obtain from your dealer the correct type of ribbon sub cassette not the spool type ribbons used with some other printers 2 Grasp both ends of the ribbon cartridge and pull the cartridge up and out of the printer Refer to Chapter 1 for illustrations of installing the refilled ribbon cartridge 3 Unhook the six tabs of the cartridge cover carefully Figure 3 1 Figure 3 1 Use a screwdriver to pry open the cartridge 23 4 Using a screwdriver with a thin blade pry open the cartridge cover Figure 3 1 shows the numerous slots for inserting a screwdriver 5 Press hard against the end of the idler gear holder to make a space between the holder and the ribbon drive gear and remove the old ribbon and holder See Figure 3 2 Figure 3 2 Replace the ribbon sub cassette 6 Clean the inside of the cartridge the area around the cartridge and the ribbon drive gear and vicinity 7 Take the new ribbon and holder out of the wrapper remove the adhesive tape on the joint and place the ribbon holder into the cassette as shown in Figure 3 3
12. he center of the printer Warning The print head gets hot during operation so let 1t cool off before you touch it 3 Using the guide holders as a fulcrum with the ribbon facing away from you as shown in Figure 1 4 lightly press the cartridge down until the two holder springs snap shut to hold the cartridge firmly in place 4 Check that the cartridge fits so that the drive pins engage the cartridge teeth Figure 1 4 Press the cartridge into place until the holding springs snap into its sides 5 Gently slide the print head carriage manually all the way to your right or left until the ribbon automatically slips down into its proper place between the print head and the silver ribbon guide Ribbon guide Print head Figure 1 5 All you have to do is to slide the print head carriage manually to your right or left then the ribbon slips down by itself into its proper position 6 Put the printer cover back on and you re finished A special switch on the printer prevents the printer from working when the cover is off W Installing the interface cartridge A special interface cartridge contains all the electronics your printer needs to talk to a computer To use your printer with a different computer just install a different cartridge There is an interface I F cartridge for each popular computer on the market If you have the correct I F cartridge for your computer we can start by turning the printer around Facing the bac
13. he print head into place and remove the print head 4 Making sure that the new print head is facing the correct direction carefully plug the cable into the connector on the head cable board Make sure that this connection is secure and that the cable is inserted far enough into the conector 5 Replace the connector cover and feed the cable under the support tab on the top of the cover 6 Fit the new print head into its support while holding the tab back Make sure that the print head is inserted into its guides as far as it can go and that the tab locks the print head into place 26 MEMO CHAPTER 4 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Type of printer Print speed Printing direction Paper feed Paper type Single sheets Continuous paper Number of copies Ribbon Size Weight Power Serial impact dot matrix 120 characters per second in draft Pica 30 characters per second in NLQ Pica Bi directional logic seeking Uni directional in dot graphics 14 lines second in case of form feeding Sprocket and Friction feed 5 5 8 5 inches wide 4 10 inches wide Original 2 copies Special cartridge ribbon 400 W x 336 D x 104 H mm 15 7 W x 13 2 D x 4 1 H inches 6kg 13 21b 120VAC 10 60Hz approx 65W 220 VAC 10 50 60Hz approx 65W 240 VAC 10 50 60Hz approx 65W 28 MEMO adjustment 18 alcohol cleaning with 21 automatic cut sheet feeder 16 Bold key and indicator 11 cleani
14. k of it you Il notice an opening at the left end This is where the cartridge goes Turn off the power switch and fit the I F cartridge into the space as shown with the triangles on the cartridge toward the printer and slide it in all the way don t force it If the connector is seated snugly in its socket you should be able to Figure 1 6 Slide the I F cartrige into the slot tighten the screw easily When this is done connect the cable from your computer and you re ready to go MEMO CHAPTER 2 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR PRINTER Subjects we ll cover in Chapter 2 include e Parts of the printer what they re for and how to use them e Paper selection and loading e Adjustment CONTROLS AND PARTS OF THE PRINTER W Parts of the printer First we ll go over the parts of the printer You saw most of these when you unpacked your printer Now we ll give you a brief explanation of what they do For details on the initial set up of this printer with all components in place see Chapter 1 PRINTER COVER This protects the ribbon and the print head from dust and dirt and cuts down the sound of the printer PAPER GUIDE As you ve guessed this flat plastic molding guides the paper during printing it is raised for single sheets and lies flat for sprocket feed paper POWER CORD This cord connects the printer to its power souce usually a wall outlet It s located at the left rear of the printer P
15. nd adjust it for the margins you want e Move the releae lever back to its original setting 15 Sheet guide Sprocket Figure 2 5 Prop up the paper guide by inserting the guide stand in the notches provided for it 16 Figure 2 6 You can insert a sheet of paper by using the release lever Remember you can also use the optional automatic cut sheet feeder for single sheets EB Loading sprocket feed paper This is the familiar computer paper with the holes along the sides and perfora tions between the sheets It is also called sprocket punched fan fold or just plain computer paper It can be as narrow as 4 and up to 10 wide 1 Turn on the printer and set the release lever for sprocket feed paper 2 If the paper guide is installed remove it 3 Place a stack of fan fold paper behind the printer 4 Open the sprocket covers on the right and left sprocket units as shown in Figure 2 7 17 Clamp lever Figure 2 7 Open the sprocket covers to expose the sprocket teeth 5 Flip the clamp levers backward This allows the two sprocket units to move freely right and left so you can align them with the holes in the paper 6 Feed the end of the paper into the slot next to the platen cover plate 7 Fit the holes in the paper over the sproket pins so the paper is even and clamp the sprocket units in place 8 Check that the paper is still positioned correctly and close the sprocket covers Figure
16. nd lower it into place Figure 1 2 shows the proper posi tion and movement for both removing and replacing the cover Figure 1 2 Remove the printer cover by lifting carefully EB Removing the packing tube The printer is shipped with a protective spiral tube to keep the print head from being damaged in transit We have to remove this tube First remove the printer cover The protective tube is split along its bottom side to allow easy removal Grasp one end of the spiral tube and firmly pull it upward and away from the carriage rail Spiral tube Figure 1 3 Remove the protective tube from the carriage rail Up to this point we ve been clearing the decks for action so to speak Only two more things left to do before we can start printing install the ribbon cartridge and the interface cartridge W Installing the ribbon cartridge This printer uses a neat easy to change ribbon cartridge so you don t have to spend a lot of time threading a standard ribbon through the printer and getting your hands all dirty to boot Telling you how to put in a ribbon is like telling you how to tie your shoelaces it takes a lot longer to describe it than it does to do it So you can just follow the illustrations if you wish they ll tell you all you really need to know Or if you feel better following written instructions read on pur Turn off the power and remove the printer cover 2 Now slide the print head gently to t
17. nd opened by the printer when the lever is in the bottom position Ml Loading single sheets Now instead of feeding the paper in manually by turning the platen knob we re going to use the release lever the printer must be turned on Remember what we told you about this lever It allows you to advance the paper according to its position OK Let s start l 9 Flip the clamp levers backward and remove the sprockets on the tractor feed unit all the way to the ends Slide the sheet guide all the way to the right With the ribs of the paper guide toward you and the sliding adjuster at the bottom left insert the guide into the slot at the back of the printer cover Insert the guide stand in the notches provided for it and use it to prop up the paper guide Position the adjuster at the triangle marked on the guide for standard margins or set it according to your requirements Set the release lever for single sheets the second position from the top Align a sheet of paper on the guide along the adjuster Turn on the power switch The Power indicator will blink because there is no paper Now set the release lever to the auto feed setting the top position The printer will advance the paper automatically 10 When the paper stops set the release lever for single sheets again To align paper that is not in straight e Set the release lever to the adjustment setting e Straighten the paper a
18. ng the printer 21 control panel 11 DIP switches 13 Draft indicators 11 fuse 25 fuse replacing a 24 guide stand 14 hex dump interface cartridge 6 interface compartment 10 left margin 12 loading paper 13 single sheets 14 sprocket feed paper 16 micto feed 12 Mode key 11 NLQ indicator 11 On Line key and indicator 11 packing tube 3 paper bail 13 Paper Feed key 11 paper guide 9 platen 9 platen knob 12 Power indicator 11 Power switch 12 printer cover 9 print head 9 print head adjusting the 18 print head replacing the 26 INDEX release lever 12 reverse micro feed 12 ribbon replacing the 22 right margin 12 spacifications 27 suitable place 1 test print 12 TOF key 11 tractor feed unit 9
19. nty of short interesting programs that show off the features of your new printer all written in BASIC that will run on most computers So gentle reader with this manual we hand you the key to the wonderful world of dot matrix printing May you enjoy years of handsome fast and carefree printing Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Index Table of Contents Setting Up Your Printer Where shall we put it What have we here Removing the printer cover Removing the packing tube Installing the ribbon cartridge Installing the interface cartridge Getting to Know Your Printer Controls and parts of the printer Parts of the printer Controls and indicators Extra functions Other controls Selecting and loading paper Loading single sheets Loading sprocket feed paper Adjusting the print head Caring for Your Printer Cleaning the printer Replacing the ribbon Replacing the print head Technical Specifications 21 27 29 CHAPTER SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER Subjects we ll cover in Chapter 1 include e Choosing a suitable place for your printer Unpacking your new printer e Setting it up WHERE SHALL WE PUT IT Before you do anything else give some thought to where you ll be using your printer Obviously 1t will be somewhere near your computer And both printer andcomputer will lead longer healthier lives 1f they like their surroundings For instance we recommend e Using the printer
20. y feeds paper in the normal direction in 1 72 increments Reverse micro feed Pressing the TOF key while holding down the On Line key feeds paper in the reverse direction in 1 72 increments Right margin When holding down the Mode and pressing Paper Feed keys the print head goes to the right end immediately and returns to the left slowly Releas ing the Paper Feed key sets the right margin to where the print head is Left margin When holding down the Mode and pressing TOF keys the print head moves to the right slowly Releasing the TOF key sets the left margin to where the print head is Ml Other controls There are other controls not connected to the control panel board Some of the more important ones are POWER SWITCH The switch that turns the printer on and off is at the back on the left side PLATEN KNOB This knob is at the middle of the right side and lets you turn the platen by hand just like a typewriter Caution Turn this knob only with the Power switch off Turning it with the power on could damage the platen drive gears RELEASE LEVER The release lever is on top of the pritner near the left rear corner You Il be using it often it controls how strongly the paper is held against the platen The release lever has four positions the top setting is used for inserting paper the next is for single sheets the third is for sprocket feed paper and the bottom one is used when adjusting the paper
Download Pdf Manuals
Related Search