SATO CX208/212 manual Selecting Protocol Control Codes, Using Basic

CX208/212 Programming Guide

<ESC> {Command} {Parameter} {Data}

Some commands can contain both Parameter and Data elements, such as “print a Code 39 symbol containing the data.”

SELECTING PROTOCOL CONTROL CODES

Protocol codes are the special control characters that prepare the printer to receive instructions. For example, the <ESC> character tells the printer that a command code will follow.

The Protocol Control Code set set is made up of six special characters. The Standard Protocol Control codes are non-printable characters. They can be changed to printable characters using the Protocol Control code download command. This may be useful on host computers using protocol converters or in an application where non-printable ASCII characters cannot be sent from the host. This manual uses the Standard Protocol Control codes for all of the examples.

The Protocol Control codes must be downloaded from the host using the <ESC>LD command. Once they are downloaded, the printer will not respond to standard protocol codes. The current protocol codes active in a printer can be determined by printing a Test Label (see CX208/212 User’s Guide, Page 9).

CONTROL	HEX VALUE	DESCRIPTION
CHARACTER
STX	02	Start of Data
ETX	03	End of Data
ESC	1B	Command code to follow
ENQ	05	Not Used on CX200
CAN	18	Not Used on CX200
Off-Line	40	Take printer Off-Line

USING BASIC

It may be useful to test your printer using a BASIC program on a PC. You may also write your actual production programs in BASIC. Whatever the reason, if you will be working in BASIC, some of the following hints may help you get started:

1.Set the WIDTH of the output device to 255 characters to avoid automatically sending <CR> and <LF> characters after every line. The command string should be continuous and uninterrupted by <CR> and/or <LF> commands. The examples given in this manual are printed on separate lines because they will not fit on one line and do not contain any <CR> and/or <LF> characters. If these characters are needed, they are explicitly noted by the inclusion of <CR> and <LF> notations.

SATO CX208/212 Printers PN 9001092 Rev. A Page 2