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The Command parameter

The Star LaserPrinter 8’s Emulation setting defines which printer it is imitating:Hewlett-PackardLaserJet series II, Xerox Diablo 630, Epson EX–800or IBMPropnnter.

Mostof the other COMMANDvaluesbelowcan be changedwith Escape codesas well as from the panel.

As the Number of Copies setting suggests, the Star LaserPrinter 8 can print citherjust one copy of each page sent to it, or multiple copies up to 99. Most

word processingand other packages,however,let you look after multiple copiesof a documentwithoutusingthis command.You may consequently preferto leavethis at the default(onecopy),changingit only as necessary throughsoftwarecommands.

Two settingsarc onlymeaningfulwhenyou are usingHP LaserJetseries11 commands.First,if youenableMacroOverlay,fromzeroto 99 macroscan be active.

Second,mostof the time you’llwantto print acrossthe widthof the page, butoccasionallyyoumaywanttoprintupthelengthofthepage.Unlikemost other laser pnntem, your Star LaserPrinter8 lets you rotate fonts to print eitherway—you don’thaveto buy separatefontsto print sidewayson the page.

Your printernormallyfeeds a new form when you rotate a font, to avoid accidentallyprintingbothorientationson the samepage.Butif you wantto intermixorientations,just changethe valueof FF on Rotateto NO. (Font orientationisexplainedin moredetailbelowwiththeLAYOUTparameter.)

AfewcomputerschangecertaincontrolorEscapecodeswhensendingthem to theprinter,whichnaturallycausesconfusion.Moreover,manyprogram- merspreferto scchexadecimalprintoutwhentheyaredebuggingprograms. To help with these situations,you can make your Star LaserPnntcr8 print inhexadecimalratherthantheusualASCIImodebyswitchingONtheHEX DUMPparametersetting(see the sidebarbelow).

The last threeCOMMANDvaluesconcernthe physicalmachine.You can set the intensityof the printer’sLCDdisplayfrom 1(faint)to 7 (bright);its default setting is 4. You can enable or disable both the beeper and the WarningAlarm (whichsoundscontinuously).

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Star Micronics 8 Series manual Command parameter