APPLICATION NOTE #185 USING THE IBM 4019 LASERPRINTER WITH XYWRITE Rev. 01 This application note contains some tips for using an IBM 4019 LaserPrinter with XyWrite III Plus. It addresses those questions most frequently asked of XYQUEST's Technical Support department regarding the IBM LaserPrinter. IBM 4019 LASERPRINTER The IBM 4019 LaserPrinter is a compact, multi-function printer that uses laser technology to print text and graphic images at speeds up to 10 pages per minute. The printer comes with two slots for font cards and 512K of memory for downloadable fonts. The IBM LaserPrinter has three operating modes: IBM ASCII, Hewlett-Packard LaserJet Series II emulation, and plotter emulation. This application note describes only the IBM ASCII mode, which is the printer's default mode. If your printer is set to a different operating mode, you can return it to IBM ASCII mode by pressing and holding down the "paper" button on the front panel as you turn the printer on. To check which mode is selected, take the printer off-line, press and release the start/stop button, and then press and release the orientation button. When in IBM ASCII mode, the printer displays the number 1. If you prefer to work in HP LaserJet Series II emulation mode, see Note #1. PRINTER FILES XYQUEST supplies six printer files for the IBM 4019 LaserPrinter, all of which support the printer's internal fonts. Because of the large number of card and soft (downloadable) fonts, support is divided among the files. You can move fonts from one file to another if you wish; refer to the detailed instructions in the files themselves. 3IBMLSR1.PRN supports all internal fonts. 3IBMLSR2.PRN supports all internal fonts and the Universal, Script/OCR, Italic, Orator, Prestige, Compressed, Letter Gothic, Times Roman*, Delegate, and Helvetica* font cards. 3IBMLSR3.PRN supports all internal fonts and the Palatino*, Century Schoolbook*, Optima*, and Baskerville* font cards. 3IBMLSR4.PRN supports all internal fonts and the Fixed Pitch and PS soft fonts. 3IBMLSR5.PRN supports all internal fonts and the Times Roman soft fonts. 3IBMLSR6.PRN supports all internal fonts and the Helvetica soft fonts. __________________________________________________ *Fonts on the Typographic Font Cards use a subset of the regular character set. Refer to "Character Sets and IBM Code Pages" for details. CHARACTER SETS AND IBM CODE PAGES A Code Page is a set of symbols that your printer can output. These symbols can be letters, numbers, or graphic elements such as lines or patterns. The IBM 4019 LaserPrinter fonts use IBM PC Code Page 437 as its default symbol set. This set corresponds to the extended ASCII character set illustrated in Appendix A of the XyWrite III Plus Reference Guide. All fonts can use Code Page 850 as an alternate; therefore, each font has two font definitions. For the font definition using Code Page 850, the Code Page number in the font name is indicated. For example, PRES15/850 uses Code Page 850 as its character set. For a complete listing of the Code Page character sets consult your printer manual or your DOS manual. The Typographic Font Cards (noted with an asterisk in the list of printer files above) do not have a complete Code Page (255 characters) character set, due to memory limitations on the cards themselves. They use Code Pages 437A and 850A. Generally, these fonts contain the standard ASCII characters, numbered 32 through 128, and a variety of higher ASCII characters. PRINTER CONTROL TABLE The six printer files each contain a Printer Control (PC) table that controls the orientation of the paper, the paper tray, and the type of paper. The printer control codes are summarized below and explained in more detail in other sections of this application note. PC1 Portrait orientation (default) PC2 Landscape orientation PC3 Tray 1 letter size paper (default) PC4 Tray 2 letter size paper PC5 Manual feed letter size paper PC6 Tray 1 legal size paper PC7 Tray 2 legal size paper PC8 Manual feed legal size paper PC9 Tray 1 exec size paper PC10 Tray 2 exec size paper PC11 Manual feed exec size paper PC12 Tray 1 A4 size paper PC13 Tray 2 A4 size paper PC14 Manual feed A4 size paper PC15 Tray 1 B5 size paper PC16 Tray 2 B5 size paper PC17 Manual feed B5 size paper PC18 #9 envelope PC19 #10 envelope PC20 7.75" envelope PC21 DL envelope PC22 C5 envelope PC23 B5 envelope Tray 1 is the printer's standard 200-sheet paper tray. Tray 2 is an extra 500-sheet paper drawer that goes under the printer. If the tray 2 option is selected but Tray 2 is not installed, the printer uses Tray 1. If the automatic envelope feeder option is chosen but not installed, the printer uses the manual envelope feeder. You can use more than one Printer Control code to get the result you want. For example, to print landscape orientation on legal size paper, use PC 2 and PC 6. FORM DEPTH The IBM 4019 LaserPrinter does not print near the edge of the paper. This unprintable area is approximately 1/4-inch from the left and right margins and 1/6-inch from the top and bottom margins. This means that instead of an 8-1/2 x 11-inch printable area, there is an 8 x 10-2/3-inch area. If your XyWrite file specifies a page size larger than this, the printer decides how to handle the overflow depending on which printer page format mode you have chosen. The IBM LaserPrinter defaults to "print page" mode. This means that XyWrite's top, left, and bottom margins are added to the size of the unprintable area. For example, if you set a left margin of 3 (3/10ths of an inch), you end up with slightly over half an inch at the left edge of your printed page (1/4 plus 3/10). If you use a large point size and try to start too close to the top of the page, the text is pushed into the printable area. Any text you try to place in the right unprintable area is wrapped to the next line. Any text you try to place in the bottom unprintable area is pushed to the next page. If you prefer, you can choose "whole page" format. (Your printer manual contains instructions for changing page format.) This means that XyWrite's margins start at the absolute edge of the paper (in the unprintable area), and you must allow for these unprintable areas when specifying margins. If you try to print in the left unprintable area, the text is moved into the printable area. If you use a large point size and try to start too close to the top of the page, the text is pushed into the printable area. Any text you try to place in the right unprintable area is wrapped to the next line. Any text you try to place in the bottom unprintable area is pushed up into the printable area, not pushed down to the next page. The cumulative loss at the top and bottom of the page only allows for 64 lines of text on a standard 8-1/2 X 11 inch page; therefore, FD (form depth) is set to 64 in the IBM 4019 LaserPrinter files. LANDSCAPE PRINTING In standard printing (also called portrait printing), characters are printed across the 8-1/2-inch dimension of the page. In landscape printing, characters are printed across the 11-inch dimension of the page. This is convenient if you want to print a spreadsheet, a document with many snaked columns, or an envelope. XyWrite's defaults are based on portrait printing. To use landscape printing effectively, you must override the PL (Page Length) and FD (Form Depth) default settings. To take advantage of the full width of the landscape orientation, you should also adjust your right margin. (When landscape printing, the right margin can be up to 105.) On the IBM LaserPrinter, any font can print in either portrait or landscape mode. You switch between the two orientations by using the PC command. To activate landscape printing: 1. Call your document to the screen. Type: F5call chapter.doc 2. Enter the formatting commands to set the form depth, page length, and right margin for the landscape page orientation. Type: F5fd 48 Type: F5pl 42,44,40 Type: F5rm 105 3. Enter the PC command for landscape printing. Type: F5pc 2 Result: Your document is now ready for landscape printing. To return to portrait printing, reformat the file for portrait dimensions and use the appropriate PC command. Type: F5pc 1 Tip Create Style Definitions. If you plan to switch between landscape and portrait orientation several times within a document, it's a good idea to use the SS (Save Style) command to create portrait and landscape style definitions. Then you can use the US (Use Style) command to invoke the appropriate definitions. Refer to the XyWrite III Plus Reference Guide for more information on the SS and US commands. PRINTING ENVELOPES Envelope printing is a form of landscape printing. The printer files for the IBM 4019 LaserPrinter contain PC codes that describe the type of envelope the printer will print. (Refer to the list of Printer Control commands on Page 1.) When printing envelopes in the IBM ASCII mode, the code for envelope printing automatically puts the printer in landscape orientation and places the print head at the top left corner of the envelope. PC codes for all standard-size envelopes that the printer recognizes are included. If you are using another size, choose the PC number for an envelope that is the same height or higher than your envelope. The printer sees the actual envelope size as the lower left portion of the selected envelope size. You can use a Top Margin command to adjust the printing position. For example, if the selected envelope height is 6 inches and the envelope you are using is 5 inches, you must use a top margin of 6 to get to the top left corner of the envelope. When you select a new paper tray, the orientation returns to portrait mode. Printing a #10 Envelope You can use this procedure to print an envelope from the manual feed tray or the envelope feed tray, if installed. 1. Create a new file. For example, Type: F5new envelope 2. Embed the appropriate PC code. Type: F5pc 19 3. Embed the necessary formatting commands. Type: F5pl 21,22,20 Type: F5fd 24 Type: F5lm 45 Type: F5rm 94 Type: F5tp 5 4. Enter the name and address you want to type on the envelope. 5. Send the file to the printer. Type: F5type 6. To feed envelopes manually, slide the adjustable guide to the left and place one envelope in the manual feed tray, address side up. Feed the postage end of the envelope last, and do not feed stamped envelopes. PRINTING ON LEGAL-SIZED OR OTHER SIZED PAPER To print on legal, executive, B5, and A4 paper, you must add a PC command to the file to let the printer know the paper size. The PC command also determines if the paper comes from tray 1, tray 2, or the manual feed slot. Refer to the list of Printer Control commands for the appropriate PC command setting. For example, to print on legal-sized paper from the manual feed slot: 1. Call your document to the screen. 2. Embed the appropriate printer code at the beginning of the file. Type: F5pc 8 3. Embed the following Form Depth and Page Length commands. Type: F5fd 82 Type: F5pl 76,78,70 4. Type your document. Type: F5type MULTIPLE COPIES To print multiple copies of a file, use the PI (Printer Insert) command to send the following printer coding directly to the printer: {esc}[F{ascii-0}{ascii-3}{ascii-1}{ascii-1}{ascii-1}n where n is the ASCII representation of the number of copies you want to print (for example, {ascii-2} for two copies, {ascii-3} for three copies, etc.). For example, if you want six copies, enter an ASCII 6 (spade) character. The other characters in the string do not change. To enter an ASCII character, hold down Alt and Shift and press the number you want. For example: 1. Call your document to the screen. 2. Enter the following PI command at the beginning of the file: Type: F5pi {esc}[F{ascii-0}{ascii-3}{ascii-1}{ascii-1}{ascii-1}n Note #1: Using HP LaserJet II Emulation. For instructions on using the IBM 4019 LaserPrinter in HP emulation mode, refer to Application Note #114. All information in Application Note #114 supersedes this application note. This includes information regarding page dimensions and PC tables. Also, the font cards used in IBM ASCII operating mode cannot be used in HP emulation mode. You must buy font cards from IBM that have been designed for use specifically in HP emulation. ###