Microcom 412 - Manual (Page 26)

Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4
412 Operators Manual 18
Send the file to the printer using the following DOS command.
C:>COPY FILENAME COM1
4.2.2 PC CONNECTION (PARALLEL)
Items required:
- A computer with at least one unused parallel communications port. (LPT1, LPT2...)
- A parallel interface cable. (See section 3.2 for cable information)
Create a text file containing the information to be sent. (^D3 is the print command.)
^D3
Note: Use an editor that does not add its own formatting characters.
Send the file to the printer using the following DOS command. (LPT1 may be any available
printer port on your PC.)
C:>COPY FILENAME LPT1
4.2.3 LEARNING LDS
Small control code functions (see section 5.1) or label formats files can be entered directly
through the keyboard. Large label files should be entered in an ASCII text editor and then up-
loaded to the printer using a terminal emulation program or the DOS copy command. (To use
the DOS copy command, first use the DOS mode instruction to configure the PC. For example,
MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1,P).
There are some special features offered by the 412 that will aid in label design. For example,
the auto-size command (^A2^D39) will provide most of the header format information needed
to define the different properties of label stock. The state of the machine is accessed through
the enquiry command (^D5, ^E or 5 NULL characters). The statistical printer information is
made available through the ^A0^D29 command.
The following sections of this chapter are designed to give an overview of a label format,
define the label header, and list the different types of field information available. Chapter 5
explains the special functions of the control codes. Once some understanding of these basic
concepts are achieved, use the quick reference guide in Appendix A for expedient label
design.
4.3 FORMATTING LABELS: AN OVERVIEW
A label format consists of a header record and field records, followed by the text data to be
printed. The records describe how the label is to be printed. The header contains information
about the label itself such as label height, width, print speed, etc. The field records refer to the
data section and contain information about positioning coordinates, the type of character
generators or bar codes to use, etc.. The number of fields is limited only by the amount of free
memory.
Below is a sample label format. We will refer to this format as we break down the components
of its structure.