advantage of the faster data transmission speeds. The older Parallel
Interface Modules will work, but at a reduced capability.
5. When you send the print job to the printer, and it does not respond, do
you get an error message on your PC that says “Device Fault” or something
similar?
This may mean that the computer doesn’t know the printer is there. Verify
that:
a. Both ends of the cable are securely inserted into their respective
connectors.
b. The printer is ONLINE.
c. The cable is not defective. There are other things that can cause this
error
message on your computer, but at this stage, a defective cable may be one
of the reasons.
5. When you send the print job to the printer and it does not respond, and
there is no error message on the PC:
a. Check your data stream for some of the basics. Is your job framed as
follows?
<ESC>A—DATA—<ESC>Z
b. Verify that you’ve included all required parameters in the data stream.
c. Verify the following:
•
You have not typed a “0” (zero) for an “O” (letter) or vice-versa.
•
You have not missed any <ESC> characters where they’re needed.
•
Make sure all printer command codes are capital letters.
6. If you’ve checked all of the above and the printer still isn’t printing, you
may want to try a Buffer Hex Dump to determine what (if anything) the
printer is receiving from your computer. See Printing Hex Dump Labels in
Section 3: Configuration
.
The Parallel port is now listening for incoming data. Send your print job.
The printer will now print (only once) a Hexadecimal (Hex) Dump of
everything it received from the host computer. Each 2-digit hexadecimal
character represents a character the printer received. It may be tedious,
but now you can analyze and troubleshoot the data stream.
7. While checking the Hex Dump printout, if you notice 0D
H
0A
H
(Carriage
Return and Line Feed) characters throughout. The command string should
be continuous and no CR or LF characters are allowed between the Start
Command (<ESC>A) and the Stop Command (<ESC>Z). If you are
using BASIC, it may be adding these characters automatically as the line
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PN 900107
5A
SATO M8400RVe
Section 7: Troubleshooting