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65
DEC LA120/210 EMULATION
Introduction
This section describes the control codes and escape sequences comprising DEC LA120/210 emulation. This
emulation may be selected by setting “Emulation” to “LA120/210” in the interface setup menu, or via
software with the ESC ESC 5 sequence. While this emulation is selected, control codes and escape
sequences from other emulations are not available.
Control codes and escape sequences are used to control printer operation. An ASCII control code is a
single character in the range 00 hex through 1F hex, and 7F hex. The ESC (Escape) control code (1B hex)
is used to introduce character strings called escape sequences, which provide an extension of the commands
available with ASCII control codes.
The LA120/210 control codes and escape sequences follow the standards of the ANSI X3.64 specification.
Many ANSI escape sequences begin with a two character Control Sequence Introducer (CSI), Escape Left
Square Bracket (ESC [, 1B 5B hex). If 8-bit data is selected via control panel setup, these two characters
may be replaced by a single character CSI, 9B hex. The sequences are always documented in this section
with the two character CSI (ESC [), because this format seems to be much more common, and works
equally well with 7-bit or 8-bit data.
Some escape sequences accept one or more numeric parameters. A numeric parameter is a decimal number
represented by a string of ASCII decimal digits (“0” through “9”). Leading zeros may be supplied, but are
not necessary. Due to implementation constraints, the largest value that can be accepted is decimal 255.
Larger values will be treated as zero. Omitting a numeric parameter is equivalent to supplying a value of zero.
If a sequence accepts one numeric parameter, it will be represented as “n”. If a sequence accepts more than
one numeric parameter, they will be represented as “n1; n2; ... nx”. Note that multiple numeric parameters
are separated by a semicolon.
Most LA120/210 escape sequences will assume one of the following formats:
ESC f (no numeric parameters)
ESC n f (one numeric parameter)
ESC n1; n2; ... nx f (two or more numeric parameters)
The “f” at the end of the escape sequence represents the final character. It terminates the sequence, and
specifies the function to be performed.
Spaces are used when documenting escape sequences to increase readability. The spaces within the
sequences are for readability only; they are not part of the sequences themselves. Characters that appear in
italics (such as “n” and “f” above) are not sent to the printer as is; they are used as a place holder indicating
that some value must be supplied.
Multiple character strings without intervening spaces typically represent control codes. For example, BS is
the Backspace control code (08 hex), not the two characters “B” and “S” (42 and 53 hex). An ASCII
Control Code Table is provided on page 109 for your convenience. If you have any doubt about how to
interpret a documented control code or escape sequence, refer to the hex representation in the provided
example. This should clarify any ambiguity. The examples may also be helpful when analyzing a hex dump
(see Hex Dump chapter) printed by the printer.