Printer command printouts are similar to and used interchangeably with hex dump printouts.

You can print out printer commands (PCL control commands or PostScript language commands) in ASCII format to help in troubleshooting command-related problems dealing with printer drivers, communications, and printer setup routines.

«»PCL Display Mode

The display mode is a method of verifying printer commands sent from the host in PCL format. The most significant difference between the PCL display mode and the hex dump mode is that the display mode is entered using a PCL printer command, Ec Y. (Ec stands for the ASCII escape code, 27 decimal or 1B hexadecimal.)

In the display mode, the printer treats all printer commands as printable characters. All printer commands are functionally ignored, with two exceptions:

• A carriage return (CR) is printed and then a carriage return and line feed are performed.
• The display off printer command (Ec Z) is printed and then executed, that is, the display mode is turned off.

To print the printer commands as symbols, however, you must select a PC-8 Symbol Set using either Ec ( 1 Ø U or Ec ( 1 1 U. The PC-8 Symbol Sets are the only resident character sets for the PCL emulation which assign printable characters to all control codes. For the escape code, Ec (ASCII code 27), for example, the printer will print an arrow, C, followed by the escape sequence characters.

Use the following BASIC program to set up the printer to display printer commands. Note that the End of Line Wrap command, Ec & s Ø C, is included to prevent text from printing off the right edge of the page

ASCII Commands:	Ec ( 1 Ø U	Select PC-8 Symbol Set
	Ec & s Ø C	End of Line Wrap On
	Ec Y	Display Mode On
BASIC Program:	LPRINT CHR$(27);"(1ØU";CHR$(27);"&sØC";CHR$(27);"Y";

The printer will print all characters and commands until the printer is either turned off or until a Display Off command, Ec Z, is sent to the printer.

«»PostScript Language Display

PostScript language commands can be printed out as ASCII script. To do so, set the printer to the LaserJet emulation before sending the PostScript file to the printer. The printer will recognize the PostScript commands as if they were straight ASCII text.

Before sending a PostScript print file to be printed in ASCII text, make sure that —

• the printer is set to the PCL emulation, "Emu= LaserJet*"in the Configuration Menu, and
• PCL line wrap is on.

PCL line wrap can be turned on using the PCL control command Ec & s Ø C. The End of Line Wrap command is included to prevent text from printing off the right edge of the page.

Note:   PostScript error handlers can also be useful tools. These cause PostScript errors to be printed out on the page.