Datamax ST-3210, Programmer'S Manual

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14 DTPL Programmer’s Manual
The above routine should be repeated for each line of logo data. For the remaining lines, a CR should be used in
place of the row/column command if the data is to start at the beginning of the next line. If you use carriage
returns, the logo can be expanded simply by using the <HW#,#> command. Each carriage return will move the
next line down 8 dots. If you use row/column commands to position each line of logo data, you can’t expand the
logo.
To load additional logos, repeat the above procedure for each logo. The logos will automatically be assigned the
next consecutive number unless the <ID#> command is used. The printer will accept a maximum of 128k bytes of
downloadable data.
NOTE: The printer’s total capacity of downloadable space is for both logos and fonts.
PRINT DOWNLOADED LOGOS
To print a downloaded logo #2 starting at row/column position 50,120 send:
<SP50,120><LD2>
DOWNLOADING IN ASCII FORMAT
Downloading of logos can be done in ASCII format just like ASCII graphics. It follows all of the above rules
except that a small g is used instead of a capital G and the bytes of data are represented as ASCII characters not
decimal.
DOWNLOADING PCX SUPPLEMENT
PCX files are a commonly found format used by image and paint programs. These files can be downloaded
directly as is to the printer as long as they are preceded with a small DTPL string. The only restriction on the PCX
file is that it must be saved in the 1-bit format. This is the normal format for non-color images. The PCX file can
be downloaded to the printer for use later on as a logo or it can be sent as a PCX graphics file to be printed
immediately. To print the PCX file immediately, send the following command string:
<SP#,#><pcx><G#>pcx bytes.
The pcx must be in lowercase letters. The <SP#,#> command positions the image. If no starting point is sent, the
image will start at point 0,0. The # in the G command is equal to the number of bytes in the entire PCX file.
After the <G#> you must send the actual PCX file. There must not be any extra characters sent! For example, if
the PCX file contained 3500 bytes you would send a <G3500> command followed by the 3500 bytes.
To download the PCX file for use later on as a logo, follow the same procedure as above but send an esc character
(27d) both before and after the PCX data stream. esc<pcx><G#>pcx bytes esc.
This image can then be printed using the normal logo printing commands like <SP20,20><LD1><p>. All PCX
images can be rotated, multiplied and scaled just like any DTPL font.
PCX VS DTPL IMAGE FORMAT
The printer handles both 1-bit PCX files and DTPL image files. PCX files take up less room in memory than the
corresponding DTPL image. Therefore, more logos can fit in memory if they are in PCX format than in the DTPL
format. However, since the PCX files are saved in compressed form they must be decompressed and converted to
the DTPL Image format by the printer before the image is printed. Because of this internal converting, it takes a
little longer to print a PCX image. For most images, the difference in printing speed is insignificant.