Printronix P5000LJ Series, Programmer'S Reference Manual

Page: 30 / 304

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Chapter 2
Configuring the PCL-II Emulation with Control Codes
Printing Bar Codes
Generally, sending bar code information to the printer is performed in two
steps:
Step 1: Selecting the bar code printing specifications; bar code type, height,
and header control information.
Step 2: Moving the cursor to the desired label location and sending the bar
code data.
Step 1
Before positioning and printing the bar code data, the type of code, height of
the label, and header placement may be specified. Once this is done, the
succeeding labels will be printed using these specifications until a new type,
height, or header control is specified. In other words, the bar code print
specifications can be sent once and need not be sent again unless the printer
is reset or new print specifications are desired. The following example
specifies the print specifications for bar codes that are 0.5 inches in height,
have a header above the label, and are printed in the UPC A code.
ESC*z8v5h1Q
ESC*z8v Select UPC A code
5h Label is to be .5 inches high
1Q Places header above bar code
Notice that the last letter in the escape sequence (Q) is upper-case while the
other letters in the sequence (v and h) are lower-case. (See “Escape
Sequences” on page 25 for more information concerning combining two or
more sequences.)
Step 2
To print a bar code label, the cursor must be placed in the desired position
and the bar code data must be sent. The following escape sequence moves
the cursor to column 25, sends the data “1234567” to the printer, and initiates
printing.
ESC*z25c<1234567>Z
ESC*z25c Places start of label at column 25
<
Indicates start of bar code data
1234567 Bar code data
> Signals end of bar code data
Z Upper case Z initiates printing *
*Note that an upper-case “Z” terminator results in the bar code being printed
and an automatic carriage return (CR) being executed.