ITX 3000/2000 Printer User Manual
(UMITX315.PDF
)
Page 24 of 82 Date: 4/27/05
6
PRINTER STATUS INFORMATION
6.1
ITX Printer Status Overview
The ITX printer has a wide range of printer status information available to suit any application environment. There are three
types of status: Operator Indicators, Port Level Interface Status, and Interface Reverse Channel Status. Depending on the
requirements of the application, the Operator Status, in combination with the Port Level Interface Status, may be all that is
required. For more advanced applications Interface Reverse Channel Status can be used to communicate detailed information
about the printer back to the host. Refer to the ITX Programmer’s Guide for the command level details on Reverse Channel
Status. Also, refer to 6.4
6.2
Operator Status
Operator status is that which is displayed on the printer's display panel LEDs (refer to section 4.2). To summarize, the yellow
Attention/Error LED will flash to indicate an error condition (refer to section 4.3.3). The green Ready LED will be on when the
printer is ready to receive data from the host. When this LED is off, the printer may be busy printing or it may be in a
Diagnostic Mode. The green Power/Paper LED will blink once every 15 seconds under normal conditions. If the printer is out
of paper, this LED will blink rapidly. If the Low-Paper sensor is connected and enabled (see section 4.3.1), the Power/Paper
LED will blink slowly.
6.3
Port Level Interface Status
The communications port has a status port word that provides overview status information. For the parallel interface this is
called the Compatibility Mode Status (commonly known as Centronics status). The parallel interface has several signals, which
provide a top-level view of the printer’s status. These are Busy; PError; Select; nFault. Collectively, they convey if the printer
is ready for data, has ticket stock and does not have a detected fault. In many applications this level of status is sufficient.
6.4
Reverse Channel Status - Printer Status Programmer’s Information for Windows
A program that demonstrates the detailed printer status collection, in the Windows environment, is available to Practical
Automation's customers. Also, a support Utility DLL is available that provides the programmer with tools related to this and
other printer related tasks is available. This level of programming tools and technical assistance can only be made available to
volume OEM customers. To have access to this support contact your sales representative or Practical Automation’s Sales
Manager to explain you application and printer purchasing requirements. Other operating systems will work differently. For
more information about the status commands and the printer’s available status information refer to the ITX Programmers
Manual.
