Printek 4503 User Manual

Page 8-1

Hex dump mode provides a way to print, in a readable form, all the data received by
the printer.  This tool is useful to programmers for diagnosing problems with control
codes and escape sequences sent to the printer.  Hex dump mode may also be used to
detect what commands are being sent by a particular software application to help
determine which emulation mode is needed for that application.

To select hex dump mode, specify the value "Mode: Hex Dump" in the "Setup:
INTERFACE" menu.  Be sure to note the emulation currently being used before
changing it to "Hex Dump".

A sample hex dump is shown below.  Note that each line shows sixteen characters,
first in hexadecimal format, then in printable ASCII format.  All unprintable ASCII
characters (printable characters are from 21 hex to 7E hex inclusive) are represented
by a period.

54686973 20697320 61207361 6D706C65

This.is.a.sample

20686578 2064756D 7020746F 20696C6C

.hex.dump.to.ill

75737472 61746520 68657820 64756D70

ustrate.hex.dump

666F726D 61740D0A

format..

When the printer is executing in hex dump mode, control characters and escape
sequences sent to the printer are not recognized or processed.  The hexadecimal
representation of the control characters and escape sequences will appear in the hex
dump, but no other special processing will occur.

In particular, note that ETX/ACK handshake will not operate properly in hex dump
mode.  When an ETX is received by the printer, its hexadecimal representation will
be printed in the hex dump, but no ACK will be sent to the host computer.  When
using the printer in hex dump mode, it is recommended that the printer be configured
for parallel I/O, serial I/O with hardware handshake, or serial I/O with XON/XOFF
handshake.

To exit hex dump mode, restore the previous "Mode:" value in the "Setup:
INTERFACE" menu.