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Text File | 1988-01-02 | 16.3 KB | 528 lines

╔═════════════════╗ ║ P R N T E S T ║ ╚═════════════════╝ A complete printer diagnostic and testing program for all printers. Programmed 12/87. By J. WILSON Copyright (c) 1987 Version 1.31 ............................................................................... ......................... ............................ ......................... TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................ ......................... ............................ ............................................................................... TITLE PAGE ───── ──── Legal stuff --------------------------------- 1 Why PRNTEST --------------------------------- 1 About PRNTEST ------------------------------- 2 Compatibility ------------------------------- 3 How to use PRNTEST -------------------------- 3 Test Menu ----------------------------------- 4 Test Menu ----------------------------------- 5 Printer Control Keys ------------------------ 6 Acknowledgements ---------------------------- 6 NOTE: This test was designed around printers that are set for the following; 6 lines-per-inch 10 characters-per-inch 11 inch page length utility print quality (not NLQ) IBM graphics character set auto L/F and C/R set to off If the printer you are going to be testing is not set this way, the printout may not be properly formatted. Before you run any of these tests, it is advisable to set your printer for the parameters that are listed above (these settings are the default for most printers). ─────────── LEGAL STUFF ─────────── PRNTEST.EXE is placed in the public domain under the user supported shareware concept. It is now and will always remain the sole property of James Wilson. This program may not be sold or be used to gain a profit of any type without the expressed written consent of the author. You are free to distribute this program to anyone who would like a copy as long as this document file is included. If you find that you are using this program often and you would like to register for any future updates, you can make a $15.00 contribution to the address listed below. James Wilson 1459 Gregory Ave. Union, N.J. 07083 ──────────── WHY PRNTEST? ──────────── A lot of people have asked me why I even bothered to write a printer test. I have been in the computer industry for over seven years now and after that much time you begin to realize that if you want it done right, you generally have to do it yourself. Now I happen to be one of those people who love to play with utilities and diagnostics. Any kind I can get my hands on, I use. Well, being a Service Manager for a very busy PC repair shop has led me to try and find as many diagnostics, utilities, and test programs as I can. The stuff available for drives, monitors, and option boards are not only plentiful but some of them are damn good. About the only thing my technicians cried out for was a printer test utility (well, they also wanted more pay, but you can't please everyone). -- Page 1 -- ───────────── ABOUT PRNTEST ───────────── PRNTEST was written and compiled with Borlands Turbo-Basic. This is actually a nice programming environment for only $59.00. I have been programming in basic for about five years now but was always "handicapped" by the inability of IBM's Basic to produce executable files (.EXE or .COM). Most of my work was with Turbo-Pascal, but I don't care what anyone says, that is NOT a great language to program in (although there are a lot of programs out now that were written with it, so I seem to be a minority with this opinion). PRNTEST was programmed at home in my spare time, about 20 hours worth for the first working copy (ver 1.0). That version had very little appearance value. It was just for my technicians, so what did I care what it looked like, just as long as it worked. After looking at this "beta" copy for a few weeks, I decided that it wasn't good enough (of course a few comments from one of the techs. about "bugs" helped me with this decision). I fixed the bugs, plus I added a few more tests (ver 1.1). After a few weeks with this latest version, I realized that I had forgotten to include full carriage testing capabilities for 132 column printers! So back to the source code to fix that (ver 1.2). About 2 months later I got sick and tired of looking at the crude menu system, so once again I went back to the old source code and created a far better menu (ver 1.3). Function key support (F1-F4) was added in Dec. of 1987 for a little more versatility (ver 1.31). It works pretty good now, but I am already working on even more enhancements. Ver 1.4 will include a printer status indicator that is for print status, line number, page number, and will also include error checking. If you have any suggestions for enhanced features, or if you find any bugs, let me know. If the suggestions are good, I'll incorporate them into future releases. If the bugs are bad, I'll try to fix them. -- Page 2 -- ───────────── COMPATIBILITY ───────────── This program has been thoroughly tested on the following printers: Okidata: 182, 192, 192+, 193, 193+ 82, 83, 84, 92, 93, 2410 Epson: EX 800/1000, LQ 800/1000/1500/2500 all FX, MX and RX series printers Toshiba: P-321, P-341, P-351 (series 1, 2 and SL) IBM: Proprinter, Proprinter XL Quietwriter (I, II, and III) If you use this test on a printer other than what is listed here, drop me a letter at the address on page 1, and let me know how it works. I need to know these things for future updates. ────────────────── HOW TO USE PRNTEST ────────────────── This test is actually very easy to use. I tried to design it that way because the last thing anybody needs is a test program that takes a week to figure out how to work. From the prompt ( A>, B> or C> ), just type in PRNTEST. The entire program works off of one menu. When the main menu comes up on the screen you will have 13 options to choose from, numbers 1-12 are tests and 13 is exit (all of the different tests are described in detail on pages 4 and 5). The first thing you have to do is select which test you want to run, next you have to select how many pages you want to print, and lastly, the width of the paper you're going to print on. If you pick the CHARACTER SELECT test you will have a fourth question to answer, namely which character you want to print. The program will then pause to allow you to put some paper into the printer. You can then start the test by hitting the <ENTER> key. Because PRNTEST does not do any line feeds when it first starts, and because of the amount of lines it prints per page, the best spot to position the printhead on the paper is just below the perforation. NOTE: This version of PRNTEST will always be set for LPT1. If you are testing a serial printer, you must run the DOS MODE command before you load PRNTEST (see your DOS book for more info on this command). I have been asked by a few people to make this program give you an option for which port to test (COM 1,2 - LPT 1,2,3), but my research says most people print from LPT1 anyway. If you feel that the ability to change ports for testing is important, and you are a registered user, then let me know. -- Page 3 -- ───────── TEST MENU ───────── The test menu consists of the following options: TEST # NAME DESCRIPTION ========================================================================== 1 FULL CHARACTER - This will print all the numbers and all the letters of the alphabet. You won't get any graphics or symbols here. 2 GRAPHICS AND SYMBOLS - This will print everything that test number 1 doesn't. NOTE: On daisy-wheel printers and dot matrix that are not IBM compatible, you will probably experience problems when running this test. 3 SMALL BLOCK PATTERN - This will print small, solid blocks in a staggered pattern. This is good for checking carriage movement. 4 LARGE BLOCK PATTERN - This will print the same thing as the above test except that the blocks will be much bigger. If you want to know if all the pins in your printhead are firing evenly, try this test first. 5 RANDOMIZED NUMBERS - This will print a series of random numbers that are four digits or less. It will print them in columns, so this is a good way to check for alignment problems. 6 CONSECUTIVE NUMBERS - This will print numbers starting at 1 and going all the way up to a max of 9999999999. If you reach the end of this test, you are working somebodys printer to death! These numbers will print in columns also. 7 CHARACTER SELECTION - This will print an entire page of only one character, the one you choose. This test is great proof to a customer who thinks his printer won't print a certain character, number, or symbol. 8 SLOW VERTICAL SPACING - This will print a pair of asterisks (**) at either end of the page as it slowly advances the paper. If you think you have a paper feed problem and you don't want to waste a lot of paper, this is the test to run. -- Page 4 -- ───────── TEST MENU ───────── The test menu consists of the following options: TEST # NAME DESCRIPTION ========================================================================== 9 FAST VERTICAL SPACING - This will print the exact same thing as test number 8, except the paper moves as fast as it can go. If you have plenty of paper or a real intermittent paper feed problem, this test will find it. 10 SLOW HORIZONTAL SPACING - This will print number signs (#) in columns to check for proper horizontal spacing. If someone has a problem with things lining up properly on the page, this would be a good test to see if it's a problem with the printer. 11 FAST HORIZONTAL SPACING - This will print the exact same thing as test number 10, except it does it as fast as the printer can go. If you think you have a jamming type of problem or problems with the ribbon advancing properly, you might want to run this test. 12 DOT MATRIX EXERCISER - This will tell you if you have any type of printhead problem. What you will get is a totally black printed page. It will fire ALL of the pins in the printhead ALL of the time, for as many pages as you want, but be careful and don't run off too many, because this test can kill your printhead. WARNING! This test is ONLY for dot matrix printers. Do not attempt this test on a daisy-wheel type of printer because it can easily break off pieces of the print wheel and possibly cause a jam. Do not attempt this test on a laser printer either because they do not use the same set of character commands as a dot matrix. 13 EXIT - I hope this doesn't need to be explained. -- Page 5 -- ──────────────────── PRINTER CONTROL KEYS ──────────────────── There are four printer control keys that are used in this program. They can be used anytime AFTER printing has started. F1 - Use this key to abort the program entirely. This will send a form feed to the printer, exit PRNTEST, and then return to DOS. F2 - Use this key to abort the test you are running and restart the program. This key will also send a form feed to the printer. F3 - Use this key to pause the program. It will not "forget" any of your settings nor will it lose its place in the test you are running. F4 - Use this key to restart the test after you have hit the F3 key to pause. The printer will continue exactly where it left off. ──────────────── ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ──────────────── There are very few people I have to acknowledge for this program. Of course Borland is one of them, for making the Turbo-Basic that PRNTEST.EXE was compiled with and for the Sidekick that this document file was written in. This almost sounds like a commercial for Borland, doesn't it? But seriously, if it wasn't for their under $100.00 programs, the public would be out of luck as far as a place you could turn to get quality stuff that's reasonably priced. Naturally there is myself, but that sounds a bit egotistical. Anyway, if I can program so great, how come it took me three revisions to get this thing to look good and to work right? But the biggest acknowledgement is for two people, my pregnant wife (that's actually one and a half people, isn't it). She has been very good while I sit in this room for hours on end programming and playing games on my XT. While sometimes she does slip and call the computer my "girlfriend", she has for the most part been very understanding. So to Kathy and my unborn child, I love the two of you very much. Sincerely, Jim Wilson -- Page 6 --