LA310 MultiPrinter Installation and User Guide

This document is the "LA310 MultiPrinter Installation and User Guide," published by Digital Equipment Corporation in November 1992. It serves as a comprehensive manual for installing, operating, and maintaining the LA310 MultiPrinter, designed for users with varying levels of computer experience.

Key aspects covered include:

• Printer Overview and Features: The LA310 is a wide-carriage, 9-pin impact dot-matrix printer suitable for general business applications. It offers flexible paper handling (continuous pinfeed, single sheets, multi-part forms, envelopes), "Document on Demand" for paper saving, and "Automatic Viewing" to see the last printed line. It supports both serial and parallel connections with automatic port selection and protocol switching.
• Supported Protocols/Emulations: The printer is compatible with Digital ANSI-Compliant Printing Protocol Level 2 (DEC PPL2), IBM Proprinter III, and Epson FX-1050. It also has a slot for optional cartridges for additional emulations, fonts, or character sets.
• Installation: Detailed steps are provided for unpacking, identifying printer components, installing the power cord and ribbon cartridge, and performing a self-test. Instructions for physically connecting the printer to various computer systems (Digital VAX, PCs) using appropriate cables are also included.
• Operation: Explains how to use the operator control panel buttons (Ready/Pause, LF/Protocol, Parking, FF) and interpret the printer's operating indicators (Fault, Ready, Data, Port, Protocol, Print Quality).
• Paper Handling: Provides extensive guidance on loading different types of paper (tractor-fed, single-sheet), adjusting the printhead for paper thickness, and configuring for various paper widths. It also describes how the printer signals and resolves error conditions related to paper.
• Configuration: Details how to configure the printer's settings (e.g., communication modes, protocols, baud rate, data format, print quality, paper width) via the Set-up menus to ensure compatibility with the host computer and application.
• Maintenance and Troubleshooting: Offers advice on general printer cleaning, identifying and correcting common problems (power, no printout, operational issues, print quality issues, ribbon/carriage problems), and when to contact Digital Equipment Corporation for service.
• Reference Information: Appendices include detailed specifications (print speeds, resolutions, noise levels, power requirements, paper types), a list of printer accessories, instructions for using font and character set cartridges, procedures for defining form settings and horizontal line adjustment, and comprehensive quick reference guides for DEC PPL2, IBM Proprinter III, and Epson FX-1050 control codes and emulation differences.