Last modified on 25 August 2010, at 09:47

Amstrad Printers

Revision as of 09:47, 25 August 2010 by Nocash (Talk | contribs) (Technical Specs)

Amstrad/Schneider Printer Models

CPC Series

DMP-1 Printer.JPG


Printer NLQ401 printer2.jpg


Dmp2000 1.jpg
  • DMP2000 more info
  • Same hardware as DMP3000, but in CPC-style black case, and without italics


Dmp2160.jpg
  • DMP2160 more info
  • Fast version of DMP2000 (prints 160 CPS, instead of 105 CPS)


PC/PCW Series (gray)

Dmp3000.jpg
  • DMP3000 more info
  • Same hardware as DMP2000, but in PCW-style gray case, and with italics


DMP3160 picture by martín melado.jpg
  • DMP3160 more info
  • Fast version of DMP3000 (prints 160 CPS, instead of 105 CPS)


Amstrad DMP3250 (www.tietokonemuseo.net).jpg
  • DMP3250di more info
  • Dual-interface version of DMP3160 (with centronics and rs232 ports)
  • Like the DMP3160, it prints only 160 CPS (not 250 CPS)


DMP4000.jpg
  • DMP4000 more info
  • Extra big wide printer (paper width 16 inch)


LQ3500.jpg
  • LQ3500 and LQ3500di more info
  • LQ3500di version with dual interface (centronics and rs232)
  • Letter Quality 24pin Dot Matrix Printer


LQ5000di.jpg
  • LQ5000di more info
  • Letter Quality 24pin Dot Matrix Printer, wide carriage (16 inch paper)
  • With dual interface (centronics and rs232)


LD6000 Laser Printer.jpg
  • LD6000 more info
  • Laser Printer (from Amstrad GmbH, for german market only)
  • This is a rebadged Sharp printer that emulates an HP Laserjet II


Technical Specs

DMP1 LQ401 DMP2000/DMP2160 DMP3000/DMP3160/DMP3250di DMP4000 (wide) LQ3500/LQ3500di LQ5000di (wide) LD6000 (laser)
Design CPC CPC CPC PCW (gray) PCW (gray) PC/PCW (gray) PC/PCW (gray) PC/PCW (gray)
Year 1984 ? 1985 ? ? ? ? ?
Maker Seikosha Centronics Data Computer Corp. Amstrad? Amstrad? Amstrad? Amstrad? Amstrad? Sharp
Distributor Amstrad Schneider Amstrad/Schneider Amstrad/Schneider Amstrad/Schneider Amstrad/Schneider Amstrad only? Amstrad GmbH
Family Seikosha ? Epson Epson Epson Epson LQ Epson LQ HP Laserjet II
Pins Unihammer? 9pin 9pin 9pin 9pin 24pin 24pin Laser
Processor uPD8039LC uPD7811G uPD7811G uPD7811G uPD7811 uPD78310 uPD78310 ?
BIOS ROM 2732 4kbyte EPROM (8DE-1) 27128 16kbyte EPROM DMP2000/2160: 27128 16kbyte EPROM DMP3000: 27256 32kbyte EPROM 27256 32kbyte EPROM 64Kbyte+512Kbyte EPROMs 3x ROM chips ?
Buffer RAM 2K ? DMP2000:2K (upgradeable)
DMP2160: 2K (see service manual)
DMP3000:2K (upgradeable) or 8K? (german DMP3000 service manual)
DMP3160/3250di: 8K (see leaflet)
8K (see leaflet) 8K (see leaflet) plus 8K (char RAM?) 8K (see leaflet)
total 4x8K (service manal)
?
Number of Control Codes 9 ? circa 92 codes same as DMP2000/2160, plus one extra code ? ? ? ?
Print System Impact Dot-Matrix ? Impact Dot-Matrix Impact Dot-Matrix Wiredot-Matrix Impact Dot-Matrix Impact Dot-Matrix Laser Printer
Print direction Unidirectional (left to right) ? ? ? Uni- and Bi-directional (selectable) Uni- and Bi-directional (selectable) Uni- and Bi-directional (selectable) ?
Print Speed 50 CPS ? DMP2000: 105 CPS max
DMP2160:160 CPS
DMP3000: 105 CPS (normal width)
52 CPS (double width)
DMP3160/DMP3250di: 160 CPS
200 CPS (standard)
50 CPS (NLQ)
135-160 CPS 240-288 CPS ?
Printing Characteristics
(vertical x horizontal)
7 x 5 (plus spacing) ? 9 x 9 (normal char)
9 x 10 (double width char)
9 x chosen amount (9 pin bit-image)
9 x 9 (normal char)
9 x 10 (expanded char)
9 x chosen amount (9 pin bit-image)
8 x chosen amount (bit-image)
9 x 9 (ASCII chars - table 1)
18 x 9 (ASCII chars - table 2)
12 x 11 (special chars - table 3.1 and 3.2)
24 x 11 (special chars - table 4.1 and 4.2)
8 x chosen amount (bit-image graphics)
? ? ?
Character Sets 128 (actually only 96) chars, 7bit ASCII, or international chars via DIP switches ? 96 characters ASCII + international character sets 96 characters ASCII + Italics + international character sets ASCII-96, Italics-96, NLQ-96, NLQ Italics-96
International character sets-9, Special characters-132
? ? ?
Normal Character Size ? ? ? 2.1 (width) x 2.55 (height) mm ? ? ? ?
Dot Spacing 1/60" (H) x 1/63" (V) ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
Standard (Pica) 10 CPI ? 10 CPI/80 CPL 10 CPI/80 CPL 10 CPI/136 CPL ? ? ?
Mini (Elite) - ? 12 CPI/96 CPL 12 CPI/96 CPL 12 CPI/163 CPL ? ? ?
Condensed - ? 17 CPI/137 CPL ? 17 CPI/233 CPL ? ? ?
Double Width Standard (?) ? 5 CPI/40 CPL 5 CPI/40 CPL ? ? ? ?
Double Width Mini - ? 6 CPI/48 CPL 6 CPI/48 CPL ? ? ? ?
Double Width Condensed - ? 8.5 CPI/68 CPL 8.5 CPI/68 CPL ? ? ? ?
Number of Columns 80 columns-character mode
480 dot columns-graphics mode
? 80 (Standard)
40 (Double)
132 (Condensed)
66 (Double Width Condensed)
80 (Standard)
40 (Double)
132 (Condensed)
66 (Double Width Condensed)
136 (standard)
233 (condensed)
? ? ?
Line Feed Rates 6 lines/inch-character mode
9 lines/inch-graphics mode
9 lines/inch-mixed mode
? 1/6 inch
1/8 inch
7/72 inch
n/216 inch programmable
n/72 inch programmable
1/6 inch
1/8 inch
7/72 inch
n/216 inch programmable
n/72 inch programmable
1/6 inch
1/8 inch
7/72 inch
n/216 inch programmable
n/72 inch programmable
1/6 inch
1/8 inch
n/60 inch programmable
n/180 inch programmable
1/6 inch
1/8 inch
7/72 inch
n/60 inch programmable
n/180 inch programmable
n/216 inch programmable
n/72 inch programmable
?
Line Feed Speed 10 lines/sec (at 6 lines/inch)
15 lines/sec (at 9 lines/inch)
? DMP2000: 200 mS(1/6 inch)
DMP2160: 160 ms
DMP3000: 200 mS(1/6 inch)
DMP3160/3250di: 160ms, 1.04IPS
100 mS(1/6 inch), 1.6IPS 0.83IPS 0.83IPS ?
Paper Type 4.5 to 10 inches acceptable (pin to pin 4 to 9.5 inches) ? 4.5 to 10 inches fan-fold (tractor feed)
4 to 9.5 inches cut sheet or roll paper (friction feed)
4.5 to 10 inches fan-fold (tractor feed)
4 to 9.5 inches cut sheet or roll paper (friction feed)
Tractor feed (fan fold) - 3 to 16.5 inches (75 to 420 mm)
Friction feed (cut sheet or roll) - 2 to 15.5 inches (50 to 395 mm)
10 Inch... 15 Inch... DIN-A4 cut sheet
Number of Copies Two including original
(Thickness 0.15mm or less)
? 2 sheets (including original)
40 gsm pressure-sensitive paper train
2 sheets (including original)
40 gsm pressure-sensitive paper train
Original plus two Original plus one Original plus two Original only
Interface Parallel (Centronics compatible) Parallel (Centronics compatible) Parallel (Centronics compatible) DMP3000/3160: Parallel (Centronics compatible)
DMP3250di: additional RS232 interface
Parallel (Centronics compatible) LQ3500: Parallel (Centronics compatible)
LQ3500di: additional RS232 interface
LQ5000di: Parallel (Centronics compatible) plus RS232 interface ?
Ink Ribbon Short lifetime... ? Cassette (1 million characters per ribbon) Cassette (1 million characters per ribbon) ? ? ? Laser Toner...
Dimensions 447 (w) x 315 (d) x 114 (h) ? 380 (w) x 250 (d) x 100 (h) mm 400 (w) x 250 (d) x 100 (h) mm 24 (w) x 14 (d) x 5 (h) inches
(600 x 350 x 120 mm)
17.5"(W)x16"(D)x4"(H)
440x400x100 mm
24"(W) x 15"(D) x 5"(H)
615x375x133 mm
?
Weight 4.8kg ? 4.2kg 4.2kg 9.5kg 5.9kg 7.5kg ?
Mains Supply 220-240V AC 50Hz ? 220-240V AC 50Hz 220-240V AC 50Hz 220-240V AC 50Hz 220-240V AC 50Hz 220-240V AC 50Hz ?

Printer Codes

Hex Decimal ASCII Description
07 7 BEL Beeper (produce beep sound, can be disabled via DIP-switch)
08 8 BS Backspace (move print head left by one character unit, allowing to overwrite characters)
09 9 HT Horizontal tab
0A 10 LF Line Feed (move to next line)
0B 11 VT Vertical Tab
0C 12 FF Form Feed (move to next page)
0D 13 CR Carriage Return
0E 14 SO Select double width for one line (unlike ESC W 0/1 continous)
0F 15 SI Select condensed mode
11 17 DC1 Select printer (online?) (FX80: DIP-switch related)
12 18 DC2 Cancel condensed mode
13 19 DC3 Deselect printer (offline?) (FX80: DIP-switch related)
14 20 DC4 Cancel one line double width mode (unlike ESC W 0/1 continous)
18 24 CAN Cancel text in line (but not control codes)
1B 0E 27 14 ESC SO Double width for one line (duplicate) (not FX80, better use SO, not ESC SO)
1B 0F 27 15 ESC SI Select condensed mode (duplicate) (not FX80, better use SI, not ESC SI)
1B 21 n 27 33 n ESC ! n Master select where n is a combination of: XXX
1B 23 27 35 ESC # MSB control sequence cancel (=obtain MSB from Centronics Pin 9) (not on FX80)
1B 25 00 00 27 37 0 0 ESC % NUL NUL Select normal character set (ROM) (star lc10 without ending NUL)
1B 25 01 00 27 37 1 0 ESC % SOH NUL Select user defined char set (RAM) (star lc10 without ending NUL)
1B 26 00 .. 27 38 0 .. ESC & NUL .. Define user defined chars (params: first,last char (0..31 each), followed by "attr,d1..d11" per char, attr.bit7=descender flag (0=descend, 1=no descend, usuable only with 8bit printer port), attr.bit6-4=starting pos(0..7, attr.bit3-0=finishing pos i+4..11), d1..d11 are 8-pin columns)
1B 2A 00 n1 n2 .. 27 42 0 n1 n2.. ESC * NUL n1 n2.. Select 8pin single density graphics (same as ESC K) (60dpi) (480 pix per 8 inch) (n2:n1 dot columns, each 8pin, bit7=upper pin)
1B 2A 01 n1 n2 .. 27 42 1 n1 n2.. ESC * SOH n1 n2.. Select 8pin double density graphics (same as ESC L) (120dpi) (960 pix per 8 inch)
1B 2A 02 n1 n2 .. 27 42 2 n1 n2.. ESC * STX n1 n2.. Select 8pin double d.speed graphics (same as ESC Y) (120dpi source data being output at 60dpi)
1B 2A 03 n1 n2 .. 27 42 3 n1 n2.. ESC * ETX n1 n2.. Select 8pin quad density graphics (same as ESC Z) (240dpi) (1920 pix per 8 inch)
1B 2A 04 n1 n2 .. 27 42 4 n1 n2.. ESC * EOT n1 n2.. Select 8pin 640-pix CRT graphics (80dpi) (640 pix per 8 inch)
1B 2A 05 n1 n2 .. 27 42 5 n1 n2.. ESC * ENQ n1 n2.. Select 8pin 576-pix plotter graphics(72dpi) (576 pix per 8 inch)
1B 2A 06 n1 n2 .. 27 42 6 n1 n2.. ESC * ACK n1 n2.. Select 8pin 720-pix CRT graphics (90dpi) (720 pix per 8 inch)
1B 2D 30 27 45 48 ESC - 0 Cancel underlining
1B 2D 31 27 45 49 ESC - 1 Select underlining
1B 2F c 27 47 c ESC / c Select vertical tab channel (c=0..7)
1B 30 27 48 ESC 0 Select 9/72 inch aka 1/8 inch line spacing
1B 31 27 49 ESC 1 Select 7/72 inch line spacing
1B 32 27 50 ESC 2 Select 12/72 inch aka 1/6 inch line spacing
1B 33 n 27 51 n ESC 3 n Select n/216 inch line spacing (n=0..255)
1B 34 27 52 ESC 4 Select italic mode (italics can be also used by setting bit7 of the character number)
1B 35 27 53 ESC 5 Cancel italic mode
1B 36 27 54 ESC 6 Enable printing of characters (128-159,255) (Italics?)
1B 37 27 55 ESC 7 Cancel [ESC 6] command
1B 38 27 56 ESC 8 Disable paper out sensor
1B 39 27 57 ESC 9 Enable paper out sensor
1B 3A 00 00 00 27 58 0 0 0 ESC : NUL NUL NUL Copy charset ROM into RAM (the three NULs are "for future expansion")
1B 3C 27 60 ESC < Select unidirectional mode for one line (Move head home/parking)
1B 3D 27 61 ESC = MSB = 0 (not on LX80)
1B 3E 27 62 ESC > MSB = 1 (not on LX80)
1B 3F s n 27 63 s n ESC ? s n Reassign graphics mode 's'=(K,L,Y or Z) to mode 'n'=(0..6) (default is ESC K=0, L=1, Y=2, Z=3) (these defaults can be reassinged here, eg. ESC K=6)
1B 40 27 64 ESC @ Initialize printer (Reset)
1B 41 n 27 65 n ESC A n Select n/72 inch line spacing (n=0..85)
1B 42 00 27 66 0 ESC B NUL Clear Vertical tabs
1B 42 tabs 00 27 66 tabs 0 ESC B tabs NUL Select up to 16 vertical tabs where tabs are ascending values from 1..255 ending with NUL
1B 43 00 n 27 67 0 n ESC C NUL n Select page length in inches (n=1..22)
1B 43 n 27 67 n ESC C n Select page length in lines (n=1..127)
1B 44 00 27 68 0 ESC D NUL Clears all horizontal tables
1B 44 tabs 00 27 68 tabs 0 ESC D tabs NUL Sets up to 32 horizontal tabs with ascending values 1-137. NUL or a value less than previous tab ends command.
1B 45 27 69 ESC E Select emphasized (bold) mode
1B 46 27 70 ESC F Cancel emphasized (bold) mode
1B 47 27 71 ESC G Select double strike mode (also an bold-alike effect)
1B 48 27 72 ESC H Cancel double strike mode (also an bold-alike effect)
1B 49 30 27 73 48 ESC I 0 Disable Printable codes expansion (0-31,128-159) (not on LX80)
1B 49 31 27 73 49 ESC I 1 Enable Printable codes expansion (0-31,128-159) (presumably excluding 27?) (not on LX80)
1B 4A n 27 74 n ESC J n Perform One-shot n/216 inch line feed (n=0..255)
1B 4B n1 n2 .. 27 75 n1 n2 .. ESC K n1 n2 .. Single 8pin density graphics (60 dpi) (n2:n1 = num bytes following) (480 dots/line)
1B 4C n1 n2 .. 27 76 n1 n2 .. ESC L n1 n2 .. Double 8pin density graphics (120 dpi) (960 dots/line)
1B 4D 27 77 ESC M Select elite width (12 cpi) (mini font)
1B 4E n 27 78 n ESC N n Select skip over perforation (n=1..127 lines)
1B 4F 27 79 ESC O Cancel skip over perforation
1B 50 27 80 ESC P Cancel elite / Select pica width (10 cpi)
1B 51 n 27 81 n ESC Q n Set right margin (n=1..255 character columns) (this is WIDTH, counted from left margin)
1B 52 n 27 82 n ESC R n Select International character set where numeric 'n' is: XXX
1B 53 30 27 83 48 ESC S 0 Select superscript
1B 53 31 27 83 49 ESC S 1 Select subscript
1B 54 27 84 ESC T Cancel superscript/subscript
1B 55 30 27 85 48 ESC U 0 Cancel unidirectional mode (faster, use bidirectional printing)
1B 55 31 27 85 49 ESC U 1 Select unidirectional mode (slower, left-to-right, more accurate on vertical lines)
1B 57 30 27 87 48 ESC W 0 Cancel double width mode (continous) (unlike DC4: one line)
1B 57 31 27 87 49 ESC W 1 Select double width mode (continous) (unlike SO: one line)
1B 59 n1 n2 .. 27 89 n1 n2 ESC Y n1 n2 Select 8pin Hi-speed double den graphics (120 dpi)
1B 5A n1 n2 .. 27 90 n1 n2 ESC Z n1 n2 Select 8pin Quad density graphics (240 dpi) (1920 dots/8"line)
1B 5E d n1 n2.. 27 94 d n1 n2 ESC ^ d n1 n2 Select 9 pin graphics mode number of columns = n1 + (n2 * 256) (d=density, 0=single, 1=double) (specs doesn't say if 2..6 do work too) (each column is a 2-byte pair: byte1.bit7..bit0=upper..lower, byte2.bit7=lowest, byte2.bit6..bit0=unused)
1B 62 c 00 27 98 c 0 ESC b c NUL Clear vertical tabs in channel (c=0..7)
1B 62 c tabs 00 27 98 c tabs 0 ESC b c tabs NUL Select up to 16 vertical tabs in channels (c=0..7) where tabs are ascending values from 1..255 ending with NUL
1B 69 00 27 105 48 ESC i 0 Cancel instant character printing (default, ie. print on CRLF etc.) (not on LX80)
1B 69 01 27 105 49 ESC i 1 Select instant character printing (printer each char immediately) (also scrolls printed text into view; when buffer empty) (not on LX80)
1B 6A n 27 106 n ESC j n Perform One-shot reverse linefeed (n/216 inch after buffer) (not on LX80)
1B 6C n 27 108 n ESC l n Set left margin (n=0..255 character columns)
1B 70 30 27 112 48 ESC p 0 Cancel proportional mode (not on LX80 ?)
1B 70 31 27 112 49 ESC p 1 Select proportional mode (not on LX80 ?)
1B 73 30 27 115 48 ESC s 0 Turn half speed mode off
1B 73 31 27 115 49 ESC s 1 Turn half speed mode on (purpose: noise-reduced silent printing)
1B 78 30 27 120 48 ESC x 0 Select draft mode (LX80) (FX86e) (not FX80)
1B 78 31 27 120 49 ESC x 1 Select NLQ mode (LX80) (FX86e) (not FX80)
7F 127 DEL Delete last character from buffer (but not control codes) (works only when buffer isn't yet printer; printing usually starts on terminating lines via CRLF)

Amstrad DMP3000/3160 specific - NOT supported on DMP2000/2160, nor on real Epson printers, nor on Epson-compatibles like Star LC10 DMP2000 DMP3160 FX80 Hex Decimal ASCII |Description - yy!! - 1B 6D n 27 109 n ESC m n |Select charset (0=Epson, 1=IMB#1, 2=IBM#2) <--- Amstrad specific (LX80: 0=graphics set off, 4=graphics set on) (Star LC10: not supported, uses "ESC t 0/1" for similar purpose)


International Characters

23h 24h 40h 5Bh 5Ch 5Dh 5Eh 60h 7Bh 7Ch 7Dh 7Eh
0 - USA # $ @ [ \ ] ^ ` { | } ~
1 - France # $ à ° ç par ^ ` é ù è "
2 - Germany # $ par Ä Ö Ü ^ ` ä ö ü ß
3 - UK £ $ @ [ \ ] ^ ` { | } ~
4 - Denmark # $ @ Æ Ø Å ^ ` æ ø å ~
5 - Sweden # ox É Ä Ö Å Ü é ä ö å ü
6 - Italy # $ @ ° \ é ^ ù à ò è ì
7 - Spain Pt $ @ ¡ Ñ ¿ ^ ` " ñ } ~

DIP Switch Settings

DMP2000/DMP2160/DMP3000/DMP3160/DMP4000:

Function Off = High = 1 On = Low = 0
DS1-1 International characters Bit0

0=USA, 1=France, 2=Germany, 3=United Kingdom, 4=Denmark, 5=Sweden, 6=Italy, 7=Spain

DS1-2 International characters Bit1
DS1-3 International characters Bit2
DS1-4 CR Function CR only CR & LF
DS1-5 Paper out sensor Enable Disable
DS1-6 Page length 11 inch 17 inch (or rather 12 inch?)
DS1-7 Default Character Set Bit0 DMP2000/DMP2160: DS1-7=Code Unit (Off=8 units, On=7 units "set this for Apple computers", DS1-8=Charset (Off=Epson Standard, On=Epson NLQ)
DMP3160: Charset (3=Epson Standard, 2=Epson NLQ, 1=IBM #1, 0=IBM #3)
DS1-8 Default Character Set Bit1
DS2-1 Zero character Unslashed Slashed
DS2-2 Default skip perforation Disable Enable
DS2-3 Buffer mode Character Graphics
DS2-4 Buffer mode Character/Graphics (use DS2-3 setting) Download (=UserDefCharset)
DS2-5 SLCT IN signal Not sent Automatically sent
DS2-6 Alarm beeper Disable Enable
DS2-7 Default typeface Bold off Condensed & bold on
DS2-8 Default typeface Condensed off Bold on
DS2-9 Do not use
DS2-10 Do not use

DMP3250di Extra RS232 DIP-switches

Function Off (0) On (1)
DS3-1 Baudrate Bit0 0=150, 1=200, 2=300, 3=600, 4=1200, 5=2400, 6=4800, 7=9600 bps
DS3-2 Baudrate Bit1
DS3-3 Baudrate Bit2
DS3-4 Parity On/Off Enable Disable
DS3-5 Parity Even/Odd Odd Even
DS3-6 Data Bits 7bit 8bit
DS3-7 Stop Bits 1bit 2bit
DS3-8 Handshake Bit0 0=RTS(Ready/Busy), 1=Série(XON/XOFF), 2=Série(ETX/ACK), 3=Reserved)
DS3-9 Handshake Bit1
DS3-10 Interface Centronics/Parallel Serial/RS2322

User Manuals

Service Manuals

Datasheets

Leaflets

ROM Images

Please dump the printer BIOS ROMs! Contained character sets & machine code may become useful for emulation & necrophile research...
If you do, please also take a photo of the printer PCB.

  • DMP1 ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • NLQ401 ROM Image (this only the 16K EPROM image, not including the additional 4K ROM which is located inside of the CPU)
  • DMP2000 ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • DMP2160 ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • DMP3000 ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • DMP3160 ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • DMP3250di ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • DMP4000 ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • LQ3500 ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • LQ3500di ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • LQ5000di ROM Image (none yet dumped)
  • LD6000 ROM Image (none yet dumped)

Weblinks