94 lines
3.5 KiB
Groff
94 lines
3.5 KiB
Groff
.Dd September 2017
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.Dt klg2 1
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.Os klg2 program
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.Sh NAME
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.Nm klg2
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.Nd Print a PBM file on a Casio KL-G2 label printer
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.Sh SYNOPSIS
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.Nm klg2
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.Op Fl FCHvh
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.Op Fl m Ar margin
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.Op Fl t Ar tapesize
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.Op Fl c Ar cutmode
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.Op Fl d Ar density
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.Sh DESCRIPTION
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The
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.Nm
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program reads a PBM file on the standard input and prints it on a Casio
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KL-G2 label printer connected to the USB port. Options are provided for
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manually feeding or cutting the tape (no image is read in that case).
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.Pp
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The options are as follows:
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.Bl -tag -width Ds
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.It Fl F
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Feed the tape and exits. Equivalent to the manual feed from keyboard.
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.It Fl C
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Cut the tape and exits. Tape is fed a little due to how the mechanism
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works. Equivalent to the manual cut from keyboard.
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.It Fl H
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Do an half-cut and exits. There is no equivalent from the keyboard, and,
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in fact, the operation itself is of dubious utility.
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.It Fl v
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Enables verbose logging on standard error of the communication with the
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printer. Only for debugging and troubleshooting.
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.It Fl m Ar margin
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Select the pre- and post- printing tape feed. Values from 1 to 3 are
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equivalent to the small, medium, large margin options in the printer
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FORM menu. Setting margin to 0 put the printer in no-feed mode and
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inhibits the cutter. The default is 1 (small margin).
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.It Fl t Ar tapesize
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Select the tape width in millimeters; accepted values are 6, 9, 12, 18
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and 24. This is only used for verifying the installed cartridge (the
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printer detects keying holes in the cartridge's body) and doesn't affect
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the actual print area (all the 128 printhead elements are available).
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The default is 12 millimeters.
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.It Fl c Ar cutmode
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Select the cutter operation mode. 0 disables the cutter. 1 operates an
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half cut at the beginning of the label and a full cut at the end. 2 does
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a full cut both at the beginning and at the end of the printed label.
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The default is half-cut mode.
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.It Fl d Ar density
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Sets the print density. 1 is lighter and 5 is darker. Default is 3.
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.El
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.Pp
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The image to be printed is read from the standard input and must be in
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raw PBM format. The maximum height is 128 pixels (the printhead size)
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while the length is substantially limited by the available tape and
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memory (the printer can spool in pages so printer memory is not an
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issue).
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.Pp
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Images shorter than 128 pixel are centered on the print area but the
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printhead is driven on the whole width independently on the tape width
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selected.
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.Pp
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The printer has a thermal 200dpi printhead (8 points per millimeter),
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with an active area of 16mm. The full resolution is only available with
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18mm and 24mm tapes. The nominal print area for 12mm tape is 80 points,
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but about 88 are usually accessible on the tape. For smaller tapes the
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active area is in proportion.
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.Pp
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It is not recommended to try printing outside the tape since the
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printhead could be damaged.
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.Sh EXIT STATUS
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.Ex -std
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.Sh HISTORY
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.Nm
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was developed by reverse engineering the USB protocol used by the
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proprietary Casio FA-3000 Label Printing Software. Some information were
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also obtained by cross-referencing the protocol with the Pegg EL
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software written by Daniel Amkreutz and Alex Perry for the EL label
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printers.
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.Pp
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Unfortunately the Casio documentation doesn't seem to be still available
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and many commands have no known meaning.
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.Sh BUGS
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.Nm
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was tested only on one printer and only with 12mm tape. Since at the
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time of writing the KL-G2 is the only USB connected label printer
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actively sold by Casio there shouldn't be compatibility issues.
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.Pp
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Anyway the protocol remained mostly the same from the EL series so it
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should be relatively easy to adapt the
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.Nm
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program for older or newer printers.
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