Labelprinter V3.0 instructions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Written by Proxt of Cave 1989-11-03. Note: This utility is Public domain! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The background of this utility --------------------------------- To the 3½" diskettes follows some labels when you buy disks. If you change the contense of the disk more than 3-4 times you will no longer have any room on the label to write on and the label will get messy and it will not look any good at all. Therefore I started to look out for some other way of writing what was on my disks. All the kind of labels you can buy in stores have too much glue on the back side of the label. This leaves a sticky disk when you remove the labels and you would have to put new labels on all the time. It's a dirty work! I got an idear on how to make the labels on my new printer and tape them on to the disk with some of the 3M SCOTCH MAGIC tape I had in my drawer. This kind of tape don't leave any glue on the disk when you remove it again! For some time I made the labels on Notepad, but this was too difficult because I had to write the name of the disk 3 times before I could print it. At that time I only knew a bit assembler, but I didn't know how to use the printer in assembler. I did the Labelprinter V1.0 in basic. Later I made a better version which had more options like address-labels and VHS-labels. 6 weeks ago I found out how to use the printer in assembler and about 2 weeks ago I started coding this version (Labelprinter v3.0). This is also my first menu controlled assembler utility with gadgets and windows! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. How to use the labels ------------------------ It is very hard to descripe these things, so if you don't understand, you should try to figure it out yourself. It's not that difficult.... The equiptment I use when I make labels is: a very sharp knife, a ruler you can look through and a cardboard pad to cut on. ---- When you have printed a label, eg. a standard disk label, it should look something like this: -----------------------(line to cut after) Labelprinter V3.0 (backside text) Labelprinter V3.0 (top text, makes it easier for you to find disks!) Labelprinter V3.0 (frontside of the label) ----------------- (this is normally the underline for the name!) Proxt of Cave (the one or the group who did the disk way back when) -----------------------(line to cut after) The ------... lines are made to help you cut the label nice, smooth and easy. First you cut the label vertically (Y) by putting the ruler at the start and the end of the two ------ lines and cut with use of the ruler. Next you cut the label horizontal (X) just beneath and above the two ----- lines, so that you can't see any of the ----- lines on the final label. Now you should have a little quadrangle which is you label. To make it fit easier on to the disk you should now bend the label just above and beneth the second name line. The top of a 3½" disk is 3 millimetre wide. Therefore the bend should be about 3 millimetre (at least NOT more than 3 millimetre). Notice that the bends must be 90° horizontal to make the label fit 100% (you will learn it after your 15's label). Place the label on the middle of the disk and put tape on, starting just benith the underlined name. Put tape one till the label is covered with tape by putting the tape with the side just up of each tape piece. Remember to put tape on the backside also! When you use 3M SCOTCH MAGIC tape for the disks, I normally use 3 tapepieces. Please notice that the tape must be too big for the disk. This is to be understood this way: The tape goes over the sides of the disk. Normally there is a border 6 millimetre from the sides. You cut in this border, but do it very gently so that you don't cut trough the disks. It is only the tape which is to be cut, not the disk! You can now remove the tape which has been cut off. When you print a musictape-label there are 2 - marks in each side of the paper. These 2 - marks are to bend the musictape-label after. You should bend the label before you cut it, because it is hard to see the position where you are to bend when the - marks are gone. The "file"-labels are very hard to fit because there is no standard for these kind of labels. Sometimes they are too wide, sometimes they are too small. You must try to make them fit your kind of "files" yourself. A "file" is a cover with metal in it, where you put papers with 2/4 holes in. My dictionary said that it was called a file so that was the only way I could translate it. Sorry. For all you who understand Danish I can tell you that it is called a mappe in Danish. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. How to use the gadget-boxes ------------------------------ When you are to make your labels it is possible for you to print them just like you want them to be. You can make them Italic, bold, underline(???), NLQ (Near Letter Quality) and all the other kinds of codes you can figure out how to send to your printer. I have selected NLQ+BOLD for some of my labels. Some of them are only NLQ. You can chage the codes in the boxes called "ESC codes +" and "ESC codes -". "ESC codes +" are codes printed before the print, "ESC codes -" are printed after the print. When you bought your Amiga there were a book with it called Introduction to the Amiga ????. In that book there is a chapter about the "Printer Escape Codes". In my book it is in section D-1. Look under the chapter called: ANSI X3.64 Style Commands Here you will find a lot of usefull codes for your printer. Eg.: You are to print a label in NLQ, Bold and Italic. 1. click in the "ESC codes +". If you want to write all of the codes, press A(miga)+X and the codes are erased. 2. Find "NLQ on" in the feature collumn. Just to the left of this the code for this is written. Press the Esc key to get the ESC code (a quadrangle shows in the codes box). Follow with [2"z and the printer will set be set to NLQ when you print the label. Try to find the Bold on and the Italic on and write these codes in behind the NLQ code. The final result should look something like this (the quadrangle is shown as ESC): ESC[2"zESC[1mESC[3m 3. Now you shold turn the codes off again, or the printer will remember them till you turn it off! Write the off codes for the 3 types in the "ESC codes -" box. Result: ESC[1"zESC[22mESC23m 4. Fill the rest of the boxes with the text you want to write and start the print by pressing in the "Print label" box. You must use the mouse to shift line in the big boxes. Even if it is only 8 bits down!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. How to copy this utility --------------------------- If you want install the Labelprinter V3.0 on a new disk you have to copy some inportant files. First of all you should copy the main part of Labelprinter V3.0. Next is the instruction file which must be on the disk (LPinstr). To make it possible for you to use your printer, you should also copy from the DEVS dir: printer.device parallel.device seriel.device You must also make the dir PRINTERS and copy the printer you use, to this directory. You must also set the preferences on your new disk, to work with your new printer. I use EPSON mode on my Citizen 120D, therefore I have set the Preferences in EPSON mode. If your computer won't print anything at all or the things it prints are totally crazy, you should try to change the Preferences. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5. Spreading rights ------------------- This is a Public domain utility, which means that you can copy it to who ever you want as long as you copy the instructions file and don't take more than 2 noname disks' price for copying this utility. If you want to sell it for more than 2 noname disks price or you want to sell it through software chains and that kind of stuff you must contact me first. This utility was mainly made for all my brothers (and sisters?) out there who likes to watch demoes and spread new stuff, to get to know a lot of people. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6. Contacting problems ---------------------- If you contact me, you shold know that I DONT WANT TO SWAP GAMES or any other illegal stuff like that. I only swap demoes. I have about 650 single demoes and about 40 megademoes. I am a REAL demo freak. If you send me 2 swap disks, I will add 2 swap disks myself. I will return the disks with new demo stuff and we are in bussines..... If you wan't to be a member of Cave, and you are Danish, you can call me and we can talk about it (mit gadenavn er Rønhaven men det er få udlændinge der kan forstå dette!) (if you didn't understand this it is simply because it was written in Danish...). Lars Svenningsen Roenhaven 13 2500 Valby Denmark Calling me from Denmark: 31 17 81 14 Calling me from outside Denmark: +64 31 17 81 14 Contact the Cave HQ in Finland for all kind of swapping. Cave HQ Viertolantie 15 11120 Riihimaki Finland Calling the HQ from Finland: 914-34411 Calling the HQ from outside Finland: +358 14-34411 Ask for Jukka Huvinen.... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I hope you can use this utility. I have put a lot of my life hours into it!?¡ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Remember: If you swap with Cave, you'll get stuff to save! -----------------------------------------------------------------------------