Glossary.... G-1 Index..... I-1

Introduction

When EPSON created the ESC/P printer control language, the industry standard for simple, sophisticated, efficient operation of dot-matrix printers was born. With the scalable fonts, high-resolution color raster graphics, and advanced page handling available with ESC/P 2, EPSON has narrowed the gap between dot-matrix and page printers. Features previously found only on laser printers are now available at affordable dot-matrix printer prices. This manual was developed as an aid in creating programs and drivers that take advantage of all the latest features of EPSONs printers. It is assumed the reader understands basic concepts such as bytes, ASCII codes, commands, and parameters. It is also assumed the reader can use a programming language or application program to send commands to the printer. By following the recommendations within this manual, your programs will allow EPSON printers to perform at the optimum levels they were designed for. With the introduction of our line of high-resolution color printers, we have expanded some existing ESC/P commands and added several new ones. This manual describes all ESC/P commands, including two new compressed raster graphics modes and MicroWeave, EPSONs revolutionary technology that virtually eliminates banding in graphics. In addition, we have provided a list of features and options available on all dot-matrix printers produced by EPSON for the American, European, and non-Japanese Pacific markets.

About This Manual

This manual is composed of four main sections. Command Summary Contains a detailed description of all commands available in EPSON ESC/P, with new commands available in ESC/P 2 clearly identified. Also, the following information is included: Recommended Operations Command Table Feature Summary Differences between 9-pin and 24/48-pin commands Printers that do not feature particular commands Differences in command functions among printers
Detailed explanations on how to use commands to perform specific functions in the most efficient manner. Tables that show the commands and command parameters featured on all EPSON printers. Features and options available on all EPSON printer models, as well as DIP-switch settings on applicable printers.
In addition, the Appendix contains information on character tables, widths of proportional characters, and interfaces. A Glossary and Index also provide convenient reference information. The information in this manual will be updated on a regular basis to continually provide the most current information on commands and printer models.

C-73 C-77 C-80 C-84 C-89 C-91 C-93 C-94 C-95 C-97 C-99 C-100 C-101 C-102 C-103 C-104 C-105 C-106 C-108 C-110 C-112 C-114 C-116 C-118 C-121 C-123 C-125 C-127 C-129 C-131 C-133 C-134 C-136 C-138 C-140 C-142 C-144 C-146 C-148
Command names Control-code character printing ESC ( ^ Print data as characters ESC 6 ESC 7 ESC I ESC m Enable printing of upper control codes Enable upper control codes Enable printing of control codes Select printing of upper control codes
C-150 C-151 C-153 C-155 C-156
Mechanical control ESC EM Control paper loading/ejecting ESC U ESC < BEL ESC 8 ESC 9 ESC s Turn unidirectional mode on/off Unidirectional mode (one line) Beeper Disable paper-out detector Enable paper-out detector Select low-speed mode
C-157 C-159 C-161 C-163 C-165 C-166 C-167
Printing color and graphics ESC ( G Select graphics mode ESC ( i ESC. ESC. 2 ESC * ESC ? ESC K ESC L ESC Y ESC Z ESC ^ ESC r Select MicroWeave print mode Print raster graphics Enter TIFF compressed mode Select bit image Reassign bit-image mode Select 60-dpi graphics Select 120-dpi graphics Select 120-dpi, double-speed graphics Select 240-dpi graphics Select 60/120-dpi, 9-pin graphics Select printing color
C-169 C-171 C-172 C-175 C-177 C-181 C-183 C-185 C-187 C-189 C-191 C-193
Printing bar codes ESC ( B Bar code setup and print Data and memory control ESC @ Initialize printer CAN DEL DC1 DC3 ESC # ESC = ESC > Cancel line Delete last character in buffer Select printer Deselect printer Cancel MSB control Set MSB to 0 Set MSB to 1
C-198 C-200 C-202 C-204 C-206 C-208 C-210 C-212
Command names Deleted commands ESC j Reverse paper feed ESC i Select immediate print mode

C-214 C-215

Binary mode commands for ESC. 2 raster graphics compression mode <XFER> Transfer raster graphics data <MOVX> <MOVY> <COLR> <CR> <EXIT> <MOVXBYTE> <MOVXDOT> Set relative horizontal position Set relative vertical position Select printing color Carriage return to left-most print position Exit TIFF compressed mode Set <MOVX> unit to 8 dots Set <MOVX> unit to 1 dot
C-217 C-218 C-219 C-220 C-221 C-222 C-223 C-224
Command List by ASCII Order
The following section lists commands by their ASCII order. The shaded areas are discontinued or nonrecommended commands. For alternative command recommendations, see the specific command description. For discontinued commands, see Deleted commands on page C-5.
Command names BEL BS HT LF VT FF CR SO SI DC1 DC2 DC3 DC4 CAN ESC SO ESC SI ESC EM ESC SP ESC ! ESC # ESC $ ESC % ESC & ESC ( ESC ( B ESC ( C ESC ( G ESC ( U ESC ( V ESC ( ^ ESC ( c ESC ( i ESC ( t ESC ( v ESC * ESC + ESC ESC. ESC. 2 Beeper Backspace Tab horizontally Line feed Tab vertically Form feed Carriage return Select double-width printing (one line) Select condensed printing Select printer Cancel condensed printing Deselect printer Cancel double-width printing (one line) Cancel line Select double-width printing (one line) Select condensed printing Control paper loading/ejecting Set intercharacter space Master select Cancel MSB control Set absolute horizontal print position Select user-defined set Define user-defined characters Select line/score Bar code setup and print Set page length in defined unit Select graphics mode Set unit Set absolute vertical print position Print data as characters Set page format Select MicroWeave print mode Assign character table Set relative vertical print position Select bit image Set n/360-inch line spacing Turn underline on/off Print raster graphics Enter TIFF compressed mode

Either no margin or 1-inch margin, depending on the default-setting mode or DIP-switch setting
The bottom margin is ignored when printing on single sheets. This was formerly called the Set skip-over-perforation command.
ESC C, FF, LF, Set the Printing Area, Setting bottom margin

Cancel bottom margin

O 4F 79
Cancels the top and bottom margin settings
This was formerly called the Cancel skip-over-perforation command.
ESC N, ESC ( C, ESC ( c, ESC C, FF, LF, Set the Printing Area, Setting bottom margin
ESC N, ESC C, FF, LF, Set the Printing Area, Setting bottom margin

Set right margin

Q 51 81
1 n 255 (left margin) < (current pitch) n (printable area width)
Sets the right margin to n columns in the current character pitch, as measured from the leftmost printable column

The right-most column

Set the right margin at the beginning of a line; the printer ignores any data preceding this command on the same line in the buffer. The following commands affect character pitch: ESC P, ESC M, ESC g, ESC W, ESC p, ESC SP, SI, SO, ESC !, ESC X, and ESC c. The printer calculates the right margin based on 10 cpi if proportional spacing is selected with the ESC p command. Always set the pitch before setting the margins. Do not assume what the pitch setting will be. Always set the margins at the beginning of a print job. Always set the right margin to be at least one column (at 10 cpi) larger than the left.
ESC l, ESC $, ESC \, HT, ESC D, Set the Printing Area, Setting left and right margins
1 n 255 (left margin) <(current pitch) n (printable area width)
Set the right margin at the beginning of a line; the printer ignores any data preceding this command on the same line in the buffer. The following commands affect character pitch: ESC P, ESC M, ESC g, ESC W, ESC p, ESC SP, SO, ESC !, and SI. The printer calculates the right margin based on 10 cpi if proportional spacing is selected with the ESC p command. Always set the pitch before setting the margins. Do not assume what the pitch setting will be. Always set the margins at the beginning of a print job. Always set the right margin to be at least two columns (at 10 cpi) greater than the left.

Set left margin

l 6C 108
1 n (left margin) <(right margin) 80-column printers: 0 (left margin) 4.50 inches 110-column printers: 0 (left margin) 7.00 inches 136-column printers: 0 (left margin) 8.00 inches

Sets the left margin to n columns in the current character pitch, as measured from the leftmost printable column

Defaultf

The left-most column (column 1)
Set the left margin at the beginning of a line; the printer ignores any data preceding this command on the same line in the buffer. The following commands affect character pitch: ESC X, ESC c, ESC P, ESC M, ESC g, ESC W, ESC p, ESC SP, SO, ESC ! and SI. Always set the pitch before setting the margins. Do not assume what the pitch setting will be. Always set the margins at the beginning of a print job. Always set the left margin to be at least one column (at 10 cpi) less than the right. The printer calculates the left margin based on 10 cpi if proportional spacing is selected with the ESC p command. Moving the left-margin position moves the tab settings by the same distance.
ESC Q, ESC $, ESC \, ESC D, HT, Set the Printing Area, Setting left and right margins
Individual Command Explanations C-23
1 n (left margin) <(right margin)
Set the left margin at the beginning of a line; the printer ignores any data preceding this command on the same line in the buffer. The following commands affect character pitch: ESC P, ESC M, ESC g, ESC W, ESC p, ESC SP, and SI. The printer calculates the left margin based on 10 cpi if proportional spacing is selected with the ESC p command. Always set the pitch before setting the margins. Do not assume what the pitch setting will be. Always set the margins at the beginning of a print job. Always set the left margin to be at least two columns (at 10 cpi) less than the right. Moving the left margin position moves the tab settings by the same distance.

Carriage return

CR 0D 13
Moves the print position to the left-margin position
Always send a CR command at the end of each line of text or graphics data. When automatic line-feed is selected (through DIP-switch or panel setting), the CR command is accompanied by a LF command.
On non-ESC/P 2 printers: The printer prints all data in the line buffer after receiving a CR command.
LF, ESC l, ESC SO, SO, ESC <, ESC., <CR>, Recommended command order, Moving the horizontal position, Send print data
Moves the print position to the left margin position Prints all data in the line buffer

LF, ESC l, ESC SO, SO, ESC <, ESC., ESC C, ESC N, Recommended Command Order, Graphics mode, Moving the vertical position, Send Print Data
Advances the vertical print position on continuous paper to the top-of-form position of the next page Ejects single-sheet paper Moves the horizontal print position to the left-margin position Prints all data in the buffer
LF, ESC l, SO, ESC <, ESC C, ESC N, Recommended Command Order, Graphics mode, Moving the vertical position, Send Print Data
Set absolute horizontal print position

$ 24 36

0 nH nL 255
Moves the horizontal print position to the position specified by the following formula:
(horizontal position) = ((nH 256) + nL) (defined unit) + (left margin) 1 ((horizontal position) (leftm arg in position)) (defined unit) nH = INT 256 1 ((horizontal position) (leftm arg in position)) (defined unit) nL = MOD 256
Set the defined unit with the ESC ( U command. The default defined unit setting for this command is 1/60 inch. The new position is measured from the current left-margin position. The printer ignores this command if the specified position is to the right of the right margin.
On non-ESC/P 2 printers: The unit of movement is fixed at 1/60 inch.
ESC \, ESC l, ESC Q, HT, CR, LF, FF, ESC ( U, Moving the horizontal position
(horizontal position) = ((nH 256) + nL) (1/60 inch) + (left margin) 1 ((horizontal position) (leftm arg in position)) (inch) nH = INT 256 1 ((horizontal position) (leftm arg in position)) (inch) nL = MOD 256
The new position is measured from the current left-margin position. The printer ignores this command if the specified position is to the right of the right margin.
ActionPrinter Apex 80, ActionPrinter T-1000, ActionPrinter 2000, ActionPrinter 2250, ActionPrinter 2500, LX-100, LX-300, LX-400, LX-800, LX-810, LX-850, LX-1050
ESC \, ESC l, ESC Q, HT, CR, LF, FF, Moving the horizontal position
Set relative horizontal print position

\ 5C 92

Moves the horizontal print position left or right from the current position, as specified by the following formula:
(horizontal position) = ((nH 256) + nL) (defined unit) + (current position)
For positive (right) movement:
1 ((horizontal position) (current position)) (defined unit) nH = INT 256 1 ((horizontal position) (current position)) (defined unit) nL = MOD 256
For negative (left) movement:

1 ((current position) (horizontal position)) (defined unit) nH = 32768 INT 256 1 ((current position) (horizontal position)) (defined unit) nL = 32768 MOD 256
Set the defined unit with the ESC ( U command. The default defined unit for this command is 1/120 inch in draft mode, and 1/180 inch in LQ mode. The printer ignores this command if it would move the print position outside the printing area.
On non-ESC/P 2 printers, the unit of movement is fixed at 1/120 inch in draft mode and 1/180 inch in LQ mode.
ESC $, ESC l, ESC Q, ESC ( U, HT, CR, LF, FF, Moving the horizontal position
Moves the horizontal print position left or right from the current position, as specifiedby the following formula:
(horizontal position) = ((nH 256) + nL) (1/120 inch) + (current margin)
1 ((horizontal position) (current position)) (1120 inch) nH = INT 256 1 ((horizontal position) (current position)) (1120 inch) nL = MOD 256
1 ((current position) (horizontal position)) (1120 inch) nH = 32768 INT 256 1 ((current position) (horizontal position)) (1120 inch) nL = 32768 MOD 256
The printer ignores this command if it would move the print position outside the printable area.
DFX-5000, DFX-8000: This command can be used only in LQ mode.

ESC ( V

Set absolute vertical print position

V 56 86

nL = 2, nH = m L 255, 0 m H 127
Moves the vertical print position to the position specified by the following formula:
(vertical position) = ((mH 256) + mL) (defined unit) + (top-margin position) 1 ((vertical position) (topm arg in position)) (defined unit) m H = INT 256 1 ((vertical position) (topm arg in position)) (defined unit) m L = MOD 256
This command is available only on printers featuring ESC/P 2. Set the defined unit using the ESC ( U command. The default defined unit for this command is 1/360 inch. The new position is measured in defined units from the current top-margin position. Moving the print position below the bottom-margin position produces the following results: Continuous paper Single-sheet paper Moves the vertical print position to the top-margin positionon the next page Ejects the paper
The printer ignores this command under the following conditions: The command would move the print position more than 179/360 inch in the negative direction The command would move the print position in the negative direction after a graphics command is sent on the current line, or above the point where graphics have previously been printed

On non-ESC/P 2 printers: Vertical tabs are measured from the top-of-form position. Setting vertical tabs with ESC B is the same as setting the vertical tabs in VFU channel 0.
ESC ( V, ESC ( v, ESC J, ESC ( C, ESC ( C, ESC ( c, ESC C, ESC N, ESC 0, ESC 2, ESC 3, ESC +, Setting page length, Setting top and bottom margins, Moving the vertical position
Sets vertical tab positions (in the current line spacing) at the lines specified by n1 to nk, as measured from the top-of-form position
The values for n must be in ascending order; a value of n less than the previous n ends tab setting (like the NUL code). Changing the line spacing does not affect previous tab settings. Send an ESC B NUL command to cancel all tab settings. A maximum of 16 vertical tabs can be set. The printer stores all tab settings, even if outside the printing area; if you increase the page length to include previously set tabs, you can move to those positions with the VT (tab vertically) command. Sending the ESC B command clears any previous tab settings. Setting vertical tabs with ESC B is the same as setting the vertical tabs in VFU channel 0.
ESC J, ESC C, ESC N, ESC 0, ESC 2, ESC 3, Setting page length, Setting bottom margin, Moving the vertical position
Set vertical tabs in VFU channels

b 62 98

0mn 255 nk >n(k-1) 1 k 16
Sets vertical tab positions at the lines specified by n1 to nk (in the current line spacing) in tab set m, as measured from the top-of-form position
This is a nonrecommended command. This command is deleted in ESC/P 2. Up to eight sets of tabs can be set. The value for m specifies the number of the tab set being changed; these sets of tabs are called vertical formatting unit (VFU) channels. The values for n must be in ascending order; a value of n less than the previous n ends tab setting (just like the NUL code). Send the ESC / command to select a VFU channel other than channel 0; the VT (tab vertically) command then uses the settings for the selected channel. Changing the line spacing does not affect previous tab settings. Sending the ESC b command clears any previous tab settings in that tab set. Send an ESC b m NUL command to cancel all tab settings in tab set m. A maximum of 16 vertical tabs can be set in each VFU channel. The printer stores all tab settings, even if outside the printing area; if you increase the page length to include previously set tabs, you can move to those positions with the VT (tab vertically) command.
All ESC/P 2 printers, ActionPrinter 3000, LQ-200
Related topics ESC \, VT, ESC 0, ESC 2, ESC 3, ESC +, Setting page length, Setting bottom margin, Moving the vertical position

d3 d3 d3
nL = 3, nH = d1 3, 48 d0 d0 d3 255
Assigns the d2 registered character table to the d1 character table according to the following values (the d1 character table is one of the four tables selectable with the ESC t command):
d25 d0 Table name Italic PC437 (US) PC437 Greek PC932 (Japanese) PC850 (Multilingual) PC851 (Greek) PC853 (Turkish) PC855 (Cyrillic) PC860 (Portugal) PC863 (Canada-French) PC865 (Norway) PC852 (East Europe) PC857 (Turkish) PC862 (Hebrew) PC864 (Arabic) PC AR864 PC866 (Russian) (Bulgarian ASCII****) PC866 LAT. (Latvian) PC869 (Greek) USSR GOST (Russian) ECMA-94-1 KU42 (K.U. Thai) TIS11 (TS 988 Thai) TIS18 (GENERAL Thai) TIS17 (SIC STD. Thai) TIS13 (IBM STD. Thai) TIS16 (SIC OLD Thai) PC861 (Iceland) BRASCII
Table name Abicomp MAZOWIA (Poland) Code MJK (CSFR) ISO8859-7 (Latin/Greek) ISO8859-1 (Latin 1) TSM/WIN (Thai system manager) ISO Latin 1T (Turkish) Bulgaria Hebrew 7 Hebrew 8 Roman 8 PC774 (Lithuania) Estonia (Estonia) ISCII PC-ISCII PC APTEC PC708 PC720 OCR-B ISO Latin 1 ISO 8859-2 (ISO Latin 2) ISO Latin 7 (Greek)
Not all models feature all character tables. See the Command Table section for the character tables available on each printer model.
ESC t, Assign character tables, Selecting the character table
nL = 3, nH = d1 1, 48 d0 d0 d3 255
ActionPrinter T-750, ActionPrinter T-1000, ActionPrinter Apex80, ActionPrinter 2000, ActionPrinter 2500, DFX-5000, DFX-8000, FX-850, FX-1050, LX-400, LX-800, LX-810, LX-850, LX-1050

Select character table

Selects the character table to be used for printing from among the four character tables described below: n = 0 or or or or 51 Character table 0 Character table 1 Character table 2 Character table 3
table 0 table 1 table 2 table 3 Italic PC437 User-defined characters PC437
Use the ESC ( t command to assign any registered character table to any character table. To copy user-defined characters (that have been created with the ESC & or ESC : commands) to the upper half of the character table, send the ESC % 0 command, followed by the ESC t 2 command. However, you cannot copy user-defined characters using ESC t 2 if you have previously assigned another character table to table 2 using the ESC ( t command.
On non-ESC/P 2 printers: Selects the character table to be used for printing from between the two below: n=Italic character table Graphic character table

ESC F, ESC G, ESC H, Select a font, Selecting the weight

Cancel bold font

F 46 70
Sets the weight attribute of the font to normal (cancels the bold weight previously set with the ESC E command)
ESC E, ESC G, ESC H, Select a font, Selecting the weight

Select italic font

Sets the style attribute of the font to italic
Normal (non-italic) style
This command selects italic printing even if the italic character table is not selected. Always cancel italics before defining user-defined characters.
ESC 5, Select a font, Selecting the style

Cancel italic font

Sets the style attribute of the font to normal (cancels the italic style attribute previously selected with the ESC 4 command)
Always cancel italics before defining user-defined characters.
ESC 4, Select a font, Selecting the style

Master select

! 21 33
Selects any combination of several font attributes and enhancements by setting or clearing the appropriate bit in the n parameter, as shown below:
Bit On/Off Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Hex Dec Function Selects 10 cpi Selects 12 cpi Cancels proportional Selects proportional Cancels condensed Selects condensed Cancels bold Selects bold Cancels double-strike Selects double-strike Cancels double-width Selects double-width Cancels italics Selects italics Cancels underline Selects underline Equivalent ESC P ESC M ESC p 0 ESC p 1 DC2 SI ESC F ESC E ESC H ESC G ESC W 0 ESC W 1 ESC 5 ESC 4 ESC - 0 ESC - 1
Add the numbers of the features to be selected and send the total as the parameter n.
This command cancels multipoint mode. This command cancels the HMI selected with the ESC c command. This command cancels any attributes or enhancements that are not selected. All attributes or enhancements may not be available on some models. For details, see the explanation for the equivalent command listed in the table above.
ESC X, ESC c, Select a font
Bit On/Off Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Off On Hex Dec Function Selects 10 cpi Selects 12 cpi Cancels proportional Selects proportional Cancels condensed Selects condensed Cancels bold Selects bold Cancels double-strike Selects double-strike Cancels double-width Selects double-width Cancels italics Selects italics Cancels underline Selects underline Equivalent ESC P ESC M ESC p 0 ESC p 1 DC2 ESC SI, SI ESC F ESC E ESC H ESC G ESC W 0 ESC W 1 ESC 5 ESC 4 ESC - 0 ESC - 1
This command cancels any attributes or enhancements that are not selected. All attributes or enhancements may not be available on some models. For details, see the command explanation for the equivalent command listed in the above table.
Related topics Select a font
C-120 Individual Command Explanations

ESC -, Score

Select superscript/subscript printing

S 53 83

Prints characters that follow at about 2/3 their normal height; the printing location depends on the value of n as follows: n = 1 or or 48 Lower part of the character space Upper part of the character space
Normal (non-super/subscript) characters
This command does not affect graphics characters. The width of super/subscript characters when using proportional spacing differs from that of normal characters; see the super/subscript character proportional width table in the Appendix. The underline strikes through the descenders on subscript characters during underlining. Use the ESC T command to cancel super/subscript printing. When point sizes other than 10 (10.5) and 20 (21) are selected in multipoint mode, super/subscript characters are printed at the nearest point size less than or equal to 2/3 the current size. When 8-point characters are selected, super/subscript characters are also 8-point characters.

ESC T, Super/subscript

Individual Command Explanations C-129
This command does not affect graphics characters. The width of super/subscript characters when using proportional spacing is the same as that of normal characters. The underline strikes through the descenders on subscript characters during underline mode. Use the ESC T command to cancel super/subscript printing.
FX-850, FX-1050 Selecting double-height printing overrides super/subscript printing; super/subscript printing resumes when double-height printing is canceled.
Cancel superscript/subscript printing

T 54 84

Cancels super/subscript printing selected by the ESC S command
Normal (non-super/subscript) printing

ESC S, Super/subscript

Select character style

q 71 113

Turns on/off outline and shadow printing, according to the parameters below: n=Turn off outline/shadow printing Turn on outline printing Turn on shadow printing Turn on outline and shadow printing
Outline/shadow printing off
This command is available only on 24 and 48-pin printers. This command does not affect graphics characters.

Shadow/outline

Select condensed printing

SI 0F 15

ESC EM 1B 25

n = 49, 50, 66, 70, 82
Controls feeding of continuous and single-sheet paper, according to the parameters below: n = 2 B F R Selects loading from bin 1 of the cut-sheet feeder Selects loading from bin 2 of the cut-sheet feeder Loads paper from the rear tractor Loads paper from the front tractor Ejects one sheet of single-sheet paper
This command was formerly known as Control cut-sheet feeder. The former parameters 0 and 4 that control cut-sheet feeder mode are nonrecommended, and have been discontinued in ESC/P 2. ESC/P 2 printers do not have a separate cut-sheet feeder mode; the former cut-sheet feeder mode is now integrated into normal printer operation. The parameter R ejects the currently loaded single-sheet paper without printing data from the line buffer; this is not the equivalent of the FF command (which does print line-buffer data).
On non-ESC/P 2 printers: Only use this command when a cut-sheet feeder is installed. The following additional parameters are available: n = Exits cut-sheet feeder mode Enters cut-sheet feeder mode
However, these parameters are nonrecommended; cut-sheet feeder mode should be selected by DIP switch instead.
Related topics Set the Printing Area
Individual Command Explanations C-157
n = 48, 49, 50, 52, 66, 70, 82
Controls feeding of continuous and single-sheet paper, according to the parameters below: n = 4 B F R Exits cut-sheet feeder mode Selects loading from bin 1 of the cut-sheet feeder Selects loading from bin 2 of the cut-sheet feeder Enters cut-sheet feeder mode Loads paper from the rear tractor Loads paper from the front tractor Ejects one sheet of single-sheet paper
This command was formerly known as Control cut-sheet feeder. The parameters 0 and 4 that control cut-sheet feeder mode are nonrecommended; cut-sheet feeder mode should be selected by DIP switch instead.

DFX-5000, DFX-5000+

Set the Printing Area
Turn unidirectional mode on/off
Selects bidirectional or unidirectional printing, according to the parameters below: n = 0 or or 49 Bidirectional printing Unidirectional printing
Bidirectional printing (may depend on DIP-switch setting)

This command can be used only during graphics mode, which is entered by sending the ESC ( G command. This command pertains only to Stylus COLOR and later printer models. Use only one image density and do not change this setting after entering raster graphics mode. Do not overwrite image data. The horizontal positioning should be a multiple of 8, otherwise the printers throughput will decline. The combination of v = 10 and h = 20 (360 vertical dots by 180 horizontal dots) is not possible.
Individual Command Explanations C-175
Special coated stock paper available from EPSON is required when printing raster graphics at 720 dpi. Do not specify the vertical movement in increments smaller than the current print density.
ESC., ESC ( G, ESC @, Sending graphics data, Graphics mode, Binary Mode Commands

Select bit image

* 2A 42
0 nL nH 31 m = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 32, 33, 38, 39, 40, 71, 72, 73
Prints dot-graphics in 8, 24, or 48-dot columns, depending on the following parameters: m nL, nH Specifies the dot density (see table below) Specifies the total number of columns of graphics data that follow
(number of dot columns) = ((nH 256) + nL) nH = INT
(number of dot columns) 256 (number of dot columns) 256

d 1. dk

Bytes of graphics data; k is determined by multiplying the total number of columns times the number of bytes required for each column (see the table below)
Dot density Parameter m in Horizontal Vertical density (dpi) Adjacent dot ESC * command density (dpi) 24 pin 48 pin printing Yes Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No N/A 360 Yes N/A 360 No N/A 360 Yes

Dots per column 48 48

Bytes per column 6 6
Not all values for m are available on all printers; see the Command Table for a list of which values are available on your printer. Printing 48-dot columns is available only on 48-dot printers.
ActionPrinter 3000, ActionPrinter 4000, ActionPrinter 4500, LQ-510, LQ-550, LQ-850, LQ850+, LQ-860, LQ-860+, LQ-950, LQ-1010, LQ-1050, LQ-1050+, LQ-1060, LQ-1060+, LQ2550, and all ESC/P 2 printers A vertical print density of 360 dpi can be achieved on 24-pin printers that feature the ESC + command. Advance the paper 1/360 inch (using the ESC + command) and then overprint the previous graphics line.