CIM K300 Optima User manual

User’s Manual Rev. 07.99
User’s Guide
K300 Optima

WARRANTY INFORMATION
WE NEED TO HEAR FROM YOU!
To Establish Your Warranty Period And Provide Access To Technical Support, Send Us your
Product Registration Card Today!
CIM S.p.A. warrants the mechanism, control electronics and power supply, under normal use and
service, to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of twelve (12) months
from the date of purchase by the end user. CIM S.p.A. warrants the print head, under normal use
and service, to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of twelve (12) months
or 100k passes (whichever occurs first) from the date of purchase by the end user. Proof of purchase
or product registration is required. If proof of purchase or product registration cannot be estab-
lished, shipment date to the original buyer (dealer or distributor) will be used to establish the war-
ranty period.
Failure to exercise caution to protect the equipment from electrostatic discharge damage, adverse
temperature and humidity conditions or physical abuse, including, but not limited to, improper
packaging, shipping, service or repairs performed by personnel not authorized by CIM S.p.A. may
void the warranty. Failure to use only CIM S.p.A. approved media may void the warranty. CIM
S.p.A. will, at its option, repair or replace the equipment or any parts which are determined to be
defective within this warranty period, and which are returned to CIM S.p.A. F.O.B. factory of ori-
gin.The warranty set forth above is exclusive and no other warranty, whether written or oral, is ex-
pressed or implied. CIM S.p.A. specifically disclaims the implied warranties of merchantability and
fitness for a particular purpose.
DECLARATIONS OF CONFORMITY
European Council Directive Compliance to Standards
89/336/EEC EMC Directive EN 55022-B,
CISPR 22
RF Emissions
control
91/31/EE EMC Directive EN 500082-1,
IEC 801
Immunity to Elec-
tromagnetic Dis-
turbances
Model: K300 Optima conforms to the following specification:
FCC Part 15, Subpart A, Section 15.107(a) and Section 15.109(a)
Class A digital device
Supplemental Information:
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following Two Con-
ditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference , and (2) this device must accept any
interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
Note: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class A digital de-
vice, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protec-
tion agaist harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio commu-
nications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in
which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.
iv
WARRANTY INFORMATION
WE NEEDTO HEAR FROMYOU!
To establish your warranty period and provide access to technical support, send us
your warranty registration card today!
CIM warrants the mechanism, control electronics and power supply, under normal
use and service, to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of
twelve (12) months from the date of purchase by the end user. If proof of purchase or
product registration cannot be established, shipment date to the original buyer (dea-
ler or distributor) will be used to establish the warranty period.
Failure to exercise caution to protect the equipment from electrostatic discharge
damage, adverse temperature and humidity conditions or physical abuse, including,
but not limited to, improper packaging, shipping, service or repairs performed by
personnel not authorized by CIM may void the warranty. CIM will, as its option,
repair or replace the equipment or any parts which are determined to be defective
within this warranty period, and which are returned to CIM.
The warranty set forth above is exclusive and no other warranty, whether written or
oral, is expressed or implied. CIM specifically disclaims the implied warranties of
merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose.
DECLARATIONS OF CONFORMITY
Supplemental Information:
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the
following two conditions: (1)This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2)
this device must accept any interference received, including interference that may
cause undesired operation.
Note:
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a class A
digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to
provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is
operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can
radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instruction manual, may cause harmfull interference to radio communications.
Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful
interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his
own expense.
73/23/EEC modified
by 93/68/EEC
EMC Directive
EN 500082-1,1992 Immunity to
Electromagnetic
Disturbances
European Council Directive Compliance to Standards
89/336/EEC
modified by
92/31/EEC and
93/68/EEC
RF Emissions
control
Low voltage
Directive
EMC Directive
EN 60950
EN 55022-B
Product safety
Model:K 500 Optima conforms to the following specification:
FCC Part 15, Subpart A, Section 15.107(a) and Section 15.109(a)
Class A digital device

INTRODUCTION
Thank you for choosing the Cim K300 Optima Plastic Card Printer.
These printers produce cards ideal for personalized identification, access control, visitor,
membership, promotion and luggage card, badges and tags.
This manual guides you to an efficient start up and operation of your new Card Printer.
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 iii

ICONS Throughout this manual, different icons high-
light important information, as follows:
Important general information
Mechanical hazard, such as one associated with
moving parts, capable of resulting in equipment
damage or personal injury.
Electrical hazard, such as an exposed voltage
point, capable of causing electrical shock and
personal injury.
An area where electrostatic discharge (ESD)
can cause component damage. Use a ground-
ing wrist band.
Elevated temperature hazard, capable of pro-
ducing a burn.
Keep Card Printer clean by minimizing cover
open time.
iv K300 Optima Rev.07.99

K300 Optima Rev.07.99 v
Table of Contents
ICONS.............................vi
GETTING STARTED .....................1
UNPACKING YOUR CARD PRINTER.............1
INDICATORS AND CONTROLS ...............3
PRINTER INSTALLATION ..................4
OPERATION.........................5
K300 Optima PRINTER FEATURES..............5
LOADING RIBBONS .....................6
LOADING CARDS ......................8
FEEDING ONE CARD AT A TIME ..............10
REMOVING CARD CARTRIDGE ...............10
PRINTING A TEST CARD ...................11
PRINTING A SAMPLE CARD ................13
CLEANING .........................17
CARD CLEANING CARTRIDGE ...............18
TROUBLESHOOTING ....................21
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS ...............25
APPENDIX A - MAGNETIC CARD STRIPE
ENCODER .........................29
APPENDIX B - SMART CARD CONTACT STATION .....31
INTRODUCTION .......................31

vi K300 Optima Rev.07.99

1
GETTING STARTED
UNPACKING
YOUR CARD
PRINTER
Your K300 Optima printer ships in a carton and
protective anti-static bag. Keep all packing ma-
terial in case you need to move or re-ship the
printer.
While unpacking, inspect the carton to ensure
that no damage occurred during shipping.
Please ensure that you have a clean and nearly
dust free environment for proper operation and
storage of the printer.
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 1

In addition to user documentation, make sure
the following items are included with your K300
Optima printer:
2K300 Optima Rev.07.99
If any items are missing, please contact your dealer.
SWABS & SATURATED CLEANING CARDS
CARD OUTPUT HOPPER
CARD CARTRIDGE POWER CABLE
INTERFACE CABLE
CD ROM (OPTIONAL)
CARD CLEANING CARTRIDGE and PRINTER QUICK REFERENCE
(Not Shown)

INDICATORS
AND CONTROLS
Your K300 Optima Printer has three Status indi-
cators and a panel button on the front and a
power switch on the rear:
INDICATORS (green, amber & red) signal
printer activity by illuminating or flashing, as
follows:
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 3
PANEL
BUTTON
INDICATORS
POWER ON
OTHER ALERTS
PANEL BUTTON This is a push button to operate the printer for:
- CLEAR ERROR
- CLEANING PROCESS
SEE CHAPTER 4
- TEST CARD
SEE CHAPTER 2
PROCESSING
ENCODER ALERT
REFER TO TROUBLESHOOTING
REPLACE RIBBONLOAD CARDS
PRINTER ALERT
REFER TO TROUBLESHOOTING
AMBER & RED
FLASHING
PRINTER CLEANING
PROCESS REQUIRED
PRINT HEAD COOL DOWN MODE
PRINTING WILL RESTART SHORTLY
ALL FLASHING
INDICATOR ON FLASHING
{

PRINTER
INSTALLATION
The following will guide you through the instal-
lation of your K300 Optima Printer.
CAUTION: Limit AC power supplied to the
K300 Optima to 110 ~ 230 volts, 60 ~ 50
Hertz,foranassociated800 ~400 milliamps.
Limit excess current draw to 16 amps or less, us-
ing an associated circuit breaker or other such
device. Never operate the printer in a location
where operator, computer, or printer can get
wet. Personal injury could result. The electrical
security of the printer is based on the reliability
of the mains power source.
CAUTION: Intermittent or unpredictable oper-
ation may occur from unsecured connectors. If
damaged, the power cable must be replaced by
an exact equivalent.
4K300 Optima Rev.07.99
1. Place the printer in a location that allows easy access
to all sides. The printer should never be operated while
resting on its side or upside down.
2. Place the printer’s power switch in the OFF (0)
position.
3. Insert the power cable into the printer power
socket and attach to grounded electrical socket of the
proper voltage and type.
4. Attach interface cable to printer and computer and
then secure.
5. Switch power on.

2
OPERATION
K300 Optima
PRINTER
FEATURES
The following shows the features found on your
K300 Optima Printer:
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 5

6K300 Optima Rev.07.99
PLEASE NOTE: Any blue items inside the printer can be operated by the user.
STANDARD FEATURES
1. Print Head
2. Print Head Unlock Lever
3. Manual Holder
4. Card Output Hopper
5. Status Indicators
6. Panel Button
7. Card Cleaning Cartridge
8. Card Cartridge
9. Card Thickness Control
OPTIONAL FEATURES
A. Magnetic Encoding Station
B. Smart Card Contact Station
À
Á
Â
Ã
Ä
Å
Æ
Ç
È
A
B

LOADING
RIBBONS
The K300 Optima Printer requires approved
ribbons (See Appendix C). The Resin Thermal
Transfer and Dye Sublimation ribbons are spe-
cifically designed for your K300 Optima Printer.
For optimum performance and printer life (Print
Head), always use approved ribbons.
DO NOT TOUCH the print head or the elec-
tronic components on the print head carriage.
Discharges of electrostatic energy that accumu-
lates on the surface of the human body or other
surfaces can damage the print head and other
electronic components used in this device.
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 7
1. Remove ribbon from packaging.
Continued on next page ..........
2. Open cover and press down on the print
head unlock lever to open the print head
carriage. The print head carriage will pop
open.

Please note that the ribbon automatically
synchronizes whenever the print head lock
down occurs.
8K300 Optima Rev.07.99
3. Load ribbon onto the supply
spindle (under print head
carriage) and empty core (with
tape attached) onto the take-up
spindle. Make sure the ribbon
comes off of the top of the
supply spindle and feeds to the
top of the take-up spindle.
4. Push down on the Print Head
Lock Lever until an audible ‘click’
signals the locked-down
5. Close Cover.
SUPPLY SPINDLE
TAKE-UP SPINDLE
‘CLICK’

LOADING CARDS To help you load, print, and collect cards, the
K300 Optima has with the following items:
DO NOT bend cards or touch print surfaces as
this can reduce print quality. The surface of the
cards must remain clean and dust free. Always
store cards in an enclosed container. Ideally,
use cards as soon as possible. If cards stick to-
gether, carefully shuffle them.
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 9
‘CLICK’
1. Install Card Cartridge by hooking onto
printer as shown and clicking down.
2. Install cards into Cartridge.*
A - CARD CARTRIDGE
For loading cards.
3. Close Cartridge.
* See Chapter 6, Technical Specifications, for card requirements
and capacities.

10 K300 Optima Rev.07.99
E*
C
B
A
D
Install Card Output Hopper onto printer
by hooking over bottom edge of card
exit aperture.
Open Cover, and adjust lever to
correct position. Repeat for different
card thickness. (Factory setting is for
30mil (0.762mm) card thickness. See
diagram below:
B - CARD THICKNESS CONTROL LEVER
This item is operated by the user to
prevent more than one card feeding
into the printer at the same time and
C - CARD OUTPUT HOPPER
For collecting printed cards
Card Thickness:
A - 60mil (1.524mm) to 50mil (1.27mm)
B - 40mil (1.016mm)
C - 30mil (0.762mm)
D - 20mil (0.508mm)
E*- Less than 20mil (0.508)
* Start at lowest position and move lever
up to match card thickness.
For other card thickness, start lever at
lowest position and move up until cards
feed.

FEEDING ONE
CARD AT A TIME
A Manual Feed Slot is available on the sise of
the Card Input Hopper for feeding single cards.
Cleaning Cards are fed manually throught this
slot. The Card Cartridge must be empty for
manual card feeding to work properly.
REMOVING CARD
CARTRIDGE
Remove the Card Cartridge prior to packaging
the printer for shipment.
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 11
For one-at-a-time printing, feed
cards through slot on side of
Do not feed more than one card
at a time.
To remove, pull hook back,
and lift hopper out.
HOOK

PRINTING A TEST
CARD
With ribbon and cards loaded, your K300 Op-
tima printer is ready to print. To check the oper-
ation of the printer you should print a test card.
12 K300 Optima Rev.07.99
1
2
. Place the printer’s power switch in the
OFF (0) position..
. While pressing the panel button, switch
printer on. Green indicator will show.
3. Keep pressing panel button until green
indicator starts flashing.
4. Release panel button and a test card will
print after a few seconds.
This is an example of the test card.
PLASTIC CARD PRINTER
PRINTER: P310CEM
Serial Number 23666
Firmware: 4.00
300 dpi
TEST CARD
23666
Head resistance: 1234
Offset: X12 - Y12
EC: 12
Printing Counter: 123456

3
PRINTING A SAMPLE CARD
Printing with the K300 Optima Printer requires
the Windows printer driver, the WindCard soft-
ware, or printer command level programming
through the printer interface.
The K300 Optima Card Printer can be used
with any Windows 95/98 and Windows NT 4.0
software application program, using the drivers
provided with the printer.
This section contains information on the print-
ing of a sample card in color (using the 5-Panel
color ribbon YMCKO) and the Windows printer
driver.
BEFORE installing updated printer driver ver-
sions, always delete the existing printer driver
version from your computer.
K300 Optima Rev.07.99 13

TO INSTALL THE K300 Optima PRINTER DRIVER INTO WINDOWS 95, USE THE
FOLLOWING STEPS:
1. Start your computer and then Windows.
2. Insert either the CD ROM or Diskette containg the Windows Driver into the associated
drive.
3. Under Windows click the Start button, Select Settings, then Printers.
4. Double-click on the Add Printer icon. The Add Printer Wizard will display a list of
printers. Select Have Disk and locate the K300 Optima Drivers on the CD. For more in-
formation about how to install a Windows driver please consult the appropriate
Microsoft documentation.
Once the printer driver has been successfully installed, you will need to configure it for
you printer. This driver provides control of several printer features when printing from
Windows applications. These features are accessed through the K300 Optima Plastic
Card Printer Properties. To access these properties select the Cim K300 Optima
Card Printer icon in Printers. Then click File Menu and select Properties.
The K300 Optima Printer screen appears. Change the options as follows:
1.OnthePrinter Tab configure the magnetic encoder feature. If your printer is
equipped with a Magnetic Encoder option, select With Magnetic Encoder option.
2.OntheCard Tab select card orientation:
Landscape or Portrait - Select ‘Landscape.’
3.OntheRibbon Tab, select the Ribbon Type. Select YMCKO for the standard
5-panel ribbon.
4. In the same tab, go to Black Panel area and select Text Only. This option allows the
text printing using the Black Resin Panel from the Color Ribbon.
5. Close the Cim K300 Optima Printer Properties screen.
Now that you have loaded media and set up the printer driver, the K300 Optima Printer
is ready to print.
EXAMPLE: FOLLOW THESE STEPS TO PRINT YOUR FIRST CARD:
1. Go to the Microsoft Word Software.
2. If the printer was not selected as the default printer, go to the File menu and point
Printer Setup and choose Cim K300 Optima Card Printer in the list. Then press
Close button.
14 K300 Optima Rev.07.99