Epson C11C560111 - PLQ 20 B/W Dot-matrix Printer User manual

24-pin Dot Matrix Printer
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recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Seiko Epson Corporation.
The information contained herein is designed only for use with this Epson printer. Epson is
not responsible for any use of this information as applied to other printers.
Neither Seiko Epson Corporation nor its affiliates shall be liable to the purchaser of this
product or third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by the purchaser or
third parties as a result of: accident, misuse, or abuse of this product or unauthorized
modifications, repairs, or alterations to this product, or (excluding the U.S.) failure to strictly
comply with Seiko Epson Corporation’s operating and maintenance instructions.
Seiko Epson Corporation shall not be liable for any damages or problems arising from the
use of any options or any consumable products other than those designated as Original Epson
Products or Epson Approved Products by Seiko Epson Corporation.
EPSON and EPSON ESC/P are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation.
Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
General Notice: Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and may be
trademarks of their respective owners. Epson disclaims any and all rights in those marks.
Copyright © 2004 by Seiko Epson Corporation, Nagano, Japan.
®
User’s Guide

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Contents
Introduction
Where to Find More Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
FCC Compliance Statement for United States Users . . . . . . . . . . . vii
WARNING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .viii
Chapter 1 Setting up the Printer
Unpacking the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Remove the protective materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Assembling the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Connecting the printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Plugging in the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Chapter 2 Safety Instructions
Warnings, Cautions, and Notes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Hot Parts Caution Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Important Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Chapter 3 Paper Handling
Loading Passbooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17
Loading Single Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
Adjusting the top-of-form position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20
Adjusting the printing start position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Chapter 4 Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge

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Genuine Epson ribbon cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Replacing the ribbon cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 5 Control Panel
Buttons and Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Functions auxiliary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Compress Printing Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Chapter 6 Changing your Printer’s Settings
About Your Printer’s Default Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Understanding default settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Changing default settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Printing a Self-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Printing Hex Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Aligning Vertical Lines in Your Printout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Chapter 7 Problem Solver
Using the error indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
PR2 mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
ESC/P and IBM PPDS modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Problems and Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Power supply problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Paper loading or feeding problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Printing position problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Printing or printout quality problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Network problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Clearing Paper Jams. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Chapter 8 Options
Optional products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

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Appendix A Product Information
Printer and Ribbon Cartridge Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Printer parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Ribbon cartridge parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Printer Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Mechanical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Electronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Electrical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90
Magnetic stripe reader/writer (horizontally installed only) .90
Standards and Approvals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102

vi

Introduction vii
Introduction
Where to Find More Information
This User’s Guide provides you with instructions on operating
the impact dot matrix printer PLQ-20/PLQ-20M. You can find
information on the basic operation in this guide. But if you wish
for more information, refer to the Reference Guide, Paper
Specification, and Programming Guide. These guides are included
on the User CD-ROM. If you want the User CD-ROM, contact
your dealer.
FCC Compliance Statement for United States
Users
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the
limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC
Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection
against harmful interference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency
energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference toradio or television
reception. However, there is no guarantee that interference will
not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause
interference to radio and television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures.
❏Reorient of relocate the receiving antenna
❏Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver

viii Introduction
❏Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different
from that to which the receiver is connected
❏Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for
help
WARNING
The connection of a non-shielded equipment interface cable to this
equipment will invalidate the FCC Certification of this device and
may cause interference levels which exceed the limits established
by the FCC for this equipment. It is the responsibility of the user
to obtain and use a shielded equipment interface cable with this
device. If this equipment has more than one interface connector,
do not leave cables connected to unused interfaces.
Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the
manufacturer could void the user’s authority to operate the
equipment.
For Canadian users
This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme
NMB-003 du Canada.
DECLARATION of CONFORMITY
According to 47CFR, Part 2 and 15 for Class B Personal Computers
and Peripherals; and/or CPU Boards and Power Supplies used
with Class B Personal Computers:
We:
Located at:
EPSON AMERICA, INC.
MS 3-13
3840 Kilroy Airport Way
Long Beach, CA 90806
Telephone: [phone]

Introduction ix
Declare under sole responsibility that the product identified
herein, complies with 47CFR Part 2 and 15 of the FCC rules as a
Class B digital device. Each product marketed, is identical to the
representative unit tested and found to be compliant with the
standards. Records maintained continue to reflect the equipment
being produced can be expected to be within the variation
accepted, due to quantity production and testing on a statistical
basis as required by 47CFR §2.909 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.
Trade Name:
Type of Product:
Model:
EPSON
Dot Impact Printer
P381A

xIntroduction

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Chapter 1
Setting up the Printer
Unpacking the Printer
These items are included in the box with your printer.
Remove the protective materials
Follow the directions written on the cardboard box to remove the
protective materials.
Save all packing and protective materials in case you need to ship
the printer in the future.
power code
printer
ribbon cartridge User’s Guide

2Setting up the Printer
Assembling the Printer
1. Make sure the printer is turned off and unplugged.
2. Hold both sides of the printer cover and move it upward to
open it.
3. Push the release lever to move the upper mechanism forward.
Make sure that you push the lever until it clicks.

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4. Slide the print head to the middle of the printer by hand.
5. Remove the ribbon cartridge from the package.
6. Place the plastic hooks on the ribbon cartridge into the slots
of the printer. Then press both sides of the cartridge until it
clicks into place.

4Setting up the Printer
7. Hold both sides of the ribbon guide and pull it down until it
is out of the cartridge.
8. Put the ribbon guide at the bottom of the print head and push
it up until it clicks into place.

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9. Turn the ribbon-tightening knob to help feed the ribbon into
place.
cCaution:
The ribbon should not be twisted or creased.
10. Pull the release lever back to move the upper mechanism to
its original position. Make sure that you pull the lever until it
clicks.

6Setting up the Printer
cCaution:
Make sure that you move the upper mechanism by pulling
the release lever. Do not pull the mechanism by hand. It may
damage the printer.
11. Close the printer cover.
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer
Connecting the printer
Make sure both the printer and computer are turned off, then
connect the interface into the printer and computer. Use USB,
Serial, or Parallel cable to connect the printer and computer.
Note:
The interface cable connectors have only one correct orientation. Ensure
the correct orientation of a connector before inserting it into the
appropriate port.
USB
Serial
Parallel

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Setting up the Printer 7
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Plugging in the Printer
Make sure the printer is turned off, then plug the power cord into
the printer’s AC inlet and a properly grounded electrical outlet.

8Setting up the Printer

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Safety Instructions 9
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Chapter 2
Safety Instructions
Warnings, Cautions, and Notes
wWarnings must be followed carefully to avoid bodily injury.
cCautions must be observed to avoid damage to your equipment.
Notes contain important information and useful tips on the operation
of your printer.
Hot Parts Caution Symbol
Important Safety Instructions
Read all of these safety instructions before using the printer. In
addition, follow all warnings and instructions marked on the
printer itself.
KThis symbol is placed on the print head and other
parts to indicate that they may be hot. Never touch
those parts just after the printer has been used. Let
them cool for a few minutes before touching them.

10 Safety Instructions
When setting up the printer
cCaution:
Be sure the AC power cord meets the relevant local safety
standards.
❏Do not place the printer on an unstable surface or near a
radiator or heat source.
❏Place the printer on a flat surface. The printer will not operate
properly if it is tilted or placed at an angle.
❏Do not place this product on a soft, unstable surface like a bed
or a sofa, or a small, enclosed area, as this restricts ventilation.
❏Do not block or cover the slots and openings in the printer’s
cabinet, and do not insert objects through the slots.
❏Use only the type of power source indicated on the printer’s
label. If you are not sure of the power supply specifications in
your area, contact your local power company or consult your
dealer.
❏Connect all equipment to properly grounded electrical
outlets. Avoid using outlets on the same circuit as
photocopiers or air control systems that regularly switch on
and off.
❏Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord.
❏The power cord should be placed to avoid abrasions, cuts,
fraying, crimping, kinking, and other damage.
❏If you use an extension cord with the printer, make sure the
total ampere rating of all devices plugged into the extension
cord does not exceed the cord’s ampere rating. Also, make
sure the total ampere of all devices plugged into the electrical
outlet does not exceed the electrical outlet’s ampere rating.