Epson FX-2180 - Impact Printer User manual

9-Pin Dot Matrix Printer
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front
Push Tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear
Push Tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Removing the Printed Document From
the Push Tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Removing Continuous Paper With Labels . . . 7
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge . . . . . . . . 8
Clearing Paper Jams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
If Your Printer Stops Printing Unexpectedly . . . 16
EPSON is a registered trademark of SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION. 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.
Contents
Quick Reference
Guide
®
Read your User’s Guide first for
complete instructions, and then
use this guide any time you want
to quickly find information about
the topics on the right.

Open the front paper guide by
pulling the tab at the center of it, and
then remove the guide by grasping
both sides and pulling it straight out
of the printer.
Open both sprocket covers, and fit
the first four holes of the paper,
printable side up, over the tractor
pins. Then close the sprocket covers.
Note:
Load continuous paper that has a clean,
straight edge to avoid paper jams.
tab
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front Push Tractor
12
2
To load continuous paper onto the front push tractor, follow these steps:
To remove any paper from the paper
path, press the Load/Eject button.
The printer feeds the paper into the
standby position, where you can
remove the paper from the printer.
If you load continuous paper of a
different size or thickness, you need
to adjust the position of the sprockets
or change the paper thickness lever
setting. See Chapter 2 of the User’s
Guide for instructions.

Attach the front paper guide by
inserting it into the slots in the
printer as shown.
Close the front paper guide, and
make sure the paper release lever is
set to the front push tractor position.
Note:
Always close the printer cover before printing.
The printer does not print when the cover is
open.
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front Push Tractor
3
3 4
When you load continuous paper with
labels, make sure that the auto
tear-off mode is off before you start
to print. If you feed continuous
labels backward, the labels may
come off the backing sheet and jam
the printer.
To turn off the auto tear-off mode,
enter the printer’s default-setting
mode. See Chapter 5 of the User’s
Guide for instructions.

Open the paper guide cover and
remove the paper guide.
Open both sprocket covers, and fit
the first four holes of the paper,
printable side down, over the tractor
pins. Then close the sprocket covers.
Note:
Load continuous paper that has a clean,
straight edge to avoid paper jams.
paper guide
paper guide cover
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear Push Tractor
4
1 2
To load continuous paper onto the rear push tractor, follow these steps.
cCaution:
Do not load continuous paper with labels onto the rear push tractor; the labels may come off the
backing sheet and jam the printer.
To remove paper from the paper path,
press the Load/Eject button. The
printer feeds the paper to the
standby position, where you can
remove the paper from the printer.
If you load continuous paper which
is a different size or thickness, you
need to adjust the position of the
sprocket units or change the paper
thickness lever setting. See Chapter 2
of the User’s Guide for instructions.

Attach the paper guide. Close the paper guide cover, and
make sure the paper release lever is
set to the rear push tractor position.
Note:
Always close the printer cover before printing.
The printer does not print when the cover is
open.
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear Push Tractor
5
3 4

Make sure the Tear Off/Bin lights are
flashing. (You may need to press the
Tear Off/Bin button.) When the Tear
Off/Bin lights are flashing, your
paper is in the tear-off position.
from the front push tractor from the rear push tractor
Removing the Printed Document From the Push Tractor
6
To remove the printed document from the front or rear push tractor, follow the steps below. To
remove continuous paper from the pull tractor, see Chapter 2 of the User’s Guide.
1
When you resume printing, the printer
automatically feeds the paper
backward to the top-of-form
position, and starts printing.
To feed the continuous paper
backward from the tear-off position
to the standby position, press the
Load/Eject button.
2
Open the paper guide cover, and tear off the printed document using
the printer’s tear-off edge.

Make sure that the printer finishes
printing. You may need to press the
Pause button to stop printing.
(When the printer is paused, the
Pause light is on.)
Tear off the fresh supply of
continuous labels at the perforation
nearest the paper entry slot.
Hold down the LF/FF button to eject
the remaining labels from the printer.
cCaution:
When printing on labels, never press the
Load/Eject or Tear Off/Bin button.
When fed backward, labels can easily
come off the backing sheet and cause a
paper jam.
Removing Continuous Paper With Labels
7
Removing the Printed Document From the Push Tractor Removing Continuous Paper With Labels
To avoid peeling labels off the backing sheet and jamming the printer, follow the steps below
when you remove continuous paper with labels from the front push tractor.
1
23

Press the Operate button to turn off
the printer. The printer is off when
the surface of the Operate button is
even with the button protectors as
shown.
cCaution:
Moving the print head while the printer
is on may damage the printer.
Unplug the printer from the electrical
outlet.
Open the paper guide cover. Then lift
the printer cover by its back edge and
pull it straight up and off the printer.
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
8
To replace the ribbon cartridge, follow the steps below.
wWarning:
You will need to move the print head by hand to replace the ribbon cartridge. If you have just used
the printer, the print head may be hot; let it cool for a few minutes before touching it.
13
2

Make sure the print head is not hot; if
it is, let it cool for a few minutes
before touching it. Then slide the
print head to the ribbon installation
position (the indented portion of the
paper tension unit) by hand.
Grasp the used ribbon cartridge and
pull it up and out of the printer.
9
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
4 5
When you use the pull tractor, you can
replace the ribbon cartridge even
though the print head is not in the
ribbon installation position.

Remove the separator from the new
ribbon cartridge and discard it. Then
turn the ribbon-tightening knob in
the direction of the arrow to remove
any slack in the ribbon.
Hold the cartridge with the
ribbon-tightening knob up. Fit the
two notches nearest you (á) over the
small pegs on each side of the printer
as shown. Then lay the cartridge flat
so that the other notches (í) fit over
the corresponding pegs.
separator
ribbon-tightening knob
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
10
6 7

Gently press down the cartridge until
both ends click into place.
Lift the cartridge’s ribbon guide (á)
and insert it firmly over the metal pins
behind the print head (í). Make sure
the ribbon is not twisted or creased
and that it is in place behind the print
head. Then press down the ribbon
guide until it clicks into place.
Turn the ribbon-tightening knob in
the direction of the arrow to remove
any slack in the ribbon.
11
8 9
10

Slide the print head from side to side
to make sure it moves smoothly.
Replace the printer cover and close
the paper guide cover.
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
12
11 12

Ribbon Cartridge
Your printer uses EPSON black ribbon cartridge S015086.
When printing becomes faint, you need to replace the ribbon cartridge. Genuine
EPSON ribbon cartridges are designed and manufactured to work properly with
your EPSON printer. They ensure proper operation and long life of the print head
and other printer parts.
13

Press the Operate button to turn off
the printer.
If an ejected single sheet of paper is
stuck on the paper guide, remove it.
Remove the printer cover. If
continuous paper from the rear slot is
jammed, also remove the paper
guide.
3
If continuous paper is jammed in the
printer, tear off the fresh supply at
the perforation nearest the paper
entry slot.
Clearing Paper Jams
14
To clear a paper jam, follow these steps:
1
2
4
3

Turn the knob on the right side of the
printer away from you to eject the
paper in the printer. Remove any
remaining pieces of paper.
cCaution:
Turn the knob only when the printer is off.
Otherwise, you may damage the printer or
lose the top-of-form position or tear-off
position.
Attach the paper guide, if necessary.
Replace the printer cover and close
the paper guide cover.
Press the Operate button to turn on
the printer. Make sure the Paper Out
and Pause lights are off.
15
Clearing Paper Jams
56
8
7

Check the printer’s control panel lights and follow the appropriate instructions below. For more
information, see Chapter 7 of your User’s Guide.
The printer stops printing and the Pause light is on.
Cause Solution
The printer is paused. Press the Pause button to resume printing.
The printer cover is open. Close the printer cover, then press the Pause button to
resume printing.
You moved the paper release lever
while paper from another paper
source is currently in the paper path.
Move the paper release lever back to the appropriate
position and press the Load/Eject button to feed the
paper out of the paper path. Then set the lever to the
position you want to use. Press the Pause button to turn
off the Pause light, if necessary.*
*If you are using the pull tractor, see your
User’s Guide
for instructions.
The Paper Out and Pause lights are on.
Cause Solution
No paper is loaded in the selected
paper source or paper is not loaded
correctly.
Load paper in the printer, then press the Pause button to
turn off the Pause light, if necessary.
Paper is jammed in the printer. To clear the paper jam, see ”Clearing Paper Jams.”
The Paper Out light is flashing and the Pause light is on.
Cause Solution
Continuous paper is not fed to the
standby position.
Tear off the printed document at the perforation; then
press the Load/Eject button. The printer feeds the paper
to the standby position. Press the Pause button to turn
off the Pause light.
A single sheet of paper is not fully
ejected.
Press the Load/Eject button to eject the sheet. Then
press the Pause button to turn off the Pause light, if
necessary.
Paper is jammed in the printer. To clear the paper jam, see “Clearing Paper Jams.”
If Your Printer Stops Printing Unexpectedly...