Epson FX-880 - Impact Printer User manual

Quick Reference
Read your User’s Guide first for complete instructions, and then use
this guide any time you need information about the topics below.
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 right
in those marks.
Control Panel Buttons and Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Error Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Paper Thickness Lever Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Paper Release Lever Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Loading Continuous Paper With the Push Tractor . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Loading continuous paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Removing continuous paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Removing continuous paper with labels . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Using an Optional Cut-Sheet Feeder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Loading paper in the single-bin cut-sheet feeder . . . . . . 1-7
Loading paper in the high-capacity cut-sheet feeder . . . 1-8
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9
Clearing Paper Jams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Paper Positions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Top-of-form position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Tear-off position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11
Standby position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
4007753
C01-00
®

Control Panel Buttons and Lights
Paper Out light
l
On when no paper is loaded or
paper is not loaded correctly in the
selected paper source.
l
Flashes when paper has not been
fully ejected or a paper jam has
occurred.
Font lights
Indicate which font is selected.
To select a font, see your User’s
Guide.
Pause button
l
Stops printing
temporarily, and
resumes printing when
pressed again.
l
When held down for
three seconds, enters
the micro adjust mode.
When pressed again,
exits the micro adjust
mode.
Pause light
On when the printer is
paused.
Operate button
Turns the printer on
and off. The printer is
off when the top of
this button is even
with the button
protectors.
Micro Adjust
Using the micro adjust feature, you
can press the D and U buttons to
adjust the top-of-form and tear-off
positions. See your User’s Guide.
Load/Eject button
l
Loads a single sheet of
paper.
l
Ejects a single sheet of
paper if a sheet is
loaded.
l
Loads continuous paper
from the standby
position.
l
Feeds continuous paper
backward to the
standby position.
LF/FF button
l
Feeds paper line by line.
l
Ejects a single sheet or
advances continuous
paper to the next
top-of-form position
when held down.
Tear Off/Bin button
l
Feeds continuous paper
backward to the tear-off
position.
l
Advances continuous
paper from the tear-off
position to the top-of-form
position.
l
Selects a cut-sheet feeder
bin when the cut-sheet
feeder is installed.
Tear Off/Bin light
l
Flashes when continuous
paper is in the tear-off
position.
l
On when bin 1 of the
optional cut-sheet feeder
is selected.
l
Off when bin 2 of the
optional cut-sheet feeder
is selected.
2

Error Indicators
Light Status Beep pattern
n
= on
lll
short series of beeps (three times)
o
= off
lllll
long series of beeps (five times)
f
= flashing
If a printer error occurs, use the control panel lights to determine the problem and solution.
Pause Paper Out Beep pattern
nn lll
No paper is loaded in the selected paper
source. Load paper in the selected paper source, remove
and reload your paper, or select a different paper
source with the paper release lever. The Paper Out
light goes off. Then press the Pause button to turn off
the Pause light and the printer starts printing.
The paper is not loaded correctly.
Pause Beep pattern
n lllll
The paper release lever is set to the wrong
position. Make sure paper is loaded in the paper path you
want to use. Then set the paper release lever to the
position for that paper path. If paper from another
paper source is loaded in the printer, press the
Load/Eject button to eject the paper; then move
the paper release lever to the desired position.
Pause Paper Out Beep pattern
nf lll
A single sheet of paper is not fully ejected. Press the Load/Eject button to eject the sheet.
Continuous paper does not feed to the
standby position. Tear off the printed page at the perforation; then
press the Load/Eject button. The paper feeds to the
standby position.
Paper is jammed in the printer. To clear a paper jam, see “Clearing Paper Jams” later
in this guide.
Pause Paper Out
ff
The print head is overheated. Wait a few minutes; the printer resumes printing
automatically once the print head cools.
Font Tear Off/Bin Pause Paper Out
ff ff
An unknown printer error has occurred. Turn off the printer and leave it off for several minutes;
then turn it on again. If the error recurs, contact your
dealer.
Note:
The printer beeps once if you press a control panel button when the corresponding function is not available.
3

Paper Thickness Lever Positions
The paper thickness lever is located under the printer
cover.
You need to set the paper thickness lever for
the type of paper you are using, as shown in
the table below.
Paper type* Lever
position
Ordinary paper (single sheets or
continuous paper) 0
Thin paper -1
Carbonless multi-part forms with:
2 parts (original + 1 copy)
3 parts (original + 2 copies)
4 parts (original + 3 copies)
5 parts (original + 4 copies)
6 parts (original + 5 copies)
1
2
3
4
5
Continuous paper with labels 2
Envelopes 2 to 6
*See Appendix B in the User’s Guide for
complete paper specifications.
Paper Release Lever Positions
Use the paper release lever to select which
paper path you want the printer to load paper
from. The table below shows the
corresponding paper path(s) for each paper
release lever position.
Single-sheet position
For loading single sheets from the top
(from the paper guide or an optional
cut-sheet feeder) or from the optional
sheet or paper guide in the front.
Front push-tractor position
For loading continuouspaper from the
tractor installed in the front push
position.
Rear push-tractor position
For loading continuous paper from the
tractor installed in the rear push
position.
Pull-tractor position
For loading continuous paper from the
tractor installed on top of the printer in
the pull position. When the tractor is in
the pull position, you can load paper
in the printer from the front, rear, or
bottom slot.
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
4

Loading Continuous Paper
With the Push Tractor
Loading continuous paper Front push tractor
Load paper printable side up.
Rear push tractor
Load paper printable side down.
Make sure the left and right sprockets are
positioned properly for your paper’s width. If
they are too far apart or there is any slack in
the paper, you need to move the sprockets.
For details, see Chapter 3 of your User’s Guide.
1. If you are using the front push tractor,
remove the front cover.
If you are using the rear push tractor,
remove the paper guide.
2. Open both sprocket covers.
3. Fit the first four holes of the paper over the
sprocket pins (as shown to the right).
4. Close the sprocket covers.
5. If you are using the front push tractor,
reattach the front cover.
If you are using the rear push tractor,
reattach the paper guide.
6. Make sure the paper release lever is in the
correct position.
7. Make sure that the paper guide is lying flat
on the printer and the continuous paper
support is in the upright position.
5

Removing continuous paper
Tear off the printed document at the perforation (pull
it towards you for a clean cut) before pressing the
Load/Eject button.
1. When you finish printing, press the Tear
off/Bin button to feed the paper’s
perforation to the tear-off edge.
2. Tear off the printed document.
3. Press the Load/Eject button to feed the
continuous paper backward out of the
printer and into the standby position.
cCaution:
Make sure you tear off your printed
document before pressing the Load/Eject
button. Reverse feeding several pages at a
time may cause a paper jam.
Removing continuous paper with labels
1. Tear off the fresh supply of continuous
labels at the perforation nearest the slot
where the labels enter the printer.
Tear off the unprinted labels; then hold down the
LF/FF button to eject the remaining labels.
2. Hold down the LF/FF button to eject the
remaining labels from the printer.
cCaution:
Never feed labels backward using the
Load/Eject or Tear off/Bin button.
Labels can easily come off the backing
sheet and cause a jam.
Note:
See Chapter 3 of your User’s Guide for more information on loading continuous paper with the front or rear
push tractor, or for information on using the pull tractor.
6

Using an Optional Cut-Sheet
Feeder
Loading paper in the single-bin cut-sheet
feeder
1. Remove the paper guide.
2. Pull both paper set levers all the way
forward until the paper guides retract and
lock open.
Pull both paper set levers all the way forward.
3. Insert the stack of paper printable side down
along the left paper guide.
Insert the stack of paper printable side down.
4. Adjust the right paper guide so that it
matches your paper’s width.
5. Push back the paper set lever to clamp the
paper against the paper guide rollers.
6. Reinstall the paper guide. Single-sheet position
Reinstall the paper guide.
7. Make sure the paper release lever is in the
single-sheet position and the paper
thickness lever is set to 0.
7

Loading paper in the high-capacity
cut-sheet feeder
1. Pull the lock levers on the edge guides
forward to release them.
Pull the lock levers forward.
2. Pull both paper set levers all the way
forward until the paper guides retract and
lock open.
Pull both paper set levers all the way forward.
3. Insert the stack of paper printable side down
along the left paper guide. Single-sheet position
Insert the stack of paper printable side down.
4. Adjust the right edge guide to match the
width of your paper. Then push back the
lock levers on the edge guides to lock
them in place.
5. Push back the paper set levers to clamp the
paper against the guide rollers.
6. Make sure the paper release lever is in the
single-sheet position. If you are using
ordinary paper, also make sure the paper
thickness lever is set to 0.
8

Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
wWarning:
If you just used the printer, the print head may be hot; let it cool before you replace the ribbon
cartridge.
cCaution:
Make sure the printer is off and unplugged from the electrical outlet. Moving the print head while
the printer is on may damage the printer.
1. Remove the printer cover.
2. Press up the tabs on the paper tension unit,
then lift the front of the unit and pull it up
and out of the printer.
Remove the paper tension unit.
3. Make sure that the print head is not hot;
then slide the print head to the middle of
the printer by hand.
4. Grasp the cartridge using its handle and
pull it up and out of the printer.
Remove the ribbon cartridge.
5. Turn the ribbon-tightening knob of the new
ribbon cartridge in the direction of the
arrow to remove any slack in the ribbon.
Remove any slack in the ribbon.
6. Hold the ribbon cartridge by its handle and
push it firmly down into position; then
press both ends of the cartridge to fit the
plastic hooks into the slots.
paper tension unit
handle
9

7. Use a pointed object, such as a ball point
pen, to guide the ribbon between the print
head and ribbon guide while you turn the
ribbon-tightening knob to help feed the
ribbon into place.
Feed the ribbon into place.
8. Slide the print head from side to side to
make sure it moves smoothly.
9. Install the paper tension unit by placing
it on the printer’s mounting pegs and
lowering it into place. Press down on both
ends of the unit until it clicks into place.
Place the paper tension unit on the printer’s
mounting pegs and lower it into place.
10. Replace the printer cover.
Clearing Paper Jams
Tear off the fresh supply of continuous paper at the
perforation nearest the paper entry slot.
1. Press the Operate button to turn off the
printer.
2. Open the printer cover.
3. If continuous paper is jammed in the
printer, tear off the fresh supply at the
perforation nearest the paper entry slot.
4. Turn the knob on the left side of the printer
away from you to eject the remaining
paper.
cCaution:
Always turn off the printer befor you use
the knob; otherwise the printer may be
damaged or the top-of-form or tear-off
position may be lost.
5. Remove any remaining pieces of paper. If
any paper is stuck where the printer ejects
it, gently pull the paper out of the printer.
6. Close the printer cover and press the
Operate button to turn on the printer.
10

Paper Positions
Top-of-form position
The letters ABC above are printed at the top-of-form
position.
The top-of-form position is the position where
the printer starts printing on a page of
single-sheet or continuous paper.
To advance a page to the top-of-form position
if the paper is not loaded, press the
Load/Eject button.
To advance continuous paper from the tear-off
position (the Tear Off/Bin light is flashing) to
the top-of-form position, press the Tear
Off/Bin button. The printer feeds your paper
to the top-of-form position.
To advance continuous paper to the
top-of-form position when you finish printing
but the paper is not in the tear-off position
(the Tear Off/Bin light is not flashing), hold
down the LF/FF button. The printer feeds your
paper to the top-of-form position.
Tear-off position
Tear off the paper at the printer’s tear off edge (pull it
towards you for a clean cut).
Your continuous paper is in the tear-off
position when the perforation is aligned with
the printer’s tear off edge, so you can easily
tear off your printed document.
Note:
You can line up the perforation with the printer’s
tear off edge using the micro adjust feature. See your
User’s Guide.
To advance continuous paper to the tear-off
position when you finish printing, press the
Tear Off/Bin button. The Tear Off/Bin light
flashes.
cCaution:
❑Never reverse feed continuous paper with labels using the Tear Off/Bin button. Labels can easily
come off the backing sheet and cause a paper jam.
❑Never reverse feed continuous paper loaded in the pull tractor using the Tear Off/Bin button; the
paper may come off the pull tractor and jam the printer.
11

Standby position
In the standby position, your paper is attached to the
printer but is not inside the printer.
Your continuous paper is in the standby
position when it is attached to the tractor but
not loaded in the printer.
To move continuous paper to the standby
position, press the Load/Eject button while
the paper is in the paper path.
cCaution:
Before pressing the Load/Eject button,
tear off the printed document. Reverse
feeding several pages at a time may cause
a paper jam.
cCaution:
❑Never reverse feed continuous paper with labels using the Load/Eject button. Labels can easily
come off the backing sheet and cause a paper jam.
❑Never reverse feed continuous paper loaded in the pull tractor using the Load/Eject button;
paper may come off the pull tractor and jam the printer.
Printed in Japan 97.xxxx
12