Epson FX-980 - Impact Printer Reference guide

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Printing technology
Control code/emulation
Paper handling
SmartPark™ settings
Contents
This technical brief provides detailed information on the following topics, related to all EPSON impact
printers:
Functionality
Flexible interfacing
Built-in fonts
Computer-based set-up
Versatility
Functionality—Printing technology
Impact printers are either 9- or 24-pin, which determines the type of printing and the number of multi-part
forms that the printer are capable of printing.
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Ribbon quality
Ribbon cartridge reliability
Total Print Volume vs. MTBF
Off-carriage motor assembly
Reliability
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Nine-pin impact printers — These printers have the sturdiest printhead pins which:
Twenty-four-pin impact printers — These printers have finer printhead pins which:
Why buy an impact printer? An impact printer has several advantages over any other type of printer:
Low cost — both in purchase price and low cost of ownership
Flexible paper handling — only impact printers can handle multi-part forms and multiple paper paths
that can all have paper loaded and waiting.
Reliability — EPSON impact printers are renowned for their reliability with tireless printheads and
superior quality ribbons.
Hit the paper hard to make impressions through the thickest multi-part forms
Offer the fastest print speeds
Print from High Speed Draft up to Near Letter Quality
Hit the paper less hard to make impressions through most multi-part forms
Offer finer Letter Quality printing
Print from High Speed Draft up to Letter Quality
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The name of an EPSON's impact printer tells you if it is a 9- or a 24-pin printer, and whether it has a narrow
or wide carriage:
FX-980—Nine-pin
narrow carriage
Nine-pin printers all beginwithFX, LX, orDFX
Twenty-four pinprinters all beginwith LQ
Wide carriage printers have 4 number in their names
Narrow carriage printers have 3 numbers in their names
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Technical Brief—Multimedia projectors Page 2
Functionality—Control code/emulation
EPSON 9-pin impact printers utilize ESC/P, the original printer control language.
EPSON 24-pin impact printers utilize ESC/P 2, which includes these additional features:
Functionality—Paper handling
Versatile paper handling allows EPSON impact printers to handle several different types of paper — many
at the same time.
All EPSON impact printers utilize EPSON Standard Code (ESC/P and ESC/P 2) printer control language, which is
the industry standard for simple, efficient operation of impact printers.
Proportionally-spaced s
c a
la b
l
e fonts
Enhanced graphics printing which prints with 360 dpi in a
single pass of the print head and enhances printing with
Windows applications.
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The following chart explains the best use for the push tractor, pull tractor, and push/pull tractor
combinations:
Push tractor Pull tractor Push/Pull tractor
Best for reports, forms, etc.,
and allows you to achieve
zero tear-off and top of form
adjustment (which allows you
to tear off the printed
document or form without
wasting a sheet.)
Available in front and rear
paper paths.
Gives you better control
when printing on multi-part
forms by ensuring that the
forms stay properly aligned.
Available in front, bottom and
rear paper paths.
Gives you the greatest control
when printing on multi-part
forms by ensuring that the
forms stay properly aligned
and do not get jammed or
misfed.
Front push paper path
Bottom pull paper path Two tractors hold the forms
securely.
Rear push/pull
Front push/pull
EPSON impact printers all include a rear tractor. In some models this tractor is moveable, and in some it is
fixed. Some EPSON impact printers also include additional tractor units, and all of EPSON's impact printers
have optional tractor units available.
Tractor paper paths:
Most EPSON impact printers also offer an IBM emulation, which allows more connectivity compatibility.

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Technical Brief—Multimedia projectors Page 3
EPSON impact printers all can handle single sheet paper and single sheet multi-part forms, many EPSON
impact printers have both front and top paper paths:
Single sheet paper paths:
Front paper path
The front paper path has an
almost straight-through paper
path, which helps eliminate
paper jams and minimizes
misfeeds, especially
when printing on multi-part
forms.
Paper feed method Type of paper
Front Paper Guide Single sheets, single
sheet labels, top- or
side-bound single
sheet multi-part
forms
Paper feed method
Top friction feed (standard
paper guide)
Optional high-capacity cut-
sheet feeder
Optional second-bin cut-
sheet feeder
Single sheets,
envelopes, or
postcards.
Type of paper
Top paper path
The top paper path
accommodates single sheets,
envelopes or postcards and
optional cut sheet feeders.
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1
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2
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Most EPSON impact printers have a Paper Thickness Lever
that allows the printer to accommodate various thicknesses
of paper.
The DFX series EPSON impact printers have an Automatic
Platten Gap Adjustment which automatically adjusts the
platten to the thickness of the paper.
Paper thickness adjustment:
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Paper
Thickness
Lever
You can load continuous paper in the printer from various
paper sources, such as the rear or front push tractors and
use the paper release lever to indicate the paper source you
want to use.
Paper release lever positions:
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Paper
Release
Lever
Paper release Description
lever position
Single-sheet position
For loading single sheets from the top or front slot.
Rear push tractor position
For loading continuous paper from the tractor in the read push position. Set the
lever to this position when using the rear push and pull tractor in combination.
Front push tractor position
For loading continuous paper from the tractor in the front push position. Set the
lever to this position when using the front push and pull tractors in combination.
Pull tractor position
For loading continuous paper from the tractor on top of the printer in the pull
position. When the tractor is in the pull position, you can load paper in the front,
rear, or bottom slot.
Samplepaper releaselever chart
CUT
FF
PUSH
FF
PULL

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Versatility—Flexible interfacing
Technical Brief—Multimedia projectors Page 4
Versatility—Built-in fonts
Each EPSON impact printer includes a variety of built-in fonts.
Most EPSON impact printers offer both standard bidirectional parallel and serial interfaces which make the
printers compatible with virtually any Windows system environment.
Bundled Microsoft Windows
®
3.1x, Windows NT 3.51/4.0, Windows 95 and Windows 98 drivers
guarantees ease of use right out of the box.
For optional connectivity, most EPSON impact printers offer EPSON Type B interface slots that allow you to add:
When an optional interface is added, EPSON impact printers automatic interface switching feature will
automatically switch to the interface receiving data.
32KB Serial
Serial
Coax
Twinax
Multiprotocol Series 2 & 100/
10Base-TX Ethernet Print Server
LocalTalk Interface board
Description
RS-232C serial port
Standard serial port
IBM®mainframe connection
IBM minicomputer connection
Direct Ethernet/ EtherTalk
network connection
AppleTalk connection
Interface card Compatibility
PC/Macintosh
PC/Macintosh
PC
PC
PC/Macintosh
Macintosh
DOS applications will take advantage of all of the built-in fonts that are available on a printer. EPSON
impact printers offers these types of built-in fonts:
Windows applications will overide all built-in fonts in favor of the Windows fonts resident on your
computer.
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Bitmap fonts—available on all EPSON impact printers
Proportionally-spaced scalable fonts—selectable in 2-point increments,
available on EPSON 24-pin impact printers
Barcode fonts—available on most EPSON impact printers.
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Barcode fonts are printed
unidirectionally for accuracy
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Functionality—SmartPark™ settings
EPSON SmartPark settings, which help you save paper and trouble, and precisely line up documents, include
automatic tear-off, paper parking, and microfeed adjustments.
Automatic tear-off
Can be automatic or activated by a button on the control panel.
After a document is printed, the printer will automatically advance the paper to the tear-off position.
When the paper is torn off, or when another document is printed, paper is automatically retracted to the
top-of-form position.
Paper parking
Supports loading of paper from most paper paths, by pressing a button on the control panel.
Paper from one path is backed out and "parked," while paper from the other path is loaded into printing
position
Microfeed adjustments
Can set a top-of-form setting within 1/180 of an inch, to precisely line-up printing on pre-printed forms.
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Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Versatility—Computer-based set-up
Technical Brief—Multimedia projectors Page 5
This utility program provides printer status, error conditions, and trouble shooting instructions to the user.
Windows 3.51 and NT4.0 users can add an
optional Ethernet card to have access to the
Printer Status Monitor.
The Printer Status Monitor provides Windows 95/98 users with automatic error messaging for direct printer to
host computer connection.
EPSON Remote! Start UP Utility Ver. 1.22
Font
Pitch
Print Quality
Character Table
Continuous Rear
Continuous Rear
Continuous Front
Continuous Front
CutSheetFeeder 1
CutSheetFeeder 1
CutSheetFeeder 2
CutSheetFeeder 2
Manual Rear
Manual Rear
Copyright (C) SEIKO EPSON CORP. 1992
Printer: Mode: Port:FX-2180 ESC/P LPT1
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Manual Front
Manual Front
Print Direction
Skip over hold
Interface mode
I/F interval
Input Buffer
Auto Tear off
Auto Line Feed
Control Code
0 slash
Buzzer
Roll Paper
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Roman
10CPI
LQ
PC 437
11 inch
8.5mm
7 inch
8.5mm
11 inch
8.5mm
11 inch
8.5mm
14 inch
8.5mm
17 inch
8.5mm
Bi-d
OFF
Auto
10s
ON
OFF
OFF
ESC/P
OFF
ON
OFF
Help:
Execute
Previous
F1 :
F10:
F2 :
CR :
F3 : F4 :Quit
Select item
Default Change Port
Select printer Font.
EPSON Remote! is the DOS-based printer setup utility that allows you to easily change the printer's default
settings.
Simplifies setup when installing multiple printers–just make the necessary changes in the software utility,
and download the settings to each printer
EPSON Remote! Utility
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Printer Status Monitor Utility
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EPSON Sales Training 1/00
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Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Reliability—Ribbon cartridge reliability
Technical Brief—Multimedia projectors Page 6
Reliability—Ribbon quality
EPSON brand ribbons are ... Customer advantages
Made of the highest grade
ABS plastic
Made with the highest quality
nylon manufactured
Made with the highest quality
dyes, pigments, oils and a
special lubricant
Easy to sell with every printer
Manufactured with ink precisely
applied to both sides of the
ribbon nylon by computer-
controlled machinery
Available in a mylar film
First
Character 2,000,000 th
Character
Ensures consistent print quality
throughout the life of the ribbon
==
vs.
Ensures sharp printed edges
Reduces fraying which can jam or
damage the print head
Protects and extends the life of the
print head
Ultra
Letter
Quality
Offers the highest print quality for
dot matrix printers
Keeps the cartridge from warping during times
of extended use and extreme temperature
changes
5
Adds profit to every sale
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EPSON brand impact printer ribbons are superior to the less
expensive compatible ribbons.
Most EPSON impact printers use a stationary ribbon cartridge. The design used in many competitive printers
move the ribbon with the print head assembly unit. EPSON's stationary ribbon cartridge offers the following
benefits:
The stationary ribbon cartridge can be larger, since it doesn't have to move with the print head,
and therefore has a longer life.
Because the carriage does not have the extra weight of the ribbon, the printer can achieve faster
print speeds.
This lower weight on the carriage reduces the wear and tear on the motor, which gives the printer
greater overall reliability.
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EPSON's stationary ribbon cartridge Competitive design with smaller
ribbon on the print head

EPSON Sales Training 1/00
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Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Reliability—Total Print Volume vs. Mean Time Between Failures
Technical Brief—Multimedia projectors Page 7
EPSON impact printers are more accurately rated for reliability in Total Print Volume, and are also rated in
Mean Time Between Failures.
Total Print Volume estimates the total number of lines that the printer can print before it may fail.
Mean Time Between Failures estimates the number of hours between failures at 25 percent usage
and 35 percent density, which can vary depending on printing conditions, and is much less
accurate than Total Print Volume.
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Reliability—Off-carriage motor assembly
Most EPSON impact printers use an off-carriage motor assembly, versus the on-carriage motor used in
competitive printers.
The off-carriage motor allows the print head to reach top speed more quickly and stop more
quickly because it is not carrying the extra motor weight.
Because just the print head moves, there is less wear and tear on the motor for greater overall
reliability.
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Motor
P u lle y
Fixed
T im ing B elt Motor
Rack
Pinion
Off-carriage motor On-carriage motor