Epson FX-980 - Impact Printer User manual

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R4C3430
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R
User’s Guide
9-Pin Dot Matrix Printer
Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,
ortransmitted inany formor by any means, electronic, mechanical,photocopying,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
thisproductorthirdpartiesfordamages,losses,costs,orexpensesincurredbythepurchaser
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.
SEIKOEPSONCORPORATIONshallnotbeliableforanydamagesorproblemsarisingfrom
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 © 1999 by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION, Nagano, Japan.
®

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Declaration of Conformity
According to ISO/IEC Guide 22 and EN 45014
Manufacturer: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
Address: 3-5, Owa 3-chome, Suwa-shi,
Nagano-ken 392-8502 Japan
Representative: EPSON EUROPE B.V.
Address: Prof. J. H. Bavincklaan 5
1183 AT Amstelveen
The Netherlands
Declares that the Product:
Product Name: Dot Matrix Printer
Model: P922A
Conforms to the following Directive(s) and Norm(s):
Directive 73/23/EEC:
EN 60950
Directive 89/336/EEC:
EN 55022 Class B
EN 61000-3-2
EN 61000-3-3
EN 50082-1
IEC 801-2
IEC 801-3
IEC 801-4
March 1999
H. Horiuchi
President of EPSON EUROPE B.V.

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Printer Parts
knob
printer cover
control panel
paper guide base
paper release
lever
edge guides
front paper guide
(closed)
paper guide
cover
tractor
paper thickness
lever
shield plate
ribbon cartridge
parallel interface paper tension
unit
serial interface
front edge guides
front paper guide
(open)
Cover_1.eps
Cover-2.eps
Cover-3.eps

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Control Panel Buttons and Lights
n= On
f= Flashing
o= Off
Tear Off/Bin button
OAdvances continuous paper to the tear-off
position.
OFeedscontinuouspaperbackwardfromthe
tear-off position to the top-of-form position.
OSelectsacut-sheetfeederbinwhenthecut-
sheet feeder is installed.
OTurns on the card mode to print on
postcards and envelopes. See
Chapter 3.
Tear Off/Bin lights
O
f f when continuous paper is in the tear-
off position.
O
o n when bin 1 of the optional cut-sheet
feeder is selected.
O
n o when bin 2 of the optional cut-sheet
feeder is selected.
O
n n when the printer is in the card mode.
*Micro Adjust mode
When you hold down the Pause button for three seconds,
the printer enters the micro adjust mode. In this mode, you
can press the LF/FF
Dand Load/Eject Ubuttons to adjust
the top-of-form or tear-off position. See Chapter 2.
Load/Eject button
OLoads a single sheet of
paper.
OEjects a single sheet of
paper if a sheet is loaded.
OLoads continuous paper
from the standby position.
OFeeds continuous paper
backward to the standby
position in micro adjust
mode.
Font button
Selects the font.
See Chapter 5.
Font lights
Indicate which font
is selected.
Paper Out light
OOn when no paper is
loaded in the selected
paper source or paper is
not loaded correctly.
OFlashes when paper has
notbeenfullyejectedora
paper jam has occurred.
Operate button
Turns the printer on
and off. The printer is
off when the top of
this button is even
with the button
protectors.
Pause button
OStops printing
temporarily, and
resumes printing when
pressed again. When
pressed for 3 seconds,
turns on the *micro
adjust mode. To turn off,
press again.
Pause light
OOn when the printer is
paused.
OFlasheswhentheprinter
is in the *micro adjust
mode.
LF/FF button
OFeeds paper line by
line when pressing
shortly.
OEjects a single sheet
or advances
continuous paper to
the next top-of-form
position when held
down.
Panel.eps
Pitch button
Selects the font size.
See Chapter 5.
Pitch lights
Indicate what font
size is selected.

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Contents
Printer Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
Control Panel Buttons and Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Getting to Know Your Printer
Easy-to-Use Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Available Paper Paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Printing on continuous paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Printing on single sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Ribbon Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Important Safety Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Print Head Caution Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
ENERGY STAR Compliance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
How To Use Your Manuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Warnings, Cautions, and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Chapter 1 Setting Up the Printer
Unpacking the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Choosing a Place for the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Positioning the continuous paper supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Installing or Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Attaching the Paper Guide Base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-12
Plugging in the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-13
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Installing the Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Installing the printer software in Windows 98, 95,
or NT 4.0. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Installing the printer software in Windows 3.1
or NT 3.5x. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-20
For DOS programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-22

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Chapter 2 Printing on Continuous Paper
Setting the Paper Release Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-2
Setting the Paper Thickness Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-4
Using the Rear Push Tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-6
Loading paper onto the rear push tractor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-6
Removing a printed document from the rear
push tractor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-10
Using the Front Push Tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-12
Loading paper onto the front push tractor. . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-12
Removing a printed document from the front
push tractor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-17
Removing the front push tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-18
Reinstalling the tractor in the front push position. . . . . . . .2-19
Using the Tractor in the Pull Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-21
Installing the tractor in the pull position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-21
Loading paper onto the pull tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-23
Removing the paper from the pull tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-28
Using two tractors in a push/pull combination . . . . . . . . .2-29
Removing the pull tractor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-31
Loading Multi-Part Forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-33
Loading Continuous Paper With Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-34
Removing continuous paper with labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-35
Switching Between Printing on Continuous Paper
and Printing on Single Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-36
Switching to printing on single sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-36
Switching to printing on continuous paper . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-37
Adjusting the Top-of-Form Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-38
Advancing the Paper to the Tear-Off Edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-41
Using the Tear Off/Bin button. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-41
Advancing the paper to the tear-off position
automatically . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-42
Adjusting the tear-off position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2-42

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Chapter 3 Printing on Single Sheets
Using Single Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Available paper types and paper slots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Loading single-sheet multi-part forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Loading envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6
Loading postcards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7
Loading Single Sheets in the Top Paper Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Loading Single Sheets in the Front Paper Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Chapter 4 Using the Printer Software
About Your Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Using the Printer Driver With Windows 95 or 98 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Accessing the printer driver from
Windows applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu . . . . . . . 4-5
Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Using the Printer Driver With Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Accessing the printer driver from
Windows applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Accessing the printer driver from the Control Panel. . . . . 4-11
Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11
Using the Printer Driver With Windows NT 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Accessing the printer driver from
Windows applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu . . . . . . . 4-15
Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
Using the Printer Driver With Windows NT 3.5x. . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
Accessing the printer driver from
Windows applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18
Accessing the printer driver from the Control Panel. . . . . 4-20
Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21
Using the EPSON Remote! Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23
Installing EPSON Remote!. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-23
Accessing EPSON Remote! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-24

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Chapter 5 Changing Printer Settings From the Printer’s Control
Panel
Selecting a Built-In Font. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-2
About Your Printer’s Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-3
Changing default settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5-9
Chapter 6 Using EPSON Status Monitor 2
About the EPSON Status Monitor 2 Utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-2
Installing EPSON Status Monitor 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-3
Accessing EPSON Status Monitor 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-5
Checking Printer Status Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-5
Using the EPSON Status Monitor 2 window . . . . . . . . . . . .6-5
Using the Printer Status window. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-11
Making Monitoring Preference Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-12
Turning on background monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-13
Background monitoring icon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6-14
Chapter 7 Troubleshooting
Using the Error Indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-2
Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-4
Power supply problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-5
Single-sheet paper loading or feeding problems. . . . . . . . .7-6
Continuous paper loading or feeding problems . . . . . . . . .7-8
Wrong top-of-form position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-9
Wrong tear-off position. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-10
Printing or printout quality problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-11
Clearing Paper Jams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-16
Aligning Vertical Lines in Your Printout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-17
Printing a Self Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-18
Printing a Hex Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7-19