Epson FX-980 - Impact Printer User manual

®
9-Pin Dot Matrix Printer Quick Reference Guide
Contents
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear
Push Tractor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front
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 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
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.
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.
Copyright © 1998 by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION, Nagano, Japan
Printed inJapan
4010002
C01 00

2
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear Push Tractor
Open the paper guide cover and remove the
paper guide base.
Open both sprocket covers, and fit the first
three 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.
1
paper guide base
paper guide cover
2
QTo feed continuous paper to the standby
position where you can remove it easily,
press the Load/Eject button.
QWhen you load continuous paper of a
different size or thickness, adjust the position
of the sprockets or change the paper
thickness lever setting. See Chapter 2 of the
User’s Guide for instructions.
To load continuous paper onto the rear push tractor, follow these steps:

3
Attach the paper guide base, then lift the
center section of the paper guide up and lay
it flat.
Close the paper guide cover, and make sure
the paper release lever is set to the rear push
tractor position.
Note:
The printer cannot print when the printer cover
is open.
3 4
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear Push Tractor

4
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front Push Tractor
Open the front paper guide by pulling the
tab in the center. Remove the guide by
grasping both sides and pulling it straight
out of the printer.
Open both sprocket covers and fit the first
three 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.
1 2
QTo feed continuous paper to the standby
position where you can remove it easily,
press the Load/Eject button.
QWhen you load continuous paper of a
different size or thickness, adjust the position
of the sprockets or change the paper
thickness lever setting. See Chapter 2 of the
User’s Guide for instructions.
To load continuous paper onto the front push tractor, follow these steps:
Note:
To use the front push tractor, install the tractor unit in the front position and load continuous paper in
the front slot.

5
Attach the front paper guide by inserting it
into the slots on each side of the printer as
shown.
Close the front paper guide. Then set the
paper release lever to the front push tractor
position.
Note:
The printer cannot print when the printer cover
is open.
3 4
QWhen you load continuous paper with labels,
set the auto tear-off mode to Off before you
print. When fed backward, the labels can
easily come off the backing sheet and jam the
printer.
QTo turn off the auto tear-off mode, enter the
printer’s default-setting mode. See Chapter 5
of the User’s Guide for instructions
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front Push Tractor

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

7
Removing Continuous Paper With Labels
Make sure that the printer is not printing.
You may need to press the Pause button to
pause the printer. (When the printer is
paused, the Pause light is on.)
Tear off the 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:
Never feed labels backward using the
Load/Eject or Tear Off/Bin button. When
fed backward, labels can easily come off
the backing sheet and cause a paper jam.
1
2
3
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.
Removing the Printed Document From the Push Tractor Removing Continuous Paper With Labels

8
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.
1
2
3
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
Your printer uses an EPSON black ribbon cartridge S015091.
To replace the ribbon cartridge, follow the steps below.

9
QIf the pull tractor is installed, you can replace
the ribbon cartridge when the print head is
not in the ribbon installation position.
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
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.
4 5

10
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
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 cartridge’s two
front notches (¿) over the small pegs on
each side of the printer as shown. Then lay
the cartridge flat so that the rear notches (¡)
fit over the corresponding pegs.
6
ribbon-tightening knob
separator
7

11
Gently press down on the cartridge until
both ends click into place. Lift the cartridge’s ribbon guide (¿) and
insert it firmly over the metal pins behind
the print head (¡). Make sure the ribbon is
not twisted or creased and that it is placed
behind the print head. Then press down on
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.
8 9
10
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge

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

13
Clearing Paper Jams
Press the Operate button to turn off the
printer.
If an ejected sheet of paper is stuck on the
paper guide, remove it.
Remove the printer cover. If continuous
paper is jammed in the rear slot, also
remove the paper guide base.
1
2
3
To clear a paper jam, follow these steps:
Clearing Paper Jams

14
Clearing Paper Jams
If continuous paper is jammed inside the
printer, tear off the supply at the perforation
nearest the paper entry slot.
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:
Use the knob to clear paper jams only
when the printer is off. Otherwise, you
may damage the printer or lose the top-
of-form position or tear-off position.
4 5

15
Attach the paper guide base, if necessary.
Replace the printer cover and then close the
paper guide cover.
Press the Operate button to turn on the
printer. Make sure the Paper Out and Pause
lights are off.
6
7
8
Clearing Paper Jams

If Your Printer Stops Printing Unexpectedly...
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.
You moved the paper release lever while paper
from another paper source was 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. See ”Clearing Paper Jams” on page 10.
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. See ”Clearing Paper Jams” on page 10.