Epson LQ-2180 User manual

®
24-Pin Dot Matrix Printer Quick Reference
Guide
Contents
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.
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.

2
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front Push Tractor
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.
1
tab
2
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.
To load continuous paper onto the front push tractor, follow these steps:

3
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.
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.
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Front Push Tractor

4
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear Push Tractor
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.
1
paper guide
paper guide cover
2
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.
To load continuous paper onto the rear push tractor, follow the steps below.
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.

5
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.
3 4
Loading Continuous Paper Onto the Rear 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.) When the Tear
Off/Bin lights are flashing, your paper
is in the tear-off position.
1
2
from the front push tractor
from the rear push tractor
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.
Open the paper guide cover, and tear off the printed document
using the printer’s tear-off edge.
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.

7
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 fedbackward, labels can easilycome
off the backing sheet and cause a paper
jam.
1
23
Removing Continuous Paper With Labels
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.

8
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
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.
1
2
3
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.

9
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
When you use the pull tractor, you can
replace the ribbon cartridge even though
the print head is not in the ribbon
installation position.
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge

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 two notches
nearest you (➀) over the small pegs on
each side of the printer as shown. Then
lay the cartridge flat so that the other
notches (➁) fit over the corresponding
pegs.
6
ribbon-tightening knob
separator
7

11
Gently press down the cartridge until
both ends click into place.
Lift the cartridge’s ribbon guide (➀)
and insert it firmly over the metal pins
behind the print head (➁). 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.
8 9
10
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge

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

13
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.
Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge
Ribbon Cartridge
Your printer uses EPSON black ribbon cartridge S015086.

14
Clearing Paper Jams
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.
If continuous paper is jammed in the
printer, tear off the fresh supply at the
perforation nearest the paper entry
slot.
1
2
3
4
To clear a paper jam, follow these steps:

15
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.
5 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.
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. See ”Clearing Paper Jams” or page 14.
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” or page 14.