Epson Stylus Color 200 User manual

COLOR INK JET PRINTER
User’s Guide
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Seiko Epson Corporation.
No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein.
Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information
contained herein.
Neither Seiko Epson Corporation nor its affiliates shall be liable to the purchaser of this
product or third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by purchaser 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.
Seiko Epson Corporation shall not be liable against any damages or problems arising from
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, EPSON Stylus, and EPSON ESC/P are registered trademarks and
EPSON ESC/P 2 is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation.
EPSON Connection is a service mark of Epson America, Inc.
Software 2000 is a trademark of Software 2000 Ltd.
Windows Printer driver copyright Software 2000 Ltd Oxford, England.
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.
The Energy Star emblem does not represent EPA endorsement of any product or service.
Copyright © 1996 by Epson America, Inc. 3/96
Printed on recycled paper with at least 10% post-consumer content

Printer Parts
paper support
control panel
printer cover
sheet feeder
edge
guides
parallel interface
connector
power switch
paper
thickness
lever
ink cartridge
clamp
print head
unit release
lever
print head unit
thickness
adjustment
lever

FCC Compliance Statement
For United States Users
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital
device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide
reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This
equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio and television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures.
❑Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
❑Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
❑Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
❑Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
WARNING
The connection of a non-shielded equipment interface cable to this equipment will
invalidate the FCC Certification of this device and may cause interference levels which
exceed the limits established by the FCC for this equipment. It is the responsibility of the
user to obtain and use a shielded equipment interface cable with this device. If this
equipment has more than one interface connector, do not leave cables connected to unused
interfaces. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could
void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
For Canadian Users
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions from
digital apparatus as set out in the radio interference regulations of the Canadian
Department of Communications.
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les limites
applicables aux appareils numériques de Classe B prescrites dans le règlement sur le
brouillage radioélectrique édicté par le Ministère des Communications du Canada.
ii

Contents
Introduction
Getting the Most Out of Your Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-1
If You Are New to Color Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-3
Energy Star Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-4
Energy-saving Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-5
How to Use This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-5
Where to Get Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-6
Electronic Support Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-7
Important Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-9
Chapter 1 Setting Up the Printer
System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Unpacking the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-3
Setting Up the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Selecting a Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Attaching the Paper Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Plugging In and Turning On the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Charging the Ink Delivery System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Checking the Paper Thickness Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
Loading Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-15
Testing the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-17
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-18
Chapter 2 Installing and Using the Printer Software
Installing the Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Installing the Software for Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Installing the Software for Windows 95 . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Installing a Driver for DOS Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Accessing the Printer Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-9
Accessing the Driver From Windows Applications . . . . . 2-9
Accessing the Driver From Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Accessing the Driver From Windows 95 . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
iii

Using the Printer Driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Changing Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Using Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Accessing Online Help From Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Accessing Online Help From Windows 95 . . . . . . . . . . 2-15
Chapter 3 Paper Handling
Choosing Paper and Other Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Setting the Paper Thickness and Adjustment Levers . . . . . . . 3-3
Paper Thickness Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Thickness Adjustment Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4
Loading Plain Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-5
Loading Special Papers and Other Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Loading Special Papers and Transparencies . . . . . . . . . 3-8
Loading Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-11
Chapter 4 Controlling the Printer
Managing Print Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Using the Printer’s Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Using the Default Setting Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Chapter 5 Maintenance
Cleaning the Print Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Changing the Print Head Unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Replacing an Ink Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Selecting the Correct Ink Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Removing and Installing an Ink Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Cleaning the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Transporting the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11
Calibrating the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Calibrating the Printer From Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Calibrating the Printer From DOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
iv

Chapter 6 Troubleshooting
Diagnosing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Print Quality Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Problems With Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Paper Handling Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13
Paper Jam Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13
Paper Feeding Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Other Paper Handling Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-14
Appendix A Technical Specifications
Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2
Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3
Ink Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6
Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8
Safety Approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8
Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8
Parallel Interface Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9
Pin Assignments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9
Reverse Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Timing Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-14
Initialization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-14
Default Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-15
Appendix B Commands and Character Tables
Command List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2
Character Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3
International Character Sets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-7
Characters Available With the ESC ( ^ Command . . . . . B-8
Glossary
Index
v

Introduction
The EPSON®Stylus®COLOR 200 is an affordable, high-quality
ink jet printer that can print up to 16 million colors at high
resolution to produce full-color, photo-quality images. It also
produces realistic grayscale images, laser-quality text, and line
art. The printer’s ink jet technology allows it to operate quietly,
keeping your workspace peaceful.
The Stylus COLOR 200 is easy to install and use. You simply
set it up, connect it to your computer, and install the printer
software, as described in this book. The printer has a built-in
parallel interface so you can connect it to any IBM®PC
compatible computer.
The printer software includes a “driver” that controls printing
and lets you choose from a wide variety of printer settings. You
can change settings to improve print quality, speed up
printing, or achieve special printing effects. And to make your
selections easy, the driver includes an option that analyzes each
page and automatically adjusts the settings before printing it.
Getting the Most Out of Your Printer
To achieve the highest quality printout, you should know a few
of the elements that contribute to outstanding color printing:
❑Resolution is a measure of the amount of detail that can be
represented on the page. The higher the resolution, the
more detailed and realistic the image, and the longer it
takes to print. For printed images, resolution is measured
in dots per inch (dpi). Your printer has three resolutions:
720 dpi, 360 dpi, and Economy (180 dpi).
Introduction 1

Use 720 dpi for the best possible images. For high-quality
images in less time, use 360 dpi. When speed is important
and draft quality is good enough, use Economy (180 dpi).
❑Paper type and quality are very important. Although you
get good results with plain bond paper, you will get better
results by using coated or glossy papers because they do
not absorb as much ink.
To ensure the best possible quality, EPSON offers special
coated papers, glossy papers, and transparencies that are
specially formulated for the inks used by the printer.
You can order these products from EPSON Accessories at
[phone] (U.S. sales only). In Canada, call
(800) BUY-EPSON for sales locations. (For information
about special papers and other media, see Chapter 3.)
❑EPSON ink cartridges (black and color) are specially
formulated to work with EPSON papers and your printer
software to deliver the best looking images. Always use
genuine EPSON ink cartridges and do not refill them.
Other products may cause damage not covered by
EPSON’s warranty.
❑Printer driver settings control every aspect of how your
printer prints, so be sure to select the driver settings that
are appropriate for your images each time you print.
The basic driver settings include document type, paper type
and size, resolution, and print head unit. Optional settings
that you may or may not need to check include halftoning,
color adjustments, and the printing mode options described
below.
2 Introduction

❑Printing mode options affect the speed and accuracy
with which the print head sprays ink onto the paper.
MicroWeave mode applies ink in an intricate pattern to
eliminate the possibility of banding (light, horizontal lines)
that can sometimes occur in normal mode. High Speed
mode prints bidirectionally (one line from right to left and
the next from left to right) to speed up printing. You should
use MicroWeave mode when printing detailed graphic and
photographic images. High Speed mode is good for all
draft copies and for printing text; however, the vertical
alignment in your images may not be as precise.
If You Are New to Color Printing
Color printing with the EPSON Stylus COLOR 200 produces
amazing images, whether you print text, graphics, line
drawings, photographs, or documents containing many
different image types. However you use your color printer,
keep the following in mind:
❑Leave a large amount of hard disk space free to make room
for your color images. A full-page color photographic
image may require 40MB or more of disk space, depending
on the resolution. To reduce file size, you can decrease the
size and resolution of your images using your printer
driver and application software.
❑Color printing takes time because of the complex
processing required to create a color image. How much
time depends on the size and type of your image, the
resolution you use, and the speed of your computer.
However, the fantastic results make the time spent well
worth it.
Introduction 3

❑Your screen colors will not exactly match the printed colors
because your computer monitor and printer use different
methods to produce the colors you see. If you scan
images using a scanner, the image goes through another
interpretive process that also affects the color.
Monitors and scanners produce colors by combining red,
green, and blue—the RGB method. Monitor can produce
up to 16 million colors by turning on and off the tiny red,
green, and blue phosphors contained in each pixel on the
screen. Colors produced this way differ from colors
produced by your printer’s cyan, magenta, and yellow ink
colors—the CMY method.
Your printer driver settings help you closely match colors for
your image type, resolution, and paper or other media. If
you need extreme precision in matching colors, you can use
a color calibration system available with many software
applications. If you use a scanner, make sure your scanning
software is set to the correct setting for ink jet printers.
Also, your application may include image editing
capabilities that let you adjust the colors.
Energy Star Compliance
As an Energy Star Partner, EPSON has determined
that this product meets the Energy Star guidelines
for energy efficiency.
The EPA estimates that if all desktop computers, printers, and
other peripheral devices met Energy Star standards, energy
cost savings would exceed $1 billion annually and carbon
dioxide emissions would be reduced by 20 million tons.
All of EPSON’s ink jet printers conform to Energy Star
standards.
4 Introduction