Epson Stylus PHOTO 870 Installation guide

®
®
EPSON Stylus Photo 870
EPSON Stylus Photo 1270
Printer Basics
Printed on recycled paper with at least 15% post-consumer content.

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Copyright Notice
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. 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 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 for 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.
Trademarks
EPSON and EPSON Stylus are registered trademarks of SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION.
PRQ is a registered trademark and Micro Piezo, Epson Software, PhotoEnhance, and EPSON Store are
trademarks of EPSON America, Inc.
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.
CPD-9806R2
Copyright © 2000 by Epson America, Inc. 7/00
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Contents
WELCOME! 1
About Your Software 3
About Your Documentation 5
Warnings, Cautions, Notes, and Tips 5
Windows System Requirements 6
Macintosh System Requirements 7
ENERGY STAR Compliance 8
Important Safety Instructions 8
Ink Cartridge Safety Instructions 9
VIEWING YOUR ELECTRONIC PRINTER MANUAL 11
Accessing Your Electronic Printer Manual 11
Navigating Your Electronic Printer Manual 12
PRINTING FROM START TO FINISH 15
Printing with Windows 15
Loading Paper 15
Opening the Printer Software 16
Selecting Printer Software Settings 17
Controlling Printing 19
Printing on a Macintosh 20
Loading Paper 20
Opening the Printer Software 21
Selecting Printer Software Settings 22
Controlling Printing 23

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Using PhotoEnhance, Custom, and Advanced Settings 24
Using PhotoEnhance 24
Using Custom Settings 25
Using Advanced Settings 25
Using Advanced Color Management 26
Printing CMYK Format Files 26
Using Color Management Profiles 26
Using Special Papers 27
EPSON Premium Glossy Photo Paper 27
Matte Paper - Heavyweight 27
EPSON Photo Paper 28
Envelopes 30
Taking Care of Your Photographs 31
Selecting Your Paper Type 32
USING ROLL PAPER 33
Loading Roll Paper 33
Printing on Roll Paper 36
Roll Paper Basics 36
Printing Edge-to-Edge 4 x 6 Snapshots 37
Printing Panoramics or Banners on Roll Paper 50
Printing on Paper Cut From a Roll 54
Removing and Storing Roll Paper 56
MAINTAINING YOUR PRINTER 57
Cleaning the Print Head 57
Using the Head Cleaning Utility 58
Using the Control Panel to Clean the Print Head 59
Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern 60

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Replacing an Ink Cartridge 61
Removing and Installing Ink Cartridges 62
Aligning the Print Head 64
Cleaning the Printer 65
Transporting the Printer 66
PROBLEM SOLVING 67
Diagnosing Printer Problems 67
Checking the Control Panel Lights 67
Running a Printer Check 69
Identifying Printer Parts 70
Problems and Solutions 71
Problems Setting Up the Printer or Installing Software 71
Problems with Printing 72
Problems Getting Good Print Quality 73
Problems with Paper Feeding 76
Solving Miscellaneous Printout Problems 77
Uninstalling Printer Software 78
Uninstalling Windows Software 78
Uninstalling Macintosh Software 78
Reinstalling Printer Software 78
Where To Get Help 79
EPSON Technical Support 79
EPSON Accessories 80
Bonus or Photo Software Technical Support 81
INDEX 83

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Welcome!
With your EPSON Stylus®Photo printer, you can print anything from reports and
resumes to photos and back light film with superior color results. Using EPSON’s
specially formulated inks and lightfast Premium Glossy Photo or Matte Heavyweight
paper, you can cherish your digital photographs for years to come, just like your
traditionally printed photos.
Both the EPSON Stylus Photo 870 and EPSON Stylus Photo 1270 give you:
■Resolutions up to 1440 by 720 dpi (dots per inch), even on plain paper
■Six-color printing for PRQ®(photo reproduction quality) color and incredibly
smooth gradations
■EPSON’s exclusive Micro Piezo™ink jet technology for cleaner “unvisible” dots
as small as 4 picoliters
■Wide variety of ink jet papers to choose from, including Photo Paper, Premium
Glossy Photo Paper, Matte Heavyweight Paper, Photo Stickers, transparencies,
and more
■Fast photo print speeds: approximately 48 seconds for a 4 ×6-inch photo or one
minute and 50 seconds for an 8 ×10 in Fine mode
■Specially designed print engine for whisper-quiet operation
For more details about your printer model, see the next sections.

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EPSON Stylus Photo 870
Your EPSON Stylus Photo 870 is the ideal
printer for all your digital photography
projects. Whether you get your photos
with a scanner, digital camera, or digital
photo processing service, or download
them off the World Wide Web, you’ll get
real photo lab quality results.
You’ll also get:
■Great results on a variety of paper sizes from 3.5 ×3.5-inch up to 9.5 ×44-inch—
including letter, legal, envelope, card, and panoramic
■Roll paper holder kit for using EPSON Premium Glossy Photo Paper to print
4 ×6-inch photo reproductions from a convenient roll
EPSON Stylus Photo 1270
Your EPSON Stylus Photo 1270 is the
ideal printer for advanced photography
and all your large format printing projects.
Whether you’re creating over-sized
panoramics, photography portfolios, client
proofs, or enlargements, you’ll get
professional, photo lab quality results.
You’ll also get:
■Great results on a variety of paper sizes from 3.5 ×3.5-inch up to 13 ×44-inch—
including letter, legal, envelope, card, panoramic, A3, B, and Super B
■Optional roll paper holder (part number C811062) for printing on 13-inch-wide
EPSON Photo Paper (for large panoramics) or 4-inch-wide Premium Glossy
Photo Paper (for 4 ×6-inch photo reproductions) loaded from a convenient roll
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About Your Software
The printer software CD-ROM that came with your printer
includes all the software you need for printing. (You must
have a CD-ROM or DVD drive installed on your computer.)
■Your printer driver runs your printer and lets you control
how your documents look. You can’t use your printer
without it.
■Your electronic Reference Guide gives you complete
information about your printer. (You need an HTML
browser—such as Microsoft® Internet Explorer or
Netscape®Navigator,
®version 3.0 or later—to view
the guide.)
■Your bonus photo software:
EPSON Stylus Photo 870
It’s a good idea to check EPSON’s support web site periodically for
possible updates to your printer driver. Visit www.epson.com and
check the section for your product to see if there is a new driver
available for downloading to your computer. To check the version
number of your current driver, access the driver as described on
page 16 for Windows or page 21 for Macintosh; the version number
is shown below the EPSON logo.
EPSON Software™Film Factory™(Full version; Windows and
Macintosh)
Photo management software that lets you organize, beautify, and
print your photos in a flash.
Adobe®PhotoDeluxe®(version 3.1 for Windows®or version 2.0
for Macintosh®)
Easily bring photos into your computer, organize them in albums,
and make repairs and improvements—then share them with friends
via the World Wide Web.
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EPSON Stylus Photo 1270
Adobe Photoshop®5.0 LE (Windows and Macintosh)
World-standard photo editing software with the basic image editing
tools preferred by graphic design professionals. You need to enter a
serial number when you install Photoshop 5.0 LE. A sticker
containing your serial number is attached to your CD-ROM sleeve.
EPSON Stylus Photo 1270 owners have an exclusive upgrade price
of $299 for the full version of Adobe Photoshop. To upgrade or for
more information on this offer, call 1-800-492-3623 and mention
Source Code 56100. The offer expires 9/30/01.
Monaco Systems™MonacoEZcolor™1.5 (software offer)
Powerful color management tool lets you build ICC device profiles
for accurate color between scanned, displayed, and printed images.
The offer is available at a discounted price for EPSON Stylus Photo
1270 owners, for a limited time. Call [phone] to order from
Monaco Systems. The color management package includes
software, a target print, and a corresponding target file. You can
install the software and target file from your printer CD-ROM.
However, you won’t be able to use the software until you obtain the
target print, available by mail when you purchase the color
management package for $149 (U.S.)—that’s half off the retail price
of $299. The offer expires 3/31/01.
EPSON Software Film Factory (trial version)
Photo management software that lets you organize, beautify, and
print your photos in a flash. Try it for 30 days—if you like it,
purchase an unlock key at www.epsonsoftware.com.

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About Your Documentation
To set up your printer and install its software, see the Start Here poster. This book
contains system requirements, important safety information, and instructions on:
■viewing your electronic printer manual
■printing with Windows or on a Macintosh
■using special papers
■printing on roll paper
■maintaining the printer
■solving basic problems
For more details about printing with, maintaining, or troubleshooting your printer,
see your electronic Reference Guide. For instructions on viewing it, see page 11.
Warnings, Cautions, Notes, and Tips
Please follow these guidelines:
Warnings must be followed carefully to avoid bodily injury.
Cautions must be observed to avoid damage to your equipment.
Notes contain important information about your printer.
Tips contain additional hints for better printing.