Epson Stylus Color 900 User manual

Users Guide
Printed on recycled paper with at least 10% post-consumer content.
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ii
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.
EPSON and EPSON Stylus are registered trademarks and EPSON Stylus RIP is a trademark of
SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION.
AcuPhoto and EPSON FaxAdvice are trademarks and EPSON SoundAdvice is a service mark of
Epson America, Inc.
Adobe, PageMaker, Illustrator, PostScript, and the PostScript logo are registered trademarks of
Adobe Systems Incorporated.
PANTONE is a registered trademark and PANTONE CALIBRATED is a trademark of Pantone,
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.
Copyright © 1999 by Epson America, Inc. CPD8323
4/99
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iii
Introduction
Do You Need PostScript? 1
Special Features 2
Macintosh System Requirements 3
Windows System Requirements 4
How To Use Your Manuals 4
Cautions, Notes, and Tips 5
Where To Get Help 6
1Installing EPSON Stylus
RIP for Macintosh
Checking the Printer 1-2
Determining Your Configuration 1-3
Standalone Configuration 1-3
Direct Connection Network Configuration 1-4
Typical Network Configuration 1-5
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP on
a Standalone or Print Server Macintosh 1-6
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP on a Client Macintosh 1-8
Contents
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Contents
Color Matching 1-9
Press Simulations 1-9
ColorSync 2.x Support 1-10
PANTONE Color Support 1-10
2Printing with EPSON
Stylus RIP for Macintosh
Setting Up the EPSON Stylus RIP Server 2-2
Configuring EPSON Stylus RIP Preferences 2-4
Setting Up the Chooser and PostScript Drivers 2-5
Printing from an Application 2-8
Sending the Print Job 2-9
Setting Print Job Options 2-10
Starting the EPSON Stylus RIP Server Software
Automatically 2-14
Drag and Drop Printing 2-15
Managing Print Jobs 2-16
Using the Stylus RIP Monitor 2-17
3Installing EPSON Stylus
RIP for Windows
Checking the Printer 3-2
Installing the EPSON Stylus RIP Software 3-2
Installing the PostScript Driver 3-4
Installing the PostScript Driver on Client Computers 3-7
Color Matching 3-9
ICC Support 3-9
PANTONE Color Support 3-10
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Contents
4Printing with EPSON
Stylus RIP for Windows
Printing from an Application 4-1
Starting EPSON Stylus RIP 4-2
Printing with the Default Options 4-3
Printing and Setting Printer Options 4-4
Managing Print Jobs 4-9
Batch Printing 4-10
Network Printing 4-11
Enabling File and Print Sharing 4-11
Connecting the Client Computers 4-12
Sending Print Jobs from Client Computers 4-13
Configuring EPSON Stylus RIP 4-15
Setting EPSON Stylus RIP Preferences 4-15
Starting Stylus RIP Automatically 4-16
5Troubleshooting
Printing High Quality Color Images 5-1
Solving Problems 5-2
You see a Printer cannot be opened or Printer
not found error message (Macintosh) 5-2
You see a memory or VM error
message (Macintosh) 5-3
You see a communications error message when
you try to open Stylus RIP 5-3
Stylus RIP does not run (Windows) 5-3
Your saved files dont print (Windows) 5-4
Stylus RIP takes a long time before printing starts 5-4
Your printouts contain incorrect fonts or jagged type 5-4
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Contents
The printer is producing pages containing
illegible type or characters 5-5
Images and type look bitmapped and jagged
on your printouts 5-5
You see Font not found or Find font error
messages (Macintosh) 5-6
One or more colors are missing in your printout
or it prints in black ink only 5-6
Your printed output has white lines 5-7
Bitmap images or clip art looks jagged 5-7
Youre having trouble printing from
PageMaker 6.0 or 6.5 (Windows) 5-7
EPS and TIFF files do not print 5-7
Your printout has misplaced images or type 5-8
Printed images are clipped at the edges 5-8
Your Macintosh freezes when you try to print
from QuarkXPress 5-8
Your Macintosh loses custom page sizes when
selecting PDF file output from QuarkXPress 3.3x 5-8
Index
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1
The EPSON Stylus®RIP software lets you use your EPSON
Stylus COLOR or EPSON Stylus Photo ink jet printer as a
PostScript®3 (Macintosh®and Windows NT®) and Level 2
(Windows®95/98) compatible printer. It reads the Adobe®
PostScript files automatically created by the EPSON Stylus RIP
printer driver, seamlessly converts them into raster images, and
automatically prints them on your printer. You can use the
EPSON Stylus RIP with both Macintosh and Windows
systems, in standalone or networked configurations.
Adobe PostScript is the industry standard for high-quality
graphic output. All the elements in a documentincluding
text, graphics, and other imagesare processed and reproduced
using PostScript code. Then, when you print from an application
such as QuarkXPress,
®the RIP software creates a raster image
from the PostScript code and sends it to your printer.
Do You Need PostScript?
In many cases, you may not need the ability to print in
PostScript, and for these occasions you should use the standard,
non-PostScript driver that comes with your printer. Using the
standard driver is also a good way to ensure that your computer
and printer are connected and working properly, so make sure
you install the non-PostScript EPSON driver following the
instructions in your printers setup guide.
Introduction
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Introduction
2
Heres what you can use the EPSON Stylus RIP for:
◗Printing documents with placed or imported EPS images
◗Printing from complex PostScript-based drawing and
publishing applications like Adobe Illustrator,
®
Macromedia®Freehand,
®Adobe PageMaker, ®QuarkXPress,
and CorelDRAW
◗Matching PANTONE®spot colors
For all other printing applications, especially photography, use the
standard, non-PostScript EPSON driver. In many cases, you will
get better performance with the standard driver than with the
EPSON Stylus RIP.
Special Features
To make the most of your printers photo-quality output, the
EPSON Stylus RIP software includes these special features:
◗EPSON error diffusion software, the same high-quality
AcuPhotohalftoning technology used in EPSONs
non-PostScript printer drivers
◗PANTONE professional color palette filescalibrated for
your EPSON Stylus COLOR or EPSON Stylus Photo
printer using a variety of media at various resolutionsto
give you PANTONE colors when you use PANTONE
licensed applications
◗Support for ColorSync®2.x on the Macintosh and Image
Color Matching (ICM) for Windows through
International Color Consortium®(ICC) profiles
◗Press Simulation, which adjusts your EPSON printers
color gamut to more closely match the output of
SWOP-coated printing devices
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Introduction
3
Macintosh System Requirements
To use EPSON Stylus RIP with a Macintosh in either a
standalone or network environment as a print server, your
system should meet the following minimum requirements:
◗Power Macintosh,
®iMacseries, or Power Macintosh G3
series
◗At least 16MB of available RAM for the EPSON Stylus
RIP software (20MB or more is recommended), in
addition to the RAM needed by your operating system and
other applications
◗
At least 52MB of free hard disk space to install the software
and at least 150MB of hard disk space for processing large files
◗Macintosh Operating System 7.6.1 or later
◗CD-ROM drive
◗Serial, Ethernet, or USB (SC900/SP1200 only) connection
to the printer
To set up a Macintosh as a client on a network using the
EPSON Stylus RIP, your system must have the following
minimum configuration:
◗Macintosh Centris,
®Macintosh Quadra, ®Performa, ®iMac
series, Power Macintosh G3 series, or Power Macintosh
◗EthernetAppleTalk®connection with the Macintosh set
up as the EPSON Stylus RIP print server
◗8MB RAM
◗
At least 2MB of free hard disk space to install the software and
at least 150MB of free hard disk space for processing large files
◗Macintosh Operating System 7.6.1 or later
◗CD-ROM drive
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Introduction
4
Windows System Requirements
To use the EPSON Stylus RIP in either a standalone or
peer-to-peer network environment, your system should include:
◗IBM®-compatible PC with 486 or higher processor
(Pentium®133 MHz or higher recommended)
◗Microsoft Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4.0
◗At least 16MB of RAM (32MB or more recommended)
◗At least 50MB of free hard disk space to install the software
and at least 150MB of free hard disk space for processing
files (more for large files)
◗CD-ROM drive
◗An available parallel port configured as LPT1
You can print with the EPSON Stylus RIP on a peer-to-peer
Windows network by using file sharing, with the printer
connected to the print servers parallel port. In this networked
environment, you install the EPSON Stylus RIP software on the
print server only, and install the PostScript printer driver on all
your other networked computers. See page 3-4 for instructions.
How To Use Your Manuals
Before you install the RIP, make sure you set up your printer and
install the standard EPSON non-PostScript driver that came
with your printer, following the instructions in your printers
setup guide. Refer to your EPSON printers users guide for
instructions on using and maintaining your printer.
If youre familiar with software PostScript interpreters, you can use
the EPSON Stylus RIP Quick Start Guide to get started with the RIP.
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Introduction
5
For more information about installing and using the software,
refer to this Users Guide, which contains the following:
Chapter 1 tells you how to install the EPSON Stylus RIP on
Macintosh computers and AppleTalk networks.
Chapter 2 explains how to print with the RIP software on
Macintosh computers.
Chapter 3 tells you how to install the EPSON Stylus RIP on
Windows computers and peer-to-peer networks.
Chapter 4 explains how to print with the RIP software on
Windows computers.
Chapter 5 gives solutions to possible problems you may have.
An Index is included at the end of the book.
Cautions, Notes, and Tips
Youll find this information throughout your manual:
Cautions must be observed to avoid damage to your equipment or
to ensure proper operation of your software.
Notes contain important information about your software or
hardware.
Tips contain additional hints for printing with EPSON Stylus RIP.
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Introduction
6
Where To Get Help
EPSON provides technical assistance through electronic
support services and automated telephone services 24 hours a
day. The following tables list the contact information:
To speak to a technical support representative, please refer to
your printers users guide for your printers specific technical
support telephone number.
Electronic support services
Service Access
World Wide Web From the Internet, you can reach EPSONs
Home Page at http://www.epson.com.
EPSON Internet FTP Site If you have Internet FTP capability, use your
Web browser (or other software for FTP
downloading) to log onto ftp.epson.com with
the user name anonymous and your e-mail
address as the password.
EPSON Forum on
CompuServe®
Members of CompuServe can type GO EPSON
at the menu prompt to reach the Epson
America Forum. For a free introductory
CompuServe membership, call [phone]
and ask for representative #529.
Automated telephone services
Service Access
EPSON SoundAdviceSM For pre-recorded answers to commonly asked
questions about EPSON products 24 hours a
day, seven days a week, call [phone].
EPSON FaxAdviceTM Access EPSONs technical information library by
calling [phone]. You must provide a
return fax number to use this service.
EPSON Referral Service For the location of your nearest Authorized
EPSON Reseller or Customer Care Center, call
[phone].
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Introduction
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Before you call, please have the following information ready:
◗Product name (EPSON Stylus RIP)
◗Product serial number (located on disk sleeve)
◗Printer model
◗Computer configuration
◗Description of the problem
You can purchase ink cartridges, paper, manuals, and
accessories from EPSON Accessories at [phone] (U.S.
sales only). In Canada, please call [phone] for dealer
referral.
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1-1
1
This chapter provides instructions for installing the EPSON
Stylus RIP software on a standalone Macintosh or the print
server Macintosh in a network. You can then install the
PostScript printer driver and PPD (PostScript Printer
Description) on any client Macintosh computers on your
network, as described on page 1-8.
Heres what you need to do to install EPSON Stylus RIP:
◗Check the printers setup and operation.
◗Determine your system/network configuration.
◗Install the EPSON Stylus RIP server software on your
standalone Macintosh or on the print server in a network.
◗Install the EPSON Stylus RIP client software on any client
Macintosh computers in your network.
◗If you need to match PANTONE colors, be sure to read
the instructions on page 1-10 for using your printers
PANTONE color table.
Installing
EPSON Stylus
RIP for Macintosh
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1-2
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP for Macintosh
Checking the Printer
Before you install the EPSON Stylus RIP software, follow the
instructions in your printers setup guide and users guide to
prepare your printer for use. Make sure you perform the
following steps:
◗If youll be using the printer in a typical network
configuration (described in the following section), install an
optional network interface card in the printer. (Not every
printer has a network interface card option.) See your
printers users guide for instructions.
◗Load paper, install ink cartridges, and allow your printer to
complete its entire ink charging cycle.
◗Run a printer self test to make sure it operates properly.
◗Connect the printer directly to your Macintosh or to the
network.
◗Install the standard non-PostScript EPSON driver and
utilities that came with your printer.
◗Send a sample print job with the standard printer driver to
make sure the interface connection and cable are secure and
the software is installed correctly.
Once the printer is set up and tested fully, youre ready to
install the EPSON Stylus RIP software on your system.
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1-3
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP for Macintosh
Determining Your Configuration
You can connect your printer and use Stylus RIP in three
different configurations:
◗Standalone
◗Direct connection network
◗Typical network
The standalone or direct connection network configurations are
recommended for best performance.
Note:
AppleTalk must be active in order to use Stylus RIP in all
configurations, including a standalone system.
Standalone Configuration
In a standalone system (shown below), your printer is
connected directly to your Macintosh by a standard serial (or
USB, for SC900/SP1200) cable, as shown below:
In this configuration, you install the EPSON Stylus RIP Server
software on your Macintosh system, which then acts as both
server and client in your printing process.
serial or
USB
cable
standalone
Macintosh
printer
AppleTalk control
panel set to
Remote Only
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1-4
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP for Macintosh
Direct Connection Network Configuration
In a direct connection configuration (shown below), the
Macintosh that is connected to the printer acts as the print
server, with the EPSON Stylus RIP Server software installed on
it. The printer is directly connected to the print servers printer,
modem, or USB port (SC900/SP1200).
The other computers in the network are clients of the server,
with the EPSON Stylus RIP client software installed on them.
In this configuration, the client Macintosh computers send
print jobs to the print server, which puts the job in a print
queue and then sends it to the printer. This speeds up
transmission of the job because it is sent over the network only
once, offering you the best EPSON Stylus RIP performance.
Note:
It is best to choose a Power Macintosh with a fast processor and
ample RAM as your print server, allowing you to devote its
resources to printing the data sent over the network. LocalTalk
networks are not recommended for use with the EPSON Stylus
RIP.
serial/USB cable
printer print server clients
AppleTalk control panel
set to Ethernet for both
server and clients
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1-5
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP for Macintosh
Typical Network Configuration
In a typical network configuration, both the print server and all
client Macintosh computers are only connected to the printer
via an Ethernet connection through an optional network
interface card, with the EPSON Stylus RIP software (server or
client version) installed on every computer.
In this configuration, the print job is sent over the network
twice before it prints: once from the client to the print server
and once from the print server to the printer.
Note:
You may experience problems if you have more than one printer on
the network in a mixed configuration. For example, if you have
one EPSON Stylus series printer connected to a serial port and set
up as remote only and another connected by an Ethernet card on
the same network, you wont be able to set the Network/AppleTalk
control panel to Remote Only and Ethernet at the same time.
clients print server
printer optional Ethernet card
AppleTalk control panel
set to Ethernet for both
server and clients
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1-6
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP for Macintosh
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP on
a Standalone or Print Server
Macintosh
Before you install the EPSON Stylus RIP software, disable all
anti-virus or disk utility extensions, and shut down any
applications that are running. Then follow these steps:
1. Insert the EPSON Stylus RIP CD-ROM in your drive. If
necessary, double-click the Stylus RIP CD-ROM icon to
open its window.
2. Double-click the Installer icon in the Stylus RIP
window.
3. At the title screen, click Continue.
4. From the Installer dialog box, pick Easy Install, specify an
Install Location to install the RIP into, and click Install.
5. Follow the on-screen instructions, then click the Restart
button when prompted to restart your system. If you arent
prompted to restart your computer, manually restart it
yourself.
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1-7
Installing EPSON Stylus RIP for Macintosh
6. Once your system has restarted, open the AppleTalk
control panel by opening the Apple menu and choosing
Control Panels > AppleTalk.
7. If using a serial connection, choose Remote Only from the
Connect via pop-up menu. If visible, click the Options
button and make AppleTalk Active.
8. Close the AppleTalk control panel.
The EPSON Stylus RIP software is installed on your hard disk.
If your computer is not connected to a network, you can skip
ahead to the next chapter to start printing via the RIP. If you
have client computers that will need to print to the RIP,
continue to the next section.
Caution:
Once youve installed the EPSON Stylus RIP software, dont move,
modify, or delete any of the files or folders that were created on
your hard disk, or the software may not work.
Set the
connection
method to
Remote Only
If visible, click
here to enable
AppleTalk
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