Formax ColorMax LP User manual

ColorMaxLP
Digital Color Printer
OPERATOR MANUAL
Revision 2
6/20145

2
Copyright © 2014 Formax. All rights reserved.
No part of this document may e photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the
prior written permission of Formax.
Trademarks
Firefox is a trademark of the Mozilla Foundation.
Intel and Intel Core are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
Java and Oracle are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows Vista, and Windows Server are registered trademarks of Microsoft
Corporation in the U.S.A. and/or other countries.
Edition
L801 Printer User Guide Edition 1.3. June 2014.
FCC
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is su ject to the following two conditions:
(1) this device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

3
Safety Precautions
Electrical Shock Hazard
Do not disassem le any part of your printer. There are no user-repaira le parts inside
the printer. Disassem ly of any part of the printer will void all warranties.
Fire Hazard
Keep the printer well away from all heat sources and flamma le su stances.
Switch your printer off immediately and unplug the power cord from the wall socket if
you notice any of the following:
• Smoke rising from the printer.
• An acrid smell coming from the printer.
• Sparks eing emitted from printer.
Contact your supplier as soon as possi le.
WARNING: Hazardous Moving Parts
Keep fingers and other bod parts awa from the printer.
Installation
• Install the printer on a flat, level surface.
The printer must remain level at all times. Tilting the printer may cause undue
leakage of ink and may damage the printer.
• Avoid wide temperature variations.
Install the printer in a protected location away from direct sunlight, open windows
or any other places su ject to temperature extremes.
Power Supply
• Always use the Power utton on the control panel to turn the printer off. Removing
power to the printer in any other manner may damage the printer.
• Use only the supplied power adapter and cord.
Use of any other power supplies or cords may damage the printer and void your
warranty.
Input Rating 100–240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, 3.6 A
Operating Temperature 15°C to 35°C

4
Printer Usage
• Ensure adequate ventilation to the printer.
Blocking ventilation openings around the printer may cause it to overheat and
ecome damaged.
• Keep liquids and heavy o jects away from the printer.
Heavy o jects may warp the outer shell, damaging the printer. Liquids may discolor
or damage the skin and, if they penetrate it, may damage the printer eyond repair.
• Use only authorized consuma les.
Use of any printhead other than authorized Formax technology printheads will
damage the printer and void your warranty. Use of unauthorized inks or ink
cartridges may damage the printer and will void your warranty.
• Clear media jams promptly.
To avoid further pro lems, promptly attend to all media jams, as well as any other
cause of printer failure.
• If you are moving the printer, allow sufficient time after installation for the
temperature and humidity of the internals of the printer to arrive at equili rium
with the surroundings.

5
Contents
Safet Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Setting Up the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Start. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Parts of the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
The Control Panel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Remove tape and packing materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Unpacking, Setup, and Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Connect power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Install ink cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Install printhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Load sample media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Print test label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Install printer driver . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Troubleshooting Printer Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Change Securit Passwords (Administrator) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Using the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23
Choosing Label Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Printing Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Selecting the Media T pe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Adjusting Alignment for Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Printing Borderless (Full-Bleed) Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Export/Import Custom media size settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Turning Off the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Software Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Embedded Web Server (EWS). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
EWS Printer Status. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
EWS Securit Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
EWS Network Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
EWS Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
EWS Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Interpreting the Gap/Mark Sensor Readings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Support Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Printer Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
Guidelines for Preventive Maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Replacing an Ink Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Cleaning the Printhead. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Replacing the Printhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Opening/Closing the Clamshell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
Cleaning Debris from the Cutting Zone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Cleaning the Sensors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Cleaning the Media Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

6
Replacing the Service Station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Replacing the Aerosol Fan Filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Replacing the Waste Ink Absorber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
If Error Messages Appear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Poor Print Qualit or Incorrect Printout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Other Printing Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Clearing a Media Jam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Clearing Clogged Ink Nozzles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Color Mixing Recover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Adjusting Sensor Sensitivit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
S stem Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Config Options on the Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Printer Interface (GPIO) Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Regulator Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
FCC Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
CE Conformit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Setting Up the Printer 7
Chapter 1
Setting Up the Printer
Start 8
In the Box 8
Parts of the Printer 9
The Control Panel 10
Using the Control Panel 11
Selecting the Security Level 12
Unpacking, Setup, and Installation 13
Remove tape and packing materials 13
Connect power 14
Install ink cartridges 15
Install printhead 15
Load sample media 17
Print test la el 18
Install printer driver 18
Trou leshooting Printer Setup 20
Change Security Passwords (Administrator) 21

8Setting Up the Printer
Formax
Start
Set up the printer on a flat, level surface away from direct sunlight (see Safety
Precautions on page 3). Ensure that there is:
• A power outlet near y.
• Sufficient space to work with the printer. The media cover and top cover open
upwards, and media loading is from the left side of the printer.
In the Box
ColorMaxLP La el Printer
Ink Cartridges
Printhead
USB Ca le
Power Ca le
Installation Disc
Sample La el Roll

ColorMaxLP La el Printer
Setting Up the Printer 9
Parts of the Printer
Control Panel
Top Cover
Front Cover
Output Slot
Media Cover
GPIO Port
USB Port
Ethernet Port
Power Socket
Power Switch

10 Setting Up the Printer
Formax
The Control Panel
The printer is ready to print when the control panel displays
Printer Online . The Data and
Status LEDs together with messages indicate the printer status and any potential
pro lems (Ta le 1).
The control panel also shows the estimated levels of the ink cartridges. In the example
elow, the yellow ink cartridge level is etween 25 to 50%.
The icons a ove the printer uttons indicate their functions, which change depending
on the current operation (see Ta le 2).
Printer Online
Power LED
Power Button
Printer Buttons
Data LED
Status LED
Ink Status
Table 1 Printer LEDs
LED Description
Data LED
Blinking Printer is receiving data from the computer.
On There are print jo s in the printer memory.
Status LED
Blinking • Printhead is eing serviced, or
• Attention needed; a message will e displayed. (See If Error
Messages Appear on page 64.)
On • An error has occurred; a message will e displayed. (See If
Error Messages Appear on page 64.)