MicroBoards Technology GX-2 User manual

GX-2 Disc Publisher
For Mac OS X
Users Manual
Microboards Technology LLC Version 3.0

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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC GX-2 DISC PUBLISHER
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 5
What’s Included.................................................................................................................5
System Requirements....................................................................................................... 6
Assembly and Installation..................................................................................................... 6
Assembly Instructions ....................................................................................................... 6
GX-2 Disc Publisher Assembly....................................................................................... 6
Installing Ink Cartridges..................................................................................................... 7
Supported Ink Cartridges ............................................................................................... 7
Loading / Replacing Ink Cartridges ................................................................................ 7
Loading Discs.................................................................................................................... 8
Front Panel Power Button................................................................................................. 8
Installation of Drivers and Software................................................................................... 9
Driver and Microboards PrintWrite Installation ............................................................... 9
Connecting to a Mac ......................................................................................................... 9
Adding the GX-2 Printer................................................................................................. 9
Printer Alignment................................................................................................................ 10
Alignment........................................................................................................................ 10
Microboards Toolbox.......................................................................................................... 11
Ink Level.......................................................................................................................... 11
Test................................................................................................................................. 11
Clean............................................................................................................................... 12
Utility ............................................................................................................................... 12
Support............................................................................................................................ 12
Register........................................................................................................................... 12
The GX-2 Disc Publisher and PrintWrite............................................................................ 13
Print Only without PrintWrite .............................................................................................. 13
Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................. 14
Printer not printing........................................................................................................... 14
Disk Loading error........................................................................................................... 14
Low Ink indication............................................................................................................ 14
Printing Specifications........................................................................................................ 15
Technical Support .............................................................................................................. 15

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Introduction
The Microboards GX-2 Disc Publisher is a single drive, 50 disc, print and record system. The GX-2 combines
industrial strength printing and recording into a single, easy to use duplicator. The system includes one 16x
DVD recorder. Microboards and HP co-developed the printer technology, allowing up to 4800 x 1200 dpi
printing. The Microboards PrintWrite software is a dynamic interface for both beginners and power users.
Easily record DVD Video, DVD data, Audio CD’s, Data CD’s, Video CD’s and much more.
Other features include:
•Asynchronous print and record function
•Creation of audio CD’s from MP3 or wave files
•Batch mode, allowing multiple different masters to be used at a time.
•Integrated print function.
•A cover flow of your recently-used images used for printing.
•Multi-job queueing.
What’s Included
When unpacking your GX-2 Disc Publisher system, the following items should be included:
•GX-2 Disc Publisher print and record system
•GX-2 Disc Publisher Quick Start Guide
•Print Sample
•Power Cord
•Alignment CD’s
•Blank Printable CD’s
•Users Manual (This document)
•Microboards GX-2 Disc Publisher Install CD (Includes drivers, and Microboards PrintWrite
software)
•Microboards GX-300HC Color Ink cartridge (14ml)
•USB Printer Cable
•Input Bin rods (already installed)
•50 disc output assembly
If any of these items are missing, please contact your distributor or Microboards Technology
Technical Support department at 952-556-1639.

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Input Rods
Output Bin
System Requirements
The Microboards GX-2 Disc Publisher has the following minimum requirements and compatibilities:
Operating System
Mac OS 10.5 or above.
Processors
Intel Processor is required.
System Memory
Minimum 512 MB of system memory. 1GB is recommended for DVD recording operation.
Hard Drive
A separate internal 7200 RPM hard drive is recommended for storing your data. Using the same
hard drive as the operating system can cause the system to perform slowly.
USB Connection
USB 2.0 is required. USB 1.1 is not supported, as using USB 1.1 will result in significantly longer
recording times and the potential for recording failures.
Assembly and Installation
Assembly Instructions
GX-2 Disc Publisher Assembly
Remove the GX-2 Disc Publisher system from the shipping box and
confirm you received all of the items.
Place the GX-2 Disc Publisher on a stable, flat surface. You will need
room both in front and to the left of the system, as discs will be
accessed from both locations.
The input bin posts are pre-installed, with the wide post to the front.
The Reject Bin is pre-installed on the left side of the GX-2 Disc
Publisher. This bin, which slides out, should be emptied when you
know discs have been rejected.
Slide the 50-disc Output Bin into the channel between the feet at the
front of the GX-2 Disc Publisher, shown below.

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Installing Ink Cartridges
Supported Ink Cartridges
The GX-2 Disc Publisher uses a single color ink cartridge. The part number for this cartridge is GX-
300HC. If other cartridges are installed, the GX-2 Disc Publisher will not function. These cartridges
are available from any Microboards reseller.
Refill kits or non-Microboards ink cartridges are not recommended for use in the GX-2 Disc
Publisher system. Use of these types of cartridges will cause the printer to fail. Use of these
types of cartridges will void the warranty.
Loading / Replacing Ink Cartridges
Cartridges can be changed while the GX-2 Disc Publisher is on, but it should never be turned on
without an ink cartridge in place.
The GX-2 Disc Publisher system ships with one Microboards GX-300HC color ink cartridge.
•Remove the front cover. The print cartridge cradle will be on the right side of the GX-2 Disc
Publisher, as shown below.
•Tilt the old cartridge forward to release the cartridge from the cradle, as shown in the inset
below.
•Lift the old cartridge out of the cradle.
•Remove the new print cartridge from its packaging and carefully remove the plastic tape.
Hold the print cartridge so that the copper strip is at the bottom.
•With the front of the new ink cartridge tilted down, slide the cartridge into the cradle.
•Tilt the front of the cartridge back up to lock the ink cartridge in place.
•Replace the front cover.
The Microboards GX-300HC Ink Cartridge must be used or the printer will not function.

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Loading Discs
The next step is to load your GX-2 Disc Publisher with output discs. The system will accept CD or
DVD 120 mm (12 cm) inkjet printable discs. If the disc does not have an inkjet printable surface, the
ink will not adhere to the surface of the disc. The GX-2 Disc Publisher will only accept 12 cm discs.
Business card or 8 cm discs are not supported by this system.
Figure 1 Figure 2
Load the first 5 or 6 discs flat, as seen in figure 1.
Load the rest of the discs at an angle, against the wide input rod, as seen in figure 2.
The GX-2 Disc Publisher will hold a maximum of 50 discs. DO NOT load more than 50 discs in the
system, as this may cause the discs to feed incorrectly.
Front Panel Power Button
The AC power switch located on the back of the GX-2 Disc Publisher must be turned on first in order
to supply power to the Front Panel.
The Power button on the front panel of the GX-2 Disc Publisher turns the GX-2
Disc Publisher Printer on and off. It may take a few seconds for the GX-2 Disc
Publisher Printer to turn on after you press the Power button. The green light at
the base of the Power button flashes when the printer is processing.
This switch does not affect power to the drive within the GX-2 Disc Publisher.

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Installation of Drivers and Software
Driver and Microboards PrintWrite Installation
Drivers and Microboards PrintWrite must be installed on a hard disk. Once you have installed the
software, store the original installer disc in a safe place.
1. Insert the Installation CD in your system’s disc drive. Open the disc icon when it appears on
the desktop.
2. Double-click on the Microboards Installer.mpkg icon. Follow the on-screen instructions,
read and agree to the end user license agreement.
3. When prompted, enter your administrator password.
4. When prompted, click Install. Once the Microboards Installer has completed, a restart is
required.
Connecting to a Mac
DO NOT CONNECT YOUR GX-2 DISC PUBLISHER BEFORE RUNNING THE
INSTALLER LOCATED ON THE INSTALLATION DISK!!
The connection between the Mac and the Microboards GX-2 Disc Publisher is done with one USB 2.0
cable.
1. Confirm that the power is turned OFF on the GX-2 Disc Publisher and on your Mac.
2. Install a GX-300HC Ink Cartridge (see page 7).
3. Plug in the AC power cord to the back of the GX-2 Disc Publisher. Do not turn on power to
the GX-2 Disc Publisher until an ink cartridge has been installed.
4. Connect the square shaped end of the USB cable to the back of the GX-2 Disc Publisher.
5. Connect the flat, rectangular end of the USB cable into a USB 2.0 port in
your Mac.
6. Turn on the GX-2 Disc Publisher.
Adding the GX-2 Printer
Once the drivers and software have been installed and the GX-2 connected, the GX Series Printer
needs to be added.
1. Click System Preferences in the Dock.
2. Select Print & Fax. If the GX Series printer has not been added
automatically, then click the Add or + button to add a printer.
3. Select GX Series from the list and click the Add button.
4. Once the GX-2 Series Printer has been added, it will appear in the
available printers list, as shown below.

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Printer Alignment
Alignment
The GX-2 Disc Publisher system has been aligned at the factory. The factory alignment values are on
a label on the back of the GX-2 Disc Publisher. Follow these steps to enter the factory values:
•Click System Preferences in the Dock.
•Select Print & Fax.
•Click the Set Up Printers… button.
•Highlight the Microboards GX Series icon.
•Click the Utility button to open the Microboards
Toolbox.
•Select Utility from the Toolbox list.
•Enter the values listed with the GX-2 Disc Publisher
into the Top and Left Side boxes.
•Click the Apply button.
•Verify the alignment by printing full coverage
image. The image should print centered on the disc. If not, adjust the Top and Left Side
alignment values according to the graphic on the Alignment tab and repeat.

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Microboards Toolbox
Access the Toolbox by selecting the System Preferences from the Dock. Select
Print & Fax. Highlight the Microboards GX Series icon and click the Utility icon.
The Toolbox pages will appear in the following order.
Ink Level
The Ink Levels show how much remains of all 3 colors,
Cyan, Magenta and Yellow.
NOTE: If you place a used cartridge in the GX-2, the ink
level may not be reported correctly. If the GX-2 can identify
the cartridge, it may report the correct ink levels; if not, it
will assume that the ink cartridge is new and will show ink
levels of 100%.
Before each disc is printed, the ink levels are checked. If
the level of any one color is has reached 10%, a warning
message will be displayed on your Mac and printing will be
temporarily suspended. You can either change the
cartridge at this point, or continue printing using the same
cartridge.
If you continue with the same cartridge, printing will continue uninterrupted until the ink level reaches
5%. The low ink level warning will be displayed once more. Again, either change the cartridge or
continue.
Once the ink level reaches 3% or less, the warning will be displayed before each print.
It is strongly recommended that you replace the cartridge at this point.
Test
To confirm the computer is communicating with the GX-2
Disc Publisher, print a Test Disc. This can be done with one
of the inkjet printable CD’s included with your GX-2 Disc
Publisher, or an inkjet compatible disc you may already
have. To print the Test Disc:
•Place the inkjet printable media directly onto the
belts below the input hopper. The robotics will not
load the disc for you.
•From the Microboards Toolbox, select Test.
•Click the Test button.
•Once printing is complete, the disc will be ejected
into the output hopper.

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Clean
The Clean page allows you to run a cleaning cycle on the
ink cartridge.
Like the Test disc, a disc must be placed directly on the
belts below the input hopper for the utility to function.
Click the Clean button once a disc has been loaded to the
belts. If the resulting disc shows streaks similar to those
shown in the image on this page, you may need to run the
Clean utility again.
Utility
The Alignment values will move the print image on the disc
in 0.1 mm increments.
The Outer and Inner Diameters will change the size of the
area to be printed. To avoid excessive ink buildup, these
values should never be set so that the GX-2 Disc Publisher
is printing off the media.
If you have media with a printable inner hub separated from
the rest of the disc by an unprintable ring, you can set the
inner and outer hub diameters appropriately. If you are
using media with a continuous print surface, the Print on
Hub setting should not be checked.
Print Alignment CD will print out the alignment pattern.
This should only be done using a pre-printed alignment CD.
Factory Settings will restore the values to the default values. The Top and Left Side values will be
changed to 0.
Revert will discard any changes you have made since the Apply button was clicked.
Support
Clicking the Support button will open the Microboards Technology Support website in your default
internet browser. This function requires an internet connection.
Register
Clicking the Register button will open your default internet browser to the Microboards Product
Registration webpage. When registering your GX-2 Disc Publisher, please be sure you are including
the correct serial number, which will be on the back of the GX-2 and on the box product label. This
function requires an internet connection.

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The GX-2 Disc Publisher and PrintWrite
Microboards PrintWrite is required to control the Burn and Print functionality of the Microboards GX-2
Disc Publisher. It is able to set up publishing jobs, load the GX , burn to the loaded disc, unload the
disc, and then print the image you have selected.
PrintWrite will automatically find your GX-2 Disc Publisher the robotics and printer when the
application is opened. Having more than one robotic system connected to the Mac is not supported.
Please see the Microboards PrintWrite manual for more information on using PrintWrite.
Print Only without PrintWrite
While PrintWrite does include a Print Only project type, you can print from any application to the GX-2
Disc Publisher. When printing using the GX-2 Disc Publisher from any application, you should always
choose GX Series and 120mm disc in the Format For and Paper Size Page Setup selections,
respectively.
It is highly recommended that the image you are printing is 120mm by 120mm. Having a
different size image may result in the improper placement of the image on the disc.
The robotics will not be available to load the media from any application other than PrintWrite, so you
will need to load the media manually. There are 2 important considerations to keep in mind when
loading media manually:
•Each disc must be manually placed on the belts below the input hopper rather than in the
input hopper itself.
•You can only load one disc at a time. If you place more than one disc on the belts at once, or
place a disc on the belts before the belts have completed the unloading of the prior printed
disc, the printer will generate an error and must be power cycled to clear the error.
Printing prior to burning any media is not recommended!!

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Troubleshooting
Printer not printing
1. Confirm the GX-2 Disc Publisher is plugged into a power source and is turned on. The
ON/OFF switch is located at the back of the unit, above the power cable connector.
2. Confirm the green light on the power button is lit on the front panel. If AC
power is on and the green light is off, press the power button firmly and
wait for several seconds. If the light still does not come on, contact
Microboards Technical Support.
3. Confirm the GX-2 Disc Publisher is connected to the computer, with a USB cable. This can
be checked by clicking on Start, going to Settings and selecting Printers. Confirm the printer
is listed and is active. If the icon is not active, make sure the Use Printer Offline is not
selected. Also check to make sure the correct printer port is selected.
4. Confirm that the Microboards GX-300HC Ink Cartridge is being used. The GX-2 Disc
Publisher will not function with any other cartridge!
Disk Loading error
1. If a disc is not loaded correctly, an error message will be displayed on your Mac. Check to
see if there are any discs on the belt. Remove any discs that are left on the belt.
2. Lift the cover and check for any discs on the front deck of the GX-2 Disc Publisher. Remove
any discs found on the belts. Close the cover.
3. Next, reload the input bin and click the OK button on the error message to continue. The
system will load the next disc and continue printing the remaining discs for that job.
Low Ink indication
Before each disc is printed, the ink levels are checked. If the level of any one color is has reached
10%, a warning message will be displayed on your Mac and printing will be temporarily suspended.
You can either change the cartridge at this point or continue printing using the same cartridge.
If you continue with the same cartridge, printing will continue uninterrupted until the ink level reaches
5%. The low ink level warning will be displayed once more. Again, either change the cartridge or
continue.
Once the ink level reaches 0%, the warning will be displayed before each print.
It is strongly recommended that you replace the cartridge at this point.
Please note that the percentage indicates the lowest of the three ink color levels, not the overall ink
level. Because of this, cartridges containing multiple ink colors may not feel empty when the ink level
is reporting 0% as one color may be empty while the others are not.
If you notice poor ink quality or a missing color in your prints at any time, replace the ink cartridge.

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Printing Specifications
Print Speed:
Depends upon percentage of coverage
and print mode selected:
Photo Normal Mode: Approx. 45 seconds
for 100% full-color coverage
Text & Graphics Best Mode: Approx. 20
seconds for 100% full-color coverage
Text & Graphics Normal Mode: Approx.
12 seconds for 20% coverage
Ink Cartridge Types:
Microboards GX-300HC
Media Types:
Printable-surface 120mm CD-R or DVD-R
Label Editing Software:
SureThing™ First Edition Software for
Windows included
Maximum Print Width:
4.72” (120mm)
Power Supply:
Auto Detect AC Power:
90VAC – 240VAC, 47Hz – 63Hz
Warranty:
One Year Limited Warranty
Print Technology:
HP Thermal Inkjet
Print Quality, Black: 600 x 600 dpi, with
HP PhotoREt
Print Quality, Color: up to 4800 x 1200
optimized dpi, with HP PhotoREt
Color Technology: HP PhotoREt
Memory:
64MB
Connectivity:
USB. USB 2.0 recommended
Technical Support
For technical questions or support issues, contact Microboards Technology technical support:
United States
PH: 952-556-1639
FAX: [phone]
[e-mail]
www.microboards.com
Europe
PH: [phone]
www.microboards.co.uk
Japan
PH: 03-3561-2266
www.microboards.co.jp
Please have the Model and Serial Number of your GX Disc Publisher available when contacting
Technical Support.
Any unauthorized modification to this equipment may result in the revocation by the FCC of the user’s authority to
operate this equipment.
NOTE: 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 communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or 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 antenna
•Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different than that to which the receiver is connected
•Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
This product is in conformity with the EMC Directive (89/336/EEC) through compliance with the following European standards: EN 55022,
EN 55024. The CE mark has been affixed in accordance with the CE Marking Directive 93/68/EEC.
Canadian Department of Communications (DOC) Statement
This Class B digital apparatus complies with the Canadian ICES-003 Issue 4:2004. Cet appareil numerique de la classe B est conforme a la
norme NMB-003 du Canade