TallyGenicom 2900 - User manual

Operator Manual 1
2900
Operator Manual
Serial - Parallel - LAN

2 Operator Manual
This Manual is published by TallyGenicom for use with the computer printer described herein. Translations,
reprinting or copying by any means of this manual, complete or in part, in any different form requires our
explicit approval. TallyGenicom reserves the right to revise this manual without notice, for any reason. This
includes, but is not limited to, utilization of advances in the state-of-the-art and changes in the equipment or
configuration thereof. Liability for difficulties arising from unknown or unforeseen technical limitations is
disclaimed.
FCC Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to
Part 15, Subpart B of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harm-
ful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates,
uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction
manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential
area is likely to cause harmful interference, in which case the user will be required to correct the interference
at his own expense.
WARNING
Only trained qualified personnel may open covers or remove parts that are not explicitly shown and described
in the Operator’s Manual as being accessible to the operator.
Please Note:
Printer drivers for various operating systems are available on the Internet at our Web Page
http://www.tallygenicom.com or http://www.tallygenicom.com/worldwide or at your
TallyGenicom distributor.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS:
“IBM” and “Proprinter” are trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
“Epson” is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corp.
2900 Series Operator Manual
© October 2007
All rights reserved
TallyGenicom
6020 South 190th Street
Kent, Washington 98032

Operator Manual 3
Contents
Preface ......................................................................................................... 3–9
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 3–9
About This Manual ................................................................................................................... 3–10
Chapter 1 .................................................................................................... 3–11
Site Preparation ........................................................................................................................ 3–11
Figure 1 - 1. Shipping Screw Locations ............................................................................ 3–12
Unpacking your printer ........................................................................................................... 3–12
Repacking ................................................................................................................................. 3–12
Removing the Shipping Hardware.......................................................................................... 3–12
Figure 1 - 3. Rear view, showing Serial, Parallel and Power Plugs .................................. 3–13
Connecting the I/O ................................................................................................................. 3–13
Interface Connections and Powering Up ............................................................................... 3–13
................................................................................................................................................... 3–13
Interface Connectors ............................................................................................................... 3–13
Powering Up ............................................................................................................................. 3–14
Figure 1 - 4. Power plug and on/off switch ..................................................................... 3–14
Figure 1 - 5. Inside the Lid ................................................................................................ 3–15
Paper System ............................................................................................................................. 3–15
Paper System Components ...................................................................................................... 3–15
Print Gap ................................................................................................................................... 3–16
Paper Tension ........................................................................................................................... 3–16
Tractors ..................................................................................................................................... 3–16
Figure 1 - 6. Left and Right Paper Tractors ..................................................................... 3–16
Installing the Ribbon Cartridge .............................................................................................. 3–17
Figure 1 - 8. Installing the Ribbon Cartridge................................................................... 3–17
Figure 1 - 7. Ribbon Cartridge .......................................................................................... 3–17
Figure 1 - 9. Ribbon Shield Panels.................................................................................... 3–18
Figure 1 - 10. Control Panel .............................................................................................. 3–19
LED Indicators ......................................................................................................................... 3–19
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) .................................................................................................. 3–19
Control Panel Components ..................................................................................................... 3–19

4 Operator Manual
Chapter 2 .................................................................................................... 3–21
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3–21
Loading Paper for Standard Printing Mode .......................................................................... 3–22
Figure 2 - 1. Inside Paper Inlet, visible when looking inside the printer cabinet. ........ 3–22
Figure 2 - 2. Paper path past the lid. ................................................................................. 3–22
Figure 2 - 4. Column Alignment Scale ............................................................................. 3–23
Figure 2 - 5. Horizontal Vernier Wheel ............................................................................. 3–23
Figure 2 - 6. Top of Form Nubbin ..................................................................................... 3–24
Print Gap Adjustment .............................................................................................................. 3–25
Gap Zone .................................................................................................................................. 3–25
Print Gap Profile Mode ............................................................................................................ 3–25
Creating a Gap Zone Profile .................................................................................................... 3–25
Using a Saved Gap Zone Profile .............................................................................................. 3–26
Fine-tuning the Automatic Print Gap Setting ........................................................................ 3–26
Set Print Gap Detect Mode to Manual .................................................................................... 3–27
Figure 2 - 7. Typical Display when Print Gap Mode is set to “Auto” ............................... 3–27
Setting Up Configurations ....................................................................................................... 3–28
Figure 2 - 8. Typical display when adjusting Print Gap .................................................... 3–28
Chapter 3 .................................................................................................... 3–29
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3–29
Control Panel Display .............................................................................................................. 3–29
The Display During Normal Operation.................................................................................. 3–30
Figure 3 - 1. Control Panel Display for Normal Operation ............................................ 3–30
Current State ............................................................................................................................ 3–30
Current Configuration ............................................................................................................. 3–30
Paper Weight & Hammer Impact ........................................................................................... 3–30
The Display When In A Menu ................................................................................................. 3–31
Figure 3 - 2. Control Panel Display for Menus ................................................................. 3–31
Table 3 - 1 Paper Weight & Hammer Impact Indicator ................................................... 3–31
Control Panel Key Functions ................................................................................................... 3–32
Online Key ................................................................................................................................ 3–32
LF Key (Line Feed) .................................................................................................................. 3–32
FF Key (Form Feed) ................................................................................................................. 3–32
Figure 3 - 3. Control Panel ................................................................................................. 3–32
FF Key (Form Feed) continued ............................................................................................... 3–33
TOF Key (Top of Form) ........................................................................................................... 3–33
View Key .................................................................................................................................... 3–33
PRINT GAP + and - Keys .......................................................................................................... 3–33
Up and Down Arrow Keys ........................................................................................................ 3–33
Menu Key .................................................................................................................................. 3–33
Enter Key................................................................................................................................... 3–34
Clear Key ................................................................................................................................... 3–34
Clear Key continued ................................................................................................................. 3–35

Operator Manual 5
Config Key................................................................................................................................. 3–35
Control Panel Menus ............................................................................................................... 3–36
Categories, Parameters and Selections ................................................................................... 3–36
Using Menus ............................................................................................................................. 3–36
Example: Changing Form Length Using the Menu System ................................................ 3–38
How to Print a Control Panel Selected Options Report........................................................ 3–39
Operator Menu......................................................................................................................... 3–40
Font Category ........................................................................................................................... 3–40
Ser/Par Language .................................................................................................................... 3–40
Ser/Par Character Set .............................................................................................................. 3–41
Matrix ........................................................................................................................................ 3–41
OCRA Density ........................................................................................................................... 3–41
Ser/Par Style ............................................................................................................................. 3–42
CPI (Characters Per Inch) ....................................................................................................... 3–42
Panel Language ........................................................................................................................ 3–42
OCR Standards ......................................................................................................................... 3–42
Zero ........................................................................................................................................... 3–42
Compressed 8 ........................................................................................................................... 3–42
Forms Category ........................................................................................................................ 3–43
Length (lines) ........................................................................................................................... 3–43
Length (inches)........................................................................................................................ 3–43
LPI (Lines Per Inch) ................................................................................................................ 3–43
Top Margin ............................................................................................................................... 3–43
Bottom Margin ......................................................................................................................... 3–43
Left Margin ............................................................................................................................... 3–44
Right Margin ............................................................................................................................. 3–44
Horz Adjust ............................................................................................................................... 3–44
Vert Adjust................................................................................................................................. 3–44
Print to EOF (End Of Form) ................................................................................................... 3–44
Print to EOF (End Of Form) Continued ............................................................................... 3–45
Quick Access ............................................................................................................................. 3–45
Eject Distance ........................................................................................................................... 3–45
Eject Delay ................................................................................................................................ 3–46
Impact ....................................................................................................................................... 3–46
Paper Weight ............................................................................................................................ 3–46
Fast Slew .................................................................................................................................... 3–46
Double Strike ............................................................................................................................ 3–46
RibbonMonitor ......................................................................................................................... 3–46
RibnMon Thresh ...................................................................................................................... 3–47
Perf Skip .................................................................................................................................... 3–48
Print Gap Category................................................................................................................... 3–48
Detect ........................................................................................................................................ 3–48
Adjust......................................................................................................................................... 3–48
Reset .......................................................................................................................................... 3–49
Mode ......................................................................................................................................... 3–49
Creating a Gap Zone Profile .................................................................................................... 3–50

6 Operator Manual
Detect Distance ......................................................................................................................... 3–50
VFU Category (Vertical Format Units) ................................................................................... 3–51
VFU Enable ............................................................................................................................... 3–51
VT Channel (Vertical Tab Channel) ....................................................................................... 3–51
Skip When ................................................................................................................................. 3–51
Config Menu ............................................................................................................................. 3–52
Printer Category ....................................................................................................................... 3–52
Powerup .................................................................................................................................... 3–52
Ser/Par Emulation ................................................................................................................... 3–52
LAN Emulation (LAN Interface only).................................................................................... 3–52
Dump Mode .............................................................................................................................. 3–52
IO Hold ..................................................................................................................................... 3–53
Report ....................................................................................................................................... 3–53
Beeper Mode ............................................................................................................................ 3–54
Beeper Volume ......................................................................................................................... 3–54
Codes Category ......................................................................................................................... 3–55
Auto LF (Line Feed) ................................................................................................................ 3–55
Auto CR (Carriage Return) ..................................................................................................... 3–55
Line Wrap ................................................................................................................................. 3–55
Wrap Line Feed ........................................................................................................................ 3–55
Print on CR ............................................................................................................................... 3–56
Form Feed at TOF .................................................................................................................... 3–56
ESC ............................................................................................................................................ 3–56
Alt ESC (Alternate Escape)..................................................................................................... 3–56
Upper Only ............................................................................................................................... 3–56
Code 7F ..................................................................................................................................... 3–57
Print 80 - 9F Hex ...................................................................................................................... 3–57
Ignore Char .............................................................................................................................. 3–57
Sub Char From ......................................................................................................................... 3–57
Sub Char To .............................................................................................................................. 3–57
Configurations Category .......................................................................................................... 3–58
Save ............................................................................................................................................ 3–58
Load........................................................................................................................................... 3–58
Powerup Config ........................................................................................................................ 3–58
Config n Label - (where n = 1 to 10)....................................................................................... 3–58
Serial I/O Category .................................................................................................................. 3–60
Baud .......................................................................................................................................... 3–60
Data Bits .................................................................................................................................... 3–60
Stop Bits .................................................................................................................................... 3–60
Parity.......................................................................................................................................... 3–60
8th Bit ........................................................................................................................................ 3–60
Protocol ..................................................................................................................................... 3–60
Status Enquiry ........................................................................................................................... 3–61
DTR Function ........................................................................................................................... 3–61
DTR Function continued......................................................................................................... 3–62
DTR Polarity ............................................................................................................................. 3–62

Operator Manual 7
Busy Polarity.............................................................................................................................. 3–62
RTS Function ............................................................................................................................ 3–62
Robust Xon ............................................................................................................................... 3–62
Parallel I/O Category............................................................................................................... 3–63
POPC (Print On Paper Command) ........................................................................................ 3–63
8th Bit ........................................................................................................................................ 3–63
Bi-Directional ............................................................................................................................ 3–63
Intellifilter Category ................................................................................................................. 3–64
Serial.......................................................................................................................................... 3–64
Parallel ...................................................................................................................................... 3–64
Twinax/Coax ............................................................................................................................ 3–64
LAN ........................................................................................................................................... 3–64
File Management ...................................................................................................................... 3–64
TCP/IP Menu (LAN Interface Only) ..................................................................................... 3–65
IP Addr Category ...................................................................................................................... 3–65
Gateway Category ..................................................................................................................... 3–65
Subnet Category ....................................................................................................................... 3–66
Test Menu.................................................................................................................................. 3–67
Pattern Category....................................................................................................................... 3–67
Print ........................................................................................................................................... 3–67
Fault Override Category .......................................................................................................... 3–68
Paper Motion ............................................................................................................................ 3–68
Diag Category ........................................................................................................................... 3–68
Cal-Paper (Calibrate Paper Out)............................................................................................. 3–68
Help Menu ................................................................................................................................ 3–69
Figure 3 - 5. Control Panel Navigation............................................................................. 3–69
Appendix A: Troubleshooting ..................................................................... 3–71
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 3–71
Messages .................................................................................................................................... 3–71
Faults ......................................................................................................................................... 3–71
Fault Correction Procedure..................................................................................................... 3–71
Table A - 1. Display Messages ............................................................................................ 3–72
Table A - 2. Paper/Printing Corrective Action ................................................................ 3–76

8 Operator Manual
Appendix B: Specifications ......................................................................... 3–77
Industry and Agency Standards ............................................................................................... 3–77
Electro-Magnetic Emissions ..................................................................................................... 3–77
Electro-Magnetic Immunity ..................................................................................................... 3–77
Energy Conservation ................................................................................................................ 3–77
Safety ......................................................................................................................................... 3–77
Acoustic ..................................................................................................................................... 3–77
Marking ..................................................................................................................................... 3–77
Physical Configurations ........................................................................................................... 3–78
Weight ....................................................................................................................................... 3–78
Dimensions ............................................................................................................................... 3–78
Preventive Maintenance........................................................................................................... 3–78
Environment ............................................................................................................................. 3–78
Operating .................................................................................................................................. 3–78
Nonoperating ........................................................................................................................... 3–78
Safety ......................................................................................................................................... 3–78
Cooling System ......................................................................................................................... 3–79
Acoustics.................................................................................................................................... 3–79
Power Supply ............................................................................................................................ 3–79
Heat Load Contribution .......................................................................................................... 3–79
Emulations ................................................................................................................................ 3–80
Characters Per Inch.................................................................................................................. 3–80
Lines Per Inch........................................................................................................................... 3–80
Type Styles ................................................................................................................................. 3–80
Draft and Data Processing ....................................................................................................... 3–80
Gothic and Courier .................................................................................................................. 3–80
OCR–A and OCR–B ................................................................................................................. 3–80
Large Character Printing ......................................................................................................... 3–80
Standard Languages and Character Sets ................................................................................ 3–81
Nonvolatile Memory................................................................................................................. 3–82
Paper Description ..................................................................................................................... 3–82
Paper Movement Speed ........................................................................................................... 3–82
Throughput .............................................................................................................................. 3–82

Operator Manual Preface–9
Introduction
The 2900 Impact Printers are designed to handle heavy duty, high volume
workloads, with a straight paper path that provides unattended, jam-free print-
ing of continuous forms, at high speeds. They have a wide range of printer
emulations, network printer management ability, popular graphics languages
and web administration utilities.
The 2900 Series offers the following I/O configurations (Modules):
• Standard Serial/Parallel
• LANPlex (Standard plus Ethernet 10/100 BASE-T)
In less than five minutes you can add other configurations by inserting a new
module. Installation instructions come with the module.
Preface
All interface configurations and printer
setups are performed through the control
panel on the top right of the unit. And
since the printer’s operational configura-
tion is stored in nonvolatile memory;
you’ll never have to reconfigure your
printer because of a power loss.

Preface–10 Operator Manual
About This Manual
Conventions
We use the following conventions throughout this manual:
Text that is placed in italics draws your attention to additional helpful
information.
Sometimes your attention is more particularly drawn by the use of this
symbol.
This symbol marks information about actions
that may damage the equipment or injure the
user.
CAREFUL!

Chapter 1: Setting Up Your Printer 1–11
• Minimum floor space recommended for your printer is 36" wide x 36"
deep (91.4 cm x 91.4 cm) to allow air movement around the printer.
Allow space to open printer doors as well. When the doors are fully
opened, the printer takes up 6.5 feet (2.0 m) of floor space.
Site Preparation
Choosing a site for your printer is important because the environment affects
your print quality. The best site for your printer is one that is protected from
dirt and heavy dust, and has a moderate temperature and humidity range. In
addition, the power source should be adequate for printer operation and
protected from power surges.
Keep the following factors in mind when choosing a printer location:
• Keep the operating environment temperature between 50°F and 104°F
(10°C and 40°C).
• Do not locate your printer near air conditioners, open windows,
heaters, nor in other areas where the temperature changes abruptly.
• The relative humidity should be between 10% and 90%
(noncondensing). Be sure to locate the printer away from any sources
of moisture, such as water faucets, refrigerators, and humidifiers.
• The heat load contribution to the environment is 188 BTUs per hour
at idle and can go as high as 2050 BTUs per hour under continuous
full-load printing conditions.
Chapter 1
• Keep your printer away from dust, dirt, and open flames.
• Plug your printer into a grounded outlet.

1–12 Operator Manual
DO NOT power up your printer before removing the shipping
hardware.
CAREFUL!
Unpacking your printer
Instructions for unpacking your printer are located on the outside of the
shipping container. After you have removed your printer from its container,
store the shipping materials for possible later use.
Repacking
Repacking your printer for storage or shipping is the reverse order of
unpacking. If shipping materials are needed, you can reorder them from your
dealer.
Removing the Shipping Hardware
The Shipping Hardware consists of 4 screws, identified by red tags, that secure
the printer base to the inside mechanism, and tie restraints that secure the
Paper Stacking Chains. The shipping screws fasten from underneath, 2 near the
front of the print cabinet and 2 near the rear of the cabinet.
Figure 1 - 1. Shipping Screw Locations
Unpacking the Printer
Arrows point to shipping
screw locations

Chapter 1: Setting Up Your Printer 1–13
Connecting the I/O
After connecting each interface to your printer, run a print job from the Host
Computer to verify proper function of the printer.
Serial/Parallel Interfaces
To connect the Serial or Parallel I/O cable, plug in the cable to the proper
connector on the I/O panel.
The serial interface operates up to 38.4 kBaud and uses a standard DB 25 serial
cable connector and standard RS-232-C signals. Serial interface cables should
be no longer than 50 feet (15.2 meters).
The Centronics parallel port is IEEE-1284 compliant and uses a 36-pin 1284-B
type connector (AMP 555119-1 or equivalent). Parallel interface cables should
be no longer than 6 feet (2 meters)
Interface Connections and Powering Up
Interface Connectors
Properly secure the cable to the printer interface using the correct connectors.
Shielded I/O cables must be used on all installations to
comply with regulatory requirements.
CAREFUL!
Figure 1 - 3. Rear view, showing Serial, Parallel and Power Plugs
Serial Interface Port
Parallel Interface Port
Power Plug
Interface Connections

1–14 Operator Manual
Powering Up
The power switch is located on the back of the printer, just above the 3-prong
power plug connector.
Step 1.
Make sure the power is off by depressing the "0" side of the rocker power
switch. Connect the power cord. Plug the power cord into a proper power
outlet.
Step 2.
Turn the power on.
The printer runs a self-test each time it is powered up to check the main
processor and buffers for errors. Note that when you turn the printer on this
time, the Paper Out error displays. If any error message appears in the display,
check Appendix A for a description of the error and what actions are necessary
to clear the error.
Figure 1 - 4. Power plug and on/off switch
Powering Up

Chapter 1: Setting Up Your Printer 1–15
Paper System
Paper System Components
The Tractors, Ribbon Cartridge, Platen and Paper Iron are all parts of the
paper system. The first two can be seen when the lid is raised. The Platen and
Paper Iron are hidden inside the housing.
Figure 1 - 5. Inside the Lid
Tractors
Ribbon Cartridge
shaft for
tractors
Paper System Components
Ribbon
support
platform

1–16 Operator Manual
Figure 1 - 6. Left and Right Paper Tractors
Tractors
The 2900 has two tractors to control paper movement, located on the left and
right.
A lever on each tractor keeps it locked in place on a horizontal shaft. To reposi-
tion a tractor, unlock the tractor and move it to the left or the right along the
shaft. Repositioning is generally needed only when inserting a new form or size
of paper.
locking
lever
Tractors
Open
Paper System Components
Print Gap
The 2900 printers offer Auto-Gap which simplifies operator set-up and printer
use by setting the optimum print gap based on the form thickness. The print
gap is automatically opened to its widest position when the printer is not
printing. To accommodate various thicknesses of paper, the print gap is
adjusted either automatically or manually. (See Chapter 2 pages 2-30 to 2-33
and Chapter 3 pages 3-56 to 3-58). If the Print Gap Detect Mode has been set to
"Auto," the auto gap sensing operation will take place the first time the power is
turned on, immediately after a "paper out" fault, when the TOF key is pressed,
and when printing is attempted without setting the Top Of Form. Dedicated
control panel keys also allow the print gap to be adjusted based on operator
preference.
Paper Tension
Vertical tension on the paper is pre-set. It is not controlled by the user.

Chapter 1: Setting Up Your Printer 1–17
Step 1.
Make sure the printer is Offline or power is off. Open the printer lid and
remove the old ribbon by lifting it straight up off of the Ribbon Platform.
Installing the Ribbon Cartridge
Figure 1 - 8. Installing the Ribbon Cartridge
Figure 1 - 7. Ribbon Cartridge
Step 2.
Remove slack in the new ribbon by turning the knob on the ribbon cartridge as
indicated by the arrow printed next to the knob, then slip the ribbon, left side
first, over the two ribbon guides and between the front and rear panels of the
ribbon shield on the printer.
Step 3.
Press down lightly on the cartridge while turning the ribbon knob as before
until it seats on first the left, (as shown), and then the right cartridge drive
posts. Make sure that the ribbon does not twist or fold over.
Installing Ribbon Cartridge

1–18 Operator Manual
The front and rear
panels of the ribbon
shield
The ribbon has been carefully positioned
between the two panels of the ribbon shield.
Figure 1 - 9. Ribbon Shield Panels
Installing Ribbon Cartridge

Chapter 1: Setting Up Your Printer 1–19
Control Panel Components
The Control Panel is located on the right front top of the printer housing. It is
used to program and direct most printer functions.
Figure 1 - 10. Control Panel
beeper
LED Indicators
The green ONLINE indicator illuminates whenever there is power to the
printer, and the printer is Online.
The red FAULT Indicator illuminates whenever an error or fault is detected. A
message also appears on the display to indicate what kind of fault is present (see
Appendix A for explanations of all error and fault messages).
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display)
The 32-character, 2-line Liquid Crystal Display shows printer status, menu
selections, normal, fault and error messages. It is divided into four main areas.
The displayed information will vary with menu selection and the configuration
of the printer.
Control Panel Components
32-character
Green LED Indica-
Red LED Indicator
}
Once the printer has been unpacked, the cables connected, the ribbon car-
tridge installed, and a box of paper (whether plain paper or pre-printed forms)
placed nearby, you are ready to load the paper and set the various parameters
via the Control Panel that will ensure that the 6300 Series printer performs
exactly as you need. This is covered in the next chapter.

1–20 Operator Manual
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