TallyGenicom 3860 User manual

Model 3860/80
User’s Manual
GEK-01061A

3860/80 User’s Manual
ii
FCC Compliance Statement
This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed
and used properly, i.e. in strict accordance with the instructions, may cause
interference to radio or television reception. It has been tested and found to
comply with the limits for a Class B computing device pursuant to Subpart B of
Part 15 of FCC Rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection
against such interference when operated in a residential installation.
Instructions to User
If this equipment does cause 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 the receiving antenna.
• Relocate the equipment with respect to the receiver.
• Move the equipment away from the receiver.
• Plug the equipment into a different outlet so that equipment and receiver are
on different branch circuits.
• Ensure that cover mounting screws, attachment connector screws, and ground
wires are tightly secured.
• Ensure that the data cable shield is properly grounded at the printer and data
source connectors. If necessary, consult your dealer service representative for
additional suggestions.
The manufacturer is not responsible for any radio or TV interference caused by
unauthorized modifications to this equipment. It is the responsibility of the user to
correct such interferences.
The user may find the following booklet prepared by the Federal Communications
Commission helpful: How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference
Problems.
The above booklet is available from the US. Government Printing Office,
Washington, DC 20402, Stock No. 004-000-00345-4.

Compliance iii
SICHERHEITS – ANLEITUNG
Modelle GENICOM 3860/80 DA
Das Gerät entspricht der Schutzklasse I und muß immer an eine 3-adrige,
geerdete Steckdose angeschlossen werden. Der Netzan-schluß befindet sich an
der Druckerrückwand. Stellen Sie sicher, daß die Netzspannung mit den Angaben
auf dem Typenschild übereinstimmt.
Einschalten des Druckers :
- Alle Abdeckungen müssen geschlossen sein
- Kaine Gegenstände auf dem Drucker ablegen oder gegen das Gerät lehnen
- Schalten Sie am Netzschalter den Drucker ein (1). Die “Power-Anzeige” leuchtet
auf
und zeigt damit an, daß der Drucker eingeschaltet ist.
Abschalten:
- Um den Drucker abzuschalten, Schalten Sie am Netzschalter den Drucker aus
(0).
A C H T U N G
Arbeiten und Reparaturen am geöffneten Gerät dürfen nur vom autorisierten
GENICOM – Kundendienst vorgenommen werden.
Bescheinigung des Herstellers/Importeurs
Heirmit wird bescheinigt, daß der / die
3860/80 DA (Gerät, Typ. Bezeichnung)
In Übereinstimmung mit Bestimmungen der
vfg 1046/1984 (Amtsblattverfügung)
funkentstört ist/ sind.
Der Deutschen Bundespost wurde das Inverkehrbringen dieses Gerätes
angezeigt und die
Berechtigung zur Überprüfung der Serie auf Einhaltung der Bestimmungen
eingeräumt.
GENICOM GmbH, Auf der Krautweide 32
65812 Bad Sodenl Taunus
Tel. [phone] Fax [phone]
Name des Herstellers / Importeurs

3860/80 User’s Manual
iv
Statement of Compliance
This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class B limits for radio noise emissions
from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the
Canadian Department of Communications.
Le presént apparail numérique n’ émet pas de bruits radioéletriques dépassant
les limits applicables aux apparails numériques de la classe B prescrites dans le
Réglement aur le brouillage radioélectrique edicteé par le ministère des
Communications du Canada.
External Devices
Connecting any external device to this printer may affect its electrostatic discharge
(ESD) performance, or its radio frequency interference (RFI) performance, or
both.
Trademark Acknowledgments
All trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective holders.
CENTRONICS of GENICOM LLC. Epson of Epson America, Incorporated
DEC of COMPAQ Corporation GENICOM of GENICOM LLC
IBM and Proprinter of International Business Machines Corporation
Patent Information
The design of this equipment is protected by one or more of the following US.
patents and their international equivalents: 4,761, 087; 4,743, 133; 5,066, 153;
4,630, 948; 4,468, 140; 4,213, 714; 4,213, 716; 4,368, 993; 4,627, 344; D-294,
038; 4,988, 224; 4,806, 036; 4,479, 598; 4,706561; 4,162, 131; 4,333, 398; 4,568,
209; D-272, 741; D-295, 186; 5,037, 222, 4,482, 148; 5,051, 010; 4,487, 515;
5,074, 837; 4,210, 404; 4,322, 172; 4,632,582; D-282, 173; D-315, 169. Other
patents may be pending.

Compliance v
Code Compliance
Codes and standards the printer conforms to are listed below :
• UL Standard 1950, 3rd Edition
• C-UL C22.2 No. 220
• GS Sign (Safety), international model only)
• FCC Rules, Part 15, Subpart B
• ANSI X3.4-1977 (code set)
• ANSI X3.41-1974 (code extension)
• ANSI X3.64-1979 (additional codes)
• EIA 232C / CCITT V.24 (personality board dependent)
• IEC 950 (EN60950 / 9.88)
• ISO DP 7779-3 / 9 / 82 and ANSI 12.10-1985 (acoustics)
• EN 50082-1 European Immunity
• EN 55022 CISPR-B Radio Frequency Interference
• International units comply with CE Marking directives
Interface Connectors
CAUTION
Interface connectors may exceed class 2 or LPS limits. Appropriate
interconnecting cabling in accordance with the NEC shall be used during
installation.

3860/80 User’s Manual
vi
Table of contents Page
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 1-2
CHAPTER 2 SET IT UP AND GET IT RUNNING ............................................................................... 2-1
CHOOSE A PLACE FOR THE PRINTER THAT IS : ........................................................................................................2-1
POWER CORDS.....................................................................................................................................................2-2
PLUG IT IN AND TURN IT ON...................................................................................................................................2-3
INSTALL THE RIBBON .............................................................................................................................................2-4
REMOVING THE RIBBON.........................................................................................................................................2-9
INSTALL THE FRONT TRACTORS ...........................................................................................................................2-10
SWITCH BETWEEN FRONT FEED AND BOTTOM FEED.............................................................................................2-13
PUT PAPER IN THE TRACTORS .............................................................................................................................2-14
ADJUSTING GAP.............................................................................................................................................2-18
PRINT A TEST PATTERN.......................................................................................................................................2-19
A NOTE ABOUT PRINT HEAD GAP ADJUSTMENT ...................................................................................................2-21
ADJUST TOP-OF-FORM........................................................................................................................................2-21
ATTACH TO A DATA SOURCE................................................................................................................................2-22
QUICK STATUS....................................................................................................................................................2-23
LINE REGISTRATION ON THE FIRST FORM..............................................................................................................2-23
CHAPTER 3 CONTROL PANEL ........................................................................................................ 3-1
CONTROL PANEL KEYS..........................................................................................................................................3-1
LCD MENU...........................................................................................................................................................3-3
LCD MESSAGE FORMAT .......................................................................................................................................3-5
MENU MAP.........................................................................................................................................................3-6
SELECT THE EMULATION........................................................................................................................................3-7
STATUS SHEET .....................................................................................................................................................3-9
LCD MESSAGE DISPLAY .....................................................................................................................................3-10
CHAPTER 4 PRINTED MENU............................................................................................................ 4-1
THE > ARROW ......................................................................................................................................................4-1
ENTERING MENU VALUES ......................................................................................................................................4-2
ACCESS THE PRINTED MENU .................................................................................................................................4-2
MARGINS FOR MENU LISTINGS...............................................................................................................................4-2
FORMER AND FIRST ..........................................................................................................................................4-3
PRINTED MENU MAP .............................................................................................................................................4-3
EXIT THE PRINTED MENU.....................................................................................................................................4-19
CHAPTER 5 CONTROL PANEL LOCKOUTS ................................................................................... 5-1
LOCK THE PRINTER ONLINE ...................................................................................................................................5-1
LOCK THE PRINTED MENU .....................................................................................................................................5-3
LOCK VARIOUS KEYS ............................................................................................................................................5-3
CHAPTER 6 FORMATS ..................................................................................................................... 6-1
WHAT IS A FORMAT ? ...........................................................................................................................................6-1
WHY USE FORMATS?............................................................................................................................................6-1
THE ACTIVE FORMAT.............................................................................................................................................6-2
STORED FORMATS ................................................................................................................................................6-2
PRINT ALL FORMAT INFORMATION..........................................................................................................................6-2
FORMATS AUTO-EXECUTE ON PAPER PATH CHANGE ..............................................................................................6-2
SAVE A FORMAT FROM THE CONTROL PANEL .........................................................................................................6-3

Table of Contents vii
SAVE A FORMAT FROM THE HOST ..........................................................................................................................6-3
SELECT A FORMAT FROM THE CONTROL PANEL......................................................................................................6-3
SELECT A FORMAT FROM THE HOST.......................................................................................................................6-3
SELECT THE ASSIGNED FORMAT FROM THE HOST...................................................................................................6-3
POWER UP TO THE CURRENTLY ASSIGNED FORMAT ...............................................................................................6-3
RENAME A FORMAT ...............................................................................................................................................6-4
LINKING EMULATIONS TO FORMATS........................................................................................................................6-4
CHAPTER 7 LCD HEAD GAP MENU ................................................................................................ 7-1
AUTO HEAD GAP ADJUST ......................................................................................................................................7-1
SEMIAUTOMATIC HEAD GAP ADJUST ......................................................................................................................7-3
CHAPTER 8 LINE UP THE JOB ON THE PAGE ............................................................................... 8-1
VERTICAL PAPER MOVEMENT ................................................................................................................................8-1
PRINT REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................................8-1
SET A TOP PRINT REFERENCE...............................................................................................................................8-2
SET THE TEAR OFF DISTANCE ...............................................................................................................................8-2
SET A LEFT PRINT REFERENCE..............................................................................................................................8-2
LOCAL MARGINS ...................................................................................................................................................8-3
TOP PRINT REFERENCE OR TOP MARGIN ...............................................................................................................8-3
NEGATIVE TOP OF FORM ADJUST...........................................................................................................................8-3
LEFT PRINT REFERENCE OR LEFT MARGIN.............................................................................................................8-4
LOAD LENGTH ADJUSTMENT ..................................................................................................................................8-4
CHAPTER 9 POWER UP AND RESET .............................................................................................. 9-1
THE STATE OF THE PRINTER ON POWER-UP ...........................................................................................................9-1
RESET THE PRINTER - ISU ....................................................................................................................................9-1
AFTER A SOFTWARE UPGRADE ..............................................................................................................................9-2
AFTER AN ISU ......................................................................................................................................................9-2
CHAPTER 10 PAPER HANDLING FEATURES AND TECHNIQUES .............................................. 10-1
ADJUST PAPER TENSION .....................................................................................................................................10-2
REMOVING THE REAR TRACTORS.........................................................................................................................10-4
CHANGE PAPER PATHS FROM THE CONTROL PANEL.............................................................................................10-5
CHANGE PAPER PATHS FROM THE HOST..............................................................................................................10-6
RECOVER FROM A REMOTE PATH CHANGE FAILURE .............................................................................................10-6
AUTO LOAD ON PAPER OUT.................................................................................................................................10-7
MULTIPART FORMS .............................................................................................................................................10-7
CONTINUOUS ENVELOPES ...................................................................................................................................10-8
CLEAN UP AFTER NONBONDED PAPER ................................................................................................................10-8
TIPS FOR CONTINUOUS FORMS............................................................................................................................10-9
CHAPTER 11 MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING........................................................... 11-1
CLEAN THE PRINTER ...........................................................................................................................................11-1
TROUBLESHOOTING ............................................................................................................................................11-3
TROUBLESHOOTING (CONTINUED) .......................................................................................................................11-4
HEX DUMP..........................................................................................................................................................11-5
SERIAL INTERFACE LOOPBACK TEST ....................................................................................................................11-5
REMOVING THE PRINT HEAD................................................................................................................................11-6
INSTALLING THE PRINT HEAD ...............................................................................................................................11-8
3860/3870/3880 MODELS FLIGHT-TIME COMPENSATION .....................................................................................11-9

3860/80 User’s Manual
viii
CHAPTER 12 INTERFACES ............................................................................................................ 12-1
RS-232C SERIAL INTERFACE ..............................................................................................................................12-1
SERIAL DATA CABLE ...........................................................................................................................................12-3
SERIAL PIN ASSIGNMENTS...................................................................................................................................12-4
CENTRONICS PARALLEL INTERFACE.................................................................................................................12-5
PARALLEL INTERFACE SIGNALS............................................................................................................................12-5
PARALLEL TIMING DIAGRAM.................................................................................................................................12-6
PARALLEL DATA CABLE .......................................................................................................................................12-7
BUFFER OPTIONS................................................................................................................................................12-8
APPENDIX A . FUNCTION INDEX .....................................................................................................A-1
APPENDIX B . EMULATION AND SOFTWARE OPTIONS .............................................................. B-1
EMULATION OPTIONS ........................................................................................................................................... B-1
SETTING EMULATION OPTIONS ............................................................................................................................. B-2
SOFTWARE OPTIONS............................................................................................................................................ B-3
SETTING SOFTWARE OPTIONS.............................................................................................................................. B-4
APPENDIX C . HARDWARE CONFIGURATION MENU................................................................... C-1
APPENDIX D .OPTIONS AND SUPPLIES ........................................................................................ D-1
APPENDIX E . SPECIFICATIONS......................................................................................................E-1
PERFORMANCE .................................................................................................................................................... E-1
PHYSICAL ............................................................................................................................................................ E-1
DATA TRANSMISSION............................................................................................................................................ E-1
PAPER HANDLING ................................................................................................................................................ E-2
PRINTER EMULATIONS.......................................................................................................................................... E-2
PRINT TECHNOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................ E-3
FORM CONTROL................................................................................................................................................... E-4

Introduction
1-1
Front Door
Control Panel
Rear Door
Display (LCD)
Operator Keys
Top Door
Serial
Connector
Parallel
Connector
AC Connector
ON/OFF
Switch
Printer
Cover
Top Door
Rear Door

3860/80 User’s Manual
1-2
Chapter 1 Introduction
The 3860 and 3880 are rugged, high duty cycle, serial dot matrix printers designed for a
variety of applications. These printers are an extension of the GENICOM 3800 family of
impact printers.
The 3860 and 3880 produce print output at 600 and 800 characters per second (CPS),
respectively. Both models are available in single or dual paper path configurations. Printing
has been optimized to yield the highest throughput in pages per hour (PPH) possible with this
class of printer.
• Among the advanced features of this printer are: automatic or manual print head gap
adjustment, remote or local selection of emulations, remote or local selection of paper
paths, automatic loading of a second paper path when the first path is empty, and the
ability to store, for subsequent recall, four user-defined sets of parameters called formats.
Other characteristics are :
• input voltage: automatic switching between 115 or 230 VAC;
• power dissipation: 130 watts maximum;
• hardware interfaces: menu selectable IEEE1284 parallel and RS-232 serial; and,
by adapters: Ethernet;
• Standard emulations: menu-or host-selectable ANSI X3.64, IBMGP, IBM Proprinter
XL, DEC LA-210, Epson FX 286e, and GENICOM 3410;
• Standard fonts: menu-or host-selectable Gothic, Gothic Italic, Micro Gothic, Wide
Gothic, Courier, and Courier Italic, OCR-A, OCR-B, Oversize in Draft or Near Letter
quality, each; in pitches of 10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 17.1, 20;
• ANSI Oversized: rotatable, expandable to 18700 points in 10-point increments. See
Oversized Font chapter in Programmer’s Manual;
• ANSI bar codes: Twenty-three styles, rotatable and scaleable. See Bar Code chapter in
Programmer’s Manual;
In addition, several improvements have been made to these models:
• Improved carriage rail and carriage
• Improved print head
• Improved automatic print gap adjustment
• Ribbon motion detection
NOTE: Complete specifications are in Appendix E.

Set It Up and Get It Running 2-1
Chapter 2 Set It Up and Get It Running
Packaged with the printer are a power cord, a ribbon cartridge, a tractor assembly, and the
compact disc containing this manual and the programmer’s manual. Also included are a
warranty card and a customer response card. Please take a moment to fill out and return the
customer response card.
Choose a Place for the Printer that is :
level and solid
Print head speeds are very high. If the printer table is not extremely stable, the printer may
cause the printer table to rock.
away from direct sunlight
Ribbon inks dry out in the sun.
away from heaters and heating vents
High temperatures degrade plastic and stress electrical components, and provokes thermal
throttle.
away from excessive dust or moisture
Dust shortens print head and gear train life. Very high humidity causes paper handling
problems.
within 6 feet of a grounded AC outlet
The length of the power cord.
suitable for using the bottom paper path ...
The printer stand must have a slot through which to feed paper. A suitable pedestal is
available from an authorized dealer. See “Paper Handling Features and Techniques”, Chapter
10. The bottom paper path is the best choice for gummed labels, bar codes, multipart forms,
and other hard-to-feed stock.
away from conference rooms & their door-ways
Sound emission at 10 feet can be high if printer is operating with top and/or front doors open
or cover panels removed. Noise is a workplace stress factor.
away from critically dust-sensitive operations
All paper is a source of dust. Printhead wires create more of this dust. Higher printer use with
economy papers can create high enough dust levels to aggravate asthma or contaminate
sensitive processes. Never put any printer in a “clean room”.

3860/80 User’s Manual
2-2
Power Cords
Do not use two-wire extension cords or adapters that allow connection to ungrounded outlets.
A 6.5-foot power cord is shipped with the printer. The power cord included with printers sold
for 115V installations in the U.S. and Canada is ready to use. International model printers are
shipped with a power cord, which can be used in the destination country.
For units to be operated at 115V, use a UL Listed/ CSA Certified three-conductor cord set,
#18 AWG minimum, Type SVT or SJT. The maximum length is 15 feet. There must be a
NENIA 5-15P (parallel blade, grounding type) plug on one end and a CEE 22/5 socket on the
other end. The cord set should be rated 10A, 250V and have a grounding plug with safety
approvals appropriate for the country in which the equipment will be installed.
For units to be operated at 230V inside US. and Canada, use a UL Listed/CSA Certified three-
conductor cord set, #18 AWG minimum, Type SVT or SJT. The maximum length is 15 feet.
There must be a NEMA 6-15P (tandem blade, grounding type) plug on one end and a CEE
22/5 socket on the other end. The cord set should be rated IOA, 25OV and have a grounding
plug with safety approvals appropriate for the country in which the equipment will be installed.
For units to be operated at 23OV outside the US. and Canada, use a three-conductor cord
set, EUR-H05VV-FG31,0 minimum, with a CEE 22/5 socket on one end. The cord set should
be rated 10A, 250V and have a grounding plug with safety approvals appropriate for the
country in which the equipment will be installed. The cord set should be marked HAR.

Set It Up and Get It Running 2-3
Plug It In and Turn It On
Make sure the power switch is off.
The power switch is on the back of the printer. Press the switch down to be sure it is off. Plug
the female end of the cord to the power connector on the back of the printer under the power
switch. Plug the male end into an AC outlet.
Turn on the power switch.
All four lights on the control panel come on for a few seconds. The print head moves to its
home position on the left, if it’s not already there. Three lights go out. The fault light stays on.
The LCD should say Fault : Paper Out
The liquid crystal display on the front panel shows this message until paper is loaded.
If the printer did not come on ..
Check the AC outlet with another appliance.
If the printer beeps ...
If the printer emits a series of short beeps, something is wrong. Note the number of beeps and
call for service.

3860/80 User’s Manual
2-4
Install the Ribbon
The print head has to back away from the striker bar to provide clearance to slide the ribbon
guide onto the print head nozzle. Printers with dual paper paths (Front/Bottom and Rear) are
equipped with an auto print gap mechanism. Printers with a single paper path are shipped
with the semi-automatic (manual) gap adjust enabled as the default setting.
If you have not already done so, apply power to the printer. The print head will move to the
left hand Home position. After initialization, make sure the printer is Offline.
Remove the top door.
Manually move the print head to the center of the printer so the print head is pointing to an
area between two of the upper rubber rollers.
On dual paper path printers, removing the top door initiates opening of the print head gap to
maximum.
On single path printers the print gap will need to be opened manually. The manual adjust is
located inside the printer on the right hand side. The adjustment is labeled 1 through 6 and
Ribbon Change. Move the lever to the Ribbon Change position.
Unpack the ribbon and unwrap it.
Take the shipping tape off the ribbon guide. Squeeze the ears on the ribbon guide together
and slip the ribbon guide up off the cartridge.

Set It Up and Get It Running 2-5
If the ribbon is twisted, untwist it.
Untwist it as much as possible. There is a resident half-twist in the ribbon that may end up
between the ribbon guide and one end of the cartridge. The ribbon will still work like this. Turn
the ribbon advance knob to tighten the ribbon fabric. The ribbon will not work if the 1/2 twist is
on the ribbon guide itself.
RIBBON ADVANCE KNOB
RIBBON GUIDE

3860/80 User’s Manual
2-6
Wiggle the ribbon guide onto the print head nozzle and snap it down flush.
The ribbon guide fits snugly between the exit rollers. Center the ribbon guide over the print
nozzle. Start with the front end of the ribbon guide pointing slightly up and then rotate it down
onto the print head nozzle. It should snap down into place with moderate pressure.
FLUSH FIT-NO GAP
RIBBON GUIDE
PRINT HEAD
NOZZLE

Set It Up and Get It Running 2-7
Find the ribbon drive spindle..
Look down into the printer toward the left side and notice a small shaft sticking up vertically
through a shiny plate.
RIBBON DRIVE
SPINDLE
HUB FRONT OF CARTRIDGE

3860/80 User’s Manual
2-8
Seat the cartridge on the ribbon drive spindle..
Place the cartridge down in the printer about where it should go and slide it around until the
ribbon drive spindle slips up into the hub of the cartridge. Turn the ribbon advance knob
clockwise and feel the ribbon drive gears turning in the printer.
Snap the ribbon cartridge down on the supports.
There are feet on the bottom of the cartridge at the front corners. These snap onto
corresponding feet in the printer. Gently push the front corners of the cartridge down at both
ends until the feet snap into place.
Turn the ribbon advance knob clockwise to make sure the ribbon is taut.
RIBBON
ADVANCE
KNOB
SUPPORT
FOOT

Set It Up and Get It Running 2-9
Removing the Ribbon
WARNING
If the printer has been printing for a while, the print head may be HOT !
Opening the top cover will cause the print head to retract away from the striker bar. To
remove the ribbon, use both hands and place one on either side of the ribbon guide. Pull
upwards until the ribbon guide is dislodged from the print head nozzle.
When the ribbon guide has been removed from the print nozzle, remove the ribbon cartridge
by placing a hand at both ends of the cartridge and lifting the ribbon cartridge up and off the
cartridge supports.
RIBBON
ADVANCE
KNOB
SUPPORT
FOOT
PLACE HAND ON
EITHER SIDE HERE
PRINT HEAD
NOZZLE
RIBBON
GUIDE

3860/80 User’s Manual
2-10
Install the Front Tractors
Each printer is shipped with a set of tractors for installation in the front/bottom paper path.
Dual paper path printers have an additional tractor installed in the rear of the printer.
At the front of the printer, pull the front cover open and slide it into the storage position.