Printer Parts paper guide edge guides continuous paper support printer cover paper release lever front cover control panel paper tension unit ribbon cartridge center support* optional interface cover paper thickness lever parallel interface sprocket* knob AC inlet *tractor unit parts Control Panel Buttons and Lights Font lights Indicate which font is selected. To select a font, see Chapter 5. Micro Adjust Using the micro adjust feature, you can press the D and U buttons to adjust the top-of-form or tear-off position. See Chapter 3. · On when no paper is loaded in · the selected paper source or paper is not loaded correctly. Flashes when paper has not been fully ejected or a paper jam has occurred. Paper Out light Operate button Turns the printer on and off. The printer is off when the top of this button is even with the button protectors. Tear Off/Bin button · Feeds continuous paper forward to the tear-off position. · Feeds continuous paper backward from the tear-off position to the top-of-form position. · Selects a cut-sheet feeder bin when the cut-sheet feeder is installed. Tear Off/Bin light · Flashes when continuous paper is in the tear-off position. · On when bin 1 of the optional cut-sheet feeder is selected. · Off when bin 2 of the optional cut-sheet feeder is selected. LF/FF button · Feeds paper line by line. · Ejects a single sheet or advances continuous paper to the next top-of-form position when held down. Load/Eject button of paper. Pause button · Loads a single sheet · Stops printing · Ejects a single sheet · · of paper if a sheet is loaded. Loads continuous paper from the standby position. Feeds continuous paper backward to the standby position. · temporarily, and resumes printing when pressed again. When held down for three seconds, enters the micro adjust mode. When pressed again, exits the micro adjust mode. · On when the printer · Flashes when the printer is in the micro adjust mode. is paused. Pause light ® 9-Pin Dot Matrix Printer All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION. The information contained herein is designed only for use with this EPSON printer. EPSON is not responsible for any use of this information as applied to other printers. Neither SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION nor its affiliates shall be liable to the purchaser of this product or third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by the purchaser or third parties as a result of: accident, misuse, or abuse of this product or unauthorized modifications, repairs, or alterations to this product, or (excluding the U.S.) failure to strictly comply with SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION's operating and maintenance instructions. SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION shall not be liable for any damages or problems arising from the use of any options or any consumable products other than those designated as Original EPSON Products or EPSON Approved Products by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION. EPSON and EPSON ESC/P are registered trademarks of SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. General Notice: Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. EPSON disclaims any and all rights in those marks. Copyright © 1997 by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION, Nagano, Japan. User's Guide FCC Compliance Statement For United States Users 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 or television reception. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause interference to radio and 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. For Canadian Users This Class B digital apparatus meets all requirements of the Canadian InterferenceCausing Equipment Regulations. Cet appareil numérique de la classe B respecte toutes les exigences du Règlement sur le matériel brouilleur du Canada. Declaration of Conformity According to ISO/IEC Guide 22 and EN 45014 Manufacturer: Address: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION 3-5, Owa 3-chome, Suwa-shi, Nagano-ken 392 Japan Representative: EPSON EUROPE B.V. Address: Prof. J. H. Bavincklaan 5 1183 AT Amstelveen The Netherlands Declares that the Product: Product Name: Dot Matrix Printer Type Name: FX-880/1180 Model: P980A/P981A Conforms to the following Directive(s) and Norm(s): Directive 73/23/EEC: EN 60950 Directive 89/336/EEC: EN 55022 Class B EN 61000-3-2 EN 61000-3-3 EN 50082-1 IEC 801-2 IEC 801-3 IEC 801-4 January, 1998 Y. Ishii President of EPSON EUROPE B.V. G G G G Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. WARNING The connection of a non-shielded equipment interface cable to this equipment will invalidate the FCC Certification of this device and may cause interference levels which exceed the limits established by the FCC for this equipment. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain and use a shielded equipment interface cable with this device. If this equipment has more than one interface connector, do not leave cables connected to unused interfaces. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user's authority to operate the equipment. ii Contents Getting to Know Your Printer Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Available Paper Paths . . . . . . Printing on continuous paper Printing on single sheets . . . Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ribbon Cartridges . . . . . . . . . Important Safety Instructions . . Print Head Caution Symbol . . . ENERGY STAR Compliance . . . For United Kingdom Users . . . Use of options . . . . . . . . . Safety information . . . . . . . How To Use Your Manuals . . . Warnings, Cautions, and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-2 0-3 0-3 0-6 0-7 0-7 0-8 0-9 0-10 0-10 0-10 0-10 0-11 0-12 Chapter 1 Setting Up the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-10 1-11 1-13 1-13 1-16 1-18 Unpacking the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Choosing a Place for the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . Positioning the continuous paper supply . . . . Installing or Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge . . . . Plugging in the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecting the Printer to Your Computer . . . . . . Installing the Printer Driver on Your PC . . . . . . . For Windows 95 or NT 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . For Windows 3.1 or NT 3.5x . . . . . . . . . . . . Optional printer drivers for DOS program users iii Chapter 2 Using the Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2 2-3 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-8 2-8 2-9 2-10 2-11 2-11 2-13 2-13 2-16 2-16 2-18 2-19 2-21 2-21 2-21 About Your Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Printer Driver With Windows 95 . . . . . . . . . Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu . . . . Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Printer Driver With Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications Accessing the printer driver from the Control Panel . . . Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Printer Driver With Windows NT 4.0 . . . . . . . Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu . . . . Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Printer Driver With Windows NT 3.5x . . . . . . Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications Accessing the printer driver from the Control Panel . . . Printer driver settings overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the EPSON Remote! Utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing EPSON Remote! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accessing EPSON Remote! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 3 Printing on Continuous Paper 3-2 3-3 3-4 3-4 3-5 3-6 3-6 3-8 3-12 3-13 Setting the Paper Release Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting the Paper Thickness Lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loading Multi-Part Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loading Continuous Paper With Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Removing continuous paper with labels . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Tractor in the Front Push Position . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the tractor in the front push position . . . . . . . Loading paper with the front push tractor . . . . . . . . . . Removing the printed document from the front push tractor Removing the tractor from the front push position . . . . . iv Using the Tractor in the Rear Push Position . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the tractor in the rear push position . . . . . . . Loading paper with the rear push tractor . . . . . . . . . . Removing the printed document from the rear push tractor Removing the tractor from the rear push position . . . . . Using the Tractor in the Pull Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the tractor in the pull position . . . . . . . . . . . Loading paper with the pull tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Removing the paper from the pull tractor . . . . . . . . . . Removing the tractor from the pull position . . . . . . . . Using two tractors in a push/pull combination . . . . . . Switching Between Printing on Continuous Paper and Single Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Switching to printing on single sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . Switching to printing on continuous paper . . . . . . . . . Adjusting the Top-of-Form Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advancing the Paper to the Tear-Off Edge . . . . . . . . . . . Using the Tear Off/Bin button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Advancing paper to the tear-off position automatically . . Adjusting the tear-off position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13 3-14 3-15 3-18 3-19 3-20 3-20 3-23 3-28 3-28 3-30 3-33 3-33 3-34 3-35 3-37 3-37 3-38 3-38 Chapter 4 Printing on Single Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2 4-2 4-3 4-4 4-6 Available Paper Types . . . . . . . . . Using the Paper Guide . . . . . . . . . Installing the paper guide . . . . . Loading paper in the paper guide Loading Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 5 Changing Printer Settings From the Printer's Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 5-3 5-3 5-9 Selecting a Built-In Font . . . . . . Making Default Settings . . . . . . Understanding default settings Changing default settings . . . v Chapter 6 Using EPSON Status Monitor 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2 6-2 6-3 6-4 6-4 6-9 6-10 6-10 6-12 About the EPSON Status Monitor 2 Utility Installing EPSON Status Monitor 2 . . . . . Accessing EPSON Status Monitor 2 . . . . Status Monitor Overview . . . . . . . . . . EPSON Status Monitor 2 window . . . Printer Status window . . . . . . . . . . Using the Background Monitoring Feature Setting monitoring preferences . . . . . Using the background monitoring icon Chapter 7 Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...