Canon BJC-4550 User Manual

Copyright

This manual is copyrighted by Canon Computer Systems, Inc. (CCSI)
with all rights reserved. Under the copyright laws, this manual may not
be reproduced in any form, in whole or part, without the prior written
consent of CCSI.

© 1996 Canon Computer Systems, Inc.

Disclaimer

Canon Computer Systems, Inc. has reviewed this manual thoroughly
in order that it will be an easy to use guide to your Canon BJC-4550
Color Bubble Jet Printer. All statements, technical information, and
recommendations in this manual and in any guides or related
documents are believed reliable, but the accuracy and completeness
thereof are not guaranteed or warranted, and they are not intended to
be, nor should they be understood to be, representations or warranties
concerning the products described.

Your printer and the software media included with your printer have
been sold to you subject to the limited warranties set forth in the
warranty card and license agreement enclosed with the respective
product. All software is licensed AS IS, as described in the license
agreement enclosed with the software diskette. Further, CCSI reserves
the right to make changes in the specifications of the products
described in this manual at any time without notice and without
obligation to notify any person of such changes.

If you have any questions regarding your printer or the information in
this manual, please call the Canon Computer Systems Customer Care
Center at 1-800-423-2366 (U.S.A.) or contact Canon Canada at
1-800-263-1121.

Trademarks

Canon, BJ and BJC are registered trademarks and Bubble Jet and the
Bubble Jet logo are trademarks of Canon Inc.

Visual Guide is a registered trademark of Canon Inc. and Canon
Information Systems.

Other brand and product names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.

As an Energy Star Partner, Canon Inc. has determined that this product
meets the Energy Star guidelines for energy efficiency.

ii

Using Your Documentation

The following documentation is supplied with the BJC-4550 to help you
efficiently use your new printer.

Quick Start Guide

This fold-out card describes the steps you follow to unpack and set up
your printer, including how to install either the BJ®Printer Driver for
Windows® or the Macintosh® Printer Driver. You can follow the steps
illustrated on this card to start printing in minutes. It also includes
quick reference information to help you use the printer on a daily
basis.

User’s Manual

This manual offers detailed information on how to operate your printer.
It includes printing operations, daily maintenance, and specifications.
Read this manual to master basic operations and when you need to
know the specifications of the printer.

Canon Creative User’s Manual

This manual describes how you install Canon Creative and use all the
fun software that it provides. Canon Creative software instantly opens
up a world of imaginative possibilities for using your computer and
your BJC-4550 to bring out the artist in you. At home or at work,
Canon Creative helps you print an amazing variety of colorful personal
and professional creations.

N

Visual Guide®(on the Canon Creative CD)

The Visual Guide makes learning about the printer easy and fast on
your computer screen. Once you install the Visual Guide from the
Canon Creative CD, you’ll find it helpful for finding quick answers to
any questions you may have about basic operational functions. See the
Visual Guide for complete details on color printing, using the Color
Advisor™, and troubleshooting the printer.

Super Solver (on the Canon Creative CD)

The Super Solver is Canon’s on-screen troubleshooting guide. It
includes questions and answers to any problems you may have. Once
you install the Super Solver from the Canon Creative CD, you can use
it any time you have a question or a problem.

Canon Creative is not included with refurbished BJC-4550 printers.
References to Canon Creative, Visual Guide, Super Solver and Color
Advisor do not apply to refurbished BJC-4550 printers. To order Canon
Creative, see your Registration Card.

iii

Conventions

This User’s Manual uses the following conventions to alert you to
information that will help you operate the printer correctly and safely.

Notes provide advice or suggestions regarding the use of the printer.

N

Cautions alert you to operations that could cause damage to your
hardware or software, or cause injury to yourself.

C

Distinctive typefaces identify the printer buttons you press, the lights
on the operator panel, and any commands you enter at your computer.

❍ The buttons you press appear in this typeface: POWER.
❍ The names of lights you see appear in this typeface: ERROR.
❍ When you type something on your computer, it appears in this

typeface: DIR/P.

iv

Contents

1 Introduction

Supplies and Accessories .............................................................................. 1-2

BJ Cartridges and Ink Tanks .................................................................... 1-2

Canon Specialty Papers .......................................................................... 1-3

Getting Help From Canon.............................................................................. 1-4

Servicing the Printer ................................................................................ 1-6

........................................................................................... 1-1

2 Using the Printer With Windows ............................................... 2-1

Installing a Printer Driver............................................................................... 2-1

Printing a Document ..................................................................................... 2-2

Printer Setup Within Windows 95................................................................. 2-3

Opening the Printer Properties Dialog Box in Windows 95 ................... 2-3

Using the Printer Driver in Windows 95 ................................................. 2-3

Printer Setup Within Windows 3.1 ............................................................... 2-4

Accessing the Printing Options ................................................................ 2-4

The Windows Tabs ........................................................................................ 2-5

Specifying Your Printing Options ............................................................ 2-8

Recommended Graphics Settings ............................................................ 2-9

Using the Setup Analyzer ........................................................................ 2-10

Using Color Advisor ................................................................................ 2-11

Using Cartridge Detection ....................................................................... 2-11

Printing Speed Versus Color .......................................................................... 2-12

For Quick Color Printing .......................................................................... 2-12

For High Quality Color Printing .............................................................. 2-12

For Monochrome Printing ....................................................................... 2-13

Other Ways to Improve Print Speed in Windows ................................... 2-13

3 Using the Printer With Your Macintosh ................................. 3-1

Printing a Document With QuickDraw .......................................................... 3-2

Color Dialog Box ..................................................................................... 3-4

Printing a Document With QuickDraw GX.................................................... 3-5

Using the Utilities Dialog Box........................................................................ 3-7

Printing With Photoshop ................................................................................ 3-8

Installing the BJC-4550 Plug-In................................................................ 3-8

BJC-4550 Plug-In Dialog Box................................................................... 3-9

Using the BJ Standard Monitor Profile........................................................... 3-13

v

4 Paper Handling

Selecting Paper Types..................................................................................... 4-2

Paper Guidelines ..................................................................................... 4-4

Before Loading Paper ..................................................................................... 4-5

Setting the Paper Thickness Lever ........................................................... 4-5

Setting the Paper Selection Lever ............................................................. 4-6

Settng the Paper Support.......................................................................... 4-7

Printer Settings for Various Print Media.................................................. 4-8

Loading Paper ................................................................................................. 4-9

Automatically Feeding Paper ................................................................... 4-9

Auto Feed Guidelines............................................................................... 4-13

Manually Feeding Paper .......................................................................... 4-15

Printing on Envelopes .................................................................................... 4-18

Using Canon’s Specialty Papers .................................................................... 4-22

Canon’s High Resolution Paper HR-101 ................................................. 4-22

Fabric Sheets FS-101 ............................................................................... 4-24

....................................................................................... 4-1

5 Maintaining the Printer ................................................................... 5-1

Printer Guidelines .......................................................................................... 5-2

Cleaning the Printer ....................................................................................... 5-3

Printing the Test Pages .................................................................................. 5-4

Cleaning the Print Head ................................................................................ 5-6

Cleaning the Print Head From Windows ................................................ 5-6

Cleaning the Print Head From Your Macintosh....................................... 5-6

Cleaning the Print Head Using the Operator Panel ................................ 5-7

BJ Cartridge Guidelines ................................................................................. 5-8

BJ Cartridge and Ink Tank Maintenance ................................................. 5-10

Replacing the BJ Cartridge ............................................................................. 5-11

Replacing an Ink Tank in the BC-21 Color BJ Cartridge ............................... 5-18

Storing a BJ Cartridge .................................................................................... 5-22

Transporting the Printer ................................................................................. 5-24

6 Troubleshooting ................................................................................... 6-1

Using Canon’s Support Services ................................................................... 6-1

Identifying Your Printer Problem ............................................................ 6-2

General Problems .......................................................................................... 6-3

Using the Super Solver (Windows Only) ................................................ 6-3

Clearing Paper Jams ...................................................................................... 6-4

Technical Notes ............................................................................................. 6-5

Appendix A Specifications .............................................................. A-1

Appendix B Sharing Your Printer Over an AppleTalk
Network

........................................................................................................... B-1

Glossary .......................................................................................................... G-1

Index ................................................................................................................. I-1

FCC Regulations .......................................................................................... FCC-1

vi

Introduction

Congratulations on your purchase of the Canon BJC-4550 Color
Bubble Jet™ Printer. We appreciate your choosing this printer to meet
your printing needs.

The BJC-4550 offers excellent print quality and fast print speed using
both color and black inks. We are certain you will be satisfied with this
advanced Bubble Jet technology.

1

Introduction

This chapter:

❍ Lists the supplies and accessories you can purchase for the printer
❍ Describes Canon’s customer support services

Chapter 1 Introduction 1-1

Supplies and Accessories

Your BJC-4550 printer supports excellent and unique ink and print
media options that will allow you to produce dazzling, professional,
and fun presentations. All of these print media are specially designed
and manufactured to work with your Canon color printer so you can
produce the finest output possible.

Canon has an extensive dealer network equipped to offer you supplies
as you need them. To find a dealer near you, call the Canon Referral
Service at 1-800-848-4123.

If supplies are not available from your local dealer, you can order
directly from Canon by calling 1-800-671-1090.

BJ Cartridges and Ink Tanks

Your BJC-4550 comes with:

❍ One BC-21 Color BJ Cartridge
❍ One BC-20 Black BJ Cartridge
❍ One SB-21 BJ Cartridge Container

You can also purchase the following optional BJ cartridges for use with
the printer:

❍ BC-22 Photo BJ Cartridge
❍ BC-29F Neon BJ Cartridge

You can purchase the following ink tanks for use in the BC-21 Color
BJ Cartridge:

❍ BCI-21 Black Ink Tank
❍ BCI-21 Color Ink Tank

BJ cartridges contain the Bubble Jet print head and ink, while ink tanks

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1-2 Introduction Chapter 1

contain ink only.

You can also purchase the optional Canon BC-22 Photo Kit, which
includes everything you need to produce photo-realistic images:

❍ BC-22 Photo BJ Cartridge
❍ SB-21 BJ Cartridge Container
❍ Canon High Resolution Paper HR-101 (60 sheets)

See Chapter 5, Maintaining the Printer, for details on replacing
BJ cartridges.

Canon Specialty Papers

Canon manufactures numerous specialty papers, including:

❍ Bubble Jet Paper LC-301 (water resistant)
❍ High Resolution Paper HR-101
❍ Transparency CF-102
❍ Back Print Film BF-102
❍ High Gloss Film HG-101
❍ Fabric Sheet FS-101
❍ T-Shirt Transfers TR-101
❍ Greeting Cards GC-101
❍ Brochure Paper BP-101

See Chapter 4, Paper Handling, for details on Canon’s specialty papers.

Introduction

Chapter 1 Introduction 1-3

Getting Help From Canon

Canon provides experienced support personnel to help you in every way.

On-line Support Services

You can easily contact Canon on the World Wide Web. Our address is:

http://www.ccsi.canon.com

Canon provides a bulletin board service (BBS), which is useful for
obtaining newly developed third-party drivers. Call 1-757-420-2000.
The protocol for the BBS is up to 28,800 bps, eight data bits, one stop
bit, and no parity.

If you use CompuServe®, you can access the Canon Peripherals
Forum. This allows you to talk with other users, send a message to
Canon, or download printer drivers. Just type GO CANON at any
CompuServe prompt.

❍ If you have a modem, you can contact Canon through the Web, its

BBS, or CompuServe. Through these on-line services, you can find
out about the latest Canon products, or you can retrieve general
information about specific products.

❍ If you are looking for information about any Canon printer driver

for a unique situation, you can contact one of the Canon on-line
services.

❍ You can retrieve information from the on-line services at any hour

of the day or night.

On-screen Support Services

Canon provides on-screen assistance with both the Visual Guide and
the Super Solver.

❍ Canon’s Visual Guide contains a wealth of information about your

printer including basic operational functions, color printing, and
troubleshooting. Once installed, you can select the Visual Guide
from the Visual Guide tab in your printer driver or from Canon
Creative.

1-4 Introduction Chapter 1

❍ Canon’s Super Solver is now included with Canon Creative. The

Super Solver is an on-line troubleshooting guide. It includes
questions and answers to any problems you may have. Once
installed, you can select the Super Solver from the Visual Guide
tab in your printer driver or from Canon Creative.

Fax Retrieval System

Canon provides a 24-hour, toll-free Fax Retrieval System. You can
use this service to get helpful documents faxed directly to your fax
machine. These documents contain useful information to assist you
in the operation of your Canon printer. To access this service, call
1-800-526-4345.

❍ One of the first things you may want to do after setting up your

printer is call the Canon Fax Retrieval System and request an index
of the documents available to you through this service. Documents
will be faxed directly to your fax machine.

❍ The Fax Retrieval System offers up-to-date information about

Canon’s products as well as technical information about specific
products. By reviewing the index, you can determine what
information would be beneficial to your installation.

Customer Care Center

Canon provides customer support and service for all Canon printer
products. If you have any questions regarding your new printer, call the
Canon Computer Systems Customer Care Center at 1-800-423-2366.
Support is available from 6 A.M. to 12 MIDNIGHT Eastern Standard Time
(EST) seven days a week except holidays.

Introduction

❍ If you seem to have an operational problem, try to solve it by using

the Super Solver or by referring to the troubleshooting information
in your Visual Guide. If you cannot quickly resume normal
operation, contact Canon’s experienced support personnel at the
Customer Care Center.

Canon Canada

Customer support for Canadian residents is available 24 hours a day
(seven days a week) at 1-800-263-1121.

In other countries, please contact your Canon dealer.

Chapter 1 Introduction 1-5

Servicing the Printer

The Canon BJC-4550 Color Bubble Jet Printer is designed with the
latest technology to provide trouble-free operation. The Warranty Card
that comes with your printer describes Canon’s limited one-year
warranty for its Bubble Jet printers. Be sure to read the warranty
information to find out about the different service options available
to you.

Save your sales receipt for proof of purchase. In the event that your

N

printer needs service, you will need your proof of purchase to obtain
warranty service.

If you feel your BJC-4550 Color Bubble Jet Printer needs servicing, you
can contact Canon on the World Wide Web to locate the Canon
Authorized Service Facility (ASF) nearest you or to find out about the
exclusive Canon InstantExchange warranty program. If you do not
have access to the Web, you can call the Customer Care Center.

1-6 Introduction Chapter 1

Using the Printer With

This chapter describes how to use the printer with your Windows
applications. It includes:

❍ Installing a printer driver
❍ Printing a document
❍ Printer setup within Windows 95
❍ Printer setup within Windows 3.1
❍ The Windows tabs
❍ Printing speed versus color

Installing a Printer Driver

Before you can use any type of printer with your computer, you must
install a printer driver. The printer driver tells the computer what kind
of a printer you are using. The printer driver also controls the various
settings, such as print quality and paper type. You define these settings
within the printer driver, and the printer driver then communicates the
settings to both the computer and the printer.

2

With Windows

Using the Printer

You must install the BJ Printer Driver before you can use the BJC-4550

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Chapter 2 Using the Printer With Windows 2-1

with your computer. See your Quick Start Guide for instructions.

Printing a Document

This procedure describes the general steps required for printing from
various Windows applications. The exact steps for printing a document
may vary depending on the application program you are using. Refer
to your software application’s documentation for the exact printing
procedure.

Start your

application.

Make sure

the Canon

BJC-4550

is selected

as

your default

printer.

❍ Start the program you are using to create the document,

and open the document you want to print.

❍ Choose Printer Setup from the File menu.

❍ Click on the Setup button if you want to make any

adjustments as appropriate for printing your document.
(See Printer Setup Within Windows 95 or Printer Setup
Within Windows 3.1 for details.)

❍ Select OK to close the Canon BJC-4550 printer driver.

Choose Print

from the

❍ After making any necessary changes to the printing

parameters, select OK to start the print job.

File menu.

2-2 Using the Printer With Windows Chapter 2

Printer Setup Within Windows 95

You can use the BJC-4550 with all your Windows 95 applications.

Opening the Printer Properties Dialog Box in Windows 95

You can open the Properties dialog box in one of the following ways:
❍ From within any Windows application, you can select the Print or

Print Setup command.

❍ From the Printers folder, you can select the printer and then select

the Properties command from the File menu.

❍ From the Printers folder, you can select the printer, click the right

mouse button, and then select Properties from the drop down list.

Using the Printer Driver in Windows 95

The printing options are displayed on the following Windows 95 tabs:
General, Details, Paper, Graphics, Setting, Control, and Visual Guide
(if installed). See The Windows Tabs section (page 2-5) for details.

With Windows

Using the Printer

For detailed information on any of the printing options, you can use

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Chapter 2 Using the Printer With Windows 2-3

the Windows 95 on-line Help:

Use the right mouse button to click an item on the screen; then

❍

click the What’s This? command.
Click ? and then click an item.

❍

Press F1.

❍

Printer Setup Within Windows 3.1

You can use the BJC-4550 with all your Windows 3.1 applications.

Accessing the Printing Options

You can access the printing options from the Printers dialog box in the
Control Panel, or you can select the Print Setup option available from
the File menu of most applications that run in Windows.

If the Print Setup option does not appear in the File menu for your

N

application, refer to the user’s manual supplied with the application.
It should provide information about changing the printer setup
parameters.

In Windows 3.1, the printing options are displayed on these tabs:
Paper, Graphics, Setting, Control, and Visual Guide (if installed). See
the next section, The Windows Tabs, for details.

2-4 Using the Printer With Windows Chapter 2

The Windows Tabs

The BJC-4550 printer driver has several tabs from which you can select
your printing options and learn about your printer driver as well as the
BJC-4550 printer.

❍ General (Windows 95 only)

This tab allows you to add comments regarding the printer driver
and print a test page or a separator page. (You see this tab when
you open the Properties dialog box from the Printers folder, not
from within a Windows application.

ADD COMMENTS
HERE

)

PRINT A
SEPARATOR
PAGE

PRINT ATESTPAGE

❍ Details (Windows 95 only)

This tab allows you to specify printer port settings, spool settings,
and time-out settings. (You see this tab when you open the
Properties dialog box from the Printers folder, not from within a
Windows application.)

DEFINE THE
PRINTER’S PORT

SPECIFY THE
PRINTER DRIVER

SPECIFY TIMEOUT
SETTINGS

SPECIFY SPOOL
SETTINGS

SPECIFY PORT
SETTINGS

With Windows

Using the Printer

Chapter 2 Using the Printer With Windows 2-5

❍ Paper

This tab allows you to specify page orientation, paper size, and
type of print media. (The printing options on this tab are the same
for both Windows 95 and Windows 3.1.)

SPECIFY PAGE
ORIENTATION

SPECIFY SIZE
OF PAPER

SPECIFY TYPE

SPECIFY PAPER
FEED METHOD

OF PAPER

❍ Graphics

This tab allows you to specify print quality, color model, and print
model. (The printing options on this tab are the same for both
Windows 95 and Windows 3.1. However, the Image Color
Matching feature is available in Windows 95 only.)

SELECT A
PRINT MODEL

SPECIFY PRINT
QUALITY

SELECT A
COLOR MODEL

ENABLE OR
DISABLE IMAGE
COLOR MATCHING
(WINDOWS 95
ONLY)

ENABLE OR
DISABLE FINE
MODE

2-6 Using the Printer With Windows Chapter 2

Setting

❍

This tab allows you to turn on or off the Setup Analyzer and the
Color Advisor. It also allows you to save up to four custom print
settings. (The printing options on this tab are the same for both
Windows 95 and Windows 3.1.)

ENABLE OR DISABLE
CARTRIDGE

ENABLE OR
DISABLE SETUP
ANALYZER

DETECTION

ENABLE OR
DISABLE COLOR
ADVISOR

SAVE YOUR
CUSTOM PRINT
SETTINGS

❍ Control

This tab allows you to print test pages, turn the printer off, enable
or disable the auto power on feature, clean the print head, or move
the BJ cartridge so you can change it. It also allows you to turn off
the printer after a certain period of inactivity. (The printing options
on this tab are the same for both Windows 95 and Windows 3.1.)

With Windows

Using the Printer

POWER OFF PRINTER
ENABLE AUTO POWER ON

DISABLE AUTO POWER ON
CLEAN THE PRINT HEAD

PERFORM
PRINTER TESTS

CHANGE BJ CARTRIDGE

SELECT TIME PERIOD
FOR AUTO POWER OFF

Chapter 2 Using the Printer With Windows 2-7

❍ Visual Guide

This tab is selectable once you have installed either the Visual
Guide or the Super Solver. From this tab you can initiate
installation if either the Visual Guide or the Super Solver is not
installed. Once installed, you can start either the Visual Guide or
the Super Solver from this tab.

Specifying Your Printing Options

Be sure to use your on-line help to find out about the settings available
for each printing option.

❍ To move between the Windows tabs, click on any of the tabs.
❍ To select the settings on a tab, click the OK button.
❍ To cancel your setting selections on a tab, click the Cancel button.
❍ To save your settings without exiting, click the Apply button.
❍ To access the Help file, click on the Help button.
❍ When you move the mouse cursor over one of the printing options,

a help message appears at the bottom of the tab.

2-8 Using the Printer With Windows Chapter 2

Recommended Graphics Settings

You can select the following printing options from the Graphics tab to
achieve the specified results.

Driver settings

To achieve Print Quality Color Model Results

Fastest B&W Draft Monochrome Uses less ink. Output
output possible 180 × 180 dpi quality is draft.

Fast letter quality Standard Monochrome Slightly slower than
output 360 × 360 dpi draft. Quality is standard.

Fast B&W photograph Standard and Fine Monochrome Slower than B&W but
and graphic output 360 × 360 dpi better grayscale quality.

High quality High and Fine Monochrome Slower than Standard but
photograph and 720 × 360 dpi optimizes B&W grayscale
graphic output quality.

Fast color output Draft Color Uses less ink. Output

180 × 180 dpi quality is draft.

Color output Standard Color Fast color printing but

360 × 360 dpi quality is not optimized.

High quality High and Fine Color Optimizes color print
color output 720 × 360 dpi quality but the print

speed is slower.

Photo-realistic — Photo Color Produces unsurpassed
color printing photo-realistic color

printing. (Requires BC-22
Photo BJ Cartridge.)

With Windows

Using the Printer

Chapter 2 Using the Printer With Windows 2-9

Using the Setup Analyzer

The Setup Analyzer allows the printer driver to evaluate your choice of
printing settings. On the Setting tab, you click on the green ✔ to enable
the Setup Analyzer. Click on the red symbol to disable it.

When you exit the printer driver and accept your printing settings by
clicking the OK button, the Setup Analyzer (if enabled) checks to see if
any of your settings are contrary to the recommended settings. If there
are inconsistencies, a dialog box similar to this appears:

The inconsistencies appear with check boxes. You can use the dialog
box buttons to select or deselect the inconsistencies and/or fix or ignore
the inconsistencies.

2-10 Using the Printer With Windows Chapter 2

Using Color Advisor

Canon’s Color Advisor is automatically installed when you install the
BJ Printer Driver from the Canon Creative CD. Color Advisor is a tool
that colors documents even when your software application does not
support color, and it expands the range of colors you can use when
your application does support color. See your Visual Guide for details
on using the Color Advisor.

To enable the Color Advisor, click on the green ✔. Click on the red
symbol to disable it.

Using Cartridge Detection

Use Cartridge Detection if you want the driver to alert you when
the installed BJ cartridge is not the correct choice to use with your
Color Model setting. To enable Cartridge Detection, which is
located on the Setting tab, click on the green ✔. Click on the red
symbol to disable it.

With Windows

Using the Printer

If Cartridge Detection cannot detect the cartridge type, it advises you to
check that your printer is on-line and that the cables are secure.

If you choose the Monochrome Color Model and you have a BC-21
Color BJ Cartridge installed, you’ll see:

Performance Tip!

You now have a color cartridge installed in your
printer. For faster printing speed, change the
color cartridge to the monochrome cartridge.

Chapter 2 Using the Printer With Windows 2-11

Printing Speed Versus Color

The BJC-4550 Windows printer driver can interpret and translate the
full spectrum of colors, up to 16.7 million colors. When printing in
color, there is a significant increase in the amount of information that
the driver has to interpret and translate. When printing black ink only,
the driver has only one color to interpret.

By decreasing the amount of colors that the printer driver has to
interpret, you can significantly decrease the time needed to translate
the information. This will speed up the overall printing process.

For Quick Color Printing

In the BJC-4550 Windows printer driver, choose the following settings.
These selections allow the printer driver to interpret and translate 256
colors, which will increase your printing speed. However, your print
quality will not be optimized.

❍ Media Type—Plain Paper
❍ Print Quality—Standard; Fine is off
❍ Color Model—Color
❍ Print Model—Custom
❍ Color Selection—Fast Color

For High Quality Color Printing

Select the settings shown below to allow the printer driver to interpret
and translate up to 16.7 million colors. Keep in mind that your print
speed will be slower than with other setting combinations.

❍ Print Quality—High; Fine mode is on
❍ Color Model—Color
❍ Print Model—Automatic

2-12 Using the Printer With Windows Chapter 2

For Monochrome Printing

Use the optional BC-20 Black BJ cartridge to optimize the printer’s
performance when you are printing black text and graphics only.

In the BJC-4550 printer driver, choose the following settings to tell
your printer to print using black ink only.

❍ Media Type—Plain Paper
❍ Print Quality—Standard
❍ Color Model—Monochrome
❍ Print Model—Automatic

Other Ways to Improve Print Speed in Windows

To improve printing speed, you can try the following:

❍ Turn off the Print Manager in the Windows

Control Panel
(Windows 3.1 only).

This avoids the extra step of sending the print file to the Print
Manager and may increase your printing speed by as much as
25%, depending on the computer you are using.

❍ Add a permanent swap file in Windows

3.1.

Under the 386 Enhanced icon in the Windows Control Panel, add
or create a permanent swap file that is from 4 MB to 9 MB. The
computer will be able to prepare the print file faster. See your
Windows documentation for instructions.

❍ Avoid diffusion halftones.

In the Custom Settings dialog box, choose Diffusion only when
printing final output or photographic images. Choosing a Halftone
setting of Fine allows documents to print as much as 20% faster
because the computer does not need to compute to “best possible
position” for each dot.

❍ Avoid screen matched color.

In the Custom Settings dialog box, avoid Match as the Color
Adjustment setting. The screen matching feature takes longer to

With Windows

Using the Printer

Chapter 2 Using the Printer With Windows 2-13

process in the computer because it requires special information.

Avoid automatic settings.

❍

Although the automatic settings are easy to use, the computer must
interpret the printed page. This takes more time than if you select
each setting.

❍ Free up your memory.

Use only one software program at a time and unload any screen­saving utilities or programs stored in Windows background; this
frees up more memory for Windows processing.

❍

Use Monochrome when possible.

If you will be printing text in black ink only, choose a Color
Selection of Black and White rather than Grayscale. Print draft
documents in Monochrome rather than Color, or use Draft print
quality when printing color.

❍ Limit the number of colors on each page.

The computer will need to calculate and transmit fewer dots. Too
many colors can make the image confusing and less effective as
well as cause the print speed to slow down.

❍ Use primary colors when printing

presentation graphics.

Use black, cyan, yellow, magenta, blue, green, and red when
possible. The computer will need to calculate and transfer less dot
information.

❍ Use the Draft print quality.

The printer will need to image fewer dots.

❍ Use Plain Paper as the Media Type.

The print head will make only one pass for each printed line.

❍

Use smaller graphics and more white
space in your documents.

The computer will be able to prepare the print file faster.

❍ Add RAM to your computer.

The computer will be able to prepare the print file faster.

❍ Use a computer with a faster processor.

The computer will be able to prepare the print file faster.

2-14 Using the Printer With Windows Chapter 2

Using the Printer

With Your Macintosh

You can use the BJC-4550 to print documents created with Macintosh
applications.

❍ You must be using a Power Macintosh®or a Macintosh with at

least a 68020 processor.

❍ Your operating system must be Macintosh System 7.1 or later and

you must be using ColorSync™1.0.5 or later.

Before you can print using the BJC-4550, you must install the
Macintosh Printer Driver. See your Quick Start Guide for details.

This chapter describes the basic steps for printing a document using
QuickDraw™or QuickDraw GX. QuickDraw GX is an enhanced
version of QuickDraw that comes with System 7.5 and later; it supports
a variety of advanced features for text and image handling. For details
on the difference between using QuickDraw and QuickDraw GX, see
your Macintosh documentation.

This chapter also describes how to print with Adobe™Photoshop™and
how to use the BJ Standard Monitor profile. The Macintosh Printer
Driver includes a BJC-4550 Plug-In module for use exclusively with
Adobe Photoshop and a BJ Standard Monitor profile for use with
ColorSync.

3

Using the Printer

With Your Macintosh

If you plan to share your BJC-4550 over an AppleTalk®network, see
Appendix B.

Chapter 3 Using the Printer With Your Macintosh 3-1

Printing a Document With QuickDraw

After you create a document, or open a document to be printed, follow
these basic steps:

Choose Page

Setup from

the File

menu.

Select your

Page Setup

settings.

❍ If you are using QuickDraw, you see this screen:

❍ You can select:

• Page Size

• Paper Type

• Scale

• Orientation

❍ For details on these settings, use the Balloon Help

function.

❍ If you select a Page Size of Custom, click the Custom

button to specify your page size.

™

❍ Click the Utilities button to perform printer operations.

See page 3-7 for details.

❍ Click the Save button to save the current settings. When

you select Page Setup later for a new document, these
settings will be automatically selected.

❍ Click the Default button to restore the original default

settings.

3-2 Using the Printer With Your Macintosh Chapter 3

Choose Print

from the

File menu.

❍ You see this screen:

Select your

Print

❍ You can select:

• Number of copies

• Pages to print, all or a range

• Print Quality; for Canon specialty papers, select Best

• Type of BJ cartridge installed in printer

• Paper feed method: auto or manual

• Destination: printer, preview, or PICT file

• Reverse order; starts printing with last page of
document

• Collate copies; sorts multiple copies

❍ For details on these settings, use the Balloon Help

function.

❍ Click the Color button to change the color settings (see

next section).

❍ Click the Save button to save the current settings. When

you choose the Print command later for a new
document, these settings are automatically selected.

❍ Click the Default button to restore the original default

settings.

Using the Printer

With Your Macintosh

Chapter 3 Using the Printer With Your Macintosh 3-3

Color Dialog Box

Use the Color dialog box to set color printing settings for controlling the
way colors are produced.

❍ For details on these settings, use the Balloon Help function.

3-4 Using the Printer With Your Macintosh Chapter 3

Printing a Document With QuickDraw GX

After you create a document, or open a document to be printed, follow
these basic steps:

Choose Page

Setup from

the File

menu.

Select your

Page Setup

settings.

❍ You see one of these screens:

Using the Printer

With Your Macintosh

❍ You can select:

• Paper Type

• Orientation

• Scale

❍ For details on these settings, use the Balloon Help

function.

❍ Click the Format button to apply the Page Setup

settings to the current document and close the Page
Setup dialog box.

❍ Click the More Choices button to expand the dialog

box to show its extensions: General and Options. These
extensions allow you to adjust more detailed settings of

Chapter 3 Using the Printer With Your Macintosh 3-5