This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and if not installed and used
properly, that is, in strict accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, may cause
interference to radio and television reception. It has been type tested and found to comply
with the limits for a Class B computing device in accordance with the specifications in
Subpart J of part 15 of FCC Rules, which are designed to provide reasonable protection
against such interference in a residential installation. However, there is no guarantee that
interference will not occur in a particular installation. 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 computer with respect to the receiver
— Plug the computer into a different outlet so that the computer and receiver are on
different branch circuits.
If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for additional suggestions. The user may find the following booklet prepared by the
Federal Communications Commission helpful:
This booklet is available from the U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC
20402. Stock No. 004-000-00345-4.
The connection of a non-shielded printer interface cable to this printer will invalidate the
FCC Certification of this device and may cause interference levels which exceed the limits
established by the FCC for this equipment. If this equipment has more than one interface
connector, do not leave cables connected to unused interfaces.
“How to Identify and Resolve Radio-TV Interference Problems.”
WARNING
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, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Epson Corporation. No patent liability is
assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. While every precaution
has been taken in the preparation of this book, Epson Corporation assumes no responsibility
for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of
the information contained herein.
Applesoft is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
Centronics is a registered trademark of Data Computer Corporation,
Epson is a registered trademark of Epson Corporation.
FX-286 is a trademark of Epson America, Inc.
IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.
Microsoft is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
QX-10 is a registered trademark, and QX-16 is a trademark of Epson America, Inc.
DIP switch functions
International DIP switch settings
Pins and signals ........................................................................
Printing enabled/disabled signals and
control conditions ..............................................................
........................
..............
3-3
5-7
5-15
5-15
5-15
5-17
6-9
A-4
A-5
E-1
E-4
X
Introduction
The FX-286 printer combines the versatility and reliability of pre-
vious FX printers with a wide range of exciting new features.
l The Near Letter Quality typestyle or draft mode can be selected
with the touch of a button-there are no codes to learn.
l For even greater typestyle variety, there’s SelecType, a feature that
works with almost all applications programs and can be set with the
touch of a button to choose over two dozen different styles.
l When using an IBM PC or compatible, you can set the FX-286 to
print in either the Epson mode or the IBM Proprinter mode. One
setting gives you all the Epson commands and the Epson character
set, the other gives you the IBM Proprinter commands and character set.
l An 8K buffer quickly frees your computer so you can work on one
document while printing another.
l And, of course, the FX-286 also has the many features that have
made previous FX printers so popular, including a fast print speed
of 200 characters per second, both friction- and tractor-feed paper
loading, and Master Select for instant access to a variety of typestyles.
Using this manual
To make it easier to set up your new FX-286, this manual includes a
ten-step guide to setting up your printer. These steps take you from
unpacking, through ribbon and paper loading, to printing your first
document.
Easy-to-read tabs make it simple to find information, for beginners
or experienced users. Additional sections provide information on
using your new printer with word processors, creating graphics,
defining your own characters, and more.
Intro-1
Chapter 1
Setting Up the
Setting up your new FX-286 is easy. Follow the steps in this chapter
to ensure that your FX-286 is properly unpacked, located, and ready
for operation.
FX-286
Unpacking Your Printer
Be careful when unpacking your printer to make sure that you
don’t lose any necessary pieces.
First, remove the printer from the box and take off all outside plastic
coverings and foam packing supports. Check that you’ve received all
the parts shown in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1. Printer parts
1-1
Once you’ve confirmed that you’ve received all the necessary parts,
remove the sheet of paper wrapped around the printer’s platen (the
black roller). This sheet of paper protects the paper-out sensor during
shipping, so be sure to replace it if you ship or store your printer.
Tilt the dust cover up and remove the two foam pads on the underside of the cover. (The pads protect the pin-feed holders on the tractor
unit during shipping, so be sure to save them.)
There is also a clear plastic overlay on the control panel to protect
against scratching and discoloration. It’s up to you whether you want
to remove the overlay or leave it on.
Installing the paper feed knob
Before proceeding, you should install the paper feed knob. To
install the knob, simply push it onto the shaft on the right side of the
printer, as shown in Figure 1-2. The shaft has one flat side that must be
matched with the flat side of the hole in the knob.
Figure 1-2. Installing the paper feed knob
Selecting the Right Location
2
The most important consideration in choosing a location for
your printer is that it be close enough to connect a cable to your computer. But also keep the following tips in mind:
1-2
l Place the printer on a solid foundation. Avoid setting it on carpet,
chairs, or unstable surfaces.
l Use a grounded outlet; don’t use an adapter plug.
l
Avoid using electrical outlets that are controlled by wall switches—
if you accidentally turn off a switch, you could wipe out valuable
information and stop your printing.
l Keep your printer and computer away from base units for cordless
telephones.
l Avoid using an outlet on the same circuit breaker with large electri-
cal machines or appliances that might disrupt the flow of power to
your printer.
l Protect your printer from direct sunlight, and keep it away from
excessive heat, moisture, and dust. Make sure it’s not too close to a
heater or other heat source.
Once you’ve found a suitable location, look over the following
illustrations to familiarize yourself with the FX-286.
Figure 1-3. Front view of FX-286
1-3
Figure 1-4. Rear view of FX-286
3
Installing the Ribbon
Before installing the ribbon and loading the paper, you should
remove the dust cover to allow easier access to the printer. The next
time you install a ribbon or load paper, you can leave the cover on.
To remove the dust cover, tilt it up and hold it by the left and right
corners. Pull up on the left corner and the cover comes off the printer.
(Only the left side of the cover is slotted where it attaches to the
mounting pins on the printer case.)
Now you’re ready to install the ribbon,
1. Manually move the print head to the middle of the platen.
WARNING
The power must be OFF when moving the print head. Moving
the print head when the power is ON may damage your
printer. If you’ve been using your printer just before changing
the ribbon cartridge, be careful not to touch the print head
because it becomes hot during use.
1-4
Before loading the cartridge into the printer, turn the small knob on
2.
top in the direction of the arrow to tighten the ribbon as shown in
Figure 1-5.
Figure 1-5. Tightening the ribbon
1-5
3. Hold the ribbon cartridge by the two plastic tabs on top of the
cartridge case. Lower the cartridge into the printer, guiding the two
square pins on each end of the cartridge into the slots in the printer
frame, as shown in Figure 1-6. Press firmly on each end of the
cartridge to make sure the pins are firmly seated in the slots.
1-6
Figure 1-6. Loading the ribbon cartridge
4. The ribbon should slide between the silver ribbon guide and the
print head. If it doesn’t, you can guide the ribbon into place using
the point of a pencil, as shown in Figure 1-7. (You can also refer to
the diagram on the top of the ribbon cartridge.)
Figure 1-7. Positioning the ribbon
With the cartridge in place, again turn the ribbon knob in the direc-
5.
tion of the arrow to tighten the ribbon.
And that’s it-the ribbon is now installed.
Replacing the ribbon...
The FX-286 uses a continuous-loop, inked fabric ribbon. When
printing becomes too light, you'll need to replace the ribbon with a
fresh cartridge. To replace the ribbon, just pull up on the two plastic
tabs on top of the cartridge and lift the cartridge out of the printer. To
install a new ribbon, follow the preceding steps.
Loading Continuous-feed Paper
4
ous-feed paper, set up your FX-286 where the paper can flow freely in
and out of the printer.
If you plan to use the installed tractor feed unit and continu-
1-7
There are many types of printer stands you can use, such as the one
shown in Figure 1-8. Or you can use any other arrangement that
allows you to put the paper underneath or behind the printer. If you
prefer, you can stack the paper behind the printer as shown in Figure
1-9.
Figure 1-8. Continuous-feed paper with printer stand
1-8
Figure 1-9. Continuous-feed paper without stand
The tractor unit is adjustable to accommodate paper widths from 4
to 14 7/8 inches. To load continuous-feed paper, follow these instructions:
1. Make sure that the printer is turned OFF.
2. Move the print head to the center of the printer and pull the paper
bail away from the platen.
3. Remove the two plastic locking tabs that secure the tractor feed
unit during shipping, as shown in Figure 1-10. (If you have
difficulty pulling the tabs off, a pair of pliers might help.) Keep the
tabs in case you need to ship or store the printer.
Figure 1-10. Removing the locking tabs from the tractor unit
1-9
4. Using Figure 1-11 as a guide, pull the locking levers on the pinfeed holders forward so that you can move the holders to the left
and right.
Figure 1-11, Moving the pin-feed holders
5. Position the left holder midway between the two stops on the
tractor bar (see Figure 1-11) and push the locking lever back to
lock that holder in place. Leave the right holder unlocked.
1-10
Open the pin-feed covers and pull the paper release lever forward
6.
as shown in Figure 1-12.
Figure 1-12. Opening the pin-feed covers and paper release fever
7. Guide the paper into the paper slot, and push it through until it
comes up between the ribbon guide and the platen. (Moving the
paper with a side-to-side motion makes it easier to push the paper
through.)
1-11
8. Slide the two paper supports on the tractor unit, spacing them
evenly along the width of the paper as shown in Figure
1-13.
Figure 1-13 Adjusting the paper supports; loading paper
9. Pull the paper up until the top is above the pin-feed holders. Fit
the holes on the left side of the paper over the pins in the left
holder and close the cover.
1-12
Figure 1-14. Fitting the paper over the pin feeds
10. Fit
holder as needed to match the width of the paper.
11.
Close the right cover, making sure the paper has no dips or wrinkles and lock the right holder in place.
12. Line up the two pressure rollers on the paper bail with the paper
supports (together they provide an even pressure for paper feed-
ing). Push the paper bail against the paper and that’s it … the
paper is ready.
the right side of the paper into the right holder, moving the
Loading single-sheet paper…
The FX-286 can also accommodate single-sheet paper. It can be
loaded manually as shown in Appendix B or by using the optional cut
sheet feeder. Appendix B also contains information on how to remove
and reinstall the tractor feed unit. The extra cover that comes packaged with the FX-286 is for use with single-sheet paper or the optional
cut sheet feeder.
1-13
Installing the paper separator
Once you’ve loaded paper into the FX-286 and are familiar with the
steps, you can attach the plastic paper separator that comes packaged
in the cardboard enclosure. The separator ensures that the paper coming out of the printer is not pulled back in.
The separator has rounded pins on each end that fit into notches
located just behind the tractor feed unit. Slide one of the separator’s
pins into one notch, then with a gentle pressure, snap the other pin
into the other notch as shown in Figure 1-15.
1-14
Figure 1-15. Installing the paper separator
Turning the Power On
5
turn the printer on and become acquainted with the power-up
sequence.
grounded.
(see Figure
With the ribbon and paper installed in the
Plug in the printer’s power cord, making sure the outlet is properly
Turn the power ON with the switch on the left side of the printer
1-16).
FX-286,
it’s time to
Figure 1-16. Turning on the power switch
When the power is turned ON:
l
The print head moves back and forth and stops at the left side of the
printer.
l The printer is initialized-any previous settings are erased, and the
printer is reset to its default (or preset) values (see Appendix A for
default settings).
1-15
• The three green lights on the control panel-POWER, READY, and
ON LINE-go on. (The red PAPER OUT light does not go on unless
the printer is out of paper.)
Operating the Control Panel
6
ure 1-17) has two functions-the functions marked on the blue panels
(ON LINE, NLQ, and DRAFT) are active when the printer is on line;
the functions marked on the yellow panels (OFF LINE, FORM FEED,
and LINE FEED) are active when the printer is off line.
Each of the three buttons on the FX-286 control panel (see Fig-
1-16
Figure 1-17. The FX-286 control panel
OFF LINE/ON LINE
OFF LINE-If you press the ON LINE button when the green light
above it is on, the ON LINE and READY lights go off and the printer is
set off line-the power is still on but the FX-286 won’t print. The
FORM FEED and LINE FEED functions work only when the printer is
off line.
ON LINE-The green ON LINE light indicates that the printer is on
line and ready to receive data. If the READY light is also on, the
FX-286 is ready to print (if it’s connected to a computer). You may
notice that the READY light flickers when the FX-286 is printing, but
this is normal. When the FX-286 is on line, you can select either NLQ
(Near Letter Quality) or draft modes.
FORM FEED/NLQ
FORM FEED--Pressing the FORM FEED button advances the paper
to the top of the next page if you’re using continuous-feed paper (see
Step 7, “Setting the Top-of-Page Position”). If you’re using single-sheet
paper, it fully ejects one sheet. The FORM FEED function works only
when the printer is off line.
NLQ (Near Letter Quality&--Pressing the NLQ button selects the
Near Letter Quality typestyle (for more information on NLQ; see the
shaded box). The printer beeps twice to acknowledge the NLQ selec-
tion. You can select the NLQ typestyle with the NLQ button only
when the printer is on line.
LINE FEED/DRAFT
LlNE FEED--Pressing the LINE FEED button advances the paper one
line at a time, either while you’re loading paper, or when you’re
adjusting where you want printing to begin. If you hold the LINE
FEED button down, the paper advances continuously. The LINE
FEED function works only when the printer is off line.
DRAFT-Pressing the DRAFT button selects the draft typestyle. The
printer beeps once to acknowledge the draft selection. The draft mode
is also the default setting for the FX-286, so every time you turn the
printer on, it’s set to print in the draft mode. The DRAFT button
works only when the printer is on line.
1-17
The NLQ mode...
In addition to the draft mode, the FX-286 has a high-quality NLQ
(Near Letter Quality) mode. As explained in Chapter 4, dot-matrix
characters are made up of many tiny dots. The NLQ characters are
more fully formed than the draft ones because they are made up of
more dots. You can see the difference in the printouts below.
Epson Mode
This is printed in draft mode.
This
is printed in NLQ mode.
IBM Proprinter Made
This is printed in draft mode.
This is printed in NLQ mode.
The increased number of dots does slow the printing somewhat.
Therefore, the FX-286 lets you choose high speed or high quality each
time you print. You can print your ordinary work or preliminary
drafts quickly in the draft mode and use the NLQ -mode for final cop-
ies or special purposes.
The panel buttons make it especially easy to change from draft to
NLQ, but you can also select and cancel the NLQ mode with a software command (see Chapter 5). The following functions are not
available in the Epson NLQ mode: italic, condensed, double-strike,
elite, and proportional. Italic, condensed, and double-strike are not
available in the IBM Proprinter NLQ mode. (Proportional is not
available at all in the IBM mode.)
Setting the Top-of-Page Position
7
and turned the power on, you need to establish a top-of-page position
so that the printed pages end where you want them to and do not cross
over a perforation between pages.
1-18
Once you’ve loaded continuous-feed paper into your FX-286
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