Epson FX-880+ Quick Guide

Buttons and Lights

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

1 Font button

Selects one of the fonts.

Font lights

Indicate which font is selected.

2 Reset

When you press both the Font and
Pitch buttons simultaneously, the
printer clears buffer and returns to its
default settings.

3 Pitch button

Selects one of the pitch settings.

Pitch lights

Indicate which pitch is selected.

4 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.

Buttons and Lights (1/2)

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

5 LF/FF button

❏ Feeds paper line by line when

pressing shortly.

❏ Ejects a single sheet or advances

continuous paper to the next
top-of-form position when held
down.

6 Micro adjust

When you hold down the Pause
button for three seconds, the printer
enters the micro adjust mode. In this
mode, you can press the LF/FF
Load/Eject

U buttons to adjust the

top of form or tear off position. See
“Micro Adjust Function.”

7 Load/Eject button

❏ Loads a single sheet of paper.

❏ Ejects a single sheet of paper if a

sheet is loaded.

D and

9 Pause button

❏ Stops printing 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.

10 Lock

When the lock-out mode is on, the
Paper Out and Pause lights flash if
a locked button is pressed.

11 Paper Out light

❏ On when no paper is loaded in

the selected paper source or
paper is not loaded correctly.

❏ F la sh es w he n p ap er ha s n o t b ee n

fully ejected or a paper jam has
occurred.

❏ Loads continuous paper from

the standby position.

❏ Feeds continuous paper

backward to the standby
position if a sheet is loaded.

8 Pause light

❏ On when the printer is paused.

❏ Flashes when the printer is in the

Micro Adjust mode.

Buttons and Lights (2/2)

Default Settings

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

The default settings control many printer
functions. While you can often set these
functions through your software or printer
driver, you may sometimes need to change
a default setting from the printer’s control
panel using the default-setting mode.

For a detailed description of the settings you
can change in the default-setting mode, see
“Understanding default settings.” For
instructions on changing the settings, see
“Changing default settings.”

Understanding default settings

This section describes the settings and
options available in the default-setting
mode. These settings are shown in the
following table and explained in detail after
the table.

To access and change a setting, see
“Changing default settings.”

Default-setting mode

Setting Options

Skip over
perforation

Auto tear-off Off, On

Auto line feed Off, On

Print direction Bi-D, Uni-D

Software ESC/P, IBM PPDS

I/F (interface)
mode

Auto I/F
(interface) wait
time

Off, On

Auto, Parallel, USB,
Option

10 seconds, 30 seconds

Setting Options

Packet mode Off, Auto

/

0 slash 0, (the zerocharacter

Buzzer Off, On

Auto CR
(carriage return)*

IBM character
table*

Page length for
front tractor

Page length for
rear tractor

Character table Standard model: italic,

International
character set for
italic table**

* This setting is available only in IBM PPDS emulation

mode.

** The options available for this setting vary

depending on the country.

0

with a slash)

Off, On

Table 2, Table1

Length in inches: 3, 3.5, 4,

5.5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 11, 70/6,
12, 14, 17

Length in inches: 3, 3.5, 4,

5.5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 11, 70/6,
12, 14, 17

PC 437, PC 850, PC 860,
PC 863, PC 865, PC 861,
BRASCII, Abicomp,
Roman 8, ISO Latin 1,
PC858, ISO8859-15
All other models: Italic,
PC 437, PC 850, PC 437
Greek, PC 853, PC855,
PC 852, PC 857, PC 866,
PC 869, MAZOWIA, Code
MJK, ISO 8859-7, Bulgaria,
PC 774, Estonia, PC 866
LAT., ISO 8859-2, PC
866 UKR, PC-APTEC,
PC-771, PC-AR864,
PC708, PC720

It al ic U. S. A ., It al ic Fr a nc e,
Italic Germany, Italic
U.K., Italic Denmark 1,
Italic Sweden, Italic Italy,
Italic Spain 1

Parallel I/F
bidirectional
mode

Off, On

Default Settings (1/4)

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

Skip over perforation

This feature is available only when
continuous paper is selected. When you turn
on this feature, the printer provides a
one-inch (25.4 mm) margin between the last
line printed on one page and the first line
printed on the next page. Because most
application program margin settings
override margin settings from the control
pa ne l, yo u sh ou ld use th is se tti ng on ly i f y ou
cannot set your top and bottom margins
using your application.

Auto tear-off

When auto tear-off is on and you are using
co nt in uo us p ap er wit h t he fr ont or re ar p us h
tractor, the printer automatically advances
the paper perforation to the tear-off position,
where you can easily tear off the printed
page(s). When the printer receives data
a ga in , i t a ut o ma ti ca l ly mo ve s t he p ap er ba ck
to the top-of-form position and starts
printing, so you can use all of the next page.

Software

Whe n yo u s elec t ESC/P, the printer operates
i n th e E PS O N E S C/ P m o d e. W h e n yo u s el e c t
IBM PPDS, the printer emulates an IBM
printer.

I/F (interface) mode

The printer provides a slot for an optional
interface in addition to its built-in parallel
interface and USB interface. You can choose
Auto (automatic), Parallel, USB or Option
for the interface mode. When you select
Auto, the printer automatically selects the
interface that is receiving data, and uses that
interface until the end of the print job. The
Auto setting allows you to share the printer
among multiple computers without
changing the interface mode.

If only one computer is connected to the
printer, you can select Parallel, USB or
Option, depending on which interface your
computer uses.

When auto tear-off is off and you are using
co nt in uo us p ap er wit h t he fr ont or re ar p us h
tractor, you need to move the perforation to
the tear-off position manually by pressing
the Tear Off/Bin button.

Auto line feed

When auto line feed is on, the printer
accompanies each carriage return (CR) code
received with a line feed (LF) code.

Print direction

You can select auto print direction,
bidirectional printing (Bi-D), or
unidirectional printing (Uni-D). Printing is
normally bidirectional; however,
unidirectional printing allows for precise
vertical printing alignment.

Auto I/F (interface) wait time

When the printer is in the auto interface
mode and it receives no data from the
currently selected interface for the amount
of time specified with this setting, it
determines which inter face is recei ving data
and switches to that interface. You can
specify either 10 seconds o r 30 seconds fo r
the auto interface wait time.

Parallel I/F bidirectional mode

The Parallel Interface bidirectional transfer
mode is used when this feature is on. If
bidirectional transfer mode is unnecessary,
turn this off.

Default Settings (2/4)

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

Packet mode

Make sure to select AUTO when you print
from Windows applications using the
printer driver included in the Printer
Software CD-ROM that comes with the
printer. Turn this feature off if you have
connection troubles while printing from
applications based on other operating
systems such as DOS.

0 slash

()

/

The zero character has a slash when this
feature is on; it has no slash (0) when this
feature is off. The slash allows you to easily
distinguish between the uppercase letter
“O” and a zero.

0

Buzzer (beeper)

The printer beeps when an error occurs. See
“Error Indicators” for more information on
printer errors. If you do not want the printer
to beep when an error occurs, turn off this
setting.

Page length for front tractor

T hi s s et t in g a ll o ws yo u t o se t t he p ag e l en g th
(in inches) for the continuous paper loaded
on the front push tractor.

Page length for rear tractor

T hi s s et t in g a ll o ws yo u t o se t t he p ag e l en g th
(in inches) for the continuous paper loaded
on the rear push tractor.

Character table

You can select among various character
tables.

International character set for italic table

You can select among several international
character sets for the italic character table.
Each character set contains eight characters
that vary depending on the country or
language, so you can customize the italic
table to suit your printing needs.

Auto CR (carriage return)

This setting is available only in IBM PPDS
emulation mode. When auto carriage return
is on, each line feed (LF) code or ESC J code
is accompanied by a carriage return (CR)
code so the printer moves the next printing
position to the left margin. When this setting
is off, you must send a CR cod e after the line
feed code to move the printing position to
the left margin.

IBM character table

This setting is available only in IBM PPDS
emulation mode. When you select Table 1,
hex codes 00H to 1FH and 80H to 9FH of the
character tables are used for the control
codes. When you select Table 2, hex codes
00H to 1FH are used for the control codes
and 80H to 9FH are used for characters.

Default Settings (3/4)

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

Changing default settings

Follow these steps to enter the
default-setting mode and change the
printer’s default settings:

Note:

❏ To print the language selection and

default-setting mode instructions, you need
three sheets of A4 or letter size single-sheet
paper or three pages of continuous paper that
is at least 279 mm (11 inches) long and 210
mm (8.3 inches) wide. See “Continuous
Paper with the Pull Tractor” and “Single
Sheets with the Paper Guide” for
instructions on loading continuous paper
and single sheets.

❏ If you use single sheets, you need to load a

new sheet of paper each time the printer ejects
a printed sheet from the paper guide.

1. Make sure paper is loaded and the
printer is turned off.

The printed instructions list the settings
you can change, describe how to change
them, and show you how the control
panel lights help you make settings. Use
these instructions to change the printer’s
default settings from the control panel.

Note:

The arrows in the instructions indicate the
printer’s current settings.

5. When you finish making settings, turn
off the printer and exit the
default-setting mode.

Note:

You may exit the default-setting mode by
turning off the printer at any time. Any
settings you have made remain in effect until
you change them again.

Caution:

c

2. Turn on the printer while holding down

the Font button.

The printer enters the default-setting
mode and prints the language selection
instructions (one page).

3. Press the Font button until the Font and
Pitch lights indicate the language you
want, as described in the language
selection instructions.

4.Press the Tear Off/Bin button to print the
default-setting mode instructions (two
pages) in the language you selected.

Whenever you turn off the printer,
wait at least five seconds before
turning it back on; otherwise, you
may damage the printer.

Default Settings (4/4)

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

Error Indicators

You can identify many common printer problems using the lights on the control panel. If your printer
stops working and one or more control panel lights are on or flashing or the printer beeps, use the
following table to diagnose and fix the problem. If you cannot fix your printer problem using this
table.

State of
panel lights

n Paper Out
n Pause

n Pause ••• The paper release lever is set to the wrong position.

f Paper Out
n Pause

Beep
pattern

••• No paper is loaded in the selected paper source.

••• The paper is not loaded correctly.

••• A single sheet of paper is not fully ejected.

••• Continuous paper is not fed to the standby position.

••• Paper is jammed in the printer.

Problem

Solution

Load paper in the printer or select a different paper source; the Paper Out light goes off.
Then press the Pause button; the Pause light goes off and the printer starts printing.

Remo ve your pape r and reloa d it corr ectly . See “Cont inu ous Pap er with the Pull Tra ctor” or
“S ing le S heet s wi th t he Pa per Gui de” for ins tru cti ons on lo adi ng t he t ype of p aper you wan t
to use.

Set the paper release lever to the position for the paper source you want to use. If paper
from another paper source is currently in the paper path, press the Load/Eject button to
eject the paper; then move the paper release lever to the desired position.

Press the Load/Eject button to eject the sheet.

Tear off the printed page at the perforation; then press the Load/ Eject button. The printer
feeds the paper to the standby position.

To clear the paper jam, see “Clearing Paper Jams” in the Reference Guide.

f Pause — The print head is overheated.

Wait for a few minutes; the printer resumes printing automatically once the print head cools.

f Paper Out
f Pause
f Tear Off/Bin
ff Pitch
ff Font

n = on,

••• = short series of beeps (three beeps), ••••• = long series of beeps (five beeps)

••••• An unknown printer error has occurred.

Turn off the printer and leave it off for several minutes; then turn on the printer again. If the
error recurs, contact your dealer.

o = off, f = flashing

Note:

The printer beeps once if you press a control panel button when the corresponding function is not available.

Error Indicators (1/1)

Paper-Thickness Setting

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

Before you start printing, you may need to
change the paper-thickness setting
depending on the type of paper you are
using. Follow these steps:

1. Turn the printer off and open the printer
cover. The paper-thickness lever is
located on the left side of the printer. The
numbers next to the lever indicate the
thickness setting.

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

2. Use the table below to select the
appropriate paper thickness.

Paper type* Lever

Ordinary paper:
Single sheets
Continuous paper

Thin paper -1 or 0

Carbonless multipart forms with:
2 parts (original + 1 copy)
3 parts (original + 2 copies)
4 parts (original + 3 copies)
5 parts (original + 4 copies)
6 parts (original + 5 copies)

Continuous paper with labels 2

Envelopes 2 to 6

* See the paper specifications for more information.

position

0 or 1
0

1
2
3
4
5

Note:

❏ When the temperature is 5°C (41°F) or less,

set the paper-thickness lever one position
lower to improve print quality.

❏ When the temperature is 35°C (95°F) or

more, set the paper-thickness lever one
position higher to improve print quality.

Paper-Thickness Setting (1/1)

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

Continuous Paper with the Rear Push Tractor

Note:

It is recommended that you close the flap on the
front cover if paper is not loaded from the front
slot.

Follow these steps to load paper using the
rear push tractor:

1. Make sure the printer is turned off and
the tractor is installed in the rear push
p o s i t i o n . Al s o m a k e s u r e t h e p a p e r g u i d e
is removed.

2. Set the paper release lever to the rear
push tractor position.

3. Release the left and right sprockets by
pulling the blue sprocket lock levers
forward.

Continuous Paper with the Rear Push Tractor (1/2)

EPSON FX-880+/FX-1180+ Quick Guide

4. Slide the left sprocket approximately 12
mm (0.5 inch) from the far left position
and push the blue lever back to lock it in
place. Then slide the right sprocket to
match the width of your paper, but do
not lock it. Move the center support
midway between the two sprocke t units.

* approx. 12 mm (0.5 inch)

The triangle mark on top of the printer
indicates the point furthest to the left where
printing can begin.

5. Make sure your paper has a clean,
straight edge. Then open both sprocket
covers and fit the first four holes of the
paper, with the printable side down,
over the tractor pins.

7. Slide the right sprocket to remove any
slack in the paper; then lock it in place by
pushing the blue sprocket lock down.

8. Attach the paper guide and lay it flat on
the printer. Open the edge guides all the
way to the left and right, then raise the
continuous paper support.

9. Turn on the printer. When the printer
receives data, it automatically loads the
paper and starts printing.

I f t he fi r st li ne o n y ou r p a ge ap pe a rs to o h i gh
or low, you can change its position using the
Micro Adjust function as described in
“Micro Adjust Function.”

Caution:

c

Never use the knob to adjust the
top-of-form position; this may damage the
printer or cause it to lose the top-of-form
position.

6. Close the sprocket covers.

Continuous Paper with the Rear Push Tractor (2/2)