Epson LQ-300 II DOT MATRIX User Manual

Copyrights and Trademarks

Copyrights

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.

Trademarks

EPSON® and EPSON ESC/P® are registered trademarks of Seiko Epson Corporation.

Microsoft trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

, Windows®, and Windows NT® are registered

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.

Safety Instructions

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes

Warnings

must be followed carefully to avoid bodily injury.

Cautions

must be observed to avoid damage to your equipment.

Notes

contain important information and useful tips on the operation of your printer.

Hot Parts Caution Symbol

K This symbol is placed on the print head and other parts to

indicate that they may be hot. Never touch those parts just after the printer has been used. Let them cool for a few minutes before touching them.

Important Safety Instructions

Read all of these safety instructions before using the printer. In addition, follow all warnings and instructions marked on the printer itself.

When setting up the printer

❏ Do not place the printer on an unstable surface or near a

radiator or heat source.

❏ Place the printer on a flat, stable surface. The printer will not

operate properly if it is tilted or placed at an angle.

❏ Do not place this product on a soft, unstable surface like a bed

or a sofa, or a small, enclosed area, as this restricts ventilation.

❏ Do not block or cover the slots and openings in the printer’s

cabinet, and do not insert objects through the slots.

❏ Use only the type of power source indicated on the printer’s

label. If you are not sure of the power supply specifications in your area, contact your local power company or consult your dealer.

❏ Connect all equipment to properly grounded electrical

outlets. Avoid using outlets on the same circuit as photocopiers or air control systems that regularly switch on and off.

❏ Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord.

❏ The power cord should be placed to avoid abrasions, cuts,

fraying, crimping, kinking, and other damage.

❏ If you use an extension cord with the printer, make sure the

total ampere rating of all devices plugged into the extension cord does not exceed the cord’s ampere rating. Also, make sure the total ampere of all devices plugged into the electrical outlet does not exceed the electrical outlet’s ampere rating.

❏ Use only the power cord that comes with this product. Use of

another cord may result in fire or electric shock.

❏ This product’s power cord is for use with this product only.

Use with other equipment may result in fire or electric shock.

When maintaining the printer

❏ Unplug the printer before cleaning it, and always clean it with

a piece of damp cloth only.

❏ Do not spill liquid onto the printer.

❏ Except as specifically explained in this guide, do not attempt

to service the printer yourself.

❏ Unplug the printer and refer servicing to qualified service

personnel under the following conditions:

i. If the power cord or plug is damaged.

ii. If liquid has entered the printer.

iii. If the printer has been dropped or the cabinet damaged.

iv. If the printer does not operate normally or exhibits a distinct change in performance.

❏ Do not use aerosol blowers which contain flammable gas

inside or around this product. Doing so may cause fire.

❏ Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating

instructions.

❏ If you plan to use the printer in Germany, observe the

following:

To provide adequate short-circuit protection and over-current protection for this printer, the building installation must be protected by a 16-amp circuit breaker.

Bei Anschluss des Druckers an die Stromversorgung muss sichergestellt werden, dass die Gebaudeinstallation mit einer 16 A-Sicherung abgesichert ist.

When Handling the paper

❏ Because labels are sensitive to temperature and humidity, use

them only under normal operating conditions described below:

Temperature: 15 to 25°C (59 to 77°F)

Humidity: 30 to 60% RH

❏ Do not leave labels loaded in the printer between jobs; they

may curl around the platen and jam when you resume printing.

❏ Do not load paper that is curled or has been folded.

When operating the printer

❏ Adjust only those controls that are covered in the user

documentation. Improper adjustment of other controls may result in damage requiring extensive repair by a qualified technician.

❏ Whenever you turn off the printer, wait at least five seconds

before turning it back on; otherwise, you may damage the printer.

❏ Do not turn off the printer while it is printing the self test.

Always press the Pause button to stop printing and then turn off the printer.

❏ Do not reconnect the power cord to an electrical outlet that

has the wrong voltage for your printer.

❏ Never replace the print head yourself; you may damage the

printer. Also, other parts of the printer must be checked when the print head is replaced.

❏ You need to move the print head by hand to replace the ribbon

cartridge. If you have just used the printer, the print head may be hot; let it cool for a few minutes before touching it.

For United Kingdom users

Use of options

Epson (UK) Limited shall not be liable against any damages or problems arising from the use of any options or consumable products other than those designated as Original Epson Products or Epson Approved Products by Epson (UK) Limited.

Safety information

Warning:

This appliance must be earthed. Refer to the rating plate for

voltage and check that the appliance voltage corresponds to the supply voltage.

Important:

The wires in the mains lead fitted to this appliance are coloured in accordance to the following code:

Green and yellow — Earth Blue — Neutral Brown — Live

If you have to fit a plug:

As the colours of the mains lead of this appliance may not match coloured markings used to identify the terminals in a plug, please proceed as follows:

The green and yellow wire must be connected to the terminal in the plug which is marked with the letter E or the Earth symbol (G).

The blue wire must be connected to the terminal in the plug marked with the letter N.

The brown wire must be connected to the terminal in the plug marked with the letter L.

If damage occurs to the plug, replace the cord set or consult a qualified electrician.

Replace fuses only with a fuse of the correct size and rating.

For United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong users

Replace fuses only with fuses of the correct size and rating.

Safety requirements

Mains plug: Use a 3-pin mains plug that is registered with the Safety Authority.

Flexible cord: Use a double insulated flexible cord that is certified* to the relevant IEC or BS standards.

Appliance connector: Use an appliance connector certified* to the relevant IEC or BS Standards.

* certified by member of IECEE CB Scheme.

Contents

Copyrights and Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Copyrights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Trademarks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Hot Parts Caution Symbol. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Important Safety Instructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

For United Kingdom users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

For United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong users . . . . .8

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Printing on Continuous Paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Printing with the push tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Removing a printed document from the push tractor . . . . . .19

Switching back to single sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Printing with the pull tractor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Adjusting the top-of-form position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25

Advancing the paper to the tear-off edge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Printing on Single Sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Loading single sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Printing on Special Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Adjusting the paper thickness lever . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Multipart forms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Envelopes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

About Your Printer Software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Using the Printer Driver with Windows Me and 98 . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications . . .38

Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu. . . . . . . . . .40

Changing the printer driver settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Using the Printer Driver with Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and Windows

NT 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications . . .43

Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu. . . . . . . . . .45

Changing the printer driver settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Printer Driver Settings Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Using EPSON Status Monitor 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Setting up EPSON Status Monitor 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Accessing EPSON Status Monitor 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Installing EPSON Status Monitor 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Setting Up Your Printer on a Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Sharing the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Setting up your printer as a shared printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Setting for the clients. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Installing the printer driver from the CD-ROM . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Canceling Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Uninstalling the Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Uninstalling the printer driver and EPSON Status Monitor 379

Using the Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Control Panel Buttons and Lights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Selecting a built-in font. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

About Your Printer’s Default Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Changing default settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Using the Error Indicators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Problems and Solutions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Power Supply. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Paper Handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109

Correcting USB Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Printing a Self Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Contacting Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Technical Support Web Site. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Installing and Using Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Cut-sheet feeder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Pull tractor unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Roll paper holder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Color upgrade kit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

Print server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Replacing the Ribbon Cartridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Genuine EPSON ribbon cartridge. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

Replacing the ribbon cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Printer Parts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Printer Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Mechanical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .139

Electronic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .141

Electrical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

Paper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144

Recommended Printable Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .147

Paper alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

Command Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

EPSON ESC/P 2 control codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .150

IBM 2390 Plus emulation control codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .152

Standards and approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Safety Approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

CE marking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154

Cleaning the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .155

Transporting the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156

Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .159

Getting to Know Your Printer

Features

Your EPSON® LQ-300+II 24-pin dot matrix printer provides

high-quality printing and superior performance in a compact

design. Its features include:

❏ A variety of paper paths to suit your printing needs.

❏ The ability to handle a wide range of paper types, including

continuous paper, multipart forms (with one original and up to three copies), labels, single sheets, and envelopes.

❏ High-speed printing of up to 300 cps (characters per second)

at 10 cpi (characters per inch).

Your printer comes packaged with the printer driver and other

software, including the EPSON Status Monitor 3 utility for

Microsoft

EPSON Status Monitor 3 utility lets you check the status of your

printer quickly and easily.

Windows® Vista, XP, Me, 98, 2000, or NT 4.0. The

Paper Handling

Printing on Continuous Paper

Your printer can handle continuous paper from 101.6 mm (4.0

inches) to 254 mm (10.0 inches) wide. Depending on where you

position the tractor, you can use it as a pull tractor or a push

tractor. The following guidelines can help you decide where to

position the tractor:

❏ Do you want to switch between printing on single sheets and

continuous paper without removing the paper supply? Will you tear off continuous paper sheet-by-sheet? Use the tractor in the push tractor position. (The printer comes with the tractor installed in this position.) See the following section.

❏ Are you printing on labels, multipart forms, or other

documents that require a precise print position? Use the tractor as a pull tractor. See “Printing with the pull tractor” on page 20 for instructions.

Printing with the push tractor

When using the push tractor, it is a good idea to set the Auto tear

off feature in the Default Setting mode to On. See “About Your

Printer’s Default Settings” on page 88.

Follow these steps to load continuous paper using the push

tractor:

1. Make sure the printer is turned off. Remove the printer cover and the paper guide and place the paper release lever in the continuous paper position.

2. Release the sprocket units by pulling the sprocket locks forward.

3. Slide the left sprocket unit using the scale on the printer as a guide. The printer prints to the right of the position marked

0. Push the sprocket lock lever back to lock it in place. Then slide the right sprocket unit to match the width of your paper, but do not lock it. Move the paper support so it is midway between the sprocket units.

4. Make sure your paper has a clean, straight leading edge. Open the sprocket covers. Fit the first holes of the paper over the sprocket pins and then close the sprocket covers. Slide the right sprocket unit to remove any slack in the paper and lock it in place. Now the paper is in the paper-park position.

Caution:

Use the paper feed knob on the right side of the printer only

to clear paper jams and only when the printer is turned off. Otherwise, you may damage the printer or cause it to lose the top-of-form position.

5. To separate the incoming paper from the printed paper, attach the paper guide by holding it horizontally and fitting its notches over the printer’s mounting posts as shown below. Then slide the paper guide toward the front of the printer until you feel it click and adjust the edge guides to the width of the paper.

6. Turn on the printer.

7. Make sure the printer cover is closed. Press the LF/FF button to feed the paper to the loading position. When the printer receives data, it begins printing automatically.

8. After you finish printing, follow the steps in the next section to tear off your printed document. If the first printed line on your page appears too high or low, you can change its position by using the Micro Adjust feature. See “Adjusting the top-of-form position” on page 25.

Caution:

Never use the paper feed knob to adjust the top-of-form position;

this may damage the printer or cause it to lose the top-of-form position.

When you send more data, the paper automatically feeds back to the loading position.

Removing a printed document from the push tractor

Follow these steps to remove the printed document:

1. Press the Tear Off (Font) button. Make sure the Tear Off (Font) lights are flashing. (This indicates that your paper is at the current tear-off position.)

2. Open the paper guide cover, then tear off the printed document using the tear-off edge of the paper tension unit.

Note:

If your paper’s perforation is not properly aligned with the tear-off edge, you can adjust the tear-off position using the Micro Adjust feature. See “Adjusting the tear-off position” on page 28.

Caution:

Never use the paper feed knob to adjust the tear-off position;

this may damage the printer or cause it to lose the tear-off position.

3. Close the paper guide cover.

When you resume printing, the printer automatically feeds the paper back to the top-of-form position and starts printing.

To feed continuous paper to the standby position where you can remove the paper, press the Load/Eject button. Then open the sprocket covers of the tractor and remove the paper.

Caution:

Always tear off your printed document before you press the

Load/Eject button. Reverse feeding several pages at a time may cause a paper jam.

Switching back to single sheets

To switch to single sheets, press the Load/Eject button; the printer feeds the paper backwards into the standby position. Then, follow the steps in “Loading single sheets” on page 31.

Caution:

Always tear off your printed document before you press the

Load/Eject button. Reverse feeding several pages at a time may cause a paper jam.

Printing with the pull tractor

To load continuous paper using the pull tractor, you must move the tractor to the pull tractor position, as described in steps 1 through 3 in this procedure. If your tractor is already installed in this position, make sure the printer is turned off and skip to step 6.

Caution:

❏ Use the paper feed knob on the right side of the printer only

to clear paper jams and only when the printer is off. Otherwise, you may damage the printer or cause it to lose the top-of-form position.

❏ When using the pull tractor, set the Auto tear off feature in

the Default Setting mode to Off; otherwise, the paper may jam.

1. Turn the printer off; then remove the printer cover and the paper guide. Next, remove the paper tension unit by squeezing the paper tension unit’s lock tabs gently and pulling the paper tension unit away from the printer. Finally, pull the paper release lever forward to the continuous paper position.

2. Squeeze the tractor’s lock tabs gently on both sides, and then rotate the tractor up to pull it away from the printer.

3. Move the tractor forward to the mounting slot at the top of the printer and tilt it into place as shown below. When you push the tractor onto the posts, you should feel the notches snap into place.

4. Release the sprocket units by pulling the sprocket locks forward.

5. Insert the paper into the bottom paper slot or into the rear paper slot as shown below, and pull it up. Position the paper using the scale on the printer as a guide. The printer prints to the right of the position marked 0.

6. Slide the left sprocket unit so that its sprockets match the position of the holes in the paper and lock the unit in place. Then slide the right sprocket unit to match the width of your paper, but do not lock it. Move the paper support midway between the two sprocket units.

7. Make sure your paper has a clean, straight leading edge. Open the sprocket covers. Fit the first holes of the paper over the sprocket pins and then close the sprocket covers. Slide the right sprocket unit to remove any slack in the paper and then lock it in place.

Note:

Remove any remaining slack by gently pulling the paper from the rear or bottom.

8. To separate the incoming paper from the printed paper, attach the paper guide. Hold it horizontally and fit its notches over the printer’s mounting posts. Then slide the paper guide toward the back of the printer until you feel it click and adjust the edge guides to the width of the paper.

9. Attach the printer cover and adjust the paper position with the paper feed knob. Turn the knob until the perforation between pages is just above the print head. Then turn on the printer.

10. Make sure the printer cover is closed, but with the paper guide cover open. When the printer receives data, it begins printing automatically.

If you want to change the position where printing begins on the page, press LF/FF to advance the page to the next top-of-form position, and then see Adjusting the top-of-form position in the next section to adjust the loading position.

To eject the paper, tear off the paper entering the printer; then press the LF/FF button to feed the paper forward.

Adjusting the top-of-form position

The top-of-form position is the position on the page where the printer starts printing. If your printing appears too high or low on the page, you can use the micro adjust feature to adjust the top-of-form position. Follow these steps:

Caution:

Never use the paper feed knob to adjust the top-of-form position;

this may damage the printer or cause it to lose the top-of-form position.

Note:

❏ Your top-of-form position setting remains in effect until you change

it, even if you turn off the printer.

❏ The top margin setting made in some application software overrides

the top-of-form position setting you make with the Micro Adjust feature. If necessary, adjust the top-of-form position in your software.

1. Make sure the printer is turned on.

2. If necessary, load paper as described in this chapter.

3. Remove the printer cover.

4. Hold down the Pause button for about three seconds. The Pause light starts flashing and the printer enters the Micro Adjust mode.

5. Press the LF/FF D button to move the top-of-form position up on the page, or press the Load/Eject U button to move the top-of-form position down on the page.

* plastic ribbon cover

Note:

❏ The printer has a minimum and a maximum top-of-form

position. If you try to adjust it beyond these limits, the printer beeps and stops moving the paper.

❏ When the paper reaches the default top-of-form position, the

printer also beeps and stops moving the paper briefly. You can use the default position as a reference point when adjusting the top-of-form position.

To adjust the top-of-form position for continuous paper loaded on the pull tractor, see the following example:

First mark a point 2.5 mm (0.1 inch) above the paper’s perforation; then position the paper so that the mark is even with the top edge of the plastic ribbon cover. This gives you an 8.5 mm (0.33 inch) margin on the next page, meaning the printer starts printing 8.5 mm (0.33 inch) below the perforation. If you mark a point 2.5 mm (0.1 inch) above the perforation, you get a 8.5 mm (0.33 inch) margin on the next page.

A 2.5 mm (0.1 inch)

B 8.5 mm (0.33 inch)

6. After you set the top-of-form position, press the Pause button

to exit the Micro Adjust mode.

Advancing the paper to the tear-off edge

If you use the push tractor, you can use the tear-off feature to advance your continuous paper to the printer’s tear-off edge when you finish printing. You can then easily tear off the printed document. When you resume printing, the printer automatically feeds the paper back to the top-of-form position so that you can save the paper normally lost between documents.

As described below, you can use the tear-off feature in two ways: manually, by pressing the printer’s Tear Off (Font) button, or automatically, by turning on the auto tear-off mode.

Caution:

Never use the tear-off feature (as described below) to feed

continuous paper with labels backwards; they may come off their backing sheet and jam the printer.

Using the Tear Off button

After the printer finishes printing your document, check that the

Tear Off (Font) lights are not flashing. Then press the Tear Off (Font) button. The printer advances the paper to the tear-off edge.

Note:

If the Tear Off (Font) lights are flashing, the paper is in the tear-off position. If you press the Tear Off (Font) button again, the printer feeds your paper to the next top-of-form position.

Advancing the paper to the tear-off position automatically

To automatically advance your printed documents to the tear-off position, you need to turn on the auto tear-off mode and select the appropriate page length for continuous paper in the Default Setting mode. For instructions, see “Changing default settings” on page 95.

When auto tear-off is on, the printer automatically advances the paper to the tear-off position whenever it receives a full page of data or a form feed command followed by no more data.

Adjusting the tear-off position

If your paper’s perforation is not aligned with the tear-off edge, you can use the Micro Adjust feature to move the perforation to the tear-off position.

Follow these steps to adjust the tear-off position:

Caution:

Never use the paper feed knob to adjust the tear-off position; this

may damage the printer or cause it to lose the tear-off position.

Note:

Your tear-off position setting remains in effect until you change it, even if you turn off the printer.

1. Make sure the Tear Off (Font) lights are flashing (the paper

is at the current tear-off position). You may need to press the Tear Off (Font) button to advance the paper to the tear-off position.

2. Open the paper guide cover.

3. Hold down the Pause button for about three seconds. The Pause light begins to flash and the printer enters the Micro Adjust mode.

4. Press the LF/FF D button to feed the paper backwards, or press the Load/Eject U button to feed the paper forwards, until the paper perforation is aligned with the tear-off edge.

* tear-off edge

Note:

The printer has a minimum and a maximum tear-off position. If you try to adjust the tear-off position beyond these limits, the printer beeps and stops moving the paper.

5. After you set the tear-off position, press the Pause button to

exit the Micro Adjust mode.

6. Tear off the printed pages.

When you resume printing, the printer automatically feeds the paper back to the top-of-form position and begins printing.

Printing on Single Sheets

You can load single-sheet paper one sheet at a time using the paper guide of the printer. Your single-sheet paper may be from 100 to 257 mm (3.9 to 10.1 inches) wide.

Before printing on single-sheet multipart forms, envelopes, or other special paper, be sure to the set the paper thickness lever to the appropriate position. See “Printing on Special Paper” on page 32 for details.

Note:

❏ To load a stack of single-sheet paper, use the optional cut-sheet

feeder. See “Installing and Using Options” on page 121.

❏ For detailed specifications on the types of single-sheet paper you can

use, See “Printer Specifications” on page 139.

❏ You can use the paper guide to load single-sheet carbonless

multipart forms that are fastened at the top by line gluing.

❏ Insert multipart forms in the paper guide, bound edge first and

printable side down.

Loading single sheets

Follow these steps to load single sheets:

1. Make sure the printer is turned off. Also make sure that the paper release lever is pushed back to the single-sheet position and the paper guide is in the upright position, as shown below.

2. Slide the left edge guide until it locks in place at the guide mark. Next, adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper.

3. Slide a sheet of paper down firmly between the edge guides until it meets resistance.

For normal use, turn on the printer without pressing any other buttons. When the printer receives data, it begins to print.

Caution:

Use the paper feed knob on the right side of the printer only to

clear paper jams and only when the printer is off. Otherwise, you may damage the printer or cause it to lose the top-of-form position.

Printing on Special Paper

Your printer can also print on a wide variety of paper types, including multipart forms, labels, and envelopes.

For multipart forms, you should not print any closer than 13 mm (0.5 inch) from either side of the paper. For information on the recommended printable area of envelopes, see “Printer Specifications” on page 139.

Caution:

When printing on multipart forms, thicker-than-normal paper,

labels, or envelopes, make sure your application software settings keep the printing entirely within the recommended printable area. Printing past the edge of these papers can damage the print head.

Adjusting the paper thickness lever

Before printing on special paper, you need to change the paper thickness setting.

Follow these steps to adjust the paper thickness setting:

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

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

Paper type Lever position

Standard paper (single sheets or continuous) 0 or 1

Multipart forms (single sheets or continuous)

2-sheet 3-sheet 4-sheet

Labels 2

Envelopes 3 to 5

3. Close the printer cover.

1 2 3

Multipart forms

You can use continuous or single-sheet carbonless multipart forms of up to four parts (one original plus three copies). Before you print on the forms, set the paper thickness lever as described in the previous section. The following tips will help you get good results:

❏ Use only continuous multipart forms that are joined by spot

gluing or side-crimping. Never load continuous multipart forms joined by metal staples, tape, or continuous gluing.

❏ Use only single-sheet multipart forms that are line-glued only

at the top. Insert the forms glued edge first into the printer.

❏ Use only multipart forms that are free of wrinkles and waves.

❏ If you need to adjust the loading position, use your

application software or change the loading position as described on “Adjusting the top-of-form position” on page 25.

❏ When you use side-crimped continuous multipart forms, the

copies may not align with the original. If this happens, raise the paper guide.

Labels

You must use the tractor as a pull tractor and load paper from the bottom paper slot to print on labels. Before you print on labels, set the paper thickness lever as described in “Adjusting the paper thickness lever” on page 33. Keep the following tips in mind:

❏ Choose labels mounted on a continuous backing sheet with

sprocket holes made for use with a tractor. Do not print labels as single sheets, because the shiny backing sheet almost always slips slightly.

❏ Load labels the same way as you would load ordinary

continuous paper. See “Printing with the pull tractor” on page 20 for loading instructions.

❏ Because labels are especially sensitive to temperature and

humidity, use them only under normal operating conditions.

❏ Do not leave labels loaded in the printer between jobs; they

curl around the platen and may jam when you resume printing.

❏ To remove the labels from the printer, tear off the fresh supply

at the bottom of the printer; then press LF/FF to advance the remaining labels out of the printer.

Caution:

Never feed labels backwards through the printer; they can easily

peel off the backing sheet and jam the printer. If a label does become stuck in the printer, contact your dealer.

Envelopes

You can feed envelopes individually using the paper guide. Keep the following tips in mind:

❏ Before loading an envelope, set the paper thickness lever to

the proper position. See “Adjusting the paper thickness lever” on page 33.

❏ To load an envelope, follow the steps in “Loading single

sheets” on page 31. Insert the wide edge of the envelope into the printer first, printable-side down. When you insert the envelope between the paper guides, push it firmly and hold it until it feeds into the printer.

❏ Use envelopes only under normal temperature and humidity

conditions.

❏ Make sure the printing stays entirely within the

recommended printable area.

❏ The print head must not go past the left or right edge of the

envelope or other thick paper. (See “Printer Specifications” on page 139 for specifications.) It’s a good idea to print a test sample using a normal single sheet of paper before you print on envelopes.

Printer Software

About Your Printer Software

The Epson software includes the printer driver software and EPSON Status Monitor 3.

The printer driver is software that allows your computer to control the printer. You need to install the printer driver so your Windows software applications can take full advantage of the printer’s capabilities.

EPSON Status Monitor 3 program allows you to monitor the status of your printer, alerts you when errors occur, and provides you with troubleshooting tips. EPSON Status Monitor 3 is automatically installed when you install the printer driver. If you want to install EPSON Status Monitor 3 later, see “Installing EPSON Status Monitor 3” on page 57 for instructions.

Note:

❏ Before proceeding, make sure you have installed the printer driver

on your computer described in the Setup Guide.

❏ Make sure the software setting is set to ESC/P 2. The printer driver

software and EPSON Status Monitor 3 can only function in ESC/P 2 mode.

Using the Printer Driver with Windows Me and 98

You can access the printer driver from your Windows applications or from the Start menu.

❏ When you access the printer driver from a Windows

application, any settings you make apply only to the application you are using. See “Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications” on page 38 for more information.

❏ When you access the printer driver from the Start menu, the

printer driver settings you make apply to all your applications. See “Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu” on page 40 for more information.

See “Changing the printer driver settings” on page 41 to check and change printer driver settings.

Note:

While many Windows applications override the settings made with the printer driver, some do not, so you must verify that the printer driver settings match your requirements.

Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications

Follow these steps to access the printer driver from a Windows application:

1. Select Print Setup or Print from the File menu of your application software. In the Print or Print Setup dialog box displayed, make sure that your printer is selected in the Name drop-down list.

2. Click Printer, Setup, Properties, or Options. (The button you

click depends on your application and you may need to click a combination of these buttons.) The Properties window appears, and you see the Paper, Graphics, and Device Options menus. These menus contain the printer driver settings.

3. To view a menu, click the corresponding tab at the top of the window. See “Changing the printer driver settings” on page 41 for information on how to change the settings.

Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu

Follow these steps to access the printer driver from the Start menu:

1. Click the Start button, and then point to Settings.

2. Click Printers.

3. Right-click your printer icon, and click Properties. The screen

displays the Properties window, which contains the Paper, Graphics, Device Options, and Utility menus. These menus display the printer driver settings.

4. To view a menu, click the corresponding tab at the top of the window. See “Changing the printer driver settings” on page 41 for information on how to change the settings.

Changing the printer driver settings

Your printer driver has seven menus: Paper, Graphics, Device Options, General, Details, Utility, and Sharing. For an overview of the available settings, see “Printer Driver Settings Overview” on page 48. You can also view online help by right-clicking items in the driver and selecting What’s this?

When you finish making printer driver settings, click OK to apply the settings, or click Restore Defaults to return the settings to their default values.

Once you have checked your printer driver settings and made any necessary changes, you are ready to print.

Using the Printer Driver with Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and Windows NT 4.0

You can access the printer driver from your Windows applications or from the Start menu.

❏ When you access the printer driver from a Windows

application, any settings you make apply only to the application you are using. See “Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications” on page 43 for more information.

❏ When you access the printer driver from the Start menu, the

printer driver settings you make apply to all your applications. See “Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu” on page 45 for more information.

See “Changing the printer driver settings” on page 47 to check and change printer driver settings.

Note:

While many Windows applications override the settings made with the printer driver, some do not, so you must verify that the printer driver settings match your requirements.

Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications

Follow these steps to access the printer driver from a Windows application:

Note:

The examples in the following section are from the Windows 2000 operating system. They may vary in appearance from what actually appears on your screen; however, the instructions are the same.

1. Select Print Setup or Print from the File menu of your application software. In the Print or Print Setup dialog box displayed, make sure that your printer is selected in the Name drop-down list.

2. Click Printer, Setup, Properties, or Options. (The button you

click depends on your application and you may need to click a combination of these buttons.) The Document Properties window appears, and you see the Layout and Paper/Quality menus (Windows XP and 2000) or Layout, Paper/Quality, User Defined Paper and Extension Settings menus (Windows Vista). These menus contain the printer driver settings.

3. To view a menu, click the corresponding tab at the top of the window. See “Changing the printer driver settings” on page 47 to change the settings.

Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu

Follow these steps to access the printer driver from the Start menu:

Note:

The screen shots used in this procedure are from the Windows 2000 operating system. They may vary in appearance from what actually appears on your screen; however, the instructions are the same.

1. For Windows Vista: Click Start, click Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound, and then click Printers.

For Windows 2000, XP, NT4.0: Click Start, point to Settings, and then select Printers.

2. Right-click your printer icon, and click Printing Preferences (in Windows Vista, XP or 2000) or Document Defaults (in Windows NT 4.0).

The screen displays the Document Properties window, which contains the Layout and Paper/Quality menus (Windows XP, 2000 and NT4.0) or Layout, Paper/Quality, User Defined Paper and Extension Settings menus (Windows Vista). These menus display the printer driver settings.

When you click Properties in the menu displayed by right-clicking the printer icon, the Properties window appears, which includes menus used to make the printer driver settings.

3. To view a menu, click the corresponding tab at the top of the window. See “Printer Driver Settings Overview” on page 48 for information on how to change the settings.

Changing the printer driver settings

Your printer driver has two menus from which you can change the printer driver settings; Layout and Paper/Quality. You can also change settings on the Utility menu in the printer software. For an overview of the available settings, see “Printer Driver Settings Overview” on page 48. For Windows XP/2000, you can also view online help by right-clicking items in the driver and selecting What’s this?

If you are using Windows Vista, click the Help button on the Printer Driver screen.

When you finish making your printer driver settings, click OK to apply the settings, or click Cancel to cancel your changes.

Once you have checked your printer driver settings and changed them if necessary, you are ready to print.

Printer Driver Settings Overview

The following tables show the Windows printer driver settings. Note that not every setting is available in all versions of Windows.

For more details, see Help for the printer driver.

Printer settings

Note:

Depends on the type of printer, some functions may not be displayed.

Settings Explanations

Paper Size Select the size of the paper you want to use. If you do

not see your paper size, use the scroll bar to scroll through the list. If your paper size is not included in the list, see “Definition of Custom Paper Size” on page 51 for instructions.

Orientation Select Portrait or Landscape.

Paper Source Select the paper source you want to use.

Resolution/ Graphics Resolution

Dithering You can leave this option set to Fine, which is the

Intensity Move the slider to make your printout lighter or darker.

Print Quality Select a print quality option from the Print quality list.

Halftone Setup.../Halftone Color Adjustment...

Halftoning Select the type of halftoning to use when printing

Select the printing resolution you want. The higher the resolution you select, the more detailed your printout will be; however, increasing the resolution slows printing.

default setting, or select another dithering pattern depending on the kind of printout you want.

If you set Hi-speed to On, you will enter bidirectional printing mode and printing speed will increase. Setting Hi-speed to Off will return the printer to unidirectional printing mode. Printing speed will decrease, but printing precision will improve. Printing with the default settings uses the settings stored in the printer.

Click this button to set the brightness and contrast, input the RGB gamma, or make other settings. The Halftone Color Adjustment dialog box appears. For details, click the Help button in this dialog box.

graphics. To let the printer determine the best halftone quality, use Auto Select.

Settings Explanations

Printer Font Setting

Print Text as Graphics*

Metafile Spooling*

Paper Order* Select whether to print from front to back or back to

Pages Per Sheet* Select the number of pages that you want to print

Copy Count* When you select more than one in the Number of

Advanced Printing Features*

Select a character table group to use. You can select one of three character table groups, Standard, Expanded, and None (Bit Image printing).

When Standard or Expanded is selected, the printer uses the device fonts. Expanded includes more fonts than Standard.

When None is selected, the printer uses bit map images instead of the device fonts.

For details on the fonts which are included in each table, see “Electronic” on page 141.

Select Off when the printer uses the device fonts and select On when the printer does not use the device fonts.

Select whether to use EMF spooling.

front.

onto a single page.

copies box, this check box appears and you can select whether to collate the pages of the copies.

Select Enable or Disable for the metafile Spooling.

Print Optimizations*

Color Select whether to use color printing. To use color

Printable Area If Standard is selected, the size of the top margin is

Top Margin Priority**

Select Disable when the printer does not use the device fonts and select Enable when the printer uses the device fonts.

printing, you have to install the optional color upgrade kit.

4.2mm. If Maximum is selected, it is 0mm.

Select which setting for the print-start position is to be used; driver setting or printer setting. For more details, see Help for the printer driver.

Settings Explanations

Packet Mode** Ordinarily, there is no need to change this setting. If

you change the printer's Packet Mode settings, change this setting to match. If the printer and printer driver settings are different, you may not be able to print correctly. For more details, see Help for the printer driver.

User Defined Paper**

Offset** This setting allows you to offset the image on the page.

* For details, see Windows help.

** For Windows Vista and XP Professional x64 Edition.

If your paper is not included in the Paper Size drop-down list, you can add the size to the list. For more details, see Help for the printer driver.

That is, you can adjust the position of the printed image. If the offset you specify moves a portion of the image out of the printer's printable area, that portion will not be printed.

Definition of Custom Paper Size

If your paper is not included in the Paper Size drop-down list, you can add the size to the list.

For Windows Me and 98:

Click Custom or User Defined Size and enter the paper size in the dialog box that appears.

For Windows XP, 2000, and Windows NT 4.0 (except Professional x64 Edition):

1. For Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0, click Start, point to Settings, and click to Printers.

For Windows XP Professional, click Start, and click Printers and Faxes.

For Windows XP Home Edition, click Start, and click Control Panel, then click Printers and Faxes.

2. Click the EPSON LQ-300+II ESC/P2 icon.

3. Select Server Properties from the file menu.

4. Check the Create a New Form.

5. Enter the paper size in the Measurement fields.

6. Click Save Form and then click OK.

Note:

You can use this method also on Windows Vista or XP Professional x64 Edition. To open the Server Properties screen on Windows Vista, you need to use the Run as administrator option.

For Windows Vista and XP Professional x64 Edition:

1. For Windows Vista, click Start, and click Control Panel, and click Hardware and Sound, then click Printers.

For Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, click Start, and click Printers and Faxes.

2. Right click your printer icon, and click Printing Preferences.

3. Select the User Defined Paper menu.

4. Enter the paper size in the Paper Size fields.

5. Click Apply and then click OK.

Note:

For more details, see Help for the printer driver.

Monitoring settings

Settings Explanations

EPSON Status Monitor 3

Monitoring Preferences

You can access EPSON Status Monitor 3 when you click this button. To monitor the printer, make sure the Monitor the printing status check box is selected.

Click this button to open the Monitoring Preferences dialog box where you can make settings for EPSON Status Monitor 3. See “Setting up EPSON Status Monitor 3” on page 54 for more information.

Using EPSON Status Monitor 3

EPSON Status Monitor 3 is available for Windows Vista, XP, Me, 98, 2000, and Windows NT 4.0. It allows you to monitor your printer’s status, alerts you when printer errors occur, and provides troubleshooting instructions when needed.

EPSON Status Monitor 3 is available when:

❏ The printer is connected directly to the host computer via the

parallel port [LPT1] or the USB port.

❏ Your system is configured to support bidirectional

communication.

EPSON Status Monitor 3 is installed when the printer is connected directly and you install the printer driver as described in the Setup Guide. When sharing the printer, be sure to set EPSON Status Monitor 3 so that the shared printer can be monitored on the printer server. See “Setting up EPSON Status Monitor 3” on page 54 and “Sharing the printer” on page 58.

Note:

❏ If you are using a computer running Windows Vista x64 Edition

with multiple users are logged on, a communication error message may be displayed when monitoring printers at the same time.

❏ When connecting to a shared printer beyond a router, error and

warning notification for shared printers during printing is not available in some cases because of the router's settings.

Before using EPSON Status Monitor 3, be sure to read the README file on the User CD-ROM. This file contains the latest information on the utility.

Setting up EPSON Status Monitor 3

Follow these steps to set up EPSON Status Monitor 3:

1. Open the Utility menu as described in “Using the Printer Driver with Windows Me and 98” on page 37 or “Using the Printer Driver with Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and Windows NT 4.0” on page 42.

2. Click the Monitoring Preferences button. The Monitoring

Preferences dialog box appears.

3. The following settings are available:

Select Notification Displays the error item check box On/Off status.

Turn on this check box to display the selected error notification.

Select Shortcut Icon

Receive error notification for shared printers

The selected icon is displayed on the taskbar. The setting’s example is shown on the right window. By clicking the shortcut icon, you can access the Monitoring Preferences dialog box easily.

Error notification for a shared printer can be received when this check box is selected.

Allow monitoring of shared printer

When this check box is selected, a shared printer can be monitored by other PCs.

Note:

If the server’s OS is Windows Vista, select Run as Administrator when opening the printer properties before checking.

Note:

Click the Default button to revert all items to the default settings.

Accessing EPSON Status Monitor 3

Do one of the following to access EPSON Status Monitor 3;

❏ Double-click the printer-shaped shortcut icon on the taskbar.

To add a shortcut icon to the taskbar, go to the Utility menu and follow the instructions.

❏ Open the Utility menu, then click the EPSON Status Monitor

3 icon. To find out how to open the Utility menu, See “Using

the Printer Driver with Windows Me and 98” on page 37 or “Using the Printer Driver with Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and Windows NT 4.0” on page 42.

When you access EPSON Status Monitor 3 as described above, the following printer status window appears.

You can view printer status information in this window.

Installing EPSON Status Monitor 3

Follow the steps below to install EPSON Status Monitor 3.

Note:

It might not be possible to retrieve the printer status during printing. In this situation, click the EPSON Status Monitor3 button in the Utility tab, and use the printer with the status window left open.

1. Make sure that the printer is off and that Windows is running on your computer.

2. Insert the printer software CD-ROM in the CD-ROM drive.

Note:

❏ If the language selection window appears, select your country.

❏ If the EPSON Installation Program screen does not appear

automatically, double-click the My Computer icon, right-click the CD-ROM icon, click OPEN in the menu that appears, then double-click Epsetup.exe.

3. Click Continue. When the software license agreement screen appears, read the statement, then click Agree.

4. Click Custom.

5. Select the EPSON Status Monitor 3 check box, then click Install.

6. In the dialog box that appears, make sure that your printer icon is selected, and click OK. Then follow the on-screen instructions.

7. When the installation is complete, click OK.

Setting Up Your Printer on a Network

Sharing the printer

This section describes how to share the printer on a standard Windows network.

The computers on a network can share a printer that is directly connected to one of them. The computer that is directly connected to the printer is the printer server, and the other computers are the clients which need permission to share the printer with the printer server. The clients share the printer via the printer server.

According to the versions of Windows OS and your access rights on the network, perform the appropriate settings of the printer server and clients.

Setting the printer server

❏ For Windows Me or 98, see “With Windows Me or 98” on page

59.

❏ For Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0, see “With

Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0” on page 61.

Setting the clients

❏ For Windows Me or 98, see “With Windows Me or 98” on page

64.

❏ For Windows XP or 2000, see “With Windows XP or 2000” on

page 66.

❏ For Windows Vista, see “With Windows Vista” on page 69

❏ For Windows NT 4.0, see “With Windows NT 4.0” on page 75.

Note:

❏ When sharing the printer, be sure to set EPSON Status Monitor 3

so that the shared printer can be monitored on the printer server. See “Setting up EPSON Status Monitor 3” on page 54.

❏ When you are Windows shared printer user in a Windows Me or

98 environment, on the server, double-click the Network icon in

Control panel and make sure that the “File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks” component is installed. Then, on the server and clients, make sure that the “IPX/SPX-compatible Protocol” or the “TCP/IP Protocol” is installed.

❏ When connecting to a Windows XP shared printer, error and

warning notifications do not appear during printing. Installing Windows XP Service Pack 1 or later will solve this problem.

❏ When connecting to a shared printer beyond a router, error and

warning notification for shared printers during printing is not available in some cases because of the router's settings.

❏ The printer server and clients should be set on the same network

system, and they should be under the same network management beforehand.

❏ The on-screen displays on the following pages may differ depending

on the version of Windows OS.

Setting up your printer as a shared printer

With Windows Me or 98

When the printer server’s OS is Windows Me, 98, follow these steps to set the printer server.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.

2. Double-click the Network icon.

3. Click File and Print Sharing on the Configuration menu.

4. Select the I want to be able to allow others to print to my printer(s). check box, then click OK.

5. Click OK to accept the settings.

Note:

❏ When “Insert the Disk” appears, insert the Windows Me or 98

CD-ROM in the computer. Click OK and then follow the on-screen instructions.

❏ When the prompt to restart the computer appears, restart the

computer and continue with the settings.

6. Double-click the Printers icon on the control panel.

7. Right-click your printer icon, and click Sharing in the menu that appears.

8. Select Shared As, type the name in the Share Name box, and click OK. Type a Comment and Password if needed.

Note:

❏ Do not use spaces or hyphens for the share name, or an error

may occur.

❏ When sharing the printer, be sure to set EPSON Status

Monitor 3 so that the shared printer can be monitored on the printer server. See “Setting up EPSON Status Monitor 3” on page 54.

You need to set the client computers so that they can use the printer on a network. See the following pages for details.

❏ “With Windows Me or 98” on page 64

❏ “With Windows XP or 2000” on page 66

❏ “With Windows Vista” on page 69

❏ “With Windows NT 4.0” on page 75

With Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0

When the printer server’s OS is Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0, follow these steps to set the printer server.

Note:

You must access Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0 as the Administrators of the local machine.

1. For a Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0 printer server, click

Start, point to Settings, and click Printers. For a Windows XP Professional printer server, click Start, and click Printers and Faxes. For Windows XP Home Edition printer server, click Start, click Control panel, then click Printers and Faxes. For a Windows Vista printer server, click Start, click Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound, and then click Printers.

2. Right-click your printer icon, and click Sharing in the menu

that appears.

For Windows XP, if the following menu appears, click either

Network Setup Wizard or If you understand the security risks but want to share printers without running the wizard, click here.

In either case, follow the on-screen instructions.

3. For a Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0 printer server, select Shared as (for Windows 2000) or Shared (for Windows NT

4.0), then type the name in the Share name box and click OK.

For a Windows Vista or XP printer server, select Share this printer, then type the name in the Share name box and click OK.

Note:

❏ Do not use spaces or hyphens for the share name, or an error

may occur.

❏ In Windows Vista, you cannot select share this printer until

you click the Change sharing options button.

You need to set the client computers so that they can use the printer on a network. See the following pages for details:

❏ “With Windows Me or 98” on page 64

❏ “With Windows XP or 2000” on page 66

❏ “With Windows Vista” on page 69

❏ “With Windows NT 4.0” on page 75

Setting for the clients

This section describes how to install the printer driver by accessing the shared printer on a network.

Note:

❏ To share the printer on a Windows network, you need to set the

printer server. For details, see “Setting up your printer as a shared printer” on page 59 (Windows Me or 98) or “With Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0” on page 61 (Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0).

❏ This section describes how to access the shared printer on a standard

network system using the server (Microsoft workgroup). If you cannot access the shared printer due to the network system, ask the administrator of the network for assistance.

❏ This section describes how to install the printer driver by accessing

the shared printer from the Printers folder. You can also access the shared printer from Network Neighborhood or My Network on the Windows desktop.

❏ When you want to use the EPSON Status Monitor 3 at clients, you

have to install both of the printer driver and the EPSON Status Monitor 3 in each client from the CD-ROM.

With Windows Me or 98

Follow these steps to set Windows Me or 98 clients.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Printers.

2. Double-click the Add Printer icon, then click Next.

3. Select Network printer, then click Next.

4. Click Browse, and the Browse for Printer dialog box appears.

Note:

You can also type “\\(the name of the computer that is locally connected to the shared printer)\(the shared printer’s name)” in the Network path or queue name.

5. Click the computer or server that is connected to the shared

printer, and the name of the shared printer. Then click OK.

Note:

The name of the shared printer may be changed by the computer or server that is connected to the shared printer. To make sure of the name of the shared printer, ask the administrator of the network.

6. Click Next.

Note:

❏ If the printer driver is installed in the client beforehand, you

need to select the new printer driver or the current printer driver. When the prompt to select the printer driver appears, select the printer driver according to the message.

❏ If the printer server’s OS is Windows Me or 98, go to the next

step.

❏ If the printer server’s OS is not Windows Me or 98, go to

“Installing the printer driver from the CD-ROM” on page 76.

7. Make sure of the name of the shared printer, and select whether to use the printer as the default printer or not. Click OK, and then follow the on-screen instructions.

Note:

You can change the shared printer’s name so that it appears only on the client computer.

With Windows XP or 2000

Follow these steps to set Windows XP or 2000 clients.

You can install the printer driver of the shared printer, if you have Power Users or more powerful access rights even if you are not the Administrator.

1. For Windows 2000 clients, click Start, point to Settings, and click Printers. For Windows XP Professional clients, click Start, and click Printers and Faxes. For Windows XP Home Edition clients, click Start, click Control panel, then click Printers and Faxes.

2. For Windows 2000, double-click the Add Printer icon, then click Next.

For Windows XP, click the Add a printer in the Printer Tasks menu.

3. Select Network printer (for Windows 2000) or A network printer, or a printer attached to another computer (for

Windows XP), then click Next.

4. For Windows 2000, select Type the printer name, or click Next to browse for a printer, then click Next.

Note:

You can also type the shared printer’s name or network path in the Name box, such as “\\(the name of the computer that is

locally connected to the shared printer)\(the shared printer’s name).”

For Windows XP, select Browse for a printer, then click Next.

5. Click the icon of the computer or server that is connected to the shared printer, and the name of the shared printer. Then click Next.

Note:

❏ The name of the shared printer may be changed by the computer

or server that is connected to the shared printer. To make sure of the name of the shared printer, ask the administrator of the network.

❏ If the printer driver is installed in the client beforehand, you

need to select either the new printer driver or the current printer driver. When the prompt to select the printer driver appears, select the printer driver according to the message.

❏ Proceed to the next step if the printer server and client have the

same OS and the same architecture (x64/x86).

❏ If the printer server’s OS is not Windows XP or 2000, go to

“Installing the printer driver from the CD-ROM” on page 76.

6. For Windows 2000, select whether to use the printer as the default printer or not, then click OK.

For Windows Vista or XP, if another driver is already installed, select whether to use the printer as the default printer or not, then click OK.

7. Make sure of the settings, then click Finish.

With Windows Vista

Follow these steps to set Windows Vista clients.

1. Click Start, click Control Panel, click Hardware and Sound, and then click Printers.

2. Click the Add a Printer icon.

3. Click Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer.

4. A shared printer is automatically searched for.

If a shared printer is found, click its icon and click Next.

If no shared printer is found, click the The printer that I want isn't listed button.

5. Select Browse for a printer and click Next.

6. A PC icon on your network appears.

7. Click the PC icon. A shared printer icon appears.

8. Click Install driver.

9. Make sure that the appropriate printer driver name is shown, and click Next.

If any other printer driver has already been installed, the Set as the default printer checkbox will appear. If you want to set the shown printer as the default printer, select the checkbox and click Next.

10. Click Finish.

With Windows NT 4.0

Follow these steps to set Windows NT 4.0 clients.

You can install the printer driver of the shared printer, if you have Power Users or more powerful access rights even if you are not the Administrator.

1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Printers.

2. Double-click the Add Printer icon.

3. Select Network printer server, then click Next.

4. Click the icon of the computer or server that is connected to the shared printer and the name of the shared printer. Then click OK.

Note:

❏ You can also type “\\(the name of the computer that is locally

connected to the shared printer)\(the shared printer’s name)” in Network path or queue name.

❏ The name of the shared printer may be changed by the computer

or server that is connected to the shared printer. To make sure of the name of the shared printer, ask the administrator of the network.

❏ If the printer driver is installed in the client beforehand, you

need to select the new printer driver or the current printer driver. When the prompt to select the printer driver appears, select the printer driver according to the message.

❏ If the printer server’s OS is Windows NT 4.0, go to the next

step.

❏ If the printer server’s OS is not Windows NT 4.0, go to

“Installing the printer driver from the CD-ROM” on page 76.

5. Select whether to use the printer as the default printer or not,

then click OK.

6. Click Finish.

Installing the printer driver from the CD-ROM

This section describes how to install the printer driver in the clients when the computers of the server and clients use different OS.

The on-screen displays on the following pages may differ depending on the version of Windows OS.

Note:

❏ When installing in Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0

clients, you must access Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT

4.0 with the Administrator.

❏ If the computers of the server and clients use the same OS and the

same architecture, you do not have to install the printer drivers from the CD-ROM.

1. Access the shared printer and a prompt may appear. Click OK, and then follow the on-screen instructions to install the printer driver from the CD-ROM.

2. Insert the CD-ROM, then the EPSON Installation Program dialog box appears. Cancel the dialog box by clicking Cancel, then type the appropriate drive and folder names in which the printer driver for clients is located, then click OK.

When installing drivers in Windows Vista, XP or 2000, “Digital Signature is not found.” may appear. Click Yes (for Windows 2000) , Continue Anyway (for Windows XP) or Install this driver software anyway (for Windows Vista) and continue installing.

The folder name differs depending on the OS being used.

Client’s OS Folder Name

Windows 98 \<Language>\WIN98

Windows Me \<Language>\WINME

Windows XP, 2000 \<Language>\WIN2000

Windows Vista x86 Edition \<Language>\WINVISTA

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition, Vista x64 Edition

Windows NT 4.0 \<Language>\WINNT40

\<Language>\WINVISTA_XP64

3. Select the name of the printer, then click OK. Then follow the on-screen instructions.

Note:

❏ If you also want to install EPSON Status Monitor 3, see “Installing

EPSON Status Monitor 3” on page 57 for instructions.

❏ If you want to use EPSON Status Monitor 3 for the shared printer,

reinstall the printer driver as instructed in “Setting for the clients” after installing the printer driver and EPSON Status Monitor 3 from the CD-ROM. Before printing, be sure to select the printer driver installed in “Setting for the clients”.

❏ If EPSON Status Monitor 3 is installed with the Windows Firewall

feature turned on (recommended), the shared printer may not be able to be monitored. If this occurs, follow the steps below to enable monitoring.

Canceling Printing

If the printouts are not what you expected and display incorrect or garbled characters or images, you may need to cancel printing. When the printer icon is displayed on the taskbar, follow the instructions below to cancel printing.

1. Double-click the printer icon on the task bar, then click Purge Print Documents on the Printer menu.

2. When canceling all printing documents, select Purge Print Documents (For Windows Me or 98) or Cancel All Documents (For WindowsVista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT

4.0) on the Printer menu. When canceling a specified document, select a document you want to cancel and select Cancel Printing (For Windows Me or 98) or Cancel (For Windows Vista, XP, 2000, or Windows NT 4.0) on the Document menu.

The printing job is canceled.

Uninstalling the Printer Software

When you wish to reinstall or upgrade the printer driver, uninstall the printer driver that has been installed already.

Note:

When uninstalling EPSON Status Monitor 3 from a multi-user Windows XP/2000 environment, remove the shortcut icon from all clients before uninstalling. You can remove the icon by clearing the Shortcut Icon check box in the Monitoring Preferences dialog box.

Uninstalling the printer driver and EPSON Status Monitor 3

1. Quit all applications.

2. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel.

3. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.

4. Select EPSON Printer Software, and click the Add/Remove.

Note:

When using the Windows XP or Windows 2000 computer, click

Change or Remove Programs, select the EPSON Printer Software, then click Change/Remove.

5. Click the Printer Model tab, select the icon of the printer you want to uninstall, then click OK.

6. If you uninstall Monitored Printers, click Yes in the displayed dialog box.

Note:

You can uninstall only the Monitored Printers utility of EPSON Status Monitor 3. When the utility is uninstalled, you cannot change the setting of Monitored Printers from EPSON Status Monitor 3.

7. If you uninstall EPSON Status Monitor 3, click Yes in the displayed dialog box.

8. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Uninstalling the USB device driver

When you connect the printer to your computer with a USB interface cable, the USB device driver is also installed. When you uninstalled the printer driver, you also need to uninstall the USB device driver.

Follow these steps to uninstall the USB device driver.

Note:

❏ Uninstall the printer driver before uninstalling the USB device

driver.

❏ Once you uninstalled the USB device driver, you cannot access any

other Epson printers connected with a USB interface cable.

1. Follow steps 1 through 3 of “Uninstalling the Printer Software” on page 79.

2. Select EPSON USB Printer Devices, and click Add/Remove.

Note:

❏ EPSON USB Printer Devices appears only when the printer is

connected to Windows Me or 98 with a USB interface cable.

❏ If the USB device driver is not installed correctly, EPSON USB

Printer Devices may not appear. Follow these steps to run the “Epusbun.exe” file in the CD-ROM.

1. Insert the CD-ROM in your computer’s CD-ROM drive.

2. Access the CD-ROM drive.

3. Double-click the \<Language>\WIN98 or \<Language>\WINME folder.

4. Double-click the Epusbun.exe icon.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions.

See the Setup Guide to reinstall a printer driver.

Control Panel

Using the Control Panel

You can control simple printer operations—such as line feeding, form feeding, loading and ejecting paper, and selecting fonts— with the buttons on the control panel. The control panel lights show the printer’s status.

Control Panel Buttons and Lights

6 7

2345

1. Tear Off (Font) lights*

Flash when continuous paper is in the tear-off position; otherwise, the lights indicate the selected font.

2. Tear Off (Font) button*

❏ Advances continuous paper to the tear-off position.

❏ Feeds continuous paper backward from the tear-off

position to the top-of-form position.

3. LF/FF button**

❏ Feeds paper line by line when pressed and released.

❏ Ejects a single sheet or advances continuous paper to the

next top-of-form position when held down.

4. Load/Eject button**

❏ Loads a single sheet of paper.

❏ Ejects a single sheet of paper if a sheet is loaded.

❏ Loads continuous paper from the standby position.

❏ Feeds continuous paper backwards to the standby

position.

5. Pause button

Stops printing temporarily, and resumes printing when pressed again. When pressed for three seconds, turns on the Micro Adjust mode**. To turn off, press again.

6. Paper Out light

7. Pause light

❏ On when no paper is loaded in the selected paper source

or when paper is not loaded correctly.

❏ Flashes when paper has not been fully ejected or a paper

jam has occurred.

❏ On when the printer is paused.

❏ Flashes when the printer is in the Micro Adjust mode**.

❏ Flashes when the print head has overheated.

* Font select : In the Micro Adjust mode, you can select the font to use for

printing by pressing the Tear Off (Font) button. The Tear Off (Font) lights turn on, off or flash to indicate the selected font.

** Micro Adjust mode : 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 D and Load/Eject U buttons to adjust the top-of-form or tear-off position. See “Adjusting the top-of-form position” on page 25.

Selecting a built-in font

Follow these steps to select a built-in font using the buttons on the printer’s control panel:

1. Make sure that the printer is not printing. If it is, wait until printing is complete.

2. Hold down the Pause button for three seconds to enter the Micro Adjust mode. The Pause li gh t be gi n s t o fl as h . T he t hr e e Tear Off (Font) lights show the current font selection.

3. Press the Tear Off (Font) button repeatedly to cycle through all of the available selections; then stop when you reach the desired font with a pattern shown on the control panel. Your selection stays in effect until you change it again.

Note:

❏ Settings you make in your application programs usually

override settings you make from the printer’s control panel. For best results, use your application to select a font and pitch.

❏ The Tear Off (Font) button cannot directly select OCR-B,

Orator, Orator-S, Script C, Roman T, or Sans Serif H. To select one of these fonts, you must first use the Default Setting mode to register it as the “other” font and then select Others using the Tear Off (Font) button.

❏ Bar code fonts cannot be selected via the control panel.

About Your Printer’s Default Settings

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.

The following table lists the default settings and the options you can select in the Default Setting mode. The settings are explained in detail after the table. For instructions on changing the default settings, see “Changing default settings” on page 95.

Settings Options

Page length for tractor* Length in inches: 3, 3.5, 4, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 11,

Skip over perforation On, Off

Auto tear off On, Off

Auto line feed On, Off

Print direction Bi-D, Uni-D, Auto

Software ESC/P2, IBM 2390 Plus

0 slash 0,

High speed draft On, Off

I/F mode Auto, Parallel, Serial, USB

Auto I/F wait time 10 seconds, 30 seconds

Baud rate 19200, 9600, 4800, 2400, 1200, 600, 300 BPS

Parity None, Odd, Even, Ignore

Data length 8 bit, 7 bit

Parallel I/F bidirectional mode

Packet mode Auto, Off

Character table* Standard model:

70/6, 12, 14, 17

On, Off

Italic, PC 437, PC 850, PC 860, PC 863, PC 865, PC 861, BRASCII, Abicomp, Roman 8, ISO Latin 1, PC 858, ISO 8859-15

All other models: Italic, PC 437, PC 850, PC 437 Greek, PC 853, PC 855, PC 852, PC 857, PC 864, PC 866, PC 869, MAZOWIA, Code MJK, ISO 8859-7, ISO Latin 1T, Bulgaria, PC 774, Estonia, ISO 8859-2, PC 866 LAT, PC 866 UKR, PC APTEC, PC 708, PC 720, PC AR864, PC 860, PC 863, PC 865, PC 861, BRASCII, Abicomp, Roman 8, ISO Latin 1, PC 858, ISO 8859-15, PC 771, PC437 Slovenia, PC MC, PC1250, PC1251

Settings Options

International character set for Italic table

Pitch 10 cpi, 12 cpi, 15 cpi, 17 cpi, 20 cpi,

Font OCR-B, Orator, Orator-S, Script C, Roman T,

Auto CR (IBM 2390 Plus)** On, Off

A.G.M. (IBM 2390 Plus)** On, Off

Manual feed wait time 1 second, 1.5 seconds,

Buzzer On, Off

Roll paper On, Off

* The options available vary depending on the country of purchase.

** These settings take effect only when IBM 2390 Plus emulation is selected.

Italic U.S.A., Italic France, Italic Germany, Italic U.K., Italic Denmark1, Italic Sweden, Italic Italy, Italic Spain1

Proportional

Sans Serif H

2 seconds, 3 seconds

Page length for tractor

This setting allows you to set the page length (in inches) for continuous paper.

Skip over perforation

This feature is available only when continuous paper is selected. When you select On, 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 the program margin settings in most applications override margin settings made from the control panel, you should use this setting only if you cannot set your top and bottom margins using your application.

Auto tear off

When auto tear off is on and you are using continuous paper with the push tractor, the printer automatically advances the paper perforation to the tear-off position, where you can easily tear off the printed pages. When the printer receives the next print job, it automatically moves the unused paper back to the top-of-form position and starts printing, so you can use all of the next page.

When auto tear off is off, you need to move the perforation to the tear-off position by pressing the control panel button. See “Using the Tear Off button” on page 28 for more information.

Auto line feed

When auto line feed is on, the printer accompanies each carriage return (CR) code received with a line feed code, and the print position moves to the next line. If the printer adds an extra line after every carriage return, select Off.

Print direction

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

When set to Auto, the printer analyzes the data and uses unidirectional printing only for lines which require vertical printing alignment.

Software

When you select ESC/P2, the printer operates in the EPSON ESC/P 2 mode. When you select IBM 2390 Plus, the printer emulates an IBM printer.

0 slash

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

High speed draft

When you choose On, the printer prints up to 300 cps (characters per second) at 10 cpi (characters per inch). When you choose Off, the printer prints up to 225 cps at 10 cpi.

I/F (interface) mode

The printer comes with three kinds of interfaces; a parallel interface, a serial interface and a USB interface.

If your printer is connected to only one computer, choose Parallel, Serial, or USB for the interface mode, depending on the interface you use. If your printer is connected to two computers, select Auto (automatic) to allow the printer to automatically switch between interfaces depending on which one is receiving data.

Auto I/F (interface) wait time

This setting takes effect only when I/F (interface) mode is set to Auto. This setting determines how long the printer waits when it

no longer receives data from an interface before it checks whether a print job is being sent through the other interface. You can specify 10 seconds or 30 seconds for the auto interface wait time.

Baud rate

Use this option to set the data transfer rate (baud) for the serial interface. The baud rate is measured in bits per second (bps). See your computer manual and software documentation for the proper setting.

Parity

When this option is set to None, parity checking is disabled. The parity bit, if used, provides a basic form of error detection. See your computer manual and software documentation for the proper setting.

Data length

Set the data length of the serial interface to 7 bit or 8 bit. See your computer manual and software documentation for the proper setting.

Parallel I/F bidirectional mode

The parallel interface bidirectional transfer mode is used when this feature is turned on. If bidirectional transfer mode is unnecessary, turn this off.

Packet mode

Make sure to select AUTO to print from Windows applications using the printer driver included in the software CD-ROM that comes with the printer. Turn off this mode if you encounter connection problems when you are printing from applications based on other operating systems such as DOS.

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.

Pitch

You can select from among six pitch settings.

Font

You can select six fonts in the Default Setting mode. The font selected here appears under Others on the control panel. The fonts indicated on the control panel cannot be selected in the Default Setting mode.

Auto CR (carriage return)

This setting is available only in the IBM 2390 Plus emulation mode. When auto carriage return is on, each line feed (LF) code or ESC J code is accompanied by a carriage return code. This moves the print position to the beginning of the next line.

A.G.M. (Alternate Graphic Mode)

This setting is available only in the IBM 2390 Plus emulation mode. When A.G.M. is on, the printer can use some advanced graphics commands like those available in the ESC/P 2 mode.

Manual feed wait time

This sets the amount of wait time between the time paper is inserted into the paper guide and when it is fed. If the paper feeds before you can adjust its position to your satisfaction, you can increase the wait time.

Buzzer (beeper)

The printer beeps when an error occurs. (See “Using the Error Indicators” on page 97 for more information on printer errors.) If you do not want the printer to beep when an error occurs, turn this setting off.

Roll paper

When you turn on this mode, the printer recognizes that single sheets are not loaded in the printer, so it does not try to eject the paper and advance it forward to the next page when you press the LF/FF button.

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 instructions and Default Setting

mode instructions, you need five or six sheets of A4 or Letter size single-sheet paper, or five or six pages of continuous paper that is at least 279 mm (11 inches) long and 210 mm (8.27 inches) wide.

❏ If you use single sheets without an optional cut-sheet feeder, you

need to feed a new sheet of paper each time the printer ejects a printed sheet.

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

Caution:

Whenever you turn off the printer, wait at least five seconds

before turning it back on; otherwise, you may damage the printer.

2. While holding down the Tear Off (Font) button, turn on the printer. The printer enters the Default Setting mode and prints the language selection instructions (one page).

3. Follow the instructions to select the language you want for the instruction pages.

4. Load the next sheet of paper, if necessary. The printer prints the current settings list (one page).

5. Press down the Tear Off (Font) button. The printer prints the

Default Setting mode instructions (three or four pages) in the language you selected. The printed instructions list the default settings you can change, describe how to change them, and show you how the control panel lights help you make settings.

6. Follow these instructions to change the default settings using the buttons on the printer’s control panel.

7. When you finish making settings, turn off the printer and exit the Default Setting mode. Any settings you have made remain in effect until you change them again.

Note:

Turn off the printer when it has finished printing.

Troubleshooting

Using the 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 problem using this table, go to the next section.

Panel light state

n Pause – The printer is paused.

Beep pattern

••• Paper from another paper source is

Problem

Solution

Press the Pause button to resume printing.

currently in the paper path.

Move the paper release lever back to the appropriate position and press the Load/Eject button to clear the paper from the paper path. Then set the lever to the position you want to use. Press the Pause button to turn off the Pause light, if necessary.

Panel light state

Beep pattern

Problem

Solution

n Paper Out n Pause

f Paper Out n Pause

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

Load paper in the printer. Then press the Pause button to turn off the Pause light, if necessary.

••• The paper is not loaded correctly.

Remove your paper and reload it. See “Printing on Continuous Paper” on page 15 for instructions on loading paper. Then press the Pause button to turn off the Pause light, if necessary.

••• Paper is jammed in the printer.

Turn off the printer, open the printer cover, tear off the paper supply and turn the paper feed knob to eject the remaining paper.

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

Tear off the printed document at the perforation; then press the Load/Eject button. The printer feeds the paper to the standby position. Press the Pause button to turn off the Pause light, if necessary.

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

Press the Load/Eject button to eject the sheet. Then press the Pause button to turn off the Pause light, if necessary.

••• Paper is jammed in the printer.

Clear the paper jam as described in the previous page.

f Pause – The print head is overheated.

Wait a few minutes; the printer resumes printing automatically once the print head has cooled.

Panel light state

Beep pattern

Problem

Solution

f All the lights on the control panel

n = on, f = flashing

••• = 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.

Note:

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

Problems and Solutions

Most problems you may encounter while operating your printer have simple solutions.

You can check the operation of your printer using the self test. See “Printing a Self Test” on page 116. If the self test works properly the problem probably lies in the computer, the application software, or the interface cable. If the self test does not work, contact your dealer or a qualified service person for assistance.

Note:

If you are an experienced user or a programmer, you can print a hexadecimal dump to isolate communication problems between the printer and computer. To print a hex dump, turn off the printer. Next, hold down the Load/Eject and LF/FF buttons while you turn on the printer. Then send data from your computer. The printer prints all the codes it receives in hexadecimal format.

Power Supply

Power is not being supplied

The lights on the control panel do not go on.

Cause What to do

The power cord may be unplugged.

The outlet may not be operating.

Check that the power cord is properly plugged into the electrical outlet.

If the electrical outlet is controlled by an outside switch or automatic timer, use a different outlet. Plug another electrical device, such as a lamp, into the outlet to determine whether the outlet is operating properly.

The lights come on briefly and then go off. The lights stay off even when the power is turned on again.

Cause What to do

The voltage ratings of the printer and electrical outlet may not match.

Check that the printer’s voltage rating matches the voltage of your electrical outlet. If the voltages do not match, unplug the printer and contact your dealer immediately. Do not reconnect the power cord to an electrical outlet.

Printing

The printer does not print

The PAUSE light is off but nothing is printed.

100

Epson LQ-300 II DOT MATRIX User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Copyrights and Trademarks

Copyrights

Trademarks

Safety Instructions

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes

Hot Parts Caution Symbol

Important Safety Instructions

For United Kingdom users

For United Kingdom, Singapore, and Hong Kong users

Getting to Know Your Printer

Features

Paper Handling

Printing on Continuous Paper

Printing with the push tractor

Removing a printed document from the push tractor

Switching back to single sheets

Printing with the pull tractor

Adjusting the top-of-form position

Advancing the paper to the tear-off edge

Printing on Single Sheets

Loading single sheets

Printing on Special Paper

Adjusting the paper thickness lever

Multipart forms

Labels

Envelopes

Printer Software

About Your Printer Software

Using the Printer Driver with Windows Me and 98

Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications

Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu

Changing the printer driver settings

Using the Printer Driver with Windows Vista, XP, 2000, and Windows NT 4.0

Accessing the printer driver from Windows applications

Accessing the printer driver from the Start menu

Changing the printer driver settings

Printer Driver Settings Overview

Using EPSON Status Monitor 3

Setting up EPSON Status Monitor 3

Accessing EPSON Status Monitor 3

Installing EPSON Status Monitor 3

Setting Up Your Printer on a Network

Sharing the printer

Setting up your printer as a shared printer

Setting for the clients

Installing the printer driver from the CD-ROM

Canceling Printing

Uninstalling the Printer Software

Uninstalling the printer driver and EPSON Status Monitor 3

Control Panel

Using the Control Panel

Control Panel Buttons and Lights

Selecting a built-in font

About Your Printer’s Default Settings

Changing default settings

Troubleshooting

Using the Error Indicators

Problems and Solutions

Power Supply

Printing