Epson Stylus Color 400 User Guide

Where to Find Information

This User’s Guide

Provides you with all the information you need to use your EPSON Stylus COLOR 400 and consumable products, from setting up to troubleshooting.

Online Help (CD-ROM)

Provides you with detailed information and instructions on the Windows printer software that controls your printer. Online help will be automatically installed when you install the printer software. See Chapte r 3 for information on accessin g online help.

EPSON Answers (CD-ROM)

Provides you with additional information on using your printer and printing with colors. Here’s what you’ll find in EPSON Answers:

How To displays a step-by-step guide for using your

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printer, information about printer maintenance, and instructions on replacing consumable products.

Problem Solver helps you fix common printing problems

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when you encounter them. Test Print lets you print a test page to check the results of

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settings you have made and provides links to other sections of EPSON Answers based on the results.

Color Guide explains the ABC’s of color printing and

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shows you how to get impressive results from your printer.

Color Ink Jet Printer

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of SEIKO EPSON CORP. 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 CORP. nor its affiliates shall be liable to the purchaser of this product or third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by 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 CORP.’ s operating and maintenance instructions.

SEIKO EPSON CORP. 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 CORP.

EPSON and EPSON ESC/P are registered trademarks and EPSON ESC/P Raster and EPSON St ylus are trademark s of SEIKO EPSON CORP.

Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. IBM is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation.

General Notice: Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. EPSON discla i ms any and all ri ghts in those marks.

User’s Guide

Declaration of Conformity

According to ISO/IEC Guide 22 an d EN 45014

Manufacturer: SEIKO EPSON CORPORAT ION Address: 3-5, Owa 3-chome, Su wa-shi,

Nagano-ken 392 Japan

Repres e n tative: EPSON EUROP E B.V . Address: Prof. J. H. Bavincklaan 5 11 83

AT Amstelveen The Netherlands

Declares that the Prod uc t:

Product Name: Ink Jet Printer Type Name: EPSON Stylus COLOR 400 Model: P950A

Conforms to the following Directive(s) and Norm(s):

Directive 89/336/ EEC:

EN 55022 class B EN 61000-3-2 EN 61000-3-3 EN 50082-1 IEC 801-2 IEC 801-3 IEC 801-4

Directive 73/23/EEC:

EN 60950

October 1996

M. Hamamoto President of EPSON EU ROPE B.V.

Safety Information

Important Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-1

A few precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-2

NERGY STAR Compliance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-3

For United Kingdom Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-4

Warnings, Cautions, and Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0-5

Chapter 1

Printer Parts and Control Panel Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Options and Consumable Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Chapter 2

Unpacking the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Choosing a Place for the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Using a printer stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Attaching the Paper Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Plugging in the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Installing the Ink Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Connecting the Printer to Your PC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11

Installing the Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Installing in Windows 95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13

Installing in Windows 95 (using plug-and-play) . . . . . . 2-14

Installing in Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18

Loading Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

Starting to Print . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22

Getting to Know Your Printer

Getting Started

iii

Chapter 3

Checking Your Printer Driver Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

How to access the printer driver settings . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

How to check the settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-4

Making Changes to Printer Driver Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-6

Using the Automatic setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-7

Using the predefined settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8

Customizing the print settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-10

Making the Media Type setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-12

Using the Printer Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14

Status Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

Nozzle Check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

Head Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

Print Head Alignment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

Checking Printer Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17

Understanding the EPSON Spool Manager . . . . . . . . . 3-17

Understanding the Despooler . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18

Getting Information Through Online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

From Windows applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

From Windows 95 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

From Windows 3.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-19

Using the Printer Software

Chapter 4

Loading Special Paper and Other Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

About special media cleaning sheets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5

Loading Envelopes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Loading Transparencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Using EPSON Photo Paper (S041134) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8

Loading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8

Removing the perforated margins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10

Storing EPSON Photo Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10

Printing on Special Paper

Chapter 5

Maintenance and Transportation

Replacing an Ink Cartridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Cleaning the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Transporting the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8

Chapter 6

Troubleshooting

Diagnosing the Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Error indicators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Status Monitor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Printer operation check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Problems and Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8

Paper handling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-13

Printing quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-16

Increasing the Print Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-23

Cleaning the Print Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-25

Aligning the Print Head . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-28

Ink Cartridge Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-28

Contacting Customer Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-30

For United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland users . . 6-30

For Australian users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-33

For Hong Kong and Singapore users . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-35

For Philippines users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-36

Appendix A

Tips for Color Printing

Basics of Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2

Image Resolution and Image Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5

Guidelines for Using Color . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7

Appendix B

Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-2

Paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-3

Printable area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5

Ink Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6

Mechanical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-7

Electrical . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8

Environmental . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-8

Safety Approvals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9

Glossary

Index

Printer Specifications

vii

Safety Information

Important Safety Instructions

Read all of these instructions and save them for later reference. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the printer.

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

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radiator or heat source.

Place the printer on a flat surface. The printer will not

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operate properly if it is tilted or at an angle.

Do not block or cover the openings in the printer’s cabinet.

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Do not insert objects through the slots.

Use only the type of power source indicated on the

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printer’s label.

Connect all equipment to properly grounded power

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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.

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

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

Unplug the printer before cleaning. Clean with a damp

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cloth only. Do not spill liquid on the printer.

Except as specifically explained in this guide, do not

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attempt to service the printer yourself.

Safety Information

Unplug the printer and refer servicing to qualified service

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personnel under the following conditions:

If the power cord or plug is damaged; if liquid has entered the printer; if the printer has been dropped or the cabinet damaged; if the printer does not operate normally or exhibits a distinct change in performance. Adjust only those controls that are covered by the operating instructions.

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

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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 Gebäudeinstallation mit einem 16 A-Überstromschalter abgesichert ist.

A few precautions

Even if you are familiar with other types of printers, be sure to read through the following list of precautions before operating your ink jet printer.

Do not put your hand inside the printer or touch the ink

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cartridges during printing.

Under normal circumstances, ink will not come out of the

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cartridges. If ink gets on your skin, wash it off with soap and water. If it gets in your eyes, flush them immediately with water.

Keep ink cartridges out of the reach of children.

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Do not dismantle the ink cartridges or try to refill them.

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This could result in damage to the print head.

Safety Informa tion

Once you install an ink cartridge, do not open the clamp or

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remove the cartridge except to replace it with a new one. The cartridge may become unusable otherwise.

Install the ink cartridge immediately after you remove it

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from its package. Leaving the cartridge unpacked for a long time before use may result in reduced print quality.

Do not use an ink cartridge beyond the date printed on the

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cartridge carton. For best results, use up the ink cartridges within six months of installing them.

Do not shake an ink cartridge; this can cause leakage.

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Always turn the printer off using the P power button. The

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power light flashes until the print head is capped, which means it is at rest in the far right position. Do not unplug the printer or turn off the power to the outlet until the power light stops flashing. The printer caps the print head when no data is received for several seconds.

Before transporting the printer, make sure the print head is

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capped (in the far right position) and the ink cartridges are in place.

NERGY STAR Compliance

As an ENERGY STAR Partner, EPSON has determined that this product meets the

TAR guidelines for energy efficiency.

The International is a voluntary partnership with the computer and office equipment industry to promote the introduction of energy-efficient personal computers, monitors, printers, fax machines, and copiers in an effort to reduce air pollution caused by power generation.

NERGY STAR Office Equipment Program

Safety Information

NERGY

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 Approv ed Prod ucts by EPSO N (UK) Limited.

Safety information

Warning:

for voltage and check that the appliance voltage corresponds to

the supply voltage.

Important:

are coloured in accordance with 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 (

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.

This appliance must be earthed. Refer to rating plate

The wires in the mains lead fitted to this appliance

Safety Informa tion

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.

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.

Safety Information

Safety Informa tion

Chapter 1

Getting to Know Your Printer

Printer Parts and Control Panel Functions . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

System Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Options and Consumable Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Getting to Know Your Printer

1-1

Printer Parts and Control Panel Functions

paper support extension

sheet feeder

ink cartridge clamps

output tray

adjust lever

paper support

edge gu ides

printer co ver

paper out light

output tray extension

load/eject button

power light and button

1-2

Getting to Kno w Your Printer

color ink out light

black ink ou t light

cleaning button

Buttons

Button Function

Power

Load/Eject

Cleaning

Turns th e printer on and off. Resets th e p r inter if pressed twi c e while the powe r i s on, which means it clears the printer’s memory.

Loads or ejects paper if pressed and released within 2 seconds. Resum es prin ting if pres sed an d r eleas ed afte r a paper out error.

Moves the print head to the ink cartridge replacement position if pressed for 3 seconds while the B or A ink out light is fl ashing or on. Returns th e print hea d to its home position after ink cartridge replacement. Performs print head cleanin g if pre ssed for 3 sec ond s when the B or A ink out light is off.

Lights

The lights on the front of the printer indicate the printer status, such as receiving data, paper jam, or low on ink. The following table describes what the lights mean.

---

= on, O = off, F = flashing, - = irrelevant

---

FOO

Printer Sta tus

Printer is on. Receiving data, replacing an ink cartridge,

charging i nk, or cl e an i ng th e pr int head. Paper out. Load paper in the sheet feeder; then

press the Paper jam. Take all the paper out of the feeder,

and reloa d th e paper. If the light con ti nu e s to flas h , turn of f the p r in ter and ge n tly pull all t h e paper out of th e pr inter.

Ink low. The black in k cartr idge is nearly empty.

Obtain a black ink cartridge (S020093). Ink out. The black ink cartridge is empty. Replac e

the black ink c ar trid ge (S020093). Ink low. Th e col o r ink c artri d ge is n earl y emp t y .

Obtain a colo r ink c ar tr id ge (S020089). Ink ou t. The color ink cart ridge is empty. Replace

the color ink ca rtridg e (S020089).

load/eject button to resu m e printing.

Getting to Know Your Printer

1-3

System Requirements

When using your printer with a PC, you need Microsoft Windows 3.1 or Windows 95; a shielded, twisted-pair parallel cable; and the following:

Minimum system Recommended system

80386/16 MHz processor Pentium processor 16MB RAM 32MB RAM 20MB hard disk space More than 50MB free hard disk space VGA monitor VGA or better monitor

Note:

See the minimum system requirements on the inside of the CD-ROM cover before using or installing the EPSON Answers software.

Your computer dealer can help you update your system if it does not meet these requirements.

Options and Consumable Products

Interface cables

EPSON supplies several types of interface cables. You can use any interface cable that meets the specifications listed below. See your computer manual for any additional requirements.

Parallel Interface Cable (shielded) C83602 from D-SUB

25-pin (computer) to 36-pin Amphenol 57 Series (printer)

Ink cartridges

Black ink cartridge S020093 Color ink cartridge S020089

1-4

Getting to Kno w Your Printer

EPSON special media

Most plain paper works well in your printer. In addition, paper specifically designed for ink jet printers such as EPSON’s

dpi Ink Jet Paper

EPSON 360 dpi Ink Jet Paper (A4) S041025

EPSON 360 dpi Ink Jet Paper (Letter) S041060

EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper (A4) S041026

EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper (Letter) S041062 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper (Legal) S041067

EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film (A4) S041071 EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film (Letter) S041072 EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film (A6) S041107

EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Paper (A4) S041126 EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Paper (Letter) S041124

EPSON Ink Jet Transparencies (A4 ) S041063 EPSON Ink Jet Transparencies (Letter) S041064

will meet most high-quality printing needs.

360

S041059

S041061

EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Card (A6) S041054 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Card (5 × 8”) S041121 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Card (8 × 10”) S041122

EPSON Photo Quality Self Adhesive Sheet (A4) S041106 EPSON Photo Paper (4 × 6”) S041134

Note:

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The availability of special media varies by country.

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Ink jet printers are particularly sensitive to the condition of your paper. Keep unused paper in its original packaging and store it in a cool, dry place.

Getting to Know Your Printer

1-5

1-6

Getting to Kno w Your Printer

Chapter 2

Getting Started

Unpacking the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Choosing a Place for the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Using a printer stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Attaching the Paper Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4