Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................. 2
Setting up the Elite XL 1208/1208S.............................................................. 2
Software installation ............................................................................ 2
User interface changes............................................................................... 2
Elite XL 1208 and 1208S features................................................................ 3
TonerMiser ................................................................................................. 3
Smoothing .................................................................................................. 4
Using TonerMiser and Smoothing ................................................................ 5
Calibration .................................................................................................. 5
The calibration procedure ........................................................................... 6
Print density and calibr ation ......................................................................... 8
Super B paper siz e...................................................................................... 9
12 x 20 inch paper size (XL 1208S only) ...................................................... 9
GCC
T
ECHNOLOGIES
1
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of a GCC Technologies® Elite™ XL 1208 or
1208 SuperSize laser printer. The advanced hardware of the Elite XL 1208 and
1208S incorporates a number of new features not detailed in the Elite XL User’s
Manual. The Elite XL 1208 and 1208S include the following features:
• Higher output resolution
• Smoothing
• TonerMiser™
• Output calibration
• Support for Super B paper size
• Support for 12 x 20 inch paper size (XL 1208S only)
This supplement provides details of these features; please keep it with your
Elite XL User’s Manual.
Setting up the Elite XL 1208/1208S
Follow the instructions in Chapter 1 of the Elite XL User’s Manual to set up the
printer.
Software installation
Follow the instructions in Chapter 3 of the Elite XL User’s Manual to install the
software onto a Macintosh.
Follow the instructions in Chapter 4 of the Elite XL User’s Manual to install the
software onto a PC running Windows 3.1 and Windows 95.
Follow the instructions in the Elite XL Networking Guide to install the software
onto a PC running Windows NT.
User interface changes
Because of the additional features of the Elite XL 1208 and 1208S, some
changes have been made to the printer’s front panel menu system as well as to
the Macintosh® and Windows™ printer driver interfaces.
2
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
Print Control Menu
The Print Control menu has been added between the Info Pages menu and the
Energy Save menu in the printer’s front panel menu system. (See Chapter 2 of
the Elite XL User’s Manual for detailed information about the Elite XL front
panel menu system.)
The Print Control menu contains four submenus: TonerMiser, Smoothing, Print
Cal. (calibration) Pages, and Calibration. See individual options on the following pages for more information.
Macintosh and Windows interface changes
TonerMiser and Smoothing have been added to the Macintosh (LaserWriter 8
and Elite XL GX) Print Options dialog box. Smoothing has been added to the
Windows Options dialog box accessed via the Setup button.
For both the Elite XL 1208 and the 1208S, Super B has been added as a paper
size to the Paper pop-up menu in the Page Setup dialog box (for Macintosh)
and to the Paper Size drop-down menu in the Print Setup dialog box (for
Windows).
For the Elite XL 1208S, 12 x 20 has been added as a paper size to the Paper
pop-up menu in the Page Setup dialog box (for Macintosh) and to the Paper
Size drop-down menu in the Print Setup dialog box (for Windows). See
individual options on the following pages for more information.
Elite XL 1208 and 1208S features
This section of the supplement describes each Elite XL 1208 and 1208S feature
not mentioned in the Elite XL User’s Manual.
TonerMiser
The TonerMiser feature decreases the amount of toner used to print a document.
Using TonerMiser enables you to increase the number of pages printed per toner
cartridge. However, the print quality will be decreased; black areas will be less
dense with a gray appearance and lines will not be sharp. Note: TonerMiser is
overridden when printing at 1200 dpi resolution.
Interface access:
Front Panel. TonerMiser can be turned on and off through the printer’s front
panel. The TonerMiser option is located in the Print Control menu.
TonerMiser settings are Enabled and Disabled; Disabled is the default.
3
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
Macintosh software interface. TonerMiser can be switched on and off (overriding the printer’s front panel setting), for the current document, using the
TonerMiser pop-up menu in the LaserWriter 8 Print Options dialog box (or the
Elite XL Options panel if you are printing with QuickDraw GX).
TonerMiser options are Printer’s default (i.e., the current TonerMiser settings
selected in the printer’s front panel), Enabled, and Disabled. Printer’s default is
the default.
Windows software interface. TonerMiser is not supported in the Windows
interface.
Smoothing
The Elite XL incorporates a smoothing feature. Smoothing reduces the jagged
appearance (“jaggies”) of text and line art printed at lower resolutions. The
smoothing feature will only work when printing at 600 or 800 dpi.
Interface access:
Front Panel. Smoothing can be turned on and off through the printer’s front
panel. The Smoothing option is located in the Print Control menu. Smoothing
option settings are Enabled and Disabled; Disabled is the default.
Macintosh software interface. Smoothing can be switched on and off (overriding the printer’s front panel setting), for the current document, using the
Smoothing pop-up menu in the LaserWriter 8 Print Options dialog box (or the
Elite XL Options panel if you are printing with QuickDraw GX).
Smoothing options are Printer’s default (i.e., the current Smoothing setting
selected in the printer’s front panel), Enabled (causes smoothing to be applied
regardless of how Smoothing and TonerMiser are set in the front panel), and
Disabled (causes Smoothing and TonerMiser to be disabled regardless of how
they are set in the front panel). Printer’s default is the default.
Windows software interface. Smoothing can be switched on and off (overriding
the printer’s front panel setting), for the current document, using the Smoothing
buttons in the Windows printing Options dialog box.
Smoothing options are Printer’s default (i.e., the current Smoothing setting
selected in the printer’s front panel), Disabled, and Enabled. Printer’s default is
the default.
4
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
Using TonerMiser and Smoothing
TonerMiser and Smoothing cannot be used together. TonerMiser always takes
precedence over Smoothing (unless you are printing at 1200 dpi).
Interface considerations:
If TonerMiser is set to Enabled in the printer’s front panel, the Smoothing
submenu will not appear. However, if you want to apply smoothing to your
current print job, and TonerMiser is set to Enabled in the printer’s front panel,
choose Disabled from the TonerMiser pop-up menu in the Print Options
dialog box, and then choose Enabled from the Smoothing pop-up menu.
Note: In LaserWriter 8, when Enabled is chosen in the TonerMiser pop-up
menu, the Enabled option in the Smoothing pop-up menu will be dimmed (and
vice-versa). The options will not be dimmed if you are using the Elite XL GX
QuickDraw GX driver. However, the availability or unavailability of these
options will be the same.
Calibration
The Elite XL 1208 and 1208S printers are designed to provide near-imagesetter
print quality at a resolution of 1200 dpi (dots per inch). However, the following
factors can affect print quality:
• Individual printer engine variations
• Toner cartridge variations
• Environmental conditions (i.e., humidity and temperature)
Therefore, in order to provide optimum output, the printer’s software includes an
easy-to-use calibration function that enables you to adjust your printer to
compensate for the above factors.
Each printer has five user-selectable calibration sets built into the calibration
software. Each calibration set contains a group of parameters that reflect
different hardware and environmental variations. The ultimate effect of using
any given calibration set is lighter or darker output.
The calibration sets are numbered 1 through 5, and are ordered so that Calibration 1 yields the lightest printing, and succeeding ones are each slightly darker in
turn, with Calibration 5 being the darkest. The goal is that the Elite XL should
be set to calibration that results in the best overall print quality at 1200 dpi.
(When printing at lower resolutions, the calibration setting is ignored.)
5
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
In general, you should not need to frequently switch among the different
calibration settings. Ideally, the factory setting should produce good output.
However, factors affecting an individual printer will sometimes necessitate
selecting a different calibration for a new printer. Furthermore, as the climate
varies, and toner cartridges wear out and are replaced, print quality may be
effected, also requiring a different calibration setting.
The calibration procedure
If you decide that your Elite XL is not printing at its best, and want to see if one
of the other calibrations could improve your output, you will need to perform the
calibration procedure. The calibration procedure is a two-step process:
Step 1 - Print the 5 calibration pages.
Step 2 - Select a calibration setting.
Step 1 - In order to determine the correct calibration setting, you must first print out
the 5 calibration pages for evaluation.
To print the 5 calibration pages:
1. Turn the Print density dial to the “normal” position.
The Print Density dial is located on the back of the printer. When the notch
on the dial is pointing straight up, it is in the “normal” position. (See page
1-9 of the Elite XL User’s Manual for information about print density and
calibration).
2. Press the On Line key to take the printer off line.
3. Access the Print Control menu from the printer’s front panel.
Press the Menu key continuously until Print Control appears in the display
window.
4. Access the Print Control submenus.
Press the Enter key. The display window should read TonerMiser.
5. Press the Menu key until Print Cal. appears in the display window.
6. Press the Enter key.
• The Elite XL begins to process a built-in PostScript job that will print the
“calibration pages” for you to evaluate.
• In approximately 45-60 seconds, the five pages will start to print. Each
page is labeled “Calibration n” in the upper right corner, where n is a
number from 1 to 5.
6
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
• Before printing each page, the printer temporarily selects the calibration
setting corresponding to the label on the page. Thus, the page with the label
“Calibration 1” is printed with Calibration 1 temporarily selected, the page
labeled “Calibration 2” is printed with Calibration 2 temporarily selected,
and so on.
• After the fifth page prints, the Elite XL restores the calibration setting to
the value it was at before the Enter key was pressed.
7. Examine the calibration pages.
• Examine the pages carefully. Depending on the printer and the environment, the pages may look very similar or radically different, but it is
important to note that aside from the change to the label information, the
print data for all the pages is exactly the same.
• The page components are specifically designed to stress the capabilities of
the printer; text next to each item describes how it should look under ideal
circumstances.
• Most printers will not be able to print a page in which all the elements are
perfect. However, with guidance from the text, you should be able to select
the page that looks best overall.
Tips for evaluating the calibration pages:
• Give the most consideration to the items that consist of line art, especially
fine lines. In general, that’s where the differences will be most apparent.
Legibility of text at small point sizes is next, followed by the appearance of
other text, and then gradients.
• If two pages seem equal, choose the page with the higher calibration
number.
Step 2 - Once you have selected what you feel is the best looking page, you must
set the printer to the calibration setting corresponding to the calibration page.
To select the calibration setting:
1. Access the Calibration submenu.
Press the Menu key once. The display window should read
Calibration: along with a number from 1 to 5.
Note: The number displayed will not necessarily be the same on all
printers. (The calibration procedure is run at the factory, and an
appropriate setting is chosen.)
7
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
2. Select a calibration setting.
Press the + or - key continuously until the correct calibration number
appears in the display window.
3. Save the calibration setting.
Press the Enter key. An asterisk (*) will appear in the display window,
indicating that the setting has been saved.
Print density and calibration
The Elite XL incorporates a Print Density dial to lighten or darken output.
The Print Density dial is located on the back of the printer (see page 1-9 in
the Elite XL User’s Manual). The dial should almost always be set to its
“normal” (notch on the dial pointing straight up) position.
You should change the position of the dial if the calibration procedure was
first performed with the dial in normal position and either all the calibration
pages were too light or all were too dark. If this was the case, move the dial
either to the 2:00 position (calibration pages too light) or 10:00 position
(calibration pages too dark) and then repeat the calibration procedure.
You may also consider adjusting the density dial slightly if some of the
elements on the chosen calibration page are too dark or too light.
Note: It is not recommended that the Print Density dial be adjusted past
10:00 or 2:00 to further “tune” the calibration process. This is because the
interaction between the calibration and the density functions could cause
other unwanted artifacts in your output. Also, be aware that the Print
Density dial affects output at all resolutions, and a density setting that
produces good output at 1200 dpi could produce unacceptable output at 600
dpi.
8
Elite XL 1208/1208S Supplement
Super B paper size
The manual feed slot on the Elite XL 1208 and 1208S printers support
Super B paper size printing, which has dimensions of 11.69 x 17.32 inches
(297 x 440 mm), and provides edge-to-edge printing. This allows full bleed
printing of 11 x 17 inch spreads.
Interface access:
Front Panel. The Super B paper size option is located in the Default Size
submenu of the Paper Handling menu.
Macintosh software interface. The Super B paper size can be selected from
the Paper pop-up menu (located in the Page Setup dialog box).
Windows software interface. The Super B paper size can be selected from
the Paper Size drop-down menu (located in the Print Setup dialog box).
12 x 20 inch paper size (1208 SuperSize only)
The manual feed slot on the Elite 1208S supports a paper size as large as 12
x 20 inches (304.8 x 508 mm). The printable area is 11.69 x 19.29 inches
(297 x 490 mm), which allows full bleed printing of 11 x 17 inch spreads,
along with registration marks and page labels.
The paper capacity of the manual feed slot (when stacking 12 x 20 paper) is
reduced from the specifications listed in the Elite XL User’s Manual. The
maximum amount of 12 x 20, 20lb paper that will feed properly into the
manual feed slot is 25. If your Elite XL printer is equipped with a 20 inch
paper feed tray, the original paper capacity specifications apply.
Interface access:
Front Panel. The 12 x 20 paper size option is located in the Default Size
submenu of the Paper Handling menu.
Macintosh software interface. The 12 x 20 paper size can be selected from
the Paper pop-up menu (located in the Page Setup dialog box).
Windows software interface. The 12 x 20 paper size can be selected from
the Paper Size drop-down menu (located in the Print Setup dialog box).
TRADEMARKS
GCC Technologies and the GCC Technologies logo are registered trademarks of GCC Technologies Inc. Elite is a trademark of GCC Technologies, Inc. TonerMiser is a
trademark of DP-Tek, Inc.. Macintosh is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. QuickDraw is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. PostScript is a registered
trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corp.
9
Loading...