MicroBoards Technology PrintFactory PF-3 Quick Reference Manual

Quick Reference Guide

for Windows 7, Vista, or XP

Please visit our Technical Support website at www .microboards.com/support

Rev 10.03.11

Printer not responding 1. Ink cartridge installed correctly?

2. Turn on power to Printer (front and rear panels).

Hardware not installing onPC1. Turn on power to PF-3 Print Factory (back panel)

2. Reseat USB connection

3. Installation CD in drive?

Installation Troubleshooting Guide:

For a more in-depth look at the

installation process, please refer to

the Installation section of the User’s

Manual.

Be sure your computer meets the
Minimum System Requirements as stated

in the User’s Manual and that you have
read these instructions and the Manual

prior to contacting Microboards Technical

Support with installation or configuration

questions!

PF-3 Print Factory Installation:

You should not attempt to install the PF-3 Print Factory unless you are logged on to
your PC with administrative rights.

The hardware and much of the software installation will occur without intervention.

1. Unpack the PF-3 Print Factory and place it in the selected workspace. This
space should have enough vertical space to allow for easy loading of media into
the input hopper and have enough room to the back of the PF-3 Print Factory to
allow the unloading of rejected discs.

2. Insert the PF-3 Print Factory Installation disk into the CD/DVD ROM drive on
your computer. The installer should open automatically .

Select Microboards PF-3 Print Factory from the list, then click the Install

Microboards PF-3 Print Factory button that appears.

PF-3 Print Factory Installation

A. If the installer does not automatically open, click the Start button and

select Run from the Start menu. Click the Browse button and go to the CD/
DVD drive, highlight MBInstall.exe, click the Open button, then click OK.

B. Prerequisite Windows components may need to be installed before the

PF-3 Print Factory can be installed. If any prerequisites are not present,
they will be installed at this point. You will not be able to install your PF-3
Print Factory without installing the prerequisite components. Y ou may need
to reboot the PC after any prerequisites are installed. The PF-3 Print Factory
installer will launch automatically after rebooting.

3. You will first be guided through the hardware setup. Please follow all directions

on each window before clicking the Next button.

During the Installation process, you may see windows appear that refer to
the drivers not being verified by the operating system. Should any of these
windows appear, click the option to install the driver software.

If you do not install the driver software, your hardware

will not run successfully!

4. After the physical hardware setup is complete, you will be instructed to connect
the PF-3 Print Factory to the computer. Once this occurs, Windows will find
your new hardware and run through the driver installation process.

You may see an indication that a hardware device was not completely installed.
This is not unusual; the hardware installation will complete after the PC is
rebooted. Continue through the Installer to the last window.

5. Rebooting your PC is required before attempting to run your PF-3 Print
Factory! Click the Finish button to do so.

Do NOT connect your PF-3 Print Factory to your

computer until you are prompted to do so by the PF-3

Print Factory Installer

INK CARTRIDGES CAN BE USED!

As is true with all printers, the quality of ink cartridge and the quality of the ink
within the cartridge will affect your output. To ensure quality results, the PF-3
Print Factory will not operate with any other ink cartridges in place.

The use of refilled ink cartridges will void your warranty!

ONLY V102C and V101B

In order to guarantee quality results from the PF-3 Print Factory,

The Microboards Printer Toolbox Installation

The Microboards T oolbox is installed silently during the PF-3 installation. This
application is used for general maintenance functions.

After the installation completes, the T oolbox will st art up. You will see an icon
appear in the tool tray in the lower right corner of your Windows desktop. To
access the Toolbox, double-click the icon circled below.

The Toolbox will also automatically st art up after
rebooting the PC.

For more information on configuration options, please see the PF-3
Print Factory Configuration Quick Reference Guide on the other side
of this page, or refer to the appropriate sections of the User’s Manual.

Quick Reference Guide

for Windows 7, Vista, or XP

Please visit our Technical Support website at www .microboards.com/support

Print Image Diameter Settings

The Microboards PF-3 Print Factory includes the ability to mask the print image
diameters to ensure that your media is not being printed outside of the printable
surface. While SureThing Disc Labeling software creates circular templates 120mm
in diameter, other applications may not limit the design to the correct size.

The default Inner Diameter setting is 360 (36mm). If you are using a print template
with an inner hub of less than 36mm, you must change the Inner Diameter setting
to match that of the template for the image to print correctly.

To change the Diameter settings, please follow these steps:

1. Access the Printing Preferences for the Microboards PF3. How this is done
will depend on the Operating System and the currently selected Start Menu
layout.

Windows 7: Select Devices and Printers from the Start button.
Windows Vista: Select the Control Panel from the Start button. Once the

Control Panel opens, select Printer from the Hardware and Sound section.

Windows XP, Start Menu layout: Select Printers and Faxes from the
Windows Start button.

Windows XP , Classic Start Menu layout: Y ou will need to go to the Settings
selection, then to the Printers and Faxes from the Start button.

2. Click the Diameter Settings tab.

3. The Outer Diameter setting will define where the masking clips the outer edge
of the print image. In the example shown below, the image will print to the
default diameter of 118mm (the Parameter Unit is set to 0.1mm).

The Inner Diameter setting will define how far towards the center of the disc
the image will print. This setting will need to be changed when printing to hub­printable media.

4. Click the Apply button to save the changes.

PF-3 Print Factory Configuration

INK CARTRIDGES CAN BE USED!

As is true with all printers, the quality of ink cartridge and the quality of the ink
within the cartridge will affect your output. To ensure quality results, the PF-3
Print Factory will not operate with any other ink cartridges in place.

The use of refilled ink cartridges will void your warranty!

ONLY V102C and V101B

In order to guarantee quality results from the PF-3 Print Factory,

Print Image Alignment

Your PF-3 Print Factory has been factory aligned to .1mm precision. Fine tuning
may be required depending on the media brand and printable surface type you are
using to provide full surface coverage.

1. Access the Printing Preferences for the Microboards PF3. How this is done
will depend on the Operating System and the currently selected Start Menu
layout.

Windows 7: Select Devices and Printers from the Start button.
Windows Vista: Select the Control Panel from the Start button. Once the

Control Panel opens, select Printer from the Hardware and Sound section.

Windows XP , Classic Start Menu layout: Y ou will need to go to the Settings
selection, then to the Printers and Faxes from the Start button.

Windows XP, Start Menu layout: Select Printers and Faxes from the
Windows Start button.

NOTE: THE ALIGNMENT VALUES MUST BE ENTERED THROUGH THE
PRINTING PREFERENCES FOR THE SETTINGS TO BE USED FROM WITHIN
ANY APPLICATION!!!

2. Right click on the icon for the Microboards PF3 and select Printing
Preferences…

3. On the Print Quality tab, select Photo for the Print Mode and Best or Max

DPI for the Print Quality.
Photo Best or Max DPI should always be selected when aligning the printer, in

order to insure the greatest accuracy during the alignment process. Other
settings may not result in the best alignment.

4. Select the Alignment tab. The .1mm Resolution
setting must be selected before setting alignment
values (see below). Set the Top and Left Side
alignment values to those required for image
alignment.

These settings will change the size of the top and
left margins, respectively. Decreasing the values will
move the image up or to the left, increasing will
adjust down or to the right.

5. Click the Apply button to save the changes, found on the bottom of the Printing
Preferences window.

6. Verify the alignment by printing a full disc image on the media. Repeat these
steps if further alignment adjustments are required.

For further details on the alignment process, please refer to the
section on Alignment in the PF-3 Print Factory User’s Manual.

Printer Toolbox

The Printer Toolbox contains
several utility functions for the
PF-3 Print Factory. The toolbox
will open automatically after
installation of the PF-3, and each
time the PC boots up. It can also
be run by double-clicking the PF3
Toolbox icon in the tool tray.

The functions of the Toolbox

include:

• Printhead Cleaning Utilities

• Pen Calibration

• Automatic Margin Calibration

• T est Print

• Belt Exerciser

• Low Ink warnings

For more information on the T oolbox, please refer to the User’s Manual.

Be sure your computer meets the Minimum System Requirements as stated
in the User’s Manual and that you have read these instructions and the
Manual prior to contacting Microboards Technical Support with installation
or configuration questions!