NEC SuperScript 610 User Guide

Silentwriter
SuperScript 610
User's Guide

PROPRIETARY NOTICE AND LIABILITY DISCLAIMER

The information disclosed in this document, including all designs and related materi­als, is the valuable property of NEC Corporation (NEC) and/or its licensers. NEC and/
or its licensers, as appropriate, reserve all patent, copyright and other proprietary rights
to this document, including all design, manufacturing, reproduction, use, and sales
rights thereto, except to the extent said rights are expressly granted to others.

The NEC product(s) discussed in this document are warranted in accordance with the
terms of the applicable NEC product specification. However, actual performance of
each such product is dependent upon factors such as system configuration, customer
data, and operator control. Since implementation by customers of each product may
vary, the suitability of specific product configurations and applications must be
determined by the customer and is not warranted by NEC.

To allow for design and specification improvements, the information in this document
is subject to change at any time, without notice. Reproduction of this document or
portions thereof without prior written approval of NEC is prohibited.

Silentwriter is a U.S. registered trademark of NEC Corporation. All other product, brand, or trade
names used in this publication are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

© Copyright, WinRefs 1993, Destiny Technology Corp. Ver. 1.0
© Copyright, 1992, Microsoft Corporation

First Printing — Oct. 1993

Revised — April 1994

Copyright 1993

NEC Corporation

7-1 Shiba 5-Chome, Minato-ku

Tokyo 108-01, Japan

All Rights Reserved

Contents iii

Contents

Using This Guide ............................................................... ix

1. Introduction

How the Printing Process Works.............. 1-2

Standard Features ..................................... 1-3

Optional Features...................................... 1-6

Ordering Supplies and Accessories .......... 1-7

2. Setting Up

Unpacking................................................. 2-1

Unpacking ............................................. 2-1

Locating the Printer Items..................... 2-2

Operating Requirements........................... 2-3

Printer Dimensions................................ 2-5

Printer Dimensions

with 200-sheet Hopper........................ 2-6

System Requirements ............................... 2-7

External Printer Parts................................ 2-8

Internal Printer Parts............................... 2-11

Toner Cartridge ...................................... 2-13

Preparing the Toner Cartridge ............ 2-14

Installing the Toner Cartridge............. 2-17

Installing Paper....................................... 2-20

Interface Cable........................................ 2-23

Power Cord............................................. 2-25

Installing SuperScript Printing Software 2-27

3. Printing with Your Silentwriter SuperScript 610

Silentwriter SuperScript Print Modes....... 3-1

GDI Mode................................................. 3-2

GDI Setup Screen ................................. 3-2

GDI Option Screen ............................... 3-5

Printing Status Option........................... 3-6

iv Contents

Manual Duplex Printing........................ 3-6

PCL Print Mode...................................... 3-11

Saving Downloaded Fonts and Macros3-12
Page Ejects - Form Feeds

(PCL Mode).................................... 3-13

Printing from a Windows Application ... 3-14

Printing from DOS Application.............. 3-14

Printing PCL Files from

DOS Command Line........................... 3-14

4. NEC SuperScript Print Manager

5. Print Status Window

6. Selecting Paper and Media

Paper Properties........................................ 6-2

Print Areas ............................................ 6-3

Paper and Media Use ............................ 6-4

Preprinted Forms................................... 6-5

Heavy Print Stock ................................. 6-6

Envelopes.............................................. 6-6

Adhesive Labels.................................... 6-8

Transparency Film ................................ 6-9

Media Purchasing Specifications ............. 6-9

Sheet Paper.......................................... 6-10

Envelopes............................................ 6-12

Adhesive Labels.................................. 6-13

Transparency Film .............................. 6-14

Storage Guidelines.................................. 6-14

7. Using Fonts

Fonts in GDI Mode................................... 7-1

Fonts in PCL Mode .................................. 7-3

8. Choosing Print Options

How to Print Using Various Media .......... 8-2

The Standard Hopper................................ 8-4

Multi-sheet Feed and Single-sheet Feed8-4

Loading the Paper ................................. 8-4

The 200-sheet Paper Hopper (Optional)... 8-7

Removing the Standard Hopper............ 8-8

Installing the 200-sheet Paper Hopper.. 8-9

Hopper Feed........................................ 8-10

Manual Feed........................................ 8-13

Removing the 200-sheet Hopper ........ 8-15

Output Paths ........................................... 8-16

Face-up Tray ....................................... 8-17

Face-down Door.................................. 8-17

9. Maintaining Your Printer

Redistributing the Toner........................... 9-2

Cleaning the Printer.................................. 9-7

Replacing the Toner Cartridge ................. 9-8

Cleaning the Printer Mechanism........... 9-8

Cleaning Conditions.......................... 9-9

Parts to Be Cleaned ......................... 9-10

Cleaning Procedure ......................... 9-12

Installing the Toner Cartridge............. 9-16

Transporting the Printer.......................... 9-22

Removing the Toner Cartridge ........... 9-22

Removing the 200-sheet Hopper ........ 9-24

Removing the Interface Cable ............ 9-24

Removing the Power Cord.................. 9-25

Check List Before

Transporting the Printer........................ 9-26

Contents v

10.Troubleshooting

Print Quality Maintenance...................... 10-2

Paper Jam................................................ 10-2

Locations of Potential Paper Jams ...... 10-3

Removing Jammed Paper ................... 10-3

Paper Jams in the Hopper................ 10-4

Paper Jams in the Fuser Unit........... 10-5

Points to Check to Avoid

Paper Jams ........................................ 10-7

Testing the Printer .................................. 10-8

vi Contents

Status Messages.................................... 10-10

Installation Problems ........................ 10-10

Operating Problems .......................... 10-14

Output Quality ...................................... 10-26

Light Page ......................................... 10-26

Blank Page ........................................ 10-27

Black Page ........................................ 10-28

Streaked Page.................................... 10-29

Spots on Back of Paper..................... 10-30

Blank Spots ....................................... 10-31

Solid White Vertical Line ................. 10-32

Graphics Appear Coarse

in GDI Mode................................... 10-33

Text Appears Jagged or Low

Resolution in GDI Mode................. 10-33

Unexpected Font in Either GDI or

PCL Mode....................................... 10-34

Unexpected Font in PCL Mode ........ 10-35

Shifted or Broken Image................... 10-35

Allocating Virtual Memory .................. 10-36

Commonly Asked Questions................ 10-38

A Character Sets
B Optimizing Printer Performance
C Specifications
D Interface Cable Specifications
E Removing SuperScript Files from Your System
Glossary
Index

List of Tables

Contents vii

1-1 Supplies and Accessories ............... 1-7

6-1 Paper Specifications ..................... 6-10

6-2 Envelope Specifications ............... 6-12

6-3 Label Specifications ..................... 6-13

6-4 Transparency Specifications ........ 6-14

8-1-a Recommended Printing Methods

[The Standard Hopper]................... 8-2

8-1-b Recommended Printing Methods

[Optional 200-sheet Hopper].......... 8-3

10-1 Simple Troubleshooting ............... 10-1

viii Contents

Using this Guide

This guide provides an introduction to the NEC
Silentwriter SuperScript 610 printer and includes
information about its setting up, features, operation,
and maintenance.

If you are just beginning to use it, you may want to
read this entire user’s guide to familiarize yourself
with the printer. If you have been using the printer
for some time, you can scan the Contents for spe­cific information that you need.

Contents ix

x Contents

1

Introduction 1–1

Introduction

This guide provides complete instructions for operat­ing your new NEC Silentwriter® SuperScript 610
printer. All printer features are explained and
illustrated in detail.

Silentwriter SuperScript 610 is a new laser printer
that has been developed specially for users of
WindowsTM version 3.1. This printer is provided
with the SuperScript software kit and requires no
special add-in cards, cartridges, or cables.
Silentwriter SuperScript 610 differs from other
printers in that it is directly driven by the CPU of
your computer; hence, it has faster response and
better status information. In addition, by expanding
the memory of your computer or upgrading to a
more powerful PC, the performance of your
SuperScript 610 can also be improved.

NEC SuperScript software supports two printing
modes, namely, GDI mode and PCL emulation
mode. GDI mode offers the full performance of the
total printing system while the PCL emulation mode
offers compatibility with existing PCL print files.

Your computer and Silentwriter SuperScript 610
communicate bi-directionally to exchange the
operating status information (i. e., warm-up, paper
out, paper jam, etc.) of SuperScript 610 to display
messages requiring your attention on your screen, if
necessary. Hence, you can focus on your work
without referring to the printer operator panel
periodically, a benefit brought by the SuperScript
software.

1–2 Introduction

The SuperScript 610 is designed as a personal laser
printer to conserve desk space and it features low
power consumption .

HOW THE
PRINTING
PROCESS
WORKS

Whenever you send a job to the printer, an “image”
of the page to be printed is temporarily written to the
rotating surface of an electrophotographic (EP)
drum. This image acts like a magnet that attracts
toner to the drum. (The toner and the drum are
grouped in one self-contained cartridge.)

At the same time, paper (or transparency film or
envelope) passes through the printer and near the
drum. The paper is electrostatically charged as it
reaches the drum.

Toner, previously attracted to the drum as image
areas, is transferred to the charged paper. The paper
then passes between two rollers where a combination
of heat and pressure bonds the toner to the paper.
The paper is then moved to the output tray.

Introduction 1–3

STANDARD
FEATURES

The following list highlights Silentwriter SuperScript
610 features.

Host-based Processing
As mentioned in the introduction section,

SuperScript uses your PC power to handle print
tasks.

Two Printing Modes
The Silentwriter SuperScript 610 software allows

you to select from two different modes of
printing:

• GDI mode provides fast, WYSIWYG (What
You See Is What You Get) output.

• PCL emulation mode provides compatibility
with the popular printer language used in the
LaserJet® IIP. Both Windows and DOS
applications running under Windows can use
PCL emulation mode for printing.

Print speed: up to 6 pages per minute.
Print resolution: 300 dots per inch.

1–4 Introduction

Sharp Edge Technology
Silentwriter SuperScript 610 features the

patented Sharp Edge Technology (SET). This
feature detects and smoothes jagged edges of
raster images to be printed by dividing one full
dot into several subdots to be set in the appropri­ate position. The print quality of both text and
graphics will be improved.

Paper input: from a 50-sheet hopper supporting:
Paper:

1 Letter
2 A4
3 Executive
4 A5

Envelope:

1 Monarch
2 Commercial 10
3 DL
4 C5

Introduction 1–5

Paper output: face-up tray with a maximum
capacity of 50 sheets (at 64 g/m2), or face-down
door.

Toner cartridge: clean, efficient printer
operation centered around one easily replaceable
cartridge. The Starter Toner Cartridge which is
shipped with your printer will print 2,000 pages
(at 5% coverage). Replacement toner cartridge
will print 4,000 pages (at 5% coverage).

Product quality and support: the design quality
and workmanship shared by all NEC printers,
backed by our total commitment to full product
support.

Power Saving Mode
This printer has the Power Saving Mode. In this

mode, if there is no print job within specified
time (default 15 minutes) while printer is idle,
the fuser unit pauses and power consumption
will be decreased. However the next printing
operation needs a certain warming up time.
The printer is in the Power Saving Mode when it
is turned on. You can also select either "Power
Saving Mode ON" or "Power Saving Mode
OFF" in NEC SuperScript Print Manager (See
Chapter 4, NEC SuperScript Print Manager).

1–6 Introduction

OPTIONAL
FEATURES

The optional feature available for the Silentwriter
SuperScript 610 include the following.

Optional 200-sheet Paper Hopper supporting:
Paper:

1 Letter
2 A4
3 Executive
4 A5

Envelope:

1 Monarch
2 Commercial 10
3 DL
4 C5

Introduction 1–7

ORDERING
SUPPLIES AND
ACCESSORIES

To order any of the following printer supplies or
accessories, contact your NEC printer dealer.

Table 1-1 Supplies and Accessories

PRODUCT
ORDER NUMBER

Toner Cartridge 135-037681-201-A
Optional 200-sheet Hopper 135-006432-201-A

For a detailed description of the PCL’s printer
language, the LaserJet IIP Printer Technical Refer-
ence Manual is available through the Hewlett
Packard Company.

1–8 Introduction

2

UNPACKING

Setting Up 2–1

Setting Up

Perform the following procedures to set up your
SuperScript 610.

Unpacking

1. Open the box.

2. Take out the documents (including software

diskettes) and the power cord from the box.

3. Take out the Starter Toner Cartridge.

4. Lift the printer together with the packing materi-

als.

2–2 Setting Up

Locating the
Printer Items

Locate the following items:

• NEC Silentwriter SuperScript 610 Printer

• SuperScript software kit

• User’s guide

• Power cord

• Starter Toner Cartridge

• Packing material (not shown)

NOTE: Save this user’s guide and all packing
materials in case the printer needs to be repacked.

Setting Up 2–3

OPERATING
REQUIRE­MENTS

The following operating requirements should be
satisfied:

Place the printer on a sturdy, flat surface.
Keep the room well ventilated with a relative

humidity between 20% and 80% and temperature
between 50˚F and 90.5˚F (10˚C to 32.5˚C)

Leave adequate space around the printer for easy
access (See the following figure.)

WARNING: Do not place objects near the printer
that may cover the ventilation holes on its sides.

2–4 Setting Up

Setting Up 2–5

Printer
Dimensions

The following illustration shows the standard dimen­sions of a Silentwriter SuperScript 610 printer.

2–6 Setting Up

Printer Dimen­sions with 200­sheet Hopper

The following illustration shows the dimensions of a
Silentwriter SuperScript 610 printer when the 50­sheet hopper is replaced by the optional 200-sheet
hopper.

Setting Up 2–7

SYSTEM RE­QUIREMENTS

Silentwriter SuperScript 610 works with Windows

3.1, in Enhanced Mode, and requires MS-DOS 3.3 or
later.

To run SuperScript, you will need an IBM­compatible PC with at least a 386SX 16-MHz CPU.
This includes all 486-based and most 386-based PCs.
Some older 386s cannot run in Windows Enhanced
Mode, which means that SuperScript will not work
properly on those systems. SuperScript will not run
on 286-based PCs and other earlier systems. If you
have Windows installed on your PC, you can verify
whether it runs in Enhanced Mode by typing WIN/3
at the MS-DOS prompt. If your PC cannot run
Windows in Enhanced Mode, the system will tell
you.

SuperScript requires at least 4 megabytes PC
memory (RAM), which is the amount of memory
recommended by Microsoft for use with Windows

3.1. Adding more memory to your PC will increase
the overall system and printer performance.

The SuperScript software requires approximately 1.4
megabytes disk space on your system’s hard disk
drive. About 2 megabytes more disk space is needed
to install the SuperScript TrueTypeTM Fonts. In
addition, up to approximately 8.5 megabytes disk
space is required for virtual memory under Win­dows. (If you have more than 4 megabytes RAM,
you won’t need the entire 8.5 megabytes virtual
memory. The total memory – PC RAM plus virtual
memory – should add up to at least 12.5 megabytes.
See Allocating Virtual Memory, in Chapter 10,
Troubleshooting)

A standard PC parallel printer port is required to
connect with the SuperScript 610 printer through a
standard parallel cable.

2–8 Setting Up

NOTE: Because of Silentwriter SuperScript 610’s
high speed interface, it is important to use a properly
manufactured parallel cable. Use of a poor quality
parallel cable may affect your output. See Interface
Cable specification, Appendix D.

EXTERNAL
PRINTER
PARTS

The following two illustrations show external printer
parts.

Setting Up 2–9

Upper Cover (also functions as a face-up tray)
Provides access to the inside of the printer and

stacks printed sheets with printed side facing up.
Maximum capacity: 50 sheets.

Lock Release Lever
Unlocks and opens the upper cover.

Status Panel
There are three indicator lights to show the

operating status of the printer.

- Ready indicator: the left panel light is used to
show that the printer is ready (steady green),
warming up (rapid blinking), or in power
saving mode (slow blinking).

- Paper Jam indicator: the middle panel light
appears in red when the printer detects a paper
jam.

- Attention indicator: the right panel light appears
in red in error conditions other than the paper
jams. For example, paper out, cover open,
toner cartridge missing, or engine malfunction.

2–10 Setting Up

Standard Hopper
Holds up to 50 sheets of paper (at 17 lbs).

Face-down Door
Ejects the printed sheets with printed side facing

down.
Power Switch

Turns the printer off or on.
Model Number

Indicates the model number of your printer.

Setting Up 2–11

Serial Number
Indicates the serial number of your printer

(You need to enter this number on the warranty
registration)

Parallel Interface
Provides connection to the Centronics-type

parallel interface connector of your computer.
Power Outlet

Connects the power cord to a power outlet.

INTERNAL
PRINTER
PARTS

2–12 Setting Up

Toner Cartridge
Contains the toner powder used in the printing

process and the EP drum.
Paper Guide Ribs

Guides the sheets to the fuser unit.
Transfer Roller

A high voltage roller that attracts the toner on the
EP drum.

Laser Diode Unit
Exposes and generates the print image on the EP

drum surface.
Erase Unit

Equalizes the distribution of electric potential on
the EP drum.

Fuser Unit
Fixes the toner to the paper.