Panasonic KX-P3123 User Manual

Panasonic

Operating Instructions

Impact Dot Matrix Printer

KX-P3123

Quiet

Before operating this unit, please read these instructionscompietely.

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FOR USER IN THE UNITED STATES ONLY

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

® Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. ® Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. ° Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver

is connected.

® Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. The user may find the booklet "Something About Interference" available from FCC local

regional offices helpful. FCC Warning: To assure continued FCC emission limit compliance, the user must use

only the recommended shield interfacing cable when connecting to a host computer. Also, any unauthorized changes or modifications to this equipment would void the users authority to operate this device.

WARNING

® The power source voltage of this unit is listed on the nameplate. Plug the printer only

into an outlet with the proper voltage.

* To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose this product to rain or any type of

moisture.

® When you operate this equipment, the outlet should be near the equipment and should

be easily accessible.

The serial number of the unit may be found on the label on the rear of the unit. For your convenience, note this number below, and retain this book, along with your proof of purchase, to serve as a permanent record of your purchase in the event of a theft, or for future reference.

MODEL NO. SERIAL NO.

KX-P3123

NAME OF DEALER DATE OF PURCHASE

IBM and IBM-PC are registered trademarks of International Business Machines

Corporation.

Proprinter is a trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Epson ESC/P2 is a trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Adobe, ATM and the ATM logo are trademarks of Adobe Systems Inc., which may be registered in certain jurisdictions.

Any details given in these operating instructions are subject to change without notice.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Features ................................................................. 7

Chap. 1

Chap. 2

Before You Start

Cautions

Operating Environment...................................................... 8

Precautions........................................................................ 9

Unpacking

Assembling the Parts

Parts of the Printer.............................................. 12

.................................................................

............................................................

.....................................................

Setup

Connecting to a Computer

Ribbon Cassette.................................................. 15

Installing the Ribbon Cassette ........................................ 15

Removing the Ribbon Cassette ...................................... 18

Paper Feed Selection.......................................... 20

Installing Paper

Fanfold Paper (Push Tractor Mode/Rear Feeding)

Fanfold Paper (Pull Tractor Mode/Bottom Feeding) .... 25

Single Sheets and Envelopes (Friction Mode)

Characters Alignment...................................................... 31

..................................................

.................................

.......

...............

Chap. 3

Printer-Driver Selection

Installing a Printer-Driver (Windows Ver. 3.1)

......................................

.........

Self Test ............................................................... 35

Using the Printer

SUPER QUIET Mode ........................................... 36

Feeding Paper ..................................................... 37

(Form Feed/Line Feed/Micro Line Feed/

Reverse Micro Line Feed)

Tear Off (Rear Feeding Only)

Paper Parking (Rear Feeding Only)

Setting the Top of Form (TOF) ....................................... 41

.............................................

..........................................

...............................

37 37 39

Table of Contents

Setting the Control Table.................................... 43

Printing Out the Current Settings in MACROS Setting the FONT/PITCH/FORM LENGTH

Setting the LEFT/RIGHT MARGIN ................................. 46

Defining MACRO (MACRO Save) .................................. 48

Recalling a Defined MACRO (MACRO Recall) Recalling FACTORY Settings (Default Settings)

Setting a COLOR ............................................................ 53

...............

.....................

..............

............

Chap. 4

Chap. 5

Initial Setup Mode

________________

Using the Control Panel...................................... 55

Printing Out the Current Settings

Setting the Initial Setup Mode.......................................... 59

Resetting to FACTORY Settings

Using the Setup Disk

Running the Initial Setup Program Printing Settings Setting Selections on Setup Disk

Save to Disk..................................................................... 68

Load from Disk................................................................ 69,

Send to Printer................................................................. 69

Resetting to FACTORY Settings

Help................................................................................. 71

..............................................................

..........................................

....................................

...................................

.................................

....................................

...................................

65 66 66

Software Commands

Epson ESC/P2™ Mode (Epson LQ-570 Mode)

.........

Chap. 6

IBM Proprinter X24E Mode

.................................

Command Reference Program

(Using the Setup Disk)

...................................................

iVlaintenance & TroubOeshooting

Periodic Maintenance

Troubleshooting

..................................................

.........................................

87 88

TabBe of Contents

Appendix

Printer Specifications

........................................

Paper Specifications........................................... 92

Fanfold Paper.................................................................. 92

Single Sheets

Envelopes........................................................................ 92

Printing Area.................................................................... 93

Interfacing

Parallel Interfacing........................................................... 94

.................................................................

............................................................

Initialization ......................................................... 97

Hex Dump............................................................. 98

Character Set Tables........................................... 99

Glossary

..............................................................

105

Index.......................................................................Ill

Options and Supplies

.......................................

114

Congratulations on purchasing a Panasonic printer.

This printer is a versatile, high quality 24-pin dot matrix printer which is designed to meet the needs of your office. This printer has been factory set to operate with most of the popular software packages. Your application software should control the printer functions. In most cases, there will be no need to change the initial printer settings.

Printer Emulation:

Setup Disk:

ATM Disk:

Super Quiet Mode:

Color Printing:

Fonts:

Printing Speed:

Paper Handling:

Paper Paths:

Epson LQ-570 and IBM Proprinter X24E

A printer-driver for Windows Ver. 3.1, initial setup program and command reference program

Adobe Type Manager with 13 scalable Adobe fonts for Windows Ver. 3.0 or higher

Reduces printing noise

7 colors with the optional color kit (KX-PCK11) 3 Draft ( Pica i Elite . ^licron )

6 Letter Quality ( courier , bom ps, prestige , scM^jixt >

Sans Serif , Roman )

1 Super Letter Quality ( Roman )

4 Scalable fonts ( Roman , Sans Serif, Courier .Prestige )

Draft — 192 characters per second (12 cpi) LQ — 64 characters per second (12 cpi)

SLQ — 32 characters per second (12 cpi)

Friction and Tractor (Pull and Push) Rear, Bottom, Top

Tear Off:

Paper Parking:

Cut Sheet Feeder Option

(KX-PT10):

Serial Interface Option

(KX-PS13 and KX-PS14):

Advances fanfold paper’s perforation to tear position Allows single sheets/envelopes to be used without

removing/wasting fanfold paper Provides fast and automatic feeding of single sheets

You may select parallel or serial when either serial

interface board is installed

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Operating Environment

Do not use the printer under the following conditions.

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Extremely high or low temperature [temperature range: 10-35'C {50~95T)]

Areas of poor ventilation [a minimum of 4" (10 cm) clearance on all sides is necessary to insure proper ventilation]

Extremely high or low humidity (humidity range: 30-80% RH)

Areas of high dust concentration

Areas with extreme vibration

Areas on an unstable or unlevel surface

Precautions

The following precautions are recommended to extend the life of the printer.

Keep all liquids away from the printer.

— Accidental spillage of a liquid into the printer

can cause severe damage.

Do not place books, paper, or other items on top of the printer.

Do not operate the printer without paper

and a ribbon cassette installed.

Do not obstruct the movement of the printhead while in operation.

Avoid prolonged use without allowing the printhead time to cool.

If the printer is not going to be used for an extended period, unplug the power cord.

Unpacking

Having unpacked the printer, make sure none of the contents shown below are missing or damaged. Report damages or shortages to the store from which the unit was purchased.

This setup disk contains a printer-driver for Windows Ver. 3.1 (P. 33), an initial setup program (i®’ P. 55) and a command reference program

P.84). To use this setup disk you need to have an IBM-PC or a compatible computer with a 3.5'" floppy disk drive.

Note:

• It is recommended that you save the original carton and packing materials for proper shipping and transporting of the printer.

• For detailed information on ATM disk, refer to ATM disk manual.

Assembling the Parts

Unpacking

O Insert the platen knob into the hole

on the right side of the printer and rotate it slowly until it slips onto the shaft. Push the platen knob onto the platen shaft to secure.

® Open the smoked plastic cover.

@ Fold the smoked plastic cover

forward, and remove the protective paper.

Smoked plastic cover

O Remove the top cover pad.

Protective paper

Tab

U) o

-< O

0) Q)

Top cover pad

Parts of the Printer

® Control table

This control table shows the details of the setting for each item.

® Row indicators

This indicates the selected item.

@ Column indicators

This indicates the elements of each item.

@ SUPER QUIET (TOF) switch

Pressing this switch reduces print noise, however, it also reduces the printing speed. Pressing this switch alternately turns the SUPER QUIET mode on/off. P. 36)

In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this switch sets the Top of Form (TOF).

(C5* P. 41)

® TEAR OFF (OTHERS) switch

Pressing this switch will advance or reverse the paper for tearing off in the OFF LINE mode, or when not printing in the ON LINE mode, (ns* P. 37)

In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this switch wiil advance the column position for the OTHERS on the controi table.

© LOAD/PARK (SET) switch

Pressing this switch will load/park the paper in the OFF LINE mode, or when not printing in the ON LINE mode. (>®’ P. 39)

In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this switch will set or release the items on the control table.

@ ON LINE (FONT) switch

This switch opens and closes the communication lines with the computer.

In the FUNCtiON mode, pressing this switch advances the column position for the FONT on the control table.

® FF (PITCH) switch

Pressing this switch advances the paper to the top of form on next page in the OFF LINE mode or when the printer is not printing in the ON LINE mode (depending on your TOF setting).

In the FUNCTION mode, pressing this switch advances the coiumn position for the PITCH on the control table.

(Rear View)

Parts of the Printer

Paper support

(c^ P.22)

Tractors

( P. 22)

AC power cord \\

Top cover

Head Gap Lever

Adjusts the gap between the platen and the printhead. The lever moves in increments of

0.0028 inch {0.07 mm).

Position Used for

1 or 2 Thinner sheets

3, 4, 5 and 6 Thick or multiple

sheets, envelopes

Paper Feed Selector

“ Q ” (Friction) Single sheets

and envelopes

“ |]]” (Tractor) Fanfold paper

Serial No. Label

Nameplate

Frame ground

terminal ( d®“ P. 14)

LF (FORM LENGTH) switch

Pressing this switch advances the paper one tine at a time. Holding this switch wilt advance the paper continuously until the switch is released. These functions are active in the OFF LINE mode or when not printing in the ON LINE mode.

In the FUNCTION mode, pressing the switch advances the column for the FORM LENGTH on the control table.

_________

FUNCTION switch

This switch allows you to enter and exit the

FUNCTION mode.

Serial interface cover

Centronics parallel interface connector (us* P. 14, 94)

(Q) ON LINE/FUNCTION indicator

This indicator is lit when the printer is in the ON LINE mode, and is out in the OFF LINE mode. It blinks in the FUNCTION mode.

@ SUPER QUIET indicator

This indicator is lit when the printer is in the SUPER QUIET mode.

@ POWER/PAPER OUT indicator

This indicator is lit when the power is on and paper is installed. It blinks when paper is not installed.

Connecting to a Computer

Attach one end of the parallel interface cable to your printer as shown, and the other end to your computer.

Be sure to secure the printer clips.

r Note:

• If you do not have a parallel interface

I from your local computer store or dealer.

cable, you v^ill need to purchase one

Frame ground wire

If the cable has a frame ground wire, connect it to the frame ground terminal.

Plug the printer into a grounded 3 prong AC socket.

When power is supplied to the printer, the power indicator on the control panel will light.

Rlbbfti Cassette

Installing the Ribbon Cassette

O Turn the power switch off for

safety.

@ Fold the smoked plastic cover

forward by lifting tab on right side.

O Raise the smoked plastic cover.

O Remove the smoked plastic cover.

Caution:

• The printhead may be hot. Use caution when the cover is open.

Gently slide the carriage toward the center of the unit.

Ribbon Cassette

Move the head gap lever to the (+) position.

Rotate the knob on the ribbon cassette to remove any slack.

Slip the ribbon between the ribbon

mask and the printhead nose.

Replace the smoked plastic cover to

its original position.

Ribbon Cassette

Press down on rear of the cassette until the blue wing tab snaps into place.

Adjust the head gap lever for the thick

ness of the paper you are using.

Position

1 or 2 Thinner sheets

3, 4, 5 and 6 Thick or multiple sheets or

envelopes

Use for

Ribbon Cassette

Removing the Ribbon Cassette

O Turn the power switch off for

safety.

@ Fold the smoked plastic cover

forward by lifting tab on right side.

O Raise the smoked plastic cover.

(Top View)

O Remove the smoked plastic cover.

Caution:

• The printhead may be hot. Use caution when the cover is open.

Gently slide the carriage toward the center of the unit.

Ribbon Cassette

Move the head gap lever to the (+) position.

Spread the blue wing tab and lift upthe

cassette.

Paper Feed Selection

This printer has two paper feed mechanisms to support 3 paper paths. One mechanism is TRACTOR mode for continuously fed paper. In the tractor mode you can choose between PUSH or PULL.

The other paper feed mechanism is FRICTION mode. In the friction mode you can feed single sheets or envelopes through the top. The optional KX-PT10 Cut Sheet Feeder will accommodate automatic feeding of single sheets, from the top paper path.

Push Tractor Mode

— fanfold paper (1 part) — multipart forms consisting of 2 parts

Pull Tractor Mode '* [T| ” (Bottom Feeding)

— multipart forms consisting of 3 or 4

parts — labels — fanfold paper (1 part)

Friction Mode “ Q

ti [« ’I

(Rear Feeding)

— single sheets

(The KX-PT10 allows you to automatically

feed up to 80 sheets of 20 lb paper.)

— envelopes

Note:

• When feeding paper from the bottom, do not use reverse line feed. Paper may not feed correctly and print quality may not be optimum.

• Paper Parking is not available when the paper is installed from the bottom.

• Multipart forms consisting of 2 parts may be used for rear feeding (Push mode). For 3 or 4 part forms, we recommend bottom feeding (Pull mode) for optimum print quality.

Installing Paper

Fanfold Paper (Push Tractor Mode/Rear Feeding)

O Turn the power on.

You will hear a beep. The PAPER OUT indicator will flash indicating that paper is not installed in the printer.

& Adjust the head gap lever for the

thickness of paper you are using.

Position

1 or 2

3, 4, 5 and 6

Set the paper feed selector to the “ [Q] ” position.

O Fold the smoked plastic cover

forward by lifting the tab on right

side.

Thinner sheets Thick or multiple sheets

Use for

@ Remove the top cover.

Installing Paper

O Unlock the tractors by pulling the

tractor clamping levers forward.

0 Slide the tractors to opposite ends

of the printer.

Note:

• In most applications, you will find that the 0 indicator on the tear bar is a useful tool for predetermining your left most print position.

Move the paper support to the

center position.

@ Open the tractor covers.

To set the tractors to the proper

width, align the paper sprocket

holes with the tractor pins by moving the tractors.

Note:

• Make sure the paper is straight before closing the tractor covers.

* •

O Close tractor covers.

Open the tractor covers and remove

the paper, then close the tractor covers.

Installing Paper

O Adjust the tractors to remove any

slack in the paper.

@ Lock the tractor clamping levers.

While holding down [ ON LINE ] ,

press [ FF ].

Note:

• This will cause the tractors to rotate

slowly for approximately 60 seconds.

Installing Paper

While the tractors are rotating, insert the fanfold paper evenly behind the tractors, until the tractor pins catch the paper sprocket holes.

1 2 cover to its original

* ^ position, then close the smoked

plastic cover.

MICRO LF T I

PITCH FORM LENGTH EXIT

LF 11 FUNCTION I

Press rtOAD/PARI^ once.

Note:

• This will load the paper to the first print line.

If the ON LINE indicator is not lit, press

fON LINE ] to get ready to print.

Note:

• To avoid paper curl in push mode, park the paper after use.

Fanfold Paper (Pull Tractor Mode/Bottom Feeding)

O Turn the power on.

You will hear a beep. The PAPER OUT indicator will flash indicating that paper is not installed in the printer.

e Adjust the head gap lever for the

thickness of the paper you are

using.

Installing

Position

1 or 2

3, 4, 5 and 6

Thinner sheets Thick or multiple sheets

Use for

Set the paper feed selector to the “ (0] ” position.

Fold the smoked plastic cover

forward by lifting the tab on the

right side.

O Remove the top cover.

Installing Paper

Unlock the tractors by pulling the

tractor clamping levers forward.

Slide the tractors to accommodate

the approximate width of the

paper you are using.

Note:

• In most applications, you will find that the 0 indicator on the tear bar is a useful tool for predetermining your left most print position.

Remove the pull up roller unit.

Note:

• Be sure to remove the pull up roller unit before using the bottom feeding.

O Move the paper support to the

center position.

O Open the tractor covers.

Installing Paper

Push the fanfold paper up through the bottom opening until it appears on the platen.

Align the paper sprocket holes with the tractor pins.

Make sure the paper is straight before closing the tractor covers.

O Adjust the tractors to remove any

slack from the paper.

& Lock the tractor clamping levers.

Installing Paper

Replace the pull up roller.

Note:

• Be sure to press down the pull up roller unit it snaps into place.

Replace the top cover to its original position, then close the smoked plastic cover.

If the ON LINE indicator is not lit, press

[ ON LINE] to get ready to print.

Note:

• In the pull tractor mode (Bottom feeding), reverse line feed will not feed paper correctly and the resulting printout may not be correct.

Single Sheets and Envelopes (Friction Mode)

O Turn the power on.

You will hear a beep. The PAPER OUT indicator will flash indicating that no paper is installed in the printer.

0 Adjust the head gap lever for the

thickness of the paper you are

using.

Installing Paper

Position

1 or 2

3, 4, 5 and 6

Thinner sheets Thick or multiple sheets or

envelopes

Use for

Set the paper feed selector to the “ Q ” position.

Fold the smoked plastic cover

forward by lifting the tab on the right side.

0 Reposition the top cover into the

single sheet position by inserting

the top cover pins into the slots in the printer.

These slots are indicated by black arrows

( ^ ^ ) on the printer cabinet.

Installing Paper

Separate the paper guides to the approximate width of your paper or envelope.

Note:

• To predetermine your left most print position, move the left paper guide until

it clicks into place.

____

_________ __________ _

Insert a sheet of paper through the

paper guides and behind the

platen.

The paper will automatically load to the first print line position.

Fold the smoked plastic cover

until it rests on the top cover.

Note:

• To disable Auto Load, turn Auto Load off in the initial setup mode.

P.55)

• If Auto Load is disabled, press

[ LOAD/PARK] to automatically load

paper to the first print line.

If the ON LINE indicator is not lit, press [ ON line) to get ready to print.

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