Ricoh ap204 OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

Color Laser Printer

AP204

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

Read this manual carefully before you use this product and keep it handy for future reference.

For safety, please follow the instructions in this manual.

Introduction

This manual contains detailed instructions on the operation and maintenance of this machine. To get maximum versatility from this machine all operators should carefully read and follow the instructions in this manual. Please keep this manual in a handy place near the machine.

Please read the Safety Information before using this machine. It contains important information related to USER SAFETY and PREVENTING EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS.

Power Source

220-240 V, 50/60Hz, 4A or more

Please be sure to connect the power cord to a power source as above.

Operator Safety:

This machine is considered a class 1 laser device, safe for office/EDP use. The machine contains a 5-milliwat, 760 - 800 nanometer wavelength, GaAIAs laser diode. Direct (or indirect reflected) eye contact with the laser beam might cause serious eye damage. Safety precautions and interlock mechanisms have been designed to prevent any possible laser beam exposure to the operator.

The following label is attached on the back side of the machine.

Laser Safety:

The optical housing unit can only be repaired in a factory or at a location with the requisite equipment. The laser subsystem is replaceable in the field by a qualified Customer Engineer. The laser chassis is not repairable in the field. Customer engineers are therefore directed to return all chassis and laser subsystems to the factory or service depot when replacement of the optical subsystem is require.

Caution:

Use of controls or adjustment or performance of procedures other than those specified in this manual might result in hazardous radiation exposure.

Do not attempt any maintenance or troubleshooting other than that mentioned in this manual. This machine contains a laser beam generator and direct exposure to laser beams can cause permanent eye damage.

Two kinds of size notation are employed in this manual. With this machine refer to the Metric version

Ricoh shall not be responsible for any damage or expense that might result from the use of parts other than genuine Ricoh parts in your Ricoh office product.

For good copy quality, Ricoh recommends that you use genuine Ricoh toner.

Trademarks

Microsoft®, Windows®, and MS-DOS® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

PostScript® is a registered trademark of Adobe System Incorporated.

Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and might be trademarks of their respective companies. We disclaim any and all rights in those marks.

Important

Parts of this manual are subject to change without prior notice. In no event will the company be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages as a result of handling or operating the machine.

Notes

Some illustrations might be slightly different from your machine.

Certain options might not be available in some countries. For details, please contact your local dealer.

Declaration of Conformity

The Product complies with the requirements of the EMC Directive 89/336/EEC and the Low Voltage Directive 73/23/EEC.

Caution (in case of 100BaseTX environment):

Properly shielded and grounded cables (STP) and connectors must be used for connections to host computer (and/or peripheral) in order to meet FCC emission limits.

Warning

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

In accordance with ISO Standard 7001, this machine uses the following symbols for the main power switch:

a means POWER ON. b means POWER OFF.

Safety Information

When using your equipment, the following safety precautions should always be followed.

Safety During Operation

In this manual, the following important symbols are used:

RWARNING

Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if instructions are not followed, could result in death or serious injury.

RCAUTION

Indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if instructions are not followed, may result in minor or moderate injury or damage to property.

RWARNINGS

•Connect the power cord directly into a wall outlet and never use an extension cord.

•Disconnect the power plug (by pulling the plug, not the cable) if the power cable or plug becomes frayed or otherwise damaged.

•To avoid hazardous electric shock or laser radiation exposure, do not remove any covers or screws other than those specified in this manual.

•Turn off the power and disconnect the power plug (by pulling the plug, not the cable) if any of the following conditions exists:

•You spill something into the equipment.

•You suspect that your equipment needs service or repair.

•Your equipment’s cover has been damaged.

•Do not incinerate spilled toner or used toner. Toner dust might ignite when exposed to an open flame.

•Disposal can take place at our authorized dealer or at appropriate collection sites.

•If you dispose of the used toner containers yourself, dispose of them according to your local regulations.

RCAUTIONS

•Protect the equipment from dampness or wet weather, such as rain, snow, and so on.

•Unplug the power cord from the wall outlet before you move the equipment. While moving the equipment, you should take care that the power cord will not be damaged under the equipment.

•When you disconnect the power plug from the wall outlet, always pull the plug (not the cable).

•Do not allow paper clips, staples, or other small metallic objects to fall inside the equipment.

•Do not eat or swallow toner.

•Keep toner (used or unused) and toner cassette out of reach of children.

•For environmental reasons, do not dispose of the equipment or expended supply’s wastes at a household waste collection point. Disposal can take place at out authorized dealer or at appropriate collection site.

•Our products are engineered to meet the highest standards of quality and functionality. When purchasing expendable supplies, we recommend using only those provided by an authorized dealer.

•The inside of the machine could be very hot. Do not touch the parts with a label indicating a hot surface. Otherwise, it could cause a personal burn.

Safety Information

ENERGY STAR Program

As an ENERGY STAR Partner, we have determined that this machine model meets the ENERGY STAR Guidelines for energy efficiency.

The ENERGY STAR Guidelines intend to establish an international energysaving system for developing and introducing energy-efficient office equipment to deal with environmental issues, such as global warming.

This product was designed to reduce the environmental impact associated with office equipment by means of energy-saving features, such as Low-power mode (Energy Saver mode).

This printer automatically lowers its power consumption 60 minutes after the last operation has been completed. To exit the Low-power (Energy Saver) mode, press any key on the operation panel. To change the setting of the Energy Saver mode, see page 99.

Recycled paper

Please contact your sales or service representative for recommended recycled paper types that may be used in this machine.

iii

Color Guide

Color Printing Basics

Additive (Emitted) and Subtractive (Reflected) Color Models

All light is a mixture of red, green, and blue, which is normally called the RGB model. When red, green, and blue are of equal intensities, the RGB color model produces white.

Note

RGB is also called additive or emitted color. The colors on your computer screen are produced by varying the intensities of RGB.

Printed color is a mixture of cyan, magenta, and yellow, which is normally called the CMY color model. When mixed in equal proportions the CMY color model produces black.

Note

CMY is also called subtractive or reflective color. Your printer uses CMY toner plus K (black) toner (CMYK color model) to provide full color printing.

Color Guide

The colors of the RGB color model can be mixed to produce the cyan, magenta, and yellow of the CMY color model and vice versa. Two colors of one model are mixed to produce the color of the other model (mixing blue and green produces cyan, for example). The remaining color is the compliment of the color produced (red in this example). Complimentary colors are: red and cyan, green and magenta, blue and yellow.

Printed Color

Your printer produces full-color output using four toner colors: cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. These four colors make up the CMYK color model.

Note

Mixing CMY in equal proportions should hypothetically produce pure black, but imperfections in the ink cause an equal measure of these colors to produce a muddy or dark brown. Black toner is added to the color model in order to make it possible to produce pure black.

If an image consisted of nothing by cyan, for example, cyan toner would be used by itself and there would be no problem producing the desired color. Full-color printing, on the other hand, required reproduction of tens of thousands of subtle colors. These can be produced by controlling the relative proportions of the CMYK toner particles printed within a unit area.

Relatively dense and light shades of the same color also can be reproduced by controlling the volume of toner in a unit area.

Color Guide

Example of Color Adjustments Using the Printer Driver

The following provides a number of examples to show you what happens when you change the various color settings provided in the printer driver.

Quality Settings

Resolution

Resolution is the number of dots the printer can print within one inch. The higher the resolution, the better the quality of the printed image. Resolution is expressed in units of dpi, which stands for dots per inch.

Note

Printing at a high resolution takes longer and requires more printer memory.

600dpi

300dpi

vii

Toner Saving

Turning on Toner Saving reduces the amount of toner used for printing. This setting does not help to improve printout quality, but instead is used when printing preliminary drafts of a document.

Limitation

•Turning on the Toner Saving can cause output to become blurred and result in very thin lines not printing at all. It can cause colors to be different than expected when printing color.

Off

Image Printing

This setting lets you select the resolution for printing of image data.

Standard

Fast

Fine

viii

Color Guide

Color Settings

The colors produced by the printer do not exactly match those you see on your monitor. This is because the computer uses the reflected color model (RGB) while the printer uses the emitted color model (CMYK). For details, see => P.iv “Color Printing Basics”. The color settings provide you with a number of adjustments that you can use to bring printed colors closer to what they look like on your monitor. You can also use these settings to perform color correction, which changes the clarity of the image.

You can change the color settings with the printer driver.

Color Correction

Use these settings to adjust the color correction pattern.

Off	Photographic

	This setting enhances midtone col-
	ors similar to those seen in photo-
	graphs.
Vivid	OHP Transparency

This setting enhances the basic colors for text and graphics. This setting is best for printing tables, graphs, and presentation materials that contain color.

This setting adjusts density to an optimal level for printing OHP transparencies.

Brightness

This setting controls the overall brightness of the image. Moving the slider to the plus (+) side increase brightness, while moving it to the minus (-) side decreases brightness.

-30

+30

Contrast

This setting controls the range between the darkest and lightest shade of an image. Moving the slider to the plus (+) side decreases the range and makes contrast stronger, while moving it to the minus (-) side expands the range.

-30

+30

Saturation

This setting controls the purity of a color. Moving the slider to the plus (+) side increases saturation and makes colors more vivid, while moving it to the minus (-) side decreases saturation.

-30

+30

Color Guide

Color Balance

These settings let you control the relative intensity of the individual colors of the additive color model (red, green, blue).

Note

The position of the color bar also affects the complementary color relationship. Red, for example, is printed using magenta and yellow toner, so increasing the level of red also decreases the level of cyan.

-30

+30

-30

+30

-30

+30

Manuals for Your Printer

There are two manuals that describe the procedures separately for the installation of your printer and for the operation and maintenance of your printer and its optional equipment.

To enhance safe and efficient operation of your printer, all users should read and follow the instructions contained in the following manuals.

Quick Installation Guide

Describes the procedures for installing your printer.

Operating Instructions

Describes the procedures and necessary information on setting up and using your printer and its optional equipment. (This Manual)

xii

How to Read this Manual

Symbols

In this manual, the following symbols are used:

RWARNING:

This symbol indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if instructions are not followed, could result in death or serious injury.

RCAUTION:

This symbol indicates a potentially hazardous situation which, if instructions are not followed, may result in minor or moderate injury or damage to property.

*The statements above are notes for your safety.

Important

If this instruction is not followed, paper might be misfed, originals might be damaged, or data might be lost. Be sure to read this.

Preparation

This symbol indicates the prior knowledge or preparations required before operating.

Note

This symbol indicates precautions for operation, or actions to take after missoperation.

Limitation

This symbol indicates numerical limits, functions that cannot be used together, or conditions in which a particular function cannot be used.

Reference

This symbol indicates a reference.

{ }

Keys built into the machine’s operation panel. Keys on the computer’s keyboard.

[ ]

Keys that appear on the machine’s panel display. Keys and buttons appear on the computer’s display

xiii

Table of Contents
Safety Information .......................................................................................	i
Color Guide ................................................................................................	iv
Color Printing Basics .....................................................................................	iv
Example of Color Adjustments Using the Printer Driver ...............................	vii
Manuals for Your Printer ..........................................................................	xii
How to Read this Manual ........................................................................	xiii
Symbols .......................................................................................................	xiii
1. Getting Acquainted
Features of Your Printer .............................................................................	1
Office Color Printer ........................................................................................	1
Guide to the Printer ....................................................................................	2
Exterior - Front View ......................................................................................	2
Exterior - Rear View .......................................................................................	3
Interior ...........................................................................................................	4
Operation Panel .............................................................................................	5
2. Installing Options
Available Options .......................................................................................	8
Installing the Memory Unit ........................................................................	9
Installing the RICOH-SCRIPT 2 Type204 ................................................	11
Installing the Network Interface Board Type204 ...................................	13
Installing the IEEE 1284 Parallel Type204 ..............................................	15
Installing the Paper Feed Unit Type204 .................................................	17
Installing the Paper Cassette Type204 ...................................................	21

3.Configuring the Printer for the Network with the Operation Panel

Configuring the Printer for the Network with the Operation Panel .....

xiv

Table of Contents
4. Installing the IPDL-C Printer Driver
Before Installing the Printer Drivers .......................................................	29
Installing the Printer Drivers ........................................................................	29
Windows 95/98 - Installing the IPDL-C Printer Driver ...........................	30
Installing the Printer Driver Using Plug and Play .........................................	31
Installing the Printer Driver Without Using Plug and Play ............................	34
Setting Up Options ......................................................................................	36
Canceling a Print Job ..................................................................................	37
Windows 3.1x - Installing the IPDL-C Printer Driver .............................	38
Installing the Printer Driver ..........................................................................	38
Setting Up Options ......................................................................................	40
Canceling a Print Job ..................................................................................	41
Windows NT4.0 - Installing the IPDL-C Printer Driver ..........................	42
Installing the Printer Driver ..........................................................................	42
Setting Up Options ......................................................................................	44
Canceling a Print Job ..................................................................................	45
5. Paper and Other Media
Paper and Other Media Supported by this Printer ................................	47
Paper Types and Sizes ................................................................................	47
Precautions for Paper ..................................................................................	48
Printable Area ..............................................................................................	50
Loading Paper ..........................................................................................	51
Loading Paper in the Paper Tray ..................................................................	51
Switching between Paper Trays ...................................................................	54
6. Troubleshooting
Error & Status Messages .........................................................................	55
Printed Error Message .................................................................................	55
Error & Status Messages on the Operation Panel .......................................	56
Getting Printer Information over the Network ..............................................	60
Printer Doesn’t Print ................................................................................	65
Other Printing Problems ..........................................................................	67
Removing Misfed Paper ...........................................................................	71
When the Message “Remove Misfeed From Tray” Appears ........................	72
When the Message “Open Rear Cover Remove Misfeed” Appears ............	73
When the Message “Remove Misfeed From Output Tray” Appears ............	74
Cleaning and Adjusting the Printer ........................................................	75
Cleaning the Charge Wire ...........................................................................	75
Adjusting the Image Density ........................................................................	77
Adjusting the Setting of “Registration” of the Optional Tray .........................	78

Replacing Consumables .........................................................................	80
Replacing the Toner Cartridges ...................................................................	80
Replacing the Photoconductor Unit .............................................................	82
Replacing the Waste Toner Bottle ................................................................	86
Replacing the Fuser Oil Bottle and Ozone Filter .........................................	87
Replacing the Fuser Cleaner .......................................................................	89
7. Making Printer Settings with the Operation Panel
Setting Menus ...........................................................................................	92
Protecting the Menus ...............................................................................	94
Protecting the Menus ...................................................................................	94
Changing the Menu Settings without Removing Protect .............................	95
Removing Protect ........................................................................................	96
Menu Table ................................................................................................	97
Menu Settings ...........................................................................................	98
IPDL-C Menu ...............................................................................................	98
System Menu ...............................................................................................	98
Printing the Configuration Page ...........................................................	101
Interpreting Configuration Page ...........................................................	102
Reference ..................................................................................................	102
Printer Information .....................................................................................	102
Status List ..................................................................................................	103
Error Log ....................................................................................................	103
Printing the Color Sample .....................................................................	104
Resetting Menus ....................................................................................	105
8. Appendix
Memory Capacity and Paper Size .........................................................	107
Moving and Transporting the Printer ...................................................	109
Specifications .........................................................................................	110
Mainframe ..................................................................................................	110
Options ......................................................................................................	112
Comsumbles ...........................................................................................	114
Glossaries ...............................................................................................	115
Index ........................................................................................................	117

xvi

1. Getting Acquainted

Features of Your Printer

Office Color Printer

You can enjoy the versatility of a full color printer and the performance of a monochrome laser in a single compact unit. Text, spreadsheets, presentations, design and other documents containing images can be beautifully printed in full color. Windows applications using monochrome text or gray scale images are rendered quickly in razor-sharp detail. Its compact design allows you to locate it in a small convenient place. The efficient design of the internal mechanism make it easy to access and replace consumables as paper and toner cartridge.

Getting Acquainted

Guide to the Printer

Exterior - Front View

1.Operation Panel

Contains keys for printer operation and a display that shows the printer status. =>P.5 “Operation panel”

2.Top Cover

Open this cover when accessing the inside of the printer.

3.Front Cover

Open this cover when accessing the inside of the printer.

4.Power Switch

TPOH010E

6.Inset Grips

Hold the printer at the location indicated in the illustration when transporting it. Note that there are four grips, two on the left side and two on the right side of the printer.

TPOH020E

Use this switch to turn printer power on and off.

5.Paper Tray

Load up to 250 sheets of plain paper*1 into this tray for printing. You can also load OHP transparencies and custom paper sizes. => P.51 “Loading Paper in the Paper Tray”

7.Front Cover Open Lever

Press this lever to open the front cover.

8.Top Cover Open Lever

Press this lever to open the top cover.

9.Output Tray

*1:80 g/m2 (metric version),	Printed pages are stacked here with
20 lb (inch version)	the print side down.

Guide to the Printer

Exterior - Rear View

1.Ventilator

These holes help to keep components inside the printer from overheating. Also, this cover should be removed to replace the ozone filter.

Note

Do not leave the ventilator obstructed or blocked. Doing so creates the danger of malfunction due to overheating.

2.Rear Cover

Open this cover to remove misfed paper.

3.Power Connector

Connect the power cord to this connector.

4.Optional Paper Feed Unit Connector Cover

When installing the optional paper feed unit, plug its cable into this connector.

TPOH030E

5.Parallel Interface Connector

Plug the interface cable that connects the printer to your computer into this connector.

6.Metal Plates

Remove to install certain options.

Getting Acquainted

Interior

1.Fuser Cleaner

This cleans unnecessary toner from the fuser roller.

2.Fuser Oil Bottle

This bottle holds oil used for fusing toner on the paper.

3.Photoconductor Unit

This contains a photoconductor unit belt that is used to compose the image being printed.

Note

The condition of the photoconductor unit belt directly affects output appearance and quality. Always be careful to prevent the green film in this unit from becoming dirty or damaged.

4.Toner Cartridges

1K: black toner

2Y: yellow toner

3M: magenta toner

4C: cyan toner

5.Waste Toner Bottle

This bottle is a receptacle for waste toner generated during the printing process.

Guide to the Printer

Operation Panel

Important

Never press any operation panel keys while the Data In indicator is flashing on the operation panel.

1. Panel Display	1
The display shows the current sta-	1
The display shows the current sta-
tus of the printer and error mes-	2
sages. => P.56 “Error & Status Mes-	2
sages. => P.56 “Error & Status Mes-	3	12
sages on the Operation Panel”	3	12
2. On Line indicator	4	11
2. On Line indicator	5	10
Tells you whether the printer is on-	5	10
Tells you whether the printer is on-	6
line or off-line.		9
Stays on while the printer is on-line	7	8
(a state in which the printer can re-		8
ceive data from the computer).	8. {Enter}key	TPOS010G
Stays off when the printer is off-line	8. {Enter}key
Stays off when the printer is off-line	Press this key to execute menu
(a state in which printer can not re-	Press this key to execute menu
ceive data).	items selected on the panel display.
3. Power indicator	9. {U}{T}keys

Stays on while the printer power is on. Stays off when the power is turned off or while the printer is in the Energy Saver mode.

4.{On Line}key

Press this key to switch the printer between on-line and off-line conditions.

5.Error indicator

Use these keys to increase and decrease values on the panel display, and toggle menus when making settings.

10.{Escape}key

Press this key to return to the previous condition on the panel display.

11.{Reset}key

Lights up whenever any printer error occurs. A message describing the cause of the error also appears on the panel display.

6.{Menu}key

Press this key to make and check the printer settings.

7.{Media}key

Use this key to select a tray, change the paper size, and to make other settings for printing.

Pressing this key when the printer is off-line resets the printer to its power on default settings.

Pressing this key during the on-line condition cancels the ongoing print job.

12.Data In indicator

Blinks while the printer is receiving data from the computer.

Stays on if there is data to be printed.

Getting Acquainted

2. Installing Options

RCAUTION

•Make sure to turn off the printer and wait for about 30 minutes before installing options. Not waiting for the printer to cool down can result in a burn.

•It is recommended that at least two persons are used to lift the machine. Otherwise, the machine might fall and cause personal injury.

•When lifting the machine, use the inset grips on both sides of the machine. Otherwise, the machine might fall and cause personal injury.

RCAUTION

•When you move the machine, unplug the power cord from the wall outlet to avoid a fire or an electric shock.

Installing Options

Available Options

The following options can be installed to your printer.

TPOH350E

TPOH351E

1.Memory Unit

You can install one of the following memory units.

•Memory Unit Type204 (16MB)

•Memory Unit Type204 (32MB)

2.RICOH-SCRIPT 2 Type204

3.Interface Board

You can install up to two interface boards. However, you cannot install two boards of the same type at the same time. The following board are available.

•Network Interface Board Type204

•IEEE 1284 Parallel Type204

4.Paper Feed Unit Type204

5.Paper Cassette Type204

Note

You cannot install more than one paper feed unit at a time.

The standard tray or the tray of the optional paper feed unit can be replaced with Paper Cassette Type204.

Installing the Memory Unit

Important

The memory unit can be damaged by small amounts of static electricity. Before touching it, touch something metal to remove static electricity from you.

ATurn off the printer’s power switch and remove all cables and cords from the printer.

BRemove both screws and remove the printer board from the printer as shown in the illustration.

TPOP130E

Note

A coin can be used to remove the screws.

CAlign the memory unit as shown in the illustration. Tilt it backwards so that it is 45 degrees from

perpendicular to the printer board (1), and slide it into the slot. Then

tilt it forwards so that it is perpen- 2 dicular to the board (2). It should

make an audible click as it pops into place.

(a)

TPOP140E

Note

When aligning the memory unit, notice that the lower corner of one side has a notch (a). This is to prevent you from installing the unit backwards.

Installing Options

DInsert the printer board into the printer. Fasten both screws.

Important

To make the printer recognize the installed option properly, you must set up the option with the printer driver. => P.36, 40, or 44 “Setting Up Options”

TPOP150E

Important

Make sure that both screws are used to secure the printer board.

Note

A coin can be used to fasten the screws.

EPlug the printer’s power cord back into the printer and the wall outlet. Turn on the printer’s power switch.

FPrint a configuration page to confirm that the memory unit is properly installed.

Reference

=>P.101 “Printing the Configuration Page”

Note

You can check if the memory unit is installed properly by checking the “Total Installed RAM” item of the “Reference” on the configuration page.

If the memory unit is not properly installed, repeat steps A-F again. If you fail again, contact your sales or service representative.

Installing the PostScript2 kit Type 204

Installing the RICOH-SCRIPT 2 Type204

Important

The RICOH-SCRIPT 2 can be damaged by small amounts of static electricity. Before touching it, touch something metal to remove static electricity from you.

ACheck the contents of the box for the following items.

•DIMM (Dual Inline Memory Module)

•Installation Guide

•Operating Instructions

BTurn off the printer’s power switch and remove all cables and cords from the printer.

CRemove both screws and remove the printer board from the printer as shown in the illustration.

TPOP130E

Note

A coin can be used to remove the screws.

DAlign the module as shown in the illustration. Tilt it upwards so that it is 45 degrees from parallel to the

printer board (1), and slide it into the slot. Then tilt it down so that

it is parallel to the board (2). It 2 should make an audible click as it

pops into place.

(a)

TPOP160E

Note

If the optional interface board has been installed to the printer board, you should remove it from the board before installing the module. After installing the module, reattach the interface board to its original position.

Be careful to notice that one side of the module has a notch (a). This is to prevent you from installing the module backwards.

+ 107 hidden pages

Ricoh ap204 OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS

Safety Information

Safety During Operation

ENERGY STAR Program

Recycled paper

Color Guide

Color Printing Basics

Example of Color Adjustments Using the Printer Driver

Manuals for Your Printer

How to Read this Manual

Symbols

Table of Contents

1. Getting Acquainted

Features of Your Printer

Office Color Printer

Guide to the Printer

Exterior - Front View

Exterior - Rear View

Interior

Operation Panel

2. Installing Options

Available Options

Installing the Memory Unit

Installing the RICOH-SCRIPT 2 Type204