Where to Find Information This User’s Guide Provides you with all the information you need to use your EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 and consumable products, from ® setting up to troubleshooting. If you use Microsoft Windows ® , see the Windows NT-based software users guide.
Page 3
SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION. The information contained herein is designed only for use with this EPSON printer. EPSON is not responsible for any use of this information as applied to other printers.
Prof. J. H. Bavincklaan 5 1183 AT Amstelveen The Netherlands Declares that the Product: Product Name: Ink Jet Printer Type Name: EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 Model: P954A Conforms to the following Directive(s) and Norm(s): Directive 89/336/EEC: EN 55022 Class B EN 61000-3-2...
Safety Instructions Important Safety Instructions Read all of these instructions and save them for later reference. Follow all warnings and instructions marked on the printer. Do not place the printer on an unstable surface or near a radiator or heat source. Place the printer on a flat surface.
Unplug the printer and refer servicing to qualified service personnel under the following conditions: If the power cord or plug is damaged; if liquid has entered the printer; if the printer has been dropped or the cabinet damaged; if the printer does not operate normally or exhibits a distinct change in performance.
NERGY TAR Compliance As an NERGY TAR Partner, EPSON has determined that this product meets the NERGY TAR guidelines for energy efficiency. The International NERGY TAR Office Equipment Program...
For United Kingdom Users Use of options Epson (UK) Limited shall not be liable against any damages or problems arising from the use of any options or consumable products other than those designated as Original EPSON Products or EPSON Approved Products by Epson (UK) Limited.
If damage occurs to the plug, replace the cord set or consult a qualified electrician. Replace fuses only with a fuse of the correct size and rating. Warnings, Cautions, and Notes Warnings must be followed carefully to avoid bodily injury. Cautions must be observed to avoid damage to your equipment.
Page 17
Chapter 1 Getting to Know Your Printer Printer Parts and Control Panel Functions ... . System Requirements ......When using your printer with a PC .
Printer Parts and Control Panel Functions paper support extension paper support edge guides printer cover sheet feeder output tray extension output tray load/eject ink cartridge clamps button adjust lever power light and button paper out light black ink out light cleaning button color ink out...
Page 19
Buttons Button Function Turns the printer on and off. Clears the print buffer if pressed twice while the power is on. power Loads or ejects paper if pressed and released within two seconds. Resumes printing if pressed after a paper out error. load/eject Moves the print head to the replacement position if pressed for about three seconds while the or...
More than 50MB free hard disk space VGA monitor VGA or better monitor If you decide to use the EPSON Answers online guide included with your printer software, your system should also meet the following requirements: At least 20MB of free disk space for full program installation...
When using your printer with a Macintosh The following are the hardware and system requirements that must be met to use this printer with a Macintosh. Applicable computer models (as of July 1, 1996) Macintosh LC II, LC III, LC475, LC520, LC575, LC630 Macintosh IIcx, IIci, IIsi, IIvi, IIvx Macintosh Quadra Series Macintosh Centris Series...
Page 22
Note: The amount of available memory varies according to the number and kind of applications that are open. To see how much memory is available, choose About This Macintosh from the Apple menu and refer to the memory size (listed in kilobytes) under “Largest Unused Block”...
Options The following options are available for use with your printer. Interface cables EPSON supplies several types of interface cables. You can use any interface cable that meets the specifications listed below. See your computer manual for any additional requirements.
Page 24
EPSON special media Most plain paper works well in your printer. In addition, paper specifically designed for ink jet printers such as EPSON’s 360 dpi Ink Jet Paper will meet most high-quality printing needs. EPSON 360 dpi Ink Jet Paper (A4)
Page 25
Chapter 2 Getting Started Unpacking the Printer ..... . . Attaching the Paper Support ....Choosing a Place for the Printer .
Unpacking the Printer Your printer box should contain a CD-ROM, which includes the printer driver software that runs your printer, and the following items: paper support printer power cord color ink cartridge black ink cartridge In some locations, the power cord comes attached to the printer.
Attaching the Paper Support Insert the paper support into the slots at the rear of the printer as shown below. Note: To print on transparencies, you need to reposition the paper support as described in “Loading Transparencies” in Chapter 6. Choosing a Place for the Printer Follow the guidelines listed below when placing your printer.
Avoid using or storing the printer in places subject to rapid changes in temperature and humidity. Also keep it away from direct sunlight, strong light, or heat sources. Avoid places subject to shocks and vibrations. Place the printer near a wall outlet where the plug can be easily unplugged.
Plugging in the Printer 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off. It is off when the power button protrudes slightly from the surface of the control panel. 2. Check the label on the back of the printer to make sure the voltage required by the printer matches that of the electrical outlet you will be plugging it into.
Installing the Ink Cartridges Warning: The ink cartridges are self-contained units. Under ordinary use, ink will not leak from a cartridge. If ink does get on your hands, wash them thoroughly with soap and water. If ink gets into your eyes, flush them immediately with water. Install the ink cartridges as follows: Note: Do not open the ink cartridge packages until just before you install the...
Page 31
2. Turn on the printer by pressing the power button. The print head moves slightly to the left, which is the ink cartridge install position. The power light flashes and the ink out lights come on. Caution: Do not move the print head by hand. Otherwise you may damage the printer.
Page 32
3. Lift up the two ink cartridge clamps. 4. Open the ink cartridge packages. Next, remove only the yellow tape seals from each cartridge as shown below. color ink cartridge black ink cartridge (S020089) (S020093) Caution: You must remove the yellow tape seals from the cartridges. If you attempt to print using a cartridge with this tape seal still attached, the cartridge may become unusable.
Page 33
5. Lower the cartridges into their holders with the labels face-up and the arrow marks pointing to the rear. The color cartridge, which is larger, goes on the right and the black ink cartridge goes on the left. black color Note: Install both ink cartridges.
Page 34
7. Press the cleaning button then close the printer cover. The printer moves the print head and begins charging the ink delivery system. Note: Even if you do not press the cleaning button, the printer moves the print head and begins the ink charging process about 60 seconds after you install the cartridges.
Connecting the Printer to Your PC To connect the printer to your computer using the built-in parallel interface, you will need a shielded, twisted-pair parallel cable. To connect the printer to a Macintosh, see page 2-20. Follow the steps below to connect the printer to the computer: 1.
EPSON Answers EPSON Answers provides you with additional information on using your printer and printing with colors. See the booklet packed with the CD-ROM for more information. EPSON Answers is not included in the floppy disk version. 2-12 Getting Started...
If you are using the floppy disk version of the software, before you begin installation, make a backup copy of the EPSON printer software disk. If you wish to make a floppy disk version of the printer software on your CD-ROM, you can use the driver disk creation utility included on the CD.
3. Select your printer icon in the EPSON Printer Utility Setup dialog box. 4. Make sure EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 is selected, and click OK to start the printer software installation. Follow the on-screen messages and when the installation is complete, click OK again.
Page 39
1. Make sure the printer is connected to the computer’s parallel port. 2. Turn off your printer and computer, if necessary. 3. Turn on the printer first; then turn on the computer. Your computer begins loading Windows 95. 4. If you defined a password, enter it at the prompt. You see the New Hardware Found screen.
Page 40
7. Insert the printer software CD shipped with your printer in the CD-ROM drive. Depending on the country, the CD-ROM may contain multiple-language versions of the printer software. First try typing D:\Win95 and clicking OK. If an error message does not appear, proceed to step 8. If an error message does appear, you have the multiple-language version and you need to click OK to return to the Install From Disk screen.
Page 41
Using your printer on a network with Windows 95 If you want to use your printer on a network, you need to set up your printer as a network printer. Follow these steps: 1. Double-click the My Computer icon. 2. Double-click the Printers folder. 3.
1. Make sure Windows 3.1 is running and the Program Manager window is open. 2. Insert the EPSON printer software CD shipped with your printer in the CD-ROM drive. (If you use the floppy disk version, insert it in a disk drive.) 3.
Page 43
Driver disk creation utility button and follow the on-screen instructions. 4. Click OK. You see the EPSON Printer Utility Setup dialog box. 5. Select your printer icon and click OK. The installation program begins copying the printer software files.
Connecting the Printer to Your Macintosh To use the printer’s built-in serial interface, you will need an Apple System Peripheral-8 cable. Read the following steps to connect the printer to your Macintosh. 1. Make sure both your printer and Macintosh are switched off. 2.
Installing the Printer Software in Your Macintosh Always use the EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 Macintosh printer software when printing with your printer. This software is specially designed to allow easy access to all the features of the printer. Caution: Turn off all virus protection programs before you install your printer software.
Page 46
Destination Disk box, then click Install. If you are low on disk space, select Custom Install from the pop-up menu and click EPSON Stylus Printer Driver Package. Confirm the destination for installation, then click Install. (If you later decide you need the Power Macintosh Extension Module, select and install it using the custom install procedure described here.)
Print Quality, Media Type, and Paper Size. EPSON Monitor2 Monitors and manages background printing jobs. You must turn on background printing in the Chooser to use this utility. For more information, see “Using the EPSON Monitor2 Utility” on page 5-24. ColorSync 2.0 and Profiles Matches the colors in your printout with the colors displayed on your screen automatically.
Nozzle Check Checks the print head for clogging. You can open this utility from the Utility dialog box in the printer software. For more information, see “Using EPSON Printer Utilities” in Chapter 5. Head Cleaning Cleans the print head to maintain the best print quality.
Page 49
EPSON Stylus(EX) icon and the port your printer is connected to. Note: If you don’t see the EPSON Stylus(EX) icon, use the arrows on the right to scroll through the available icons. 3. If your printer is connected to the Macintosh’s printer port and you are not using an AppleTalk network, make AppleTalk inactive by clicking the Inactive radio button.
Page 50
When background printing is on, you can use your Macintosh while it is preparing a document for printing. You must turn on background printing to use the EPSON Monitor2 utility to manage print jobs. For more information, see “Using the EPSON Monitor2 Utility” in Chapter 5.
Loading Paper The following procedure describes how to load plain paper into the printer. You can also print on ink jet paper, transparencies, photo-quality glossy film or paper, envelopes, index cards, and adhesive sheets. For details on using such media, see Chapter 6, “Printing on Special Paper.”...
Page 53
2. Slide the left edge guide to the left as far as it will go. If you load long paper (for example, legal size paper), pull up the paper support extension. 3. Fan a stack of paper; then tap it on a flat surface to even the edges.
Page 54
4. Load the stack of paper with the printable surface up and the right edge of the paper resting against the right side of the sheet feeder. Note: Always load paper into the sheet feeder short edge first. Load envelopes flap edge first with the flap side down. Load pre-printed forms or letterhead top edge first.
Printing with Windows To get started printing right away, follow the printing method explained below, which is typical of many Windows applications. The actual way you print may vary depending on the application you use. See your application manual for details.
Page 56
4. Click the Main tab if necessary, and make sure the Mode option is set to Automatic. Note: When Automatic is selected, the printer software determines the best settings according to the Media Type and Ink settings you make. 5. Click anywhere in the Media Type box, and select the media you loaded in the printer.
Page 57
11. Click Close, OK, or Print to print. You may need to click a combination of these buttons. While your document is printing, the EPSON Despooler dialog box will appear, showing the printing progress and the status of your printer. If you are printing from Windows 95, this dialog box also displays the Status Monitor.
Printing with a Macintosh To get started printing right away, follow the printing method explained below, which is typical of many Macintosh applications. The actual way you print may vary depending on the application you use. See your application manual for details.
Page 59
5. After making your settings, click the OK button to close the Page Setup dialog box. Note: You cannot print from the Page Setup dialog box. You can only print from the Print dialog box. 6. Choose Print from the File menu. This brings up the dialog box shown below.
Introducing the Printer Software Functions The printer software includes a printer driver and printer utilities. The printer driver lets you choose from a wide variety of settings to get the best results from your printer. The printer utilities help you check the printer and keep it in top condition. The quickest and easiest way to start printing is to leave the Mode option set to Automatic on the printer driver’s Main menu.
Accessing the Printer Software As explained on the following pages, you can access the printer driver settings and printer utilities contained in your printer software directly from any Windows application, or from My Computer in Windows 95 or Program Manager in Windows 3.1.
From Windows 95 Follow these steps to access the printer software from My Computer. If you are using Windows 3.1, see the next page. 1. Double-click the My Computer icon. 2. Double-click the Printers folder. 3. Right-click the icon of your printer, and click Properties. Be sure to right-click.
From Windows 3.1 Follow these steps to access the printer software from Program Manager: 1. Open the Main program group and double-click the Control Panel icon. 2. Double-click the Printers icon. 3. Choose your printer from the Installed Printers list. 4.
Using the Automatic Setting When Automatic is selected on the Main menu, the printer driver takes care of all detailed settings according to the Media Type and Ink settings you make (see page 4-10 for details on the Media Type settings). If you leave Mode set to Automatic, Media Type and Ink are the only settings you need to check yourself.
Using the Predefined Settings The predefined settings are provided to help you optimize the print settings for a particular kind of printout, such as presentation documents or images taken by a video or digital camera. You will find the predefined settings in the list below the Advanced button on the Main menu.
Page 68
PhotoEnhance Good for printing images captured using a video, digital camera, or scanner. EPSON PhotoEnhance automatically adjusts the contrast, saturation, and brightness of the original image data to produce sharper, more vivid color printouts.
Customizing the Print Settings Many users will never need to manually make their own print settings. However, if you need more control over the driver, want to make the most detailed settings available, or just want to experiment, click the Advanced button on the Main menu and then click the More Settings button.
Saving your settings To save your custom settings, click Save Settings on the Main menu. The Custom Settings dialog box appears: Type a unique name for your custom settings in the Name box, and click the Save button. Your settings will appear in the list under the Advanced button on the Main menu.
Using EPSON Printer Utilities EPSON printer utilities allow you to check the current printer status and do some printer maintenance from your screen. To access the utilities, click the Utility tab in the printer software window, then click the button for the utility you want to use.
When you send a print job to the printer, the Status Monitor will appear in the Despooler dialog box. For information on the Despooler dialog box, see “Understanding the EPSON Spool Manager” on page 4-15. The Status Monitor provides information about the printer status as shown by the icons below.
Nozzle Check You can check the print head nozzles for clogging with this utility. Check the nozzles when you notice a decline in print quality and after cleaning to confirm that the print head nozzles have been cleared. In case the nozzle check indicates the print head needs cleaning, you can access the Head Cleaning utility directly from the Nozzle Check utility.
Checking Printer Status When you send a print job to the printer, the EPSON Despooler and Status Monitor appear in the lower right portion of your screen. The Despooler shows the progress of the current print job and allows you to control the progress of the print job, as described below.
Understanding the Despooler When you send a print job to the printer, the EPSON Despooler dialog box appears in the lower right portion of your computer screen. This box shows the progress of the current print job and provides printer status information.
Programs and Epson, and then click EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 Help. You see the help contents window. From Windows 3.1 To access online help from Program Manager, open the EPSON program group and double-click the EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 Help icon. You see the help contents window.
Page 79
Defining a Custom Paper Size ....5-19 Using EPSON Printer Utilities ....5-20 EPSON StatusMonitor .
Introducing the Printer Software Functions The printer software includes a printer driver and printer utilities. The printer driver lets you choose from a wide variety of settings to get the best results from your printer. The printer utilities help you check the printer and keep it in top condition. The quickest and easiest way to start printing is to leave the Mode option set to Automatic in the Print dialog box.
Using the Automatic Setting When Automatic is selected as the Mode setting in the Print dialog box, the printer driver takes care of all detailed settings according to the Media Type and Ink settings you make (see page 5-4 for details on making the Media Type setting). Most users will never have to switch from the Automatic to the Advanced mode.
Photo Quality Glossy Film EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film (A4) S041071 EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film (Letter) S041072 EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film (A6) S041107 Note: The availability of special media varies by country. If your document includes color, select Color. If you are printing black text, a draft, or if you want colors to print as varying shades of gray, choose Black.
Page 84
PhotoEnhance This setting is best for printing images captured using a video, digital camera, or scanner. EPSON PhotoEnhance feature produces sharper images and more vivid colors by automatically adjusting the contrast, saturation, and brightness of the original image data.
Page 85
Economy This setting provides you with faster printing and saves ink. The printer uses less ink by printing fewer dots per character. Choose this setting for rough drafts of text only. Note: Changing the Ink setting after Economy is selected returns the settings list to Custom Settings, so always make your Ink setting before you select this option.
Customizing the Print Settings Many users will never need to manually make their own print settings. However, if you need more control over the driver, want to make the most detailed settings available, or just want to experiment, customize your print settings as described below. Making your settings 1.
Saving your settings To save your custom settings as a group, follow these steps: 1. Click Save Settings in the Print dialog box. The Custom Settings dialog box appears. 2. Type a unique name (up to 16 characters) for your custom settings in the Name box.
Choosing your settings To choose your settings, click Advanced in the Print dialog box, then click in the settings list beside the More Settings button and select your setting. If you change the Media Type or Ink option when one of your customized settings is selected in the settings list, the selection shown in the list returns to Custom Settings.
Page 89
Color Adjustment The Color Adjustment settings provide you with a level of control over printed colors that you can not find in many applications. Mode There are four color adjustment modes as follows: Automatic Analyzes the print data and optimizes color correction for the type of data sent to the printer.
Page 90
PhotoEnhance Select this option when printing images taken with a video camera, digital camera, or scanner. EPSON PhotoEnhance automatically adjusts the contrast, saturation, and brightness of the original image data to produce sharper, more vivid color printouts. PhotoEnhance does not affect your original image data.
Page 91
ColorSync is available only when Color is selected as the Ink option. Profile Matches the colors in your output with the colors displayed on your monitor. This software provides one profile, EPSON Standard, which is custom-designed to work with your printer. When this option is selected, the printer software uses the profile provided by EPSON.
Page 92
Rendering Intent Transfers the color information using the profile you have chosen from the Profile list. Perceptual The best option for reproducing photographs and printouts that are not suited to the other options. Saturation The best option for reproducing vivid images. Use this setting for presentation graphics, such as charts and graphics.
Halftoning Use the Halftoning settings to achieve the results described below. Select No Halftoning when printing text only. Although this setting provides faster printing, it should never be used with color. Select Error Diffusion to make edges and colors softer when printing photographic images.
Page 94
Normal - 360 dpi Select this setting for most types of documents. Use this setting for plain paper, EPSON Ink Jet Transparencies, or EPSON 360 dpi Ink Jet Paper. See page 5-4 for a complete list of EPSON special media. Economy Select this option for printing rough drafts of text.
Page 95
MicroWeave MicroWeave allows your printer to generate superior output because graphics data is re-ordered and printed in finer increments. This technology reduces the possibility of banding, the light horizontal lines that can mar an image. Note: You can select MicroWeave when printing with black ink, but the printing time is significantly longer.
Index card 5 8 in Legal Index card 8 10 in Half Letter EPSON Photo Paper 4 6 in Note: Always load paper into the sheet feeder short edge first. Load envelopes flap edge first with the flap side down.
Printable Area Select Maximum to make your printout as large as possible on the paper. Select Centered to position your printout at equal distances from the edges. Defining a Custom Paper Size If your paper size is not included in the paper size list in the Page Setup dialog box, follow the steps below to define a custom paper size.
Paper dialog box, and click Delete. Using EPSON Printer Utilities EPSON printer utilities allow you to check the current printer status and do some printer maintenance from your screen. Click Utility in the Print dialog box to view the Utility dialog...
You can also use this utility to check how much ink is remaining before printing. To use the StatusMonitor, follow these steps: Click the EPSON StatusMonitor button in the Utility dialog box. The following dialog box appears: The StatusMonitor checks the amount of ink remaining once when you click the StatusMonitor button in the Utility dialog box.
The StatusMonitor provides an error message when a printer error occurs while printing. You can choose how error information will be displayed using the Configuration setting dialog box. Click the Configuration button while the StatusMonitor dialog box is open. The following dialog box appears: Choose the method and click OK.
Head Cleaning Cleans the print head. If print quality declines, use this utility to ensure the nozzles are delivering ink properly. Before and after print head cleaning, use the Nozzle Check utility to check whether the print head needs to be cleaned (again). You can access the Nozzle Check utility directly from the Head Cleaning utility.
Using the EPSON Monitor2 Utility After you send a print job to the printer, you can use the EPSON Monitor2 utility to check on what print jobs are queued for printing. You can cancel any print job in the queue. This utility also shows the status of the job currently being printed.
Page 103
Removing the perforated margins ....6-10 Storing EPSON Photo Paper ....6-10...
EPSON ink jet printers. EPSON recommends you to use media distributed by EPSON to ensure high-quality results. For a list of EPSON special media, see page 1-6, or “Printing Supplies” in online help. When loading special paper distributed by EPSON, read the instruction sheets packed with your special media first and keep the following in mind.
Page 105
Basic loading capacity for special media is explained below. EPSON 360 dpi You can load paper up to the Ink Jet Paper and Photo arrow mark.
Page 106
EPSON Ink Jet You can load up to 10 Transparencies transparencies. Always put a support sheet* or a sheet of plain paper under the stack of transparencies. You also need to reposition the paper support. See page 6-8. Be sure to remove each printout from the output tray immediately after printing.
About special media cleaning sheets Cleaning sheets packaged with EPSON special media should not be used with this printer. The cleaning function performed by these sheets is not necessary with this printer, and the sheets could jam in the printer.
Loading Envelopes When printing on envelopes, please note the following: You can load up to 10 envelopes into the sheet feeder. Load envelopes flap edge first with the flap side down, as shown below. Do not use envelopes that are curled or folded. Also avoid using envelopes that are too thin;...
Loading Transparencies When printing on transparencies, please note the following: Before loading transparencies, remove the paper support and reinstall it into the slots at the back of the printer as shown below. Always put a support sheet or a sheet of plain paper under the stack of transparencies.
Using EPSON Photo Paper (S041134) EPSON Photo Paper (S041134) is perforated around the margins so you can trim your printed images to look like 4 6 inch (102 152 mm) photographs. Please note the following when using this paper. Loading Load the paper printable side up with the perforated margins positioned as shown below.
Page 111
To print on the coated (whiter) side of Photo Paper, select Photo Quality Glossy Paper as the Media Type setting and EPSON PhotoPaper 4X6 in as the Paper Size setting in your printer driver. Note: The outside edge of your image might be cut off when you remove the perforated margins.
You may also remove the margins by cutting along the perforations. Storing EPSON Photo Paper Return unused paper to the original package as soon as you finish printing, and avoid storing it in places exposed to high temperature, humidity, or direct sunlight.
If you need to replace an ink cartridge when the and lights are off, see “Ink Cartridge Problems” on page 8-30. EPSON recommends the use of genuine EPSON ink cartridges. Other products not manufactured by EPSON may cause damage to your printer not covered by EPSON’s warranties.
Page 115
To replace an ink cartridge, follow these steps. 1. Make sure the printer is on. The power light should be on, but not flashing. Determine which cartridge needs to be replaced as indicated by the black and color ink out lights. Note: If you press the cleaning button for three seconds when...
Page 116
Note: The printer automatically moves the print head back to its home (far right) position after about 60 seconds if you have not started the replacement procedure. 4. Lift up the clamp that holds the cartridge you want to replace as far as it will go.
Page 117
6. Make sure the replacement ink cartridge is the correct one, color or black. Remove the ink cartridge from its protective bag. Next, remove only the yellow tape seal from the cartridge as shown below. color S020089 black S020093 Caution: You must remove the yellow tape seal from the cartridge.
Page 118
7. Lower the ink cartridge into the cartridge holder with the label on the cartridge face up and the arrow on the cartridge pointing to the rear of the printer. The larger (color) cartridge goes on the right, the black ink cartridge on the left.
Page 119
9. Press the cleaning button then close the printer cover. The printer moves the print head and begins charging the ink delivery system. This process takes about two minutes to complete. When the ink charging process is finished, the printer returns the print head to its home position and the power light stops flashing.
Cleaning the Printer To keep your printer operating at its best, you should clean it thoroughly several times a year. 1. Make sure the printer is turned off and all the control panel lights are off. Then unplug the power cord. 2.
Transporting the Printer If you need to transport your printer some distance, carefully repack it using the original box and packing materials as follows: 1. Open the printer cover and make sure that the print head is capped. It is capped when it is in the far right (home) position.
Diagnosing the Problem Troubleshooting printer problems is best handled in two easy steps: first diagnose the problem, then apply likely solutions until the problem is fixed. The information that you need to diagnose the most common problems is provided by the printer’s control panel lights and by the Status Monitor utility (Windows 95 and Macintosh only).
Page 125
Lights Problem and Solution Paper Out No paper is loaded in Load paper in the sheet feeder; the printer. then press the load/eject button to turn this light off. The printer resumes printing. The paper is not Remove and reload the paper; then loaded correctly.
Lights Problem and Solution Carriage Error The printer failed. Press the power button twice to reset the printer. If the error is not cleared, contact your dealer. Unknown Printer Error An unknown printer Turn off the printer, and contact error has occurred. your dealer.
Page 127
If the operation check page does not print satisfactorily, for example, if any segment of the printed lines is missing, there is a problem with the printer. This could be a clogged ink nozzle or a misaligned print head. See “Problems and Solutions”...
Page 128
4. Hold down the load/eject button and press the power button to turn the printer on. Then release both buttons. The printer prints an operation check page including the version of your printer’s ROM, the ink counter code, and a nozzle check pattern.
Problems and Solutions This section divides printer problems into five categories: Power supply ..page 8-7 Operation ..page 8-8 Paper handling . . . page 8-14 Printing quality . . . page 8-16 Go to the category for the type of problem you have and look for the description that most closely matches the problem.
The printer does not work and the control panel lights are off. Cause What to do The printer is turned off. Press the power button. power light will come on. The power cord is not Turn off the printer, make sure the properly plugged into the power cord is firmly plugged into the electrical outlet.
Page 131
Your software is not properly Make sure that your printer is set up for your printer. properly selected in your software. Install or reinstall the printer software as described in Chapter 2. Nothing prints and the control panel lights are on or flashing. Cause What to do Several common printer...
Page 132
Select Use Print Manager for this port ® AT compatible. in the Queue Setup window. To access this window, click the EPSON Spool Manager4 icon in the EPSON folder (Windows 95) or double-click this icon in the EPSON program group (Windows 3.1), and select Setup from...
Page 133
Apple menu and select Monitors. Select a lower resolution. For detailed information on making this setting, see your Macintosh user’s guide. The “Sorry, EPSON Stylus COLOR cannot be used” error appears. (Macintosh only) Cause What to do The printer driver has been Remove and reinstall the driver: From corrupted.
Page 134
Color documents print out in black and white. Cause What to do Your printer is not selected in Select your printer in your software. your software. Color printing is not selected Select color printing in your in your application or in the application and the printer driver.
Page 135
Print speed is not what you expect. Cause What to do The image resolution and the Carefully considering your use of amount of color used in the color and resolution can help you document may be too high. optimize your printing times. For more details, see “Increasing the Print Speed”...
The New Hardware Found screen appears even though the printer software has already been installed. Cause What to do This error may occur when Click the Do not install a driver using Windows 95. (Windows will not prompt you again) button; then click OK. Paper handling Paper does not feed properly from the sheet feeder.
Page 137
The paper is old or creased. Use only new, smooth sheets of paper. The paper’s size is not Use paper that meets the paper compatible with the printer. requirements for this printer. See “Paper” in Appendix C. The printer loads more than one sheet at a time. Cause What to do Too many sheets are loaded...
Page 138
Paper does not fully eject. Cause What to do The paper is too long. Press the load/eject button to eject the paper. Use paper that meets the paper requirements for this printer. See “Paper” in Appendix C. Paper feed or paper jam problems occur frequently. Cause What to do Sheets of paper are stuck...
Printing quality The printed image has gaps or faint areas. Cause What to do The print head nozzles are Clean the print head. See “Cleaning clogged. the Print Head” later in this chapter. The paper quality has been Use new paper. degraded due to age.
Page 140
Multiple sheets of EPSON Load glossy film one sheet at a time Photo Quality Glossy Film with the loading support sheet or a are loaded.
Page 141
The print head nozzles are Clean the print head. See “Cleaning clogged. the Print Head” later in this chapter. White horizontal lines appear in the printed image. Cause What to do The print head nozzles are Clean the print head. See “Cleaning clogged.
Page 142
Printing quality is not what you expect. Cause What to do The paper loaded is not the Make sure you loaded the correct paper selected in your paper in the printer and that you application or the printer selected the same media type in your driver.
Page 143
Colors are different than you expect. Cause What to do The color print head nozzles Clean the print head. See “Cleaning are clogged. the Print Head” later in this chapter. Black ink is selected in your Set the Ink setting to Color. printer driver.
Page 144
Cause What to do The image was printed on the Make sure that you are printing on the wrong side of EPSON Ink Jet coated side of the paper. If necessary, Paper. flip over the paper and try printing again. If printing has not improved, clean the print heads as described later in this chapter.
Page 145
Click the Start the Queue Setup window. button, point to Programs, point to Epson, and click Spool Manager4. Then click Queue and Setup in the EPSON Spool Manager window. The Enable bi-directional...
When you clean the print head using the Head Cleaning utility, the output quality does not improve. Cause What to do You attempted to clean the Check the and ink out lights. print head while one or both When one or both of the ink cartridges of the ink cartridges were low are low or out, the Head Cleaning or out of ink.
Page 147
Print quality Lower Higher Print speed Faster Slower Data characteristics Image size Small Large Resolution High The table below shows the factors related to print speed only. Print speed Faster Slower Printer software settings Black Color Collate* Page reverse* Page rotate* Data characteristics Variety of colors Grayscale **...
Cleaning the Print Head If you find that the printed image is unexpectedly faint or dots in the printed image are missing, you may be able to solve these problems by cleaning the print head, which ensures that the nozzles are delivering ink properly. You can clean the print head from your computer using the Head Cleaning utility in the printer software.
Page 149
2. Access the printer driver setting menu as described in Chapter 4. 3. Click the Utility tab, then click the Head Cleaning button. 4. Follow the on-screen messages. power light flashes while the printer performs the cleaning cycle. This operation takes about two minutes to complete.
Page 150
For Macintosh users: 1. Make sure that the printer is on, and the and ink out lights are off. Note: The print head cannot be cleaned if the or ink out light is flashing or on. Replace the ink cartridges as needed before proceeding.
Aligning the Print Head If you notice a misalignment of vertical lines, you may be able to solve these problems from your computer using the Print Head Alignment utility in the printer software. If you are using DOS or you cannot align the print head with this utility, see Appendix A.
For Macintosh users: 1. Make sure paper is loaded in the sheet feeder. Caution: Use paper at least 210 mm (8.27 inches) wide; for example, A4 size paper loaded short edge first. Otherwise, the print head will spray ink directly onto the platen. This may cause any documents you print afterwards to be smeared.
Page 153
2. Lower the output tray at the front of the printer; then open the printer cover. 3. Hold down the load/eject button for three seconds. The print head moves to the replacement position. The power light begins flashing. Caution: Do not move the print head by hand. Always use the load/eject button to move it.
Page 154
5. Lift the cartridge out of the printer and dispose of it properly. Do not take the used cartridge apart or try to refill it. Warning: If ink gets on your hands, wash them thoroughly with soap and water. If ink gets into your eyes, flush them immediately with water.
Page 155
8. Press the ink cartridge clamp down until it locks in place. The following illustration shows color ink replacement. For black ink replacement, press down the smaller clamp on the left. Caution: Once you install the cartridges, do not open their clamps again until you replace the ink cartridges.
For United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland users If you purchased your printer in the UK or the Republic of Ireland, Epson (UK) Limited provides a range of customer services and technical support. Note: For customers in the Republic of Ireland, please use the correct dialing codes when dialing the UK telephone numbers listed in the following sections.
Page 157
The enquiry desk team can be contacted by calling 0800 220546 in the UK or 1 800 409132 from the Republic of Ireland, by faxing 01442 227271, and via the Internet at info@epson.co.uk. They can provide the following information: Information and literature on new EPSON products (also...
Page 158
You will be asked to follow a simple routine to register your document request, and once you have entered your telephone and fax numbers, Faxon Epson will fax a copy of the document catalogue to your fax machine. When you have found the documents that you need in the catalogue, call Faxon Epson again and enter the document ID numbers.
EPSON products, software drivers, and answers to frequently asked questions. For Australian users EPSON Australia wishes to provide you with a high level of Customer Service. As well as this User’s Guide , we provide the following sources for obtaining information:...
Page 160
EPSON Helpdesk EPSON Helpdesk is provided as a final backup to make sure our clients have access to advice. Operators on the Helpdesk can aid you in diagnosing hardware and software problems.
Phone: 3377911 Fax: 3341185 Internet home page EPSON Hong Kong has established a local home page in both Chinese and English on the Internet to provide users with the following information: Product information Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) Latest versions of EPSON printer drivers Users can access our World Wide Web home page at: http://www.epson.com.hk.
(852) 2585-4399 Fax: (852) 2827-4383 For Philippines users To obtain technical support as well as other after sales services, users are welcome to contact the EPSON Philippines Representative Office at the telephone and fax numbers below: Phone: (632) 813-6552 Fax:...
Appendix A Using the Printer with DOS Installing the Printer Software for DOS Programs ..Using Built-in Fonts and Character Tables ... . Fonts ....... Cleaning the Print Head .
EPSON Stylus COLOR II LQ-860 LQ-2550 Note: The drivers for the printers listed above do not provide all EPSON Stylus COLOR 600 features, such as 720-dpi printing, 1440-dpi printing and MicroWeave. DOS software varies greatly. See the printing section of your software manual for information on accessing the printer driver settings.
Using Built-in Fonts and Character Tables Your printer has eight built-in fonts and eleven character tables that you can select using the printer’s default-setting mode as described below. The settings you choose take effect each time you turn on the printer. Available fonts are listed in the next section.
Fonts Your printer has eight built-in character fonts including two EPSON fonts: EPSON Roman T and EPSON Sans Serif H. (Roman T is similar to the Times font; Sans Serif H is similar to Helvetica. ) The table below shows the available fonts.
Note: Roman T and Sans Serif H fonts are available in proportional spacing only. Some of the character tables might not be able to print with EPSON Roman T and EPSON Sans Serif H fonts. In these cases, selected character tables are printed with EPSON Roman.
Cleaning the Print Head If print quality diminishes, use the printer’s built-in print head cleaning cycle to ensure that the nozzles are delivering ink properly. To avoid wasting ink, clean the print head only if print quality declines. Make sure that the printer is on and the and ink out lights are off.
When you find that the printed image is fuzzy or the vertical lines in your printout are not properly aligned, you may need to align the print head with the EPSON Print Head Alignment Utility. This utility aligns the print head to print images clearly. You may need to align the print head when you transport the printer or move it to a different environment.
Using Power-On Functions The functions below (in italics) are available if you hold down the corresponding control panel buttons while turning on the printer: Printer operation check = load/eject button Prints test pages including a nozzle check pattern, the version of your printer’s ROM, and an ink counter code.
Basics of Color This section describes the basic properties of color, the relationships between colors, and how to use color to improve the quality of your printed documents. Properties of color Color is composed of three properties: Hue, Saturation, and Brightness. The name of the color, such as red, blue, or violet.
Page 173
Since the printer and monitor produce color images differently, and also the available range of color produced by the monitor and printer are different, the image on the screen does not exactly match your printed output all of the time. If you want to adjust, or calibrate, the printed color to more closely match the on-screen color, you may have to experiment with the printer driver settings.
Page 174
Process of color printing A printer produces color images by printing tiny patterns of ink dots using CMYK colors as mentioned in the previous section. Because most ink jet printers are not able to print different gradations of the three primary colors, they must use a halftoning method in order to represent millions of colors or the gradation of colors as follows: Dithering and error diffusion are the most commonly used halftoning...
Image Resolution and Image Size The resolution of your original image affects the quality of your printouts. Generally, the higher the resolution, the better the print quality. However, keep in mind that the higher the resolution, the longer the wait for processing and printing a document.
Page 176
400 pixel Print 292 pixel 300 dpi 100 pixel Print 72 pixel 75 dpi Since increasing the image size means decreasing the image resolution, you must take care that print quality or color tone is not degraded when working with images pasted into documents created with word processing software.
Basics of Color Documents To help you use color to maximize your document’s impact on its readers, determine the who, what, when, where, why, and how of color printing. Know WHO your readers are and WHAT your purpose is Your documents are intended to communicate information, opinions, or feelings to one or more people and also to get results.
Page 178
Know WHY you are using color Color adds interest and clarity, and makes documents appear easier to understand. Just as you use fonts and graphics to create appeal and capture attention, color provides an additional visual interpretation of a document that influences the reader. For example: An overhead presentation of sales results by territory is far more interesting and memorable if you show the figures with colored charts and graphs.
Technical Specifications Printing Printing method: On-demand ink jet Nozzle configuration: Monochrome (black) 64 nozzles (32 2 staggered) Color 32 nozzles 3 (cyan, magenta, yellow) Printable columns and printing speeds: Character mode: Character pitch Printing Draft speed LQ printing (characters per inch) column speed 400 cps...
Page 181
EPSON Roman EPSON Sans Serif EPSON Roman T EPSON Sans Serif H Each font has four variations: normal, bold, italic, and bold italic. Character tables: 1 italic and 10 graphics character tables Character sets: 14 international character sets and 1 legal...
Since the quality of any particular brand or type of paper may be changed by the manufacturer at any time, EPSON cannot attest to the quality of any non-EPSON brand or type of paper. Always test samples of paper stock before purchasing large quantities or printing large jobs.
Page 183
Temperature 15 to 25°C (59 to 77°F) Humidity 40 to 60% RH EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Paper and Photo Quality Self Adhesive Sheets should be stored under the following conditions: Temperature 15 to 30°C (59 to 86°F) Humidity...
Page 184
Single sheets/index cards Envelopes A: The minimum top margin is 3.0 mm (0.12 inch). When loading multiple sheets of EPSON Photo Quality Film, the minimum top margin is 30 mm (1.2 inches). B: The minimum left margin is 3.0 mm (0.12 inch).
Caution: EPSON recommends the use of genuine EPSON ink cartridges. Other products not manufactured by EPSON may cause damage to your printer not covered by EPSON’s warranties. Do not use an ink cartridge if the date on the package has expired.
Environmental Temperature: Operation: 10 to 35°C (50 to 95°F) Storage: -20 to 60°C (-4 to 140°F) 1 month at 40°C (104°F) 120 hours at 60°C (140°F) Humidity: Operation: 20 to 80% RH *1,*2 5 to 85% RH Storage: Stored in shipping container Without condensation Initialization The printer can be initialized (returned to a fixed set of conditions) in...
Default settings The table below shows the default settings that take effect when the printer is initialized. Item Default setting Top-of-form position Current paper position Page length Single sheets: 22 inches Left and right margins Cancelled Line spacing 1/6-inch line spacing Character pitch Last font selected using default-setting mode...
Safety approvals Safety standards: U.S. model UL 1950 with D3, CSA C22.2 No.950 with European model EN60950 (VDE and NEMKO) EMC: U.S. model FCC part 15 subpart B class B CSA C108.8 class B European model EN 55022 (CISPR Pub. 22) class B EN 61000-3-2 EN 61000-3-3 EN 50082-1...
Interface Specifications Your printer is equipped with an 8-bit parallel interface and a serial interface. Parallel interface The built-in parallel interface has the following characteristics: Foward channel Data format: 8-bit parallel, IEEE-1284 compatibility mode Synchronization: STROBE pulse Handshake timing: BUSY and ACKNLG signals Signal level: TTL compatible Connector:...
Serial interface The printer’s built-in serial interface is based on the RS-423 standard. This interface has the following characteristics: Standard: Based on RS-423 Synchronization: Synchronous Bit rate: Approx. 900K bps Handshaking: X-ON/X-OFF DTR protocol Word format: Data bit 8 bits Parity bit None Start bit...
ESC/P 2 Control Codes Selecting EPSON ESC/P 2 printer in your software allows you to use the most advanced font and graphics handling available. See the ESC/P Reference Manual for details. General operation: ESC@, ESC U, ESC EM Paper feeding:...
Character Tables These character tables are selected with the default-setting mode or by using software commands. All tables except the italic character table are the same as the PC437 table for hex codes 00 through 7F, so only the PC437 table is shown completely.
International character sets You can select one of the following international character sets with the default-setting mode or the ESC R command. For example, when you select “Italic France,” the characters in the “France” row on the table below are used in the italic character table. The following eight international character sets can be selected with the default-setting mode or with the ESC R command.
Glossary The following definitions apply specifically to printers. application A software program that helps you carry out a particular task, such as word processing or financial planning. ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standardized coding system for assigning numerical codes to letters and symbols. banding The horizontal lines that sometimes appear when printing graphics.
Page 200
This has the opposite effect of the Finest Detail setting. ESC/P Abbreviation for Epson Standard Code for Printers. This system of commands gives you control of your printer from your computer. It is standard for all EPSON printers and supported by most application programs for personal computers. ESC/P 2 The enhanced version of the ESC/P printer command language.
Page 201
grayscale A scale of shades of gray from black to white. Grayscale is used to represent colors when printing with black ink only. halftones Patterns of black or colored dots used to reproduce an image. halftoning A method of using dot patterns to represent an image. Halftoning makes it possible to produce varying shades of gray using only black dots, or a nearly infinite array of colors using only a few colors of dots.
Page 202
power-on functions These are special functions, such as a printer operation check, that you can perform by holding down a control panel button while turning on the printer. printable area The area of a page on which the printer can print. It is smaller than the physical size of the page due to margins.
Page 203
Read Only Memory. A portion of memory that can only be read and cannot be used for data storage. ROM retains its contents when you turn off the printer. Red, green, and blue. These colors, in phosphors irradiated by the computer monitor’s electron gun, are used to create the additive array of screen colors.
Page 205
Index Coarse Dithering setting Macintosh, 5-15 Adjust lever, 1-2, 6-6–7 Windows. See online help Advanced setting See also Halftoning settings Macintosh, 5-2, 5-6, 5-8 Coated paper, 6-3. See also Special Windows, 4-2, 4-6, 4-8. See also paper online help Color, tips on using, B-2–8 Alignment, print head, 8-29–30, A-7.
Page 206
Halftoning settings EPSON Despooler , 4-15–16 Macintosh, 5-15 EPSON Monitor2*, 5-24 Windows. See online help EPSON special media, 1-7. See also Head. See Print head Special paper Head Cleaning utility. See Utilities EPSON Spool Manager , 4-15 Help, online, 2-12, 4-17...
Page 207
High Speed setting Macintosh, 5-17 Windows. See online help Lights, 1-3 Hue, B-2 black ink out, 1-3, 7-2–3, 8-3 color ink out, 1-3, 7-2–3, 8-3 paper out, 1-3, 8-3 ICM setting , 4-7. See also online help power, 1-3, 8-3 Image resolution and size, B-5 Loading paper.
Page 208
Nozzle Check utility Power Macintosh Extension Windows, 4-14 Module*, 2-22, 2-24 Macintosh, 5-22 Power-on functions, A-8 Predefined settings Macintosh, 5-6–7 Windows, 4-6–7. See also online Online help , 2-12, 4-17 help Options, 1-6 Print Orientation setting quality, 8-16–23, 8-26–30 Macintosh, 5-18 speed, 8-24–25 Windows.
Page 209
Printer software for Windows accessing, 3-5, 4-2–4 Reduce or Enlarge setting*, 5-18 Advanced setting, 4-2, 4-6, 4-8. Rendering Intent setting*, 5-14 See also online help Replacing an ink cartridge. See Ink Automatic setting, 4-2, 4-5 cartridges customized settings, 4-2, 4-8–9 Resolution installing, 2-12–19 image, B-5–6...
Page 210
Spool Manager , 4-15 Status Monitor Video/Digital Camera setting Macintosh, 5-21–22 Macintosh, 5-7, 5-12 Windows, 4-13 Windows, 4-7. See also online SuperFine-1440 dpi setting help Macintosh, 5-16 Windows. See online help See also Print Quality settings System requirements, 1-4–5 Text/Graph setting Macintosh, 5-7 Windows, 4-7.