INK JET PRINTER Setup and Software Guide for Windows ® All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Seiko Epson Corporation. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein.
FCC Compliance Statement For United States Users This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the 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 or television reception.
Contents Introduction Getting the Most Out of Your Printer . Three Resolutions to Choose From Special Papers . . . . . . . . . . . . Specially Formulated Ink . . . . . . Automatic Printer Driver Settings . Where to Get Help . . . . . . . . . . . Electronic Support Services . . . . Important Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2 Installing and Using the Printer Driver Installing the Windows Printer Driver . . Installing the Driver for Windows 3.1 Installing the Driver for Windows 95 Installing a Driver for DOS Programs . . Using the Windows Printer Driver . . . . Accessing the Driver . . . . . . . . . . Using the Driver Dialog Box . . . . . Changing Settings . . . . . . . . . . . Paper Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Document Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . Halftoning Settings . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction The EPSON® Stylus® 1500 is an affordable, high-quality ink jet printer that produces realistic grayscale images, sharp text, and line art at a resolution of 720 × 720 dpi. The Stylus 1500 comes equipped for printing in black ink; however, you can easily upgrade it to print in color with the optional Color Upgrade Kit. With the Color Upgrade Kit, the Stylus 1500 can print up to 16 million colors to produce full-color, photo-quality images. The Stylus 1500 is easy to install and use.
Refer to the Reference Guide for instructions on operating and maintaining your printer, as well as for troubleshooting tips and technical specifications. Getting the Most Out of Your Printer The printer supports a wide variety of settings that let you improve print quality or speed up printing. You can customize these settings using the printer driver to produce a variety of image types with EPSON’s specially formulated inks and papers.
Special Papers The type of paper you use is very important. Although you get good results with plain bond paper, you will get better results by using coated papers because they do not absorb as much ink. To ensure the best possible quality, EPSON offers special coated papers, glossy papers, and transparencies that are formulated specifically for the inks used by the printer. You can order these products directly from EPSON Accessories at (800) 873-7766 (U.S. sales only).
Where to Get Help If you purchased your printer in the United States or Canada, EPSON provides customer support and service through a network of Authorized EPSON Customer Care Centers.
Electronic Support Services If you have a modem, the fastest way to access helpful tips, specifications, drivers, application notes, and bulletins for EPSON products is through the online services below. EPSON Bulletin Board Service You can call the EPSON Bulletin Board Service (BBS) at (310) 782-4531. No membership is required. Make sure your communications software is set to 8 data bits with 1 stop bit, no parity bit, and a modem speed up to 28.8 Kbps.
Important Safety Instructions Before using your printer, read the following safety instructions to make sure you use it safely and effectively: ❑ Turn off and unplug the printer before cleaning. Clean with a damp cloth only. Do not spill liquid on the printer. ❑ Do not place the printer on an unstable surface or near a radiator or heat register. ❑ Do not block or cover the openings in the printer’s cabinet or insert objects through the slots.
Chapter 1 Setting Up the Printer As you follow the instructions in this chapter to set up your printer, refer to the illustrations on the inside front cover to identify the printer’s components. System Requirements To use your printer and its driver, we recommend you have the following system configuration: ❑ IBM® compatible computer with an 80386/25 MHz or faster processor ❑ Microsoft Windows 3.1, Windows for Workgroups 3.
Avoid locations subject to rapid changes in temperature and humidity. Also keep the printer away from direct sunlight, heat sources, and sources of electromagnetic interference, such as the base units of cordless telephones. Always leave adequate space around the printer to accommodate its cables. Make sure nothing is pressing against the knob on the left side of the printer.
Attaching the Paper Support and Output Tray 1. Attach the paper support by placing the hole on the right side of the support over the right mounting post on the printer. Then push the notch on the left side onto the left mounting post. 1 2 2. Attach the output tray by fitting the notches on the tray over the mounting posts, as shown below. Make sure the output tray is locked firmly in place.
Plugging In and Turning On the Printer Follow these steps to plug in and turn on the printer: 1. Make sure you have removed all protective packing materials from inside the printer. (See page 1-2 for more information.) 2. Make sure the printer is turned off by checking the position of the Operate button. The printer is off when the surface of the button is even with the button protectors on each side. 3. Plug the power cord into a properly grounded electrical outlet. 4.
Installing the Black Ink Cartridge Follow the steps in this section to install your printer’s black ink cartridge. w Warning: The ink cartridge is a self-contained unit. Under ordinary use, ink will not leak from a cartridge. If ink gets on your hands, wash them thoroughly with soap and water. If ink gets into your eyes, flush them immediately with water. c Caution: Do not open the ink cartridge package until just before you install it or it may become too dry. 1. Make sure the printer is turned on. 2.
4. Insert the end of the cartridge with the foil plug into the ink compartment following the instructions on the cartridge. Push the cartridge all the way into the compartment. You will feel some resistance. When the cartridge is correctly installed, the Ink Out O light goes off. Note: If the Ink Out O light remains on, the ink cartridge may not be installed correctly. Remove it and then reinsert it as described above. 5. Reattach the ink compartment cover as shown.
The first time you install the ink cartridge, the printer automatically charges the ink delivery system. This takes about two minutes. c Caution: During the ink charging process, the Pause light flashes. Never turn off the printer while the Pause light is flashing. Also, never remove the ink cartridge while ink is being charged in the system. When you need to replace ink cartridges, see Chapter 3 of the Reference Guide for instructions.
Installing the Color Print Head Follow these steps to install the color print head: 1. Make sure the printer is turned on and the Data light is off. 2. Open the printer cover using the notch in the middle of the cover. 3. Press the Pause button to turn the Pause light on. 4. Hold down the Alt button for about five seconds until the print head unit moves slightly left, to the print head install position. The Pause light flashes. c 1-8 Caution: Do not move the print head unit by hand.
5. Raise the blue print head unit release lever as far as it will go. 6. Remove the protective cover from the print head compartment. c Caution: Do not touch the carriage inside the printer; this may damage the printer.
7. Remove the print head unit from the storage box by pressing on the notch as shown. 2 1 c Caution: Do not touch the print head or the electrical contacts on the back and bottom of the unit; otherwise, you may damage the print head. 8. Carefully insert the print head unit into the compartment, with the electrical contacts and print head facing the back of the printer.
9. Press down the blue print head unit release lever until it clicks into place. Note: Make sure that the Data and Paper Out lights are not flashing. If they are, remove the print head unit and reinsert it properly. c Caution: Do not remove the color print head unit once you’ve installed it. Otherwise, the print head may become unusable. Now follow the steps in the next section to install the color ink cartridge.
1. Lift up the ink cartridge clamp. Then remove the protective sheet from the cartridge holder. 2. Open the ink cartridge package. Next, remove the tape seal from the top of the cartridge as shown. c 1-12 Caution: Do not remove the tape seal from the bottom of the cartridge; ink will leak out.
3. Lower the cartridge into the print head unit with the label face up and the arrow mark pointing to the rear. Do not push down on the ink cartridge. 4. Press the ink cartridge clamp down until it locks in place. You will feel some resistance. c Caution: Once you install the ink cartridge, do not open the clamp or remove the ink cartridge except to replace it with a new one. Otherwise, the cartridge and print head may become unusable.
5. Press the Alt button again to return the print head unit to its home (far right) position. (Even if you do not press Alt, the printer moves the print head unit back to its home position about 30 seconds after you install the cartridge.) The first time you install the ink cartridge, the printer automatically charges the ink delivery system and returns the print head unit to its home position. This operation takes about two minutes to complete.
If You Are New to Color Printing Color printing with the EPSON Stylus 1500 produces amazing images, whether you print text, graphics, line drawings, photographs, or documents containing many different image types. However you use color, keep the following in mind: ❑ You need to leave a large amount of hard disk drive space free to make room for your color images. A full-page color photographic image, for example, may require from 10MB to 40MB of disk space, depending on the resolution, and sometimes more.
If you need extreme precision in matching colors, you can use a color calibration system available with many software applications. If you use a scanner, make sure your scanning software is set to the correct setting for ink jet printers to help you match colors. Also, your application may include image editing capabilities that let you adjust the colors. Loading Paper in the Sheet Feeder The following procedure explains how to load plain bond paper in the sheet feeder.
2. Raise the output tray until it locks in the upright position. 3. Slide the right edge guide to the left as far as it will go. Then slide the left edge guide to match the width of your paper.
4. Move the center support to a point midway between the edge guides. Then gently extend the rear edge guide until it stops. 5. Fan a stack of paper; then tap it on a flat surface to even the edges. 6. Load the stack of paper, printable side down, all the way into the sheet feeder. Make sure the right edge of the stack is against the right edge guide. Next, slide the left edge guide against the left edge of the paper.
Note: The sheet feeder can hold up to 100 sheets of 17-lb (64 g/m2) plain paper. Do not load paper above the arrow mark, which is located on the inside surface of the edge guide. 7. Adjust the rear edge guide to match the length of your paper. When you load paper in the landscape direction (wider than it is tall), the rear edge guide may not match the length of your paper. In this case, remove the rear edge guide and re-insert it as shown.
8. Lower the output tray to the printing position. Make sure that the rear edge guide of the paper tray is positioned under the output tray. The rear edge guide must be under the output tray to allow room for the paper loaded in the sheet feeder and to prevent a paper jam. Testing the Printer Before continuing, test the printer to ensure it is functioning properly. For the self test, use paper that is at least 8.25 inches (210 mm) wide.
2. While holding down the Load/Eject button, press the Operate button to turn on the printer. Wait for the paper to load, then release the buttons. The 360 dpi self test begins by printing in black ink on the first and last lines of the first sheet of paper to measure the page length. Note: If the self test does not begin, turn off the printer and repeat step 2. You may need to hold down the buttons a few seconds longer. If you installed the optional Color Upgrade Kit, the self test prints in color.
Connecting the Printer to Your PC You need a shielded, twisted-pair parallel cable to connect your printer to your computer. The cable must have a D-SUB, 25-pin male connector for your computer and a 36-pin, Centronics compatible connector for the printer’s parallel interface. 1. Make sure both the printer and computer are turned off. 2. Plug the 36-pin end of the cable connector securely into the printer’s interface connector. Then squeeze the wire clips together until they lock in place on both sides.
Chapter 2 Installing and Using the Printer Driver This chapter describes how to install the Windows printer driver and use it to control printer settings such as media type, document type, printing mode, and halftoning. (To install a driver for DOS programs, see page 2-7.) Installing the Windows Printer Driver A printer driver is software that allows your computer to control the printer. You must install the printer driver on the Windows driver diskette that came with your printer.
3. Insert the Windows printer driver diskette in a diskette drive. 4. In the File menu, select Run. You see the Run dialog box. 5. In the Command Line box, type A:SETUP (or B:SETUP if you inserted the diskette in drive B). Press Enter or click OK. You see the EPSON Printer Driver Setup dialog box. 6. Highlight EPSON Stylus 1500 in the Printer Driver pulldown menu and click Continue. The installation program begins copying the driver files.
Changing the default printer or printer port If you want to change your default printer in Windows or if you want to use your printer on a different printer port, follow these steps: 1. In the Main window, double-click the Control Panel icon. 2. Double-click the Printers icon. The Printers dialog box appears. 3. In the Installed Printers pull-down list, select the printer you want to use as your default printer. 4. Click the Set As Default Printer button.
Installing the Driver for Windows 95 Follow these steps to install the printer software for Windows 95. First you’ll install the driver using the Windows 95 plug and-play capabilities; then you’ll run the EPSON Printer Driver Setup program to install the printer driver utilities and create an EPSON folder on your hard disk. Note: If you originally installed the Stylus 1500 driver under Windows 3.1, you must reinstall the driver under Windows 95. 1.
9. Make sure your printer model name is selected in the Models pull-down list and click OK. 10. At the next screen you can give the printer a unique name. We recommend that you keep the model name, but you can type a new one in the Printer name box, if desired. To use the printer as the default printer for all Windows 95 applications, select Yes (No is the default). 11. Click the Next button. 12. At next screen, select Yes to print a test page. 13. Click the Finish button.
18. The installation program begins copying the files to your hard disk and shows the progress of the installation as it proceeds. After the status bar disappears, the driver continues installing for a minute or so. Wait until the EPSON folder and EPSON Printer Driver Setup confirmation screen appear. Then click OK on the confirmation screen to exit the installation program. The EPSON folder contains these icons: EPSON Calibration Utility Spool Manager EPSON Stylus Help EPSON Stylus ReadMe 19.
Installing a Driver for DOS Programs Most DOS software programs include drivers for EPSON ESC/P 2 printers. If the Stylus 1500 driver is not listed in your software, choose the first printer available in the lists below. Also check with your software manufacturer to see if a Stylus 1500 driver is available or is included with a new version of your software.
Using the Windows Printer Driver The printer driver contains a variety of settings that allow you to control your print job. For example, you can select the media type, resolution, document type, and halftoning settings that are best for the type of document you are printing. The printer comes with default values for all the settings, as listed in the table on page 2-12. You can leave the settings as they are or change them for your specific needs.
3. Choose EPSON Stylus 1500 from the list of Installed Printers. 4. Choose Setup. You see the printer driver dialog box shown on page 2-11. Accessing the driver from Windows 95 Follow these steps to access the driver from the Windows 95 My Computer group: 1. Double-click the My Computer icon. 2. Double-click the Printers icon. 3. Double-click the EPSON Stylus 1500 icon. 4. Pull down the Printer menu and select Properties. 5. Click the Details tab. 6. Click the Setup button.
If you choose Print, you first see a Print dialog box similar to the one shown below (depending on your software program). The Print dialog box contains the settings you change most often, including the number of copies and the print range. To access the printer driver settings, choose the Printer, Setup, or Options button. (You may also need to select Setup and then Options.) The button you select depends on your software program.
Using the Driver Dialog Box However you accessed the printer driver, you see the following dialog box: (If you do not see this dialog box, the driver has not been installed correctly. See page 2-1 for instructions on installing the driver.) At the top of the screen are tabs that open various dialog boxes. The following table summarizes the settings in each dialog box. (Factory defaults are in bold type.) Detailed descriptions of each setting follow the table.
Windows driver settings Dialog box Setting Options Paper Paper Size A4 210 x 297 mm A4 (Centered) 210 x 297 mm A4 (Landscape ) 297 x 210 mm Letter 81⁄2 x 11 in Letter (Centered) 81⁄2 x 11 in Letter (Landscape) 11 x 81⁄2 in Legal 81⁄2 x 14 in Legal (Centered) 81⁄2 x 14 in Envelope #10 41⁄8 x 91⁄2 in Envelope DL 110 x 220 mm Envelope C5 162 x 229 Statement 51⁄2 x 81⁄2 in Executive 71⁄2 x 10 in A6 Index card 105 x 148 mm US B 11 x 17 in US C 17 x 22 in B5 176 x 250 mm B4 250 x 353 mm A3 297 x 420 mm Super
Windows driver settings (continued) Dialog box Setting Options Halftoning Halftone * No halftoning Error diffusion Dithering A Dithering B Printing Mode/ Options Printing Mode Super - 720 dpi Best - 360 dpi Draft - 180 dpi Media Type Plain paper Special coated paper for 360 dpi Special coated paper for 720 dpi High-quality glossy paper Transparency Print Options MicroWeave (On, off) High Speed (On, off) Brightness –50% - 0% - +50% Contrast –50% - 0% - +50% Color Matching * Off Vivid Photo-
Note: The availability of options or settings in a dialog box may depend on the setting selected in another dialog box. Therefore, you may not see all options or settings listed, or some of them may be grayed out. If you want to return all the printer driver settings to their factory defaults, choose Defaults. To exit the printer driver without saving your settings, choose Cancel.
Note: If you selected a country other than the United States in the Windows Control Panel International utility, the default paper size may be different. In addition, the measurement units displayed in the printable area example (beneath the Paper Size box) may be metric. Use one of the Centered paper sizes only if you want the image to be centered on the page and your software program does not have a setting that lets you do this. Centered images have a slightly smaller printable area.
Copies Allows you to specify the number of copies, whether to collate them (print them in sets), or whether you want to print the pages in reverse order (from last page to first). Normally you should select these three settings from the Print dialog box in your software, not with the driver. Do not choose multiple copies in both the Print dialog box and the driver. Note: The Copies options may require additional system memory.
You achieve the best results using the Automatic option. However, if you prefer to set the document type manually, follow these guidelines: ❑ Select Presentation when you are printing documents containing many graphic elements, such as charts in presentations. ❑ Select Photograph when you are printing photographs. ❑ Select Drawing when you are printing computergenerated illustrations. ❑ Select Text when you are printing documents containing only text.
Ink Specifies Color (CMYK) or Monochrome printing. CMYK refers to the printer’s colored inks: cyan (blue-green), magenta, yellow, and black (K). These colors are combined to form any of 16 million colors. Select Color (CMYK) only if you have installed the optional Color Upgrade Kit and your document includes color. When you select Monochrome, the printer prints only black ink. If you are printing a color image and Monochrome is selected, the printer converts color data to grayscale values.
If you prefer to set the halftoning method manually, follow these guidelines: ❑ Use No halftoning to speed printing for text or monochrome line art. Do not use it when printing in color. ❑ Error Diffusion is best for photographic images. It creates color by randomly distributing the dots, making edges and colors softer. It takes longer to print, but it produces the best print quality for photographic images. ❑ Dithering A and Dithering B arrange dots in orderly patterns.
Printing Mode setting Super - 720 dpi Best - 360 dpi Draft - 180 dpi * Media Type setting Default Print Options * Special coated paper for 720 dpi MicroWeave On High Speed Off High quality glossy paper (color printing only) MicroWeave On High Speed Off Plain paper (monochrome printing only) MicroWeave On High Speed Off Special coated paper for 360 dpi MicroWeave On High Speed Off Special coated paper for 720 dpi (color printing only) MicroWeave On High Speed Off Plain paper MicroWeave Off H
When speed is important and draft quality is good enough, use Draft - 180 dpi resolution. Note: Printing at lower resolutions also conserves ink. Media Type Sets up the printer for the type of paper you loaded.
❑ EPSON high-quality glossy paper. Use this paper with 720 dpi to produce camera-ready composites. When printing on glossy paper, use only EPSON high-quality glossy paper. ❑ EPSON transparency film. When printing transparencies, use only EPSON transparencies. For best results, use transparencies within six months of opening the package. Do not use 720 dpi when printing transparencies. To order EPSON papers and transparencies, contact your dealer or call EPSON Accessories at (800) 873-7766 (U.S. only).
Image Settings The Image Settings options allow you to adjust the brightness, contrast, and color matching features of your printed images. It is best to let the printer driver’s Automatic Document Type setting select the appropriate image settings for you. If your original image is of poor quality, however, you can adjust the image settings to improve the printed output. To help you decide on the best settings, a preview of a sample image appears in the Image Settings dialog box.
Color Matching Controls the printer’s color correction features based on the selected Document Type. Color Matching is automatically set to the most appropriate setting when you select a particular document type or use the Automatic setting. It is best to leave Color Matching set to the driver’s selection. The settings perform the following functions: ❑ Off turns off color matching so you can use your application program’s color correction features.
Chapter 3 Using the Printer Driver Utilities This chapter explains how to manage print jobs that you send to the printer using the EPSON Spool Manager. It also tells you how to calibrate the printer using the EPSON Printer Calibration Utility if vertical lines in your printed output become misaligned. When you install the printer driver, the EPSON Spool Manager and Printer Calibration Utility are automatically copied to your hard disk drive.
The Despooler status box, which is similar to the one shown below, allows you to monitor the progress of the print job and cancel ( ), pause ( ), or restart ( ) the print job. If you do not want the Despooler status box to appear each time you print, double-click the EPSON Spool Manager icon to open it. Then open the View menu and select Show Despool Popup to turn it off; the check mark next to the option disappears.
Calibrating the Printer Your printer has been calibrated at the factory so that vertical lines in your text and graphics are properly aligned. If you notice misaligned images in printouts, however, you can calibrate the printer with the EPSON Printer Calibration Utility. You may need to do this after moving the printer to a new location, for example. Note: If you cannot use the calibration utility program, you can use the printer-adjustment mode to calibrate your printer.
For each pattern you selected, the printer prints a Test Alignment Sheet of multiple vertical lines. In most samples, the vertical lines are slightly misaligned. Look for the sample that is most closely aligned. | | Aligned | | Not aligned 7. Enter the number of the sample that is aligned or select Not-aligned if none of the samples are aligned. Then click Next. 8. If you selected Not-aligned in step 7, select the sample that is most closely aligned. 9.
Index A About tab, printer driver, 2-13 Accessories, purchasing, Intro-4 Aligning vertical lines, 2-22, 3-3 to 3-4 Apple Macintosh, Intro-1 Attaching output tray, 1-3 paper support, 1-3 Auto sheet feeder, 1-16 to 1-21, 2-12, 2-15 Automatic option, Intro-3, 2-8, 2-12, 2-17 to 2-18, 2-23 to 2-24 B Banding, 2-22 Bidirectional printing, 2-22 Black ink cartridge, installing, 1-5 to 1-7 Brightness setting, 2-13, 2-23 Bulletin Board Service, Intro-5 C Cable, printer, 1-22 Calibrating the printer, 2-22, 3-1, 3-3
EPSON Accessories, Intro-3 to Intro-4 America Forum, Intro-5 Customer Care Centers, Intro-4 ESC/P 2, 2-7 papers, Intro-3, 2-21 Printer Calibration Utility, 1-14, 2-1, 3-3 to 3-4, 3-6 Spool Manager, 2-1, 3-1 to 3-2 Error diffusion, 2-13, 2-17 to 2-18 Error messages, 3-2 ESC/P 2, 2-7 F Fast printing, 2-22 Feeder, see Auto sheet feeder Film, see Transparencies G Glossy paper, Intro-3, 2-13, 2-20 to 2-22 Grayscale, Intro-1, 2-18, 2-22 Ground wire, 1-22 H Halftoning settings, Intro-3, 2-13, 2-16 to 2-19 Hard
P Page order, reverse, 2-12, 2-16 Paper centered, 2-14 coated, Intro-3, 2-13, 2-20 to 2-21 copies setting, 2-12, 2-16 glossy, Intro-3, 2-13, 2-20 to 2-22 height, 2-15 loading plain paper, 1-16 to 1-20 ordering EPSON, Intro-3, 2-22 orientation setting, 2-12, 2-15 plain, 2-21 printable area, 2-15 printable surface, 1-16 selecting size, 2-14, 2-16 selecting type, 2-13, 2-19 to 2-20, 2-22 source setting, 2-12, 2-15 special, Intro-3, 2-13, 2-21 transparencies, 2-13, 2-21 transparencies, see Transparencies user-d
Printing bidirectional, 2-22 canceling, 3-2 draft, 2-21 fast, 2-22 managing, 2-19, 3-1 to 3-2 pausing, 3-2 restarting, 3-2 Printing Mode setting, 2-13, 2-16, 2-19 to 2-21 Q Quality, improving, Intro-2, 2-22 R RAM requirements, 1-1 ReadMe icon, Intro-1, 2-14 Reference Guide, Intro-2 Requirements, system, 1-1 Resolution definition, Intro-2 selecting, 2-13, 2-16, 2-19 to 2-21 Restarting print jobs, 3-2 Reverse page order, 2-12, 2-16 RGB method, 1-15 S Safety instructions, Intro-6 Scanners, 1-15 to 1-16 Self
Printer Parts monochrome print head thickness adjustment lever printer cover paper-release lever color print head compartment control panel knob black ink cartridge compartment tear-off edge page eject guides edge guides (manual feed slot) output tray center support edge guides paper support rear edge guide sprocket-lock lever sprocket cover center support manual feed guide optional interface cover parallel interface tractor feeder