PF-2 PrintFactory Users Manual Microboards Technology LLC www.microboards.com Version 1.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 2
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction............................................................................................................................ 4 Chapter 2 Printer Description .................................................................................................................. 5 Front Panel Indicators and Buttons.......................................................................................................
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Chapter 1 Introduction PF-2 PrintFactory is an automated CD-R and DVD-R printing solution. PF-2 PrintFactory combines Microboards' patented autoloading system with Hewlett Packard's inkjet printer engine, giving the highest output possible. PF-2 PrintFactory has a 100-disc capacity, making the task of printing large numbers of discs fast, easy and hands-free.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Chapter 2 Printer Description Front Panel Indicators and Buttons 1) Cancel Button – Pressing the Cancel button cancels the current print job. 2) Print Cartridge Status Light – The light inside the Print Cartridge Status symbol flashes when a print cartridge is low on ink or incorrectly installed, or the printer’s cover is open. 3) Resume Button and Light – The Resume light flashes when an action is required, such as loading a disc or clearing a jam.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Chapter 3 Installation Once your PF-2 PrintFactory system is unpacked and you have verified that everything is included, you are ready to install the printer. Installing Ink Cartridges Supported Ink Cartridges The PF-2 PrintFactory uses a color and black ink cartridge. The color ink cartridge comes in two sizes, 38 ml and 19 ml. The 38 ml cartridge is a Microboards PRF38ML. The 19 ml cartridge is a Microboards PRF19ML.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 3) Press the Power button to turn on the printer. 4) Open the top cover. The print cartridge cradle moves to the center of the printer. 5) Raise the cradle latch. 6) If replacing an ink cartridge, lift the old cartridge out of the cradle. 7) Remove the new print cartridge from its packaging and carefully remove the plastic tape. Hold the print cartridge so that the copper strip is at the bottom. Black Cartridge Color Cartridge Pull tab to remove the plastic tape.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Installing the Printer Driver USB Port and Parallel Port The install procedure is the same for both the Parallel and USB port connections. Windows 2000 and Windows XP will find the new hardware at boot up and step you through the installation process. 1. Once you have the printer connected to your PC, as described on the previous page, in the Connecting to a Computer USB Port or Parallel Port, turn on the power to the printer and then to your computer. 2.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 4. Place the PF-2 PrintFactory driver CD into your CD/DVDROM drive. 5. Select the Search for a suitable driver for my device option and click Next. 6. Check the CD-ROM drives box and click Next.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 7. The install file will be found on the CDROM drive. Click Next. 8. The Digital Signature screen will appear. Click Yes at the bottom of the screen. 9. The driver files will now be copied to the hard drive.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 10. Once installation is complete, click on Finish. Windows XP install procedures: 1. Place the PF-2 PrintFactory driver CD into your CD/DVDROM drive. 2. Select the Install from a list or specific location option and click Next.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 3. Check the Search removable media box and click Next. 4. The Digital Signature screen will appear. Click Continue Anyway at the bottom of the screen. 5. The driver files will now be copied to the hard drive.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 6. Once installation is complete, click on Finish. 7. The printer is now installed and ready for use. To confirm installation, you can Click on Start, and select Settings and then Printers. 8. You should see the new printer now installed.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Multiple Printers When installing multiple printers, Windows will recognize the new printer and install the driver. Windows 2000 does this automatically. Windows XP may ask for the driver CD again. Once the printer is installed, you will see the additional printer labeled MB PrintFactory Series (Copy 1). Before using the newly installed printer, you must first go into the printer preferences and set the offset values for that printer in Windows.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory The Apply button should now be active. Click the Apply button. The additional printer is now ready for use. Installing SureThing CD Labeler Software SureThing Labeler software is an easy to use application, designed to work with the Microboards PF-2 PrintFactory printer. To install the software: 1. Place the PF-2 PrintFactory driver CD into your CD/DVD ROM reader drive. 2. Installation should begin automatically. 3.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 4. Please read the Software License and Warranty screen and click on I Accept. 5. At the Welcome screen, click Next.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 6. To install the software in the default directory, click Next at the Select Destination Directory screen. If you wish to use a different directory, select it now and then click Next. 7. At the Add to Desktop / Start Menu screen uncheck the boxes for Add to Desktop and/or Add to Start Menu, if you do not want this option. Click Next.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 8. Click Start at the Ready to Install screen. 9. The software will now be installed. 10. Click Finish to complete the installation. At this screen, you also have the option to register online.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 11. The system must be restarted for the software to run correctly. If you can restart your system now, click on OK. Otherwise click on Cancel and restart your system later on. Remember, your system must be restarted in order for the software to work correctly.
Microboards Technology • • • PF-2 PrintFactory Press Print Test Disc The Test Disc should now be printed. If no disc is printed, check the connection between the printer and PC. Align Disc There are factory default numbers for the TOP and LEFT values for your printer. These can be found on a label, under the printer cover. You may need to adjust the values, depending on the images you are printing. To run the alignment utility, please follow these steps: In Utilities Tab, select Print Align Disc.
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Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Place an Alignment CD into the printer. Press Print. The disc will be printed. Confirm the numbers that cross the circle.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory If the circle does not cross the circle at the zero’s, enter the vertical and horizontal numbers in the Utility Tab. Once the new numbers are entered, click Apply. The Alignment CD pattern is also included on the PF-2 PrintFactory CD, so you can print additional Alignment patterns with your printer, once it is aligned. The alignment circle is 8 cm in diameter and is 2 cm from the outer edge of the CD.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Printing Discs The next step is to design your CD label. The PF-2 PrintFactory comes with SureThing CD Labeler software. However, you can use any design software that is made to work with CD and DVD discs. The following is an example of designing and printing a label with SureThing. Open SureThing software. Select the template you wish to use. There are three choices: 1) 12 CM disc with an inkjet printable hub. 2) 12 CM disc without an inkjet printable hub (36mm).
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory At the SmartDesign screen, you can select one of three default layouts. If you wish to start with a blank layout, uncheck the User SmartDesigns box. After making your selection, click Next. Click Finish.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory You can now design your label, adding text, graphics, backgrounds, etc. For complete details on the options and operation of SureThing software, please refer to the Help topics. Once your label is designed, click on File and select Print . The Print screen appears: Select number of copies you wish to print and press OK.
Microboards Technology The system will now start printing your discs. The completed discs are placed in the output bin. They can be removed from the output bin at any time. PF-2 PrintFactory You may wish to make changes to the way a disc is printed, such as resolution, color, saturation, etc. This is done in the Printer Preferences. There are two ways to open the Printer Preferences. 1. One is from the Print screen in SureThing CD Labeler: Press the Options button and the Printer Properties will appear.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Printing on Verbatim Vinyl CD-R discs ** Before printing a Verbatim Vinyl CD-R discs, you must first change the inner and outer diameters of the printable area, in the Utility Menu. Please follow these steps: 1) Double click on Printers in the control panel. 2) Right click on the Microboards PrintFactory printer and select Printing Preferences. 3) Click on the Utility tab.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory 4) Change the Outer diameter to 70 and the inner diameter to 38. If you have the resolution set to .1mm, the outer diameter will be 700 and the inner diameter will be 380. 5) Uncheck the Print on hub checkbox. 4 5 6 6) 7) 8) 9) Click on the Apply box. Click OK. The printer is now ready for use with the Verbatim Vinyl CD-R discs.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Chapter 5 Printer Properties Setup Tab Print Quality Best Normal Fast Print Modes Text and Graphics Photo Remember that when printing in Text and Graphics mode, the HP C8842A, Versatile Black Ink cartridge is highly recommended. If you do not have this black ink cartridge installed, we recommend using Photo Mode. Printing Recommendations Text and Graphics mode is used for printing mainly text information and small graphics.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Text and Graphics – Fast Text and Graphics – Normal 31
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Text and Graphics – Best Photo Mode will be used when printing on the entire disc.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Features Tab The Features tab lets you set the number of copies. This is used only when printing directly to the printer port. Normally you will use the label design software to select the number of copies. Advanced Features allows you to adjust the amount of ink placed on the disc and adjust the dry time of the disc.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Color Tab Print in Grayscale – This allows you print in grayscale only. The High Quality setting will print the disc using the Color ink cartridge. The Black Only selection will use the Black ink cartridge only. Saturation, Brightness and Color Tone allow you to fine tune your print image. Factory Settings will set the above values back to the factory defaults.
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Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Print Alignment CD Place an alignment CD into the printer and click on the Print Alignment CD button Click Print Once the disc is printed, check where the circle is located on the horizontal and vertical lines. If either of the numbers are not zero, adjust the top or left amounts by those shown on the vertical or horizontal guides, respectively, and click Apply.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Clean Cartridge If your image looks like this example, it may be necessary to clean the ink cartridges. Click on the Clean button.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory If one cleaning does not fix the issue, repeat the process. If after multiple cleanings, the problem still exists, it may be a defective ink cartridge. Try another cartridge and print again. Ink Level This button will give an estimate of how much ink is left in the color and black cartridges. Please note that the printer assumes that when a cartridge is replaced, it is replaced with a new, full cartridge.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Chapter 6 Solve a Problem Printer not printing: Confirm the printer is plugged into a power source and is turned on. The ON/OFF switch is located at the back of the unit, above the power cable connector. Confirm the green light is lit on the three button front panel. If AC power is on and the green light is off, press the O button on the front panel. If the light still does not come on, contact Microboards technical support.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Low Ink indication: When an ink cartridge is low on ink, the Ink indicator on the front panel will come on. Once you notice poor ink quality or a missing color in your prints, replace the ink cartridge.
Microboards Technology PF-2 PrintFactory Print Technology: HP Thermal Inkjet Print Quality, Black: 600 x 600 dpi, with HP PhotoREt III Print Quality, Color: 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi, with HP PhotoREt III Color Technology: HP PhotoREt III Memory: 8MB Connectivity: USB or Parallel Supported Operating Systems: Windows 2000, Windows XP System requirements: Pentium 233 MHz, 128 MB RAM, 40 MB hard disk space Chapter 8 Contact Information For technical questions or support issues, please contact Microboards Te
