FormsPro 4000se Series Operator’s Manual ©Printek, Inc. 2003 1517 Townline Road Benton Harbor, MI 49022 (800) 368-4636 www.printek.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A Digital Device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment.
Read all setup and operating instructions before proceeding with operation. Operate printer only on a firm, solid surface. Do not operate in an enclosure unless properly ventilated. Make sure no ventilation openings are blocked or obstructed, which may result in the printer overheating. Do not operate near a heat source. No user-serviceable parts inside. Refer service or repairs to a qualified service professional. Use of genuine Printek replacement parts is required to warrant proper, safe operation.
Lesen Sie vor der Inbetriebnahme die Aufbauund Bedienungsanleitung. Der Drucker muss zum Betrieb auf einer festen, soliden Oberfläche stehen. Betreiben Sie den Drucker nicht in einem kleinen, geschlossenen Raum, es sei denn dieser wird ordnungsgemäß belüftet. Achten Sie darauf, dass die Lüftungen nicht blockiert oder versperrt sind, denn dies kann zum Überhitzen des Druckers führen. Nehmen Sie den Drucker nicht in der Nähe einer Wärmequelle in Betrieb.
Nähe von Flüssigkeiten und lassen Sie keine Flüssigkeiten in den Drucker gelangen.
Common Error Conditions 39 Check Paper No Paper to Load Too Much Paper to Unload Selected Form is not Loaded No Ribbon or Wrong Ribbon Ribbon Lid Open Change Ribbon Other Errors 39 39 40 40 40 40 40 41 PRINTER CONFIGURATION 43 Introduction To Setup 43 Setup Buttons Entering Setup Using the SETUP Button Using the FUNCTION and VALUE Buttons Exiting Setup Forms Menu Forms Menu Items Interface Menu Entering the Interface Menu RS-232C Serial Interface Items Parallel/LAN Interface Items Options Menu Im
USING THE OPTIONAL SETUP MODULE Introduction Setup Module Installation 91 91 91 PRINTER RESET CONDITIONS 95 CONTROL CODE AND ESCAPE SEQUENCE SUMMARIES 97 Genicom 3840 and 3410 Emulation ANSI X3.
INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing a Printek FormsPro 4000se Series Printer. This printer has been designed to provide years of service handling your most demanding printing requirements. The FormsPro 4000se Series printers offer higher throughput than all other printers in its class. In addition, an easy to use front panel combined with the ability to store ten different form configurations makes handling multiple forms as simple as a button press for the operator.
I N T R O D U C T I O N Manual Contents *Unless specifically noted, all instructions and information herein is valid for all models in the 4000se series. • GETTING STARTED provides instructions for installation, setting up the computer interface, installing the ribbon cartridge, loading paper, and performing a printer self-test.
I N T R O D U C T I O N • CONTROL CODE AND ESCAPE SEQUENCE SUMMARIES lists • ASCII CHARACTER TABLES show the characters for each • SPECIFICATIONS list the operating ranges and ratings of the printer. the commands supported for each printer emulation. character set. • GLOSSARY OF TERMS provides definitions for terms used in this manual.
GETTING STARTED This chapter will use the fewest possible steps to get the first time user up and running quickly. You will be guided through the following steps: • Finding a suitable location and installing the printer • Setting up a host interface if necessary • Installing the ribbon cartridge • Loading paper • Performing a printer self-test Installation Before installation, a suitable site must be chosen. Suitable sites include offices, computer rooms, and most factory environments.
G E T T I N G Note: Caution: S T A R T E D Placing the printer on the print stand is best accomplished with two people. Proper lifting technique should be observed. Before connecting or turning on power, make sure that all shipping materials have been removed. These materials include a cable tie that secures the print head carriage (open ribbon lid to access) and remove the cable tie securing the front panel to the base.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D RS-232C Serial Interface This interface uses a 25 pin “D” connector as described below. The default settings are 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity with hardware handshake on pin 11. The default printer emulation is Epson. For a complete description of all the default settings for this interface, refer to page 55. Pin 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 11 20 Signal Chassis ground. Transmit data. (Printer output). Receive data. (Printer input). Request to send (set).
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D Parallel Interface This interface uses the standard 36 pin parallel connector as shown below. The default printer emulation is Epson.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D Ethernet 10/100BaseT Print Server This interface uses a standard RJ-45 connector and the default printer emulation is Epson. For a complete description of all the default settings for this interface, refer to “Parallel/LAN Interface Items” on page 59. For additional software installation and operational information, please refer to the Troy XCD Quick Install Manual shipped with the unit. Wireless Ethernet Print Server This interface is intended for 802.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D Installing The Ribbon Cartridge The Printek FormsPro printer has been designed to make installing Printek brand ribbons a simple, clean process. Unlike other printers, there is no need to touch the ribbon fabric or deal with difficult to position ribbon guides. The following sections explain why the use of Printek brand ribbons should be important to you and will guide you through installing the ribbon cartridge.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D Using inferior ribbons would be like using poor quality fuel in your automobile. Premature engine failure and poor performance leading up to the failure would be the best you could expect. Other useful features available only with the use of Printek brand ribbons are that the printer will not allow printing if a ribbon is not installed, and the printer will alert the operator when a ribbon needs to be changed. Ribbon Installation 1.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D 3. Place the right hand end of the ribbon on the support bracket while you align the plastic tabs with the slots in the bracket as shown below. Installing the Ribbon Cartridge 4. Align and lower the left end of the ribbon onto the left support bracket until it snaps into place, while guiding the ribbon fabric between the nose of the print head and the ribbon guide pins. Continue to lower the cartridge until the tab on the left end of the cartridge snaps into place.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D 5. Finally, lower the ribbon-loading handle to its original position. Closing the Ribbon Load Handle 6. Close the ribbon lid on top of the printer.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D Loading Paper Please refer to the appropriate section below for loading paper in the FormsPro 4300se, 4500se, or 4503se. FormsPro 4300se & 4500se Single Tractor Model If the printer is not currently turned on, push the ON-1 side of the power switch on the right side of the printer. After you turn on the printer, it performs several self-tests. Note: Paper is installed through the slot in the bottom of the printer. 1.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D 2. While you pull outward on this panel, lift the front of the unit to expose the paper tractors. The top of the unit will support itself in the up position while you load paper. 3. To load paper or forms, open the door on each tractor and position the holes in the paper over the pins in the tractors; then close the doors. 4.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D FormsPro 4503se with Form Installed in Front Tractors. FormsPro 4503se Tri-Trak Model 16 1. To install forms in the other sets of tractors in the FormsPro 4503se: 2. Press the FORM SELECT button on the front panel until the desired form setup and tractor path is selected on the LCD display (this button's sequence is 0 through 9, and back to 0, and may be operated while the case is either opened or closed). 3. Then press the LOAD button.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D The following picture shows a FormsPro 4503se with forms installed in all three sets of tractors and the center tractor path positioned for loading in place for operation.
G E T T I N G S T A R T E D Printer Self-Test The printer performs many self-diagnostics each time power is turned on. If you wish to perform an actual printing test, use the following steps. 1. Make sure the printer is powered on with ribbon and paper loaded. 2. Take the printer off line (the ONLINE indicator will not be lit). 3. Press the SETUP button four times to display TEST MENU on the front panel. 4. Press either of the FUNCTION buttons until Test Mode is displayed on the top line. 5.
DAILY OPERATION Introduction This chapter describes how to use the “everyday” features of the FormsPro 4000se Series printers. The items covered are: – describes the most commonly used features of the printer’s control panel. Control Panel Features Selecting and Loading Forms – describes how to insert paper or forms into the tractors and how to inform the printer of which forms are “loaded”. – describes how to remove printed documents from the printer.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Control Panel Features This section assumes that your printer has already been installed according to the information in “Installation and Interface Setup”, and describes the daily operation of the FormsPro 4000se series printers. In particular, using the control panel, changing paper or forms, and changing the ribbon cartridge are discussed.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N LCD Display and Indicators LCD Display This two line by sixteen-character display is used to convey several types of information. When the printer is on line and printing, or ready to print, the display will show the currently selected tractor path and the form currently loaded in that path.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Control Panel Buttons ONLINE This button allows you to place the printer online or offline, as indicated by the ONLINE indicator, and as temporarily displayed on the two line by sixteen character display. It is also used for starting and stopping the test pattern while the printer is in the Barber Pole mode. Note: The printer must be offline before you can use any of the other buttons.
D A I L Y UNLOAD / FORM SELECT O P E R A T I O N If paper is currently loaded (no paper out condition exists), this button unloads the paper and places the top edge of the paper in the tractors in the base of the unit. This allows you to change the paper easily. A paper out condition is displayed to indicate that the paper was unloaded successfully. The printer will attempt to unload up to 36 inches of paper.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N parked and secured whenever the printer is being transported. ALIGN ih These buttons will access the horizontal and vertical print adjustment settings for the currently selected form. When either ALIGN button is pressed, the horizontal adjustment is shown first. Pressing the VALUE buttons will move the print position on the line left or right by 0.01 inches for each press of a button as indicated on the display.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Selecting And Loading Forms Note: A form is not considered “loaded” by merely placing the form in the tractors. To prevent printing on the wrong form, the printer must be made aware of what form(s) are currently loaded. When a new form is placed in the tractors, the form must be “loaded” using the control panel as described in the next section, “Loading a Different Form in the Tractors”.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Continue to press the UNLOAD/FORM SELECT button until the desired form name is shown on the top line of the display. When the desired form is displayed press the LOAD/FORM FEED button. The form name will be FORM 0 through FORM 9 or the actual name of the form if the name has been set in Setup. If the desired form is not considered to be “loaded” by the printer, will flash on the bottom line of the display.
D A I L Y 3. While pulling out on this panel, lift the front of the printer to expose the paper tractors. The top of the unit will support itself in the up position while you load paper. Caution: 4. 5. O P E R A T I O N Do not open the unit in this fashion while the printer is printing or forms are loaded. Doing so may cause data to be printed incorrectly or paper to jam when the unit is closed. Refer to the section on Control Panel Operation for instructions on unloading forms.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N paths, proceed to step 4 on the following page. You can position the other tractor paths for loading without closing the printer's case. To load another tractor path: 28 1. Press the UNLOAD/FORM SELECT button on the front panel until the desired form and tractor path is indicated on the LCD display. 2. Then press the LOAD button. This causes the selected tractors to move into position for loading. 3. You may now install the paper in this tractor path.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N FormsPro 4503se with Forms in All Tractor Paths Center Path Positioned for Loading 4. Close the case of the printer by lowering it until the lower front panel closes. The printer LCD will display Case Closed when you do this. 5. Check the LCD display to make sure the correct form setup (0-9) or the actual name of the form has been selected. If necessary, press the UNLOAD/FORM SELECT button until the correct one is displayed. 6.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N 4. Then press the LOAD/FORM FEED button. The tractors will move to the specified path (if necessary) and position the top of the selected form at the tear bar. 5. Press the ONLINE button to place the printer back into operation. Ejecting And Tearing Off A Form When most print jobs complete, they will command the paper to be positioned at the top of the next form so that the printer is ready for the next job.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Bottom of form at tear bar If your form is positioned as shown, you may skip the next section on positioning and proceed with “Tearing off a Form” on the next page. Positioning the Form for Tear Off 1. If your print job has completed and the form is not positioned as shown above, take the printer off line by pressing the ONLINE button. 2. Press the FORM FEED button. This will automatically position the form at the tear bar and you may tear off the form as described next.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Tearing off a form 3. Place the printer back on line with the ONLINE button (indicator changes to green). The form will automatically be pulled down into position for printing the next time the printer receives data to be printed.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Installing A New Ribbon Cartridge Removing the Old Ribbon Cartridge 1. Open the ribbon lid on top of the printer and position the print head for ribbon loading by lifting the ribbon loading handle as indicated in the following picture. 1 2 Note: 1. Opening the Ribbon Loading Handle 2. Ribbon Support Brackets 2. Remove the old ribbon by lifting the left hand end of the ribbon off the left support bracket. 3.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Installing the New Ribbon Cartridge Note: The use of Printek brand ribbons is recommended for increased ribbon life and print head life. The use of only Printek brand ribbons is required for the extended print head warranty. For details, see “Why Use Only Printek Brand Ribbons” in the “GETTING STARTED” chapter. 34 1. Unpack the new ribbon from its shipping container and remove the retainer from the slot on top of the cartridge if present.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Ribbon Cartridge Installation 3. Lower the ribbon loading bail as shown below. This automatically places the ribbon between the ribbon guides and the print head as the print head is placed back into the printing position.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Aligning Print When a new form is loaded into the printer for the first time, it may be necessary to adjust where printing begins. This depends upon how the software that controls the printing was written. If the software was written to perform its own character and line spacing relative to the edges of the form, then adjustment may not be necessary. If the print position needs to be adjusted, the following discussion will describe how this is accomplished.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N MOVE Down/Up PRINT 0.00” × The VALUE buttons will move the print down or up in 1/100th inch increments. Note again that the arrow will change according to the direction the print is to be moved from the normal print position. The maximum distance print may be moved is 9.99 inches in either direction. Example In this example, a number needs to be printed in a box on a preprinted form. This form could be a packing list, an invoice, or a check.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N MOVE Down/Up PRINT 0.08” ↓ Now when the form is printed again, the text will be printed in the box as shown here.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Common Error Conditions Whenever the printer detects an error condition, it will automatically go off line. User correctable errors are “flashed” on the display. These errors can typically be recovered from without loss of data and are listed in this section of the manual. Other errors, which typically result in loss of data, are considered fatal errors. These errors display the word ERROR on the top line of the display and do not flash.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Too Much Paper to Unload This error occurs when the UNLOAD button has been pressed and there is paper present too far beyond the tear bar. This error serves as a warning that you may be placing forms that have already been printed on back into the printer. Tear off any printed forms past the tear bar and press UNLOAD again. This error also occurs if the LOAD button has been pressed and the current form cannot be unloaded.
D A I L Y O P E R A T I O N Other Errors If other errors occur, it is possible that they may not be resolved without the aid of a factory trained service technician. Please refer to the “MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING” section on page 77.
PRINTER CONFIGURATION Introduction To Setup The FormsPro 4500se series printers feature simple, easy to use menus for setting the various operating parameters for the printer. The parameters available in these menus usually only need to be set one time, either when the printer is first installed or perhaps when a new form is to be used. These values are stored in nonvolatile memory, which means that they will remain set even if the printer is turned off.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Entering Setup To enter Setup, simply take the printer off line and press the SETUP button. The SETUP indicator will begin to flash yellow and the display will temporarily show the following. Entering Setup Menus After the above message has been shown, the display will change to the first menu available, which is the FORMS MENU as shown below. In this case the display will also show which form is to be set up.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Exiting Setup If you wish to exit Setup press the ONLINE button. Setup Yes ONLINE Exit Pressing the SETUP button will allow you to make additional menu choices. Pressing the ONLINE button indicated by Yes will display one of the following messages depending on whether or not changes were made, reset the printer if changes were made, and then leave the printer off line. Exiting Menus Saving Changes Exiting Menus No Changes To go on line, press ONLINE button again.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Forms Menu Most form printing applications use several different forms such as packing lists, bills of lading, invoices, checks, and green bar paper for reports. Not all of these forms require the same printer settings for things such as font, character size, line spacing, or form length. The FormsPro 4000se series printers store up to ten complete sets of form parameters, including the name of the form.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N When shipped from the factory, the Form Names will be set to “FORM 0” through “FORM 9”. This name may be changed to any combination of capital letters (A-Z), numerals (0-9), or spaces. The name may be up to 16 characters in length. Entering a name uses the CURSOR button and either VALUE buttons. The CURSOR button will advance the cursor, a flashing block, which is used to indicate the character that is to be changed.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Cut Adjustment Cut Adjustment 0 Possible Values: Auto, -0.2951” … 0* … +0.2951”, Auto This item may be used to adjust the position of the cut relative to the top-ofform for improved cut accuracy. This item is only available when the optional FormsCutter is installed. Refer to the FormsCutter manual for more information. Lines Per Inch Lines/Inch 6 Possible Values: 6*, 8 This item sets the line pitch to 6 or 8 Lines Per Inch (LPI).
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N print the first form correctly and then print following forms too far down the page if the program sending the data does not require the margin.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Bottom Margin Bottom Margin 0 Lines Possible Values: 0* … 226 Lines This item sets the bottom margin in lines. Setting a bottom margin will reduce the size of the printable area of the page by the number of lines set. When the bottom margin is reached, the remainder of the page will be skipped and printing will resume at the beginning of the next page (or top margin if one is set).
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Possible Values: Column 4 … 272* This item sets the right margin in columns (characters) relative to the left edge of the paper. A value of 272 is large enough to insure that characters can be printed to the right end of the paper regardless of character pitch (CPI). The right margin must be greater than the left margin.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Possible Values: Normal*, High This item may be used to select High Impact for improved printing on multipart forms that do not otherwise print well on the back copies. Language USA Language Possible Values: USA*, France, Germany, England, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Japan, Finland This item selects the character substitution table to be used for an alternate language when printing. The Epson font must be selected in order for this feature to work properly.
P R I N T E R Unidirectional Printing C O N F I G U R A T I O N Unidirectional No Possible Values: No*, Yes This item selects unidirectional printing instead of bi-directional printing. This may be used to improve the straightness of vertical lines for critical applications such as printing small bar codes.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Interface Menu The Interface Menu contains several functions for setting up items pertaining to the hardware interfaces such as the serial and parallel ports as well as the optional 10/100BaseT Ethernet and Wireless Print Server. The Setup items for each interface are described in one of the following sections.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N RS-232C Serial Interface Items INTERFACE MENU Serial Emulation Epson Emulation Possible Values: Epson*, IBM Proprinter, DEC LA120/210, TTY, Printek, ANSI X3.64, Genicom 3840, Genicom 3410 Automatic Carriage Return Auto CR On Possible Values: Off, On* This item enables or disables automatic Carriage Returns (CR) whenever a Line Feed (LF), Vertical Tab (VT), or Form Feed (FF) is received.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Characters Control Characters Possible Values: Control*, Printable This item selects whether certain control character symbols will be printed or be treated as control characters. The effect of this is dependent upon the Emulation selected. Minimum Buffer No Minimum Buffer Possible Values: No*, Yes This item selects whether the smallest possible I/O buffer should be used.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Stop Bits 1 Stop Bits Possible Values: 1*, 2 This item sets the number of stop bits to be used at the end of the serial character frame. This must be set to match the stop bit setting on the host computer. Parity None Parity Possible Values: None*, Even, Odd This item selects the parity checking requirements for the serial data bits. This must be set to match the parity setting on the host computer.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Online/Offline will reflect only the condition indicated and does not reflect a buffer full condition. Busy/Not Busy will cause DTR to indicate both the online/offline status and buffer full condition (see “Busy Polarity” above). XON/XOFF Handshaking XON/XOFF Off Possible Values: Off*, On Enables or disables the transmission of the XON and XOFF characters from the printer to the host to control data flow to the printer.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Parallel/LAN Interface Items Since the optional LAN interface goes into the Parallel port, these interface parameters are the same. INTERFACE MENU Parallel/LAN Emulation Epson Emulation Possible Values: Epson*, IBM Proprinter, DEC LA120/210, TTY, Printek, ANSI X3.64, Genicom 3840, Genicom 3410 This item selects the emulation to be used whenever the parallel port is active. The emulation should be set to match the type of printer your software supports.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N IP Address Method IP Address Auto Possible Values: Auto*, Static This item controls how the optional Ethernet interface card receives its network address. When set to Auto, the Ethernet card will receive its network address from a network DHCP server (typical installation). When set to Static, the user sets the TCP/IP address, Subnet Mask and TCP/IP Gateway address as follows: IP Address IP Address 192.160.0.27 Possible Values: 000.000.000.000 … 255.255.255.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N To set the TCP/IP Gateway, use the CURSOR button to select which digit group you wish to change, and then use the VALUE buttons to change the value. The value will change rapidly if the key is held down. Automatic Carriage Return Auto CR On Possible Values: Off, On* This item enables or disables automatic Carriage Returns (CR) whenever a Line Feed (LF), Vertical Tab (VT), or Form Feed (FF) is received.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Minimum Buffer Minimum Buffer No Possible Values: No*, Yes This item selects whether the minimum I/O buffer size should be used. Setting this item to No will allow the printer to make maximum use of the I/O buffer (see “Paper Out Fault” on page 64 for more information on buffer size). Setting this to Yes may decrease performance, but is useful when the printer is currently printing using the printer with operating systems that try to keep track of which page.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Options Menu The OPTIONS MENU contains items, which do not pertain only to a specific form or specific interface, but rather affect how the printer works under all conditions. To access the options menu, press the SETUP button until OPTIONS MENU is displayed OPTIONS MENU Press either of the FUNCTION buttons to begin displaying the items available.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N since the last print operation) and a form boundary (bottom of the form according to the Form Length setting for the current form) has been reached. If printing finishes and the form boundary has not been reached, take the printer off line and the FORM FEED button may be used to advance the form to the tear bar. This item may also be used to disable Auto-Scroll by setting the value to Off.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N printing will resume where it left off as described in the next paragraph. The printer’s ability to complete the reprint successfully depends on whether the data for the current page is still in the printer’s memory. Refer to the following Reprint Page Size option for more information regarding how much data may be retained. When Break Page is selected, the printer will stop printing and go off line as soon as a paper out or paper jam condition is detected.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N In Genicom 3840 or 3410 Emulation, this feature repositions the print head at the top of a barcode after the barcode has printed. When disabled, printing continues from the bottom of the barcode. This feature has no meaning in other emulations. Top of Oversized Off Top of Oversized Possible Values: On, Off* In Genicom 3840 or 3410 Emulation, this feature repositions the print head at the top of oversized characters after the oversized characters have printed.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N This item selects how much of the 32K byte input buffer is set aside for reprinting a page when Finish Page or Reprint Page has been selected for the Paper Out Fault Action item (see above). The value selected (0 to 28K bytes in 1K byte increments) should be set to accommodate the largest page expected, but not unnecessarily large since the larger this is set, the smaller the effective I/O buffer.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N 114. Note that turning this feature off while still using Printek brand ribbons will not affect the extended warranty. Ribbon Life 23 Million Chars Ribbon Life Possible Values: 5 … 23* … 30 Million Chars This item sets the number of “draft equivalent” characters to be printed before the Change Ribbon message is displayed. “Draft equivalent” is an indication of the average density, or number of dots, in a draft font character.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N ControlCharact er ^ (5E Hex) Control Character Possible Values: ^ (5E Hex)* SOH (01 Hex) through HT (09 Hex), SO (0E Hex) through (FF Hex) This item sets the control character used to begin commands. The character normally used for QMS is the caret (^) and the character normally used for IGP is the tilde (~) (if you change the emulation to Printronix IGP, you may need to change the control character to the tilde).
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N This item selects the character set. ^PY Translation Mode (QMS CodeV v2 and PTX CodeV v2 only) ^PY Translation Not Active Possible Values: Not Active*, Active This item selects whether or not Filter Mode is active at power on or reset. ^F Free Format Mode (QMS CodeV v2 and PTX CodeV v2 only) ^F Free Format Not Active Possible Values: Not Active*, Active This item selects whether or not the Free Format Mode is active in Filter Mode.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N This item selects whether or not the form will automatically be advanced to the next line boundary when Filter Mode is exited. Vertical DPI 72 Vertical DPI Resolution (QMS CodeV v2 and PTX CodeV v2 only) Possible Values: 72*, 70 This item sets the vertical resolution to 72 or 70 Dots Per Inch.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Delete Logos Delete Logos No Possible Values: No*, Yes This item selects whether logos should be deleted when a form is deleted. Quiet Mode Quiet Mode Not Active Possible Values: Not Active*, Active This item selects whether or not the quiet mode is active at power on. Spacing Mode Possible Values: IGP 10/20/40*, IGP 30 This item selects the Spacing mode.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N Test Menu The TEST MENU is used to access some testing as well as some record keeping items. To access the test menu, press the SETUP button until TEST MENU is displayed as shown below. TEST MENU Next press either of the FUNCTION buttons to access the test modes available. Print the Menus No Print the Menus Possible Values: No*, Current Values This item may be used to print the entire list of current values.
P R I N T E R C O N F I G U R A T I O N When this item is set to Barber Pole, the printer will print a rotating character pattern. Printing may be started and stopped with the ONLINE button. When set to Hex Dump, the printer will print all received data in a special debug format, which may be used by programmers to solve software problems. For more information, refer to the Hex Dump section of the FormsPro 4000se series Programmer’s Manual.
FORM CONSTRUCTION Form Construction Although the FormsPro 4000se series printers have been designed to handle difficult forms, you may come across a form that does not feed reliably or provide adequate print quality on all copies. One of the main causes of paper misfeeds is a form that is “tented”. Tenting is a tent-like bulge at the perforation when forms are unfolded from the box. The printer allows a maximum form thickness of 0.025 inches, which a badly tented form may exceed.
F O R M C O N S T R U C T I O N Form Layout Considerations When designing preprinted forms, the most common problem is forms that are designed “too tight”. This means that boxes where data have to be printed are just barely large enough for the data, and that even the slightest misalignment will cause characters to be printed on at least one of the lines that form the box.
MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLESHOOTING Error Messages This section provides a partial list of fatal errors. Fatal errors typically cannot be recovered from without the loss of data. In each case, ERROR is shown on the top line of the display and one of the following messages is shown on the bottom line. Suggested solutions for each of these messages are listed to the right of each error message in the table, which follows.
M A I N T E N A N C E A N D T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G Error Message Possible Solution Head Blocked? Check print head carriage area for obstructions. Head Gap Usually a result of a bad paper jam. Check for paper wedged in the print head nose shield area. I/O Overflow Make sure handshaking parameters set in the printer and at the host computer match each other. Make sure interface cables are wired correctly.
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ADVANCED SETUP FEATURES Security Menu The SECURITY MENU is for Information System managers who want to be able to set up a printer and then “lock out” operator changes to the various menus. This method of security may be set independently for the Align Print, the Forms menu, the Interface menu, or the Options menu. When set to Edit Allowed, the user is allowed to make changes to any item in the menu selected. When set to View, the operator can look at the settings, but cannot edit, or change the values.
A D V A N C E Forms Menu S E T U P F E A T U R E S Forms Menu Edit Allowed Possible Values: Edit Allowed, View Only, Initialize This item selects whether items in the FORMS MENU can be edited or only viewed by the operator. Initialize will reset the value of all the items for all forms to factory default values.
USING REMOTE SETUP The FormsPro 4000se series printers may be completely configured for operation by using the front panel buttons to access the printer setup menus. In addition, many of the items that can be configured via the front panel setup menus can also be configured remotely as described in this chapter. Remote Setup via Windows Application Printek provides a remote setup program for Windows 95, 98, 2000 and NT users. This provides a convenient method for graphically configuring the printer.
U S I N G R E M O T E S E T U P 1. A blank line (ignored). 2. A comment line, which begins with a semicolon ";" (ignored). 3. A heading line, which is enclosed in square brackets "[]". 4. An item setup line, of the format item=value. Each item setup line must appear under the appropriate heading line. The first heading line in the file must be [BeginPrintekSetup]. The last heading line in the file must be [EndPrintekSetup]. All other heading lines and item setup lines are optional.
U S I N G R E M O T E S E T U P *Note that the 3-byte escape sequence can be included as the first 3 bytes in the remote setup file.
U S I N G R E M O T E S E T U P Remote Setup Line Definitions [BeginPrintekSetup] AlignPrint=FactoryDefaults Forms=FactoryDefaults Interfaces=FactoryDefaults Options=FactoryDefaults Security=FactoryDefaults [Form0] ... [Form9] MovePrintLeft=0.00 ... 9.99 MovePrintRight=0.00 ... 9.99 MovePrintUp=0.00 ... 9.99 MovePrintDown=0.00 ... 9.99 FormName="UPTO16CHARACTERS" TractorPath=Front,Center,Rear, AutomaticCut=No,Yes LinesPerInch=6,8 FormLength=1 ... 227 TopMargin=0 ... 226 BottomMargin=0 ...
U S I N G R E M O T E S E T U P Emulation=ANSI_X3.64,Epson,IBM_Proprinter, DEC_LA120,TTY,Printek,Genicom_3840, Genicom_3410 AutoCR=Off,On AutoLF=Off,On HostFFatTOF=No,Yes Characters=Control,Printable MinimumBuffer=No,Yes BaudRate=110,150,300,600,1200,2400, 4800,9600 DataBits=8,7 StopBits=1,2 Parity=None,Even,Odd BusyPolarity=Low,High DTR=Power,Online,Busy XON/XOFF=Off,On ETX/ACK=Off,On [Parallel/LAN Interface] Emulation=ANSI_X3.
U S I N G R E M O T E S E T U P ControlCharacter=01h ... 09h,0Eh ...
U S I N G R E M O T E S E T U P Remote Setup Example File The following example will set up three forms. Before the forms are set up, “AlignPrint” and all “Forms” will be reset to their factory default values so that only the “non-default” values have to be set. The first form will begin printing one line from the top-of-form, be named “CHECKS”, have a form length of 42 lines (7 inches at 6 LPI), and use the Epson FX Draft font.
USING THE OPTIONAL SETUP MODULE Introduction The optional Setup Module is a small cartridge that plugs directly into the RS-232 Serial connector on the rear of any FormsPro 4000se series printer. This module is used to store a second copy of the current Setup configuration of the printer. This may then be used to restore settings after a printer is serviced or to copy the same configuration settings to another printer. These uses are discussed immediately following the installation instructions.
U S I N G T H E O P T I O N A L S E T U P M O D U L E When the message disappears, installation is complete and the printer will continue with its normal power up procedure. Initializing Setup Module 7. The printer will now compare the configuration data in its internal memory to the data in the Setup Module. If the data is not an exact match, proceed with step 8.
If you wish to copy the Setup data to the Setup Module from the printer, press the UNLOAD button. The printer will display the next message and the Setup Module will now contain a copy of the Setup information in the printer. Copying Setup to Module After one of the above selections is made, installation is complete, the ONLINE indicator will be turned off and the printer will finish its power up procedure.
U S I N G T H E O P T I O N A L S E T U P M O D U L E Using the Setup Module to Copy Setup Data From One Printer to Another This use of the Setup Module is beneficial when installing or updating several printers that need to be configured exactly the same. To do this, you will need to perform the installation procedure once for each printer. First, install the Setup Module on the printer where the Setup data is to be copied from.
PRINTER RESET CONDITIONS The following list describes conditions that are assumed whenever power is applied to the printer, changes have been made in SETUP, or a reset escape sequence is received (when the printer is operating in an emulation mode that supports such a sequence). This list includes all variables that you can modify for all emulations, even though some emulations cannot modify all of the variables shown. Refer to the appropriate section of this manual for the emulation you are using.
U S I N G T H E horizontal tabs vertical tabs 96 O P T I O N A L S E T U P M O D U L E to every eight columns cleared
CONTROL CODE AND ESCAPE SEQUENCE SUMMARIES Genicom 3840 and 3410 Emulation BEL BS CR CSI ESC D ESC E ESC ESC n ESC H ESC J ESC K ESC L ESC P ESC \ ESC [(p1);(p2)B ESC [(p1);(p2)G ESC [(p)` ESC [(p)a ESC [(p)d ESC [(p)e ESC [(p1);(p2)f ESC [(Ps)g ESC [(p)h ESC [(p)j ESC [(p)k ESC [(p)l ESC [(p1);...(pn)m ESC [(p1)p ESC [(p1)q ESC [(p1);(p2);(p3)r ESC [(p1);(p2)s ESC [(p1)t ESC [(p1);(p2);...
C O N T R O L C O D E S A N D E S C A P E S E Q U E N C E S Genicom 3840 and 3410 Emulation (cont.) ESC [(p1);(p2);...(p12)v ESC [(p1);(p2){ ESC [(p1);(p2);...
C O N T R O L C O D E S ESC [ 4 g A N D E S C A P E S E Q U E N C E S Clear All Vertical Tab Stops Ansi X3.64 Emulation (Cont.
C O N T R O L C O D E S A N D E S C A P E S E Q U E N C E S Epson Fx Emulation (Cont.) ESC @ ESC A n ESC B n1 n2 ... nx NUL ESC C NUL n ESC C n ESC D n1 n2 ...
C O N T R O L C O D E S A N D E S C A P E S E Q U E N C E S IBM Proprinter Emulation BEL BS CAN CR DC2 DC4 ESC - n ESC 0 ESC 1 ESC 2 ESC 3 n ESC 4 ESC 5 n ESC 6 ESC 7 ESC : ESC A n ESC B n1 n2 ... nx NUL ESC C NUL n ESC C n ESC D n1 n2 ...
C O N T R O L C O D E S A N D E S C A P E S E Q U E N C E S IBM Proprinter Emulation (Cont.
C O N T R O L C O D E S A N D E S C A P E S E Q U E N C E S LA-120/210 Emulation (cont.) ESC [ n1 ; n2 ; ... nx u ESC [ n1 ; n2 ; ...
C O N T R O L C O D E S A N D E S C A P E S E Q U E N C E S Printek Emulation BEL BS CR DC3 ESC # m n1 n2 data ESC % ESC * m n1 n2 data ESC @ ESC A n ESC B n ESC C ESC D n ESC E n ESC ESC n ESC F n ESC FF n ESC G n ESC H n1 n2 ESC HT n1 n2 ... nx NUL ESC I n ESC L n ESC LF n ESC Q n ESC R ESC S n ESC SP n ESC U n ESC V n1 n2 ESC VT n1 n2 ...
ASCII CHARACTER TABLES Epson FX Font Character Set 105
A S C I I C H A R A C T E R T A B LE S PC Font Character Set EBCDIC Font Character Set 106
A S C I I C H A R A C T E R T A B LE S PC Latin 2 (Slavic) Font Character Set OCR-A Font Character Set 107
A S C I I C H A R A C T E R T A B LE S OCR-B Font Character Set ML Euro (858) 108
ML (850) 109
SPECIFICATIONS Print Speeds Text Modes Fast Draft Draft Fast Draft High Impact Draft High Impact Letter Quality Optical Quality Speed 530 cps 400 cps 250 cps 200 cps 100 cps 65 cps Graphics Modes 8 Wire Graphics 8 Wire Fast Graphics 9 Wire Graphics 9 Wire Fast Graphics Speed (up to) * 19,200 dps 25,600 dps 21,600 dps 28,800 dps Character Matrix Fast Draft 7x9 in 9x9 cell. Draft 9x9 in 12x9 cell. Letter Quality 18x18 in 24x18 cell. Optical Quality 27x18 in 36x18 cell.
S P E C I F I C A T I O N S Character Sets Epson FX fast draft, draft and letter quality. IBM Proprinter fast draft, draft and letter quality. EBCDIC fast draft, draft and letter quality. Latin II (Slavic) fast draft, draft, and letter quality. OCR-A optical quality. OCR-B optical quality. Multilingual (Code Page 858) fast draft, draft and letter quality. Multilingual (Code Page 850) fast draft, draft and letter quality. Character Spacing 5, 6, 6.7, 7.5, 8.4, 8.6, 10, 12, 13.3, 15, 16.7, 17.1, and 20 cpi.
S P E C I F I C A T I O N S Bottom tractor feed. Straight paper path with zero waste tear off. Paper width: 2.3 to 15 inches. Paper Slew Rate: 12 inches per second. Ribbon 23,000,000 character, mobius loop cartridge. Special Forms Handling Features Print up to six part forms (.025" maximum thickness). Easy access to tractors. Front panel and host form selection. Automatic head gap. Paper out sensing. Paper motion sensing. Paper edge sensing. Page reprint. Nonvolatile memory for ten form setups.
S P E C I F I C A T I O N S Operator Controls/Indicators Normal Operating Mode Indicators: Online/Status LED; 2x16 character LCD for current form selection (and paper path in FormsPro 4503se), on/off line status and error descriptions. Controls: Online, Form Feed/Load, Form Select/Unload, Align Print, and enter Setup. Setup Mode Indicators: Online/Status LED to indicate Setup mode is active. Controls: Next Function, Previous Function, Next Value, Previous Value, Exit Setup.
S P E C I F I C A T I O N S print head warranty may be extended to two years with the use of only Printek® brand ribbons. Environmental Specifications Power requirements: 100-250 VAC, 50-60Hz Autoswitching Power consumption: 18 W non-printing, 60 W printing. Energy Start Compliant Audible noise: ≤65 dBA, cooling fan automatically switch to low speed when not printing. Operating Temperature: 50°F to 95°F. Relative Humidity: 20% to 80% non-condensing. Physical Size: 11.8" High x 26.25" Wide x 20.5" Deep.
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ANSI American National Standards Institute. ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange. baud rate The bit rate at which characters are transmitted over a serial interface. binary Base two numbering system. Digits are represented by the characters 0 and 1. bit A single binary digit. control code A single, non-printing character, which is used to control the configuration or operation of the printer. character pitch The horizontal spacing of characters.
G L O S S A R Y draft Refers to the draft font. EBCDIC Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code. escape sequence String of characters beginning with the escape (ESC) character, which is used to control the configuration or operation of the printer. The characters that are part of this string are not printed. fast draft Refers to the fast draft font. FD Fast Draft. font A group of characters of a given shape or style. FormsMaster A superior line of serial matrix printers.
G L O S S A R Y offline Refers to the state of the printer when the ONLINE indicator is not solid green and the printer does not respond to the host computer. online Refers to the state of the printer when the ONLINE indicator is solid green and the printer is able to respond to the commands and text received from the host computer. OQ Optical Quality. parity A method used for detecting errors within a single character transmitted or received via an interface.
