FB300 User Manual Rev.
Table of Contents Table of Contents ................................................. ii Printer Presentation ............................................. 1 Unpacking the Printer .......................................... 3 Printer Parts.......................................................... 4 Front view ................................................................. 4 Rear View ................................................................. 5 Printer Installation....................................
Printer Presentation This dot-matrix printer is a multi-purpose printer for counter applications. Its compact structure is designed to be integrated in an ergonomic environment. The printer provides a high level of reliability, form-handling accuracy and data integrity.
• Automatic switching between cut sheets and fanfold paper If the paper path is empty (i.e. the fanfold paper is in the first line position), when inserting a cut sheet into the printer, it is automatically loaded after the printer automatically parked the fanfold paper. The fanfold paper can then be loaded again simply pressing the LOAD/PARK key.
Unpacking the Printer Together with the printer the following items are included in the shipment box: Notify any damage to your supplier. • Paper stand • Ribbon cartridge • Power cable • CD-ROM with the printer documentation and drivers. Always keep the packing material in a safe place as you must repack the printer into it, when you need to move it.
Printer Parts Never remove any printer part unless it is expressly indicated in this manual.
Rear View R ear cover 5
Printer Installation Choosing a Suitable Location Consider the following points when you choose the location for your printer: • The distance between the printer and the host computer must not exceed the length of the interface cable; • The location must be sturdy, horizontal and stable; • Your printer must not be exposed to direct sunlight, extreme heat, cold, dust or humidity; • You need an AC power outlet compatible with the plug of the printer’s power cord.
Installing the Paper Stand 1. Open the printer cover. 2. Match the hooks on the lower side of the paper stand with the clefts on the printer front part.
3. Holding the paper stand oblique insert the hooks into the printer clefts. 4. Lower the paper stand to horizontal position making sure that the two holders on both sides are correctly inserted into the corresponding slots. Press the paper stand down until it clips into place. 5. Close the printer cover.
Installing the Power Cable 1. Find the power cable connector and the rating plate on the rear side of the printer. Make sure that your power supply matches the power rating of the printer. In case the power rating does not correspond DO NOT CONNECT THE PRINTER TO THE MAINS. Consult your dealer for help. Always use a grounded outlet. 2. Insert the power cable into the connector on the printer and the other end into a convenient mains outlet. 3. Press the key on the operator panel to power the printer on.
Installing the Ribbon Cartridge To install the ribbon cartridge, the printer must be powered on. 1. Remove the cartridge from its bag. Turn the tension knob in the direction of the arrow to tighten the ribbon. 2. Open the printer cover, the print head moves to the ribbon installation position.
3. Hold the ribbon cartridge slightly inclined with the ribbon mask in front of the print head. 4. Insert the ribbon cartridge into the print head carriage, leading the cartridge pins into the fixing guides. In this way you assure the correct ribbon mask position in front of the print head. Push the cartridge onto the print carriage until it clicks into place. 5. Turn the tension knob in the direction of the arrow to tighten the ribbon. 6. Close the printer cover.
Paper Handling This printer is designed for versatile an reliable paper handling. The flat-bed mechanism allows the handling of special documents, such as multiple invoices, postcards, labels and tickets. The print head detects the paper edges automatically, the sheet can therefore be inserted in any position within the detection area according to the rules described in the following paragraph.
When inserting the paper into the printer, keep the following points in mind: • The document may not exceed the limits of the paper stand. R ight Lim it Left Lim it • The documents having a width of at least 90 mm must be inserted on the left hand side over the grooved area on the paper stand. The documents must cover the whole grooved area, otherwise the printer will not accept the paper.
• To load the documents having a width of less than 90 mm: − make sure that in the program menu the MANUAL LOADING item is enabled.
Loading fanfold paper The fanfold paper is loaded form the rear of the printer. 1. Lower the two levers of the rear printer cover and unhook it from the printer. 2. Unhook the right tractor moving the tractor lever towards the outside of the printer.
3. Open the two tractor covers. 4. Insert the perforation of the fanfold paper on the left paper tractor. Close the tractor door. Insert the paper on the right paper tractor and close the tractor door. The upper margin of the inserted paper should not exceed the tractors.
Make sure, that the paper is inserted correctly (straight). 5. Move the right paper tractor towards the right to slightly tighten the paper. Lock the tractor in that position moving the tractor lever towards the inside of the printer. Make sure, that the paper is not too taught, otherwise it may tear. 6. Hook the rear tractor cover into the corresponding slots (1) and push it against the printer until both rear tractor levers (2) firmly hook into the printer. 2 1 7.
The Operator Panel The operator panel is located on the front left side of the printer and is composed of function keys and leds with which you can easily check the printer status and select the functions as described below: P1 MICRO FEED P2 LF FF P3 LQ LOAD PARK P4 PROGRAM ONLINE Function keys Turns the printer on or off. To turn the printer off, this key must be pressed for at least 3 seconds. LQ Toggles between Letter Quality and Draft printing mode.
LOAD PARK If the paper path is empty, the fanfold paper is loaded into the printer (LOAD function). This function is performed when the printer is online or offline.
PROGRAM Selects one of the available configurations (P1, P2, P3 and P4 or a configuration couple P1/P3 or P2/P4) if the PROGRAM LOCKED parameter is not enabled. This key is active, when the printer is offline or when the printer is online and no print data are in the buffer. When pressed while powering the printer on, selects the offset adjustment page. See “Offset Adjustment” later in this manual. ON LINE Toggles the printer between online and offline status.
Leds POWER On, if the printer is powered on. LQ On, if the Letter Quality mode is selected. P1, P2, P3, P4 Indicate the currently selected configuration both in normal printing mode and during the Printer Setup procedure. See “Printer Setup” later in this section. If the INTERFACE TYPE function is set to auto+blink, when line 1 (parallel interface) is selected for data transmission, the P1 indicator blinks.
Software Driver Selection At this point it is necessary to configure your printer for your application package. The installation procedures depend upon the host environment. Together with the printer you receive a CD-ROM containing the printer drivers for the Windows environment. This printer supports the Plug&Play facility in the Windows95/98/2000® environment. If you want to install the printer in the Windows environment, insert the CD-ROM and follow the instructions.
Connection to the Host This printer can be connected to the host by means of a parallel standard Centronics or bidirectional IEEE 1284 type interface or by means of the serial RS232C interface. Proceed as follows: 1. Make sure that both the host and the printer are turned off. 2. With the help of the following figure identify the connector for the interface you want to connect and insert the cable firmly into it. 3.
Setting the Interface Parameters Parallel Interface The parameters set for the parallel interface match most of the most common environments and the printer can be used immediately after the connection to the host. In case you need to modify the standard parameters see “Printer Setup” later in this section. Serial Interface Because of the great variety of the possible connection configurations, when you use the serial interface you will need to set the parameters accordingly.
5. To change the values of the serial interface parameters, fill in the marker ( ) beside the value you want to set with a black or blue ball-point pen or a fiber-pen. Do not use pencils. W ORD LENG TH BA U D R AT E PA R IT Y B IT ( ) ( ) d is a b le d * e n a b le d ( ) ( ) d is a b le d * e n a b le d ( ) ( ) DTR X O N /XO F F * X O N /X O F F + D T R ( ) If more than one value is set for a parameter, the printer ignores these parameters and maintains the currently set value.
Printing a Test Page It is now useful to test, if the printer has been correctly installed. For this purpose print the self test page as follows. 1. Press the ON LINE key while powering the printer on and hold the key pressed until all leds turn briefly on. 2. Insert a single sheet in A4 or Letter format. The printer prints the Self-Test page. Check that the printout is correct. The following printout example shows also the printer setup default values. SELF TEST FB300 : Code Version Vx.
PROGRAM SETUP PROTOCOL FONT HORIZONTAL PITCH VERTICAL PITCH LOCK FORM LENGTH LEFT MARGIN RIGHT MARGIN TOP MARGIN BOTTOM MARGIN IBM C-SET IBM COMPRESS EPSON C-SET NATION C-SET CODE PAGE LINE MODE WRAP MODE SLASHED ZERO PRINT DIRECTION EJECT ON FF CUT SHEET EJECT PARK MODE TEAR MODE MANUAL LOADING ALIGN MODE GAP MODE VERT.POS 1/10” VERT.ADJ 1/60” HORIZ.POS 1/10” HORIZ.ADJ 1/60” PROGRAM 1 IBM XL24E Draft 10 cpi 6 lpi no lock A4 0 0 96 0 0 IBM set 1 17.
Printer Setup The default configuration of this printer matches most of the commonly used environments, but it may be necessary to change some printer parameters. For this purpose it is necessary to use preprinted forms to be used with the printer in configuration mode. The following is the complete description of the Setup Procedure. The detailed description of the parameters that can be set on the various preprinted forms are described in the “Setup Parameters” paragraph, later in this manual.
If you press the ON LINE key: • the printer self-test is printed. See “Printing a Test Page” before in this manual. In this way it is possible to check the current printer parameters. • once the self-test is finished, the printer remains in Setup Mode.
Each printer setup form is identified by a marker in the upper left corner of the page as follows: Configuration Setup Program 1 Program 3 Program 2 Program 4 If you press the LQ key: The printing of the printer setup forms starts. The forms are printed according to the selection made with the PROGRAM key. If you select one of the Program couples P1/P3 or P2/P4 you can define one parameters set for printing on cut sheets and one for fanfold.
Filling in the Printer Setup Forms To change the values of the parameters, fill in the marker ( ) beside the value you want to set with a black or blue ball-point pen or a fiber-pen. Do not use pencils.
Printer Setup Flow Chart + P rin ter P ow ered-off N o rm al M od e LQ P1 P2 P3 P4 P R OGR AM ON L I N E LQ S e lf Te s t P1 P2 P3 P4 P R OGR AM LQ + P1 P2 P3 P4 + P R OGR AM LQ P1 P2 P3 P4 + P R OGR AM LQ P1 P2 P3 P4 + P R OGR AM LQ P1 P2 P3 P4 P R OGR AM LQ 32 !
Setup Parameters The following is a listing of the setup parameters. Configuration Sheet Setup Parameter Values Description RESTORE TO MFG no The selected values are not set to factory defaults. all The values set in all printer setups are reset to factory default values. config The values set in the configuration setup are reset to factory default values. prog.1, prog. 2, prog.3, prog 4 The values set in the corresponding program setup are reset to the factory default values. DISPLAY LANG.
Setup Parameter Values Description INTERFACE TYPE parallel, serial, automatic, auto+blink Selects the interface type. In case of ‘automatic’ the interface type is selected by the printer depending on data coming from host. When the auto+blink item is selected, the P1 and P2 leds blink to indicate which interface is selected: P1 blinks when the parallel interface is selected, whereas P2 blinks, when the serial interface is selected. INPUT BUFFER 1 Kb, 8 Kb, 16 Kb, 32 Kb Selects the buffer size.
Setup Parameter Values Description SECURITY MODE enabled, disabled Enables or disables the security actions that assure protection against paper jams. If disabled, the paper handling is faster. AUTO GAP OFFSET -0,075 mm, -0.050 mm, -0.025 mm, +0.000 mm, +0.025 mm, +0.050 mm, +0.075 mm, +0.100 mm Sets the automatic gap offset to one of the given values. GET EDGE QUOTE 0/2”, 1/2”, 2/2”, 3/2”, 4/2”, Sets the position in which the left paper edge is checked.
PROGRAM 1 PROGRAM 2 PROGRAM 3 PROGRAM 4 Setup Parameter Values Description PROTOCOL EPSON 570, IBM X24E, IBM X24E AGM, IBM 2390 Defines the printer protocol. FONT Draft, Courier, OCR-B, Gothic, Prestige, Present, OCR-A, Script, Boldface Selects the font. HORIZONTAL PITCH 10 cpi, 12 cpi, 15 cpi, 17 cpi, Selects the character spacing in characters per inch (cpi). 20 cpi VERTICAL PITCH 5 lpi, 6 lpi, 8 lpi, Selects the line spacing in lines per inch (lpi). LOCK no lock, font, hor.
Example: How to set the form length to 82 lines: 100 x 10 x 0 ( ) ( ) # lines 1 2 ( ) ( ) ( ) 1x ( ) ( ) ( ( 3 ( ) A4 4 ( ) ( ) letter A5 5 6 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) legal 7 8 9 ( ) ( ) ( ( ( ( FORM LENGTH ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) Setup Parameter Values Description LEFT MARGIN 10 x 1x Sets the left margin in number of columns. The values range between 0 and 90.
Example: How to set the Right Margin to 101. RIGHT MARGIN 0 100 x ( ) 1 10 x ( 1x ( ) 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ( ( ( Setup Parameter Values Description TOP MARGIN 10 x 1x Sets the top margin in number of lines. The values range between 0 and 90. To set the values combine the numbers considering that the first line corresponds to the hundreds, the second line to the tens and the third line to the units.
Example: How to set the bottom margin to 34 lines: 1 ( ) 2 ( ) 3 1x ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ( ) ( 4 ( ) 5 ( ) 6 ( ) 7 ( ) 8 ( ) 9 ( ) ( BOTTOM MARGIN 0 10 x ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( Setup Parameter IBM C-SET IBM COMPRESS Values IBM set 1, IBM set 2 17.
Setup Parameter Values Description LINE MODE LF=LF, CR=CR If the printer receives a LF code (LF), it only performs a line feed. If the printer receives a CR code (CR), it only performs a carriage return. CR=LF+CR If the printer receives a CR code (CR), it performs a carriage return followed by a line feed. If the printer receives a LF code (LF), it performs a line feed. LF=LF+CR If the printer receives a LF code (LF), it performs a line feed followed by a carriage return.
Setup Parameter Values Description PARK MODE immediate When pressing the PARK key or receiving a park command, the printer immediately parks the paper. manual imm. When pressing the PARK key, the printer automatically parks the paper. When receiving a park command via software: 1. If the current page is not empty (there is printing data or paper movement commands have been issued), a form feed is performed. 2. The paper is moved to the tear-off position. 3. The P1, P2, P3 and P4 leds blink. 4.
Setup Parameter Values Description MANUAL LOADING enabled, disabled Selects the manual loading mode. Setting it to enabled the printer loads any kind of document according to the described procedures. Select disabled, when a more precise paper alignment is necessary. With this selection it is not possible to load documents with a width of less than 90 mm. ALIGN MODE fast, normal Selects the paper alignment mode.
OFFSET TUNING SETUP Vertical Position Offset (1/10 INCH) PROGRAM PROGRAM PROGRAM PROGRAM 1 2 3 4 ( ( ( ( )* )* )* )* 0 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +1 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +2 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +3 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +4 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +5 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +6 X X X ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) -3 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) -2 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) -1 ( ( ( ( ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) -1 ( ( ( ( ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +7 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +8 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +9 X X X X X X )* )* )* )* 0 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +1 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +2 ( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) +3 ( ) ( ) (
The Vertical Offset Tuning values correspond to 1/60 inches and set the vertical offset of the first print line starting from the default standard position at 1 mm from the upper paper margin. The Horizontal Offset Tuning values correspond to 1/60 inches and set the horizontal offset of the first print line starting from the default standard position at 3 mm from the left paper margin.
Troubleshooting Clearing Paper Jams The straight paper path of this printer is designed for trouble-free handling of a great variety of documents. In case a paper jam condition occurs, proceed as follows: 1. Open the printer cover. 2. Pull the lever on the right inner side of the printer towards the printer front side to open the paper path and with the other hand hold the paper path cover.
3. Remove the jammed paper. 4. In case it is not possible to remove the jammed paper because you cannot reach it with your hand or it is embedded so that you cannot move it, rotate the cog-wheel beside the paper path lever to free the paper.
5. To close the paper path, push the paper path cover down until it locks in position.
Print Quality Problems The following table is useful for identifying and solve print quality problems. Problem Cause Solution Fading print The ribbon is not fed Check that the ribbon is correctly inserted. See “Installing the Ribbon Cartridge”. Turn the ribbon tension knob to verify, that the ribbon is not blocked. If the problem is not solved, change the ribbon cartridge.
Hexadecimal Dump If you need to check the data transmission and want to print in hexadecimal mode, proceed as follows: 1. Press the LOAD/PARK key until all leds briefly light up while powering the printer on. 2. The data sent to the printer are printed in three columns where the first column indicates the number of the line, the second shows the hexadecimal values corresponding to the transferred data and the third column shows the corresponding ASCII values. 3.
Paper Specifications The documents must all guarantee the following characteristics: • Use paper matching the indicated characteristics. • They must have well defined top and left edges, with a square angle tolerance of 0.1° on all edges. • The paper must not have holes, perforations, folds or tears anywhere within the print area of the document. • The radius on a corner of the form must be within 9.5 mm from the left or right edge. • The form to be printed must not contain foreign material.
Cut Sheets I ns er ti on di r ecti on D C C P r i nt A r ea B E A Dimensions A B C D E Maximum Form width 240 mm Form length 711.2 mm Distance between dot position and left or right paper edge Distance between top of the first printed line and top margin of the document Distance between the lower margin and the lower part of the last printed line Paper weight Paper thickness 0,6 mm Copies Original + 5 copies 51 Minimum 70 mm 68.6 mm 3.0 mm if length is less than 355.6 mm 8.
Fanfold Paper Dimensions A A B C D P rint A rea B D C E E 52 Maximum Page width 242 mm Page length Distance between the left or right vertical paper perforation and the leftmost or rightmost printing dot. Distance between the upper page margin and the upper margin of the first print line Distance between the lower page margin and the lower margin of the last print line.
Technical Specifications Printing Technology Print head: Resolution: 24 pin 360x360 dpi (HxV) Line Length (@ 10 cpi) 94 columns (cut sheets) 80 columns (fanfold) Printing Speed 360/300 cps @ 12/10 cpi (Draft) 130/110 cps @ 12/10 cpi (LQ) Emulation IBM ® Personal Printer 2390+, Proprinter XL24E, Proprinter XL24AGM, Epson 570 Resident Fonts Draft, Courier, Gothic, Prestige, Script, OCR-A, OCR-B, Boldface Character Set PC standard set (CS1-CS2) - 13 National Epson sets - CP437 (USA) - CP437G (Greek) - CP850
Barcodes UPC/A, UPC/E, EAN8, EAN13, Code 39, Code 128, Postnet, Codabar, ADD-ON 2, ADD-ON 5, Code 11, Code 93, BCD, MSI, 2/5 Interleaved, 2/5 Matrix, 2/5 Industrial Interfaces Parallel IEEE 1284 bidirectional, Serial RS-232/C Automatic Interface Switching Memory 32 Kbytes buffer Special Functions Automatic Gap Adjustment (AGA) Auto Alignment Auto Border Recognition Ribbon Life 4 million characters (black) Reliability MTBF: 10,000 hours Print Head Life 400 million characters Physical Dimensions & Weight 390
Power Supply Tension: Frequency : Power consumption: 110V and 220V 60 Hz and 50 Hz 120 W max. (printing), 10 W (standby) Environmental conditions Temperature: working 5/40 °C, stock -25/60 °C Humidity: working from 20 to 85% (r.h.), stock from 10% to 90% (r.h.
FCC Notes 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 when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
