VP2020 Printer U s e r G u i d e
Copyright © 2004 VIPColor Technologies Pte Ltd. This document contains proprietary information that is protected by copyright. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may be photocopied, reproduced, or translated to another language without the prior written permission of VIPColor Technologies Pte Ltd. Warranty VIPColor Technologies Pte Ltd takes steps to ensure that this user guide is correct; however, errors may occur, and the information in this guide is subject to change without notice.
Contents Parts of the Printer v 1 Setting up the Printer 1 Choose a location for the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Unpack the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Connect the power cable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Install printheads and cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OPTIONS menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 COUNTRY CONFIG menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 INTERFACE menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 PASSWORD menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 4 Printer Internal Web Pages 51 Set up a connection. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Parts of the Printer The following figures show the locations and names of key printer parts.
USB connector PCMCIA slot Ethernet connector memory expansion bay rear access door Power switch* power socket * Always turn the printer off using the Power button on the control panel, to ensure that the printhead carriage is returned to its proper position at the left side of the printer.
Chapter 1 Setting up the Printer To set up the printer, you need to do the following: • Choose a suitable location for setting up the printer. • Unpack the printer. • Connect the power cable. • Install the ink cartridges, printhead cleaners, and printheads. • Load continuous media to run the printhead alignment procedure. • Once complete, replace the continuous media with the media for printing. • Connect the printer to your computer and/or network. • Install the printer driver.
Unpack the printer When unpacking the printer, take care as it is heavy. You should always get help from another person to unpack and lift the printer. 1. Carefully lift the printer out of the box and set it on a level and sturdy surface in the selected location. 2. Open the top cover of the printer. 3. Push and hold the green lever to lift up the frame that supports the media roll. 4. Carefully remove the packing material inside the printer. 5.
Connect the power cable NOTE: Make sure the packing material inside the printer has been removed and the printer cover is closed. 1. Attach the power cable securely to the printer before plugging the other end into a power outlet. 2. Turn the printer on using the Power switch near the power connector. NOTE: Do not turn off the printer using the Power Power switch switch at the back of the printer. Always turn it off using the Power button on the control panel at the front of the printer.
Install printheads and cartridges The printer uses four ink cartridges (CMYK – Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and blacK), five printheads, and five printhead cleaners (there are two black printheads). The ink cartridges, printheads and printhead cleaners have to be correctly installed before the printer will function properly. ink cartridge printhead printhead cleaner Install ink cartridges Each color cartridge fits in a specific slot, as indicated by the colored labels over the slots.
Install printhead cleaners Each new printhead comes with a printhead cleaner.The printhead cleaners protect the printheads when the printer is not in use, and keep the printheads clean for optimum print quality. The printhead cleaners are installed in the service station at the bottom left of the printer, below the printhead carriage. Each printhead cleaner is designed to work with a particular color printhead.
Install printheads 1. Open the top cover of the printer. The printhead carriage will move to the center of the printer. 2. Remove the packing tape from each of the latches on the carriage. 3. Remove a printhead from its packaging, then remove the protective cap and tape. NOTE: Take care not to touch the nozzles of the printhead. Keep the protective cap and tape so that you can replace them on the printhead, if you should ever need to remove it from the printer.
4. Look at the carriage, which has colored labels showing where the printhead for each color should be installed. Release and flip up the latch for the printhead you are installing. 5. Push the printhead firmly into the carriage. NOTE: You will not be able to push the printhead in place if it is in the wrong slot. 6. Flip the latch down over the printhead and secure it by pressing down. 7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 until all the printheads have been installed. 8. Close the top cover.
Load continuous media The following cutaway view shows the path of the media through the printer and important parts inside the printer. media roll loaded in spindle clamp that locks spindle in place (one on each side of the roll) lever to release frame frame that supports media roll pinch rollers manual cutter media sensor Media path through the printer The first time you set up the printer, load the continuous media provided with the printer.
2. Push and hold the green lever to lift up the frame that supports the media roll. Make sure you push the frame up to its highest level so that the pinch rollers (see the figure on page 8) are raised above the platen. 3. Push back the clamps (which are marked with green labels) at both sides of the frame. clamp 4. Remove the spindle from the frame, by lifting it slightly upwards and towards yourself.
5. Pull the green lock ring and the right side of the spindle off the central core. 6. Insert the spindle into the roll. The free end of the roll should hang off the front. 7. Replace the right side of the spindle and push it against the roll. If you can’t fit it back over the central core, rotate it slightly so that the notches on the two parts line up properly. Then replace the lock ring.
8. Place the spindle into the frame. The gear of the spindle should be on the left and the free end of the roll in front. 9. Slip the media loading tool over the free end of the roll. Align the media against the left side of the tool. 10. Reach inside the printer and push the green media width guide to the right.
11. Feed the loading tool through the opening above the rollers at the back of the printer. 12. Continue feeding the media in until it appears under the pinch rollers. Make sure the media runs under the Top-of-Form sensor (on the left, in front of the pinch rollers). 13. Finally, feed the media through the cutter.
14. Remove the media loading tool. 15. Make sure the edge of the media is lined up against the red alignment mark on the left. Check that the media has been fed correctly through the printer (steps 11 to 15) as shown below.
16. Move the media width guide against the right edge of the media. alignment arrow ruler Placement of media width guide • Pre-cut labels 4.0 green band on ruler alignment arrow • Continuous or tag media 4.0 green lever To position the media width guide correctly, you can make use of the alignment arrow and the green bands on the ruler.
ONLINE Feed Menu 19. Press the Feed button on the control panel. The printer will feed the media and correctly position it for printing. The control panel will show that the printer is now ONLINE . Run the printhead alignment procedure The automatic printhead alignment procedure must be performed during installation and whenever you load new printheads in the printer. This will ensure that all the printheads line up and maximize print quality.
Connect the printer to a computer To connect the printer to a single computer, use the USB connector at the back of the printer. NOTE: If the computer does not have a USB connector or the operating system does not support USB, connect the printer using a CAT5 cross-over cable as described in the next section. 1. Insert the USB cable into the USB connector at the back of the printer. 2. Connect the other end of the USB cable to your computer.
Connect the printer to a network To connect the printer to a network, use the 10BaseT Ethernet connector at the back of the printer. If connecting the printer directly to a single computer, use a CAT5 cross-over cable. 1. Insert the cable into the Ethernet connector at the back of the printer. 2. Connect the other end of the cable to the Ethernet port on your network hub or computer. 3. Set up the TCP/IP parameters for the printer. Contact your network administrator for the required parameters.
Enter TCP/IP parameters The TCP/IP parameters are entered using the printer’s control panel. On the control panel, press or to scroll through the menus; and press to select an option. Connecting to a single computer 1. When giving the printer an IP address, you may have to look at or change the IP setting of your computer, because the first three sets of digits in the IP address of the computer and printer must be the same. For example, the computer’s IP address could be 192.168.188.
Connecting to a network that requires a fixed IP address 1. Set up a fixed IP address (network): a. On the control panel, press the Menu button to enter the main menu. b. Select INTERFACE . c. Select TCPIP. d. Select MANUAL . e. Select IP ADDR . The default IP address will be displayed with the cursor under the first digit. • Press to scroll to the desired value and press to select it. The cursor will move to the next digit. • Repeat this step to complete the IP address.
Install the printer driver The printer driver works with Windows 98 and above (for detailed requirements, see page 94). Install the printer driver from the CD-ROM labeled ‘BarTender Label Printing Software, VIPColor Special Edition’. 1. Insert the CD-ROM into the drive. 2. From the setup screen, select Seagull Printer Drivers . 3. From the next screen, select Install Printer Driver. 4. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
You can also install the BarTender Label Printing Software which lets you design and print labels using various types of image files (including .bmp, .dxf, .img, .jpg, .pcx, .dcx, .png, and .tif). You may also use other Windows applications to design labels and use other types of image files. NOTE: VIPColor Technologies endeavours to test the driver with multiple software applications, but does not guarantee its error-free operation, and disclaims any liability resulting therefrom.
Set up email warnings (optional) If you are using an Ethernet connection, the printer can be set up to send out email messages to selected recipients when problems are encountered, so that action can be taken. • An email account must be set up for the printer. You will need to know the account name and password, as well as the POP3 and SMTP server address. • Email warnings must be enabled from the printer’s control panel (see step 1 below).
Chapter 2 Printing on Different Types of Media The printer supports a variety of label types and shapes, from die-cut labels to continuous media. For best operation, it is strongly recommended that you use the specially coated media types listed below. About color profiles Differences in the composition and thickness of different types of media require the printer to handle each type differently. For each media type that the printer supports, a color profile has been created.
Your label supplier can tell you which profile is best for your media. Load a new media roll The following cutaway view shows the path of the media through the printer and important parts inside the printer.
1. Open the printer’s top cover. 2. Push and hold the green lever to lift up the frame that supports the media roll. Make sure you push the frame up to its highest level so that the pinch rollers (see the figure on page 24) are raised above the platen. 3. Push back the clamps (which are marked with green labels) at both sides of the frame.
4. Remove the spindle from the frame, by lifting it slightly upwards and towards yourself. If you are replacing the media roll, gently pull the free end of the roll out of the printer. 5. Pull the green lock ring and the right side of the spindle off the central core. Slip the old media roll off the central core. 6. Insert the spindle into the new roll. The free end of the roll should hang off the front.
7. Replace the right side of the spindle and push it against the roll. If you can’t fit it back over the central core, rotate it slightly so that the notches on the two parts line up properly. Then replace the lock ring. 8. Place the spindle into the frame. The gear of the spindle should be on the left and the free end of the roll in front. 9. Slip the media loading tool over the free end of the roll. Align the media against the left side of the tool.
10. Reach inside the printer and push the green media width guide to the right. 11. Feed the loading tool through the opening above the rollers at the back of the printer. 12. Continue feeding the media in until it appears under the pinch rollers. Make sure the media runs under the Top-of-Form sensor (on the left, in front of the pinch rollers).
13. Finally, feed the media through the cutter. 14. Remove the media loading tool. 15. Make sure the edge of the media is lined up against the red alignment mark on the left.
Check that the media has been fed correctly through the printer (steps 11 to 15) as shown below. under the Top-of-Form sensor against the red alignment mark under the pinch rollers through the manual cutter alignment arrow ruler 30 PRINTING ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDIA 16. Move the media width guide against the right edge of the media.
Placement of media width guide green band on ruler • Pre-cut labels alignment arrow 4.0 • Continuous or tag media 4.0 green lever To position the media width guide correctly, you can make use of the alignment arrow and the green bands on the ruler. The diagram on the left illustrates the correct placement for 4” media: • For pre-cut labels, the alignment arrow should be against the right side of the green band at the 4” mark.
Set the media selector Check that the media selector is set according to the type of media (tag media or labels) loaded in the printer. 1. Flip open the access door at the front of the printer. 2. Push the media selector up for tag media and down for labels. 3. Close the access door. NOTE: If you change media types and find that the media selector print quality is diminished when printing on the new media type, run the automatic media calibration procedure described on page 85.
Barcode safe mode The VP2020 has a special Barcode safe mode which ensures that the printing of barcodes is optimized for the best readability. In this mode, the printer adjusts the way that it prints to produce better optimized barcodes. You may notice a reduction in the print speed when printing barcodes. To turn Barcode safe mode on, do the following: 1. On the printer’s control panel, – Press the Menu button to enter the main menu. – Select ADVANCED . – Select BARCODE SAFE MODE .
34 PRINTING ON DIFFERENT TYPES OF MEDIA
Chapter 3 Printer Control Panel The printer functions and settings that can be changed from the printer’s control panel include setting up optional accessories, changing consumables, and other service routines. Some of the printer settings may also be available in the printer driver.
Button/Light 36 Description Error light Turns on when errors occur. Power light Turns on when the power is turned on. Flashes when data is being received. Esc The leftmost button is the Esc button which is used to cancel the current function, for example, to cancel the current print job. When a function can be canceled, ‘Esc’ appears over the button. Feed Feeds a single label. Menu Enters the menu of printer options. Enter Selects an option on the menu or confirms an action.
Selecting printer options When the printer is ONLINE , press the Menu button to take the printer offline and enter the main menu of options. To select an option, use the or button to highlight the option and then press . PRINTHEAD MAINTENANCE CLEAN PRINTHEADS PRINT STATUS LABEL esc Press this To do this Esc Return to the previous menu. Move up or down through options in the current menu. (Enter) Select the current option, which will either bring you to a submenu or perform a function.
Main menu The printer options are organized in a hierarchy of menus. The options on the main menu are as follows: Option 38 Description PRINTHEAD MAINTENANCE Menu of options that let you replace and check the printheads. CLEAN PRINTHEADS Starts a cleaning cycle of the printheads. PRINT STATUS LABEL Prints a status label which is useful for troubleshooting. TEST Menu of test labels that you can print. This menu is not password protected. ADVANCED Menu of service facilities.
Selecting any of the options on the main menu displays a submenu (except for the CLEAN PRINTHEADS and PRINT STATUS LABEL options). The submenus and options are described in the following pages. Summary of submenus and options The following charts show the hierarchy of menus and submenus.
* For information about passwords, see page 50.
Submenus and options PRINTHEAD MAINTENANCE menu This shows a menu of options that let you replace and check the printheads. Option Description INSTALL/REPLACE Displays instructions for changing printheads. PRINTHEAD ALIGNMENT Runs the automatic alignment procedure for new printheads. Load a roll of 6” continuous media before running this procedure. CHECK Checks the printheads. LIGHT CLEAN Starts a light cleaning of the printheads. HEAVY CLEAN Starts a thorough cleaning of the printheads.
TEST menu This shows a menu of test labels that you can print. Option Description TEST PRINTS TEST PRINT A TEST PRINT B Select an option to print the predefined test labels. Load a roll of 6” continuous media before running this procedure. FONT EXAMPLE ARIAL ARIAL BOLD ARIAL BOLD ITALIC ... Displays a list of fonts that have been downloaded and are available in the printer. Select a font to print a sample.
The following is a sample status label: VIPColor VP2020 Diagnostic Page Model ID: VIPColor VP2020 Label Printer Main board firmware version: 3.0 built at April 02, 2004 11:38:41 -ROP Mech board firmware version: 07000396 Carriage board firmware version: 0010004A Printer serial number: SG2022302H Installed SDRAM size (byte): 67108864 Total # inches printed: 39684 Total # labels printed: 6614 IO information TCP/IP STATUS: READY Mac address (wired): 00:50:F7:10:01:2E IP address (wired): 192.168.188.
ADVANCED menu This shows a menu of service options. Option FACTORY DEFAULT READ METRICS 44 Description Changes all settings back to the factory defaults and clears the printer’s Flash and DRAM memory areas. [COLOR] PRINTHEAD [COLOR] CARTRIDGE [COLOR] PH CLEANER CARRIAGE PRINTER TOTAL CARTRIDGES TOTAL PRINTHEADS Displays list of items for which usage data is available.
Option Description FIRST LABEL MODE Stops the label from going to the cutter position after a print job, thereby preventing unwanted paper movement back and forth in between print jobs. When this option is off, the printer will position the paper for cutting if the next print job does not arrive within a predefined period. LABEL COUNTER When printing, displays the number of the current page on the control panel.
MAINTENANCE menu This shows a menu of maintenance options. Option Option CHANGE SERVICE STATION PRINTHEAD ALIGNMENT Lets you change the printhead cleaners. AUTO ALIGNMENT MANUAL ALIGNMENT STOCK CALIBRATION Description Runs the automatic alignment procedure for new printheads. Load a roll of 6” continuous media before starting this procedure. PRINT PATTERN 1 PRINT PATTERN 2 PLOT 1 PLOT 2 ... Runs the manual alignment procedure for printheads. Follow the instructions on page 82.
OPTIONS menu This shows the settings for optional accessories such as the automatic cutter. Option Description AUTO CUTTER Specifies if the automatic cutter is installed. SINGLE DISPENSE Specifies if single dispense mode is installed. MANUAL CUTTER Specifies if the manual cutter is installed. GPIO SETUP Starts or stops the operation of the GPIO (General Purpose Input/ Output) board.
COUNTRY CONFIG menu This menu lets you select the display language and unit of measure. Option LANGUAGE SELECTED ENGLISH* JAPANESE Lets you select the language display for the control panel. UNITS OF MEASURE INCHES* MM Lets you select the unit of measure used by the printer.
INTERFACE menu This menu shows the printer interface settings. Option ETHERNET DEFAULT TO CABLE TCPIP MANUAL Option Description Specifies whether to use the cable or wireless network connection. DNS IP ADDR SUBNET MASK GATEWAY Select MANUAL to enter settings manually, or select DHCP or BOOTP. DHCP BOOTP EMAIL Specifies whether the printer should send warning messages via email on encountering errors. Enter the email settings from the printer’s internal web pages.
PASSWORD menu This menu lets you change the level 1 and 2 passwords for the control panel. Description LEVEL 1 PASSWORD Lets you set the level 1 password. LEVEL 2 PASSWORD Lets you set the level 2 password. The two levels of passwords control access to different types of options. A level 1 password protects options that operators may need to access, while a level 2 password protects options not normally used in daily operations.
Chapter 4 Printer Internal Web Pages If your printer is on a network, you will be able to check its status and settings from a remote computer. This information is provided in the printer’s internal web pages, which you can log on to using a standard web browser. You can also set up the printer to send out email messages when problems occur, prompting the recipients to take action.
To log on and create a user: 1. Enter the printer’s IP address in your web browser. 2. In the dialog box that appears, enter ‘administrator’ for the User Name and ‘vipcolor’ for the Password. The Password Setup page will appear. 3. Enter a new administrator’s password in the VIP Web Password field and click Apply. The home page will appear. 4. Select Password in the left navigation bar. 5. Create a new User Name and corresponding User Password for general use. 6. When you are done, click Apply.
Home page Once your user name and password are accepted, the printer’s home page shows the current printer status, and provides links to other web pages in the left navigation bar. Option Description Password Displayed only if you log on as ‘administrator’. It allows you to change the web passwords, the level 1 and 2 passwords for accessing the printer’s control panel, and the printer name. Current Active Stock Shows the parameters for the media currently in the printer.
Option Description Set Up Email Warnings Allows you to specify who to send email messages to when problems occur. Country Configuration Allows you to select the language and unit of measure. Home Returns to the printer’s start page. VIPColor Website Links to the VIPColor Website. Contact Technical Support If available, this launches your email program for you to compose a message to your distributor’s technical support personnel.
When making changes to the passwords, follow these rules: Level 1 and Level 2 Password Maximum of 5 digits (using ‘1’, ‘2’, and ‘3’ only). VIP Web* and User Password Maximum of 8 alphanumeric characters. Printer name Maximum of 15 alphanumeric characters. * The VIP Web Password is used to access the printer’s internal web pages. Current Active Stock This option lets you verify the settings for the media in the printer before starting a print run.
Metrics This option shows the usage data for the ink cartridges, printheads, printhead cleaners, and mechanism. To view the data, 1. Select Metrics from the left navigation bar, then select an item. 2. Select the color, if applicable. For example, select Ink Cartridges, then select Cyan to see the metrics for the cyan ink cartridge, as shown in the following screen.
PRINTER INTERNAL WEB PAGES 57
Option Install This option shows which of the optional accessories have been installed in the printer, and the amount of available memory. From this page, you can edit the wireless Ethernet settings and check the SIMM jumper settings.
Specify wireless Ethernet settings When you install a wireless Ethernet card, be sure to enter the correct settings for the card. On the Option Install page, click the ‘Not installed’ hyperlink in the Wireless Ethernet field. This displays the following page: Enter the settings and click Apply to save. Refer to the user documentation provided with the wireless Ethernet card for information on the settings.
Check SIMM jumper settings On the Option Install page, click the hyperlink in the SIMM Size field to check the jumper settings.
Test Functions This option allows you to print test labels and to test a number of printer functions. Test Description Feed Feeds media through the printer. Barcode label Graphic label Print test labels. Load 6” media before running these tests. Check print head Check the printhead nozzles and display the test results. Carriage test Test the carriage. Service station test Test the service stations. Click on a test to run it.
Available Fonts This option shows the fonts that are currently loaded into the memory.
Set Up Email Warnings This option allows you to set up the printer to send email messages to selected recipients when any problems occur. You can specify up to three recipients. You can also add more details to the standard message sent by the printer. To do so, enter the text in the Warning Add On field. To enter or change the printer’s email settings (its email account, password, POP3 server and SMTP server), click the ‘Set up email properties’ link.
Set up email properties Fill in the fields and click Apply to save the settings.
Country Configuration This option lets you select the language and the unit of measure. Select from the drop-down lists and click Apply to save.
66 PRINTER INTERNAL WEB PAGES
Chapter 5 Changing Cartridges and Printheads The printer displays messages to warn you before an ink cartridge, printhead, or printhead cleaner needs to be replaced. While the printer will still be able to print, it is best to get replacements ready when you see these messages. NOTE: Handle all these consumables with care as ink spills may cause damage to the electronics of the printer and may stain.
Replace an ink cartridge Remove an ink cartridge 1. Push the ink cartridge in and slightly upwards. It will pop free, allowing you to remove it from the slot. Install an ink cartridge 1. Remove the ink cartridge from its packaging. 2. Push the ink cartridge firmly into the slot. Make sure you are installing the correct color cartridge. From left to right, the colors are magenta, yellow, cyan and black. If you are unable to push the cartridge fully into the slot, it is probably the wrong color for the slot.
Replace a printhead Each new printhead comes with a printhead cleaner. NOTE: Always replace the printhead cleaner together with the printhead. If the printhead cleaner is not replaced, it can affect the print quality and reduce the life of the printhead. Remove a printhead PRINTHEAD MAINTENANCE CLEAN PRINTHEADS PRINT STATUS LABEL esc INSTALL/REPLACE PRINTHEAD ALIGNMENT CHECK esc 1. On the control panel, – Press the Menu button to enter the main menu. – Select PRINTHEAD MAINTENANCE .
The printhead carriage will move to the center of the printer. green lever 3. For easier access, you may like to lift up the frame that supports the media roll. Push and hold the green lever on the frame to lift it. 4. Release and flip up the latch for the printhead to be replaced.
5. Lift the printhead out of the carriage by pulling the handle on its top. Install a new printhead 1. Remove the new printhead from its packaging, then remove the protective tape and cap. NOTE: Take care not to touch the nozzles of the printhead. Keep the protective cap and tape so that you can replace them on the printhead, if you should ever need to remove it from the printer. 2. Push the printhead firmly into the carriage.
3. Flip the latch down over the printhead and secure it by pressing down. 4. Close the printer’s top cover. This returns the carriage to the left side of the printer. 5. Every time you replace a printhead, always do the following as well: – Replace the printhead cleaner (described on the next page). – Run the printhead alignment procedure (described on page 81).
Replace a printhead cleaner Remove a printhead cleaner 1. Slide the lock to the right to release the access door. The service station will move forward automatically. 2. Push and hold the tab up to release the printhead cleaner and pull it out of the slot.
Install a printhead cleaner 1. Insert the new printhead cleaner into the slot and push it in firmly by its top. You should hear a click as it snaps into place. 2. Close the access door and slide the lock to the left to lock it.
Chapter 6 Troubleshooting This chapter provides solutions to some basic problems. Error messages on control panel The printer normally detects problems and displays messages for preventive actions or remedies. You can check the control panel for these messages. You can also set up the printer to send these messages via email to selected recipients. This is done through the printer’s internal web pages (see Set up email warnings (optional) on page 22).
The following table shows some other messages you may see on the display panel, as well as the action to take. Message Possible Reason Check that the media is loaded correctly. Media out • • • • • Error: Media Jam The media is jammed in the printer. Turn off the printer and clear the jam (refer to the instructions on page 77). Error: Carriage Jam The carriage is unable to move. Turn off the printer and clear the jam (refer the instructions on page 77).
If the carriage is unable to move If the media is crushed under the carriage and it is unable to move, follow these instructions to clear the jam. 1. Make sure you turn the printer off by pressing the Power button on the control panel. Then flip the Power switch at the back of the printer to the Off position. 2. Open the top cover of the printer. 3. Push and hold the green lever to lift up the frame that supports the media roll. 4. Cut the jammed media from the roll. 5.
5. Unscrew and remove the rear access door of the printer. 6. Reach beneath the rear media guide and push the green lever to the left. The rear media guide will drop down. 7. Remove the jammed media. green lever rear media guide 8. If any of the media remains inside the printer, pull the main media guide out of the printer. Note: If the media is stuck inside, gently try to remove it. If you are unable to do so, call your authorized reseller.
10. When you have cleared all the media from the printer, place the arms of the main media guide into the guide rails on both sides, and slide it into the printer. rail arms 11. Push the rear media guide up till it clicks into place. 12. Fit the hooks at the bottom of the access door into the corresponding slots on the printer. Close the door and tighten the screw. 13. Cut off any torn or crumpled media from the media roll and then reload it. See Load a new media roll on page 24.
Print quality problems This section describes the print quality problems you may see and the remedies. • Horizontal gaps, overlapping swaths, or slight changes in color between swaths can be seen in the printouts. horizontal gaps or overlaps occurring at regular intervals (0.85” or 0.425” apart) This may occur when a new type of media is used in the printer for the first time, and the actual thickness of the media differs from the expected standard.
• Straight lines do not print properly but seem to shift, like in the following example. Run the automatic printhead alignment procedure described below. If the problem persists, perform manual alignment as described on page 82. Adjustments and calibrations Printhead alignment Automatic alignment The automatic printhead alignment procedure must be performed whenever you load new printheads in the printer. Before you begin, load a roll of 6” Demandjet 200U continuous media in the printer.
Manual alignment Always run the auto printhead alignment before attempting manual alignment. If you are still not satisfied with the print results after the auto alignment procedure, then perform manual alignment as described below. Manual alignment uses a series of four test patterns or plots. You check the plots and make adjustments where necessary. When straight lines do not print properly, check and adjust Plot 4 (300 dpi bidirectional printing).
In the printout, the four plots will look similar to the following: Each plot consists of a number of colored bands. The squares in each color band are numbered -3 to 3 from left to right. In each color band, the lightest square should be at zero. If the lightest square is not at zero, change the value for that color. 3. Follow these instructions to change the values for a plot: – From the MANUAL ALIGNMENT submenu, select the plot (e.g. PLOT 1 ). – Select the color to be adjusted.
4. When you have finished making adjustments, select PRINT PATTERN 2 to print the following test pattern and check the result of the alignment. All the lines should print correctly.
Media calibration If you are using media for which a color profile is available, the printer is automatically calibrated to produce the best output on that media and you can now start printing. However, you will need to run the media calibration procedure when: • You import a color profile for a new media type, and you are using this media in the printer for the first time.
Automatic calibration Automatic calibration is normally only used to set up the printer after maintenance. 1. Load the media. • To set up the printer after maintenance, load a roll of 6” Demandjet 200U continuous media. • To set up the printer for one specific media type, load that media type. 2. On the control panel, – Press Menu to enter the main menu. – Select MAINTENANCE . – Select STOCK CALIBRATION . – Select AUTO STOCK CALIBRATION . 3. Cut the media when prompted.
5. Rotate the test strip clockwise and place it on the platen, in front of the paper sensor and against the red alignment mark. Make sure that it lies flat; if necessary, feed the front edge of the strip through the cutter. pinch rollers paper sensor alignment mark test strip 6. Close the top cover and let the printer complete the calibration procedure. A message on the control panel will inform you when the calibration is completed.
Printer maintenance It recommended that you clean the printer after every 20 rolls of media. • Clean ink and dust from the platen and rollers using a soft cloth. • If adhesive is present, use a soft cloth lightly moistened with isopropyl alcohol to remove it. Clean contacts on the printhead If the printer prompts you to clean the contacts on a printhead, remove it from the printer and use a dry cotton swab or soft lint-free cloth to gently clean the contacts. NOTE: Hold the printhead by its top.
Chapter 7 Optional Accessories The wireless LAN card is an optional accessory you can install in the VP2020 printer. The PCMCIA slot is at the back of the printer, between the USB and network connectors. Follow the instructions provided with the card to install it. You can also upgrade the printer memory: • SDRAM upgrade to 128 MB (DIMM) The amount of SDRAM determines the maximum size of the labels you can print. • Flash upgrade to 32 MB (SIMM) Flash memory is used for fonts and color profiles.
Expanding SDRAM 1. Turn the printer off and remove the power cable. 2. Unscrew and remove the rear access panel on the left. The top slot is for the DIMM and the bottom slot for the SIMM. 3. To remove the DIMM, press the socket clips outwards till the DIMM slides out of the socket. 4. Insert the new DIMM straight down into the socket. Press down firmly on both ends of the DIMM. Do not press near the middle of the DIMM as it could break. The socket clips should snap against the DIMM.
Expanding flash memory 1. Turn the printer off and remove the power cable. 2. Unscrew and remove the rear access panel on the left. The top slot is for the DIMM and the bottom slot of the SIMM. 3. Remove the SIMM from its packaging. 4. Align the notch at the side of the SIMM with the notch in the socket. 5. Hold the SIMM at a 30 degree angle and push it firmly into the slot. 6. Rotate the SIMM downwards till the clips at the side of the socket snap into place.
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Chapter 8 Printer Specifications Print technology Based upon HP inkjet technology CMYK scanning heads Printing language: HP PCL XL Printing modes 300 x 600 dpi or 600 x 600 dpi and barcode safe selectable Throughput Up to 50, 6” x 3” full-color labels per minute Up to 90, 6” x 3” monochrome labels per minute Label width 1.5” to 6.0” wide Image size Image size is dependant on print width, resolution and memory up to approx. 180 square inches.
Print media Media type Die cut labels Tag media Black mark media Label roll sizes Internal core cardboard: 3” (76 mm) diameter Maximum external roll size: 8” (203 mm) diameter Maximum width 6” Media thickness 7 mil to 11 mil Media loading Label roll loaded from the front of the printer Label roll protected from dust and pollutants Open paper path: visible media roll and printing path Fonts Character Fonts/Sets Auto font caching International character sets Downloaded fonts (TrueType) Bar Code Symb
Media dimensions and printable area The following diagram shows the dimensions of the media types that can be used in the printer. D E A E A E D F B G C H D Face of die-cut label (for transmissive sensor) Face of perforated tag media (for transmissive sensor) Rear of tag media (for reflective sensor) Dimension Minimum Maximum A Gap height 0.125” (3.2 mm) 5.00” (152.0 mm) B Left margin 0.05” (1.3 mm) 0.16” (4.0 mm) C Right margin 0.05” (1.
96 PRINTER SPECIFICATIONS
Index A accessing printer web pages 51 adhesive, removing 88 ADVANCED menu 44 aligning printheads 81 auto calibration 85 auto printhead alignment 81 B back view of printer vi barcode safe mode 33, 44 buttons on control panel 35 error messages on control panel Esc button 36 Ethernet connector 17 expanding flash memory 91 expanding SDRAM 90 76 F Feed button 36 flash memory expansion front view of printer v 91 H home page 53 C calibration for different media types 85 carriage is jammed 77 cartridges 4 i
media calibration 85 media jam 77 media path 24 media roll dimensions 95 media selector 32 media types 23 memory expansion bay vi memory upgrades 89 Menu button 36 metrics, viewing 56 N network connection 17 network settings 49, 59 O optional accessories 89 OPTIONS menu 47 P paper jam 77 paper path 24 paper types 23 parts of the printer v, 24 password for web page 54 PASSWORD menu 50 passwords for control panel 37, 50 Pause button 36 PCMCIA slot vi Power button 3, 36 power connector 3 Power light 36 powe
V view inside the printer 24 W warning via email 22 warnings via email 63 web page access to printer functions web page password 54 wireless Ethernet card 89 wireless Ethernet settings 59 51 99
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