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Epson LQ-2550 User Manual - Page 168

Some software designed only for printing on continuous forms will

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Setting up your software When you switch to cut sheet feeder fed paper from another paper feed system, you usually need to change the settings of your software program. Because of the physical requirements of feeding a single sheet of paper, sheet feeders always create an unprintable top and bottom margin on each sheet. To work properly, your software program needs to know how many printable lines are available on the page. Paper comes in many different sizes, and it is sometimes difficult to know exactly how many printable lines per page you have. When you run the self test for the cut sheet feeder, the LQ-2550 automatically counts and prints out the number of lines that are available on any size of paper. This is the number of lines you should use as the page length in your software setup. See the section on testing the printer in this chapter for details. In addition to the number of printable lines, which your software may refer to as page length or form length, you may need to set the top margin, the bottom margin, and the actual number of lines to be printed on the page. The cut sheet feeder for the LQ-2550 normally creates a two-line unprintable top margin. Therefore, if you want a total top margin of six lines (one inch), you should set the top margin in your software to four lines. The LQ-2550 sheet feeder usually creates an unprintable bottom margin of about three lines, so to create a total bottom margin of six lines (one inch), you should set the bottom margin in your software to three lines. With a total page length of 61 printable lines, for example, the number of printed lines per page would be 54 (9 inches). Some software designed only for printing on continuous forms will not use the Form Feed or ESC EM commands recommended for proper sheet feeder operation. This type of software may not have a sheet feeder setup mode or allow for margin settings, and it may only use Line Feeds to advance to the next form. Your sheet feeder can still work with most of these applications without any problems. Simply insert the paper you will be using into the sheet feeder, use the self test to print out the number of printable lines, then use that number of lines as the page length setting in your software. If you change paper sizes, repeat this process. Your sheet feeder will work as if it were feeding a continuous form. If your software does not allow you to set the page length, consult your software manufacturer. Using Printer Options 7-15

Section	Page
FRONT MATTER	1
TABLE OF CONTENTS	4
INTRODUCTION	6
Features	6
Options	7
About This Guide	8
Where to Get Help	9
CHAP 1-SETTING UP THE PRINTER	10
Unpacking the Printer	11
Removing the Protective Materials	11
Choosing a Place for the Printer	15
Assembling the Printer	16
Installing the Platen Knob	16
Installing the Ribbon Cartridge	18
Attaching the Paper Guide	21
Testing the Printer	24
Connecting to a Power Supply	24
Running the Self Test	25
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer	31
The Parallel Interface	31
The Serial Interface	33
Setting Up Your Application Software	36
Choosing from a Menu	37
CHAP 2-PAPER HANDLING	38
Using Single Sheets	39
Loading a Sheet	39
Reloading During Printing	42
Using Continuous Paper	42
Positioning your Continuous Paper Supply	42
Loading Continuous Paper	43
When You Have Finished Printing	50
Reversing the Paper to the Standby Position	51
Switching Between Continuous and Single Sheets	53
Switching to Single Sheets	53
Switching Back to Continuous Paper	56
Printing on Special Paper	59
Multi-Part Forms	59
Labels	60
Envelopes	63
CHAP 3-USING THE PRINTER	65
Operating the Control Panel	66
The Display	66
The Lights	67
The Buttons	68
Other Control Panel Features	72
SelecType Settings	72
Using SelecType	74
Selecting a Main Menu Mode	76
LOAD MACRO	77
CHANGE MACRO	79
CHANGE DEFAULTS	82
PRINT OUT SETTINGS	87
CLEAR OUT MACROS	88
Page Length	90
Skip Over Perforation	92
Setting the Loading Position	94
Adjusting the Loading Position	94
Short Tear-Off	95
Selecting Typestyles	97
Fonts	98
Pitch	101
Condensed Mode	102
Choosing an International Character Set	103
Choosing a Character Table	104
CHAP 4-USING SOFTWARE AND GRAPHICS	106
Using the LQ-2550 With Application Programs	107
Using Printer Selection Menus	107
A Quick Test	107
Using Word Processors	108
Using Spreadsheets	108
Using Graphics Software	109
Computer-Printer Communication	110
Escape Sequences	111
Printer Commands	111
Using the Command Summary	112
Sending Printer Commands from Within Your Software Program	112
Enhancing Your Printing	112
Character Size	113
Special Effects and Emphasis	113
Selecting Typestyles with Master Select	116
Graphics	118
The Print Head	118
Dot Pattern	119
Color Graphics	119
Twenty-Four-Pin Graphics	120
Pin Labels	120
The Graphics Command	121
Column Reservation Numbers	122
A Simple Graphics Program	123
Using Hand-Calculated	123
Individual Graphics Option Commands	127
The Reassigning Command	127
User-Defined Characters	128
Designing Your Characters	128
Design Grids	129
Data Numbers	131
Sending Information to Your Printer	132
Printing User-Defined Characters	134
Copying ROM Characters to RAM	135
Letter Quality Characters	135
Proportional Mode Characters	136
Superscripts and Subscripts	136
Mixing Print Styles	137
CHAP 5-MAINTENANCE AND TRANSPORTATION	139
Cleaning the Printer	140
Replacing the Ribbon	141
Transporting the Printer	145
CHAP 6-TROUBLESHOOTING	148
Troubleshooting	149
Problems and Solutions	149
The Printer Does Not Print	149
The Printer Stops Printing	149
The Printout is Spaced Incorrectly	150
The Printout is Faint or Uneven	150
The Printout is Not what You Expect	151
Single Sheets Do Not Feed Properly	151
Continuous Paper Does Not Feed Properly	151
Cut Sheet Feeder Does Not Load Paper Correctly	152
The Short Tear-Off Feature Does Not Work Properly	152
Color Printing Is Not What You Expect	152
Data Dump Mode	153
CHAP 7-USING PRINTER OPTIONS	154
The Cut Sheet Feeder	155
Installation	155
Loading Paper	159
Testing the Printer In The Cut Sheet Feeder Mode	162
Loading Envelopes	164
Using the Cut Sheet Feeder	166
Switching between the Cut Sheet Feeder and Continuous Paper	170
Loading Single Sheets	171
Removing The Cut Sheet Feeder	173
The Pull Tractor	174
Installation	174
Loading Paper	177
Removing the Pull Tractor	184
Interface Boards	186
Choosing an Interface	186
Compatible Interfaces	186
Installing the Interface Board	187
The Multi-Font Module	198
Installation	198
Selecting a Font	200
CHAP 8-COMMAND SUMMARY	201
Commands in Numerical Order	205
Commands Arranged by Topic	208
Printer Operation	208
MSB Control	211
Data Control	212
Vertical Motion	213
Horizontal Motion	218
Overall Printing Style	221
Print Size and Character Width	223
Print Enhancement	227
Word Processing	230
Character Tables	231
User Defined Characters	232
Graphics	234
APPENDIX A-TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS	237
Printer Specifications	238
Double-Bin Cut Sheet Feeder (Optional)	242
Interface Specifications	245
Initialization	249
Default Settings	250
GLOSSARY	259

Match case Limit results 1 per page

Setting up your software

When you switch to cut sheet feeder fed paper from another paper feed

system, you usually need to change the settings of your software

program. Because of the physical requirements of feeding a single sheet

of paper, sheet feeders always create an unprintable top and bottom

margin on each sheet. To work properly, your software program needs to

know how many printable lines are available on the page.

Paper comes in many different sizes, and it is sometimes difficult to know

exactly how many printable lines per page you have. When you run the self

test for the cut sheet feeder, the LQ-2550 automatically counts and prints

out the number of lines that are available on any size of paper. This is the

number of lines you should use as the page length in your software setup.

See the section on testing the printer in this chapter for details.

In addition to the number of printable lines, which your software may refer

to as page length or form length, you may need to set the top margin, the

bottom margin, and the actual number of lines to be printed on the page.

The cut sheet feeder for the LQ-2550 normally creates a two-line unprintable

top margin. Therefore, if you want a total top margin of six lines (one

inch), you should set the top margin in your software to four lines. The

LQ-2550 sheet feeder usually creates an unprintable bottom margin of about

three lines, so to create a total bottom margin of six lines (one inch), you

should set the bottom margin in your software to three lines. With a total

page length of 61 printable lines, for example, the number of printed lines

per page would be 54 (9 inches).

Some software designed only for printing on continuous forms will not

use the Form Feed or ESC EM commands recommended for proper sheet

feeder operation. This type of software may not have a sheet feeder

setup mode or allow for margin settings, and it may only use Line Feeds

to advance to the next form. Your sheet feeder can still work with most

of these applications without any problems. Simply insert the paper you

will be using into the sheet feeder, use the self test to print out the

number of printable lines, then use that number of lines as the page

length setting in your software. If you change paper sizes, repeat this

process. Your sheet feeder will work as if it were feeding a continuous

form. If your software does not allow you to set the page length, consult

your software manufacturer.

Using Printer Options

7-15