Epson LQ-2080

What is the difference between the LQ-2070 and the LQ-2080?

The LQ-2080 is an improved model that provides better speed and capacity. The high speed draft print mode is 25% faster and the LQ-2080 allows supports 5 part forms (original +4) compared to the LQ-2070's 4 part form support.

My printer will not power-on at all when I connect the parallel cable. What should I do?

Disconnect the cable from the back of the printer and see if the power comes on. If the printer turns on after disconnecting the cable, you probably have a cable problem. Try a different cable, making sure that it is fully-shielded and preferably six-feet or less in length. If a different cable still has the same problem, try "masking" pin 31 on the cable connector that attaches to the printer. If you decide to mask pin 31, use masking or electrical tape.

Why does my printer print garbage from MS-DOS and Windows?

When a printer prints garbage, it usually indicates a faulty cable or a loose connection. Power OFF your printer and computer. Disconnect and reconnect the cable on the printer and computer. Once the cable has been reconnected, power the printer and computer back ON. Try printing from MS-DOS. If you are still getting garbage, change the cable. We recommend getting a fully shielded cable, preferably 6 feet or less in length. If you are still experiencing problems after changing your cable, you may have a computer or printer port issue. If you take the cable and printer to another computer and it works fine, have your computer's port checked by an authorized dealer. If it still gives you garbage from another computer, have the printer taken in to be serviced.

My printer prints fine from MS-DOS. Why am I getting garbage only in Windows?

If you have already reconnected the cable on the computer and the printer, changed to another cable, and are positive you are using a fully-shielded parallel cable, chances are that you are having a conflict in Windows. The Print Manager or the printer driver usually causes the conflict in Windows. Save your work, then exit Windows (this will clear the Print Manager of any pending print jobs). Go back into Windows and verify the printer driver that has been selected is correct. To verify the driver in Windows 3.x, go to the Control Panel and choose Printers. For Windows 95 or 98, click on Start, go to Settings, choose Printers. Make sure that the driver you have selected as your default printer is compatible. Try printing again. If you are still getting garbage, disable the Windows Print Manager. In Windows 3.x, go to the Control Panel, choose Printers, and remove the "x" from the box in front of Use Print Manager, then click Close. For Windows 95 or 98, click Start, go to Settings, choose Printers, point to the default printer then right click once on your mouse. Select Properties, go to the Details tab, click on the Spool Settings button, and choose the option "Print directly to the printer". Click OK to exit the Properties window, click OK again to save the new setting, exit the Printers window, then restart Windows 95 or 98. Try printing again. If this does not resolve your problem, take the cable and printer to another computer to determine if the problem is hardware related. If the printer prints fine from another computer, have your computer's port tested.

Why won't the printer print serially from my PC?

If you are using a straight through modem cable, change the cable to a null modem cable (pins 2 and 3 are reversed). If you are already using a null modem cable, ensure that the Default Settings for the serial port on the printer match the settings on your computer. There is always the possibility of a loose connection or a bad cable. Disconnect and reconnect the cable on the PC and the printer and try printing again. If you are still experiencing difficulty, try a different cable or take the printer to another computer to see if the computer's port is malfunctioning.

Why won't my printer print bidirectional in Windows?

Since Windows is a graphic environment, the drivers are set to print unidirectional for better print quality. If you must print bidirectional, you can use the EPSON Scalable Font driver. The Scalable Font driver is available from the EPSON Internet Website.

When I try printing a Custom or User Defined paper size from Windows the printer prints the first page, then ejects about a page and a half and starts to print the second page. How can I set the printer to the correct paper length?

If you are in Windows 3.x or Windows 95 or 98 using the ESC/P2 printer driver, you will not be able to choose a User Defined page size. The ESC/P2 drivers do not support User Defined page sizes.To use a User Defined page size, you will need to change your printer driver to an ESC/P printer driver such as the LQ-1050, LQ-1010, LQ-2550, LQ-2500, or the LQ-1000. If you are in Windows 95 or 98, you can use Microsoft's LQ-1070+ ESC/P2 printer driver. The Windows 95 or 98 ESC/P2 drivers do support User Defined sizes. The above procedures apply any time you specify a User Defined page size such as checks, small envelopes, or sheet fed labels, to name a few.

When I print from Windows and I cancel the job on my computer screen, the printing status window goes away and the job is canceled, but none of the buttons on my printer's control panel work. How do I clear the printer?

Simply turn the printer OFF to clear the buffer, then turn the printer back ON to initialize it again. Hit the Load/Eject button to feed the paper out of the printer. The printer is now ready to receive another print job.

Can I access the printer's front panel fonts from Windows?

You can access the majority of resident printer fonts from Windows if you are using the LQ-1070+ Scalable font driver. Drivers can be downloaded from the EPSON Website.

What driver should I choose in my MS-DOS program?

Choose from any of the following printer drivers: LQ-2170, LQ-2070, LQ-2080, LQ-570+/LQ-1070+, Action Printer 5000+, Action Printer 5000, LQ-870/1170, LQ-850+/1050+, LQ-850/1050, LQ-510/550/1010, LQ-670, LQ-200, LQ-500, LQ-860+, LQ-2550, LQ-2500, LQ-800/1000, LQ-1500.

Can I connect this to an Apple Macintosh computer?

You may be able to connect the parallel port of the printer to an Apple Macintosh using a "Grappler" or "PowerPrint". Grappler is manufactured by Orange Micro, Inc. PowerPrint is manufactured by GDT Softworks, Inc.

Can I connect this printer to IBM mainframe (IBM 3270) and IBM minicomputer (AS/400 or System 3X) environments?

Yes, you can. For IBM mainframe environments, you can purchase an optional Type-B Coax interface card (C823141) which allows direct connectivity and emulates IBM printer models: 3287, 3268, 4214-1, and 4224 (non IPDS). For direct connectivity to IBM minicomputer environments emulating IBM printer models: 4210, 4214, 5225, 5224, 5256, 5219, and 3812, you will need the optional Type-B Twinax interface card (C823151).

Will this printer emulate an IBM Proprinter?

Yes, the printer has an IBM emulation, selectable through the Default Settings mode.

Will this printer emulate an IBM printer?

Yes it has built-in IBM emulation. IBM emulation must be set within the printer's Default Settings. Enter the Default Settings mode (Condensed + Power-On) and select IBM 2391 plus emulation in the Software option. Turn the printer OFF and back ON to enable the new setting.

What is the recommended duty cycle for the printer?

The specification recommended is 25 percent. Epson America's definition of a 25 percent duty cycle stands for the printer printing (not idle) for two hours per day based on an eight hour day at 22 days per month.

Why does the printer stop or pause in the middle of a print job?

The printer has a built-in sensor that monitors the temperature of the print head. When the print head begins to get too hot, the printer may pause or slow down the speed of the print head unit to ensure that the print head does not overheat. If the print head begins to overheat, the thermistor will stop the print head completely until it has cooled down. Once the print head has sufficiently cooled down, the printer will resume the print job. Another reason for the printer to pause or stop can be that the printer is waiting for more data or is in the middle of processing data already received.

What are the most commonly used escape codes?

Some commonly used escape codes include (in decimal values) - Reset (27, 64); Set page length in lines (27, 67, n - where n is a number from 1 to 127); Carriage return (13); Line feed (10); Form feed (12); Select 1/8-inch line spacing (27, 48); 10 cpi (27, 80); 12 cpi (27, 77); Select bold font (27, 69); Cancel bold font (27, 70); Select italic font (27, 52); Cancel italic font (27, 53); Turn underline on/off (27, 45, n - where n equals 49=ON or 48=OFF); Select condensed print (15); Cancel condensed print (18). For more escape codes, please refer to the Command Summary of your User's Manual. If you need to use advanced escape codes for programming purposes, you can purchase an ESC/P Reference Manual from EPSON Accessories.

What is SmartPark?

SmartPark is an advanced paper handling feature. SmartPark allows consecutive use of continuous paper and single sheets without having to remove the continuous tractor paper. It parks the current paper choice out of the way, while positioning another for printing. The SmartPark feature is not available when using the printer in pull tractor position.

What is paper parking?

Paper parking allows the use of a single sheet or a cut-sheet feeder without having to remove the continuous forms. This feature is selected via the printer's control panel buttons.

What is short form tear-off for?

The short form tear-off feature automatically feeds the perforation of continuous paper to the tear-off position of the top cover when printing is complete. When printing, the paper feeds back to the top-of-form loading position.

When printing a multiple page document on single sheets, the first page prints correctly, but the pages after start printing too low.

The difference in print position is usually caused by the page length setting in the software application program. Most applications have a default page length of 66 lines per page when using 11" continuous paper. When using single sheets, the printer automatically provides a small top and bottom margin. Since the top and bottom margins are non-printable areas, the maximum number of lines per page is reduced from 66 to 61 lines per page. Many applications have an option to change the number of lines per page. You should change the number of lines per page to 61. If the program offers a selection for cut-sheet feeder, change the paper type to cut-sheet feeder.

When printing from MS-DOS applications, I'm getting italic characters instead of lines.

To print lines instead of characters, the printer needs to be in graphics mode. Select a graphics character table (PC437). To switch to PC437, enter your Default Settings mode and select character table PC437.

I'm printing serial, my baud rate is at 9600, and intermittently the printer will lose data. What can I do to correct this?

If you are using a non-buffered serial interface board and XON/XOFF is enabled, the XOFF signal may not reach the printer in time to delay data transmission that would result in an overflow and loss of data. If you can use a DTR setting, change XON/XOFF to DTR. If you must use XON/XOFF, try decreasing the baud rate. Another option would be to purchase a 32KB buffered serial interface card (C823071). The buffered serial interface has a flag reset timing, which sets aside additional buffer space to catch the data overflow. The flag reset timing feature settings are selectable through dip switches on the serial interface card.

When I turn my printer on, the paper feeds through about one and a half pages, then stops. I hit the Load/Eject button and it feeds more paper instead of ejecting backwards. Why won't it go to the right top-of-form position?

Check the front panel to see if the Bin 1 or Bin 2 lights are on. If the light sequence for Bin 1 or Bin 2 are is, turn the printer OFF and manually eject the continuous feed paper. Reinstall the paper on the tractor unit. Move the paper release lever on the right side of the printer all the forward, then all the way to the back. Move the lever forward and backward five times, then move it into the second position from the rear of the printer (for front push and front push/pull tractor) or into the third position from the rear of the printer (for rear push and rear push/pull tractor). Turn the printer back ON. The printer should initialize properly and both Bin lights should be off. If you are still having problems, repeat the above steps. If the problem still persists, have the printer taken in to be serviced.

I was printing labels and one of the labels peeled off. Now my paper won't feed. Can I remove the platen to get the label out?

No, you cannot remove the platen from the printer. If you press the LF/FF button and the label does not appear on the platen for you to remove, you will need to take the printer in to be serviced. When printing labels, it is recommended that you only print with a pull tractor. Labels have a tendency to curl and peel off underneath the platen when being fed through the rear push tractor.

How do you select bar codes on my printer?

The eight built-in bar codes are only selectable through software using an ESC code sequence. The built-in bar codes include: EAN-13, EAN-8, Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 39, Code 128, and POSTNET.

What is the "Others" options on the front control panel font selection list?

The six fonts that are on the front control panel can be selected through the software driver in Windows or by pushing the font button on the front of the printer when using an MS-DOS based application. If you choose the "Others" option, you will be choosing the font that is selected in the Default Settings of the printer. These "Others" fonts can only be accessed through the Default Settings mode. The fonts that are included in the Others category are: OCR-B, Orator, Orator-S, Script C, Roman T, and Sans Serif H.

What is micro-adjustment used for?

The micro-adjustment feature allows you to make fine top-of-form adjustments and short form tear-off position adjustments in increments of 1/360th of an inch. The printer remembers adjustments made to continuous paper, even after the printer is turned off.

The printer starts printing too far down the page. Should I adjust the loading position with the knob on the right side of the printer?

No, do not use the knob on the right side of the printer to adjust the top-of-form (TOF). The knob should only be used if there is a paper jam and there is no power to the printer. To adjust the TOF, there is a feature called Micro Adjust. This feature allows you to adjust the TOF position in increments of 1/360th of an inch. To use this feature, load the paper into the printer. Hold down the Pause button until the printer beeps once (about 3-5 seconds) and the Pause light begins to flash. Use the LF/FF button to Microfeed the paper backward or the LOAD/EJECT button to Microfeed the paper forward. Once you have the TOF position set where you want it, press the Pause button again to exit the Micro Adjust mode. The printer will remember the TOF setting and will position the print head accordingly for the next page. For more information on adjusting the page setting, please refer to your User's Guide.

There is paper loaded on the tractor unit, but the printer beeps three times. Why won't the printer load paper?

If you are using letter size (8.5" x 11") paper, make sure the paper is loaded over to the left side of the printer and the paper release lever is in the correct position. If the paper sensor(located on the left side of the printer) does not sense that there is paper loaded, the printer will not operate properly.

I'm trying to print on single sheets. My printer beeps three times, but I have paper loaded in the single sheet feeder. What's wrong?

The paper may not have been pushed in far enough to come in contact with the paper sensor or the paper may be loaded too far to the right of the printer. Make sure the left paper guide on the single sheet feeder is locked into place to the right of the arrow, check to see that the paper release lever is pushed all the way to the back of the printer, reinstall the paper, and move the right paper guide so that it is flush against the right side of the paper. Push the paper in until it meets resistance. After a few seconds, the printer should automatically load the paper into the printer.

What are the default dip switch settings?

The printer does not use dip switches. The printer has a Default Setting mode (Condensed + Power-On) to change options in the printer. The printer's control panel buttons change options in the printer's Default Setting mode. For detailed information on changing the default settings, please refer to your User's Guide.

Can I use the platen knob to load and adjust paper?

No, the platen knob is not to be used to load or adjust paper. The knob should only be used to clear paper jams after the printer has been turned off. Use the Load/Eject button to load or remove paper and the Microfeed feature to adjust the top-of-form position of the paper.