Epson EPL-8000

What is the rated print speed and resolution for the EPL-8000?

The EPL-8000 print speed is up to ten (10) pages per minute (PPM) when using letter-size paper, and the resolution is 300 x 300 dots-per-inch (dpi).

How many resident fonts are in the EPL-8000 and are they scalable (PCL-5)?

The EPL-8000 has 13 scalable fonts and 14 bitmapped fonts in HP emulation.

From a cold start, what is the warm-up time on the EPL-8000?

The warm-up time from cold start is approximately 70 seconds.

What printer operating modes are built-in the EPL-8000?

There are three (3) built-in operating modes:

1. HP LaserJet Series III emulation (PCL-5).
2. Epson ESC/P 24-pin printer emulation (LQ-2500).
3. Epson ESC/P 9-pin printer emulation (FX-86e/286e).

How much memory comes standard with the EPL-8000?

The EPL-8000 comes standard with 1MB of memory.

Is it possible to add chips to the main board of the EPL-8000 to expand the memory?

Yes, the 256K X 4 memory chips may be added to the main board to expand the memory of the EPL-8000 up to 2MB. The EPL-8000 memory may be further expanded to a maximum of 7.5MB by installing a 0KB memory expansion board.

What type of chips can be installed on the 0KB memory expansion board?

The 0KB memory expansion board has locations that will accommodate four sets of DRAM memory chips. Each set contains four chips. The board will accept two types of DRAM chips:

1. 256K x 4 bit, 80 nanosecond chips (4 of these constitute a .5MB chip set)
2. 1MB x 4 bit, 80 nanosecond chips (4 of these constitute a 2MB chip set)

Note: The Epson Accessories Department sells both types of RAMS in sets (part numbers RAM-5A and RAM-20A).

Can these chips be mixed, if so, what are the possible combinations and locations on the 0KB memory expansion board?

The chip sets can be mixed as long as they are filled in alphabetical order (sector A, then, sector B, and so on) onto the 0KB memory expansion board. The Dip switches must be set to correspond to the type of chip set installed.

What interface ports are built-in the EPL-8000?

The EPL-8000 has two (2) of the most commonly used interface ports built-in:

1. Centronics Parallel
2. RS-232C or RS-422 Serial

The EPL-8000 also has an additional slot for the EPSON "B" Type interfaces.

Will the internal serial port accept 7 or 8 bit word length?

Through the control panel, in SelecType Level 2, either 7 or 8 bit word length can be selected.

What is the rated life of the consumable items?

Using letter or A4-size paper with 5% toner coverage of the sheet, the rated life for the Long Life Imaging Cartridge is 8,000 pages. The Ozone Filter will last six months.

What is the difference between the EPL-7000/7500 Imaging Cartridge and the EPL-8000 Long Life Imaging Cartridge?

The EPL-8000 Long Life Cartridge has additional toner which equates into 2000 additional pages. Otherwise, the two Imaging Cartridges are functionally the same.

Why does the EPL-8000 have both card slots (A) and (B), and a cartridge slot (C)?

The card slots are for Epson identity cards. In the future, the Adobe PostScript identity card will work in this slot. The cartridge slot is for HP-compatible font cartridges. Identity cartridges for HP printers will not work in this slot.

What are the paper handling capacities of the input tray, output tray and optional equipment?

The paper capacities, using standard 20 lb. paper, are listed below:

1. Input Paper Cassette Tray (Standard) - 250 sheets
2. Lower Paper Tray (Optional) - 250 sheets
3. Legal Paper Cassette Tray (Optional) - 250 sheets
4. Face-down Exit Tray (Standard) - 150 sheets
5. Face-up Output Tray (Optional) - 50 sheets
6. Manual Feed Tray (Standard) - Single sheets

How does the automatic interface switching work?

Unlike conventional printers, the EPL-8000 can receive print jobs from either the parallel, serial or optional ports. This means that with an optional interface installed, three computers can automatically share the EPL-8000 when they are each connected to a separate port. It is not necessary to connect the EPL-8000 through a network or switchbox to activate the switching of the three ports. Also, no control panel functions need to be made. Optional emulations will require more memory.

The printer can receive data from one interface while printing data from the other interface. The first job received is the first to print. Each job prints completely before another begins printing.

Can I get a print out of the current settings of the printer?

Yes, to print the Status Sheet follow the steps below:

1. Press the SelecType button to enter Level 1.
2. Press the down arrow button (Feed/Manual) until "Status Sheet" appears on the display screen.
3. Press the right arrow button (On Line) twice to activate the "Status Sheet".
4. After the page prints, press the left arrow button (SelecType) twice to return the unit to an on-line condition.

Is there a separate "Font Sample" print of the internal fonts and cartridge fonts?

Yes, to print the "Font Sample", follow the steps below:

1. Press the SelecType button to enter Level 1.
2. Press the down arrow button (Feed/Manual) until "Font Sample" appears on the display screen.
3. Press the right arrow button (On Line) twice to activate the "Font Sample".
4. After the page prints, press the left arrow button (SelecType) twice to return the unit to an on-line condition.

If a "FEED JAM" message is displayed when the EPL-8000 is first powered up, how can the problem be corrected?

In most cases, the "FEED JAM" error can be corrected by following the steps below:

1. With the power on, open the printer cover and remove and any paper that is in the printer.
2. Close the printer cover.
3. Allow the printer to complete the initialization.

How do I set the EPL-8000 back to the factory default settings?

1. Press the ON LINE button to take the printer off-line.
2. Press and hold the Reset/Copy End button until "INITIALIZE" appears on the LCD display, then release the button.

If the print density seems too dark or too light, is there a way to control it?

The print density is controllable by turning the small green print density control knob, which is located inside the EPL-8000 on the right side.

What printer driver selection should I choose in my software programs when using the EPL-8000 in the HP mode?

The proper printer driver selections are listed below in order of preference.

• HP LaserJet IIIsi
• HP LaserJet IIIP
• HP LaserJet Series III
• HP LaserJet IIP
• HP LaserJet Series II
• HP LaserJet Plus
• HP LaserJet 500

Won't print full page or "Page Buffer Full"

The "Page Buffer Full" message or incomplete page printing happens most often when printing spreadsheets or large graphic files. This indicates there is not enough RAM memory in the printer to process the whole page. This can be demonstrated by changing the printer resolution in the Print menu to a lower number, for example: 150 dpi instead of 300 dpi. If the complete page prints or most of the page then the problem is due to inadequate memory resources in the printer.

You can either decrease the current print driver's resolution to 150 dpi or lower (this options is found under GRAPHICS) or you can install more memory in the printer.

Stops printing and "Continue" lights

This is normal when trying to print on odd size and small documents within the printer specifications without the AUTO CONTINUE feature turned on. The printer will stall momentarily, and you will have to press the CONTINUE button after each page. It also sometimes occurs if paper misfeeds and more than one sheet is fed at one time. To avoid having to press Continue you can turn the AUTO CONTINUE feature on.

• Enabling the AUTO CONTINUE feature on the printer.
• Press the SELECT TYPE LEVEL 2 button.
• Press the CONTINUE button until you reach AUTO CONTINUE OFF>
• Press the FEED button until AUTO CONTINUE OFF >SET.
• Press the COPY END button until AUTO CONTINUE ON>SET.
• Press the FEED button until AUTO CONTINUE ON>.
• Press the INITIALIZE RESET (you won't see any change, but the printer knows) button, then press ON-LINE.

Poor print quality

If print quality has declined, please read through the troubleshooting section of your printer user's manual as it has important instructions on how to handle and clean the various components and locations of these items.

These are a few important things to check in a laser printer which can affect print quality.

• Print density adjustment may cause print to be too light or dark/dirty background if adjusted too low or too high.
• Printer components may be dirty with spilled toner inside printer.
• Transfer charger wire may be broken or dirty and need cleaning.
• Glass lens on print head may be dirty and require cleaning.
• Cleaning pad may need replacing.
• Toner may be low.
• Imaging cartridge or drum may need replacing.

If, after cleaning or replacing the above items, print quality has not improved, the printer should be inspected or serviced by an Epson authorized servicer.

Windows 95 printing problem

Epson laser printers emulate HP printers, so if the Epson printer model is not listed among the Windows driver choices, you need to use the appropriate HP printer driver. Since you are using Windows 95, you should install the printer's emulation which is the HPLJ2 printer driver (32-bit).

There are three changes that you will need to make.

• Go to the HPLJII properties section, go to the tab called, "GRAPHICS" select the option called, "DITHERING." Under this option select "ERROR DIFFUSION."
• Under the tab called, "FONTS." Go to "TRUE TYPE FONTS." Select on this menu, the option called, "PRINT TRUE TYPE AS GRAPHICS."
• Make sure that the port settings are set to LPT1, NORMAL, STANDARD, bi-directional or SPP only. The printer does not support ECP or EPP. Any changes to your printer port will have to be done in your system's BIOS. Refer to you Windows 95 manual or contact your computer vendor for assistance.

Error Messages

A C0002, C0003 or C9999 error usually occurs if the printer cannot understand an instruction. So the problem could be a corrupted or wrong driver sending wrong instructions, in this case we would recommend reinstalling the correct driver. Do you use any non Windows applications where there is no problem or is the problem consistant to only one application or document in Windows? This would indicated the printer hardware is not the problem. Otherwise there could be something wrong with the printer if it is not understanding a valid instruction. On the EPL-7000 the C9999 error when printing in landscape mode can be solved by using the HPII driver rather than the HPIIP driver.

The C0004 error is a controller error or could also be caused by a failing fusing unit. If you are seeing this error at power up, then you are experiencing a hardware problem with the printer. If this is the case you will need to have the printer serviced at an Epson authorized service center. If the error message appears on the LCD when it is in a process of printing or receiving the data, then what you may be experiencing is a driver corruption, reinstalling the correct driver may help.

The C0008 error message means Privilege Violation. Your software application is sending a message or a code to the printer that it is not understanding. Make sure you have the correct driver installed.

@PJL printing AT top of page

Use the HPLJIIIP driver and set up your system as follows:

• From the Desktop click Start, Settings, then Printers
• Highlight the HP LaserJet IIIP
• Click on File then Properties
• Click on the Details tab
• Click on Port settings (located in the lower right side of the window)
• Disable "check port state before printing" and click OK
• Click on Spool Settings and select "print directly to printer" and click OK
• OK the Properties, close Printers, restart the computer
• Once back in Windows 95' try and print a document from the Wordpad or Notepad programs (located in accessories).