HP (Hewlett-Packard) FlexJet E manual

User Guide Io line F le xJ et E & Stu di oJ et Printe r s[...]

Trademarks Ioline, StudioJet and FlexJet E printers are trademarks of Ioline Corporation. HP is a trademark of the Hewlett-Packard Company. Other product names, logos, designs, titles, words or phrases mentioned within this publication may be trademarks, service marks, or trade names of Ioline Corporation or other entities and may be registered in [...]

User Guide Io line F le xJ et E Printe r s[...]

T ab le o f Co ntents Saf et y & C autio ns V isual Re fe ren ce Guide Chapte r 1 Ov er view Getting Started ................................................................................................. 1 5 Ho w The Ioline FlexJet E and StudioJ et printers W ork ................................ 1 6 Chapte r 2 Installation Printer Assembl y [...]

Contr ol Center Menu Bar Featur es ............................................................... 2 7 File ........................................................................................................................................... 2 7 Communications ...................................................................................[...]

Cartridge Maintenance and Handling ............................................................ 4 6 Check Cartridges ................................................................................................................. 4 6 Automatic Cleaning Pr ocedure .....................................................................................[...]

NO TES[...]

NO TES[...]

The Ioline FlexJet E and StudioJet printers have many fast moving components. Please read and follow these safety guidelines before beginning operation of the printer: n Do not try to repair the machine without factory authoriza- tion. Only qualied service personnel should attempt any disassembly or access to internal components. If external mec[...]

The Ioline FlexJet E Printer Fr ont View . x A. Left End Cov er B. Right End Cov er C. T ak e-up Motor D. Stand Lev eling Foot E. Feed Roll F. T ak e-up Shaft G. Feed Shaft H. Dancer Bar I. Stand AA. P ower Switch BB. Serial P ort CC . USB P or t KEY D A B E I C G H F AA BB CC Rear Panel Behind Right End Cov er V isu al Re fe re n ce Gu ide[...]

V isu al Re fe re n ce Gu ide The Ioline FlexJet E Printer Fr ont View Close-up J. Drive Shaft Mark er K. Pinchwheel L. T ra verse or Carriage Rail M. Carriage Assembly N. Platen P. Ink Cartridge Latch Q. Ink Cartri dge Stall R. Pinchwheel Le ver S. K e ypad T. Ser vice Station U . T ak e Up Sensors KEY K M T N J R U S L P Q[...]

V isu al Re fe re n ce Gu ide Figure 5. The Ioline StudioJet Front View . A B C H G M L N K D E E F O I J A. Left End Cov er B. Drive Shaft Mark er C. Pinchwheel Lev er D. Pinchwheel E. Drive Shaft F. Right End Cov er G. K eypad H. Stand Leg I. Inkjet Cartridge J. Carriage K. Stand Lev eling Foot L. Feed Shaft M. Cr oss-member N. Platen O. T rav er[...]

Getting Star ted Thank you for purchasing the Ioline FlexJet E or StudioJet printer. This manual contains instructions and guidelines for setting up, operating and maintaining your Ioline printer. The following compo- nents are needed to create markers: n A FlexJet E printer assembled according to the directions out- lined in the FlexJet E Printer [...]

16 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide LEFT EDGE OF PLO T LOWER EDGE OF PL OT Y Ho w The Ioline FlexJ et E and StudioJ et printers W ork The FlexJet E and StudioJet printers create printed images through synchronized media and carriage motion. Files are sent to the printer from a computer or le server via a serial or USB * connection. When the printer r[...]

Printer Assembly Unpacking the Printer Carefully remove the printer from the box and place it on a at, stable surface. This procedure requires two people. Check the pack- ing list to ensure that all of the accessories are present. ( See the FlexJet E printer or StudioJet Quick Start Guide for more information. ) Save all packing materials and th[...]

18 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Cable Connections When connecting the printer to the computer by serial cable: 1. Make sure that power to the printer is off. Power is off when the switch is in the “0” position, and is turned on when placed in the “1” position. 2. Connect the supplied serial cable and power cord to the panel on the back right[...]

19 Chapter 2: Installation Figure 10. FlexPlot Serial Port set-up window . Baud Rate The serial port on the printer has an adjustable baud rate. Available speeds are 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, and 115200. The default is set at the factory to 38,400. The baud rate is adjustable in the Control Center in the Communications>Settings window. Other Se[...]

20 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Figure 11. W orkow: output direct from CAD software (without FlexPlot). 2. Use FlexPlot software to convert les before sending them to the printer for output. The printer includes the FlexPlot software which will convert many different les into a format that is compatible with the printer. It also provides an[...]

21 Chapter 2: Installation P o w er On Turn on the computer and the printer to make sure they both work. The printer power switch is located next to the power cord on the back of the machine, behind the keypad. When the paper is properly loaded and the printer is powered up, the carriage will move toward the left side of the machine, then return to[...]

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K eypad Contr ols The keypad provides access to the main functions of the printer. Figure 13. The Printer K eypad. Start/Stop The Start/Stop key toggles the printer online and ofine. If the Start/ Stop key is pressed during printing, the OK light turns red and the machine will stop after it nishes printing the current scan. The Arrow , Unroll[...]

24 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Clean Runs the print heads through a cleaning cycle in the Service Station . Put the printer in STOP mode and wait until the OK light turns red. Then press the Clean button. If the carr iage is n ot al ready park ed, it will return to the Service Station . After aut o cle aning , th e pri nter will react differently w[...]

25 Chapter 3: Oper ation Arr o w K e ys Pressing the Arrow keys moves the carriage left or right. The Arrow keys are only active in STOP mode (see Start/Stop ), when the OK light is red. P age Advance Pressing this button advances the paper in small increments. This is useful if a plot was removed from the printer and you need a paper leader to tap[...]

26 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide The Contr ol Center Overview The Control Center is a utility program that does two things: n Allows you to adjust settings to tailor output (e.g. scale, line width) from the computer. n Provides an interface to send completed les to the printer. Figure 15. Control Center Main Menu. Changing System Settings A variet[...]

27 Chapter 3: Oper ation Contr ol Center Menu Bar F eatur es File Send Plot File Print a PLT or PLX le. Download Firmware Allows the user to download the lat- est rmware version for the printer. See the section Downloading Firm- ware in the Routine Maintenance chapter for more information. Exit Exit the Control Center . Communications Setting[...]

28 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Contr ol Center Menu Options Firmware V ersion and Base Displays the current rmware version installed in the printer. Enabled Heads Displays how many cartridges are in active use by the printer. Get Plotter Data Reads and displays the current settings stored in the printer. Plotter Data (check box) Ind icate s whe [...]

29 Chapter 3: Oper ation X-axis (paper direction) frame size is 46-in (116.8-cm), maximum is 21600-in (54,864-cm). Default and maximum Y-axis (carriage direc- tion) frame size is 72-in (182.9-cm). Quality Setting Choose Draft or Best to control line density. Draft mo de us es 30 0 DP I. Best mo de us es 60 0 DP I. A lower DPI setti ng u ses l ess i[...]

30 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide 3. Insert the new cartridge with the print head pointing down toward the rear of the stall and at a slight outward angle. Press rmly while rotating the top of cartridge toward the back of the stall until it stops in an upright position. ( See Figure 17. ) 4. Close the stall latch. If the cartridge is inserted prope[...]

31 Chapter 3: Oper ation Loading P a per on the StudioJ et See the StudioJet Quick Start Guide . Loading P a per on the FlexJ et E 1. Bef ore loadi ng a new p aper roll alwa ys ma ke su re th e dr ive s haft is clean. See the Routine Maintenance section for more details . 2. Place a paper hub in each end of the paper roll using a rubber mallet. 3. [...]

32 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Installing the T ak e-up Shaft (FlexJ et E only) The Paper Out sensor on the back of the printer detects when the paper runs out. If paper isn’t loaded or if the take-up key is not posi- tioned properly, place a small piece of masking tape over the Paper Out sensor before following the steps below. Remove the tape a[...]

33 Chapter 3: Oper ation take-up shaft into place until it is seated in the support block. F eeding P aper (FlexJ et E only) Figure 20 represents the proper paper path. The left side of the dia- gram shows the paper path for a 1H FlexJet E. The right side shows the proper path for a FlexJet E with 2 or more heads. 1. Remove any printed markers from[...]

34 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide T ape P aper to the T ak e-up Shaft 1. Stand in front of the machine. 2. Place 3 short pieces of masking tape within easy reach on the top cover. ( See Figure 21 .) 3. Holding the edge of the paper with one hand, use your free hand to lower the pinchwheel lever to raise the pinchwheels. 4. Grasp the front edge of the [...]

35 Chapter 3: Oper ation 3. Make sure that the paper roll is tight on the feed shaft. 4. Mo ve th e pi nch wh eel s in to th eir p ro per p osi ti on s o ve r a t re ad an d under the white markers on the traverse rail. ( See Figure 22 . ) Do not place pinchwheels over drive shaft bearings.) 5. Lower the pinchwheels. Inser t F r ont Dancer Bar (Fle[...]

36 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Set an Origin 1 . Ensure that cartridges are installed in the carriage stall(s). ( See Guidelines for Installing a Cartridge earlier in this chapter. ) 2. Turn on the power. After a brief pause, the carri age w ill g lide to the left end plate, then return to the Service Station . When n - ished, the OK light turns[...]

37 Chapter 3: Oper ation Canceling a Mark er Plot 1. Pre ss th e Start/Stop key to place the printer in STOP m ode ( red light). The printer will nish printing the current scan and pause. 2. To stop the computer from sending plot les to the printer, click the Abort button in FlexPlot . 3. Us e th e keypad Arrow keys to position the c ar ria g[...]

38 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Manuall y F reeing the T ak e-up Shaft (FlexJ et E Only) Use this method to remove the take-up shaft from the completed roll without having to unroll the markers. 1. Tape the loose end of the roll down so that it cannot ap freely. 2. Rotate the take-up shaft by hand until the rectangular opening in the anged cou[...]

39 Chapter 3: Oper ation Automatically F r eeing the T ak e-Up Shaft (FlexJ et E Only) Like the manual method, this method removes the take-up shaft from the completed roll without having to unroll the markers. The only difference is the use of the take-up motor. 1. Tape the loose end of the roll down so that it cannot ap free. 2. Wh il e one p [...]

40 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Printing to the Floor With careful setup and constant supervision, the printer will print markers directly onto the oor. This method is NOT intended for printing long markers or unattended printing. 1. Thread the paper on the front of the machine. It should drape off the platen, over the feed roll, and onto the [...]

Cleaning the Driv e Shaft Clean the drive shaft regularly to assure ac- curate plotting: 1. Turn off the print- er and disconnect the power cord. 2. Gently remove any accumulated dust and residue with the stiff non- metal bristle brush provided in the Accessory Kit . Cleaning the Platen and T ra v erse Dust and paper residue accumulate on the plate[...]

42 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Figure 29. Calibration screen in Control Center . Cleaning the Suppor t Blocks (FlexJ et E Only) When dust and paper residue will accumulate on the take-up and feed shaft support blocks, frequent feed shaft jams can occur. Per- form this procedure when debris inhibits easy rotation of the shaft. 1. Turn off power to t[...]

43 Chapter 4: Routine Maintenance Use the Contr ol Center to Gather the Calibration Data 1. Open the Control Center program. 2. Select Tools>Size Calibration from the Menu Bar . The win- dow in Figure 30 will appear: 3. Press the Send Size Plot button to print the factory stored calibration box. The printer will print a box that is 40” (102-cm[...]

44 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Prepar e the Printer 1. Load the printer with paper. (Follow the loading instructions under the Operation chapter.) Install cartridges. 2. Move the carriage using the Arrow keys so that the carriage notch is over the paper and roughly one inch from the right paper edge. 3. Put the printer in START (green light) mode b[...]

45 Chapter 4: Routine Maintenance Motion Adjust (Carriag e Scan Alignment) 1. Press Select Alignment Plot . 2. B r o w s e t o t h e c:IolineCalibration folder. Select the 40X8.plt t e s t  le . 3. T he Motion Adjust b ox ha s o n e nu m be r for adjustment. The default value is 0. 4. C h an g i n g t h e v al u e s af f e c t s t h e ne x t s[...]

46 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Car tridg e Maintenance and Handling A key to maintaining good print quality is proper print cartridge maintenance. During printing, ink-spray, paper bers and dust can build up on the print cartridge and eventually will degrade plot quality. In addition, when print cartridges sit inactive for a period of time, ink [...]

47 Chapter 4: Routine Maintenance Manual Cleaning Pr ocedure To maintain optimal print quality, manually clean cartridges after they sit idle for longer than two days—or are placed in storage. Wip- ing the print head will clean out the nozzles and ring chambers. A Cloth Should Be: n Soft, berless, and moistened with deionized water. Should [...]

48 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Print Car tridg e Storag e Short-term Storage (7 da ys or less) n Simply leave the print cartridge in the machine, capped in the Service Station . n If the cartridge was not in the Ser- vice Station , it may require manual cleaning. Long-term Storag e (greater than 7 da ys) n lace the print cartridge upside- do wn in [...]

49 Chapter 4: Routine Maintenance 3. If you do not see a rmware version displayed, please check connections to the printer. Call Ioline Customer Service for help resolving communication issues. Update the Firmwar e 1. Choose File>Download Firmware from the menu bar. 2. Press the Select Firmware button. 3. Follow the on-screen directions for r[...]

50 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Reset Calibration V alues Perform the steps below if calibration values have been altered: 1. With the printer in STOP mode, use the arrow keys to move the carriage to the center of the traverse. 2. Turn power off on the printer. 3. Copy the factory calibration values from the white sticker inside the service station [...]

General T r oubleshooting If the printer is not working correctly the problem could arise from the computer, the cable, the design software or the printer. Changes to the computer operating system or the installation of new peripherals or software might cause conicts. If the computer or the design software are causing a problem, consult your com[...]

52 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Printing Quality Good printing quality is dependent upon a number of different fac- tors. The type of paper, environmental conditions, and operator hab- its are only a few of the variables that can affect the quality of a plot. It is important that the printer is loaded and maintained according to the guidelines und e[...]

53 Chapter 5: T roubleshooting OK n l p Pr oblem/Status G OFF OFF OFF Ready to Print, Origin Set R OFF OFF OFF Paused / Ofine , K e ypad Active R G OFF OFF Pow er on reset nished. R Y -Blink OFF OFF Cov er open (obsolete) R OFF Y -Blink OFF Paper Feed Out / Jammed Y -Blink R R OFF X- (paper) axis jam Y -Blink G R OFF Y - ( carriage) axis jam [...]

54 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide A mark er plot doesn’t start at the corr ect point on the paper Cause: The origin is not set. Solution: Position the pen wher e the plot should start. Press the Set Origin k e y. The printer does not complete the mark er . Cause: 1. Outdated software. 2. The frame/panel size is mis- matched between the printer and t[...]

55 Chapter 5: T roubleshooting Jagg ed scan alignment. Cause: 1. Motion alignment is incorr ect. 2. Platen or stand is not lev el. 3. Lo ose carriage pulle y causing ran - dom/unev en gaps between scans. Solution: 1. Use the Control Center to ad- just motion alignment as shown in the Routine Maintenance chapter . 2. Follow the dir ections in the Fl[...]

56 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Regular or intermittent paper tearing. Cause: 1. Front dancer bar is not installed. (FlexJet E models onl y .) 2. Paper gets “yank ed” by the machine during tak e up. 3. Paper is impr operly loaded. 4. Paper buckles when plotting to oor . 5. Paper r oll damaged. 6. Paper not loaded corr ectly . 7. Platen not le[...]

57 Chapter 5: T roubleshooting T ake-up r oll nev er rotates, paper loop is too long in fr ont of machine. Cause: 1. T ake-up motor is unplugged. 2. Dancer bar is below the low er sensor . 3. Low er sensor does not work. Solution: 1. Plug in the tak e-up motor . 2. Roll paper up by pr essing and holding the Unroll and Right Arr ow k ey . 3. Contact[...]

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Ser vice & Suppor t Ioline has many years of experience working with designers, graders and marker makers. Feel free to contact us if you have questions—or to share information. Getting Help Ioline is committed to providing the highest quality service and sup- port to its customers. If you need assistance with an Ioline FlexJet E or StudioJet[...]

60 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide prevent damage. Seal the container and note the RMA number near the address block. 3. Ship the container using FED-EX or another approved carrier. COD shipments ARE NOT ACCEPTED . An Ioline representa- tive will contact you prior to the start of work with an estimate of repair cost. All repairs are warranted for 90 da[...]

61 Chapter 6: End Notes Name: Company Name: Phone Number : Fax: E-mail: Model: Serial Number*: Date of purchase: Dealer : T ype of media & ink used: T ype of Computer : T ype of design software: New softwar e or peripherals: Ser vice history: Befor e y ou contact Support… Please gather the following information about your printer before conta[...]

62 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide The FCC W ants Y ou to Kno w ... This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used properly (in strict accordance with manufac- turer instructions), it may cause interference to radio and television reception. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) This device m[...]

A Acceleration – The rate that a printer changes the velocity of the carriage or the paper. Acceleration is measured in units of g (1 g = 32.2 ft/s2). Arc – A segment of a circle, also called a curve. Axis – A geometric guideline used to place a coordinate. B Bottom Cover – Metal housing that protects the underside of the printer. C Control[...]

64 64 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide K Keypad – Panel on the right side of the printer where the user controls simple printer functions. Carriage and paper motion is accessible from here during Stop mode. Also called the Control Panel . M Mil – Thousandths of an inch or milli-inches. For example; 75 mils is the same as .075 inches. 1 mil is equal [...]

65 65 Glossar y Throughput – The speed at which a printer com- pletes a job. Represents the ability to process infor- mation and produce an image. Traverse – Structure that supports and guides the carriage and holds the pinchwheel assemblies. U USB – Universal Serial Bus. High speed method for transferring information from a PC to a periphera[...]

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I ndex Symbols 51645A 29 A Acceleration 63 Accessor y Kit 17 , 31 , 41 Active print cartridges 27 Alignment — See Calibration ; See Troubleshooting Arc 63 Arr ow k eys ix , 23 , 24 , 25 , 37 , 42 , 44 , 55 Buttons 25 Assembly 17 Lifting technique ix ASTM 6959 20 Automatic Buffer Closing 27 Automatic mode 25 Automatic unroll 25 Axis 63 B Baud rate[...]

68 68 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Using the brush 41 Clipping 28 Communication Serial xiv Communications 64 Automatic Buffer Closing 27 Baud rate 18 , 19 , 25 , 27 , 28 , 44 , 52 , 57 Data bits 19 , 53 Flow contr ol 19 , 53 Parity 19 , 53 Stop bits 19 Conicts 26— See also Troubleshooting Get plotter data 28 Ports — See Serial port, USB Setti[...]

69 Index 69 Index F eed roll x F eed shaft x , 30 , 31 , 35 , 42 , 55 , 63 , 64 Flanged coupling 31 Installing feed shaft 31 Support block 31 File con version 15 File formats 15 , 19 , 20 , 63 File import 15 Files Download rmwar e 27 , 49 File name extensions 63 EPS 27 , 63 PL T 27 , 63 PLX 27 , 63 Plot le adjustments — See Control Center S[...]

70 70 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Cartridges in stalls xii Ink 29 Ink lev el indicator 46 , 47 , 52 , 56 Empty cartridge 52 Maintenance and handling 46–48 Requirements 29 Stalls xii , 29 , 30 Storage 48 Air -tight container 48 Upgrading number of stalls 27 Installation 17–22 Ioline Corporation 60 J K K eypad xiii , 21 , 23 , 25 , 26 , 32 , 36 ,[...]

71 Index 71 Index P aper motion — See Plot P aper Out sensor 21 , 27 , 32 P aper path 33 , 34 , 40 , 56 Corr ect feeding path 33 Feed loop 63 Printing to oor 40 Paper path diagram 40 Sensor 64 Reattaching paper after mark er removal 39 T ake-up Loop 64 T aping paper to tak e-up shaft 25 , 34 , 37 P aper scan alignment 45— See also Frame gap [...]

72 72 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Reset serial port baud rate 25 Resolution 64— See also Printing resolution Restore F actor y Default Settings Button combination 25 Restore factory default settings 25 Right Arr ow k ey 55 Right end co ver x Roll feed 64 Roll Up 25 Button combination 25 S Safety 17 Removing mark ers 37 Safety pr ecautions ix T ak[...]

73 Index 73 Index T ake-up motor cab le xi T ake-up motor outlet xi T ake-up sensor xii— See also Sensor T ake-up shaft x , 16 , 25 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 42 , 64 Installation 32 Installing tak e-up shaft 32 Manually fr eeing take-up shaft 38 Maximum paper r oll length 16 T aping paper to tak e-up shaft 34 T ape positions 34 T [...]