Epson Stylus C42 Series manual

EPSON Stylus ® C42 Series Printer Basics[...]

2 Copyright Notice All rights reserved. No part o f this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any m eans, elec tron ic, mech anical, photoc opyin g, recor ding, or otherw ise, wi thout th e prior written permission of SEI KO EPSON CORPORATI ON. The in formation co ntained h erein is de signed[...]

3 Contents WELCOME! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 About Your Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Warnings, Cautions, Notes, and Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 PRINTING FROM START TO FINISH . . . . . . . .[...]

4 SOLVING PROBLEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Printer Parts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Diagnosing Printer Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Running a Printer Check . . . . . . . [...]

Welcome! 5 Welcome! Printing with your EPSON St ylus ® C42 printe r is easy, friendly, and fast. Simple enough fo r even th e most in experien ced user, t he Stylus C42 prints everythin g from school repo rts to fa mily phot os wit h great re sults . For added value, it supports a wide range of EPSON ® special media, incl uding Gloss y Photo Gree[...]

Welcome! 6 Warnings, Cautions, Notes, and Tip s Please follow t hese guide lines: Warnings must be followe d carefully to avoid bodi ly injury. Cauti ons must be obse rved to avoi d damage t o your equipme nt. Notes con tain imp ortant info rmation a bout your printe r. Tips con tain additio nal hint s for bet ter printing .[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 7 Printing From Start to Finish Before you star t, make sure your pr inter softwa re is installed as described on the Sta rt Here shee t or In stalling Software for Windows 98, Windows Me, and Windows 2000 booklet. No matt er w hat yo u pr int, y ou nee d to rememb er t wo thi ngs: ■ Use the righ t pa per. For the be[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 8 Loading Paper Make sure yo ur printer and computer are tu rned on . 1. Place your paper ag ainst th e right edge of the sheet feede r, behind the tab. 2. Press in the lo cking tab on th e left e dge guide an d slide it agai nst the p aper. 3. Pull out the outp ut tray exte nsion. Follow th ese guidel ines whe n loadi[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 9 Printing in Wind ows Here’s what to do to print a basic docum ent—such as a newsletter or school project. Make sure yo u have pa per in the printer, a s described on page 8. After you create yo ur document in a software program, follow t hese steps to print. 1. From t he File me nu, click Print . You see a Print [...]

Printing From Start to Finish 10 You see y our pri nter Pr oper ties (or Pr eferen ces ) wind ow. 4. Sele ct the ty pe of documen t you’re pri nting: ■ Draft : For rough d rafts on plain pa per. Saves i nk. ■ Text : For text-only documents, like l etters or reports. Delivers high-qual ity text p rint ing. ■ Text & Ima ge : For documents[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 11 6. If you lo aded special paper, choose the co rrect paper type (click the arrow to scroll th rough the Type list) . If you’re not sure wh ich setti ng to select, see page 22. 7. Sele ct your paper si ze (click on th e arrow to scroll through the Size li st). 8. If necessary, select yo ur page orientation: Portrai[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 12 After a m oment, thi s window a ppears an d shows t he progres s of your p rint job. Yo u can use the buttons to cancel, pause, or restart printing. You can also see how much ink you have left. When you’ re f inished using your pr inte r, make sure yo u pre ss the P powe r butt on to tu rn it of f. Neve r use a po[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 13 Printing on a Macintosh This sectio n explains how to use your EPSON Stylus C42 to print from a Macintosh running either OS X or OS 8.5.1 to 9.x. Macint osh OS X Here’s how to print a basic document, such as a newsletter or school project, if y our Macintosh is running OS X. Ma ke sure you have paper in the printe[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 14 4. Sele ct Print from the File menu. You see a screen like this: 5. Sele ct Print Settings from the pull-d own menu. Yo u see a group of settings like thi s: Click here and s elect Print Settings Select the type of paper you loaded Select the ink color Select Automatic m ode Select higher quality or faster printing,[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 15 6. Sele ct the follo wing sett ings: ■ Load the ri ght pape r for your document in the printe r. If you loaded spe cial paper, cho ose the corre ct paper typ e in the Media Typ e list. If y ou’re not s ure which setting to choo se, see page 22. ■ Set the I nk option t o Colo r to print a col or document. To pr[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 16 9. When y ou’r e read y to prin t, clic k Print . The Prin t Ce nter ico n ap pear s in t he do ck on the bott om of your deskto p. If you click the Print Ce nter ico n and then double-cl ick the C42 Series (USB) icon in the Pr inte r List, you see a s creen l ike th is: From here you can monitor th e progre ss of[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 17 Macintosh OS 8.5.1 to 9.x Here’s wha t to do to print a ba sic docum ent—such as a newsl etter or sc hool proje ct— if your Macintosh i s running OS 8.5.1 to 9.x. Make sure you have paper in the printer, as described o n page 8. Afte r you create your document , follow these steps to prin t. 1. From th e File [...]

Printing From Start to Finish 18 5. Make th e followin g settings: ■ Choose the pape r you’re pr inting o n (click the arro w to scroll th rough the Media Type list). If you’re no t sure which setting to select, see page 2 2. ■ Set the I nk option t o Colo r to print a col or document. To print a bl ack text document, click Bla ck . ■ Set[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 19 7. Click Print to start printin g. If you turned on background printin g, you can sele ct EPSON Monitor3 fro m the Macint osh Applica tion men u to see th is dialo g box: If you’r e not us ing bac kground prin ting an d you need to c ancel p rinting, hold down the J key and p ress the . (peri od) key. When you’ [...]

Printing From Start to Finish 20 Printing on Envelopes You can loa d up to 10 envelo pes at a tim e. Follow th ese steps to print on N o. 10 size envelo pes: 1. Loa d the enve lopes s hort edg e first aga inst the r ight edge of the sh eet feed er, behind the tab . The printable side should be up, and the flap side should be down and on the left. 2[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 21 5. Do one o f the followi ng to view a preview of yo ur envelope: Windows: Click th e Print Previ ew box, then click OK t o close y our Pre ference s (Properties) window. Clic k Print on the Print window. Macintosh OS X: Click the P review button on the Print Sett ings me nu. Macintosh OS 8.5.1 to 9.x: Click the but[...]

Printing From Start to Finish 22 Selecting t he Correct Paper Type Your printer a utoma tically ad justs itse lf for the type of pa per y ou se lec t in y our pr in t se tting s. T hat ’s wh y the Pa per T ype se ttin g (Me dia Type setti ng in Macintosh ) is so imp ortant. It t ells y our printer what kind of pape r you’re using and adjusts th[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 23 Maintaining Your Printer This chapter describes main tenance proce dures to kee p your printer working at its best, and preparation steps for moving your print er. Follow the instructions he re for: ■ Clean ing the Prin t Head bel ow ■ Rep laci ng an Ink C art rid ge on page 25 ■ Aligning the Print H ead on pa ge 2[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 24 Running the H ead Cleaning Utility 1. Make s ure the printe r is turned on but not pri nting, and th e red b error light is off. (If the red lig ht is flashing or on, you may need t o replace the ink cartridge; see page 25 for detai ls.) 2. Do one o f the followi ng: ■ Windows : Righ t-click the printer ico n on your t[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 25 Examining the Nozzle Check Pattern Exam ine the n ozzle chec k pat tern you p rint. Each colored square should be soli d, with no gaps or line s, as shown : ■ If your printout looks oka y, you’re done. ■ If you see any white lines or ga ps (as shown), clean the print head again; see page 24 for instructions. Replac[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 26 ■ Macintosh OS 8.5.1 to 9.x : Open the F ile men u and choos e Print . Clic k th e ink icon. You see a window sh owing th e ink remain ing in each ca rtridge. ■ Macintosh OS X : Double-click the Applications fo lder on your hard drive. Double-click EPSON Printer Utility , select the C42 Seri es printer in the Printer[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 27 Removing and Installing In k Cartridges Be sure you have a new ink cartridge be fore you begin. Onc e you start the ink cartri dge re place ment p roc edure, you must co mple te all the s teps in one sessi on. 1. Make s ure the printer is turned on an d not printi ng (the gre en P power li ght should be on, but no t flas[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 28 5. Insert the new cartridge and press down firmly on t he clamp. Make sure the clam p is cl osed compl etely. 6. Press the ( maintenance butt on. If the other cartridge nee ds to be replaced, t he print he ad move s into loadin g post ion. Repe at st eps 4 through 6. 7. Wait unti l ink charging is finished. (The green P [...]

Maintaining Your Printer 29 Aligning the Prin t Head If your printo uts cont ain mi saligned vert ical li nes, you may ne ed to alig n the prin t head. Your pr inte r must be connected dire ctly to your compute r (not over a networ k) to use the Prin t Head A lignmen t utility . Load pl ain pa per that’ s at leas t 8.27 i nches (2 10 mm) wide t o[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 30 5. Click Realignment to p rint an other te st page . Make sure t he pattern numbered 8 in each row is the best aligned . If not, repeat steps 4 and 5. 6. When you’re finished, cli ck Finis h . Cleaning the Printer To keep your printe r working at its best, you sho uld clean it several tim es a year. 1. Turn off the p r[...]

Maintaining Your Printer 31 Transportin g the Printe r If you move your p rinter some distance, you need to prepare it for transportation i n its origina l box or one o f a simila r size. To avoi d damage, alwa ys leave the ink cartri dges ins talle d when transp orting the pri nter. Be su re to remo ve th e tape u sed i n step 4 after inst allin g[...]

Solving Problems 32 Solving Problems This secti on gives y ou the basics fo r diagnosing a nd solving prin ter problems. First see “Diagnosin g Printer Pro blems” on page 34 to help determine what the cause of the pro blem may be. R efer to the pict ures on pag e 33 if you need hel p identifyi ng parts of the prin ter. It’s a g ood id ea to c[...]

Solving Problems 33 Printer Par ts Power button and light Maintenance b utton and error light Paper support Printer cover Output tray Left edge guide Print head (ink cartridge holders)[...]

Solving Problems 34 Diagnosing Printer Problems First, check the printer’s lights as described be low, or run a printe r check as des cribed on pa ge 35 . Lights Explanation Green P power light flashes The printer is receiving a print job, replacing an i nk cartridge, charging ink, or cleaning the print head. Red b error light is on Your paper ra[...]

Solving Problems 35 Runnin g a Printe r Check You can run a pri nter check t o determ ine wheth er a problem come s from the pri nter itself or some other source. The printer check also shows how much black and color ink you h ave lef t. 1. Make sure both the print er and computer are turned off. Then disconne ct the USB cable from t he printer. 2.[...]

Solving Problems 36 Problems and Soluti ons Setup and Softwa re Installation Prob lems The printer makes nois e after ink cartridge i nstallation. ■ The firs t time you i nstall ink cartridges, th e printer must charge its print head for about 90 seconds. Wait unt il charging finishes (the green P power light stops flashing) before you turn o ff [...]

Solving Problems 37 ■ For Windows 2000, if you see an error messag e or your software doesn’t inst all correctly , you may not have software installation privi leges. Contac t you r Sys tem Admi nistra tor. ■ In Windows 2000 or XP, don’t select Block under Control Panel > System > Hardware > Driver Signing ; select Ignor e or Warn [...]

Solving Problems 38 Your printer makes noise when you turn it on or after it has been sitting for awhile. Your printer is pe rforming ro utine main ten anc e. Printing is t oo slow. Make sure your syste m meets the requir ements l isted on page 4 7 and page 48. If you’re printing a high-r esolu tion imag e, you ne ed more th an th e mi nim um req[...]

Solving Problems 39 ■ Run th e Print Head Alig nmen t utility; see p age 29 for instructions. Your printo ut is bl urry or smeared. ■ Make sure your paper isn ’t damp or curled, or loade d face down (the printa ble side sh ould be face up). ■ Use a support sh eet wit h specia l paper, or try loadi ng your pape r one sh eet a t a time. ■ U[...]

Solving Problems 40 You see wrong or missi ng colors. ■ Make sure your printer software is not se t to use bla ck ink only. ■ The pr in t he ad nozz les may need cleaning; see pag e 23 for instructions. ■ The ink cartridges may be old or low on ink. To replace an ink cartridge, see page 25. ■ Try turning off PhotoEnhance. ■ For Macintos h[...]

Solving Problems 41 Paper Feeding Problems Paper doesn’t eject fully or is wrinkled. ■ If the paper do esn’t e ject fully, you may ha ve set the wrong paper si ze. Pre ss the b mainte nance butto n to eject th e paper, an d then sele ct the correct pa per si ze. ■ If it’s wrinkled when it ejects, the pape r may b e da mp or too thin. See [...]

Solving Problems 42 Miscellan eous Printout Problems The image is inverted, as if v iewed in a mi rror. ■ Turn off the mirror setti ng in your applica tion prog ram. ■ For Macintos h, turn off Fli p Horizontal in the Adva nced window of yo ur printer driver (Macintosh OS 8.5.1 to 9.x) or Print Sett ings wind ow (Macintosh OS X). The printer pri[...]

Solving Problems 43 Reinstalling Printer Software You don’t nee d to uninstall yo ur printer software un less you ha ve a Macintosh running OS 8.5.1 to 9.x. Windows You can reinsta ll your printe r software ove r your currently in stalled prin ter software. Make sure th e printer is con nected to yo ur comp uter, then follow the se step s: 1. Tur[...]

Solving Problems 44 Macintosh OS 8.5.1 to 9.x Follow th ese ste ps to unin stall yo ur print er software: 1. Insert your printer soft ware CD-ROM. 2. Double-cl ick the EPSON CD-ROM icon (if necessary) and double-click the EPS ON icon. The Main Menu appears. 3. Click Install Printer Driver . On th e ins tal ler scre en, c lick the a rrow in the E as[...]

Solving Problems 45 3. If you set up an administrator password when you installed OS X, you see this screen: Click the l ock icon, enter your admi nistrator p assword, and click OK . At the next screen, click Continue . 4. Rea d the licen se agreement a nd click Continue . Then click Agree . 5. Sele ct the OS X drive where you want to reinstall you[...]

Solving Problems 46 Where To Get Help EPSON provides technical assistance 24 hours a day through the ele ctronic support services an d automate d telep hone servi ces liste d below: You can purchase ink cartridges, paper, manuals, and accessories from EPSON a t (800) 873-7766, or visit the EPSON Store at www.ep sonstore.com (U.S. sales onl y). In C[...]

Requirements a nd Specifica tions 47 Requirements and Specifications This chapt er includes syste m requirements a nd printer speci fications . Windows System Requirements To use your printer and its softwa re, your system should have: ■ A Microsoft ® Windows compatible PC with a Pent ium ® -equ ival ent pr oces sor (233 MHz or faster recommend[...]

Requirements a nd Specifica tions 48 Macintosh System Requirements To use your printer and its softwa re, your system should have: ■ An Apple ® iMac ™ s eries or Power Macintosh ® G3 or G4 wit h built-in US B port ■ Macintosh OS 8.5.1 through OS X. (Macintosh OS 9.0 or later recommended) ■ At least 32MB RAM for OS 8.5.1 through OS 9.x (64[...]

Requirements a nd Specifica tions 49 Specifications Printe r specif ications Printi ng Printing method On-demand ink jet Nozzle configuration Black 48 nozzles Color 45 nozzles (15 each: cyan, ma genta, yellow) Print direction Bidirectional with logic seeking Input buffer 12KB Mechanical Paper feed method Friction Paper path Sheet feeder, top entry [...]

Requirements a nd Specifica tions 50 * Check the label on the back of the pr inter for y our printer’s v oltage. ** Stored in shipping container * The figure given is based on continuous printing after ink replacement. The actual print ca pacity ma y vary. ** Ink tha ws and is usable after approximately 3 hours at 77 °F (25 °C) . To ensu re goo[...]

Requirements a nd Specifica tions 51 Paper sp ecific ations Plain Paper, Premiu m Brig ht Whit e Paper , Ink Jet Pap er Size Letter (8.5 × 11 inches) Half letter (5.5 × 8.5 inches) Legal (8.5 × 14 inches ) Executive (7.25 × 10.5 inches) A4 (8.3 × 11.7 inches) A5 (5.8 × 8.27 inches) User-defined: Width 3.5 to 9.5 inches Length 3.5 to 44 inches[...]

52 Requirements and Spe cifications Poor qua lity pape r may red uce print q uality a nd ca use pape r jams or other probl ems. If yo u enc ounter pr oblems, s witch to a higher g rade p aper. Do not load curled or folded pap er. Avoid ex tremes in temperat ure or hum idity when pr inting. O ptimum pri nting temperatu re ranges from 55 to 77 °F, a[...]

Requirements a nd Specifica tions 53 * When loading multiple sheets of EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film, the minimum top margin is 1.2 inches (30.0 mm) ** Whe n printing near the bottom margin, some colors may not print properly. If this occurs, try increasing the bottom margin. Printa ble A rea Single Sheets, Ink Jet Cards, Envelopes Minimum top m [...]

EPSON Ink Jet Papers and Ink Cartridges 54 EPSON Ink Jet Pap ers and Ink Cartridges Use EPSON paper and inks t o get the sam e photo quality res ults that have earned EPSON’s printers all of their a wards! EPSON pa pers are speciall y coated to wo rk with EPSON’s quick drying inks. Y ou’ll notice that wh en prints come out of your printer, yo[...]

How To Order EPSON Ink and Pape r 55 How To Order EPSON In k and Paper To ord er EPSO N ink cart ridge s, pa per , and oth er pri ntin g me dia, con tact your de aler or cal l EPSON at (800) 873-7766 , or vi sit the EPS ON Store at www.epsonstor e.com (U.S. sales on ly). In Canad a, please ca ll (800) 463-776 6 for d ealer refer ral. EPSON Ink Cart[...]

Index 56 Index A Accessories, 46 Aligning print head, 29 to 30 Auth oriz atio n scre en, Mac into sh O S X, 45 Automat ic mode , Macint osh, 15, 17 B Backg round pri nting, 1 8 Banding, 38 Blank pages, 42 Blurry im ages, 39 Bright Whi te Paper, 22 , 54, 55 Button s, 33 C Cable, p rinter , 47, 48 Cancelli ng printin g Macint osh, 16, 19 Windows, 12 [...]

Index 57 H Head Cleani ng utility , 23 to 24 Help , E PSO N, 46 I ICM, 11, 40 Incorrec t characte rs, 42 Incorrec t colors, 40 Incorre ct ma rgins, 42 Ink ca rtri dge cartrid ge life, 50 level of ink in , 12, 18, 25 to 26 ordering, 25 to 26, 4 6, 55 print capa city , 50 replac ing, 25 to 26 safety instruct ions, 26 speci ficat ions, 50 Ink jet card[...]

Index 58 Previewing printou t, 11, 18, 21 Print d ialog box, Macinto sh, 14, 17 Pri nt he ad alig ning , 29 to 3 0 cleaning , 23 to 25 Prin t quali ty prob lems, 38 to 40 Print Qualit y sett ings, 15, 18 Print S etting s dialo g box, Maci ntosh, 14 Printable a rea, 53 Pri nter cable , 47, 48 check, 35 cleaning , 30 mainta ining , 23 to 30 noise, 38[...]

Index 59 W Weight, paper, 51 Windows defaul t setti ngs, 12 printi ng w ith , 9 to 12 Quality Type, 1 0 rein st all ing soft wa re, 43 system requirem ents, 47 World Wid e Web, 46[...]