FARGO Electronics Quatro Quatro ID Card Printer manual

981231-510323-(03) Quatr o ID Car d Printer U ser Õs Manual Quatro/510323 v3 1/8/99 10:48 AM Page i[...]

Notices The information in this document is subject to change without notice. NO W ARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE MADE WITH REGARD T O THIS MA TERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED W ARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A P AR TICULAR PURPOSE. The manufacturer shall not be liable for err ors contained herein or for incidental damag[...]

T able of Contents Chapter 1: Getting Started I. Choosing a Good Location ..........................................................1 II. About Moisture Condensation ....................................................1 III. Unpacking and Inspection ...........................................................2 Chapter 2: Powering Up the Printer I. A[...]

iv Appendix A: Magnetic Stripe Encoding Module I. Magnetic T rack Options .............................................................42 II. T rack Locations ............................................................................45 III. Sending T rack Information ........................................................45 Appendix B: Interfaci[...]

Getting Started 1 Chapter 1: Getting Started THANK YOU... ...for choosing the Quatro ID Car d Printer . This fast, compact printer has been designed to print high-quality , full-color ID cards fr om virtually any W indows ¨ application pr ogram. It offers many featur es which easily allow you to cr eate durable photo ID cards complete with high r [...]

2 Getting Started III. UNP ACKING AND INSPECTION While unpacking your Quatro ID Car d Printer , inspect the carton to ensure that no damage occurr ed during shipping. Also, make sure the following items ar e included: ¥ Printer ¥ Power T ransformer ¥ Attachable Card Output Hopper ¥ Printer Driver Software ¥ 32-Bit Print Spooler Software ¥ W a[...]

Powering Up the Printer 3 Chapter 2: Powering Up the Printer I. APPL YING POWER 1. Locate the ÒDesk-T op T ransformerÓ supplied with your system. Check that it is properly configur ed for the power used in your country . CAUTION! IF YOU HA VE ANY DOUBTS ABOUT THE PLUG CONFIGURA TION OR THE VOL T AGE, DO NOT A TTEMPT TO USE THE PRINTER. CONT ACT Y[...]

4 Powering Up the Printer 2. Plug the DC power plug end of the transformer cor d into the Power Input Port on the rear panel of Quatr o. NOTE: Optional external transformer must be a Listed Class 2 device with an output rating of 16.5 volts and 3.5 amps AC (alternating current). The alternating current should be between 50 and 60 Hz. 3. Plug the AC[...]

Powering Up the Printer 5 II. IDENTIFYING THE PRINTER FEA TURES This illustration shows the features found on the fr ont of your Quatro ID Car d Printer . The on/cancel button turns the printer ON and OFF . It also serves to cancel the current print job and r eset the printer for the next print job. If a card is left within the printer after a prin[...]

6 Ribbons and Cards Chapter 3: Ribbons and Cards I. ABOUT RIBBONS The Quatro ID Car d printer has the following ribbon types available for printing: ¥ Standard Resin Black (K) ribbon with no clear overlay panel (produces 1,000 prints) ¥ A variety of Colored Resin ribbons with no clear overlay panel (produce 1,000 prints) ¥ Premium Resin Black (K[...]

Ribbons and Cards 7 The black monochrome r esin ribbons are available in both a premium and standar d quality . The premium r esin black ribbon provides maximum durability and is ideal for applications such as access control wher e cards ar e repeatedly swiped through a magnetic stripe r eader . The standard r esin black ribbon provides high durabi[...]

8 Ribbons and Cards 3. Open the T op Cover of the printer by gently grasping the front sides of the cover and lifting upwar d. The cover will tilt open from fr ont-to-back. 4. Open the Printhead Assembly by gently pulling up on the assemblyÕs Release T ab and lifting upwar d. Allow the assembly to swing completely open. 5. Place the supply end of [...]

Ribbons and Cards 9 6. Place the take-up end of the ribbon r oll in between the two black Ribbon Drive Hubs located on the left-hand side of the printer Õs interior . Load the ribbon take-up end of the ribbon just as you loaded the ribbon supply end. When loaded properly , the ribbon should feed underneath both ends of the ribbon roll. 7. Grasp th[...]

III. ABOUT CARDS The Quatro ID Car d Printer prints onto standard CR-80 size cards (3.375 " L x 2.125 " W x .030 " / 86mmL x 54mmW x .75mm) which have a clean, level, polished PVC surface. Although Quatro is equipped with car d cleaning rollers, it is very important to always print onto cards designed for dir ect-to- card, thermal pr[...]

2. Remove a stack of 50 or fewer car ds from the car d packaging. Do not touch the area of the car ds on which you intend to print. Oil or dirt from your hands can impair print quality . Handle cards only along the edges. 3. Load the stack of car ds into the printer by depressing the spring loaded Card Input T ray and pushing the stack all the way [...]

V . PRINTING A SELF TEST Now that ribbon and cards ar e installed, a self test should be performed to check for proper operation of the printer . The standard self test function r equires only that a full-color ribbon and at least one card is installed. A sample of the self test pattern is shown below . 1. If power is ON, turn it OFF now by pr essi[...]

Chapter 4: Using the Quatro ID Card Printer I. CONNECTING THE PRINTER TO YOUR COMPUTER The Quatro ID Car d Printer is designed to be used with nearly any IBM-PC or compatible running W indows 3.1x, W indows 95/98, or W indows NT . A minimum of a 486 DX class computer with 4MB RAM or higher is requir ed. For best performance, a Pentiumª class compu[...]

II. INST ALLING THE WINDOWS PRINTER DRIVER The Quatro ID Car d Printer can be used with virtually any Microsoft W indows 3.1x, W indows 95/98, or W indows NT software application pr ogram. Before printing, however , you must tell the application that youÕre using the Quatr o ID Card Printer . This is accomplished the first time you use the printer[...]

4. Follow the on-scr een instructions to complete installation. When prompted, do not have W indows print a test print, since you most likely performed a printer self test in Chapter 3. Once installed, the ÒColor ID Card Quatr oÓ printer icon will appear in the Printers folder . NOTE: Occasionally , new printer driver versions are r eleased which[...]

9. Select the Set As Default Printer button in the Printers window . The Quatr o ID Card Printer has now been selected as your default (main) printer . If you wish to use another printer later , you must de-select Quatro and switch back to the other printer Õs driver . 10. Finally , select the Connect button. Check that the box called Fast Printin[...]

3. Double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. 4. Follow the on-scr een instructions to complete installation. When installed, the 32-Bit Print Spooler will appear in the Programs gr oup of the Start menu. NOTE: Before installing updated 32-Bit Print Spooler versions, always uninstall the existing print spooler version from your system. T o do th[...]

The Current Job tab tells you the name and size of the file printing, the progr ess of the overall print job, as well as the total number of copies left to print. It also provides buttons which allow you to pause or cancel the print job at any time during the printing process. The Settings tab tells you the port and printer to which you ar e printi[...]

T o open the printer driver setup window , please refer to the following steps for your specific operating system: Windows 3.1x 1. Go to the Main pr ogram group and select Control Panel . 2. Fr om the Control Panel, select Printers . 3. Select the Setup button. Windows 95/98 1. Click the Start button, point to Settings , and select Printers . 2. Cl[...]

damaging the area of the car d containing the magnetic stripe, IC chip, or punched slot. Select the card size option thatÕs appropriate for the type of car d you are using (see Chapter 3, Section III for important card stock information). Color Matching This feature allows you to select the appr opriate color matching option. Select None if you ar[...]

Using the Quatro ID Card Printer 21 generating a darker print. This slide only affects those images printed with dye-sublimation ribbon panels (YMCB). As a result, this slide will not appear if printing with a r esin-only ribbon. T o contr ol the amount of heat the printer uses when printing with the resin black panel of a full-color ribbon or when[...]

W indows print spooler . See Section III of this chapter for complete details on the 32-Bit Print Spooler . This option and the 32-Bit Print Spooler software will not function in W indows 3.1x. K Panel Graphics In most application programs, when printing with a 4-color resin ribbon, the Quatr o ID Card Printer driver prints all bitmapped images wit[...]

Using the Quatro ID Card Printer 23 option increases the pr ecision of printed bitmapped bar codes, thereby assuring gr eater accuracy when read by a bar code scanner . Mag Encode Only Select this option if you wish to send only the magnetic track data of a card format to the printer . This unique featur e enables Quatro to function solely as a mag[...]

24 Using the Quatro ID Card Printer card. Remember that all dye-sublimation prints must have either the ribbonÕs overlay or a separate overlaminate applied to them to prevent pr emature wear or fading. Position Select this feature to display options for adjusting the placement of a cardÕs overall print ar ea. When adjusting the image placement, k[...]

Using the Quatro ID Card Printer 25 HINT : Notice the direction the V ertical and Horizontal adjustment arrows point within the Printing Position window are r epresentative of the direction the printed image moves on the card. The Position option also allows you to send a simple self test print to the printer by clicking on the T est Print button. [...]

26 Using the Quatro ID Card Printer print job is finished, your system resour ces will again be released and devoted to the normal function of your on-scr een applications. Depending upon the processing speed and brand of your computer , you may or may not need to select this option when printing with Quatro. For most computers with a non-ECP compa[...]

Maintenance 27 Chapter 5: Maintenance Y our Quatr o ID Card Printer is built to r equire a minimum amount of maintenance. Nevertheless, there ar e a few procedur es you can perform on a regular basis or as needed to ensure the best possible performance. Use the illustration below to locate the items discussed within this chapter . I. SUPPLIES REQUI[...]

28 Maintenance IMPORTANT! 1. Unplug the printer Õ s main power cord before performing any type of maintenance procedur e unless otherwise indicated. Also, never use a sharp tool or a metal object of any kind to clean the printhead. Y ou will damage the printhead! 2. W atches, rings, bracelets, and other jewelry can damage the printhead if accident[...]

Maintenance 29 5. Once the printhead is completely dry , shut the Printhead Assembly and T op Cover . If a streak persists, perform the steps in Section III. III. EXP ANDED PRINTHEAD CLEANING Perform if you have a streak on the printed output that canÕt be solved by the Standard Printhead Cleaning pr ocedure. T o maintain your printer Õs high qua[...]

30 Maintenance V . CLEANING THE INSIDE OF THE PRINTER As you use Quatro, dust and other for eign particles may accumulate inside the printer Õs case. These particles are attracted to the underside of the ribbon by static produced during printing and can cause voids on the printed image. Periodically , use the following procedur e to remove dust an[...]

Maintenance 31 5. Once the car d is cleared, r e-install the ribbon and close the Printhead Assembly and T op Cover . If the on-line light is flashing, press and r elease it. Quatro will save the print information and resume printing with a new car d. Remember , both the on/cancel and on-line lights must be ON solid in order for Quatr o to print. V[...]

32 Maintenance 2. W ith the printer power ON, open the T op Cover , but leave the Printhead Assembly latched shut. 3. Remove the Cleaning Car dÕs adhesive backing paper . 4. Pr ess and hold the on/cancel button down. Y ou will hear the feed rollers begin to turn. 5. While holding down the on/cancel button, insert the Cleaning Card into the Car d I[...]

Maintenance 33 IX. CLEANING THE DRIVE ROLLER QuatroÕs Drive Roller should be cleaned during every ribbon change or after every 250 prints. This helps to prevent jams and maintain uninterrupted service. Also perform this procedur e if the roller is noticeably dirty . Use the following steps to clean the roller: 1. Leave the power ON and open the pr[...]

34 Maintenance 5. Reach down and grasp the end of the Cleaning Roller Assembly which is closest to the front of the printer . Lift this end first, and gently maneuver the assembly out of the printer . 6. Once the Cleaning Roller Assembly is removed, clean the rollers using one of the adhesive-backed Cleaning Car ds from the Printer Cleaning Kit. W [...]

T roubleshooting 35 Chapter 6: T roubleshooting If you have difficulty operating your Quatr o ID Card Printer , the troubleshooting suggestions in this chapter should, in most cases, solve the problem. If you still have dif ficulty after trying these suggestions, contact your authorized reseller for technical assistance. Please refer to the followi[...]

36 T roubleshooting encoded properly or encoded onto a bad magnetic stripe, the printer is unable to verify the encoded data. When this happens, the printer will simply eject the card befor e printing begins and the on-line LED will begin flashing. Press the on-line button to r esume encoding and printing with a new card. The on/cancel LED light is[...]

The ribbon doesn’t seem to wind or print pr operly . Symptoms: The printer skips ribbon panels, prints ribbon panels out of the usual YMCK order (resulting in strangely color ed output), or simply winds the ribbon until the printer Õ s on-line LED light flashes. ¥ Check that the proper ribbon type is installed accor ding to the ribbon type opti[...]

38 T roubleshooting 10. Once both LEDÕ s are OFF , Ribbon Sensor calibration is complete. 1 1. Remove the power cable, open the T op Cover , and flip Switch 1 toward the fr ont of the printer to turn the switch back OFF . Close the T op Cover , reconnect the power cable, and try your print job again. The card or ribbon is jammed. Symptoms: Printer[...]

T roubleshooting 39 ¥ Y ou may have tried to feed in a car d that was too thick or perhaps two car ds fed at once. This can sometimes cause the ribbon to tear or break. Remember , Quatr o is designed to feed and print primarily onto a standard CR-80 car d size (3.375 " L x 2.125 " W x .030 " / 86mmL x 54mmW x .75mm) and will not acc[...]

40 T roubleshooting The photos on my ID cards look very pixelated. Symptoms: Photos do not look smooth or continuous, but rather grainy and unclear . ¥ Some applications have selections you must enable in order for Quatr o to use its own dither patterns. For best output, you should always use QuatroÕs dither patterns. Refer to your application pr[...]

T echnical Specifications 41 Chapter 7: T echnical Specifications Print Method: Dye-sublimation / resin thermal transfer Print Resolution: 300 x 300 dpi Print Speed: Approximately 40 seconds per full-color car d Colors: Up to 16.7 million or black, red, blue, gr een, and gold spot colors Printing Area: Standard CR-80 Car d: Car d Size 3.375"L [...]

42 Magnetic Stripe Encoding Module Appendix A: Magnetic Stripe Encoding Module I. MAGNECTIC TRACK OPTIONS The Quatro Car d Printer can be purchased with one of two types of factory-installed Magnetic Stripe Encoding Modules. The first, most common type is an ISO Standard encoding module with either a high or low coercivity encoding head. The second[...]

Magnetic Stripe Encoding Module 43 requir es customization of the standard ISO encoding pr ocess, use the Magnetic T rack Selection option to specify which track you would like to configure thr ough the Magnetic T rack Options. Although the default ISO Magnetic T rack Options should be correct for almost all applications, these options can be custo[...]

44 Magnetic Stripe Encoding Module Character Data Size This option enables customization of the Character Data Size (Bits per Character) used to encode the magnetic data on the currently selected track. Note this character size includes the parity bit, if enabled. The default ISO Standard selections for this option ar e: T rack 1 - 7 BPC T rack 2 -[...]

Magnetic Stripe Encoding Module 45 T wo other general encoding options ar e also available. The V erify option allows the printer to verify that all magnetic data has been correctly encoded on each car d. If this option is selected, any verify err ors will cause the printer to signal an error condition. If this option is not selected, the verify pa[...]

add these characters to the string of magnetic track data. If these characters are not added to the track data, the text intended for the magnetic track will most likely appear as printed text on the card. T o avoid this, track information must be entered as follows. When entering track data, the Ò~Ó character is entered first, followed by the tr[...]

Interfacing Information 47 Appendix B: Interfacing Information I. INTRODUCTION The Quatro ID Car d Printer is equipped with a standard 8-bit Centronics-type parallel data communications port. This is the means by which the printer receives data fr om your computer . No options for serial data are available. This chapter describes the pin assignment[...]

48 Index Index 32-bit print spooler ..................................................................................16, 21 Bar codes ............................................................................................................6 Bar code scanner ........................................................................................[...]

Index 49 Ribbon type .....................................................................................................25 Rotate 180 .........................................................................................................25 Self test ................................................................................................[...]

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Printed in the United States of America P/N 510323 Quatro/510323 v3 1/8/99 10:48 AM Page 52[...]