Page 1 EPSON S Q - 8 5 0 S Q - 2 5 5 0 24-NOZZLE INK JET PRINTER USER’S GUIDE...
Page 2 • Move the printer away from the receiver • Plug the printer into a different outlet so that the printer and receiver are on different branch circuits. If necessary, the user should consult the dealer or an experienced radio/television technician for additional suggestions.
Page 3 EPSON S Q - 8 5 0 / 2 5 5 0 User’s Guide...
Page 4 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Seiko Epson No patent liability is assumed Corporation.
Page 5: Table Of Contents
Introduction Chapter 1 Setting Up the Printer Ink Jet Precautions ... Unpacking the Printer ... Choosing a Place for the Printer ... l-7 Assembling the Printer ... 1-9 Testing the Printer ... Connecting the Printer to Your Computer ... l-28 Setting Up Your Application Software ...
Page 6 Chapter 3 Using the Printer Operating the Control Panel ... 3-2 SelecType Settings ... 3-10 Page Length ... Skip Over Perforation ... 3-19 Adjusting the Loading Position ... 3-21 Short Tear-Off ... 3-23 Selecting Typestyles ... 3-28 Selecting an International Character Set ... 3-35 Choosing a Character Table ...
Page 7 Problems and Solutions ... 7-2 Power Supply ... Printing Paper Handling ... Options ... Chapter 8 Technical Specifications Printer Specifications ... Interface Specifications ... Options Specifications ... Initialization ... Chapter 9 Command Summary Using the Command Summary ... 9-2 Commands in Numerical Order ... 9-5 Commands Arranged by Topic ...
Page 8: About This Guide
At the back of this guide is a Quick Reference Card with the information you are most likely to need. Note: The SQ-850 and SQ-2550 are basically the same printer except that the SQ-2550 can accept wider paper. Therefore, the illustrations in this guide show only the SQ-2550.
Page 9 Conventions used in this guide WARNINGS damage to your printer and computer. CAUTIONS that your printer operates correctly. Notes contain important information and useful tips on the operation of your printer. 2 About This Guide must be followed carefully to avoid...
Page 10: Introduction
Introduction The SQ-850 and SQ-2550 are the latest in EPSON’s advanced line of 24-nozzle ink jet printers, combining high performance and reliability with a wide range of exciting features. Features In addition to the high-quality printing and ease of operation...
Page 11 LQ-1050, LQ-500, LQ-2550, and SQ-2500 printers. Options A variety of printer options is available for use with your SQ-850 or SQ-2550 printer. For detailed information on the installation and use of these options, see Chapter 5. Single-bin and Double-bin Cut Sheet Feeders...
Page 12: Optional Interface Boards
Optional Interface Boards A number of optional interface boards can be used to supplement the printer’s built-in parallel and serial interfaces. Guidelines for choosing the right interface and instructions on installing the boards are given in Chapter 5.
Page 13 Choosing a Place for the Printer ........
Page 14: Ink Jet Precautions
Ink Jet Precautions Because the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 are the ink jet printers, certain precautions are necessary to ensure their safe and efficient operation. Even if you are familiar with other types of printers, be sure to read through this list of precautions.
Page 15: Unpacking The Printer
If it does not show the correct voltage for your country, contact your EPSON dealer. It is not possible to adjust the printer for use on another voltage.
Page 16: Removing The Protective Materials
1. Insert the platen knob into the hole on the printer’s side and rotate it until it slips onto the shaft.
Page 17 Chapter 3. 3. Remove the printer cover. 4. Remove the white packing material, and remove the notice sheet by using the platen knob. Then push the paper bail toward the platen.
Page 18 (SQ-850 only has two screws and single locking bracket.) CAUTION: Never leave the transport screw in the printer because of it can damage the print head. 6. Reattach the printer cover. Setting Up the Printer...
Page 19: Choosing A Place For The Printer
Choosing a Place for the Printer There are several important things to consider when selecting a location for your printer. Make sure to keep the following in mind. Place the printer on a flat, stable surface. Place the printer close enough to the computer for its cable to reach.
Page 20 The illustrations below show several good printer and computer arrangements. Note: If you plan to use a printer stand, read through the list of requirements and suggestions below to ensure that you have the right stand for your printer. The stand should be able to support at least twice the weight of your printer (24.0kg for the SQ-850 or 28.8kg for...
Page 21: Assembling The Printer
Installation instructions for these components are given below. Attaching the paper guide To install the paper guide, follow these steps: 1. Fit the pins of the paper guide into the slots in the printer as shown below. Setting Up the Printer...
Page 22: Installing The Ink Cartridge
Your printer’s ink cartridge is completely self contained and allows for easy installation and removal. Replacement ink cartridges (S020002) are available from your EPSON dealer. Each SQ ink cartridge contains enough ink for about 4000 double-spaced pages in draft mode or about 2000 pages in Letter Quality mode.
Page 23 Do not dismantle the cartridge. Keep the cartridge out of reach of children. Install the ink cartridge as follows: 1. Open the ink cartridge compartment cover by pressing once on the area marked by the three grooves. Setting Up the Printer 1-11...
Page 24 WARNING: Never install or remove the ink cartridge when the power is on line. Always set the printer off line, and be sure the print head is capped at the left of the printer before removing or replacing the ink cartridge.
Page 25 3. Close the ink cartridge compartment cover- Setting Up the Printer 1-13...
Page 26: Testing The Printer
Before plugging in your printer, make sure that all packing materials are removed and the ink cartridge is installed. 1. Check to see that the printer is turned off (the circle (0) on the switch should be visible). Setting Up the Printer...
Page 27 WARNING: If they do not match, contact your EPSON dealer without connecting the power cable. 3. Connect the power cable to the AC inlet on the printer’s rear panel. WARNING: Before turning on the printer, be absolutely sure that you have removed all of the protective materials.
Page 28: Charging The Ink Cartridge
4. Plug the power cable into a properly grounded electrical outlet. Note: Although the shape of the power cable provided with your printer may differ from the one shown above, the steps for connecting it are the same. Charging the ink cartridge Before operating your printer, you need to charge the ink delivery system with ink.
Page 29 1. While holding down both the turn on the printer. This initiates a three-minute cleaning and set up cycle that prepares the ink system for operation. During this cycle, the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) on the control panel displays INK time needed to complete the cycle.
Page 30 WARNING: Do not turn the printer off while the message INK *** is displayed. CHARGE Do not start printing before completed. Printing without charging the ink delivery system can damage the printer. 3. Turn off the printer. WARNING: After you turn off the printer, always wait at least five seconds before turning it back on.
Page 31: Running The Self Test
CAUTION: Run the self test using paper that is at least as wide as 217 mm (8.27 inches) if you have an SQ-850, or 364 mm (14 inches) if you have an SQ-2550. Before running the self test, make sure that the power cable is connected to a properly grounded electrical outlet and the printer is turned off.
Page 32 Testing the Printer Press the button on the control panel until the PAPER SELECT message on the LCD shows Friction. 3. Move the left edge guide until it rests against the guide mark. 1-20 Setting Up the Printer...
Page 33 4. Adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper. Next, slide a sheet down between the edge guides until it meets resistance. Press the button once to automatically load the LOAD/EJECT paper. Setting Up the Printer 1-21...
Page 34 ON LINE button once more.) ON LINE Note: To clear a paper jam, first set the printer off line and use the FORM FEED use the platen knob to clear printer off first.
Page 35 Testing the Printer 8. If paper is still loaded, press the button to eject LOAD/EJECT it. Then reset the printer by pressing both the ON LINE buttons. LOAD/EJECT Setting Up the Printer l-23...
Page 36: Draft Mode
P A G E C S F B N 2 1 ” S K I P A U T O T E A R O F F L E F T M A R G I N 1-24 Setting Up the Printer...
Page 37 P A G E C S F B N 1 P A G E C S F B N 2 1” SKIP A U T O T E A R O F F LEFT MARGIN Testing the Printer Setting Up the Printer 1-25...
Page 38: Checking The Operation
The ink cartridge may be empty or the cartridge may not be installed. Install a new ink cartridge. Refer to 6-6. The printer cover is open. Close the printer cover and resume printing. Turn off the printer and repeat the previous section.
Page 39 A B C D The printout has a blurred appearance. ABCD If the printer still does not print the self test correctly, contact your EPSON dealer. Solution The printer may not have been charged with ink. Turn off...
Page 40: Connecting The Printer To Your Computer
Connecting the Printer to Your Computer Your SQ-850 or SQ-2550 has two separate interface connections: a parallel interface and an RS-232C compatible serial interface. If you are not sure which one is required by your computer, check your computer manual for this information.
Page 41 Connecting the Printer to Your Computer 2. Squeeze the wire clips together until they lock in place on both sides of the connector. (If you do not lock these clips into place, the printed results may be incorrect.1 3. If your cable has a ground wire, attach it to the ground connector beneath the interface connector.
Page 42: The Serial Interface
Before connecting the serial interface cable, the printer and your computer are turned off. 1. Plug the connector of the cable securely into the printer- 2. Use a screwdriver to secure the cable by tightening screw on each side of the connector.
Page 43 Connecting the Printer to Your Computer Note: If the screws that come with the cable do not fit into the connector screw locks on the interface, you need to replace these screw locks with the optional provided ones with the printer.
Page 44: Setting Up Your Application Software
Because the family of EPSON printers shares a great many commands, you can use an application program even if it does not list the SQ-850 or SQ-2550 on its printer selection menu. If the SQ-850 or SQ-2550 is not listed, select the first printer from the following list.
Page 45 Standard printer Draft printer To use all the features of the SQ-850 or SQ-2550, however, it is best to use a program with the SQ-850 or SQ-2550 on its menu. If your program does not list your printer, contact the software manufacturer to see if an update is available.
Page 46 Chapter 2 Paper Handling Choosing Paper ... Using Single Sheets ... Loading a sheet ... Reloading during printing ... 2-7 Using Continuous Paper ... 2-8 Positioning your continuous paper supply ... 2-8 Loading continuous paper ... 2-9 Switching between Continuous and Single Sheets ... 2-16 Switching to single sheets ...
Page 47: Choosing Paper
Choosing paper Because the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 are ink jet printers, paper absorbency is especially important. With paper absorbent, the ink can spread slightly, causing characters to blur. However, with paper that is not absorbent enough, the ink may take too long to dry and can be smeared easily.
Page 48: Using Single Sheets
Using Single Sheets Your printer can handle a wide range of paper size up to a maximum width of 257 mm (10.1 inches) on the SQ-850 and 364 mm (14.3 inches) on the SQ-2550. Loading a sheet To load a single sheet of paper, follow these steps.
Page 49 Using Single Sheets 2. Press the button until the LCD panel shows PAPER SELECT 3. Move the left edge guide until it rests against the guide mark. 2-4 Paper Handling...
Page 50 Using single sheets 4. Adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper. 5. Slide a sheet of paper down between the edge guides until it meets resistance. Paper Handling 2-5...
Page 51 Using Single Sheets Press the button once to load the paper. LOAD/EJECT Note: If the platen turns without loading the paper, remove the paper and re-insert it more firmly; then press the button again. LOAD/EJECT 2-6 Paper Handling...
Page 52: Reloading During Printing
Reloading during printing When you print a document more than one page long using single sheet paper, the printer stops printing when it reaches the bottom of the paper. When this happens, either the light goes off automatically or it may remain on, depending on your application software.
Page 53: Using Continuous Paper
Using Continuous Paper The tractor built into the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 is remarkably easy to load and operate. Its low-profile design takes up little space and can handle a wide variety of paper widths (up to maximum of 279 mm (11.0 inches) on the SQ-850, and 406 mm (16.0 inches) on the SQ-2550.
Page 54: Loading Continuous Paper
Using Continuous Paper Loading continuous paper Before loading continuous paper, make sure that the printer is turned off. 1. Remove the paper guide by tilting it up and lifting it off of the printer. 2. Turn on the printer, and press the...
Page 55 Using Continuous Paper 3. Release the left and right sprocket lock levers by pushing them back. Slide the left sprocket unit until it stops at the ring and lock it in place. Next, slide the right sprocket unit to roughly match the width of your paper, but do not lock it.
Page 56 Using Continuous Paper Slide the paper support to a point midway between the sprocket units. 6. Open the sprocket covers. Paper Handling 2-11...
Page 57 Using Continuous Paper 7. Fit the first four holes in the continuous paper over the pins of the sprocket units. 8. Close the sprocket covers. 2-12 Paper Handling...
Page 58 Note: Make sure the first sheet of paper has a clean, straight edge so that paper can feed smoothly into the printer. 9. Slide the right sprocket unit to a position where the paper is straight and has no wrinkles, and then lock it into place.
Page 59 LOAD/EJECT position. Note: If you press the button when continuous LOAD/EJECT paper is already loaded, the paper is reverse fed to standby position. 12. Press the button to set the printer on line. ON LINE 2-14 Paper Handling...
Page 60 The printer remembers this loading position and advances each page to the same position. Never adjust the loading position using the platen knob. Use of the platen knob may affect the loading and short tear-off positions. If you need to adjust this position, you can use the micro-adjustment feature.
Page 61: Switching Between Continuous And Single Sheets
Switching between Continuous and Single Sheets Even with continuous paper loaded in the printer, you can easily switch to single sheet printing without removing the continuous paper from the tractor. Switching to single sheets To switch from continuous paper to single sheets, follow the steps below.
Page 62 This is especially true for narrow paper between 102 and 152 mm (between 4 and 6 inches). Never feed labels backward through the printer. Labels can easily come off the backing sheet and jam the printer.
Page 63 Press the PAPER SELECT LCD to Friction. The continuous paper is fed backward automatically to its standby position. The paper is still attached to the tractor, but is no longer in the paper path. 4. Raise the paper guide until it locks into place. 2-18 Paper Handling button to change the display on the...
Page 64 5. SIide the left edge guide until it rests against the guide mark. Next, adjust the right edge guide to match the width of your paper. 6. Slide a sheet of paper down between the edge guides until it meets resistance. Paper Handling 2-19...
Page 65 Press the LOAD/EJECT paper. 8. Press the ON LINE 2-20 Paper Handling button once to automatically load the button to set the printer on line.
Page 66: Switching Back To Continuous Paper
Tractor. If a single sheet is loaded, it is ejected automatically and continuous paper is fed to the loading position. Remove the ejected single sheet from the printer. 2. Slide the edge guides together so that they meet at about the middle of the paper’s width.
Page 67 3. Lift the paper guide slightly and lower it onto the back of the printer. 4. Press the button to set the printer on line. ON LINE 2-22 Paper Handling...
Page 68: Printing On Special Paper
Printing on Special Paper In addition to using single sheets and continuous paper, your printer can also print on a wide variety of paper types, including labels and envelopes. Note: If you are printing graphics, preprinted forms, or labels, it is recommended that you use the optional pull tractor to print.
Page 69 Printing on Special Paper 1. Remove the printer cover. 2. Set the paper thickness lever position by pulling down as you may need. 2-24 Paper Handling...
Page 70: Labels
3. Reattach the printer cover. CAUTION: Always return the lever to its upright position when you go back to printing on ordinary paper. Labels If you need to print labels, choose the type that is mounted on a continuous backing sheet with sprocket holes for use with the tractor.
Page 71 Printing on Special Paper WARNING: Never feed labels backward through the printer. Labels can easily come off the backing and jam the printer. Also, never use the tear-off function or the button to eject labels. If a label does LOAD/EJECT...
Page 72 Note: Since labels are especially sensitive to temperature and humidity, always use them under normal operating conditions. 3. Press the button to set the printer off line. Then ON LINE press the button to eject the labels forward. FORM FEED (Remember not to use the button to eject labels.)
Page 73: Envelopes
Printing on Special Paper Envelopes You can print on a variety of envelopes -- including air mail, plain, or bond envelopes -- using the single sheet loading feature described in the beginning of this chapter. Chapter 5 describes using envelopes with the cut sheet feeder. When loading an envelope, you may have to push down on it slightly while pressing the 2-28 Paper Handling...
Page 74 If it is necessary to eject the printed envelope, press the button to set the printer off line. Then press the button. CAUTION: When printing on envelopes, be sure that your application program settings keep the printing entirely within the printable area as shown below.
Page 75 Printing on Special Paper Note: If the printed results are faint, you can use the paper thickness lever to adjust the distance between the print head and the platen. See the section on the paper thickness lever on page 2-23. 2-30 Paper Handling...
Page 76 Data Dump Mode ................3-38 ..3-2 Panel Using the Printer 3-1...
Page 77: Operating The Control Panel
Operating the Control Panel The SQ-850 or SQ-2550 control panel is made up of three elements: the Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), indicator lights, and the buttons (six flush mount buttons and four raised buttons). The indicator lights and display let you monitor the current status of the printer, and the buttons let you control all of the main printer settings and paper handling functions.
Page 78: The Lights
(green): ON LINE (orange): TEAR OFF Operating the Control Panel On when the printer is turned on and power is supplied. On when the printer is ready to accept input data. This light flickers while data is received. On when the paper-out sensor detects that the printer is out of paper.
Page 79: The Buttons
This button controls the printer’s on line/off line status. When the printer is on line, the on and the printer can receive and print data from the computer. When the printer is off line, press this button to eject a single sheet of paper or to advance continuous paper to the top of the next page.
Page 80 S c r i p t , O C R - B , O C R - H , O r a t o r Orator-S See the section on fonts in this chapter for more information. When the printer is in SelecType mode, this button is used to change SelecType settings button.
Page 81 When the printer is in SelecType mode, this button is used to change the SelecType settings as a button. When the printer is off line, press this button to select the paper handling system. The selected system is shown on the display.
Page 82 MICRO FEED: Operating the Control Panel Press this button to feed the perforation of continuous paper to the tear-off edge of the printer. After tearing off the paper, press this button again to feed the paper backward to the loading position.
Page 83 SelecType panel buttons. The display lets you monitor the SelecType settings. See the section on SelecType in this chapter for details. When the printer is off line, press both the ON LINE LINE FEED buttons at the same time to perform print head cleaning.
Page 84: Other Control Panel Features
By holding down both the FORM FEED buttons while you turn on the printer, you turn on the data dump mode. This feature allows advanced users to find the cause of communication problems between the computer and printer.
Page 85: Selectype Settings
SelecType Settings SelecType SelecType on the SQ-850 or SQ-2550 brings a new dimension to printing. With SelecType you can control almost every aspect of printer operation. SelecType lets you: Set up to 16 printer settings Choose among Monitor the printer’s settings with the LCD display Change the printer’s default settings without DIP switches...
Page 86 * The line spacing is in 1/6th of an inch units. On, Off 0 to 45 columns (SQ-850) 0 to 80 columns (SQ-2550) 1 to 80 columns (SQ-850) 1 to 136 columns (SQ-2550) * The column spacing is based on a pitch of 10 cpi.
Page 87 The SQ comes with preset default values, which can be printed out using the self test. 3-12 Using the Printer U S A , F r a n c e , G e r m a n y , U K...
Page 88 Serial. Check your computer manual for the correct baud rate and parity settings. Your computer and printer must have the same baud rate and parity in order to communicate properly. AUTO LINE FEED: This setting should remain at its default value (Off) in most cases.
Page 89: Changing The Selectype Settings
CG TABLE option, but the other options can also be changed in the same manner. 1. Press the ON LINE enter SelecType so that the display the current selected font). Using the Printer 3-14 buttons at the same time to FORM FEED shows FONT xxx (xxx...
Page 90 2. Press the button (or button) until the dispaly on FONT PITCH the LCD changes to CG TABLE Italic. Press the button several times PAPER SELECT TEAR OFF until the right half of display changes to Graphic. Using the Printer 3-15...
Page 91: Initializing The Settings
Your printer has a special control panel feature that allows you to initialize the printer’s settings without having to turn off the printer. It also allows you to conserve your ink supply, because it does not activate the print head cleaning cycle.
Page 92 SelecType Settings You can also initialize the printer by using the software command (ESC @) or by turning off the printer. See the section on initialization in Chapter 7 for more information. Using the Printer 3-17...
Page 93: Page Length
If you are using the cut sheet feeder, the page length is automatically set and memorized when you run the printer’s built-in self test. However, you can use this SelecType feature to override this setting.
Page 94: Skip Over Perforation
This feature is very convenient if your application program does not provide top and bottom margins.
Page 95 SelecType, turn on the 1” SKIP option by following the steps in the Using SelecType section earlier in this chapter. Note: Most application programs take care of top and bottom margins. Therefore, do not turn on skip over perforation unless your program does not provide these margins. 3-20 Using the Printer...
Page 96: Adjusting The Loading Position
Use of the platen knob while the printer is on may affect the loading and short tear-off positions. If you need to adjust the loading position, always use the micro-adjustment feature.
Page 97: Adjusting The Loading Position
3. Press the button A to feed to feed the paper backward. Note: The printer beeps when the paper reaches a position that is approximately 8.5 mm from the top edge of the paper. You can use this position as a reference point when adjust the printer’s loading position.
Page 98: Short Tear-Off
The other way of operating the short tear-off feature is by using button on the control panel to feed the perforation TEAR OFF of your continuous paper to the tear-off edge of the printer. After tearing off the paper, press the feed the paper backward to the loading position.
Page 99 1. When you have finished printing, press the once to feed the perforation of your page forward to the tear-off edge of the paper bail. 2. Tear off the page using 3-24 Using the Printer TEAR OFF TEAR OFF tear-off edge of the paper bail.
Page 100 Note: If the perforation of the paper does not meet the tear-off edge, adjust the tear-off position of the paper with the micro-adjustment feature described on the next page. Press the TEAR OFF its loading position. button again to reverse-feed the paper to Short Tear-Off Using the Printer 3-25...
Page 101: Adjusting The Tear-Off Position
SelecType or with the 1. Be sure that the TEAR OFF button FEED ADJUST. 3-26 Using the Printer TEAR OFF light is on, then press the . The display shows button. MICRO TEAR OFF...
Page 102 Once you use the micro-adjustment feature to set position, the printer remembers that position even after it is turned off. button or resume printing after...
Page 103: Selecting Typestyles
Selecting Typestyles Your printer can produce a wide range of typestyles by using different character fonts, character spacings, widths, and other print variations. You can select typestyles in three different ways: by using software commands, by using SelecType, or by using other features available on the control panel.
Page 104 T r a d e r ’ s T i m e s . W h a t i s t h e p r i c e s c h e d u l e f o r q u a n t i t i e s o v e r o n e g r o s s ? in a recent back issue of Selecting Typestyles Using the Printer 3-29...
Page 105 0f Trader's Times. for quantities over one gross? 3-30 Using the Printer in a recent back issue of i s t h e p r i c e s c h e d u l e...
Page 106 What RECENT H A T T H E OVER GROSS? Selecting Typestyles back issue price schedule back issue price schedule BACK ISSUE P R I C E S C H E D U L E Using the Printer 3-31...
Page 107 The sample printouts of OCR-A and OCR-B are useful as a comparison with other font samples. However, print enhancements such as bolding and underlining cannot be read by an actual optical reader. 3-32 Using the Printer...
Page 108: Character Spacing
I0, 12, 15, 17, 20, Proportional 10, 12, 15, 17, 20, Proportioanl IO, 12, 15, 17, 20, Proportional 10, 12, 17, 20, Proportional 10, 12, 17, 20, Proportional 10, 12, 17, 20,‘Proportional 10, 12, 17, 20, Proporitonal Using the Printer 3-33...
Page 109 For example, a narrow letter like i receives less space than a wide letter like W. The following printout compares 10 cpi (a fixed spacing) printing with proportional spacing. This is 10 cpi printing. This is proportional spacing. 3-34 Using the Printer...
Page 110: Selecting An International Character Set
To select the desired international character set using SelecType, set the COUNTRY option by following the steps in the SelecType section earlier in this chapter. ASCII code (hex) 23 24 40 5B 5C 5D 5E 60 7B 7C 7D 7E Using the Printer 3-35...
Page 111: Choosing A Character Table
Greek characters, and mathematic symbols. If you have an IBM® or compatible computer, select the EPSON Extended Graphics table when you wish to print the graphics characters as they are displayed on the screen. Since the...
Page 112 Sample printouts of the italic characters and the EPSON Extended Graphics characters are shown below. Italics EPSON Extended Graphics To select the italic character table, EPSON Extended Graphics character table, or Download character table using SelecType, set the CG TABLE option by following the steps in the SelecType section earlier in this chapter.
Page 113: Data Dump Mode
Data Dump Mode Your printer has a special feature to make it easy for experienced users to find the cause of communication problems between the printer and application programs. In data dump mode, an exact printout of the codes reaching the printer is produced.
Page 114 3. To turn off the data dump mode, press the take the printer off line, and then turn off the printer. (The data dump mode can also be cancelled by sending an INIT signal from the computer.)
Page 115 If characters are printable, they appear as their true ASCII characters. Nonprintable codes, such as control codes, are represented by dots.
Page 116: Enhancing Your Printing
The reassigning command ... 4-20 User-defined Characters ... 4-21 Designing your characters ... 4-21 Defining your characters ... 4-23 Sending information to your printer ... 4-25 Printing user-defined characters ... 4-27 Copying ROM characters to RAM ... 4-28 Letter Quality characters ... 4-29...
Page 117: Enhancing Your Printing
Command Summary in Chapter 9. Character spacing To add greater variety to your documents, the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 have five pitches as well as proportional spacing. All six can be selected with a software command, or by SelecType or panel setting (see Chapter 3).
Page 118: Character Size
Proportional spacing is not available in draft mode. Character size In addition to the basic pitches and proportional spacing, the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 offer three other modes that can change the size of your printing. These modes are double-width, double-height, and condensed.
Page 119: Special Effects And Emphasis
Note: 15 cpi, 17 cpi and 20 cpi can not be condensed. Special effects and emphasis The SQ-850 and SQ-2550 have a number of features for those extra effects required either for emphasis or for special printing requirements. These features can be controlled directly by software commands.
Page 120: Italic Printing
Emphasized and double-strike printing Emphasized and double-strike give your printing added emphasis. In emphasized mode, the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 print each character twice as the print head moves across the paper, with the second character offset slightly to the right of the first.
Page 121 Enhancing Your Printing Overlining, strike-through, and underlining The overline, strike-through, and underline modes are useful for highlighting selected text. This feature can be used to score text, spaces, subscripts, and superscripts without a break. You can choose from a variety of line styles including: single, double, broken, or continuous.
Page 122: Selecting Typestyles With Master Select
Selecting typestyles with Master Select Your printer has a special ESCape code called Master Select that allows you to choose many possible combinations of nine different modes: 10 cpi, 12 cpi, proportional, condensed, emphasized, double-strike, double-width, italics, and underline. For more information on sending ESCape codes to your printer, refer to Chapter 9.
Page 123 12 cpi Double-strike Double-width After calculating the value of n, you would use the Master Select command to send the value to the printer. ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: The print quality and font must be set separately, either using SelecType or the ESC x and ESC k commands.
Page 124: Graphics
The quickest and easiest way to print graphics on your printer is to use a commercial graphics program. With such programs you usually create an image on your monitor and then give a command to send the image to the printer.
Page 125: The Print Head
In order for the dots to overlap vertically, the nozzles in the print head are in more than one column, but the intelligence of the printer handles the timing of nozzle firings so that the effect of 24 nozzles arranged in a single vertical column.
Page 126 Eight-element graphics So that it is compatible with the such printers such as the EPSON FX, RX, LX, and EX series, the printer has an S-element graphics mode with six densities. Although this mode uses only one third of the printer’s nozzles, it produces good quality graphics and allows you to use the many programs written for 8-element graphics.
Page 127 Graphics Labeling the nozzles To tell the printer which nozzles to fire in each column, you first divide each of the vertical columns into three sections of eight nozzles each and consider each section separately. Since there are 256 possible combinations of the eight nozzles in each...
Page 128: The Graphics Command
After the printer receives this code, it interprets the next numbers as nozzle patterns and prints them on the paper. Your printer has one command that allows you to use any of the 11 graphics options. The format of the command is:...
Page 129: Column Reservation Numbers
The graphics command requires more than specify how many columns to reserve because one line can use thousands of columns, but the printer does not use numbers larger than 255 decimal. Therefore, the graphics mode command uses two numbers for reserving columns.
Page 130: A Simple Graphics Program
This means that you must be sure to supply enough bytes of graphics data or the printer will stop and wait for more data and will seem to be locked. If, on the other hand, you supply too much graphics data, the excess will be interpreted and printed as regular text.
Page 131: Using Hand-Calculated Data To Print Graphics
1/8th of an inch high and less than 1/4th of an inch wide. The actual pattern that the printer prints on the paper is, of course, made up of dots that overlap each other both vertically and horizontally.
Page 132 Write the assigned values of the nozzles next to your design and then total the values for each column of dots. These totals are the values that will be sent to the printer as graphics data to print the design.
Page 133 Graphics Here is the BASIC program previous pages. Notice that the data numbers in lines 80-140 are the same numbers that you see in the last illustration. Also note that the WIDTH statement in line 10 is for IBM PC BASIC; the format may be different for your system.
Page 134: Individual Graphics Option Commands
Individual graphics option commands As previously mentioned, your printer responds to commands that are used by EPSON FX, RX, LX, and EX series printers. There are four individual graphics option commands that are very much the same as the ESC * command, but each one works for only one graphics option.
Page 135: The Reassigning Command
Graphics The reassigning command The SQ has a command that allows you to change the graphics option assigned to any of the four individual graphics options commands. The command looks like this: The letter s represents the command that you wish to change the assignment for (K, L, Y, or Z) and m is the number of the graphics option that you change the ESC K command to use the CRT I graphics option,...
Page 136: User-Defined Characters
User-defined Characters With this printer, it is possible to define and print characters of your own design. You can design an entirely new alphabet or typeface, create characters for special applications such as mathematical or scientific symbols, or create graphic patterns with user-defined characters to serve as building blocks for larger designs.
Page 137 Design grids To design a character you use a grid that is 24 dots high - one dot for each nozzle on your printer’s print head. The width of the character matrix is dependent upon the character set in use.
Page 138: Defining Your Characters
Now you translate the dot pattern you’ve created on paper to a numeric format so you can send the information to your printer. Every dot has an assigned value. Each vertical column which has a maximum of 24 dots is first divided into three groups of eight dots.
Page 139 This manual uses decimal numbers because the example programs in this manual are written in BASIC and everyone is familiar with decimals. The data you send to your printer, however, can be in any form (binary, decimal, hexadecimal) that you can use with your programming language.
Page 140: Sending Information To Your Printer
Sending information to your printer The printer loads characters in the print style (Letter Quality, draft, or proportional) that the printer is currently using. It also records whether italic or script (either superscript or subscript) is turned on. This means that if you want to print a character in the italic mode, for example, you must have the italic mode turned on when you define the character.
Page 141 Since it takes three bytes to specify the dots in one vertical column of dots, your printer expects dl x 3 bytes of data to follow d2. An example character definition program should make this clear: 10 LPRINT CHR$(27)"X0"...
Page 142: Printing User-Defined Characters
The information about the actual character design which is contained in the data statements at the end of the program is sent to the printer in the loop between lines 50 and 70. Note: When defining Letter Quality or proportional...
Page 143: Copying Rom Characters To Ram
Since no other characters are in the printer’s user-defined RAM area, nothing else prints. Other characters sent to the printer do not even print as spaces; it is as if they were not sent at all.
Page 144: Letter Quality Characters
Therefore, your printer has a command which allows you to copy all of the standard characters from ROM to the user-defined character set. The command format is as follows, where the value of n represents the font family: Note: This command will cancel any user-defined characters you have created.
Page 145 User-defined Characters Remember that in Letter Quality and proportional modes, as in draft, you cannot place dots in adjacent columns. There must be an empty dot position to the left and right of each dot that prints. Superscripts and subscripts You can also create superscript and subscript user-defined characters.
Page 146 Since super/subscript characters are smaller, they do not require as much information when you define them. When you define super/subscript characters, you need only two bytes of data for each vertical row of dots. Design grids for these characters are shown in the figure below. User-defined Characters Software and Graphics 4-31...
Page 147 Keep in mind that user-defined characters are stored in RAM, which is not permanent. Whenever the printer power is turned off, or the printer is initialized with the INIT signal, the user-defined characters are lost. (Some computers do this each time BASIC is loaded.) ESC @, however, does not destroy...
Page 148: Chapter 5 Using Printer Options
Using Printer Options The Cut Sheet Feeder ... 5-2 Installation ... Paper handling ... Testing the printer in the cut sheet feeder mode ... 5-8 Loading envelopes ... Using the cut sheet feeder ... 5-13 Switching between the cut sheet feeder and continuous paper ...
Page 149: The Cut Sheet Feeder
The illustrations used in the following steps are of the C806111 double-bin cut sheet feeder. However, all cut sheet feeders available for use with the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 install and operate the same way. 1. Make sure that the printer is turned off. Then, remove the paper guide and open the printer cover.
Page 150 Chapter 2. 2. Hold the assembled cut sheet feeder in both hands and fit its notches over the pins of the printer. Then lower the cut sheet feeder unit onto the printer. 3. Close the printer cover.
Page 151: Paper Handling
C806081 and C806101 have only one bin.) 1. Slide the left paper guide until it stops at the ring shown in the figure below. 2. Slide the right paper guide to roughly match the width of your paper. 5-4 Using Printer Options...
Page 152 Then pull up the two small levers on the paper guides. 4. Take a stack of paper and fan it. Next, tap the paper on a flat surface to even up the stack. Using Printer Options 5-5...
Page 153: Using Printer Options
The Cut Sheet Feeder 5-6 Using Printer Options...
Page 154 PAPER SELECT LCD to CSF bin you wish to select loaded, paper is reverse-fed. button to set the printer off line. button to change the display on the Press the PAPER SELECT bin 2. If continuous paper is Using Printer Options 5-7...
Page 155: Testing The Printer In The Cut Sheet Feeder Mode
The Cut Sheet Feeder Testing the printer in the cut sheet feeder mode When you perform the cut sheet feeder self test, the printer counts the number of lines on the page and prints out this number at the bottom of the first page, as shown on the next page.
Page 156 The following figure shows part of the printout for the first sheet of the draft mode self test. The printout of the second sheet is similar to the original self test described in Chapter 1. 3. The self test continues until the paper runs out or until you press the ON LINE button.
Page 157: Loading Envelopes
Note: To resume the test, press the 4. To end the self test, if paper is loaded, press the button to eject it. Then, turn off the printer. Loading envelopes Envelopes are loaded in much the same way as regular paper.
Page 158 The Cut Sheet Feeder of your 2. Slide the right paper guide to match the width envelopes. 3. Pull the left and right paper levers forward and push down on the two small levers until they lock into position. Using Printer Options 5-11...
Page 159 4. Take a stack of envelopes and fan it; then tap the stack on a flap surface to even it up. Insert the envelopes into the front bin. (You can stack up to 25 standard envelopes into bin. See the printer specifications section for more information.) Press the button to load an envelope.
Page 160: Using The Cut Sheet Feeder
Using the cut sheet feeder After stacking paper in the cut sheet feeder, be sure that the light is lit. When the printer is on line, a new sheet of LINE paper loads automatically whenever a printable character or line feeding command is sent to the printer. Subsequent sheets are automatically loaded as needed.
Page 161 Software operation The following commands cause the printer to eject the sheet in the printer without loading the next sheet. Form Feed ESC EM R:...
Page 162: Switching Between The Cut Sheet Feeder And Continuous Paper
Switching between the cut sheet feeder and continuous paper The SQ-850 and SQ-2550 allow you to easily switch between the cut sheet feeder and the tractor feeding system without having to remove either the feeder or the continuous paper supply.
Page 163 2. To switch from cut sheet feeder operation to continuous paper, press the button until the display PAPER SELECT shows Tractor. Continuous paper is fed to its loading position. 3. Press the button to set the printer on line. ON LINE 5-16 Using Printer Options...
Page 164: Single Sheet Insertion
Note: To clear a paper jam at the exit point of continuous paper, you may need to open the cut sheet feeder’s front cover. To do this, first open the printer cover and then raise the cut sheet feeder’s cover. Clear the jammed paper and then close the cover.
Page 165 3. Press the ON LINE 5-18 Using Printer Options button to load the sheet. (If your button put the printer on line.
Page 166: Removing The Cut Sheet Feeder
1. Remove the paper stacked in the cut sheet feeder. 2. Tilt the back section of the cut sheet feeder forward to release its notches from the printer’s pins and lift off the cut sheet feeder. Using Printer Options 5-19...
Page 167 The Cut Sheet Feeder After removing the cut sheet feeder, be sure to store the cut sheet feeder in its original box and packing materials. 5-20 Using Printer Options...
Page 168: The Pull Tractor
The Pull Tractor The optional pull tractor (C800032 for the SQ-850 and C800042 for the SQ-2550) provides optimum continuous paper handling. The pull tractor is especially useful for printing continuous preprinted forms and labels. Use of the pull tractor is also recommended for obtaining the highest quality graphics.
Page 169 The Pull Tractor 2. Set continuous paper in the built-in push tractor as described in steps 3 to 9 in the section on loading continuous paper in Chapter 2. 3. Pull the paper bail toward you. 5-22 Using Printer Options...
Page 170 4. Holding the pull tractor with the gears to the right, fit the rear notches onto the rear mounting pins. 5. Tilt the tractor unit toward you until the front latches click over the front pins. The Pull Tractor Using Printer Options 5-23...
Page 171: Paper Handling
The Pull Tractor 6. Push the paper bail toward the platen and close the printer cover. CAUTION: Never use the platen knob to feed the paper while the printer is turned on. If you need to adjust the loading position, be sure to use the micro-adjustment feature described in Chapter 3.
Page 172 1. Be sure the display on the control panel shows Tractor and the paper is loaded in the push tractor. 2. Take the printer to off line. Then press the FORM FEED button to advance the paper one page so that you can fit the paper onto the pull tractor.
Page 173 3. Release the sprocket lock levers and position the sprocket units to match the width of the paper. Then adjust the paper support so that they are spaced evenly between the sprocket units. 4. Open the pull tractor’s sprocket covers. 5-26 Using Printer Options...
Page 174 5. Fit the holes in the paper over the tractor pins on sprocket units and close the sprocket covers. 6. See that the paper is not crooked or wrinkled and lock the sprocket units in place. Using Printer Options 5-27...
Page 175 7. Press in on the pull tractor knob and turn it slightly to remove any slack from the paper. 8. Attach the paper separator designed for use with the pull tractor unit. 9. Press the button to set the printer on line. ON LINE 5-28 Using Printer Options...
Page 176: Removing The Pull Tractor
The Pull Tractor pull Removing the tractor 1. Be sure the printer is turned off, then remove the paper separator. 2. Open the printer cover and pull the paper bail toward you. Using Printer Options 5-29...
Page 177 3. Press the levers on the pull tractor. Then tilt the tractor back and lift it off the printer. 4. Push the paper bail back and close the printer cover. After removing the pull tractor, be sure to store the pull tractor in its original packing materials and box.
Page 178: Interface Boards
EPSON dealer. Compatible interfaces The following is a list of EPSON interfaces that are compatible with the SQ-850 and SQ-2550 printers. Note that some of these interfaces may not be available in all contries. Using Printer Options 5-31...
Page 179: Installing The Interface Board
#8165 #8641 #8642 All EPSON interfaces have the EPSON name printed on them. If the board has an identification code printed on it, it will be a four-digit number beginning with 8, and should correspond to one of the numbers listed in the table above.
Page 180 Removing the interface board cover 1. Unplug the power cable from the electrical outlet. Then unplug the cable from the rear of the printer. WARNING: High voltages are present inside the printer when the power is on. NEVER attempt to...
Page 181 Interface Boards 5-34 Using Printer Options...
Page 182 1. If the FG wire is not attached to the interface board, attach the plug end of the wire onto the FG pin located on the board. Interface Boards Using Printer Options 5-35...
Page 183 3. Position the interface board inside the printer as shown below, making sure the board does not catch on any of the wires inside the compartment.
Page 184 Interface Boards 4. Carefully align the pins on the optional interface board with the mating connector on the main board; then plug the board into the connector. 5. Secure the board with three of the screws provided. Using Printer Options 5-37...
Page 185 6. Use the FG wire retaining screw to attach the round end of the FG (frame ground) wire to the ground connector beneath the interface connector. 7. Replace the interface board cover and secure it with the retaining screw. 5-38 Using Printer Options...
Page 186: The #8143 New Serial Interface Board
If you are using the #8143 optional board with the SQ printer, make sure that you read through the section below on baud rate selection. You may also want to refer to the sections on handshaking timing and error handling for interface information specific to the SQ printer.
Page 187 Handshaking timing When the vacant area for data in the input buffer drops to 256 bytes, the printer outputs an X-off code or sets the DTR flag to “1” (MARK) indicating that it cannot receive data. Once the vacant area for data in the buffer recovers to 512 bytes, the printer outputs an X-on code or set the DTR flag to “0”...
Page 188 Transporting the Printer ........
Page 189: Cleaning The Printer
To keep your printer operating at its best, you should clean it thoroughly several times a year. 1. Turn off the printer and remove the cut sheet feeder or pull tractor, if installed. 2. Use a soft brush to carefully clean away all dust and dirt.
Page 190 3. If the outer case, printer cover or paper guide are dirty or dusty, clean them with a soft, clean cloth dampened with mild detergent dissolved in water. Keep the printer cover in place to prevent water from getting inside the printer.
Page 191: Cleaning The Print Head
Cleaning the Print Head If print quality should diminish, use the printer’s built-in cleaning function. To ensure proper operation, you should use ON LINE LINE FEED inconsistent. The cleaning cycle ensures that all the nozzles are delivering ink properly. To run the cleaning cycle, follow these steps.
Page 192 ON LINE LINE FEED print head cleaning cycle. The display CLEANING shows about 30 seconds. When the cleaning cycle is finished, press button to place the printer on line and resume ON LINE printing. Maintenance 6-5...
Page 193: Replacing The Ink Cartridge
INK END is removed. Always replace the old ink cartridge with the exclusive SO20002 EPSON ink cartridge. Otherwise the printer will not work. WARNING - Skin and Eye Irritant This ink contains potassium hydroxide and may cause irritation on contact with skin and eyes. Please take the following precautions: Avoid contact with skin and eyes.
Page 194 Follow these steps to replace the ink cartridge. 1. Open the ink cartridge compartment cover located at the front of the printer by pressing once on the area marked by the three grooves. Then carefully remove the used ink cartridge from the printer.
Page 195 Gently push the cartridge all the way into the compartment. 3. Close the cartridge compartment cover as shown below and ON LINE press the resume printing. 6-8 Maintenance button to place the printer on line and...
Page 196: Transporting The Printer
CAUTION: When repacking the printer for transpor- tation, press the PAPER SELECT button until the display shows 1. Take the printer off line before turning it off so that the ink nozzles are properly capped. 2. Remove the optional cut sheet feeder or pull tractor, if installed.
Page 197 Transporting the Printer 4. Open the ink cartridge compartment cover and remove the ink cartridge by pulling it straight out of the printer. (Place the cartridge in a plastic bag and store separately.) Then close the ink cartridge compartment cover.
Page 198 Remove the printer cover and pull the paper bail open, then insert the white packing material between the paper bail and platen as shown below. Reattach the printer cover. Then remove the platen knob. 8. Pack the printer in its original foam packing supports and box.
Page 199 Chapter 7 Troubleshooting Problems and Solutions ............7-2 Power Supply ...
Page 200: Problems And Solutions
Problems and Solutions This chapter discusses problems you may encounter while operating your printer and their likely solutions. If you are having difficulty achieving the desired printing result, first locate the problem in the table below and refer to the appropriate page for the solution.
Page 201: Power Supply
If the voltages do not match, unplug the printer and contact your EPSON dealer immediately. Do not reconnect the power cable to an electrical outlet. Refer to l-16. Troubleshooting 7-3...
Page 202: Printing
Make sure your interface cable meets the specifications for the printer and the computer. Refer to l-29. The printer may be off line and cannot receive data. Check the on line status at the printer’s control panel. If it is not...
Page 203: Troubleshooting
The print head moves, but nothing is printed. Solution The printer may be out of paper. Load more paper into the printer. Refer to 2-3. The paper may be set too far to the right. If this is the case, the paper out detector cannot sense the paper.
Page 204 The print head nozzles may be clogged. ON LINE Press the button to set the printer off line. Then press both the LINE LINE FEED print head cleaning cycle. You may need to repeat this cycle more than once. If...
Page 205 The wrong character table may be selected. If your application program is capable of sending control codes, specify the EPSON Extended Graphics character table using ESC t 1. If settings cannot be performed using control codes, set the CG TABLE option of SelecType to Graphic.
Page 206 COUNTRY option of SelecType to the desired character set. Refer to 3-35. Your software may be overriding your SelecType settings. Use the program’s setup (or install) procedure to check the printer settings on your computer’s display, then reset the values correctly.
Page 207: Problem Solution
New default settings do not take effect unless you initialize the printer by pressing the buttons or by turning the printer off and on. Refer to 3-16. The condensed mode may be set. If your application program is capable of...
Page 208 Printing Problem The position of the printout is not what you expected. Text is printed on the same line. Text is printed with an extra blank line in between. Text is printed with an extra blank line in between, even after setting the auto line setting to feed...
Page 209 Problem The position of the printout is not what you expected. (continued) Line spacing is not correct. One line printing has taken up two lines. Solution Your software may be set up incorrectly. Use your programs setup (or install) program to check the settings on the computer’s display.
Page 210 When precise printing of vertical lines in necessary the unidirectional print mode with SelecType or send the ESC Ul command to the printer. Unidirectional printing increases printing accuracy, but reduces printing speed slightly. Refer to 9-10. use the ESC C n...
Page 211: Paper Handling
Press the button once to set the ON LINE printer off line, then feed the paper. After feeding the paper, press the button again to set the printer on LINE line. Refer to 3-4.
Page 212 Friction is SELECT displayed on the panel. The dimensions of the paper you are trying to use may exceed the specified limitations of the printer. Make sure that the paper sizes that are within the specified range. PAPER...
Page 213 Problem The paper feed is crooked. The paper does not fully eject. Solution The paper guide may not be attached or it may not be in the correct position. When printing on single sheets, use the paper guide in its upright position. Refer to 2-18.
Page 214 7-16 Troubleshooting Solution Paper select may not be set to Tractor. Take the printer off line and press the button until the display PAPER SELECT shows Tractor. Refer to 2-9. The paper may not have been set correctly in the push tractor.
Page 215 Refer to 2-13. Something may be obstructing your paper supply. Make sure that the paper can feed smoothly into the printer. Refer to 2-8. The position of your paper supply may be preventing it from feeding straight into the printer.
Page 216 Pressing the button with continuous LOAD/EJECT paper already loaded in the printer causes the paper to be ejected. If this happens, press the LOAD/EJECT once more to reload the paper. Refer to 2-14.
Page 217 If short tear-off does not work even when AUTO TEAR OFF is on, send an FF (Form Feed command) to the printer. Refer to 3-23. Troubleshooting 7-19...
Page 218 Problem Continuous paper does not feed properly. (continued) LOAD/EJECT is pressed to button eject the paper, but paper does not fully eject or it jams. 7-20 Troubleshooting Solution You may have tried to back feed too many pages. Before ejecting the paper, always remove the last printed page.
Page 219: Options
(only while the printer is on line). The printer may be off line. Press the button to put the printer on line. LINE The paper select may not be set to the cut sheet feeder.
Page 220 (continued) 7-22 Troubleshooting Solution The cut sheet feeder may be incorrectly installed on the printer. Remove and reinstall the cut sheet feeder making sure that the mounting notches are properly mated with the pins on the printer. Refer to 5-3.
Page 221 Problem Two or more sheets at the same time. feed The paper feed is crooked. You tried to manually insert a single sheet, but the sheet was not fed. Solution There may be too many sheets of paper in the cut sheet feeder’s bin. The bin can hold a maximum of 150 sheets of paper (82g/m ).
Page 222 Paper feed is crooked or the paper jams. 7-24 Troubleshooting Solution The printer may be on line. Before using the control panel buttons to feed the paper, always put the printer off line light is out.) LINE Something may be obstructing your paper supply.
Page 223 Problem Several lines space occur in the printout. Skip over perforation is set, but the skip has shifted from the perforation, or the perforation does not fall in the center the skip. After printing stops, the continuous paper forward feeds automatically.
Page 224 7-26 Troubleshooting Solution The interface may not be installed correctly. Turn off the printer and check that the interface board is correctly inserted into the connector on the main board. You may be using the wrong interface.
Page 225 If the printer still does not operate properly after checking the above points, run a self test of the interface to make sure that there are no on-board defects. If any abnormality is found, contact your dealer. Troubleshooting 7-27...
Page 226 Chapter 8 Technical Specifications Printer Specifications ... Printing ... Paper ... Mechanical ... Electrical ... Environment ... Interface Specifications ... Parallel interface ... Serial interface ... Options Specifications ... Cut sheet feeders ... Initialization ... Default settings ... Technical Specifications 8-1...
Page 227: Printer Specifications
Characters per inch Bidirectional logic-seeking for both text and graphic printing. Unidirectional available through SelecType or software command. l/6-inch, l/8-inch or programmable in increments of 1/60th, 1/18Oth or 1/360th of an inch. See table below. Characters/second/line Maximum printed characters SQ-2550 W-850...
Page 228: Paper
10, 12, 17, 20, Proportional 10, 12, 17, 20, Proportional 10, 12, 17, 20, Proportional 96 standard ASCII characters. 15 international character sets EPSON Extended Graphics characters Friction Built-in push feed tractor Pull tractor (optional) Single-bin cut sheet feeder (optional)
Page 229 Envelope Label Paper length: Single sheets Printable area: Single sheet 3 mm (0.12 “) or more- 8-4 Technical Specifications No.6 (165 x 92 mm) (6.5 inches x 3.625 inches) No.10 (241 x 105 mm) (9.5 inches x 4.125 inches) 63.5 x 23.8 mm (2.5 x 0.94 inches) 101.6 x 23.8 mm (4.0 x 0.94 inches) 101.6 x 36.5 mm (4.0 x 1.44 inches) 94 to 364 mm (3.7 to 14.3 inches)
Page 230 Continuous paper 8.5 mm (0.33 “) or more SQ-850 101 to 228 mm (0.4 to 9.0”) paper width 101 to 382 mm (4.0 to 15.0”) 13 mm (0.51”) or more 254 mm (10”) paper width 21 mm (0.82 “) or more 279 mm (11”) paper width 46 mm (1.81”) or more Envelope...
Page 231: Mechanical
Paper thickness: Mechanical Ink Cartridge: 8-6 Technical Specifications Single sheets 0.065 to 0.10 mm (0.0026 to 0.004 inches) Continuous 0.065 to 0.10 mm (0.0025 to 0.004 inches) Envelope 0.16 to 0.52 mm (0.0063 to 0.0205 inches) Label Maximum 0.19 mm (0.0075 inches) Print capacity (depending on number of cleaning operations) Draft: 6 million characters...
Page 232 Weight: MCBF: For all components excluding print head: 5 million lines MTBF: 4000 power-on hours SQ-850 (at 25% duty) SQ-2550 6000 power-on hours (at 25% duty) Print head life: 2000 million dots/nozzle SQ-850 177 mm 537 mm 449.6 mm approx. 12.0 kg...
Page 233: Environment
Power consumption: Frequency: Insulation resistance: Dielectric strength (between AC line and shassis): Environment Temperature: Humidity: 8-8 Technical Specifications 120V AC ±10% (120V model) 220V AC ±10% (220V model) 240V AC ±10% (240V model) 35W (draft self-test printing) 50 ± 0.5 Hz 60 ±...
Page 234 Shock: Vibration: Up to 1 G within 1 ms Operation: Up to 2 G within 1 ms Storage: Up to 0.15 G at 10 to 55 Hz Operation: Up to 0.50 G at 10 to 55 Hz Storage: Technical Specifications 8-9...
Page 235: Interface Specifications
Interface Specifications Parallel interface Your printer is equipped with both a parallel and a serial interface. Connector pin assignments and a description of their respective interface signals are shown in the following table. Signal Return Signal STROBE DATA 1 DATA 2...
Page 236 ERROR SLCT IN printer controller is reset to its power-up state and the print buffer is cleared. This level is usually HIGH; its pulse width must be more than 50 microseconds at the receiving terminal. This level becomes LOW when the printer is: 1) in paper out state.
Page 237 Data transfer must be carried out by observing the ACKNLG or BUSY signal. (Data transfer to this printer can be carried out only after receipt of the ACKNLG signal or when the level of the BUSY signal is LOW.) Interface timing The figure below shows the timing for the parallel interface.
Page 238: Serial Interface
Printing enabledldisabled signals and control conditions The table below shows the relationship between printing being enabled or disabled, the on line/off line status, the printer select signal (SLCT IN), and the receipt of data on/off control characters, DC1 /DC3. ON LINE...
Page 239: Error Handling
- meaning the printer is not ready to receive data - when the number of bytes free in the input buffer drops to 256. The signal changes to space - meaning that the printer is now ready - when the number of bytes in the input buffer rises to 512.
Page 240: Options Specifications
537 m m C80608 1 664 m m C806091 537 mm C806101 664 mm C806111 *Dimensions are mesured in mounting on the printer. Bin capacity: bin 1 bin 2 * Envelopes can only be used in bin 1. Stacker capacity: Hight Depth...
Page 241: Environmental Condition
Realiability: Environmental condition: Temperature Humidity Paper: Width C806081 C806091 C806101 C806111 Length Thickness Weight 8-16 Technical Specifications MCBF (Mean Cycle Between Failures): 100,000 cycles +5°C to +35°C Operation: -30°C to +7O°C Storage: 15% to 80% without Operation: condensation 15% to 70% (with envelopes) 5% to 90% without Storage:...
Page 242 Printable area: T e m p e r a t u r e : 2 Storage condition: Humidity: 40% to 60% Technical Specifications 8-17...
Page 243: Initialization
Initialization There are four ways that the printer can be initialized (returned to a fixed set of conditions). Hardware initialization Software initialization These four kinds of initialization have slightly different effects. In particular, ESC @ does not initialize the printer mechanism, clear the input data buffer, or clear the user-defined character set.
Page 244: Default Settings
Special printing effects User-defined characters Graphic mode assignment In addition, when the printer is initialized by turning on its power, using an INIT signal, or resetting the printer with panel buttons, the data buffer is cleared of all text data.
Page 245: Using The Command Summary
Commands in Numerical Order ......... 9-5 Commands Arranged by Topic ... 9-8 Printer Operation ... MSB Control ...
Page 246: Using The Command Summary
Using the Command Summary This chapter lists and describes all the commands available on your printer. The first part of this chapter lists all commands in numerical order and gives the page number where each is fully described. If you know which command you are looking for, consult the numerical list to find the number of the page where it is described.
Page 247 Note: Some application programs can use control key sequences to send commands to the printer. See the Control Key chart on page 9-4 for more information. The simplest type of command consists of sending a single character to the printer.
Page 248: Control Key Chart
For example, in BASIC you can turn on double-width with either of these statements: LPRINT CHR$(27);“W”;CHR$(l) ------ ASCII code LPRINT CHR$(27);“W”;“l” ------------- ASCII character These BASIC commands correspond to the printer commands below: ESC W SO or ESC Wl Control key chart Some application programs can use control key codes for decimal values 0 through 27.
Page 249: Commands In Numerical Order
Backspace Tab Horizontally Line Feed Tab Vertically Form Feed Carriage Return Select Double-width Mode (one line) Select Condensed Mode Select Printer Cancel Condensed Mode Deselect Printer Cancel Double-width Mode (one line) Cancel Line Delete Character Select Double-width Mode (one line)
Page 250 Copy ROM into RAM Select Unidirectional Mode (one line) Set MSB to 0 Set MSB to 1 Reassign Graphics Mode Initialize Printer Set n/GO-inch Line Spacing Set Vertical Tabs Set Page Length in Lines Set Page Length in Inches Set Horizontal Tabs...
Page 251 Hex. Description ASCII Dec. ESC M 78 4E ESC N ESC 0 79 4F ESC I’ 80 50 ESC Q 81 51 ESC R 82 52 ESC SO 83 53 ESC Sl 83 53 ESC T 84 54 ESC U 85 55 ESC W 87 57...
Page 252: Commands Arranged By Topic
Returns the printer to the selected state if it has been deselected by the printer deselect code (DC3). Does not select the printer if it has been switched off line by pressing button. The selected state can also be fixed using ON LINE a SelecType setting.
Page 253 Format: ASCII code: DC3 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 13 Comments: Puts the printer into the deselected state until the select printer code (DCl) is received. The printer cannot be reselected with the been fixed by SelecType, this code is ignored. Format: ASCII code: DEL...
Page 254 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC U Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 5 5 n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 1: Mode is turned ON. 0: Mode is turned OFF.
Page 255: Msb Control
MSB Control MSB is the Most Significant Bit. MSB control (ESC =, ESC >, and ESC #) does not work for graphics or user defined characters. ESC = (equal) Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C = Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 3D Comments:...
Page 256: Data Control
Format: ASCII code: BEL Decimal: Hexadecimal: 07 Comments: Sounds the printer’s beeper. Data Control Format: ASCII code: CR Decimal: Hexadecimal: OD Comments: Prints the data in the buffer and returns the print position to the left margin. A line feed may be added if the AUTO FEED XT line on the parallel interface is held LOW.
Page 257: Vertical Motion
Vertical Motion Format: ASCII code: FF Decimal: Hexadecimal: OC Comments: Prints the data in the print buffer and advances the paper to the top of the next form according to the current page length. Page length can be changed with ESC C. In the cut sheet feeder mode, an FF ejects a sheet but does not load one.
Page 258 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC C 0 Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Comments: Sets the page length to n inches. The value of n must be froml-22. The top of form position is set to the current line. Overrides the SelecType PAGE TRACTOR, PAGE CSF BN1 , or P A G E C S F B N 2 s e t t i n g .
Page 259 ESC 0 Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C 0 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 4F Comments: Cancels the skip over perforation set by ESC N. Overrides the SelecType 1’ SKIP setting. Format: ASCII code: LF Decimal: Hexadecimal: 0A Comments:...
Page 260 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC 2 Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C 2 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 32 Comments: Sets the line spacing to 1/6th of an inch for subsequent line feed commands. The 2 is the character two and not decimal code 2.
Page 261 ESC A Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C A n Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 4 1 n Comments: Sets the line spacing to n/60th of an inch for subsequent line feed commands.
Page 262 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC B Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B Comments: Sets up to 16 vertical tabs in the current line spacing. Tab settings are not affected by subsequent changes in line spacing. The tab settings are entered as nl, n2, etc., all from l-255, in ascending order.
Page 263: Horizontal Motion
ESC / Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 2 F c Comments This command is used to select the vertical tab channel, with the value of c from 0-7. All subsequent VT commands use the channel selected by this command.
Page 264 ESC Q Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 8 5 1 n Comments: Sets the right margin to n columns in the current character size. Settings made in the proportional mode are treated as 10 cpi.
Page 265 ESC $ Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B Comments: This sequence specifies the distance from the left margin that subsequent characters are to be printed, using this formula: total number of dots = nl + (n2 x 256). Each unit equals 1/60th of an inch.
Page 266 Commands Arranged by Topic Format: ASCII code: HT Decimal: Hexadecimal: 09 Comments: Advances the print position to the next horizontal tab setting. The default settings are at intervals of eight characters in the currently selected character spacing. Tab positions are not affected by subsequent changes in character spacing.
Page 267: Overall Printing Style
Comments: This command affects only the Letter Quality typestyle, not draft. If n = 0, the Roman typestyle in the printer is used. To select one of the eight other typestyles, use the family number of the font shown on the next page. For example, to choose the Prestige font, use 3 for n.
Page 268 The following values can be used for n: 0: Roman 1: Sans Serif 2: Courier 3: Prestige 4: Script 5: OCR-B 6: OCR-A 7: Orator 8: Orator-S Overrides the SelecType FONT and control panel settings. ESC ! Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 2 1 n Comments:...
Page 269: Print Size And Character Width
Print Size and Character Width ESC P Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C P Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 50 Comments: Selects 10 cpi (10 characters per inch). Because 10 cpi is the default pitch, this command is normally used to cancel 12 cpi or 15 cpi.
Page 270 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC p Format: ASCII code: 2 7 1 1 2 n Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 7 0 n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 1: Mode is turned ON.
Page 271 ESC SI Format: ASCII code: ESC SI Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B OF Comments: Duplicates the SI command and the function of SelecType and control panel settings. Format: ASCII code: DC2 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 12 Comments: Cancels condensed printing set by SI, ESC SI or the SelecType and control panel settings.
Page 272 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC SO Format: ASCII code: ESC SO Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 0E Comments: Duplicates the SO command. Format: ASCII code: DC4 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 14 Comments: Cancels one-line double-width printing selected by SO or ESC SO, but not double-width printing selected by ESC W or ESC !.
Page 273: Print Enhancement
ESC w Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 7 7 n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 1: Mode is turned ON. 0: Mode is turned OFF. Double-height mode doubles the height of all characters.
Page 274 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC G Format: ASCII code: ESC G Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 47 Comments: Makes text bolder by printing each line twice. ESC H Format: ASCII code: ESC H Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 48 Comments: Cancels the double-strike mode selected by ESC G. ESC SO Format: ASCII...
Page 275 ESC Sl Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Comments: Prints characters about two-thirds of the normal character height in the lower part of the character space. ESC T Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C T Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 54 Comments:...
Page 276 1: Select outline style 2: Select shadow style 3: Select outline with shadow This command is valid for all characters, with the exception of character codes B0H to DFH, F4H, and F5H in the EPSON Extended Graphics character table. Commend Summary 9-32...
Page 277 ESC ( - Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Comments: Use decimal or hexadecimal values for all variables, not ASCII characters. Use the following values for the first 3 variables: nl must be 3 n2 must be 0 m must be 1 The value of dl determines the location of the score: dl = 1 for underline dl = 2 for strike through...
Page 278 Commands Arranged by Topic The last three bits of d2 determine the characteristics of the score line as shown below: On (1) Continuous Off (0) Note: If Bit 1 and Bit 0 are both off, the selected score is cancelled. Double line and single line scores cannot be combined at the same score position.
Page 279: Word Processing
Word Processing ESC a Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C a n Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 6 1 n Comments: The following values can be used for n: 0: Selects left justification.
Page 280: Character Tables
Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 34 Comments: Causes italic characters to be printed. This command is valid even if the EPSON Extended Graphics set has been selected t or the SelecType CG TABLE setting, but character graphics are not italicized. 9-36 Commend Summary...
Page 281 ESC 5 Format: A S C I I c o d e : E S C 5 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 35 Comments: Cancels the mode selected by ESC 4. ESC R Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 5 2 n Comments The following values can be used for n: 0: USA...
Page 282: User-Defined Characters
Commands Arranged by Topic User-defined Characters See Chapter 4 for sample programs and full information on this topic. ESC & Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B Comments: This command allows characters to be redefined in the currently selected mode. ESC : Format: ASCII code: Decimal:...
Page 283 A S C I I c o d e : E S C 6 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 36 Comments: When the EPSON Extended Graphics character table is selected, this code enables the printing of codes 128 through 159 (decimal) as characters, not control codes. Commands Arranged by Topic...
Page 284 A S C I I c o d e : E S C 7 Decimal: Hexadecimal: 1B 37 Comments: When the EPSON Extended Graphics character table is selected, this code causes codes 128 through 159 to be treated as control codes. This is the default. Graphics See Chapter 4 for sample graphics programs.
Page 285 ESC L Format: ASCII code: Decimal: H e x a d e c i m a l : 1 B 4 C n l n 2 Comments: Turns on eight-element, low-speed, double-density graphics mode. The total number of columns = nl + (n2 x 256). Select High-speed Double-density Graphics Mode ESC Y Format:...
Page 286 Commands Arranged by Topic ESC * Format: ASCII code: Decimal: Hexadecimal: Comments: Turns on graphics mode m. See the table below for details on the available modes. The total number of columns = nl + (n2 * Adjacent dots cannot be printed in this mode. ESC ? Format: ASCII...
Page 287: Appendix A-L
Appendix Proportional Width Table ... A-2 Character Tables ... A-6 Appendix A-l...
Page 288 Proportional Width Table This table lists the widths of your printer’s proportional characters. The values given are in 360ths of an inch. (For example, a value of 36 is 36/360ths of an inch.) You may need to enter these widths into a special table for your processing program so it can calculate the number of proportional characters that will fit on a line.
Page 289 Code Code Width 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 24/16 30/20 36/24 36/24 42/28 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 42/28 36/24 42/28 36/24 36/24 30/20 24/16 30/20 24/16 30/20 30/20 18/12 30/20 36/24 30/20 Proportional Width Table Width 36/24 30/20...
Page 290 Proportional Width Table Code A-4 Appendix Code Width 30/20 30/20 18/12 18/12 18/12 36/24 36/24 36/24 42/28 42/28 30/20 30/20 30/20 36/24 36/24 36/24 36/24 42/28 30/20 30/20 36/24 42/28 30/20 30/20 18/12 30/20 36/24 36/24 36/24 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20...
Page 291 Code Code Width 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 30/20 Proportional Width Table Width 24/16 30/20 36/24 36/24 30/20 30/20 30/20 Appendix A-5...
Page 292: Character Tables
Character Tables These character tables are selected by SelecType CG TABLE setting or using the ESC t software command. For the EPSON Extended Graphics character table, use of the ESC 6 or ESC 7 software command lets you select whether to print hex codes 80 to 9F as characters (ESC 6) or control codes (ESC 7).
Page 293 Character Tables EPSON Extended Graphics Character Table Appendix A-7...
Page 294: Bidirectional Printing
Note that these definitions apply specifically to printers. If a word is italicized, see that topic for more information. application program A program that helps you carry out a particular task, such as word processing or financial planning. ASCII American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A standardized coding system for assigning numerical codes to letters and symbols.
Page 295: Gl-2 Glossary
Glossary A binary digit (0 or l), which is the smallest unit of information used by a printer or computer. See also number systems. buffer See memory. byte A unit of information consisting of eight bits. carriage return The control code that returns the print position to the left margin.
Page 296 An optional, detachable device that automatically feeds single sheets of paper into the printer. data dump A troubleshooting feature. When the printer is in data dump mode, each code that is receives is printed in hexadecimal notation as well as ASCII codes that stand for the characters.
Page 297 ESC/P Abbreviation for EPSON Standard Code for Printers. This system of commands lets you perform software control of your printer from your computer. It is standard for all EPSON printers and supported by most applications software for personal computers. font A font is a style of type designated by a family name.
Page 298 (hex) See number systems. initialize To establish the initial default status of the printer by turning the printer on or sending an INIT signal. interface The connection between the computer and the printer. A parallel interface transmits data one character or code at a time, and a serial interface transmits data one bit at a time.
Page 299 Glossary memory The printer, like a computer, has a memory. When you print a file from a computer, the contents of the file are transferred quickly from the computer’s memory to the printer’s memory. The printer then prints information from its own memory at a much slower rate.
Page 300: Print Quality
See interface. parity Parity is a method for a computer and printer to check the reliability of data transmission. pitch Indicates the number of characters per inch (cpi). The standard is 10 pitch.
Page 301 Random Access Memory. The portion of the printer’s memory used as a buffer and for storing user-defined characters. All data stored in RAM is lost when the printer is turned off. reset To return a printer to its defaults, by either a command, an INIT signal, or by turning the printer off and on.
Page 302 Printing in one direction only. Allows more precise vertical alignment than bidirectional printing. Often used for printing graphics. user-defined characters Characters that are defined and stored in the printer by the user. Also known as download characters. Glossary Glossary GL-9...
Page 303 Character tables, A-6 setting by SelecType, 3-36 setting by software commands, 9-36 Checking the operation self test, 1-19-27 Choosing a place for printer l - 8 - 9 CLEANING, 3-8 Cleaning the printer, 6-2-3 Commands arranged by topic, 9-8-42 description of command...
Page 304 Electrical specifications, 8-8 Emphasized printing, 4-5, 9-29, GL-4 Envelopes, 2-28-30, 5-10-12, 8-4-5 Environmental specifications, 8-8-9 Epson ESC/P, GL-4 Epson Extended Graphics character table, A-7, GL-4 setting by SelecType, 3-36 setting by software commands, 9-36 Escape code (ESC), GL-4 See also Commands...
Page 305 Graphics, 4-9-20 commands, 4-13, 9-40-42 Graphics character table, see Epson Extended Graphics character table Hexadecimal (hex) dump, see Data dump Interface, see Parallel interface or Serial interface IBM PC and compatibles using Epson Extended Graphics character table, 3-36 IEEE-488 interface, 5-31...
Page 306 2-16-22 switching between the cut sheet feeder and continuous paper, 5-15-17 Loading position, 2-14 adjusting, 3-21-22 Location for printer, l-7-8 Maintenance, 6-2-8 Margins, 3-11, 9-19-20 Master Select, 4-7-8, 9-24 Maximum paper widths, 8-3-4 Mechanical specifications, 8-6-7...
Page 307 8-2-9 testing, 1-14-27 troubleshooting, 7-2-27 unpacking, l-3-6 Printer selection menus, l-33 Problem solving, 7-2-27 Proportional mode, 3-6, GL-7 printing, 4-2-3 setting by button, 3-33-34 setting by SelecType, 3-11 setting by software...
Page 308 5-8-l0 Serial interface connecting, l-30-31 selecting, 5-31, 5-39 specifications, 8-13-14 Serial interface board, new, 5-39-40 Setting up the printer, l-2-34 Shadow, 4-6 Short tear-off, 3-7, 3-23-27 Single sheet, loading, 2-3-7 Skip over perforation adjusting, 3-26-27 setting by SelecType, 3-19-20 setting by software command...
Page 309: Index
Index Underlining, 4-6, 9-31 Unidirectional printing, 3-12, 9-10 Unpacking, l-3 User-defined characters, 4-21-31, 9-38-39, GL-9 Voltage, 1-3 power supply, 8-8 Index IN-7...
Page 311 C o n t r o l C o d e s b y F u n c t i o n The following control codes are listed briefly for quick reference. For a more detailed explanation, see the page reference in Chapter 9.
Page 312 Print Enhancement/Word Processing...
Page 314 EPSON OVERSEAS MARKETING LOCATIONS EPSON AMERICA, INC. 2780 Lomita Blvd., Torrance, Calif. 90505, U.S.A. Phone: (2 13) 539-9140 T e l e x : 1 8 2 4 1 2 EPSON UK LTD. Campus 100, Maylands Avenue, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 7EZ.
Page 315 USER’S GUIDE Printed in Japan 89.07-.4...

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Sq-850

Epson SQ-2550 User Manual

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Setting up the Printer

Chapter 2 Paper Handling

Chapter 3 Using the Printer

Chapter 4 Software and Graphics

Chapter 5 Using Printer Options

Chapter 6 Maintenance

Chapter 8 Technical Specifications

Chapter 9 Command Summary

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