NOTES, CAUTIONS AND WARNINGS NOTE A note appears in this manual like this. A note provides additional information to supplement the main text which may help you to use and understand the product. CAUTION! A caution appears in this manual like this. A caution provides additional information which, if ignored, may result in equipment malfunction or damage.
Then, the paper moves back down for printing. This feature has to be enabled. Paper Park Your printer’s Paper Park feature allows you to print a single sheet (cut-sheet) page without removing continuous feed paper from the printer. For more information, see “Paper Park” in “Using your Printer”.
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“Top of Form (TOF) and Forms Tear-Off” in “Using your Printer”. Turning the Platen Knob Always turn the printer off before turning the platen knob! If you turn the platen knob when the printer is on, the Top of Form will misalign. NOTE INTRODUCTION > 7...
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Controlling Access to the Printer > You can control access to the printer by changing the setting for the Operator Panel Function in the Menu from Full Operation (the factory default) to Limited Operation. > When Limited Operation is selected, the PRINT QUALITY and CHARACTER PITCH keys don’t work.
If you wish to change to one of the IBM emulations, see “Using your Printer”. PRINTER DRIVERS The Oki driver for your printer is provided on the CD included with the printer. You can either load the Oki driver or select one of the compatible drivers listed below in your software application.
After files have finished copying, click [Finish]. Switch your printer ON. USING A COMPATIBLE DRIVER The drivers below are listed by decreasing compatibility with your printer. Use one as close to the top of the list as possible. Epson LQ Epson LQ680 Epson LQ1170/570...
Using an inferior cable can cause printing problems and special cables are needed for longer runs than five metres The operation of a printer is not assured if a USB compatible device is connected concurrently with other USB compatible machines.
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If the printer had formerly been used as a parallel or serial device and there is no output from the printer once a USB cable has been connected, check to see that the correct port has been selected.
USING YOUR PRINTER COMPONENTS: REAR FEED (CONTINUOUS FORMS) The serial number of your printer is on a label fixed to the back of the printer. Sheet Guide Paper Lever ON-OFF Switch Platen Knob COMPONENTS: TOP FEED (SINGLE SHEETS) Paper Guides...
The first line prints at the red line of the plastic paper shield (1) on the printhead. If you turn the platen knob when the printer is not at Top of Form, the TOF will misalign. Always feed the paper to TOF before turning the platen knob! >...
To use the TEAR key: Make sure paper is loaded, and wait 2 seconds. Press TEAR (3). If the paper moves up, Forms Tear-Off is OFF. If the paper moves down, Forms Tear-Off is ON. USING YOUR PRINTER > 15...
SETTING TOP OF FORM (TOF) If you turn the platen knob when the printer is not at Top of Form, the TOF will misalign. Always feed the paper to TOF before turning the platen knob! The first line prints at the red line (1) of the plastic paper shield on the printhead.
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(When you begin pressing the Micro Feed key, the printhead will move to the right). Press SEL | MENU (1) to save the setting and place the printer back on line. To reset the Top of Form to the factory default, see the next page.
TEMPORARILY CHANGING THE TOP OF FORM If you turn the platen knob when the printer is not at Top of Form, the TOF will misalign. Always feed the paper to TOF before turning the platen knob. To move the Top of Form position lower for one page only: Press SEL to deselect the printer.
POTENTIAL ISSUES WITH SOFTWARE PACKAGES If Forms Tear-Off is set to ON and the software package you are using “pauses” for a long enough interval while sending data to the printer, Forms Tear-Off may be activated. No data is lost, but this causes uneven print registration due to the paper movement.
If you don’t wish to engage the Forms Tear-Off feature, you can advance: rear-feed continuous forms loaded on the built-in tractor bottom-feed continuous forms loaded on the optional push tractor up to the tear-off position manually, by pressing TEAR (5). Form Tear-Off Form Tear-Off USING YOUR PRINTER > 20 1 Sec...
Never park labels. Paper park allows you to switch to single sheet printing without removing continuous feed paper from the printer. When you wish to print single sheets, simply press PARK (6) to retract the continuous form paper from the paper path, then lift the sheet guide, load the sheet and send the print job.
Adjust the paper guides (1) for the size of paper you are using, then place a sheet of paper in the sheet guide. SINGLE SHEETS TO CONTINUOUS FORMS Press FF/LOAD to remove the single sheet paper. Lower the sheet guide into the continuous forms position. USING YOUR PRINTER > 22...
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Swing the wire feed guide over onto the pull-up roller. Move the paper lever to the appropriate position. Rear feed: Bottom feed: If necessary, load continuous form paper. Press FF/LOAD. USING YOUR PRINTER > 23...
To adjust the gap, open the access cover and move the coloured lever (1) to the recommended setting from the table. Setting When the head gap is set to 2, 3, 4 or 5, the printer automatically slows down for better print quality with multipart forms. CAUTION!
Courier Gothic Orator Prestige Roman Swiss Swiss Bold NOTE Lights on LQ and COURIER LQ and GOTHIC LQ and ORATOR LQ and PRESTIGE LQ, COURIER and GOTHIC LQ, PRESTIGE and GOTHIC LQ, COURIER and PRESTIGE USING YOUR PRINTER > 25...
To select Proportional, press the CHARACTER PITCH key until both the cpi value and PROP lights are illuminated. To select non-proportional, press the CHARACTER PITCH key until the light for the cpi value you wish to use is illuminated. USING YOUR PRINTER > 26...
PITCH key (5). Pressing SHIFT and RESET reinitialises the printer, but does not affect any menu settings and does not reset the printer to the factory defaults. For information on resetting the printer to the factory defaults, see “Resetting the Menu to the Factory Defaults” later in this chapter.
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Press and hold SHIFT (2), then press SEL (1) to save your setting and exit the Menu Mode. USING YOUR PRINTER > 28...
MENU MODE In Menu Mode, use the front panel keys to change the defaults for the printer parameters. The changes made in the Menu Mode are automatically saved when you exit the Menu Mode and are retained, even when the printer is turned off.
Hold down the SHIFT key while pressing SEL. RESETTING THE MENU TO THE FACTORY DEFAULTS Turn the printer OFF. Press SEL and LF while turning the printer ON. PRINTING THE MENU SETTINGS Make sure paper is loaded in the printer.
Press and hold SHIFT, then press SEL to exit the Menu Mode and save your settings. If you turn off the printer without first exiting the Menu Mode, the changes you have made will be lost. MENU SETTINGS For a complete explanation of each menu item, see “Explanations of Menu Items”...
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Group Item Symbol Sets Character Set Language Set Zero Character Code Page Rear Feed Line Spacing Form Tear-Off Skip Over Perforation Page Width (wide model) Page Length Bottom Feed Line Spacing Form Tear-Off Skip Over Perforation Page Width (wide model) Page Length Settings Set I, Set II...
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Group Item Top Feed Line Spacing Form Tear-Off* Bottom Margin Page Width (wide model) Page Length Wait Time Page Length Control * With RollPaper Stand fitted Set-Up Graphics Receive Buffer Size Paper Out Override Print Registration 1 Print Registration 2 Operator Panel Function Reset Inhibit Print Suppress Effective...
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Group Item Parallel I/F I-Prime Pin 18 Auto Feed XT* Bi-Direction *When Epson LQ emulation selected. Serial I/F* Parity Serial Data 7/8 bits Protocol Diagnostic Test Busy Line Baud Rate DSR Signal DTR Signal Busy Time * When Serial I/F installed. CSF Bin 1** Line Spacing Bottom Margin...
Auto CR, Default =No IBM emulation only. If you want the printer to automatically add a carriage return when a Line Feed is received at the end of a line, change the setting to Yes.
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Bottom Margin, Default = Valid Change to Invalid if you want the printer to ignore the bottom margin setting. Setting the Bottom Margin to Invalid can cause loss of data and damage the printhead by allowing printing without paper. Busy Line, Default = SSD- Appears only when the optional Serial Interface is installed.
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CSF Type, Default = Wide To avoid paper jams, change this setting to Narrow if you are using the optional Cut Sheet Feeder on the wide model ML421 printer. Diagnostic Test, Default = No Appears only when the optional Serial Interface is installed. Select YES to perform a diagnostic test of the serial interface.
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DTR Signal, Default = Ready On Power Up Appears only when the optional Serial Interface is installed. Change to Ready On Select if the DTR signal is required when the printer is selected (leave as Ready On Power Up if the DTR signal is required when the printer is turned ON).
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ON the printer. Page Length, Default = 12" Selects the length of the paper you are using. This enables the printer to keep track of the initial printing position (TOF) on each page. Page Length Control, Default = by Menu Setting If you wish to use the Paper End sensor to detect the actual paper end, use Actual Page Length setting.
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Choose the character width in characters per inch (cpi). Power Save Time, Default = 5 min. Sets the interval the printer waits for more data before it goes into the power save mode. Power Saving must be set to Enable (the factory default) for this to be effective.
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Reset Inhibit, Default = No Select Yes if you wish the printer to ignore the reset command sent by software. This prevents your software from changing the settings you make through the front panel controls or through printer commands.
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Change to Double for double width and height printing. Skip Over Perforation, Default = No Change to Yes if you want the printer to go to the next page when it comes within 1" (25 mm) of the bottom of the page. Keep it set to No if your software has its own page formatting controls.
REPLACING THE RIBBON CARTRIDGE Important! Make sure you have the correct replacement ribbon for your printer. The wrong ribbon will not print when installed in your printer. Look for the printer model number on the ribbon package. RIBBON CARTRIDGE HANDLING Leave unused ribbon cartridges in their packages until needed.
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Turn the take-up knob (1) in the direction of the arrow to take up any ribbon slack. Close the access cover and turn the printer back on. If ribbon should contact the eyes: Flush eyes with large quantities of water for 15 minutes, keeping eyelids open with fingers.
Loading Rear Feed Paper from the Back of the Printer These instructions assume you have ready access to the back of the printer. If you do not, go to “Loading Rear Feed Paper from the Front of the Printer.” Make sure the paper lever is forward (position marked “REAR”).
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Open the access cover (1). Grasp the sheet guide. Lift it slightly, then slide it back. Pivot the sheet guide forward and gently rest it against the roller assembly. Careful! If you push the sheet guide too hard against the roller assembly, it may dislodge it.
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From the back of the printer, locate the tractors (1). Open the lock levers (1) and move the right tractor (as viewed from the back of the printer) to the reference mark (2) matching the width of the paper you are loading. Then close...
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Place continuous forms paper on the first two pins of either tractor. Important! You must keep the number of paper holes engaged on either pin the same. If you don’t the paper will skew and jam. Close the right tractor cover. MAINTENANCE >...
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If the paper is too loose, or too tight, it can cause jams. Lower the sheet guide and slide it towards the front of the printer until the marks align. NOTE MAINTENANCE > 49...
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Loading Rear Feed Paper from the Front of the Printer These instructions assume you do not have ready access to the back of the printer. If you do, go back to “Loading Rear Feed Paper from the Rear of the Printer” earlier in this chapter.
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Make sure the paper lever is forward (position marked “REAR”). Open the access cover (1). Grasp the tabs and lift off the sheet guide. MAINTENANCE > 51...
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Pull up on the lock levers to release them. The movement of the left tractor (as viewed from the front of the printer) is restricted to ensure that the paper covers the paper out sensor. Move the left tractor to the position to match your paper size and push back on the lever to lock it in place, then move the right tractor to fit the width of the paper.
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Open the tractor covers and place continuous forms paper on the first two pins of either tractor, then close the left tractor cover. You must keep the number of paper holes engaged on either pin the same. If you don’t the paper will skew and jam. Adjust the position of the right tractor to center the holes in the paper on the pins.
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Reinstall the sheet feeder. MAINTENANCE > 54...
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Place the wire guide (1) in the sheet guide on the pull-up roller assembly. Press FF/LOAD. The factory default setting for the Top of Form (where the printing should begin) is 1" down from the top of the page. To change the setting, see “Top of Form (TOF)”...
If you have continuous form paper in the path, press PARK to remove it before loading single sheets. Make sure the printer is on and deselected (SEL light off). Move the paper lever (1) to the center position (marked “TOP”).
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Adjust the paper feed guides (1) for the width of the paper, then place a sheet of paper in the separator. The paper will feed into the printer. > If the paper does not feed in, remove it. Check the paper lever position.
Use the platen knob to back the paper all the way out of the printer. Make sure the printer is turned OFF before you open the access cover. Open the access cover (1) and remove the pull-up roller assembly (2). Remove any torn paper.
Use the platen knob to back the paper all the way out of the printer. Tear off a couple of sheets of paper, leaving a new, clean, square-cut edge. Reload the paper and turn the printer back on. Fragments of Paper in the Paper Path Turn off the printer. MAINTENANCE > 59...
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Use the platen knob to back the paper all the way out of the printer. Make sure the printer is turned OFF before you open the access cover. Open the access cover (1) and remove the pull-up roller assembly (2). Then grasp the tabs (3) on the sheet guide (4) and lift it off the printer.
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Remove the paper pieces. Then, use the platen knob to back the paper out. Load standard paper, close and lock the tractor covers. Install the sheet guide, then install the pull-up roller assembly and close the access cover. Turn the printer on and press FF/LOAD. MAINTENANCE > 61...
SINGLE SHEET PAPER JAMS Turn off the printer. Use the platen knob to back the paper out. Open the access cover (1) and remove the pull-up roller assembly (2). Remove any torn pieces from around the carriage. Reinstall the pull-up roller assembly and close the access cover.
Turn off the printer. Use the platen knob to back the paper out of the printer. Make sure the printer is turned off before you open the access cover. Open the access cover (1) and remove the pull-up roller assembly (2).
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Reinstall the pull-up roller assembly and close the access cover. MAINTENANCE > 64...
Is the ribbon properly installed? Is an Oki ribbon being used? Is the printhead gap correctly set? Are the correct printer drivers being used for the printer? > Settings in your software application will normally override any settings in your printer driver.
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Nothing happens when I turn ON the printer. Solution Check the power cord connection to the outlet and to the printer. If you are using a power strip, make sure it is turned ON, and that the fuse hasn’t blown or that the circuit breaker hasn’t tripped.
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I'm getting strange symbols, incorrect fonts, etc., when I try to print a document. Solutions Check to be sure that the printer driver you have selected in your software matches the printer emulation. Press SHIFT and SEL keys, then press GROUP key.
Problem The ALARM light is flashing. Solution Try turning the printer OFF and then back ON again. If the light still blinks, call for service. Problem The ALARM light is ON and the Character Pitch 10 light is flashing.
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(Limited Function). If the printer is part of a customized system or if it is used by a number of people, the system manager may have used this option to make sure the printer is always set properly.
Purchasing Parts & Accessories Before you purchase parts and accessories, make a note of your printer model number (see the front of the unit) and have the correct part number and description of the item you wish to purchase. Item descriptions and part numbers are provided in this section.
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Option Pull Tractor, Top-Mount (1) Push Tractor, Bottom-Mount (2) Roll Paper Stand (3) Cut Sheet Feeder (4) Single Bin Dual Bin Serial Interface RS232C (5) PARTS AND ACCESSORIES > 71 Part number Part number ML5590 ML5591 09002365 09002369 09002366 09002370 09002332 09000691 09000695...
PRINTER CONTROL CODES This section lists the most commonly used printer control codes. You will find a comprehensive listing of the control codes (English only) on your Printer CD. To access it: Place the CD in your CD-ROM drive and wait for it to AutoPlay.
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ESC s 1 ESC s 0 ESC P 1 ESC P 0 ESC N n ESC O ESC } NUL PRINTER CONTROL CODES > 73 Decimal 27 67 0 n 27 67 n 27 52 27 53 27 64 27 97 48...
SPECIFICATIONS Item Print Method Printhead Interfaces: Standard: Optional: Receive Buffer Size Reliability Ribbon Life Printhead Life Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF) Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) Emulations (co-resident) Print Speed High Speed Draft (HSD) Utility Letter Quality (LQ) Specification Impact dot matrix 24 pins, 0.20 mm (0.0079") diameter, with thermal protection Centronics parallel, IEEE-1284 compliant...
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Item Characters per Line (cpl) Setting 10 cpi 12 cpi 15 cpi 17.1 cpi 20 cpi Graphics Resolution Resident Fonts Letter Quality Utility Bar Codes Paper Thickness: Tractor Feed Rear Feed: Bottom Feed*: *requires optional push or pull tractor. Resident Typefaces: LQ Courier LQ Letter Gothic LQ Prestige...
SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER LOCATION Place your printer on a firm, solid surface. Allow enough space around the printer to easily access the platen knob and the various paper feed paths. Make sure a suitable grounded power outlet is available nearby.
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Remove any packing tape, then grasp the tabs (1) at either end of the access cover and pivot it towards the front of the printer as far as it will go. Remove the printhead shipping restraint. Remove the shipping restraint from the pull-up roller assembly (1).
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Use the tabs (1) to lift and remove the sheet guide, then remove the shipping restraint. Reinstall the sheet guide: insert the clips on either side of the separator into the notches marked with a triangle, then press down to secure the separator in place. SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER > 83...
INSTALLING THE RIBBON CARTRIDGE Make sure you have the correct replacement ribbon for your printer. The wrong ribbon will not print when installed in your printer. RIBBON CARTRIDGE HANDLING Leave unused ribbon cartridges in their packages until needed. Careful; the ribbon ink may cause permanent stains.
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Do not remove the ribbon shield (1) from the ribbon. Turn the take-up knob (1) in the direction of the moulded arrow to take up any ribbon slack. Close the access cover and turn the printer ON. CAUTION! SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER > 85...
POWER CONNECTION Make sure both the printer and the computer are OFF. Plug the power cord into the back of the printer, then into a grounded outlet. Turn on the printer. SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER > 86...
Make sure the printer and computer are both turned OFF. Attach a suitable bi-directional cable to the parallel connector on the back of the printer. Then attach and secure the cable to your computer. Turn the printer and computer back ON.
Attach a suitable USB cable to the printer. Then attach the cable to your computer. Turn the computer and printer back on. LOADING PAPER For instructions on loading paper, see “Loading Paper” in the chapter on “Maintenance”. TESTING THE PRINTER...
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Make sure paper is loaded. Turn the printer OFF. Press and hold the LF key while turning the printer back ON. The printer will print a page of font samples and the test ends. CAUTION! SETTING UP YOUR PRINTER > 89...
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Wide carriage Model ML5591: If you are using 8.5 inch paper to run the tests, make sure the paper width selection in the printer menu is set to 8.5 inches. Otherwise, printing on the platen may damage the printer. See the chapter on “Menu Mode”...
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Hexadecimal Dump Mode When the printer is placed in the Hexadecimal Dump Mode, all data received, including text and printer commands, is printed in both hexadecimal and ASCII format. For example, the following line of BASIC code LPRINT CHR$ (27);”0”;CHR$ (30);”THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A HEXADECIMAL DUMP.”...
Characters Per Second (CPS) ...6 Computer Connections...87 Electrical Requirements...80 Emulations ...27 Mode ...38 Envelopes...79 Environmental Requirements...80 Font Sample Test ...89 Fonts Embedded Printer Commands ..67 Resident...78 Selecting...40 Forms Tear-Off ...38 Top of Form ...19 Wait Time ...42 Graphics Printing ... 33 GROUP, Menu Mode...29 Height, Double Height Printing ...42...
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Reliability ...77 Ribbon Shield ... 44 Rolling ASCII Test...90 RS-232C Serial Interface ...77 Serial Interface Option ...66 Setting up your Printer ...81 Skip Over Perforation ...32 Software Embedded commands ...67 Matching drivers to emulations 67 Software vs. printer settings ...65 Symbol Sets ...39...
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Temperature Specifications...80 Testing the Printer ...88 Thickness, Paper...78 Time Out... 33 Top Feed...79 Bottom Margin ...33 Line Spacing ...33 Top of Form...35 Forms Tear-Off... 7 Paper Shield... 7 Typefaces Selecting...40 Uni-directional printing, graphics ...33 Unpacking ...81 USB, Specification 1.1 Compliant...87 Utility Front Panel Light...78...
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