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Where to Find Information

Daily Use guide

"Setup Guide" of this guide will help you set up and begin using
your printer. It includes information on setting up your printer
and installing the printer software. And this guide provides
information on normal printer operation. It also contains
troubleshooting tips and customer support information.

Reference Guide included on the CD-ROM

The Reference Guide contained on the CD-ROM included with
your printer provides detailed information about printer software
settings, printing on special paper, maintenance, and problem
solving.

Opening the Reference Guide:

Insert the printer software CD in the CD-
ROM drive. Select

Online Guide

from

the Installer dialog box and click

.

Then click

View Reference Guide

to

open the guide.

Installing the Reference Guide:

To install the Reference Guide on your hard disk, click

Install

Reference Guide

and follow the on-screen instructions. When

installation is complete, an

ESC480 Guide

icon appears in the

EPSON folder. Double-click the icon to open the guide.

Note:

If your hard disk does not have enough space to install the Reference
Guide, view it directly from the CD.

Summary of Contents for ESC480

Page 1: ...edinformationaboutprintersoftware settings printing on special paper maintenance and problem solving Opening the Reference Guide Insert the printer software CD in the CD ROM drive Select Online Guide from the Installer dialog box and click Then click View Reference Guide to open the guide Installing the Reference Guide To install the Reference Guide on your hard disk click Install Reference Guide ...

Page 2: ...e to strictly comply with SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION s operating and maintenance instructions SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION shall not be liable for any damages or problems arising from the use of any options or any consumable products other than those designated as Original EPSON Products or EPSON Approved Products by SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION shall not be held liable for any damage r...

Page 3: ... Parts and Functions Printer Parts and Functions 15 15 15 15 Printer Parts 15 Loading Special Paper Envelopes and Other Media Loading Special Paper Envelopes and Other Media Loading Special Paper Envelopes and Other Media Loading Special Paper Envelopes and Other Media 17 17 17 17 Loading Special Paper and Other Media 17 Loading Envelopes 19 Using the Printer Software Using the Printer Software Us...

Page 4: ...ligning the Print Head 43 Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Troubleshooting Troubleshooting 45 45 45 45 Error Messages 45 Typical Problems and Solutions 45 Cancelling Printing 47 Where to Get Help 48 Consumable Products Consumable Products Consumable Products Consumable Products 49 49 49 49 Consumable Products 49 Printer Specifications Printer Specifications Printer Specifications Printer Specificat...

Page 5: ...l systems that regularly switch on and off Avoid electrical outlets controlled by wall switches or automatic timers Keeptheentire computer system away from potentialsources of electromagnetic interference such as loudspeakers or the base units of cordless telephones Do not use a damaged or frayed power cord Unplug the printer s power cord from the electrical outlet when you do not use the printer ...

Page 6: ...ng a location for the printer When using the printer Do not put your hand inside the printer or touch the ink cartridges during printing Do not move the print head by hand otherwise you may damage the printer Before transporting the printer make sure the print head is in the home far right position and the ink cartridges are in place When handling the ink cartridges Keep ink cartridges out of the ...

Page 7: ...cartridges or try to refill them This could damage the print head When choosing a place for the printer Place the printer on a flat stable surface that extends beyond the printer base in all directions The printer will not operate properly if it is tilted or at an angle Leave enough space in front of the printer for paper to be ejected smoothly Avoid places subject to rapid changes in temperature ...

Page 8: ... and office equipment industry to promote the introduction of energy efficient personal computers monitors printers fax machines and copiers in an effort to reduce air pollution caused by power generation Warnings Cautions and Notes w Warnings must be followed carefully to avoid bodily injury c Cautions must be observed to avoid damage to your equipment Notes contain important information and usef...

Page 9: ...t the ink cartridges used for setup will empty faster than normal ink cartridge package contains both black and color ink cartridges Follow Checking the Package Contents section through Installing the Printer Software section in this manual to install the printer software After the software installation is complete follow the on screen messages and proceed to Installing and Checking the Ink Cartri...

Page 10: ...printer Attaching the Paper Support Insert the paper support into the slots at the rear of the printer and place the printer on a flat stable surface Leave enough space in front of the printer for paper to be ejected smoothly The number of tape strip used may vary from what is shown ...

Page 11: ...to the printer s interface connector Then squeeze the wire clips together until they lock in place on both sides If your cable has a ground wire connect it to the ground connector below the interface connector 3 Plug the other end of the cable into the computer s parallel interface If there is a ground wire at the computer end of the cable connect it to the ground connector at the back of the comp...

Page 12: ... software as described below Follow these steps to install your printer software 1 Make sure that your printer is unplugged 2 Turn on your computer and start Windows If the New Hardware Found dialog box or any other Wizard appears click Cancel 3 Insert the printer software CD shipped with your printer in the CD ROM drive The Installer dialog box appears Ifit does not double click the My Computer i...

Page 13: ...te If the power cord is not attached to the printer connect it to the AC inlet on the back of the printer 6 After plugging in the power cord the Setup utility opens automatically If a message informs you to restart your computer follow the instructions Installing and Checking the Ink Cartridges When your printer software installation is complete the Setup utility opens automatically The Setup util...

Page 14: ...ridges are self contained units Under ordinary use ink will not leak from a cartridge If ink does get on your hands wash them thoroughly with soap and water If ink gets into your eyes flush them immediately with water c Caution You must remove the yellow tape seals from the cartridges before installing them otherwise the cartridges will become unusable Do not remove the blue portion of the tape se...

Page 15: ...creen instructions Nozzle check The printer will print a test pattern allowing you to check if any nozzles are clogged Here are sample printouts If the printout is satisfactory proceed to the next section Print head alignment If the nozzle check page does not print satisfactorily for example if any segment of the printed lines is missing click Cleaning to clean the print heads If print quality has...

Page 16: ...line which is aligned correctly select the number of the line which is the closest to being correct and click Realignment The alignmenttestsheetwill be printed again Printing Your First Page After making sure your printer is operating correctly you are ready to print your first page To familiarize yourself with the printer software we recommend printing one of the sample files providedwithyourprin...

Page 17: ...ter 2 Insert the printer driver CD ROM If the Installer dialog box appears click Quit 3 Double click the My Computer icon Right click the CD ROM icon and click Open 4 Double click the sample bmp file to open it 5 Tochangetheprinterdriversettings open the File menu and click Print A Print dialog box similar to the one below opens This example is from Paint 6 Make sure EPSON Stylus COLOR 480 is sele...

Page 18: ...of these buttons While printing the EPSON Progress Meter will appear showing the printing progress and the status of your printer The setup process for this printer is now complete See the Daily Use guide when you want information on regular printer operations See the Reference Guide included on the printer software CD ROM for detailed information on making printer driver settings printing on spec...

Page 19: ...15 Printer Parts and Functions Printer Parts sheet feeder edge guides printer cover paper support ink cartridge clamps print head ...

Page 20: ...16 ...

Page 21: ...the instruction sheets packed with the media first and keep the following points in mind For more details on using such media see Paper Handling in the online Reference Guide Make sure the printable side of the paper is facing up when loading media into the sheet feeder See the instruction sheets packed with the media to determine which side is the printable surface Some media have cut corners to ...

Page 22: ...aper Up to 30 sheets Photo Quality Ink Jet Cards Ink Jet Note Cards and Ink Jet Greeting Cards Up to 30 index cards Always place the included support sheet under the cards Photo Quality Glossy Film One sheet at a time For A4 or Ltter size glossy film always put a sheet of plain paper under the film For A6 size glossy film always put the included support sheet under the film Ink Jet Transparencies ...

Page 23: ...k flat before loading If print quality declines when a stack of envelops is loaded load one envelope at a time Load envelopes flap edge first with the flap side down as shown in the illustration Do not use envelopes that are curled or folded Make sure to flatten the envelope flaps before loading Avoid using envelopes that are too thin they may curl during printing Select Plain Paper as the Media T...

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Page 25: ... 22 For information on using the printer utilities see Using the Printer Utilities in the online Reference Guide Note The specific features available in the printer software vary depending on the version of Windows you are using Online help provides more information about the printer software See Getting Information Through Online Help on page 33 for instructions on accessing help Accessing the pr...

Page 26: ...opens From the Windows Start menu 1 Click Start point to Settings then click Printers 2 For Windows 95 and 98 select your printer then click Properties on the File menu For Windows 2000 select your printer then click Printing Preferences on the File menu For NT 4 0 select your printer then click Document Defaults on the File menu The printer driver opens Making Changes to Printer Settings The prin...

Page 27: ...is mode provides the quickest and easiest way to start printing See Using the Automatic mode on page 26 PhotoEnhance This mode lets you choose from a variety of image correction settings specially designed for photos See Using the PhotoEnhance mode on page 27 Custom This mode lets you choose from a list of ready made or personalized settings suited to the kind of document you want to print When Cu...

Page 28: ... Quality Ink Jet Paper Plain paper Envelopes EPSON Premium Ink Jet Plain Paper A4 S041214 EPSON 360 dpi Ink Jet Paper A4 S041059 EPSON Iron On Cool Peel Transfer Paper A4 S041154 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper A4 S041061 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Cards A6 S041054 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Cards 5 8 S041121 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Cards 8 10 S041122 EPSON Photo Quality Self Adhesive Shee...

Page 29: ...per Heavyweight A4 S041259 EPSON Photo Paper A4 S041140 EPSON Photo Paper 4 6 S041134 EPSON Panoramic Photo Paper 210 594 mm S041145 EPSON Photo Paper Cards A4 S041177 EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film A4 S041071 EPSON Photo Quality Glossy Film A6 S041107 EPSON Photo Stickers 16 A6 S041144 EPSON Photo Stickers 4 A6 S041176 EPSON Ink Jet Transparencies A4 S041063 ...

Page 30: ...g see Making the Media Type setting on page 23 Note Depending on the media selected in the Media Type list while Automatic is selected a slider appears under the Custom radio button that lets you choose from Quality or Speed settings Select Quality when print quality is more important than speed Most Windows applications feature paper size and page layout settings that override similar settings on...

Page 31: ...ng 16 24 or 32 bit color data Printing with PhotoEnhance selected may increase the time required for printing depending on your computer system and the amount of data contained in your image You can select from the following settings Standard This setting provides standard image correction for most photos Try this first People This setting is best for photos of people Nature This setting is best f...

Page 32: ...tural appearance of photographs taken with a film camera Using the Custom mode The Custom mode offers ready made settings designed for printing text and graphs and for applying a color matching method You can also create and save your own custom settings Soft Focus This setting makes your photos look as if they were taken with a soft focus lens Sepia This setting applies a sepia tone to your photo...

Page 33: ...gs such as Print Quality and Color Adjustment are made automatically Changes to these settings are reflected in the display on the left side of the Main menu 4 Before printing be sure to verify the Media Type and Ink settings as they may be affected by the Custom setting you select See Making the Media Type setting on page 23 ICM For Windows 98 95 and 2000 This setting automatically adjusts printo...

Page 34: ...30 Previewing your printout Select the Print Preview check box on the Main menu when you wish to view a preview of your document before printing ...

Page 35: ... the size of the previewed page Fit to screen This button scales the previewed page so that it fits the size of the window Select this option if you want to see the entire page at one time Maximum zoom This buttondisplays the previewed page at the maximum possible zoom ratio Printable area on off This button displays a rectangle on the page being previewed This rectangle is the printable area for ...

Page 36: ...de of the preview window Then add or remove it using the commands in the Print Options menu Watermark This button opens the watermark settings dialog box where you can change any of the current watermark settings Reset watermark settings This button returns all watermark settings to what they were when the Print Preview window was first opened If nothing has been changed this feature is not availa...

Page 37: ...erties Depending on your application you may need to click a combination of these buttons Click Help at the bottom ofthe Main Paper Layout and Utility menus for help related to the items on that menu You can get specific help related to any item on a menu by right clicking the item then clicking the What s This command Accessing help from the Windows Start menu Click the Start button point to Prog...

Page 38: ...34 ...

Page 39: ...t point to Programs and then EPSON or EPSON Printers then click EPSON Stylus COLOR 480 Readme Accessing EPSON Status Monitor 3 There are two ways to access EPSON Status Monitor 3 Double click the printer shaped shortcut icon on the Windows taskbar See Monitoring Preferences on page 61 Open the printer driver click the Utility tab then click EPSON Status Monitor 3 When you access EPSON Status Monit...

Page 40: ...36 ...

Page 41: ...print head moves to the ink cartridge replacement position Follow the on screen instructions to replace the cartridge For more information on using the Status Monitor see Using EPSON Status Monitor 3 in the online Reference Guide Note If you need to replace an ink cartridge before it is empty use the Ink Cartridge Replacement utility from the Utilities menu in your EPSON printer driver Please read...

Page 42: ...se the ink remaining in the print head nozzles may dry out You must remove the yellow tape seal from the cartridge before installing it otherwise a fatal error will occur and the cartridge will become unusable Do not remove the blue portion of the tape seal from the top of the cartridge otherwise the print head may become clogged and unable to print Do not remove the tape seals from the bottom of ...

Page 43: ...39 In addition to the ink used during document printing ink is consumed during print head cleaning ink cartridge replacement and the self cleaning cycle which is performed when the printer is turned on ...

Page 44: ...40 ...

Page 45: ...software or the shortcut icon Using the Nozzle Check utility Note Before using the utility make sure that A4 or Letter size paper is loaded in the sheet feeder Do not use the Nozzle Check utility while printing is in progress otherwise your printout may be marred There are two ways to access the utility Right click the printer shaped icon on the Windows taskbar and select Nozzle Check Access the p...

Page 46: ...the Print Head on page 43 Cleaning the Print Head If you find that the printed image is unexpectedly faint or dots in the printed image are missing you may be able to solve these problems by cleaning the print head which ensures that the nozzles are delivering ink properly You can clean the print head from your computer using the Head Cleaning utility accessed through the printer software or the s...

Page 47: ... are two ways to access the utility Right click the printer shaped icon on the Windows taskbar and select Head Cleaning Access the printer software and click the Utility tab then click the Head Cleaning button After opening the utility follow the on screen instructions Aligning the Print Head If you notice a misalignment of vertical lines you may be able to solve this problem from your computer wi...

Page 48: ...er shaped icon on the Windows taskbar and select Print Head Alignment Access the printer software and click the Utility tab then click the Print Head Alignment button After opening the utility follow the on screen instructions ...

Page 49: ... Solutions Most printer problems have simple solutions Find the problem in the list below and apply the recommended solution For more information see Troubleshooting in the online Reference Guide Print quality problems If you are having print quality problems try the solutions offered here Horizontal banding Try one or more of these solutions Makesure the printable side ofthe paperis face up in th...

Page 50: ...ng utility to clear any clogged ink nozzles Make sure there are no error messages displayed If an error message indicates that the ink cartridges need replacing click the How To button and follow the on screen instructions Blurry or smeared printout Try one or more of these solutions Make sure theprintable side of the paperis face upinthe sheet feeder Make sure your paper is not damaged dirty or t...

Page 51: ...s Note Print quality may not be what you expect on the first page printed after a paper jam If print quality is a problem try printing the page again Cancelling Printing If the printouts are not what you expected and contain incorrect or garbled characters or images you may need to cancel printing To cancel printing follow the instructions below When you send a print job to the printer the Progres...

Page 52: ...ustomer support will be able to help you much more quickly if you provide them with the following information Serial number of your printer The serial number label is on the back of the printer Printer model Brand and model of your computer Printer software version Click About in your printer driver Windows version you are using Software application s you normally use with your printer and their v...

Page 53: ... quality printing needs Black ink cartridge T013051 Color ink cartridge T014051 EPSON Premium Ink Jet Plain Paper A4 S041214 EPSON 360 dpi Ink Jet Paper A4 S041059 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Paper A4 S041061 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Cards A6 S041054 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Cards 5 8 S041121 EPSON Photo Quality Ink Jet Cards 8 10 S041122 EPSON Photo Quality Self Adhesive Sheets A4 S041106 E...

Page 54: ...107 EPSON Ink Jet Transparencies A4 S041063 EPSON Photo Paper A4 S041140 EPSON Photo Paper 4 6 S041134 EPSON Photo Paper Cards A4 S041177 EPSON Photo Stickers 16 A6 S041144 EPSON Photo Stickers 4 A6 S041176 EPSON Panoramic Photo Paper 210 594 mm S041145 EPSON Iron On Cool Peel Transfer Paper A4 S041154 EPSON Matte Paper Heavyweight A4 S041259 ...

Page 55: ...stem Requirements Recommended System i486 25 MHz for Windows 95 and NT 4 0 i486 66 MHz for Windows 98 Pentium 133 MHz for Windows 2000 Pentium or higher processor for Windows 98 95 and NT 4 0 133 MHz or higher processor for Windows 2000 16 MB RAM for Windows 98 95 and NT 4 0 32 MB RAM for Windows 2000 32 MB RAM or more for Windows 98 and 95 64 MB or more for Windows 2000 and NT 4 0 20 MB hard disk...

Page 56: ... MHz for Windows 2000 Memory 16 MB for Windows 95 98 and NT 4 0 32 MB or more recommended 32 MB for Windows 2000 Hard disk space 2 MB to install the Reference Guide CD ROM drive Double speed Quad speed or better recommended Display 640 480 pixel or 800 600 pixel resolution with High Color 16 bit or True Color 32 bit setting Browser Web browser Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 0 or later recommended ...

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