Printek FormsPro 4300, Operation Manual

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Using Special Features
Page 4-4
USING THE RIBBON CHECK FEATURE
The use of brand ribbons (Printek part number 90481) provides a number
of benefits in the use of your FormsPro 4000 series printers. First of all Printek ribbons offer
a 23,000,000 draft character life, substantially more than that of most imitations. The
specially formulated ink also provides the best lubrication for the print head and thus the
longest print head life. Be sure to insist on genuine Printek ribbons.
Using Printek brand ribbons also allows the printer’s ribbon checking feature to operate. The
ribbon checking feature will insure that your printer does not try to print when there is no
ribbon installed which could result in the loss of valuable data.
Matching the Ribbon Wear Indicator to Printer Use
The ribbon checking feature also will keep track of the number of draft characters (or draft
equivalent characters if printing other fonts or graphics) that have been printed since the
ribbon was last installed. Once the specified number of draft equivalent characters has been
printed (factory preset to 23,000,000), the printer will begin to flash “Change Ribbon” on the
LCD display. Printing will not be interrupted, but the message will continue to flash until the
ribbon is changed.
Your particular printing application may dictate that you change the ribbon after more or less
than fifteen million characters. If you wish to receive the Change Ribbon message after a
different amount of usage, you may change the number of draft equivalent characters to be
counted in the “Ribbon Life” function in the “Setup: OPTIONS” menu. See the appendix on
Advanced Control Panel Features.
Turning Off Ribbon Checking
You may wish to turn off the ribbon checking feature for one of two reasons. First of all, you
may not wish to receive the “Change Ribbon” message. Secondly, you must turn off this
feature if you wish to use non-Printek brand ribbons in your printer. If you want to turn this
feature off, set the “Ribbon Check:” function in the “Setup: OPTIONS” to “No”. For more
information, refer to the “Advanced Control Panel Features” appendix.
CHECKING SETUP CONFIGURATION
Certain configuration settings, installed options, firmware versions, and other information
may be viewed on the front panel LCD. To cause this information to be displayed, turn off
the power switch on the side of the printer, and then press and hold the ONLINE button while
you turn the power switch back on. Continue to hold the ONLINE button until
“FormsPro 4300”, “FormsPro 4500”, or “FormsPro 4503” is displayed on the front panel.
You may now release the button as the printer continues to show configuration information,
and then proceed with the normal power up process.