Tektronix PHASER 380, Service Manual

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6-38
Phaser 380 Color Printer
6
Troubleshooting
PC DOS printing problems
Table 6-9 PC DOS printing problems
Image never prints.
Printer acts as if it is
receiving data, but
nothing comes out of
printer, or the printer
goes back to “Ready”
mode without printing
image. Make sure that the computer is communicating with the printer.
At the DOS prompt, type the following in lowercase letters:
echo showpage > port:
(substitute LPT1:, LPT2: or COM1, etc., for port:)
The printer responds by sending a page through the print cycle
and ejecting a blank page. If this does not happen, check your
cable, or try a different parallel cable. If using the serial port,
refer to the serial port configuration.
Ensure that the print file ends with a “CTRL-D” character.
CTRL-D indicates the end-of-file, which the printer responds to
by closing host-to-printer communications and then processing
and printing the file. Use a text editor to open and examine the
file. On-screen, a “CTRL-D” character appears as a “
✦
”
character.
Check and add, if necessary, the following line to the
AUTOEXEC.BAT file:
mode = LPT1,,p
(If your port is not LPT1, substitute LPT2: or COM1: for the
correct port). This turns on printer retry indefinitely.
Is the printer in PostScript mode? Check this by sending the
file TESTHPGL.PLT (located on the Tektronix Utilities diskette,
HP-GL directory) to the printer.
At the DOS prompt, type the following DOS command:
COPY TESTHPGL.PLT LPT1:
(If your port is not LPT1, substitute LPT2: or COM1: for the
correct port).
The PC responds with
1 FILE COPIED
. If this file prints stating
that the printer is in HP-GL mode, then the printer needs to be
changed back to the PostScript mode. Use the utility located
on the Tektronix diskettes to change language emulation. Refer
to the Phaser 380 Drivers and Utilities Printing Reference for
complete instructions.
Download TEKEHAND.PS file located on the Tektronix Utilities
diskette. At the DOS prompt, type the following DOS
command:
COPY TEKEHAND.PS LPT1:
(If your port is not LPT1, substitute LPT2: or COM1: for the
correct port).
The PC responds with
1 FILE COPIED
. The printer now has a
PostScript error handler present which remains resident until
power is cycled on the printer. Resend the image file that was
not printing.
Any PostScript errors encountered by the printer are recorded
on a printout. Call Tektronix Customer Support at
1-800-835-6100 for more assistance (save the print with the
error message) or check the service Web page.