510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page i 971015-510225-(01) CD Color Printer UserÕs Manual © 1997 by FARGO Electronics, Incorporated
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page ii Notices The information in this document is subject to change without notice. NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND IS MADE WITH REGARD TO THIS MATERIAL, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. No liability is assumed for errors contained herein or for incidental damages in connection with the furnishing, performance, or use of this material.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page iii Table of Contents Section 1: Getting Started A. Choosing a Good Location...............................................................................1 B. Unpacking and Inspection ...............................................................................1 C. Identifying the Parts..........................................................................................2 D. Applying Power..............................................................
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 1 Section 1: Getting Started THANK YOU… ...for choosing the CD Color Printer. This printer is the perfect way for you to label all of your custom CDÕs quickly, easily, and with a touch of class. The CD Color Printer lets you print razor-sharp text, vibrant spot colors, and even stunning photorealistic photographs directly onto the surface of printable CDÕs. Operation is simple, quality is high, and printed images are durable and highly smudge-resistant.
10225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 2 ¥ Warranty Statement and Registration Card ¥ This manual and other printed information Save the carton and packing materials. They will come in handy when transporting the printer. C. IDENTIFYING THE PARTS This illustration shows the extended CD Tray and all of the control buttons and LED indicator lights found on the printer.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 3 This illustration shows the input ports found on the rear panel of the printer. Both a parallel and a serial interface port are provided. If using the printer with Windows, you will use its Parallel Interface Port. If using the printer with an Apple¨ Macintosh, you will use its Serial Interface Port. Note that the printerÕs auxiliary port is for factory use only unless otherwise directed.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 4 Section 2: Ink Cartridges and Printable CD-R’s A. ABOUT INK CARTRIDGES AND PRINTABLE CD-R’S For full-color printing, a 3-color ink cartridge is available. This cartridge contains the three process-color inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan, which combine to produce up to 16.7 million printable colors. A monochrome ink cartridge is also available for fast, inexpensive black and white printing.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 5 2. Remove the ink cartridge from its packaging. 3. Remove the tape covering the cartridgeÕs printhead. DO NOT TOUCH THE COPPER AREA! 4. Press and release the Ink Cartridge button to move the carrier to the load position. 5 Insert the ink cartridge into the cartridge carrier, copperend first. 6. Push the cartridge back until it snaps into place. 7. Press and release the the cartridge carrier. 8. Close the printerÕs front cover.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 6 C. LOADING BLANK CD-R MEDIA The CD Color Printer is capable of printing onto a variety of CD-R related media including printable CD-RÕs, cardboard CD templates, and jewel case booklets and inserts. Each of these items is loaded one at a time, before the start of each print job. Loading a Blank CD-R 1. With the printerÕs front cover shut, press and release the CD Tray button. 2.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 7 Loading a Blank Jewel Case Booklet or Insert Blank CD-R jewel case booklets and inserts are available for creating custom jewel case labels. The jewel case booklet is what slips into the top lid of the jewel case. The jewel case insert is what is enclosed along the spine and back of the jewel case. To load either, refer to the following: 1. With the printerÕs front cover shut, press and release the CD Tray button. 2.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 3. 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 8 Press and release the CD Tray button to close the CD Tray. If you wish, you may also leave the CD Tray open and it will automatically close at the start of the print job. Once printing is complete, the CD Tray will automatically re-open. In order for the printer to print properly, CD-R media must be installed.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 9 E. REPLACING OR SWITCHING INK CARTRIDGES Once you begin using your CD Color Printer on a regular basis, you will eventually need to replace an empty ink cartridge or switch between color and monochrome cartridges. To do this from a Macintosh, Windows 3.1x, or Windows NT, use the same steps described in Part B of this section. To do this from Windows 95, please refer to the following steps: 1.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 10 4. From within the printer driver setup window, click on the Cartridge button and then on the Change button to move the carrier to the load position. Note that the printer driver must be installed and that the printer must be connected to your computer (see Section 3) in order to complete this step. 5. Remove the installed ink cartridge by grasping the top of the cartridge and firmly pulling it straight toward you.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 11 7. Push the cartridge back until it snaps into place. 8. Go back to the printer driver setup window and click on either the New Cartridge Installed or the Old Cartridge Installed button to indicate whether you installed a fresh, new cartridge or simply switched between a previously used color cartridge and a previously used monochrome cartridge. The cartridge carrier will return to its home position.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 12 Section 3: Using the CD Color Printer with Windows A. CONNECTING THE PRINTER TO YOUR COMPUTER The CD Color Printer is designed to be used with nearly any IBM-PC¨ or compatible running Windows 3.1x, Windows NT, or Windows 95. For best performance, a minimum of a 486/66 computer with 8Mb of RAM or higher is recommended. The printer is equipped with a standard 8-bit Centronics-type parallel port.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 13 The printer must have its Power light illuminated to receive data. If the light is not on, press the Power button. B. INSTALLING THE PRINTER DRIVER The Color CD Printer can be used with virtually any Windows application program. This is accomplished by installing in Windows what is called a Òprinter driver.Ó The printer driver is simply a diskette with software on it which gives the printer all the information needed for printing.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 14 3. Double-click on the Add Printer icon. 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete installation. When prompted, do not have Windows print a test print since you most likely performed a printer self test in Section 2. Once installed, the ÒCD Color PrinterÓ icon will appear in the Printers folder. NOTE Before installing updated printer driver versions, always delete the existing printer driver version from your system.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 15 6. Select the Install button. 7. Insert the supplied Printer Driver diskette into your computerÕs disk drive. If you insert the diskette in a drive other than the A: drive displayed in the Install Driver dialog box, you must change the drive designation. Select the OK button. 8. ÒCD Color PrinterÓ should now be listed in the Add Unlisted or Updated Printer dialog box. Select the OK button. Your PCÕs disk drive will now load the printer driver.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 16 2. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and select Control Panel. 3. Double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete installation. When installed, the 32-Bit Print Spooler will appear in the Programs group of the Start menu. NOTE Before installing updated 32-Bit Print Spooler versions, always uninstall the existing print spooler version from your system.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 17 When the 32-Bit Print Spooler is running, its icon will appear in the Windows 95 Task Bar. During a print job, it is sometimes helpful to click on this icon to bring the 32-Bit Print Spooler status window to the foreground of your application. This window provides a number of details about the print jobs being sent to the printer.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 18 Windows 95 or Windows NT, click the Start button, point to Settings, and select Printers. Then, click on the CD Color Printer icon with the right mouse button and select Properties if using Windows 95 or Document Defaults if using Windows NT. 2. In Windows 3.1x, select the Setup button. In Windows 95, click on the Details tab of the Properties window and select the Setup button. In Windows NT, click on the Advanced tab of the Document Settings window.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 19 Ink Cartridge Select either Color or Monochrome according to the type of ink cartridge you have installed. Print Quality Select the appropriate print quality option for your image. Keep in mind that Draft provides the lowest quality but fastest print, and that Presentation 600 x 300 provides the highest quality but slowest print. You may wish to experiment with these options to see which one is best for your particular CD label.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 20 Ink Saturation This option controls the ink saturation of the printed image. When printing onto the printer manufacturerÕs TuffCoat CD-R media, this option should be left at its default setting of 100%. When printing onto other brands of printable CD-R media, you may need to adjust this control in order to optimize the ink saturation for the printable surface of your specific CD-R media.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 21 and printing process. In this case, the Write Direct to Port option should be selected. For some computers, however, this option may not be supported by the particular brand of PC and should not be selected. Fast 32-bit Spooler Select this option for consistently faster print processing under Windows 95. This option is only selectable if operating under Windows 95 and if the included 32-Bit Print Spooler software has been installed.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 22 If this window appears as shown below, check that an ink cartridge is installed, that the 32-Bit Print Spooler is installed, and that your computer is connected and communicating properly with the printer. The Cartridge Maintenance Functions window also provides the following other functions: Select the Clean button to send a simple test print pattern to the printer. Be sure to have a CD template installed.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 23 Calibrate Select this button to display options for fine-tuning the position of your printed image and the size of a CD-RÕs non-printable center. When facing the printer, the Vertical adjustment moves the printed image toward the printer if a positive number is entered and away from the printer if a negative number is entered.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 24 If you have just unboxed your new printer and are using it for the first time, you should run a simple calibration procedure to assure that your images will be centered when printed on a CD. To calibrate your printer, refer to the following steps: 1. Verify that a cardboard CD template and a color ink cartridge are installed in the printer. Also, verify that the printer is powered ON and that it is connected to your computer. 2.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 25 After your selections have been made, close out of the printer setup window. You are now ready to go to an application program and print. All printer driver selections will stay the same until you change them. E. PRINTING A CD-R Now that you have hooked up the printer, loaded the print supplies, and installed the printer driver, you are ready to print you first CD-R label. Follow these steps to print your first image: 1.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 26 correct for your image. Be sure the proper Media and Ink Cartridge options are selected according to the supplies you have installed in the printer. Once the driver is set, select Print from the programÕs File menu. 4. The printer driver will then begin to process the image. Depending upon the size of the image and the processing speed of your computer, processing time can take from several seconds to a few minutes. 5.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 27 Section 4: Using the CD Color Printer with Macintosh A. CONNECTING THE PRINTER TO YOUR COMPUTER The CD Color Printer is designed to be used with any Apple Macintosh supporting Color QuickDrawª and running system software 7.0 or higher. For best performance, a Macintosh with a 68040 processor and 8Mb of RAM (or higher) or a PowerPCª with 8Mb of RAM (or higher) is recommended. The printer driver is accelerated for use with a PowerPC.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 28 The printer must have its Power light illuminated to receive data. If the light is not on, press the Power button. B. INSTALLING THE PRINTER DRIVER The CD Color Printer can be used with virtually any Macintosh application program. This is accomplished by installing what is called a Òprinter driver.Ó The printer driver is simply a diskette with software on it which gives the printer all the information needed for printing.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 29 4. When the Installer window appears, select the options you would like the installer program to install. In most instances, the default selections will suffice. For a description of each of these options, refer to the notes found in the box directly above these options (use the up and down arrows to scroll through the notes). Once the desired options are selected, click on Install. The appropriate files will automatically install onto your computer.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 30 3. Select either the Modem or Printer Port to indicate to which port the serial interface cable was connected. If the Printer port is selected, AppleTalk should remain inactive while printing unless you are using AppleTalk through your Ethernet port. AppleTalk does not apply when printing with the Modem port selected. 4. Select either On or Off to enable or disable the printerÕs Background Printing function.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 31 Ink Cartridge Select either Color or Monochrome according to the type of ink cartridge you have installed. Print Quality Select the appropriate print quality option for your image. Keep in mind that Draft provides the lowest quality but fastest print, and that Presentation provides the highest quality but slowest print. You may wish to experiment with these options to see which one is best for your particular CD label.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 32 click on the Set Profile… button, select the FARGO Default System (icc) profile, and click on the Select button. The profile is now selected. Ink Saturation This option controls the ink saturation of the printed image. When printing onto the printer manufacturerÕs TuffCoat CD-R media, this option should be left at its default setting of 100%.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 33 Cartridge Select this button to display options for changing or cleaning an ink cartridge. Select the Change button to move the printerÕs ink cartridge carrier to the load position in order to change ink cartridges. Note that pressing the printerÕs Ink Cartridge button serves this same purpose. See Section 2 for further information on changing ink cartridges. Select the Clean button to send a simple test print pattern to the printer.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 34 The Center Size adjustment enlarges the non-printable center if a positive number is entered and reduces its size if a negative number is entered. As a rule, an adjustment of 12 pixels is equivalent to approximately 1 millimeter. Once you have entered the optimum calibration values, you will most likely not need to change them again. The following diagram illustrates exactly how each of these adjustments affect the printed image.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr Page 35 When the second run of the print is compete, you should have a test print that looks like the following: 9 12 15 Find the number whose lines touch 3 6 9 12 15 9 12 15 -15-12 -9 -6 -3 0 3 6 9 12 15 6 6 Vertical Calibration 0 3 3 -9 -6 -3 -15 -12 -9 -6 -3 0 3 6 9 12 Horizontal Calibration Find the number whose lines touch 15 -15 -12 -9 -6 -3 0 -15 -12 -15 -12 -9 -6 -3 0 -15 -12 -9 -6 -3 0 3 6 9 12 Horizontal Calibration Find the number whose lines touch 15
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 36 ¥ If creating a label for a CD-R, set your page size to 4.56Ó x 4.56Ó (116 x 116mm). Although your image will appear square on screen, the printer driver will automatically crop your image to the round shape of a CD-R for printing. The driver will also automatically crop out the center 1.6Ó (41mm) of your image to accommodate a CD-RÕs non-printable center hub.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 37 Section 5: Using the Print Backgrounder for Macintosh The printer driver for Macintosh provides a background print utility called the Print Backgrounder. This print utility is turned on or off through the Chooser. When the Backgrounder is turned on, it allows you to conveniently continue working in the foreground of your application while printing in the background.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 38 your print jobs. Backgrounder processes all print jobs in the order in which they were sent to the printer. C. THE BACKGROUNDER STATUS WINDOW Status of currently processing print job “On hold” print job List of queued print jobs Print job in which a print error has occurred The Backgrounder status window gives you detailed information about the status of the print job currently processing and about each print job waiting in the queue.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 39 D. BACKGROUNDER MENUS File menu Open Status Window and Close Status Window: Opens and closes the Backgrounder status window. The Backgrounder continues to work if the status window is closed. Log Files: The Backgrounder has the ability to create and maintain a sequential history file, or Log file, of Backgrounder print jobs.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 40 lower left-hand corner of the window indicates that Backgrounder has stopped. You cannot quit from Backgrounder while it is processing a job. Stop Processing must first be selected to cancel the processing job and stop Backgrounder. When Backgrounder stops, the menu changes to Continue Processing. When this option is selected, the server starts processing the top job in the queue.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 41 E. PROBLEMS DURING A BACKGROUND PRINT Errors that are detected during a background print must be reported. The Backgrounder, however, cannot simply present a dialog box as soon as the error occurs, since the dialog could obscure work that is being done in the foreground. Error dialogs appear immediately, however, if the Backgrounder is in the foreground when the error is detected.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 42 Section 6: Interpreting the Printer’s Indicator Lights The Power and Busy LED indicator lights located on the top of the printer can tell you a lot about what is happening inside the printer. To accurately interpret what it means when these lights are on, off, or flashing, please refer to the following: Power Light Power Light Busy Light Busy Light Printer on solid off Is ready to receive a print job.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 43 Section 7: Maintaining the Printer The CD Color Printer is designed to require very little maintenance. Nevertheless, there are a few procedures you can perform on a regular basis or as needed to ensure your printerÕs best performance. A. CLEANING THE INK CARTRIDGE NOZZLES This procedure is done if the printer does not seem to be laying down ink evenly or if you suspect an ink cartridge nozzle has become slightly dried out or clogged.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 44 B. CLEANING THE CD TRAY AND PRINTER CASING If ink gets on the printerÕs CD Tray, it may stain if left on the tray too long. To avoid this, simply wipe off any ink from the CD Tray as soon as you notice it. Use a lint-free cloth slightly moistened with isopropyl alcohol to wipe off the CD Tray. If necessary, use these same items to wipe off the outside casing of the printer. Always disconnect your printer’s power cord before cleaning.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 45 Section 8: Technical Specifications Print Method: Print Resolution: Print Speed: Colors: Printer Driver: Interface: Ink Cartridges: Media: Thermal Ink-Jet Normal: 300 x 300 dpi Highest Quality: 600 x 300 dpi Depends upon coverage and print quality mode; about two minutes per full-color CD, less than 30 seconds for monochrome black (15% coverage) 16.7 million colors or black monochrome Windows 3.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 46 Appendix A: Interfacing Information A. INTRODUCTION The CD Color Printer is equipped with both a standard 8-bit centronics-type parallel interface port and a high-speed serial interface port. These communication ports are the means through which the printer receives data from your computer. This section describes the pin assignments and signal specifications for each of these ports as well as for the printerÕs auxiliary interface port. B.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 47 C. MINI 8-PIN SERIAL INTERFACE The mini 8-pin serial interface connector is the standard interface used by Macintosh. The printerÕs serial port mates with a standard computer to printer serial cable. For best results, always use a high-quality serial cable which is less than 6 feet in length. Pin assignments are as follows: 8 7 4 5 2 Pin Number 6 3 1 Signal Name Signal Description 1 HSKo External Clock Output ± 2V < Vout < ± 3.
0225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 48 D. 6-PIN MINICIRCULAR AUXILIARY INTERFACE The 6-pin minicircular auxiliary interface is used for connecting the printer with auxiliary equipment such as a CD transporter/ auto-loader. Pin assignments are as follows: 6 5 4 3 2 1 Uses 74HC logic voltage levels Pin Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 Signal Description Busy - Output is high when the printer is busy or moving the CD Tray. Tray Out - Output is high when the CD Tray is fully ejected.
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM Page 49 Index Algebraic .....................................................................................19, 31 Auxiliary Port...............................................................................3, 48 Backgrounder ...................................................................................37 Booklet.................................................................................................7 Busy Light....................................
510225 Fargo/CD Color Prtr 7/29/98 2:39 PM FARGO Electronics, Incorporated Eden Prairie, Minnesota, U.S.A.
