Service manual

Page 8-2
Section 8. Troubleshooting
Rev. A
SATO M-8485Se Standard Print Engine
Service Manual
8.2 Initial Check List
1. Is the printer powered up and ON-LINE?
2. Is the ERROR light on the front panel Off? If this light is On, it may mean the Print Head
Assembly or the Label Hold-Down is not closed and latched in position.
3. Are the Label and Ribbon lights on the front panel Off? If these lights are On, the labels
or ribbons may be incorrectly loaded.
8.3 The IEEE1284 Parallel Interface
1. Is the IEEE1284 printer cable connected securely to your parallel port (DB25S Female) on
the PC and to the Centronics connector on the printer?
WARNING: Never connect or disconnect interface cables (or use a switch box) with power
applied to either the printer or the host. This may cause damage to the interface circuitry and
is not covered by warranty.
2. Does the Parallel Interface cable used meet IEEE1284 specifications? If it does not and
you are connected to an IEEE1284 or ECP parallel port on the computer, the printer may
not be able to communicate correctly.
3. Is there more than one parallel interface port on your PC (LPT1, LPT2, etc.)? If so, make
sure you are sending data out the correct port.
4. Is the IEEE1284 Interface Module installed in the printer? Older versions of the Parallel
Interface module will not work correctly in the M-8485Se printers.
5. When you send the print job to the printer and it does not respond, do you get an error
message on your PC that says "Device Fault" or something similar?
This may mean that the computer doesn't know the printer is there. Verify that:
a. Both ends of the cable are securely inserted into their respective connectors.
b. The printer is ON-LINE.
c. The cable is not defective. There are other things that can cause this error message on
your computer but at this stage, a defective cable may be one of the reasons.
6. When you send the print job to the printer and it does not respond and there is no error
message on the PC:
a. Check your data stream for some of the basics. Is your job framed as follows:
<ESC>AData<ESC>Z
b. Verify that you've included all required parameters in the data stream.