EPSON FX-880/FX-1180

Status Monitor

The EPSON Status Monitor 2 utility program comes with the printer and is for use only with Windows® 95. It monitors the status of the printer, indicates when errors occur, and provides troubleshooting tips.

Paper Positions

Top-of-Form Position

The letters ABC above are printed at the top-of-form position.

The top-of-form position is the position where the printer starts printing on a page of single-sheet or continuous paper.

Note:

See page 4 for information on the printable area of your paper.

Tear-off Position

Your continuous paper is in the tear-off position when the perforation is aligned with the printer’s tear-off edge, so you can easily tear off your printed document.

Standby Position

Your continuous paper is in the standby position when it is attached to the tractor but not loaded in the printer.

Available Paper Paths

Printing on Continuous Paper

You can choose from three tractor positions (front push, rear push, and pull) and three paper entry slots (front, rear, and bottom) for continuous paper printing. The tractor is installed in the rear push position when the printer is shipped.

If you often need to tear off sheets of continuous paper (for example, if you print purchase orders or sales slips), it is best to use the front or rear push tractor. This allows you to use the printer’s tear-off edge to easily tear off printed sheets of continuous paper at the perforation. Also, when continuous paper is loaded on a push tractor, you can load single sheets of paper from the paper guide without removing the continuous paper.

If you often print on thick or heavy continuous paper, such as multi-part forms or continuous paper with labels, use the tractor in the pull position. The pull tractor provides the best paper jam prevention, and allows you to load continuous paper from the front, rear, or bottom of the printer. However, you cannot use the tear-off feature with the pull tractor.

Note:

To use a pull tractor, you can install the tractor that comes with the printer in the pull position, or you can purchase the optional additional tractor (C800201 for FX-880, C800211 for FX-1180) and install it in the pull position.

If you use the push tractor with the optional tractor in the pull position, you can create a push/pull tractor combination. This improves continuous paper feeding and is recommended for printing on continuous pre-printed forms, multi-part forms, or labels, and for printing high-quality graphics.

The table below summarizes the paper paths available for printing on continuous paper.

Paper Path

 

 

Description

Front push tractor

 

 

The paper path from the front slot is almost

Front paper slot

 

 

straight, which reduces the chance of paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

jams. Use the front slot when you are printing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on thick paper such as multi-part forms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rear push tractor

 

 

Do not load thick paper, such as multi-part

Rear paper slot

 

 

forms with 5 or 6 parts (1 original plus 4 or 5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

copies) in the rear slot. The paper path from the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rear slot is curved, and thick continuous paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

performs best with a straight paper path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pull tractor

 

 

The paper path from the front slot is almost

Front paper slot

 

 

straight, which reduces the chance of paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

jams. Use the front slot when you are printing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

on thick paper such as multi-part forms or

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

continuous paper with labels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pull tractor

 

 

Because the bottom slot has the straightest

Bottom paper slot

 

 

paper path, it is ideal for printing on thick paper,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

such as multi-part forms or continuous paper

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

with labels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When loading paper in the bottom slot, be sure

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

to use a printer stand with an opening large

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

enough so that the paper can feed through it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

without obstruction.

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