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How to / Functions of the Printer Driver

The Printer Driver

Accessing the printer driver
Making the Print Quality setting
Making the Paper Type setting

The printer driver lets you choose from a wide variety of settings to get the best results from your printer. The printer driver also includes the EPSON Status Monitor 3 utility, which is accessed through the Utility tab. The EPSON Status Monitor 3 utility lets you check the status of your printer. See EPSON Status Monitor 3 for more information.

Although the printer driver offers many options in the settings that you can make, the following are the basic ways of configuring the printer driver:

Automatic setting

The quickest and easiest way to start printing. See Using the Automatic setting.

Predefined settings

Give you more control over printer settings optimized by the type of printout. See Using the predefined settings.

Custom settings

Fit your individual needs. See Customizing print settings.

Printout style settings

Convenient functions for selecting the printout method and style. See Modifying the Printout Style.

Accessing the printer driver

You can access the printer driver directly from any Windows application, or from the Windows operating system.

Printer settings made in many Windows applications override similar settings made in the printer driver when it is accessed from the operating system itself, so in most cases you should access the printer driver from your application to make sure that you print with the desired settings.

Note:
Online help provides details on printer driver settings.


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Making the Print Quality setting

You can change the print quality or resolution of printouts through settings in the printer driver. The printer driver provides you with the choice of letting the printer make the settings automatically, choosing from a list of predefined settings, or customizing your own settings.

Using the Automatic setting

When the Automatic radio button is selected in the Basic Settings tab, the printer driver takes care of all detailed settings according to the color setting you select. Color is the only setting you need to make. Most Windows applications feature Paper Size and Orientation settings which override similar settings in the printer driver, but if your application does not, you should verify the settings in the printer driver.

Note:
  • This screen is a Windows 98/95 screen.
  • Online help provides more information on printer driver settings.

Using the predefined settings

The predefined settings are provided to help you optimize print settings for a particular kind of printout, such as presentation documents or images taken by a video or digital camera.

Follow these steps to use the predefined settings:

Select the Advanced radio button in the Basic Settings tab. You will find the predefined settings in the list to the right of the Automatic radio button.

Note:
This screen is a Windows 98/95 screen.

Select the most appropriate setting from the list according to the type of document or image you want to print.

When you choose a predefined setting, other settings such as Printing Mode, Resolution, Screen, and Color Management are set automatically. Changes are shown in the current settings list on the left of the Basic Settings tab.

This printer driver provides the following predefined settings:

Automatic (Standard)

Good for regular printing, especially photos.

Text/Graph

Good for printing documents that include text and graphs, such as presentation documents.

Graphic/CAD

Good for printing graphs and charts.

Photo

Good for printing photos.

PhotoEnhance4

Good for printing images captured using the video input, a digital camera, or scanner. EPSON PhotoEnhance 4 automatically adjusts the contrast, saturation, and brightness of the original image data to produce sharper, more vivid color printouts. This setting does not affect your original image data.

ICM (Windows 98/95 and Windows 2000 only)

ICM stands for Image Color Matching. This feature automatically adjusts printout colors to match colors on your screen.

Advanced Text/Graph

Good for printing high-quality presentation documents that include text and graphs.

Advanced Graphic/CAD

Good for printing high-quality graphs, charts, and photos.

Advanced Photo

Good for printing high-quality scanned photos and digitally-captured images.

Note:
Other than the above settings, sRGB and Automatic (High Quality) are also available.

Customizing print settings

Many users will never need to make their own print settings manually. However, your printer provides for customized print settings if you need more control over the printout, want to make the most detailed settings available, or just want to experiment.

Follow these steps to customize your print settings:

Select the Advanced radio button in the Basic Settings tab, then click the More Settings button. The following dialog box appears.

Note:
This screen is a Windows 98/95 screen.

Choose Color or Black as the Color setting, then make other settings. For details on each setting, see online help.

Click OK to apply your settings and return to the Basic Settings tab. Click Cancel to return to the Basic Settings tab without applying your settings.

Saving your settings

To save your custom settings, click Save Settings in the Basic Settings tab. The Custom Settings dialog box appears.

Type a unique name for your custom settings in the Name box, and click the Save button. Your settings will appear in the list to the right of the Automatic radio button in the Basic Settings tab.

Note:
  • You cannot use a predefined setting name for your custom settings.
  • To delete a custom setting, click Save Settings in the Basic Settings tab, select the setting in the Custom Settings dialog box and then click Delete.
  • You cannot delete predefined settings.

If you change any setting in the Advanced Settings dialog box when one of your custom settings is selected in the Advanced Settings list in the Basic Settings tab, the setting selected in the list changes to Custom Settings. The custom setting that was previously selected is not affected by this change. To return to your custom setting, simply reselect it from the current settings list.


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Making the Paper Type setting

On the Basic Setting menu, select the Paper Type setting that matches the paper which is loaded in the printer. Find your paper in the list below, and select the corresponding Paper Type setting, shown in Bold.

Plain
Plain paper, EPSON Color Laser Paper

Thick
Envelopes, Labels, Thick paper

Transparency
EPSON Color Laser Transparencies


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Version 1.00E, Copyright © 2001, SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION