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How to / Using the Printer Software with Windows

Making Changes to Printer Settings

Making the print quality setting
Resizing printouts
Modifying the print layout
Using a watermark
Using an overlay
Using HDD form overlay
Duplex printing
Making Extended Settings

Making the print quality setting

You can change the print quality 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 the settings.

Choosing the print quality by using the Automatic setting

You can change the print quality of printouts to favor speed or detail. If you need high quality output, choose a higher number. Please note that doing so reduces the print speed.

When the Automatic button is selected in the Basic Settings menu, the printer driver takes care of all detailed settings according to the color setting you select. Color and resolution are the only settings you have to make. You can change other settings such as paper size or orientation in most applications.

Note:

Online help provides more information on printer driver settings.

Click the Basic Settings menu.

Select the Automatic radio button. Then choose the desired printing resolution from Fast (300 dpi), or Fine (600 dpi) with the slider bar.

Click OK to accept the setting.

Note:

If printing is unsuccessful or a memory-related error message appears, selecting a lower resolution may allow printing to proceed.

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 on the Basic Settings menu. You will find the predefined settings in the list on 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 menu.

This printer driver provides the following predefined settings:

Automatic (Standard)

Suitable for regular printing, especially photos.

Text/Graph

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

Graphic/CAD

Suitable for printing graphs and charts.

Photo

Suitable for printing photos.

PhotoEnhance4

Suitable 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 (Except for Windows NT 4.0)

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

sRGB

When equipment such as a scanner or a display supports sRGB, the printer performs Image Color Matching with these pieces of equipment before printing. To confirm that your equipment supports sRGB, contact your equipment dealer.

Automatic (High Quality)

Suitable for regular printing that gives priority to high-quality printing.

Advanced Text/Graph

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

Advanced Graphic/CAD

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

Advanced Photo

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

Customizing print settings

If you need to change detailed settings, make the settings manually.

Follow these steps to customize your print settings.

Click the Advanced radio button in the Basic Settings menu, then click More Settings. 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, click the Help button.

Choose Color or Black as the Color setting.

Choose desired printing resolution from 300 dpi or 600 dpi with the Resolution slider bar, then make other settings. For details on each settings, see online help.

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

Saving your settings

To save your custom settings, click the Advanced radio button and click Save Settings on the Basic Settings menu. The Custom Settings dialog box appears.

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

Note:

You cannot use a predefined setting name for your custom settings.

To delete a custom setting, click the Advanced radio button and click Save Settings in the Basic Settings menu, 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 on the Basic Settings menu, 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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Resizing printouts

You can have your document enlarged or reduced during printing.

To automatically resize pages to fit the output paper

Click the Layout menu.

Select the Zoom Options check box.

Select the desired paper size from the Output Paper drop-down list. The page will be printed to fit on the paper you have selected.

Click the Upper Left button (to print reduced page image at upper left corner of the paper) or the Center button (to print reduced page image with centering) for Location setting.

Click OK to accept the settings.

To resize pages by a specified percentage:

Click the Layout menu.

Select the Zoom Options check box.

Select the Zoom To check box.

Specify the magnification percentage in the box, then click OK. The percentage can be set between 50% and 200% in 1% increments.

If necessary, select the paper size to be printed from the Output Paper drop-down list.

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Modifying the print layout

Your printer can print either two or four pages onto a single page and specifies the printing order, automatically resizing each page to fit the specified paper size. You can also choose to print documents surrounded by a frame.

Click the Layout menu.

Select the Print Layout check box, and click Print Layout Settings. The Print Layout Settings dialog box appears.

Select the number of pages you want to print on one sheet of paper.

Select the Page Order in which the pages are printed on each sheet. Select the Print the Frame check box when you want to print the pages surrounded by a frame.

Note:

The Page Order choices depend on the number of pages selected above, and the paper orientation (Portrait or Landscape) selected on the Basic Settings menu.

Click OK to close the Print Layout Settings dialog box.

Click OK on the Layout menu to accept the settings.

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Using a watermark

Follow the steps to use a watermark on your document. In the Watermark dialog box, you can select from a list of predefined watermarks, or you can make an original watermark with text or a bitmap (The Watermark dialog box also allows you to make a variety of detailed watermark settings. For example, you can select the size, intensity, and position of your watermark.

Click the Special menu.

Select the Watermark check box.

Click Watermark Settings. The Watermark dialog box appears.

Select a watermark from the Watermark Name drop-down list.

Select the location on the page where you want to print the watermark from the Location drop-down list.

Adjust the horizontal or vertical Offset position.

Select the color from the Color drop-down list.

Adjust the image intensity of the watermark with the Intensity slider bar.

Adjust the size of the watermark with the Size slider bar.

Select Front (to print the watermark in the foreground of the document) or Back (to print the watermark in the background of the document) for the Position setting.

Click OK to accept the settings.

Making a new watermark

You can make a new watermark as follows:

Click the Special menu.

Select the Watermark check box.

Click Watermark Settings. The Watermark dialog box appears.

Click New/Delete. The User Defined Watermarks dialog box appears.

Select Text or BMP and type a name for the new watermark in the Name box.

If you select Text, type the watermark text in the Text box. If you select BMP, click Browse, select the BMP file you want to use, then click OK.

Click Save. Your watermark will appear in the List box.

Click OK to register the new watermark settings.

Note:

You can register up to 10 watermarks.

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Using an overlay

The Overlay Settings dialog box allows you to prepare standard forms, or templates, that you can use as overlays when printing other documents. This feature can be useful for creating corporate letterheads or invoices.

Note:

The overlay function is available only when High Quality (Printer) is selected as the Graphic Mode in the Extended Settings dialog box.

Creating an overlay

Follow these steps to create and save a form overlay file.

Open your application and create the file that you want to use as an overlay.

When the file is ready to be saved as an overlay, choose Print or Print Setup from the File menu of your application. Then click Printer, Setup, Options, or Properties, or click a combination of these buttons, depending on your application.

Select the Special menu.

Select the Form Overlay check box, and click the Overlay Settings button to open the Overlay Settings dialog box.

Click the Create Overlay Data button, then click Settings. The Form Settings dialog box appears.

Select the Use Form Name check box. Then click the Add Form Name button. The Add Form dialog box appears.

In the Add Form dialog box, type the form name in the Form Name box and its description in the Description box.

Click the To Front or To Back button to specify whether the overlay will be printed as background or foreground of the document.

In the Add Form dialog box, click Register.

In the Form Settings dialog box, click OK.

In the Overlay Settings dialog box, click OK.

Print the file saved as overlay data. It is possible to save any kind of file as an overlay. The overlay data is created.

Printing with an overlay

Follow the steps to print a document with overlay data.

Open the file to print with overlay data.

From the application, access the printer driver. Open the File menu and choose Print or Print Setup. Then click Printer, Setup, Options, or Properties, or click a combination of these buttons, depending on the application you use.

Select the Special menu.

Check the Form Overlay check box, and click the Overlay Settings button to open the Overlay Settings dialog box.

In the Overlay Settings dialog box, choose the form from the Form list, then click OK.

Click OK to print the data.

Different printer settings overlay data

The overlay data is made with the current printer settings (such as Resolution: 600 dpi). If you want to make the same overlay with different printer settings (such as 300 dpi), follow the instructions below.

Re-access the printer driver as described in step 2 in Creating an overlay.

Make the printer settings and exit the printer driver.

Send the same data that you made by application to the printer like step 12 in Creating an overlay.

This setting is available only for Form Name data.

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Using HDD form overlay

This function enables faster printing with form overlay data. All users can use the form data registered in the optional Hard Disk Drive installed in the printer though only an administrator can resister or delete the form data in the Hard Disk Drive.

Note:

This function is not available when the Color setting is set to Black in the printer driver's Basic Settings menu.

This function is not available if the optional Hard Disk Drive is not installed.

Use this function by inputting the registered form name after printing the Print List.

When the document's resolution, paper size or paper orientation settings are different from the form overlay data that you use, you cannot print the document with the form overlay data.

This function is available in the ESC/Page Color mode.

Register the form overlay data on the Hard Disk Drive

Only a network administrator using Windows XP/2000/NT 4.0 is allowed to register the form overlay data on the optional Hard Disk Drive. Follow these steps to register.

Note:

Only form names that can be registered appear in the Form Name list.

A form name that contains characters other then letters and numbers is not displayed in the Form Name list.

Monochrome form overlay data that has been made on a monochrome printer or printer in a black mode is not displayed.

Prepare the form overlay data to register on the local PC Hard Disk Drive.

Login as an administrator to Windows XP/2000/NT 4.0.

Click Start, point to Settings, and click Printers. Next, right-click the EPSON AL-C8600 Advanced icon and click Properties.

Click the Optional Settings menu.

Click the Optional Settings tab.

Click Register. The Register to HDD dialog box appears.

Select the overlay data name from the Form Names list, then click Register.

If you distribute a form data list to the clients, click Print List to print the list.

Click Back to close the Register to HDD dialog box.

Click the OK button to close the window.

Printing with HDD form overlay

All Windows users can use the registered form data in the optional Hard Disk Drive. Follow these steps to print with HDD form data.

Select the Special menu.

Check the Form Overlay check box, and click the Overlay Settings button to open the Overlay Settings dialog box.

Click Details. The Form Selection dialog box appears.

Click Printer's HDD, then enter the registered form name. If you need the list of the registered form data, click Print List to print it and confirm the form name.

Choose To Back or To Front to print the form data as background or foreground of the document.

Click OK to print data.

Delete the form overlay data in the Hard Disk Drive

Only a network administrator using Windows XP/2000/NT 4.0 is allowed to delete or edit the form overlay data in the optional Hard Disk Drive. Follow these steps to delete.

Login as an administrator to Windows XP/2000/NT 4.0.

To access the printer driver from Windows, click Start, point to Settings, and click Printers. Next, right-click the EPSON AL-C8600 Advanced icon and click Properties.

Click the Optional Settings menu.

Click Delete. The Delete from HDD dialog box appears.

If you delete all form data, click the Delete All button, then click Delete. If you want to delete some specific data, click the Delete Selected button, enter the form name in the Form Name edit box, then click Delete.

Note:

If you need the list of the registered form data, click Print List to print it and confirm the form name.

Click Back.

Click OK to close the dialog box.

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Duplex printing

Duplex printing prints on both sides of the paper. When printing for binding, the binding edge can be specified as required to produce the desired page order.

Note:

You need to install optional Duplex Unit for duplex printing.

Select the Layout menu.

Select the Duplex check box.

Select the Left, Top, or Right button as a Binding Position.

Click Duplex Settings to open the Duplex Settings dialog box.

Specify the Binding Margin for the front and back sides of the paper.

Select whether the front or back side of the paper is to be printed as the Start Page.

When printing for binding as a booklet, click the Binding Method check box and make appropriate settings.

Click OK to close the Duplex Settings dialog box.

Click OK on the Layout menu to accept the settings.

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Making Extended Settings

You can make detailed settings such as font setting or offset setting in the Extended Settings dialog box. To open the dialog box, click Extended Settings on the Optional Settings menu.

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