Control Panel

About Your Printer's Default Settings

Changing default settings

The default settings control many printer functions. While you can often set these functions through your software or printer driver, you may sometimes need to change a default setting from the printer's control panel using the default-setting mode.

The following table lists the default settings and the options you can select in the default-setting mode. The settings are explained in detail after the table. For instructions on changing the default settings, see Changing default settings.

Settings	Options
Page length for tractor*	Length in inches: 3, 3.5, 4, 5.5, 6, 7, 8, 8.5, 11, 70/6, 12, 14, 17
Skip over perforation	On, Off
Auto tear off	On, Off
Auto line feed	On, Off
Print direction	Bi-D, Uni-D, Auto
Software	ESC/P2, IBM 2390 Plus
0 slash	0,
High speed draft	On, Off
I/F mode	Auto, Parallel, Option
Auto I/F wait time	10 seconds, 30 seconds
Parallel I/F bidirectional mode	On, Off
Packet mode	Auto, Off
Auto CR (IBM 2390 Plus)**	On, Off
A.G.M. (IBM 2390 Plus)**	On, Off
Character table*	Standard model: Italic, PC 437, PC 850, PC 860, PC 863, PC 865, PC 861, BRASCII, Abicomp, Roman 8, ISO Latin 1, PC 858, ISO 8859-15 All other models: Italic, PC 437, PC 850, PC 437 Greek, PC 853, PC 855, PC 852, PC 857, PC 864, PC 866, PC 869, MAZOWIA, Code MJK, ISO 8859-7, ISO Latin 1T, Bulgaria, PC 774, Estonia, ISO 8859-2, PC 866 LAT, PC 866 UKR, PC APTEC, PC 708, PC 720, PC AR864, PC 860, PC 863, PC 865, PC 861, BRASCII, Abicomp, Roman 8, ISO Latin 1, PC 858, ISO 8859-15, PC 771
International character set for Italic table	Italic U.S.A., Italic France, Italic Germany, Italic U.K., Italic Denmark1, Italic Sweden, Italic Italy, Italic Spain1
Font	OCR-B, Orator, Orator-S, Script C, Roman T (PS), Sans Serif H (PS)
Manual feed wait time	0.5 second, 1 seconds, 1.5 seconds, 2 seconds
Buzzer	On, Off
Overlapping forms***	On, Off

* The options available vary depending on the country of purchase.

** These settings take effect only when IBM 2390 Plus emulation is selected.

*** This option is available with the LQ-680Pro only.

Page length for tractor

This setting allows you to set the page length for continuous paper.

Skip over perforation

This feature is available only when continuous paper is selected. When you select On, the printer provides a one-inch (25.4 mm) margin between the last line printed on one page and the first line printed on the next page. Because the program margin settings in most applications override margin settings made from the control panel, you should use this setting only if you cannot set your top and bottom margins using your application.

Auto tear off

When auto tear off is on and you are using continuous paper with the tractor, the printer automatically advances the paper perforation to the tear-off position, where you can easily tear off the printed pages. When the printer receives the next print job, it automatically moves the unused paper back to the top-of-form position and starts printing, so you can use all of the next page.

When auto tear off is off and you are using continuous paper with the tractor, you need to move the perforation to the tear-off position by pressing the control panel button. See Using the Tear Off button for more information.

Auto line feed

When auto line feed is on, the printer accompanies each carriage return (CR) code received with a line feed code, and the print position moves to the next line. If the printer adds an extra line after every carriage return, select Off.

Print direction

You can select auto print direction (Auto), bidirectional printing (Bi-D), or unidirectional printing (Uni-D). Printing is normally bidirectional for faster printing; however, unidirectional printing allows for precise vertical printing alignment, which is useful for printing graphics.

When set to Auto, the printer analyzes the data and uses unidirectional printing only for any lines which require vertical printing alignment.

Software

When you select ESC/P2, the printer operates in the EPSON ESC/P2 mode. When you select IBM 2390 Plus, the printer emulates an IBM printer.

0 slash

The zero character has a slash ( ) when this feature is on. It has no slash (0) when this feature is off. The slash allows you to easily distinguish between the uppercase letter "O" and a zero.

High speed draft

When you choose On, the printer prints up to 413 cps (characters per second) at 10 cpi (characters per inch). When you choose Off, the printer prints up to 310 cps at 10 cpi.

I/F (interface) mode

The printer comes with a built-in parallel interface and an interface slot in which you can install one optional interface. For information on using an optional interface, see Interface cards.

If your printer is connected to only one computer, select Parallel or Optional for the interface mode, depending on the interface you use. If your printer is connected to two computers, select Auto (automatic) to allow the printer to automatically switch between interfaces depending on which one is receiving data.

Auto I/F (interface) wait time

This setting takes effect only if an optional interface is installed and the auto interface mode is selected. This setting determines how long the printer waits when it no longer receives data from an interface before it checks whether a print job is being sent through the other interface. You can specify 10 seconds or 30 seconds for the auto interface wait time.

Parallel I/F bidirectional mode

The Parallel Interface bidirectional transfer mode is used when this feature is on. If bidirectional transfer mode is unnecessary, turn this off.

Packet mode

Select Auto to use the IEEE-1284.4 packet transfer mode. If packet transfer mode is unnecessary, or if you cannot connect, turn this off.

Auto CR (carriage return)

This setting is available only in IBM 2390 Plus emulation mode. When auto carriage return is on, each line feed (LF) code or ESC J code is accompanied by a carriage return code. This moves the print position to the beginning of the next line. If the printer adds an extra line after every carriage return, select Off.

A.G.M. (Alternate Graphic Mode)

When A.G.M. is on, the printer can use some advanced graphics commands like those available in ESC/P2 mode. When you select IBM 2390 Plus mode, this setting is available.

Character table

You can select from among 13 to 36 standard character tables, depending on the country of purchase. See Electronic for more information of the tables.

International character set for Italic table

You can select among several international character sets for the Italic character table. Each character set contains eight characters that vary depending on the country or language, so you can customize the Italic table to suit your printing needs.

Font

You can select six fonts in default-setting mode. The font selected here appears under Others in the control panel. The following fonts are indicated on the control panel and can't be selected by default settings: Draft, Roman, Sans Serif, Courier, Prestige, and Script.

Manual feed wait time

This sets the amount of wait time between when paper is inserted into the paper guide and it is fed. If the paper feeds before you can adjust its position to your satisfaction, you can increase the wait time.

Buzzer (beeper)

The printer beeps when an error occurs. (See Using the Error Indicators for more information on printer errors.) If you do not want the printer to beep when an error occurs, turn this setting off.

Overlapping forms (LQ-680Pro only)

This setting takes effect only when the skip-over-perforation setting is on. When overlapping-forms setting is on, the printer lifts up the print head each time it makes a one-inch margin with the skip-over-perforation feature. You need to turn on both the overlapping-forms and the skip-over-perforation settings when you use overlapping forms. This setting is available only on
LQ-680Pro.

Changing default settings

Follow the steps below to enter the default-setting mode and change the printer's default settings.

Note:

To print the language selection and default-setting mode instructions, you need five sheets of A4 or letter size single-sheet paper, or five pages of continuous paper that is at least 279 mm (11 inches) long and 210 mm (8.27 inches) wide.

If you use single sheets without an optional cut-sheet feeder, you need to feed a new sheet of paper each time the printer ejects a printed sheet.

Make sure paper is loaded and the printer is turned off.

Caution:

Whenever you turn off the printer, wait at least five seconds before turning it back on; otherwise you may damage the printer.

While holding down the Font button, turn on the printer. The printer enters the default-setting mode and prints the language selection instructions.

Press the Font button until the Font lights indicate the language you want, as described in the language selection instructions.

Press the Tear Off/Bin button (LQ-680) or Tear Off/Special Paper button (LQ-680Pro) to print the default-setting mode instructions (four pages) in the language you selected.

The printed instructions list the default settings you can change, describe how to change them, and show you how the control panel lights help you make settings. Follow these instructions to change the default settings using the buttons on the printer's control panel.

Note:

The arrows on the instruction sheets indicate the printer's current settings.

When you finish making settings, turn off the printer and exit the default-setting mode. Any settings you have made remain in effect until you change them again.

Note:

To exit the default-setting mode, turn off the printer when it has finished printing.

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