Epson Lq 2180 User Guide

							2-16      Printing on Continuous Paper
Using the Rear Push Tractor 
To use the rear push tractor, load continuous paper in the rear 
slot. For information on when to use the rear push tractor, see 
“Available Paper Paths” on page 3.
Loading paper onto the rear push tractor
If a tractor is installed in the pull position, you need to remove it 
and replace the paper tension unit as described on page 2-33 
before using the rear push tractor.
Note:
o
To avoid paper jams, it is best to load thick multi-part forms using 
the front or bottom slot and pull or front push tractor.
 
c
Caution:
Do not load continuous paper with labels in the rear paper slot; 
the labels may come off their backing sheet inside the printer and 
cause a paper jam.
To load paper onto the rear push tractor, follow these steps:
1. Open the paper guide cover and remove the paper guide. 
						

							2
Printing on Continuous Paper      2-17
2. Set the paper release lever to the rear push tractor position. 
Also set the paper thickness lever (located under the printer 
cover) to the proper position for your paper’s thickness.
3. Release the left and right sprockets by pulling the sprocket 
lock levers forward.
front of the printer 
						

							2-18      Printing on Continuous Paper
4. Slide the left sprocket to the left margin of the paper using the 
scale on the printer. (Printing starts at the “0” mark.) Then 
push the lever back to lock it in place.
Note:
See “Paper alignment” and “Printable area” in Appendix C for 
more information on the left margin position.
5. Slide the right sprocket to match the width of your paper, but 
do not lock it. Move the paper support midway between the 
two sprockets as shown above.
6. Open both sprocket covers. Make sure your paper has a 
clean, straight edge and fit the first four holes of the paper, 
printable side down, over the tractor pins. Then close the 
sprocket covers.
7. Slide the right sprocket to remove any slack in the paper; then 
lock it in place by pushing the sprocket lock down.
front of the printer
front of the printer 
						

							2
Printing on Continuous Paper      2-19
8. Attach the paper guide as described on page 1-11.
9. Slide the edge guides to the middle of the paper guide. Then 
close the paper guide cover.
Note:
Always close the printer cover before printing. The printer does not 
print when the cover is open.
10. Make sure the printer is on. You may need to check and 
change the printer driver settings as described in Chapter 4. 
When the printer receives data, it automatically loads the 
paper and starts printing. The printed pages are fed over the 
paper guide toward the back of the printer.
11. After you finish printing, follow the steps in the next section 
to tear off your printed document. If the first printed line on 
your page appears too high or low, you can fix this by using 
the micro adjust feature as described in “Adjusting the Top-
of-Form Position” on page 2-36.
 
c
Caution:
Never use the knob to adjust the top-of-form position; this may 
damage the printer or cause it to lose the top-of-form position. 
						

							2-20      Printing on Continuous Paper
Removing the printed document from the rear push 
tractor 
To remove the printed document, follow these steps:
1. Make sure the Tear Off/Bin lights are flashing. (This indicates 
your paper is at the current tear-off position). You may need 
to press the Tear Off/Bin 
button to advance the paper to the 
tear-off position.
2. Open the paper guide cover, and tear off the printed 
document using the tear-off edge of the printer.
Note:
If your paper’s perforation is not properly aligned with the tear-off 
edge, you can adjust the tear-off position using the micro adjust 
feature. See “Adjusting the tear-off position” on page 2-40.
 
c
Caution:
Never use the knob to adjust the tear-off position; this may 
damage the printer or cause it to lose the tear-off position.
3. Close the paper guide cover.
When you resume printing, the printer automatically feeds 
the paper back to the top-of-form position and starts printing. 
						

							2
Printing on Continuous Paper      2-21
To remove the remaining paper from the printer, press the 
Load/
Eject
 button to feed the paper backward to the standby position. (See 
the Glossary for an explanation of the standby position.) Then open 
the sprocket covers of the tractor and remove paper.
 
c
Caution:
Always tear off your printed document before you press the 
Load/Eject
 button. Reverse feeding several pages at a time may 
cause a paper jam.
Using the Tractor in the Pull Position 
Using the tractor in the pull position is ideal for printing on thick 
and heavy continuous paper, such as multi-part forms or 
continuous paper with labels. However, you cannot use the tear-
off feature with the pull tractor.
You can also load paper onto the pull tractor from the rear slot. 
However, doing so is not recommended because the paper path 
from the rear slot is curved. Because thick paper requires a 
straight paper path to avoid paper jams, it is best to load paper in 
the front or bottom slot when using the pull tractor.
 
c
Caution:
Do not load continuous paper with labels in the rear paper slot; 
the labels may come off their backing sheet inside the printer and 
cause a paper jam.
To further reduce the chance of paper jams and improve the 
performance of continuous paper, you can use two tractors in 
combination. When using this printing method, you load your 
paper onto both the front push tractor and the pull tractor, or both 
the rear push tractor and the pull tractor. See “Using two tractors 
in a push and pull combination” on page 2-29. 
						

							2-22      Printing on Continuous Paper
Installing the tractor in the pull position 
To install a tractor in the pull position you must either remove the 
front push tractor or install the optional pull tractor (C80032]
). 
To remove the front push tractor, see “Removing the front push 
tractor” on page 2-15.
Note:
The tractor in the rear push position cannot be removed.
To install a tractor in the pull position, follow these steps:
1. Make sure the printer is turned off. Lift the printer cover up 
and off the printer.
2. Push up the tabs on each side of the paper tension unit and 
lift the unit up and off the printer. Store the paper tension unit 
in a safe place. 
						

							2
Printing on Continuous Paper      2-23
3. Lower the tractor into the printer’s mounting slots and press 
down both ends of the tractor to make sure that it is firmly 
seated.
You are now ready to load continuous paper onto the pull tractor 
as described in the next section. To remove the pull tractor, see 
page 2-32.
Loading paper onto the pull tractor
When using the pull tractor, load continuous paper in the front 
or bottom slot, if possible; loading paper in the rear slot may 
increase the chance of a paper jam.
 
c
Caution:
Do not load continuous paper with labels in the rear paper slot; 
the labels may come off their backing sheet inside the printer and 
cause a paper jam. 
						

							2-24      Printing on Continuous Paper
To load paper onto the pull tractor, follow these steps:
1. Make sure the printer is turned off, and the printer cover is 
removed. Also check that a tractor is installed in the pull 
position.
2. Slide the edge guides to the middle of the paper guide.
3. Set the paper release lever to the pull tractor position. Also 
set the paper thickness lever to the proper position for your 
paper’s thickness.
4. Release the left and right sprockets by pulling the sprocket 
lock levers forward. 
						

							2
Printing on Continuous Paper      2-25
5. Slide the left sprocket to the left margin of the paper using the 
scale on the paper guide as a guide. (Printing starts at the 
arrow mark.) Then push the lever back to lock it in place.
Note:
See “Paper alignment” and “Printable area” in Appendix C for 
more information on the left margin position.
6. Push back the left sprocket lever to lock it in place.
7. Slide the right sprocket to match the width of your paper, but 
do not lock it. Move the paper support midway between the 
two sprockets as shown above. Then open both sprocket 
covers.
8. Make sure your paper has a clean, straight edge.