Epson Stylus Pro 3880 User Manual

							Epson Stylus® Pro 3880
USER’S GUIDE
 
						

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in 
any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior 
written permission of Seiko
 Epson Corporation. The information contained herein is designed only for use with 
these Epson printers. Epson is not responsible for any use of this information as applied to other printers.
Trademarks
Epson, Epson
 Stylus, and Epson UltraChromeK3 are registered trademarks, and Epson Exceed Your Vision is a 
registered logomark of Seiko
 Epson Corporation.
UltraSmooth is a registered trademark, PhotoEnhance is a trademark, and Epson Preferred and Epson Store are 
service marks of Epson America, Inc.
General Notice: Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of 
their respective owners. Epson disclaims any and all rights in those marks.
This information is subject to change without notice.
Legal Notices
Neither Seiko Epson Corporation nor its affiliates shall be liable to the purchaser of this product or third parties for 
damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by purchaser or third parties as a result of: accident, misuse, or abuse of 
this product or unauthorized modifications, repairs, or alterations to this product, or (excluding the U.S.) failure to 
strictly comply with Seiko Epson Corporation’s operating and maintenance instructions.
Seiko Epson Corporation shall not be liable for any damages or problems arising from the use of any options or 
any consumable products other than those designated as Original Epson Products or Epson Approved Products by 
Seiko Epson Corporation.
 
© 2011 Epson America, Inc. 10/11 CPD-27474R2
 
						

							3 FCC Compliance Statement
For United States Users
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to 
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference 
in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not 
installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio or television 
reception. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this 
equipment does cause interference to radio and television reception, which can be determined by turning the 
equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following 
measures:
 Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
 Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
 Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
 Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
WARNING
The connection of a non-shielded equipment interface cable to this equipment will invalidate the FCC 
Certification of this device and may cause interference levels which exceed the limits established by the FCC for 
this equipment. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain and use a shielded equipment interface cable with this 
device. If this equipment has more than one interface connector, do not leave cables connected to unused 
interfaces. Changes or modifications not expressly approved by the manufacturer could void the user’s authority to 
operate the equipment.
For Canadian Users
This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.
 
						

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Contents
Introduction
Warnings, Cautions, Notes, and Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Macintosh System Requirements   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Windows System Requirements   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Options and Supplies   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Where To Get Help  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Important Safety Instructions  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Ink Cartridge Safety Instructions   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1 Setting Up the Printer On a Network
Connecting to the Network   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Configuring the Network Interface  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Printing a Network Status Sheet  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Installing the Printer Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Windows   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Mac OS X   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Adding the Network Port  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Windows   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mac OS X   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2 Handling Paper and Other Media
Selecting Media for Your Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Guidelines for Using Epson Media  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Choosing the Correct Paper Path   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Loading Paper in the Auto Sheet Feeder  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Loading Paper Into the Rear Manual Feed Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Loading Paper Into the Front Manual Feed Slot  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Adjusting the Platen Gap for Thick or Thin Paper  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Using Special Paper Configurations   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Creating a Paper Configuration   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Selecting a Paper Configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
 
						

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6|Contents
3 Printing with Epson Drivers for Macintosh
Printing With Mac OS X   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Choosing Page Setup and Basic Print Options  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Choosing Color Management Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Choosing Advanced Media Control Options  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Controlling Borderless Image Expansion   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Choosing Advanced Black and White Photo Settings  . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Creating a Custom Preset and Printing   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Managing Print Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Checking Ink and Maintenance Status  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Selecting the Correct Media Type Setting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
4 Printing with Epson Drivers for Windows
Choosing Basic Print Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Choosing Color Management Options  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Choosing Paper and Layout Options   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Choosing Paper Options   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Choosing Layout Options   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Choosing Paper Configuration Options  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Choosing Advanced Black and White Photo Settings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Saving, Exporting, and Importing Custom Settings   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Saving and Exporting a Custom Settings Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Importing a Custom Settings Group   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Loading a Pre-Defined Settings Group  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Editing Printer Driver Settings  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Managing Print Jobs  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Using the Progress Meter  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Optimizing Print Speed  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Setting Monitoring Preferences   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Selecting the Correct Media Type Setting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
5 Maintaining and Transporting the Printer
Checking Printer Status and Part Life  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Printing Status Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Viewing Status Information  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Checking and Cleaning the Print Head   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Running a Power Cleaning Cycle  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
 
						

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Contents | 7
Aligning the Print Head   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Aligning the print head manually  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Replacing Ink Cartridges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Performing Additional Maintenance Tasks  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Changing the Black Ink Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Changing the Date and Time  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Adjusting the LCD Contrast   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
Using Maintenance Mode   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Replacing the Maintenance Cartridge  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Cleaning the Printer  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Transporting or Storing the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Preparing the Printer for Shipment   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Setting Up the Printer After Transportation  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Uninstalling and Reinstalling the Printer Driver  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Macintosh   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Windows   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Updating Your Printer Firmware   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Downloading the Firmware  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Updating the Firmware   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
6 Solving Problems
Diagnosing Problems   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Checking Error Messages and Lights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Improving Print Quality  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Solving Operational Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Solving Miscellaneous Printing Problems   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Solving Paper Problems   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Paper Skews When Printing on Large Format Media  . . . . . . . . . . 129
Paper Feed or Paper Jam Problems  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
A Specifications
Printing   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Environmental   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Electrical  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Dimensions and Weight  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
Printer Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Safety Approvals  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
 
						

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8|Contents
Media  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Printable Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Ink Cartridges  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Index
 
						

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This User’s Guide provides important information on setting up and using 
your printer, loading paper, using the Epson® printer drivers, and replacing 
ink cartridges. It also tells you how to maintain your printer to keep it 
working at its best, and provides troubleshooting tips in case you have a 
problem.
The on-screen version of the User’s Guide on the CD-ROM can be read 
using Adobe
® Reader®.
For additional information, see the following:
•The Start Here sheet explains how to set up your printer, install the 
software for a USB connection, and load paper. Be sure to follow these 
instructions to set up your printer correctly. If you are connecting the 
printer to a network, you also need to see Chapter 1 in this User’s Guide 
for software installation instructions.
The on-screen Network Guide on the CD-ROM describes how to set up 
and configure the printer for use on a network.
Warnings, Cautions, Notes, and Tips
These symbols are used in this book:
WARNINGS must be followed carefully to avoid bodily injury.
Cautions must be observed to avoid damage to your equipment.
Notes contain important information about your printer.
Tips contain additional hints on how to get the most out of your printer.
Introduction
 
						

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10 | Introduction
Macintosh System Requirements
To use your printer in either a stand-alone or peer-to-peer network 
environment, your Macintosh® system should meet these requirements:
Mac OS® X 10.5.8 or higher
PowerPC G5, Intel, or higher processor
At least 1GB of RAM (2GB or more recommended)
At least 100MB of free hard disk space to install the software and at least 
30GB of free hard disk space for processing files 
Quad-speed (4×) or faster CD-ROM or DVD drive for installing the 
printer software
For USB connection: a compliant USB Hi-Speed 2.0 port and a 
shielded USB “AB” cable from Series A (computer) to Series B (printer), 
up to 10 feet long
For network connection: Ethernet-equipped Macintosh and a 
compatible cable
Windows System Requirements
To use your printer in either a stand-alone or peer-to-peer network 
environment, your system should meet these requirements:
IBM®-compatible PC with a Pentium® 4, 3 GHz or higher processor 
recommended
Microsoft® Windows® 7, Windows Vista®, Windows XP Professional 
x64 Edition, or Windows XP
At least 1GB of RAM
At least 100MB of free hard disk space to install the software, and at 
least 20GB of free hard disk space for processing files
Quad-speed (4×) or faster CD-ROM or DVD drive for installing the 
printer software
Caution: Using an 
improperly shielded 
cable—especially a cable 
more than 10 feet (6 m) 
long—may cause the 
printer to malfunction.
Note: USB 2.0 is 
required to run the 
printer at full speed.