Panasonic 8420 Operating Instructions Manual

							31 Printer Setup
2Lower the tray to the operating position.
The toner cartridges that are shipped with the printer are starter cartridges. 
They are installed in exactly the same manner as the optional cartridges; 
the only difference is that the starter cartridges have less toner. The page 
life expectancy is 3,000 pages, based on a 5% image area.
NOTE:
•Save all packing material for shipping purposes.
To install the starter cartridges:
1Remove the packaging from the toner cartridge.
2Remove the shipping cover from the cartridge.
CAUTION:
•To avoid possible toner spillage, do not tilt cartridge.
Installing the 
toner cartridges 
						

							 
32 Printer Setup 
3 
Open the right side door.
CAUTION:
 
• 
Do not leave the right side door open for more than 1 minute; the 
color imaging unit will be exposed to light and could be damaged. 
4 
Insert the toner cartridge in the appropriately labeled 
slot.  
From top to bottom, the order of the color toner cartridges is black, 
cyan, magenta, and yellow. 
5 
Repeat steps 1, 2, and 4 for each toner cartridge.  
						

							33 Printer Setup
6When you have installed all the toner cartridges, close 
the right side door.
The printer is shipped with one media tray (either Letter Paper or A4 Paper) 
installed, however the printer supports five different trays as shown in the 
following table.
NOTES:
•Make sure that you load the correct media. Each tray is designed and 
labeled for only paper or transparency. If you load the incorrect media 
type in a tray, it may cause a jam.
•If you have the 2nd cassette feeder installed and you wish to use the 
automatic cassette-switching feature (for a large print job, for example), 
make sure that all trays in the printer are the same media type and size.
•The transparency tray should only be inserted in the upper or middle tray 
slots.
Tr a ySize
A4 Paper 210 mm x 297 mm (8.3 x 11.7)
A4 Transparency 210 mm x 297 mm (8.3 x 11.7)
Letter Paper 216 mm x 279 mm (8.5 x 11)
Letter Transparency 216 mm x 279 mm (8.5 x 11)
Legal Paper 216 mm x 356 mm (8.5 x 14)
Loading media  
						

							34 Printer Setup
To load paper or transparencies:
1Pull the media tray out of the printer.
2Remove all packaging materials from inside the media 
tray; refer to the instruction sheet attached to the tray.
3Push down on the metal plate until it clicks, locking it in 
place.
4Fan the media (paper or transparencies), and then tap it 
on a level surface to avoid media jams or skewed 
printing. 
						

							 
35 Printer Setup
NOTES:
 
• 
To optimize your printer’s performance, always use clean, 
unused media. 
• 
Be careful not to leave fingerprints on the media, which can result 
in a smudged print. 
• 
Reusing media that has been fed through the printer once (for 
example, after jams) can reduce the life of the consumables and 
paper path components. 
• 
The recommended transparency is 3M CG3700. 
 If the print 
quality is poor, try printing on the other side. 
5 
Place the media in the tray under the hooks.  
The height of media should not exceed the limit mark on the tray, or 
it may cause a jam.
NOTES:
 
• 
Load media with the print side down. Most media has instructions 
recommending the side to be printed first. 
• 
Do not mix different types or thicknesses of media in the media 
tray at one time; this may cause a jam. 
6 
Slide the media tray completely into the slot. 
Only one PC compatible computer can be directly connected to your printer.
Connecting the 
printer to a 
computer 
						

							36 Printer Setup
If you do not have a parallel interface cable, you will need to purchase one 
from your local computer store or dealer. See “Bidirectional Parallel 
Interface” on page 213.
To connect a parallel interface cable:
1Make sure the computer, printer and the other 
connected peripheral devices are turned off.
2Connect the parallel interface cable to the computer’s 
parallel interface connector and the printer’s parallel 
interface connector.
NOTES:
•The actual connector on the computer may differ depending on 
the manufacturer of the computer.
•If the cable is connected to the PC via a printer buffer or selector, 
the printer may not print.
3Connect the power cord to the printer’s AC inlet and to 
an AC outlet.
Using a parallel 
interface cable
Computer’s parallel 
interface connector 
						

							37 Printer Setup
To power on the printer:
Turn ON the printer, and then the computer.
The Ready indicator on the printer starts flashing and Initializing is 
displayed on the printer’s front panel. After approximately 
5 minutes, the printer’s Ready indicator is lit and Ready is displayed on the 
printer’s front panel. The printer is ready for printing.
NOTE:
•When you power on your system for the first time, if New Hardware Found 
is displayed on the computer screen, close the dialog box, and install the 
printing software using the procedure described in “Installing the 
PostScript printer driver for Windows 95” on page 78.
Power on 
						

							38 Printer Setup
When the image is printed on the media, the image (print area) is a bit 
smaller than the media size. You may need to adjust the page margins in the 
application software to match the print area.
The following table and illustrations show the page sizes, the largest print 
areas, and the margins for the media sizes supported on this printer.
MediaPage SizePrint area
Margins
To pBottomSides
Letter 216 mm x 279 mm 
(8.5
 x 11)208 mm x 270 mm 
(8.2 x 10.6)4.2 mm 
(0.17)4.3 mm 
(0.17)3.9 mm 
(0.15)
A4 210 mm x 297 mm 
(8.3
 x 11.7)201 mm x 289 mm 
(7.9 x 11.4)3.4 mm 
(0.13)3.9 mm 
(0.15)4.3 mm 
(0.17)
Legal 216 mm x 356 mm 
(8.5
 x 14)208 mm x 346 mm 
(8.2 x 13.6)3.2 mm 
(0.13)6.0 mm 
(0.24)3.9 mm 
(0.15)
Margins and print 
area 
Letter
216 mm x 279 mm
(8.5 x 11)A4
210 mm x 297 mm
(8.3 x 11.7)Legal
216 mm x 356 mm
(8.5 x 14)
208 mm 
(8.2)
208 mm 
(8.2) 201 mm 
(7.9)
270 mm (10.6)
289 mm (11.4)
346 mm (13.6) 
						

							39 Printer Setup
The multi-purpose tray (MPT) serves as an additional tray for loading any 
type of media that ranges in size from 91 mm x 254 mm to 216 mm x 356 
mm (3.6 x 10 to 8.5 x 14). Use it to load a single sheet or a stack of 
media, depending on the media’s type and thickness.
Use the multi-purpose tray to accomplish the following:
Print on standard and special media
•Standard media
— Laser paper [75 to 165 g/m
2 (20 to 44 lbs.)]
•Special media
— Labels
— Envelope (#10 size) [Black Text only]
— Transparency (The print quality may not be stable. Use the media tray 
for best reliability.)
Two-sided printing (double-sided) on laser paper
You should not expect the same print quality and reliability that you get with 
one-sided printing. For details, see “Two-sided printing” on page 208.
Setting media thickness switch:
Because the printer accommodates various media weights from the multi-
purpose tray, media thickness can be manually selected for the most 
reliable paper-picking. Follow these steps:
1a) Open the left side door.
b) Move the switch to the desired setting.
The green media thickness switch is located on the paper feeder 
and has three settings:
Loading media in 
the multi-purpose 
tray
a
b
Thick
Middle Thin 
						

							40 Printer Setup
2Close the left side door.
Loading Paper, Transparency:
NOTE:
•Reusing media that has been fed through the printer (for example, after 
jams) can reduce the life of the consumables and paper path 
components.
For detailed information on media, see “Media” on page 206.
1Set the media thickness switch (page 39).
2a) Open the multi-purpose tray.
b) Extend the media support by sliding it outward.
Switch settingMedia
Thin (Default)
Laser paper 75 to 90 g/m
2 (20 to 24 lbs.)
Middle
Laser paper 91 to 123 g/m
2 (25 to 32 lbs.)
Transparency, Label
Thick
Laser paper 124 to 165 g/m
2 (33 to 44 lbs.)
Envelope
a
b