Epson top of form setting with FPW6 1

[dataccount]

I have a client that has been printing multi-part forms with my application for many years using Epson LQ-570 dot-matrix printers.

Recently one of the printers stopped working and we learned Epson replaced this model with the LQ-590, which was ordered. We have been unable to set and save the top of form position on this new printer - as soon as it receives the signal to print, the paper moves back to the default top of form position. We exchanged the first one for another new one with the same results.

Tech support at Epson maintains it is a problem with my software sending a top-of-form command that is overriding the printer. They can't explain why the application works OK on three other Epson LQ-570 printers, and refuse to accept this as a problem with their printer.

I haven't made any recent changes to the report and had removed the contents of the "Tag" and "Tag2" fields years ago. I cannot make a change in the report now to adjust the top-of-form position for the LQ-590 without causing problems with the other printers.

Any suggestions will certainly be appreciated. Thanks.

Jim

 

[DSummZZZ]

What printer driver are you using?
If it is anything other than Generic/Text it could be sending something to the printer.


-Dave Summers-

Even more Fox stuff at:

http://www.davesummers.net/foxprolinks.htm

 

[dataccount]

Thanks for responding, Dave. Because the form has a three different fonts, I used the Epson LQ-570 printer driver with the LQ-570 printer, and used the Epson LQ-590 on the new LQ-590 printer. I tried using the LQ-570 driver on the LQ-590 printer, with no effect. Changing to the Windows XP Generic/Text Only driver changed the font size, and would require me to re-do the form from scratch.

I might eventually have to do that, but if my report printed correctly on the LQ-570, I think perhaps another brand of printer might be in order (Panasonic or Oki).

Jim

 

[dataccount]

I might have mislead everyone in the first post - the version used is FPW 2.6, not FPW6. Although I did a functional conversion to VFP6 and recompiled with the same result.

Jim

 

[JRB-Bldr]

Have you tried some tests like printing a test document and eliminating all of the TOF commands?

Or you could print a test document of similar length from some other application such as Word or Notepad.

If you have the TOF set manually via the Epson control panel, and issue a print with no PCL commands sent to it, it should return itself to the manually set TOF.

If this happens, then it might indeed be a problem with commands that your application is sending. If not, then most likely your application is innocent.

Have you used the control panel to set/un-set the Skip over Perf? This is often a problem that I have encountered with Epson printers.

Good Luck,


JRB-Bldr
VisionQuest Consulting
Business Analyst & CIO Consulting Services
CIOServices@yahoo.com

 

[JRB-Bldr]

Just a correction/addendum to my previous posting...

If you have already done the following, I apologize in advance. However, it never hurts to "cover all bases".

I assume that you are not acutally issuing a TOF within your application/report.

Instead you should be issuing a FF (form feed) to command the printer to send the paper to its next pre-established TOF which should have been set manually via the printer's control panel/menu.

Once the Page Length and TOF have been set, there should be no need to re-set this. You should only be sending the variety of report data and possible commands to change fonts, etc. To get to the next TOF, you would issue a FF command.

If, for the sake of print positioning purposes, you should need to scroll the paper forward and then back you should do that by using Line Feed and/or Reverse Line Feed commands.

Good Luck,


JRB-Bldr
VisionQuest Consulting
Business Analyst & CIO Consulting Services
CIOServices@yahoo.com

 

[dataccount]

OK, JRB-Bldr, thanks to you I think I'm making progress. It's been years since I have sent control (ESC) codes to a printer - the newer printers don't even include the commands in the manual. The reports I use were created with the FoxPro for Windows report generator. Then the table is opened and the printer information stripped from the TAG and TAG2 fields. "Whole page" was selected from the Page Layout Dialog. At this point there shouldn't be any control codes sent to the printer (at least not a TOF command).

If the TOF reverts back to the default position, the problem should be with the printer, not the application. To test this I did what you suggested and created a simple document in NotePad. After printing it, I changed the TOF position a couple times from the printer display panel and printed it again - NO CHANGE!

Am I correct in assuming the problem is with the printer not saving the TOF changes made from the control panel?

Jim

 

[JRB-Bldr]

"After printing it, I changed the TOF position a couple times from the printer display panel and printed it again - NO CHANGE!"

If I interpret your "NO CHANGE" -- you made the manual control panel changes to establihs a new physical TOF, printed the document, and then when the FF was issued automatically by Notepad at the end of your test document, your printer returned to the ORIGINAL TOF, not the New TOF. Correct?

After you made the control panel TOF changes, did you use the control panel to issue some FF's (no printing at all) just to ensure that the new TOF was saved correctly? If it was saved properly the printer should advance the blank page to the next TOF and it should be located where you expect it to be.

If not, then either the problem is with the printer itself or with the SAVE procedure when using the printer's Control Panel.

Good Luck,


JRB-Bldr
VisionQuest Consulting
Business Analyst & CIO Consulting Services
CIOServices@yahoo.com

 

[cricket]

Have you set the form length correctly?

 

[dataccount]

Cricket, yes, the form length is set correctly to the 11 inch default. JRB-Bldr, here's exactly what happens (applies whether Notepad or FoxPro app sends the print job):

1. Reset all printer settings to the default.
2. Send single page to printer - top margin is about 1/2 inch.
3. Use "MicroAdjust" from printer panel to move the paper up 1/2 inch (increasing top margin to 1 inch).
4. Press FF a couple of times, then Load/Eject, turn power off and back on, then Load/Eject, bringing the paper back to starting position. (new TOF is saved)
5. Send single page to printer - top margin is about 1/2 inch (exactly where it was before adjusting TOF)
6. Top of next page is back to the original printer default position. Press FF and the TOF is still back to the original setting.
7. Press Load/Eject, then turn printer off and back on - advance paper to starting position with Load/Eject - the TOF is now back to the adjusted position.

Each time a print job is sent to the printer, the default TOF is restored for that print job, then reset to the adjusted position after power to the machine is turned off and back on. Another quirk I noticed is that the first thing the printer does when a new print job is received is to retract the paper down for perhaps an inch, then pushes it back up before starting to print. This must be when it resets the TOF.

Epson includes a utility software called "Remote Configuration Manager" which allows you to make changes and send the commands directly to the printer. I used this method to adjust the TOF position as well, increasing it from the default of .333 inches to 1.000 inches. The result was the same.

The only way I was able to prevent the printer from resetting the TOF was to print from DOS. It is becoming obvious to me that this printer assumes every software generated print job has a TOF command, and when it doesn't find one, the default is used. Could that be? A few months ago another client had this same problem with the Epson model FX-890 printing multi-part Purchase Orders, and after two different printers, ended up buying a different brand.

Jim

 

[JRB-Bldr]

Here is the sequence that I would recommend.

1. Reset all printer settings to the default.
2. Manually position the paper (with Micro Adjust or not) where you want to TOF to be located (e.g. about 1 inch below top)
3. Press the TOF button on the printer's control panel. That should set the TOF at the current location.
4. Press FF to advance the paper and confirm (or not) if the next page advances and places its top where the previous page top was located. (Remember to ignore any temporary "extra" tear-off advance (see below)) Try this for a couple of FF's.
6. If things have worked so far, now try sending a test page or two from Notepad and confirm (or not) if these pages begin where you expect them to.

"Another quirk I noticed is that the first thing the printer does when a new print job is received is to retract the paper down for perhaps an inch, then pushes it back up before starting to print."

This is a "standard feature" with Epson printers (and maybe others as well). You are witnessing the Tear Off Advance.

When a print job is complete, the printer temporarily moves the paper up beyond TOF so that its perforations align with the printer's tear-off bar (edge of clear plastic). Then after a few seconds, the paper should be drawn back into the printer to the pre-set TOF. Or when a new print job is received, the printer returns the paper from the "advance" position back to TOF to begin printing.

If you have set the paper's TOF in the printer manually it should remain set until the paper is next replaced. With continous feed perforated pager, this is not too often.

For any given paper length, the printer merely counts the number of rotations (or fractions thereof) of its paper roller to determine when it has successfully returned back to its previously set TOF. For example with 1 inch circumference roller and a paper lenght of 11 inches, once it has rotated 11 full times it has moved the paper 11 inches and it is back at TOF. Setting TOF merely "tells" the printer where to start "counting".

For that reason, you are correct in that turning ON/OFF the power will lose previous TOF settings. However if your paper was correctly positioned when the power is turned OFF and back ON, the new default TOF will again be where you need it to be.

"The first thing the printer does when a new print job is received is to retract the paper down for perhaps an inch, then pushes it back up before starting to print."

Remember that when this happens it is merely the printer pulling the paper back from its temporary Tear-off Advance position which is beyond the TOF. When this happens, the printer will pull the paper back to its pre-set TOF.

Good Luck,


JRB-Bldr
VisionQuest Consulting
Business Analyst & CIO Consulting Services
CIOServices@yahoo.com

 

[dataccount]

Thanks again, JRB-Bldr for your help. I wish fixing it were as simple as you described. One problem is that Epson does not have a "TOF" button, like Panasonic, so you must use either the MicroAdjust button or the configuration software. Because of this it makes no difference how far you advance the paper before starting to adjust the TOF - the TOF setting is always interpreted by the printer as a certain distance one way or the other from default.

The "quirk" that I mentioned is not related to the "Tear Off". (Automatic tear off advance is OFF) Looking at the paper and the roller, there are actually three positions the top of the paper could be in: Tear Off advance (two inches past start), the start position and the "quirky" one, about one inch below the start.

Your comment about the printer merely counting the number of rotations back to it's previously set TOF sounds correct, except that my problem is the starting point not staying where I put it. If I manually advance the paper a couple lines, then turn the power off and back on, printing will be two lines below the normal printing position, even if I adjust TOF. But that's only because the printer was confused when it was turned off in a position other that start. After the first "Load/Eject" button is pressed, everything returns to how it was.

I could increase the top margin in the report to compensate for the TOF problem, but only if the other LQ-570 printers were also replaced with the LQ-590. I have to come up with something for the client by Tuesday, so I guess the only solution is to send the Epson back and get another brand. Does Panasonic still have the TOF button?

Jim

 

[JRB-Bldr]

Well without the printer on my desk, I am running out of suggestions.

Here are some reference links which you might already have (or not).

Epson LQ-590 Specifications

http://www.epson.co.uk/products/dot_matrix_printers/product_spec/LQ-590.htm

Epson LQ-590 - ESC/P2 Command Language

http://webpages.charter.net/dperr/links/esc_p2.htm

Epson LQ-590 User Manual

http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/lq590_/lq590_u1.pdf

Based on Page 33 (Set TOF via Control Panel) you are already using Micro Adjust as described to establish TOF

On looking at Page 38 of the manual, I see the Default settings from within the internal Menu.

1. I notice that the Default Skip over Perf is set OFF.
Typically I set this ON so that the page will indeed Skip Over The Perf instead of printing through it.
Depending on the number of lines actually printed on the page, this can sometimes contribute to throwing off the TOF.

2. I also notice that Default Auto Tear-off is OFF.
The symptoms you describe about auto advance, etc. seem to suggest that Auto Tear-off is set ON.
This is typically a good thing, but it sometimes contributes to confusion.

Finally, on page 44 of the manual, there is a Technical Support phone number.

I am sorry that I don't have much more help to offer.

Good Luck,

JRB-Bldr
VisionQuest Consulting
Business Analyst & CIO Consulting Services
CIOServices@yahoo.com

 

[dataccount]

JRB-Bldr, it's Monday and a new set of issues to address - Epson printers are not on the new list. I can't thank you enough for all the time you have spent on the problem. Just so you know I had contacted Epson Technical Support before my first posting on this board. They point me to page 34 in the manual, which states: "The top margin setting selected in some software overrides to top-of-form position setting you make with the Micro Adjust function".

They maintain our FoxPro software is causing the problem - end of discussion. Today, I go shopping for a new impact printer. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Jim

 

[JRB-Bldr]

Jim - thanks for the star.

Many of my clients have successfully used Epson printers with Foxpro and Visual Foxpro applications/Reports for many years now.

As a result, I can't help but feel that FP/VFP is not causing the problem. Unless some PCL command is buried into the Report Form and/or printer output. True if your report's margins are outside of the Epson default margins, then you will get un-expected results. But if they are within the margins, then Epson support is feeding you a line.

Is this your own code or are you maintaining someone else's code? If your own then you'd be the one to know if there are PCL commands embedded somewhere. If someone else's code, then who knows?

Those clients with the best success have had me eliminate all SET PRINTER TO commands within the application and have left all printer handling to the Windows Print drivers.

Since very few of those "many clients" mentioned above are currently still using dot matrix printers (most have over the years converted to laser printers), I do not have a readily available alternative printer suggestion for you.

I understand how you can only dedicate just so much time towards getting this to work. And when it has cost too much time already, simply changing printers might be a more cost effective approach to an answer. I just hope that you don't encounter similar problems with another manufacturer.

Good Luck,


JRB-Bldr
VisionQuest Consulting
Business Analyst & CIO Consulting Services
CIOServices@yahoo.com

 

[DSummZZZ]

My 2 cents:
Using an outdated product like Foxpro 2.x, a lot of times forces you to think along the lines of what worked in the Windows 3.1 days. Much of todays technology just doesn't remain compatible with what worked back then.
I have had the best success with HP Laserjets. Even new printers retain backward compatibility, to where I have never had to worry about just hooking up another printer when one wears out.
Hence, I design reports around the Laserjet III, III+ or maybe IV printer drivers.

For what it's worth, I'm no HP spokesperson, I get no kickbacks. That is just what has worked best for me.


-Dave Summers-

Even more Fox stuff at:

http://www.davesummers.net/foxprolinks.htm

 

[dataccount]

JRB-Bldr, all of the reports were written by me personally, and like you, I have many clients using Epson printers successfully. However, they are using the LQ-570 or one of the "FX" series, not the LQ-590. I have learned through a hardware vendor this may be a problem with all of the Epson printers with a model number ending in "90" (although Epson doesn't view it as a problem).

Dave, it would be wonderful if everyone used laser printers, but some clients insist on multi-part, multi-colored forms (yellow for shipping, green for sales, etc.) and it is unlikely I will be able to change their minds. I have been successful in getting some of them, kicking and fighting, switched over to laser checks, but in spite of what Epson may think, dot matrix printers will be around filling in forms for quite a while yet, it just won't be done on one of their printers.

Jim