Acer Fotoprisa 300P Users Manual
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2015-01-25
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FotoPrisa 300P/U Photo Printer User’s Manual Copyright Copyright 1999 by Acer Peripherals, Incorporated (Acer Peripherals). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Acer Peripherals. Brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Disclaimer Acer Peripherals, Incorporated (Acer Peripherals) makes no warranty of any kind with regard to this material, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Acer Peripherals assumes no responsibility for any error that may appear in this document. Acer Peripherals makes no commitment to update nor to keep current the information contained in this document. Safety Information OK This device is designed to provide safe and convenient operation. However, in order to prevent possible personal injuries or property loss; please pay attention to the following safety cautions before or during the operation of this device: Connect the power cord to power outlet firmly before use. Loose connection may cause short circuit. Do not cut, bend the power cord or put heavy objects on it. Do not place power cord near heat source. There is no user serviceable part inside the device. Do not try to disassembly or fix the device. Contact your dealer if problem occurs. Do not block the ventilation holes on the device. Keep away from liquid, heat, dust and direct exposure to sunlight or strong electromagnetic field. Before you move the device, make sure that all power or cable connections are disconnected. Place the device on a flat and stable surface. Avoid moving the device during operation. Do not clean the device with thinner or other corrosive liquid. Use only damp soft cloth to clean this device. When cleaning, avoid dropping water into the device. Regulatory Information This device complies with the following regulatory certifications: Safety Certifications: UL, CSA, TÜV, SEMKO, DEMKO, FIMKO, NEMKO EMI Certifications: FCC Class B computing device (USA), EMC Directive 89/336/EEC (European Community), VCCI (Japan), C-tick (Australia) FCC Compliance Statement 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 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 an experienced radio/TV technician for help. CE Declaration This device complies with the requirements of the EMC directive 89/336/EEC EN55022 (Class B, 1994) EN61000-3-2 (1995) EN61000-3-3 (1995) EN50082-1 (1992) EN-50081-1 IEC801-2 IEC801-3 IEC801-4 (1992) (1984) (1984) (1988) Canadian Department of Communications Regulatory Statement This digital apparatus does not exceed Class B limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications. Notice on using copyrighted materials Before you print and redistribute a copyrighted material (whether an image file, photo copy or any other intellectual properties), make sure you have obtained the permission from the copyright holder in advance. Reproduction of copyrighted material without prior permission can be illegal and lead to lawsuit in most countries. Table of Contents CHAPTER 1. GETTING STARTED ....................................................................... 1 1.1 INTRODUCTION TO FOTOPRISA PRINTER .................................................................. 1 1.2 FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH FOTOPRISA PRINTER ..................................................... 2 Front View ................................................................................................ 2 Rear View (FotoPrisa 300P) ......................................................................... 4 Rear View (FotoPrisa 300U)......................................................................... 5 1.3 SOFTWARE INTRODUCTION.................................................................................. 6 FotoPrisa driver ......................................................................................... 6 Photo Express ........................................................................................... 6 1.4 PREPARE TO PRINT ........................................................................................... 7 Step 1- Turn on the printer power ................................................................ 7 Step 2- Replace ribbon cartridge (when necessary)......................................... 7 Step 3- Load Paper .................................................................................... 8 Step 4- Print ............................................................................................10 CHAPTER 2. FOTOPRISA DRIVER................................................................... 11 2.1 INTRODUCTION TO FOTOPRISA DRIVER ..................................................................11 2.2 PROPERTY WINDOW ........................................................................................12 2.2.1 The "Setting" tab..................................................................................12 About......................................................................................................12 Help........................................................................................................12 Orientation ..............................................................................................13 Tile .........................................................................................................13 Preview ...................................................................................................13 Copies.....................................................................................................13 Media Type ..............................................................................................14 Source ....................................................................................................14 Resolution ...............................................................................................14 2.2.2 The "Print Area" tab..............................................................................15 2.3 PREVIEW WINDOW .........................................................................................16 Preview Area............................................................................................16 Ruler and Unit Button ................................................................................16 Scaling Box ..............................................................................................16 “Print” button ...........................................................................................17 “Cancel” button ........................................................................................17 “Help” button ...........................................................................................17 “Information” button .................................................................................17 "Setting" tab ............................................................................................17 "Reload" button ........................................................................................17 “Center” Button ........................................................................................17 "Image Quality" tab ..................................................................................18 CHAPTER 3. PHOTO EXPRESS ........................................................................ 19 3.1 GETTING STARTED ..........................................................................................19 3.2 APPLICATIONS ...............................................................................................22 Create a personalized greeting card ................................................................22 Make a unique invitation for your friends .........................................................24 Prepare an amazing postcard for your relatives.................................................26 Create stickers .............................................................................................27 Create a special name card............................................................................28 i CHAPTER 4. SOME USEFUL TIPS FOR PRINTING ............................................ 29 4.1 CAUTIONS ON USING RIBBON CARTRIDGES AND PAPER ..................................................29 4.2 CHOOSING THE RIGHT FILE FORMATS FOR THE PRINTING OUTPUT .....................................31 *.bmp (Bitmap)............................................................................................31 *.gif (Graphics Interchange Format)................................................................31 *.jpg (JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group) ..............................................31 *.tga (Targa) ...............................................................................................32 *.tif (Tagged Image File Format) ....................................................................32 4.3 CHOOSE THE APPROPRIATE IMAGE SOURCE FOR THE FILE TO BE PRINTED .............................33 Image size ..................................................................................................33 Aspect ratio .................................................................................................34 Image dimension and resolution .....................................................................35 How to check the image dimension before you print ......................................35 How to adjust the resolution and dimension of an image ................................37 Quality of original image................................................................................38 4.4 PRINTING STICKERS.........................................................................................38 4.5 CHOOSE APPROPRIATE WEB PAGE IMAGE FOR FULL-SIZE PRINTING ....................................38 4.6 MAKE YOUR OWN ID PHOTOS .............................................................................39 1. Get the right image...................................................................................40 If you are using a digital still camera ...........................................................40 If you are using a scanner (you already have a 2” x 1.5” photo on hand)..........40 2. Arrange the 6 tiled ID photos on one photo paper .........................................40 CHAPTER 5. TROUBLESHOOTING AND FAQ.................................................... 41 5.1 TROUBLESHOOTING .........................................................................................41 5.1.1 Paper Jam ...........................................................................................41 5.1.2 LED Messages......................................................................................42 Non-Error Messages ..................................................................................42 Error Messages.........................................................................................42 5.1.3 Printer (parallel) port settings (For FotoPrisa 300P) ...................................43 How to check and change the parallel port mode of your computer..................43 5.1.4 USB port settings (For FotoPrisa 300U) ...................................................44 5.2 FAQ..........................................................................................................45 1. What is dye sublimation printing? ...............................................................45 2. What is the difference between dye-sublimation printing and inkjet printing? ....45 3. What type of printing material is used?........................................................46 4. Can I print on both sides of the paper?........................................................46 5. What kind of paper should I use?................................................................46 6. Why does the paper go in and out of the printer while printing? ......................46 7. What is the difference between a YMC ribbon cartridge and a YMCO ribbon cartridge?....................................................................................................47 5.3 SERVICE AND INFORMATION ...............................................................................48 CHAPTER 6. APPENDIX ................................................................................... 49 ACER PERIPHERALS GENUINE PRINTING MEDIA SERIES......................................................49 PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS ......................................................................................50 ii iii iv FotoPrisa Chapter 1. Getting Started 1.1 Introduction to FotoPrisa Printer Thank you for choosing the true photo-quality FotoPrisa Printer by Acer Peripherals, Inc. Designed to bring you excellent photo printing quality and high printout durability, FotoPrisa Printer is bound to be the best partner to turn your masterpieces into beautiful photos, postcards and stickers. It is equipped with the following key features: Cool in style and compact in size You will no longer need bulky printers to print real photo-quality pictures. You can use FotoPrisa Printer with a computer as "personal digital darkroom" to create your masterpiece at home. Daisy-chain solution (Parallel port model) You can connect and operate most parallel devices (such as a second printer) through the “Other Device” port on the FotoPrisa Printer. Convenient USB connection (USB port model) The USB connection design allows you to have more flexibility in connecting and using your printer and other peripheral devices. Real photo quality with great resolution and durability Unlike common inkjet printers, FotoPrisa Printer delivers real photo-quality printouts by employing the Dye-Sublimation printing technology. With its capability of producing images with 16.77 million colors with 300dpi (dots per inch) on various printing media, FotoPrisa Printer can achieve real photo-like printing result on a durable, waterproof photo paper or sticker. You can always keep your memory fresh and vivid with FotoPrisa Printer. Powerful software tools FotoPrisa Printer comes together with two powerful software tools that help to turn your creativity into excellent works easily 1 FotoPrisa and quickly. The Photo Express image editing software allows you to get and edit image from various sources, such as from the web, through the digital camera or from scanner. You can also open image files that are already stored in your computer. After you finish getting and editing images in Photo Express, you can adjust and print the edited images through the FotoPrisa driver and share your idea and creativity on photo printouts, stickers or postcards with your family, relatives or loved ones. 1.2 Familiarize Yourself with FotoPrisa Printer To fully understand the function of each part on FotoPrisa Printer, please refer to the following figures and description: Front View Ribbon cartridge hook Ribbon cartridge socket Ventilation holes LED panel Paper cassette slot Ribbon cartridge cover Manual paper feeding slot 2 Paper cassette FotoPrisa Manual paper feeding slot The FotoPrisa Printer provides two paper-feeding methods: manual feeding and paper cassette feeding. You can feed photo paper manually through this slot. While the FotoPrisa Printer is in printing process, the paper will go back and forth in the paper feeding slot for 3 or 4 times. LED panel The LED panel consists of two LED indicators: “READY” and “STATUS”. “READY” LED indicator blinks when the printer is powered on and under self-test. When self-test is successful, the “READY” LED remains on indicating that the printer is ready to print. The “STATUS” LED indicator is used to display error messages if the printer detects problems under self-test or during operation. Please refer to Chapter 5 for more information on the error messages. Ribbon cartridge socket This is where you insert the ribbon print cartridge. Pay attention to the direction of ribbon cartridge when you insert. Ribbon cartridge cover This cover keeps dust or other objects from contaminating the thermal printing head and ribbon inside the printer. Remember to close the ribbon cartridge cover as soon as you remove or insert the ribbon cartridge. Paper cassette slot You can insert the paper cassette here when you feed paper with paper cassette. Pay attention to the direction of paper cassette when you insert. Paper cassette The paper cassette can contain up to 25 sheets of photo paper. When the printer is not in use, please also leave the paper cassette in the paper cassette slot to keep dust away from the inside of the printer. 3 FotoPrisa Ventilation holes These holes are designed to carry heat out of the machine. Do not block these holes while using the printer. Rear View (FotoPrisa 300P) Power switch Other device Power inlet Connector to PC Connector to other peripheral devices Power inlet Connect the power cord here. This power inlet accepts AC power 100-240V, 50/60Hz. Power switch Turns the printer power on or off. Connector to PC This connector is marked "PC" on the rear panel. Use this connector to connect to your computer. Connector to other peripheral devices This connector marked “Other device” is a pass-through parallel connector. If you need to connect another parallel device (such as a second printer or ZIP drive) to your computer, use this connector to connect them. Specification label The specification label describes printer specifications and is located at the bottom of the printer. 4 FotoPrisa Rear View (FotoPrisa 300U) Power switch Power inlet USB connector Power inlet Connect the power cord here. This power inlet accepts AC power 100-240V, 50/60Hz. Power switch Turns the printer power on or off. USB Connector Use this connector to connect the FotoPrisa 300U Printer to the USB port of your computer with a USB cable. Specification label The specification label describes printer specifications and is located at the bottom of the printer. 5 FotoPrisa 1.3 Software introduction Your FotoPrisa Printer comes with two powerful software tools: FotoPrisa driver FotoPrisa driver is designed specifically for making it easier and more efficient to print images in various formats with FotoPrisa Printer. Its multifunctional capability and easy-to-use interface allows you to adjust print settings and image easily and intuitively. For more detailed information on how to use the FotoPrisa driver, please refer to the descriptions in Chapter 2. Photo Express Photo Express is a powerful image editing software. With Photo Express, you can open, edit and save images in various formats from different image sources and create birthday cards, greeting cards easily and quickly with its built-in templates. Its userfriendly interface makes it easy and efficient for you to edit images even if you are a novice in image editing. For more information on how to use Photo Express, please see Chapter 3. 6 FotoPrisa 1.4 Prepare to print “READY” LED “STATUS” LED This section shows you how to prepare the printer for printing images. Follow these steps when you use the FotoPrisa Printer to print images. Step 1- Turn on the printer power Turn the power switch ON and wait until the printer completes its self-test. The “READY” LED indicator will first blink for a few seconds then remain on. If you find the “STATUS” LED indicator blinking red intermittently after the self-test, go to Chapter 5 to check if problem occurs within your printer. Step 2- Replace ribbon cartridge (when necessary) If the print ribbon cartridge is used up, you can replace the old cartridge with a new one after the printer is powered on. Refer to the following steps to change ribbon cartridge: Do not replace the ribbon cartridge while the READY LED indicator blinks. Ribbon cartridge hook 1. Open the ribbon cartridge cover. Lift the ribbon cartridge hook to release the ribbon cartridge. 2. Gently pull the ribbon cartridge out by holding the handle on the cartridge. 3. Before loading the new ribbon cartridge into the printer, take up the slack by rotating the ribbon roller as shown in the figure. When doing so, keep away from dust and do not touch the ribbon. 7 FotoPrisa 4. Push the new ribbon cartridge all the way into the ribbon cartridge socket. When the cartridge goes into its place, you will hear a click from the ribbon cartridge hook. Close the ribbon cartridge cover. Step 3- Load Paper Load photo paper and postcards Please note that photo paper and postcards are two-sided and only one side can be used for printing. You can either load paper through the manual paper-feeding slot or into the paper cassette: Do NOT touch the printing side of the paper when you load. Fingerprints on the printing surface will spoil the image printout. Printing side Marked side Load paper through manual paper feeding slot Insert photo paper horizontally into the manual paperfeeding slot one by one with the marked side face down. Align the position of the paper so it can be inserted straightly into the slot by the center. Push the paper all the way into the slot. The paper will first be stopped by the mechanism inside and then rolled into the printer. Do not insert more than one sheet each time. 8 FotoPrisa Load paper through paper cassette Before you load the paper into the paper cassette, ruffle the paper to separate each sheet. Open the paper cassette cover and load photo paper with the marked side face down into the paper cassette. You can load up to 25 sheets of photo paper into the paper cassette. Insert your finger into the opening at the back of the paper cassette to hold the paper inside the cassette, then insert the paper cassette into the paper cassette slot. You will hear a click when the paper cassette is pushed into its place. Load stickers Load stickers only through the manual paper-feeding slot. Do not load the stickers with paper cassette, as it will cause malfunction to the printer. Make sure that the marked side of the sticker faces down when you load. Sticker (single) Sticker (4x4) 9 FotoPrisa Step 4- Print Print images from your image editing software. The FotoPrisa driver Preview Window will pop up if you have checked “Preview” in the Property Window (please see Chapter 2 for details). You can adjust the print settings from the Preview Window. When FotoPrisa Printer is printing, the paper will go back and forth for several times. When printing job is completed, the FotoPrisa Printer stops printing and you can take the printout out of the printer. DO NOT remove the paper cassette or open the ribbon cartridge cover while printing. 10 FotoPrisa Chapter 2. FotoPrisa driver This section gives you a comprehensive description on the FotoPrisa driver functions and how to adjust printer settings and image quality in the Preview Window. 2.1 Introduction to FotoPrisa driver FotoPrisa driver is an integrated part of your FotoPrisa Printer. The FotoPrisa driver works as a bridge between the printer and application software (such as Photo Express). Before you actually print, you can adjust various print settings in the FotoPrisa driver. Below is a general description of what FotoPrisa driver can do: Adjust your FotoPrisa Printer settings FotoPrisa driver allows you to print images in different orientations, styles or on different media. You can choose to print images in a portrait or landscape orientation, tile the image or print on photo paper and stickers. Besides, you can also select the paper source and resolution you want to apply when you print. Set print area With this function, you can adjust the position and size you want the image to appear on the paper. Trim image quality This feature allows you to adjust the image quality when you preview the image. The options include image brightness, contrast, hue and saturation. 11 FotoPrisa The FotoPrisa Printer driver can be divided into two parts: Property Window and Preview Window. 2.2 Property Window This is where you can adjust the print settings and print area. After the FotoPrisa driver is installed successfully, there are two ways to access the Property Window: You can double-click the "Printer" icon in Windows "Control Panel". On the "FotoPrisa 300 Series" icon, right-click your mouse and choose "Properties" in the submenu. Or, in Photo Express, click the icon on the Shortcut Bar when you print. The Property Window will pop up automatically. You will find two extra tabs added to the regular Printer Properties Window: 2.2.1 The "Setting" tab "Setting" tab contains the following printing options: About Displays the version number and other related information about the driver. Help You can click this button to read the on-line help. 12 FotoPrisa Orientation This option allows the image to be printed on the paper in two orientations: landscape and portrait. You can choose the proper printing direction that fits the image style. When “Resolution” is set to “300x600dpi”, the “Orientation” is unchangeable in Preview Window. Tile This option is useful when you want to multiply the image on the paper or print on a sticker. If you choose "1", the printer uses the whole available print area to print the image. When you choose "4", the print area will be divided into 4 equal parts and each single part will be used to print the whole minimized image. You will get 4 identical (and minimized) images on one sheet of paper. The "16" option produces quite similar result, with the difference that the print area is divided into 16 parts instead of 4. The Tile function can be limited by the media type (please see below) you use. If you choose "Sticker (4x4)" as the media, the "1" and "4" option will be disabled automatically. That is, if you are printing on a 4x4 sticker, only "16" is applicable. Preview When this option is checked, the FotoPrisa driver will bring up Preview Window when you click "Print" in the application software. If you leave this box empty, the printer driver will skip the Preview Window and print images using the latest settings. Copies This item decides the number of the image copy. You can either enter the number (up to 25) directly in the box or push the increase/decrease button to set the number. 13 FotoPrisa Media Type You can choose between Photo Paper, Sticker (4x4) and Sticker (Single) in this item. If you use photo paper or postcard for printing, choose "Photo Paper". If you are printing images on stickers, please choose "Sticker (4x4)" or “Sticker (Single)”. If you choose "Photo Paper" as the media, you can tile (see above) the image in 1, 4 or 16 on the paper, and the paper can be loaded either manually or automatically. However, if you choose "Sticker (4x4)" as the media, only "16" is applicable in the "Tile" option and you can only load the sticker manually. Source Select the paper source of the printer: Auto-Feed Cassette or Manual Feed. You can choose to load the paper automatically (from the paper cassette) or manually (from the manual paper feeding slot). If "Sticker (4x4)” and “Sticker (Single)" is chosen in "Media type", only "Manual Feed" is applicable. Resolution You can choose either 300x300 dpi or 300x600 dpi as the printing resolution. Higher resolution creates image with better quality. When “Resolution” is set to “300x600 dpi, the “Orientation” is unchangeable in Preview Window. For parallel port model, you will have to set the transfer mode to ECP to use the resolution of 300x600 dpi. For details, please see page 43 in Chapter 5. 14 FotoPrisa 2.2.2 The "Print Area" tab According to the settings in “Orientation”, “Tile” and “Media Type” in the "Setting" tab, the "Print Area" tab displays the available print area options and their related information. For example, if you chose landscape in "Orientation" and "1" in "Tile" in the "Setting" tab, the “Print Area” tab will show three available options: You can click any one of the three thumbnails to choose. Meanwhile, the related information including image height/width and border size will be displayed below the thumbnails. You can choose the gauge unit between “mm” and “inch” from the “Unit” drop-down listbox. When the unit is changed the Height/Width and border information will also be updated simultaneously. If you choose "Sticker (4x4)" as the media type in "Setting" tab, you will see only one option in the "Print Area" tab, and no Height/Width or Border information will be shown. 15 FotoPrisa 2.3 Preview Window The Preview Window only appears when you have checked "Preview" in the "Setting" tab in Property Window: Preview Area The preview area is where you can get a idea of what the image will look like before you actually print. Any modification made to print setting will also be reflected here. You can adjust the image position by first moving the mouse cursor on the image, when the cursor becomes a hand, click and drag the image to the desired position. The gray line in the “Preview Area” will not be printed on the paper. Ruler and Unit Button Two rulers are located at the left and upper side of the “Preview Area” to provide you a reference for actual image size. You can change the ruler unit either to inch or millimeter by pushing the Unit Button. "m" represents Millimeter, while "i" represents "Inch". Scaling Box Increase/decrease the scale of the preview image. You can key in the scaling number (from 25 to 400) directly in the box or push the increase/decrease button to change the preview image scale. Please note that when you enlarge the scale, the image quality may decrease and become blur. 16 FotoPrisa “Print” button Click this button to print. “Cancel” button Click this button to cancel. “Help” button You can click this button to read the online help content. “Information” button Click this button to display the related information about the FotoPrisa driver. "Setting" tab The options in the "Setting" tab works just like the options in the "Setting" tab of the Property window. In this tab, only Orientation, Tile, and Source options are adjustable here. Please refer to the Property Window section for more descriptions. "Reload" button Push this button to reset the scaling value to 100% and image preview position to default setting. “Center” Button Press this button to center the image in the print area. 17 FotoPrisa "Image Quality" tab The Image Quality tab provides the following tools to adjust the image quality before you print. The setting change will be applied in the preview area in real-time. Brightness: Drag the slider to the left to decrease the overall brightness of the image. To lighten the image, move the slider to the right. Contrast: This tool can control the difference between the lighter and darker part of the image. If you move the slider to the right, you will find that the difference between the lighter and darker part of the image is enhanced and thus makes the image look sharper. The image blurs if when you move the slider to the left. Saturation: This tool can adjust the intensity of color in the image. For example, if you drag the slider to the right to increase the saturation of the image, the intensity of color in the image becomes higher. For example, red becomes redder and blue becomes bluer. Hue: Use this function to adjust the overall hue of the color in the image. If you move the slider over the blue section, the whole image will become bluish. This is useful when you want to correct the color of an image in which certain color appears to be stronger. Resolution: Displays the current resolution you use for printing. You can change it in the Property Window-“Setting” tab. Default Button: Reset all settings in the “Image Quality” tab to system default value. 18 FotoPrisa Chapter 3. Photo Express In this chapter you will be presented a general introduction to the functions of Photo Express. For more detailed descriptions, please first install Acrobat Reader by searching and doubleclicking the file “ar32e301.exe” located in the software disc, then open the file “pe2.pdf” to read the complete electronic manual. 3.1 Getting Started Photo Express is the ultimate tool for adding that extra spark of life to your photos - it gives you the power to take ordinary, everyday pictures and turns them into high-quality works of art. With its guided workflow and intuitive interface, you’ll be printing out personalized birthday cards, calendars, and posters in no time at all! Photo Express brings a whole new attitude to photo editing. With its professional-quality templates and easy-to-use editing and management tools added to an all new interface, photo editing has never been easier or this much fun. High-end tools in a home environment put the power of a photo studio right at your fingertips. With Photo Express, you can: ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ Repair cherished pictures with powerful touch-up and clone tools. Realistic paint tools turn any scene into a work of art. Use templates to create outstanding calendars, birthday cards, greeting cards, invitations…, etc. Organize and manage all your digitalized photographs with Album. Before you run Photo Express, make sure that the monitor display is at a resolution of 800 x 600 pixels or 1024 x 768 pixels and Hi Color (16 bit or higher) or True Color (24 bit) mode. 19 FotoPrisa You can run Photo Express by either double-clicking the icon on your desktop or from the shortcut in the Windows “Start” menu. After Photo Express is launched, the following main screen will appear: Tool Bar Mode Tabs Workspace Command Panel Global Viewer and Thumbnail Scroll 20 Options Panel Shortcut Bar FotoPrisa Below is an introduction to each part of the Photo Express main screen: Mode Tab: The Mode tabs switch Photo Express between Photo mode and Project mode. Photo mode is where the majority of your work is done, while the Project mode lets you make greeting cards, name cards, and other fun things based on templates. Command Panel: The Command panel lists all of the available categories in Photo Express necessary for getting the most out of your creativity when working on photos. Each category contains a specific set of tools. Options Panel: The Options panel shows you all the different options available for any given tool. Tool Bar: The Toolbar contains all of the tools you need to edit your photos. Each group of tools is divided into categories - when you select a new category, the tools on the Toolbar change accordingly. Categories can be selected from the Command panel. Shortcut Bar: The Shortcut bar makes available to you all the most commonly used menu commands. These commands vary depending on the Command panel category you are currently in. Click the green arrow to hide the Shortcut bar. Thumbnail scroll: The Thumbnail scroll opens from the Global Viewer and lists all the images you currently have open with the topmost image displayed in the window below the Command panel. Workspace: The Workspace is where your photo is placed as you work on it. 21 FotoPrisa 3.2 Applications In the sections below, we will show you how to make your personalized postcards, invitations, greeting cards, name cards and stickers with your FotoPrisa Printer and the templates in Photo Express. Photo Express allows you to import images various sources, including a file, a scanner or a digital camera. It will be more amazing and interesting if you can use these imaging devices to create your own masterpieces. Leave the FotoPrisa software CD in the CD-ROM drive when you want to use the templates in Photo Express. In the sections below, we do not intend to give you a comprehensive instruction on using Photo Express. For more details, please refer to the Photo Express on-line help and electronic user’s manual. Create a personalized greeting card This section describes how to create a personalized greeting card using the image acquired from a scanner. Make sure the scanner is turned on and installed properly before you go. 1. Click Project on the Mode Tab. 2. On the Options Panel, click Greeting Card. 3. The templates will appear in the Workspace. Double-click to choose the template you like. 4. Click on the image you want to replace and click Scanner on the Tool Bar. 5. In the Select data source drop-down listbox on the Options Panel, choose the scanner driver to use and click Replace. 22 FotoPrisa 6. The scanner driver will pop up. Scan the image you want to use. When finished, the image will automatically replace the one in the template. You can adjust the size of the image by moving the handles on it. 7. Now we want to edit the text on the greeting card. Click Text on the Command Panel. 8. Click the text on the template and a box will appear on it. Click and drag to adjust the position of the text box. 9. On the Tool Bar, click Add/Edit. 10. Enter new text or edit the existing text on the Options Panel. Click New or Update to complete. 11. Now you are ready to print the template with your FotoPrisa Printer. Choose Print from the Command Panel. Select Normal from the Tool Bar and FotoPrisa 300 Series from the Options Panel. 12. Click Print. The FotoPrisa Preview Window will appear after a few seconds. If everything looks OK, click button to start printing your greeting card. 23 FotoPrisa Make a unique invitation for your friends Aside from getting images from a scanner, you can also use a digital still camera to capture images and import them into Photo Express. You can then use the templates in Photo Express to edit them and output them as unique invitations for your friends! 1. Click Project on the Mode Tab. 2. On the Options Panel, click Invitations. 3. The templates will appear in the Workspace. Double-click to choose the template you like. 4. Click the image you want to replace and click Camera on the Tool Bar. 5. In the Select data source drop-down listbox on the Options Panel, choose the camera to use and click Replace. 6. The camera driver will pop up. Follow the instructions of the camera driver to import the image into the template. 7. Now we want to edit the text on the greeting card. Click Text on the Command Panel. 8. Click the text on the template and a box will appear on it. Click and drag to adjust the position of the text box. 9. On the Tool Bar, click Add/Edit. 10. Enter new text or edit the existing text on the Options Panel. Click New or Update to complete. 11. Now you are ready to print the template with your FotoPrisa Printer. Choose Print from the Command Panel. Select Normal from the Tool Bar and FotoPrisa 300 Series from the Options Panel. 24 FotoPrisa 12. Click Print. The FotoPrisa Preview Window will appear after a few seconds. If everything looks OK, click button to start printing your invitation. 25 FotoPrisa Prepare an amazing postcard for your relatives If you have already had a file stored in your computer that is suitable to be output with FotoPrisa Printer, you can also use it to create an amazing postcard. 1. Click Photo on the Mode Tab. 2. Click File on the Tool Bar. Click on the Options Panel to look for the file you want to use. The thumbnails will then appear on the Options Panel. Choose the thumbnail by clicking on it and click Open to Workspace. 3. Click Open. The image will appear in the Workspace. 4. Click Print on the Command Panel. Choose Normal on the Tool Bar and select FotoPrisa 300 Series from the Printer Name drop-down listbox on the Options Panel. 5. Click Print. The FotoPrisa Preview Window will pop up a few seconds later. 6. Load postcard paper either manually or through the paper cassette. If everything looks OK, click your postcard. to start printing Make sure that the print side faces up when you load. 26 FotoPrisa Create stickers With your FotoPrisa Printer and the specially designed 4x4 sticker, you can create your original stickers and put them on your books, cellular phone or other personal goods. You can also give them to your friends to share your creativity. 1. Click Project on the Mode Tab. 2. Click to choose a template to use on the Options Panel. The templates will appear in the Workspace. Double-click the thumbnail you like to open it. 3. Replace the images in the template either from a scanner, digital camera of an image file by clicking Scanner, Camera or File on the Tool Bar. 4. Click Print on the Command Panel. Choose Normal on the Tool Bar and select FotoPrisa 300 Series from the Printer Name drop-down listbox on the Options Panel. 5. Click the icon on the Shortcut Bar to bring up the FotoPrisa Property Window. Change the Media Type to Sticker (4x4) then click OK. 6. Click Print on the Options Panel. The FotoPrisa Preview Window will pop up. Click printing the sticker. 27 to start FotoPrisa Create a special name card Don’t you find your name card too dull and serious? Use your FotoPrisa Printer and the templates in Photo, you will be able to create vivid and high-quality name cards for yourself. 1. Click Project on the Mode Tab. 2. On the Options Panel, click Name cards. The templates will appear in the Workspace. 3. Double-click to choose the template you want to use. The template will be enlarged in the Workspace. 4. Click on the image to replace and click Scanner, Camera or File…, etc. on the Tool Bar to get the image you want to use in the template. 5. After you replace the image in the template, you can start to edit the text. Click the text you want to edit and click Text on the Command Panel. 6. Click Add/Edit on the Tool Bar and edit the text on the Options Panel. When finished, click Update or New. 7. Now you are ready to start printing your name card. Click Print on the Command Panel and then click Tile on the Options Panel. 8. Select FotoPrisa 300 Series from the Printer name drop-down listbox and choose the tile and layout options to adopt the name cards to the size of the paper. 9. Click Print. The FotoPrisa Preview Window will pop up a few seconds later. If everything looks OK, you can click to print your name card. 28 FotoPrisa Chapter 4. Some Useful Tips for Printing To achieve the best print quality: Use only genuine FotoPrisa Printer consumables. Genuine FotoPrisa Printer ribbon cartridges and paper are exclusively designed for the FotoPrisa Printer to provide the best printing result. Avoid using any third-party ribbon cartridges or paper as they may cause malfunction to the FotoPrisa Printer. 4.1 Cautions on using ribbon cartridges and paper The side without Acer Peripherals logo (or stamp mark) is the printing side. Load the paper with the printing side face up. Proper printing is impossible if the surface is dusty or dirty. Handle the paper with care so you would not touch the printing side with your fingers. Fingerprints on the printing surface can cause poor printing results. Do not print with folded or bent paper. It may cause paper jam or printer malfunction. Do not drop the ribbon cartridge or otherwise apply strong impact on it. Please do not write or type on the printing surface of the paper or sticker before you print. You can write or draw on the printing surface with an oil ink pen after you finish printing. Avoid storing the printouts with printing surfaces contacting with each other or with rubber or plastic objects (including vinyl chloride or plasticizer). Prolonged contact with these objects will cause the ink on the printouts to transfer on to them. To prevent damage to the printer, please do not replace the ribbon cartridge when READY LED indicator blinks. 29 FotoPrisa Keep the photo paper/sticker and ribbon cartridge away from high temperature, humidity and direct sunlight. Please flatten the paper in packed status if it is curled up (See figure 1). Before you print, ruffle the photo paper/sticker to release the static electricity and separate each sheet. When doing so, avoid touching the printing surface of the photo paper/sticker (See figure 2). Otherwise, the fingerprint will spoil the final printout. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Please do not leave too many printouts on the output tray while printing. Keep the output tray fully drawn out to prevent blocking the paper path (See figure 3). 30 FotoPrisa 4.2 Choosing the right file formats for the printing output Like in Photo Express, in many image editing software, more than one image file format are supported for editing and output use. But which formats are good enough for the printing? Here you will be introduced some ordinary formats and which ones are appropriate for FotoPrisa Printer output. *.bmp (Bitmap) It’s the simplest way to store the data by mapping the digitalized image into a grid of pixels. Each Pixel contains 3 values of R(Red), G(Green), B(Blue) which are defined by a specific number of bits (usually it’s 8 bits for each color for most of popular image editing software which support 24 bits of color processing). It expresses the most real quality but has the biggest data size. *.gif (Graphics Interchange Format) A format widely used in World Wide Web for efficient communication. The limitation of this format is that it can only express 256-color image. Most of the time, we see the banners, animated pictures and icons in this format. *.jpg (JPEG – Joint Photographic Experts Group) A compression method that was developed to create a standard for sending images over digital communication lines. Most high and true color images compressed with it show little or no degradation; thus it has become one of the most popular formats in use today. 31 FotoPrisa *.tga (Targa) This format, one of the principal True Color image formats, can store image data with up to 32 bits per pixel. Compared to TIF and JPEG, which are other options for True Color images, TGA is relatively simple and therefore widely used in imaging programs. The only drawback to this format is that it lacks a good compression scheme. *.tif (Tagged Image File Format) This is a standard file format for many imaging programs that support all data types from monochrome up to 24-bit True Color, as well as many color models and compression schemes. An even more power aspect of TIF is that its files can move easily between platforms like a PC or a Mac, making it an ideal format for storing image data. BMP image (600 x 399 pixels, 702KB), converted to : (1)GIF format : 135KB (2)JPG format : 85KB (varies according to the compression ratio) (3)TIF format : 577KB To vividly express the photographic image through Photo Express, it’s recommended to use the lossless files like *.bmp or *.tif. By recording 24-bit color data, JPG is another option for the image source if you can carefully filter out the images that are somewhat lossy. As for GIF, only keeping data of 256-color, it’s not appropriate as source to express the “True Color” on the photo paper from the point of eyesight. You may find many unfamiliar file format supported in the imaging programs when you want to “Save As”, like EPS, PIC, SCT, RAW…etc. They are developed to be adapted to some 32 FotoPrisa specific programs or equipments. Here we don’t recommend these formats for FotoPrisa Printer. 4.3 Choose the appropriate image source for the file to be printed To get a perfect printout with FotoPrisa Printer, first, there are 3 points needed to really take care of for choosing an appropriate image input: Image size Before we go into the topic, there are several important terms to know in advance. A digital image is composed of a minimum unit called pixel. With the variation of pixel properties, you can create various effects to the image. To measure the density of pixels (or resolution) in an image, we use dpi (dots per inch) to see how delicate the image will be to our eyes. If an image is composed of more pixels, it has larger image size. If the image has higher resolution, it will seem more delicate and details in the image can be presented more clearly. FotoPrisa Printer is a 4" x 6" photo printer at a resolution of 300 x 300dpi or 300 x 600 dpi. Actually the maximum print area (full size) is about 4” x 5”, or 1200 pixels (=300dpi x 4”) x 1500 pixels (=300dpi x 5”). Therefore, in order to have a full-size, true-color printout, it’s better to find out an original image of which data size is bigger than the wanted maximum image size (resolution x print area, that is, larger than 1250 pixels x 1500 pixels). Thus we can fully utilize the advantage of the 300dpi resolution offered by the printer. Of course, it's hard to always get an image bigger than what we need to print. Indeed that will not be a big matter if we got a somewhat smaller image size, the printout can be still vivid to our eyesight via FotoPrisa Printer. However, if the image size you choose is much smaller (under half of the wanted maximum image), either you sacrifice the resolution to have a more blur printout or you can only get a smaller size of printout without 33 FotoPrisa sacrificing the resolution. In order to obtain the best printing results, it is recommend that the source image size be large than 800 pixels x 1000 pixels. If you are using a digital camera as the image source, make sure that the camera is capable of taking pictures at 1.3 mega pixels. Aspect ratio Take the full size printout as an example, the ratio of height to width in Portrait mode is 5:4. To keep possibly each part of the original image printed out in the paper, it's important to have an image with appropriate aspect ratio, better close to 5:4. Otherwise, even if the image size is big enough, the image can't be printed out through out the whole paper, unless the aspect ratio is changed on purpose to fit the paper dimension by having a distortion. Original image in the Preview Area. Fit the image width to the print area Fit the whole image to the print by magnifying the image and area by applying “Fit to page” choosing “Keep aspect ratio”. without choosing “Keep aspect ratio” in Photo Express. Distortion occurs. 34 FotoPrisa Image dimension and resolution Image dimension indicates the very dimension of an image you will see on physical printouts. The difference between image dimension and image size is that image size is the absolute size of the image, while image dimension is subject to change by applying different printing resolutions when you print the image. If you enlarge the image dimension without changing the image resolution, you will see that although the image dimension becomes larger, its quality becomes rather degraded. Below you will be shown how to adjust the resolution and dimension of an image with Photo Express to best-fit full-size FotoPrisa Printer printing use. How to check the image dimension before you print In Photo Express, you can check the image dimension by doing the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Open an image from either a file or from the Album. On the Command Panel, click “Edit”, then “Adjust”. On the Tool Bar, click “Size”. The related information will be shown on the Options Panel. Here you can check the dimension of the image. There are various ways to check image dimension in different image editing software. Please refer to the instructions of your image editing software. 35 FotoPrisa Different images in different dimensions The actual printout size shown in FotoPrisa Preview window 36 FotoPrisa How to adjust the resolution and dimension of an image Now you have chosen an image with appropriate image size and aspect ratio according to our discussion above, the next step is to adjust the resolution and dimension of the source image. The easiest way to adjust image resolution and dimension is to use the Adjust function provided by your application software. For example, now you have an image with resolution at 120dpi and dimension of 8” x 10”, and you want to make a full-size (4” x 5”) print on the paper in portrait mode at 300x300 dpi: 1. On the Command Panel, click “Edit”, then “Adjust”. 2. Click “Size” on the Tool Bar. 3. On the Options Panel, click User Defined and Keep aspect ratio and then key in the dimension you want the image to be resized into. Since we want to make a full-size print on the paper with FotoPrisa Printer, in this case, enter Width=4, and Height will be set to “5” automatically (because the aspect ratio is kept fixed) and set the Unit to “Inch”. 4. Set the Resolution. In this case, enter 300 and set the unit to Pixels/In. 5. Click Apply to finish. 37 FotoPrisa Quality of original image The printer reflects the image we want to print out. If the original image's quality is not good enough (e.g. with smearing and unwanted dots or scribbles), of course, the printout will not be satisfactory as well. 4.4 Printing stickers When you want to print an image into 4x4 stickers, you don’t necessarily need to choose an image with a size larger than 800 x 1000 pixels. However, we do recommend that the image size be no smaller than 224 x 307 pixels and resolution below 300 dpi. When you want to print full-size images on single stickers, follow the tips mentioned above. In addition, you can also print images on a single sticker and cut them off as separate stickers. 4.5 Choose appropriate web page image for full-size printing Often you find many beautiful images on the Internet web page and may want to print them out with your FotoPrisa Printer. According to the discussions above, we know that it takes several important factors to make a good full-size printout. Commonly, one single pixel on the screen represents one pixel in the image, so we can follow the simple and quick way below to judge if the size of an image on a web page is suitable for FotoPrisa Printer full-size printing. Firstly, please check the resolution of your computer display (as to how to check the display resolution, please refer to the documents that comes with your computer or display system). Generally, the resolution modes most commonly used today are 800 x 600 pixels and 1024 x 768 pixels. 38 FotoPrisa Secondly, maximize your browser window and you can approximately judge if the image size is suitable for FotoPrisa Printer full-size printing by comparing with the size of window visible area. For example, if your display resolution is 800 x 600 pixels: The image width is about 1/4, and length is about 1/3 of the screen visible area width and length, therefore, the image size is about 200 x 200 pixels, the image printout dimension is about 0.67”x 0.67” at 300dpi. The image width is about 1/2, and length is about 1/4 of the screen visible area width and length, therefore, the image size is about 400 x 150 pixels, the image printout dimension is about 1.3”x 0.5” at 300dpi. 4.6 Make your own ID photos Based on the maximum print area of FotoPrisa Printer, one photo paper can exactly adopt six 2”x1.5” ID photos. From the above illustration, it’s easy to do a calculation about how large the image size is needed under the condition: print area 101.5mm x 125mm; resolution at 300dpi (dot per inch) – Image size for a 1.5” x 2” ID photo = 450 pixels x 600 pixels Now there are two important steps to follow: 39 FotoPrisa 1. Get the right image If you are using a digital still camera B A A:B=4:3 It’s better to choose the camera with aspects ratio of 4:3, like 640 x 480 (minimum requirements bigger than 600 x 450), 800 x 600, 1024 x 768…, etc. Then download to the PC to save as appropriate file in the image-editing program (such as Photo Express). If the aspect ratio is not exactly 4:3, use to the Crop function to remove the longer side as to fit the ration of 3 to 4. If you are using a scanner (you already have a 2” x 1.5” photo on hand) Select only the part of the whole ID photo and do the scanning at 300dpi. Of course, the real ID photo usually has an aspect ratio slightly deviated from 4:3. To adopt the scanned image within the range of 2” x 1.5”, adjust the dimension of the relatively longer side (compared to the standard ratio 4:3) to either 2” or 1.5” by fixing the resolution at 300dpi. Then we got a similar dimension of image for the ID photo printout. 2. Arrange the 6 tiled ID photos on one photo paper If the “Tile” function is available like in the options of Print in Photo Express, just choose “Landscape” as orientation and set 2 Rows and 3 columns, then click “Print”. It’s so easy to make 6 ID photos! If in other programs, please open a new image file of 1250 pixels x 1500 pixels, same as the maximum print area. Then use Copy and Paste functions to make a new image with 6 ID photos just like shown in the illustrative figure. Then save it to your album! And from that on every time you need to develop new ID photos, just load the file and print, then it’s done! 40 FotoPrisa Chapter 5. Troubleshooting and FAQ 5.1 Troubleshooting 5.1.1 Paper Jam If you encounter paper jam during the operation of the printer, please refer to the following instructions to remove. 1. Power off your printer and then remove the paper cassette from the printer. 2. Turn the printer upside down. Slide the output tray open and you will see the paper jam door. 3. Open the paper jam door. 4. Pull the jammed paper out of the printer. WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH THE COMPONENTS INSIDE THE PRINTER. 5. Replace the paper jam door and printout tray. Turn the printer back to its place and turn on the power. 41 FotoPrisa 5.1.2 LED Messages The LED indicators on the printer provide information on the status of your printer. The on/off/flash of each LED indicator represents certain error or process that occur within your printer. Please refer to the following table to identify the meaning of the LED messages. Non-Error Messages Status Initialization (Self test) Printing Ready Power saving mode READY Blink Green On Green On Green Blink every 2 seconds STATUS Off Blink Green Off Off Error Messages Status READY Paper jam Out of paper Out of ribbon On Green On Green On Green STATUS flash count 2, Red 3, Red 4, Red Paper jam door open Data transfer timeout On Green 6, Red On Green 7, Red Printing head overheat Blink Green On Red What to do Remove the paper jam. Load paper. Replace the ribbon cartridge with a new one. Close the paper jam door. Terminate all other applications in use or restart the system. Wait till the printing head cools down. If you find the LED indicators display messages that are not listed in the table above, please power off the printer immediately and contact your dealer for service. 42 FotoPrisa 5.1.3 Printer (parallel) port settings (For FotoPrisa 300P) FotoPrisa 300P is designed to work with your computer in all parallel port modes, but is optimized for ECP-mode connection with the parallel port of your computer. If the FotoPrisa Printer is not working under ECP mode with your computer, the printer will not be able to output images in 300x600 dpi. Generally, there are presently four parallel connection protocols adopted by the industry: EPP, ECP, Bi-Directional and SPP. EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) and ECP (Enhanced Capability Port) are high-speed parallel transmission protocols (about 600KB/sec to 1MB/sec) supported by almost all Pentium or higher-level models. Bi-Directional and SPP (Standard Parallel Port) have lower transmission speed (about 100KB/sec to 200KB/sec) but they are supported by all 386 or higher PCs. How to check and change the parallel port mode of your computer In order to obtain the highest printing speed and efficiency, we suggest that you change the parallel port mode into ECP in the BIOS (Basic Input and Output System) of your computer. You can follow the steps below to change the parallel port settings in the BIOS: 1. Restart your computer and pay attention to the self-test message on the screen that directs you to press certain hot key to enter BIOS: If the BIOS manufacturer of your PC is AMI Award Phoenix Acer Then press the following hotkey “Delete” “Delete” “F2” “Ctrl+Alt+Esc” 2. Try to find the setting option of the parallel port (or printer port). 3. Change the parallel port setting to ECP. 4. Save the setting change and exit BIOS. 43 FotoPrisa 5.1.4 USB port settings (For FotoPrisa 300U) The FotoPrisa 300U Printer is connected to your computer via USB port. USB is short for Universal Serial Bus, a connection interface capable of transmitting signal at 12Mbit per second. Besides, it is a real plug-and-play interface type, which means that you don’t have to power on a USB device before you turn on your computer to use it. Whenever you want to use a USB device, simply power on the device and your computer will detect it automatically. However, it takes the hardware and software support of your computer to use a USB device. That is, you need to have a USB port in your computer running USB-support operating system. Besides, you will need to enable the USB port in your system BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) if it is not enabled. To enable the USB port in your system BIOS: 1. Follow the instructions described in the 5.1.3 to enter the BIOS of your computer. 2. According to the BIOS you use, set the "USB Interface" field under "Peripheral Configuration" or "Advanced Setup" or "PCI Control" to “enabled”. 3. Save the change and exit BIOS. 4. For details, we recommend that you consult the document of instructions that comes with your computer, as improper setting changes made to the BIOS will result in malfunction of your computer. 44 FotoPrisa 5.2 FAQ 1. What is dye sublimation printing? Dye sublimation works in much the same way as thermal wax transfer. Thermal wax transfer creates images by selectively heating colored wax from a ribbon so that it will adhere to paper or film. The ink is impregnated in the wax. When heat is applied, the wax melts and is transferred along with the ink to the paper or film. As an image is printed it goes through a three-color process and the individual colors yellow, magenta, cyan (YMC) are each printed to the page. Three-color ribbons are most commonly used today as black is created by overlapping the three subtractive colors (YMC), thus eliminating the final black panel shortens the printing time. Dye sublimation works in much the same way as thermal wax transfer, but adds an additional step, which is the sublimation process. Variable amount of ink would be vaporized depending on the heat applied to each dot and smooth it into continuous tone photorealistic images. 2. What is the difference between dye-sublimation printing and inkjet printing? As mentioned in Q1, a dye-sublimation printer creates images by selectively heating wax on a ribbon and then transfer the ink on the paper. This enables each dot in the image to have smooth and continuous tone and thus makes the whole image look much like a real photo. An inkjet printer can not create such continuous tone because an inkjet printer outputs image by jetting C, M, Y (and K) ink and adjusting the size and position of each ink dot on the paper to simulate the graduation and tone of colors. However tiny the dots become, you can still discover them in the image output. Therefore, when it comes to real photo-quality output, dye-sublimation is an ideal choice. 45 FotoPrisa 3. What type of printing material is used? In contrast to traditional types of liquid ink, ink cartridges, crayon ink and dry toner, dye-sublimation printers utilize ink ribbons which look like rolls of colored cellophane. Each roll contains panels of cyan, magenta and yellow and the printer works like a four-color printing press (CMYK). Black is derived as a subtractive color and therefore a separate black panel is unnecessary. The beauty of using ribbon is that they are incredibly neat and clean. 4. Can I print on both sides of the paper? No. The ribbon should be printed on the coated side of the photo paper. There might be some problems, like paper jam, occurs for printing on wrong side. 5. What kind of paper should I use? To get the best image out of dye sublimation, you should use special paper designed for FotoPrisa Printer. FotoPrisa Printer offers various options for your application: coated photo paper, 4x4-sticker paper, single sticker paper and postcard. All options would offer true photo quality printouts. 6. Why does the paper go in and out of the printer while printing? The way FotoPrisa Printer print images is quite different from the popular inkjet printers. FotoPrisa Printer prints images on the paper by selectively heating the ribbon in the cartridge and it takes three different ribbon-heating procedures (Cyan, Magenta and Yellow) to complete printing the image. Therefore when FotoPrisa Printer completes printing image in one color, it will first eject the paper and then retrieve the paper back for the next ribbon heating procedure. This is why you see the paper going in and out of the printer when printing. 46 FotoPrisa 7. What is the difference between a YMC ribbon cartridge and a YMCO ribbon cartridge? There are two different kinds of ribbon cartridges available for using with your FotoPrisa Printer: the ribbon cartridge without overlayer (YMC) and with overlayer (YMCO). The overlayer is mainly designed to protect the printout by printing another layer of transparent material on the paper after Y, M and C are printed. Therefore, if you need to take the printout with you all the time, we recommend that you use the YMCO ribbon cartridge while printing. If you only keep the printout in your photo album, the YMC ribbon cartridge will be the choice. 47 FotoPrisa 5.3 Service and Information For more information on the imaging products of Acer Peripherals, Inc., on-line technical support and software updates, please visit our web site at http://www.acerperipherals.com (USA) http://www.acerperipherals.nl (Europe) http://www.acerperipherals.com.tw (Taiwan) If you encounter problems using the printer or its driver program, please contact your local dealer or send e-mail to: USA: APAweb@apa.acer.com Europe: Scanner.Fae@acerperipherals.nl Asia: FaeImg@api.com.tw Try other imaging products from Acer Peripherals! Acer Peripherals, Inc. has launched a series of high-performance scanner products which can deliver vivid and accurate scanning quality. For more information, please contact your local dealer or visit: http://www.acerperipherals.com http://www.acerperipherals.nl http://www.acerperipherals.com.tw 48 FotoPrisa Chapter 6. Appendix Acer Peripherals Genuine Printing Media Series Standard Kit – Photo Ribbon cartridge / Photo Paper 25 sheets Option Kit - Sticker Ribbon cartridge / Sticker (4x4) 25 sheets Option Kit – Sticker Ribbon cartridge / Sticker (Single) 25 sheets Option Kit - Postcard Ribbon cartridge / Postcards 25 sheets *The print media kit can be stored for 18 months under the temperature of 25 °C at cool dark place in packed status. 49 FotoPrisa Product Specifications Item Print Method Resolution Printable Colors Ribbon Cartridge Type Description Dye sublimation 300 x 600 dpi 16.77 million, 256 gradations each of C, M , Y YMC (yellow/magenta/cyan) Paper size 101.5 x 148mm Print area 101.5 x 125mm Paper Cassette Capacity Interface Power Consumption Power Supply Voltage 25 sheets Parallel Port (ECP, Compatibility Mode), USB 135 Watt maximum ; 15 Watt maximum for standby 100, 110, 220 or 240V AC Frequency 50/60 Hz Dimension 228 x 287 x 115.5mm Net Weight 3.2kg Operating System Operating Environment Windows 95, Windows 98 Temperature 10 °C~35 °C Relative Humidity 20% to 85% RH * Specifications subject to change without notice. 50
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