Acer Fotoprisa 300P Users Manual

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2015-01-25

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FotoPrisa 300P/U Photo Printer

User’s Manual

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

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) EN-50081-1 (1992)

EN61000-3-2 (1995) IEC801-2 (1984)

EN61000-3-3 (1995) IEC801-3 (1984)

EN50082-1 (1992) IEC801-4 (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

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

iii

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

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

Manual paper feeding slot

Ribbon cartridge cover

Paper cassette slot

LED panel

Ribbon cartridge

socket

Paper cassette

Ventilation holes

Ribbon cartridge hook

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.

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 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.

Other device

Power inlet

Connector to PC Connector to other

peripheral devices

Power switch

FotoPrisa

Rear View (FotoPrisa 300U)

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.

Power inlet

Power switch

USB connector

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 user-

friendly 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.

FotoPrisa

1.4 Prepare to print

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:

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.

Ribbon cartridge hook

“READY” LED

“STATUS” LED

Do not replace the ribbon cartridge while

the READY LED indicator blinks.

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:

Load paper through manual paper feeding slot

Insert photo paper horizontally into the manual paper-

feeding 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.

Printing side

Marked side

Do NOT touch the printing side of the

paper when you load. Fingerprints on the

printing surface will spoil the image

printout.

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 (4x4)

Sticker (single)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 double-

clicking 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.

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:

WorkspaceTool Bar Options Panel

Mode Tabs Command Panel

Global Viewer and Thumbnail Scroll

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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12. Click Print. The FotoPrisa Preview Window will appear

after a few seconds. If everything looks OK, click

button to start printing your invitation.

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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 to start printing

your postcard.

Make sure that the print side faces up when you

load.

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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 to start

printing the sticker.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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).

Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

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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.

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*.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.

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

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

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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

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

by magnifying the image and

choosing “Keep aspect ratio”.

Fit the whole image to the print

area by applying “Fit to page”

without choosing “Keep aspect

ratio” in Photo Express. Distortion

occurs.

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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. Open an image from either a file or from the Album.

2. On the Command Panel, click “Edit”, then “Adjust”.

3. On the Tool Bar, click “Size”.

4. 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.

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Different images in different dimensions

The actual printout size shown in FotoPrisa Preview window

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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.

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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.

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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:

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:

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.

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1. Get the right image

If you are using a digital still camera

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!

A : B = 4 : 3

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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.

5. Replace the paper jam door and printout tray. Turn the

printer back to its place and turn on the power.

WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH THE COMPONENTS

INSIDE THE PRINTER.

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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 READY STATUS

Initialization (Self test) Blink Green Off

Printing On Green Blink Green

Ready On Green Off

Power saving mode Blink every 2 seconds Off

Error Messages

Status READY STATUS

flash count What to do

Paper jam On Green 2, Red Remove the paper jam.

Out of paper On Green 3, Red Load paper.

Out of ribbon On Green 4, Red Replace the ribbon

cartridge with a new one.

Paper jam door

open On Green 6, Red Close the paper jam

door.

Data transfer

timeout On Green 7, Red Terminate all other

applications in use or

restart the system.

Printing head

overheat Blink Green On Red 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.

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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 Then press the following hotkey

AMI “Delete”

Award “Delete”

Phoenix “F2”

Acer “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.

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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.

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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 photo-

realistic 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.

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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.

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.

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

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.

FotoPrisa

Product Specifications

Item Description

Print Method Dye sublimation

Resolution 300 x 600 dpi

Printable Colors 16.77 million, 256 gradations each of C, M , Y

Ribbon Cartridge Type YMC (yellow/magenta/cyan)

Paper size 101.5 x 148mm

Print area 101.5 x 125mm

Paper Cassette Capacity 25 sheets

Interface Parallel Port (ECP, Compatibility Mode), USB

Power Consumption 135 Watt maximum ; 15 Watt maximum for standby

Power Supply Voltage 100, 110, 220 or 240V AC Frequency 50/60 Hz

Dimension 228 x 287 x 115.5mm

Net Weight 3.2kg

Operating System Windows 95, Windows 98

Operating Environment Temperature 10 °C~35 °C

Relative Humidity 20% to 85% RH

* Specifications subject to change without notice.

Acer Fotoprisa 300P Users Manual

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