Q: I am not able to find the LQ 2170 driver for WinNT 4.0. What driver can I choose to print from WinNT 4.0?
A: Please choose the LQ 1170 ESC/P2 driver for WinNT 4.0 system.
Q: What are the differences between the LQ-1170 and the LQ-2170?
A: The LQ-2170 has 8 built-in bar code fonts, an additional standard tractor unit, Lexmark/IBM 2391+ emulation mode, computer-based setup program, increased print speeds, and 13 internal page length settings.
Q: What is the difference between the high-capacity cut-sheet feeder and the second-bin cut-sheet feeder?
A: The second-bin cut-sheet feeder cannot be used as a stand-alone feeder, whereas the high-capacity cut-sheet feeder can. The second-bin cut sheet feeder must be used in combination with the high-capacity cut-sheet feeder. The second-bin cut-sheet feeder holds 50 sheets, while the high-capacity can hold 150 sheets or 50 envelopes. The user has the ability to print 200 sheets at a time when both cut-sheet feeders are installed. Another advantage to having both cut-sheet feeders installed is that they can load single sheets and envelopes at the same time (50 envelopes in the high-capacity cut-sheet feeder and 50 single sheets into the second-bin cut-sheet feeder).
Q: What is micro-adjustment used for?
A: The micro-adjustment feature allows you to make fine top-of-form adjustments and short form tear-off position adjustments in increments of 1/360th of an inch. The printer remembers adjustments made to continuous paper, even after the printer is turned off.
Q: What driver should I choose in my MS-DOS program?
A: Choose from any of the following printer drivers: LQ-2170, LQ-870/1170, LQ-850+/1050+, LQ-850/1050, LQ-510/550/1010, LQ-200, LQ-500, LQ-860+, LQ-2550, LQ-2500, LQ-800/1000, LQ-1500.
Q: Will this printer emulate an IBM Proprinter?
A: Yes, the LQ-2170 has an IBM emulation, selectable through the Default Settings mode.
Q: My printer will not power-on at all when I connect the parallel cable. What should I do?
A: Disconnect the cable from the back of the printer and see if the power comes on. If the printer turns on after disconnecting the cable, you probably have a cable problem. Try a different cable, making sure that it is fully-shielded and preferably six-feet or less in length.
Q: Can I use the platen knob to load and adjust paper?
A: No, the platen knob is not to be used to load or adjust paper. The knob should only be used to clear paper jams after the printer has been turned off. Use the Load/Eject button to load or remove paper and the Microfeed feature to adjust the top-of-form position of the paper.
Q: There is paper loaded on the tractor unit. Why won't the printer load paper?
A: If you are using letter size (8.5" x 11") paper, make sure the paper is loaded over to the left side of the printer. The paper sensor is located on the left side of the printer. If the sensor does not sense that there is paper loaded, the printer will not operate properly.
Q: Why does the printer stop or pause in the middle of a print job?
A: The printer has a built-in sensor that monitors the temperature of the print head. When the print head begins to get too hot, the printer may pause or slow down the speed of the print head unit to ensure that the print head does not overheat. If the print head begins to overheat, the thermistor will stop the print head completely until it has cooled down. Once the print head has sufficiently cooled down, the printer will resume the print job. Another reason for the printer to pause or stop can be that the printer is waiting for more data or is in the middle of processing data already received.
Q: The printer starts printing too far down the page. Is there any way I can adjust the starting point of the print job?
A: There is a feature called Microfeed that allows you to adjust the top-of-form (TOF) position in increments of 1/360th of an inch. To use this feature, load the paper into the printer. Press the Pause button for three seconds (until Pause light flashes), then press LF/FF to move the paper forward or press Load/Eject to move the paper backward. Once you have the TOF position set where you want it, send a print job. The printer will remember the TOF setting and will position the print head accordingly for the next page.
Q: I'm trying to print a 3.5-inch wide by 1-inch long label. I set the printer up for a User Defined page size and it prints the first label, then the paper advances about a page and a half and prints the next label. How can I set the printer up to print one label after another from Windows?
A: If you are in Windows 3.1x using an ESC/P2 printer driver, you will not be able to choose a User Defined page size. The ESC/P2 drivers do not support User Defined page sizes. To use a User Defined page size, you will need to change your printer driver to an ESC/P printer driver such as the LQ-850/1050, LQ-510/550/1010, LQ- 200, LQ-500, LQ-860+/1060+, LQ-2550, LQ-800/1000, or LQ-1500. If you are in Windows 95, you can use Microsoft's LQ-1170 ESC/P2 printer driver. The Windows 95 ESC/P2 drivers do support User Defined sizes. The above procedures apply any time you specify a User Defined page size such as checks, small envelopes, or sheet fed labels, to name a few.
Q: I was printing labels and one of the labels peeled off. Now my paper won't feed. Can I remove the platen to get the label out?
A: No, you cannot remove the platen from the printer. If you press the LF/FF button and the label does not appear on the platen for you to remove, you will need to take the printer in to be serviced. When printing labels, it is recommended that you only print with a pull tractor. Labels have a tendency to curl and peel off underneath the platen when being fed through the rear push tractor.
Q: Can I set the printer up to print on continuous feed 3-inch checks from my Windows application?
A: Yes, the driver supports a 3-inch page length.
Q: Why does my printer print garbage from MS-DOS and Windows?
A: When a printer prints garbage, it usually indicates a faulty cable or a loose connection. Power OFF your printer and computer. Disconnect and reconnect the cable on the printer and computer. Once the cable has been reconnected, power the printer and computer back ON. Try printing from MS-DOS. If you are still getting garbage, change the cable. We recommend getting a fully shielded cable, preferably six-feet or less in length. If you are still experiencing problems after changing your cable, you may have a computer or printer port issue. If you take the cable and printer to another computer and it works fine, have your computer's port checked by an authorized dealer. If it still gives you garbage from another computer, have the printer taken in to be serviced.
Q: My printer prints fine from MS-DOS. Why am I getting garbage only in Windows?
A: If you have already reconnected the cable on the computer and the printer, changed to another cable, and are positive you are using a fully-shielded parallel cable, chances are that you are having a conflict in Windows. The Print Manager or the printer driver usually causes the conflict in Windows. Save your work, then exit Windows (this will clear the Print Manager of any pending print jobs). Go back into Windows and verify the printer driver that has been selected is correct. To verify the driver in Windows 3.x, go to the Control Panel and choose Printers. For Windows 95, click on Start, go to Settings, choose Printers. Make sure that the driver you have selected as your default printer is compatible. Try printing again. If you are still getting garbage, disable the Windows Print Manager. In Windows 3.x, go to the Control Panel, choose Printers, and remove the "x" from the box in front of Use Print Manager, then click Close. For Windows 95, click Start, go to Settings, choose Printers, point to the default printer then right click once on your mouse. Select Properties, go to the Details tab, click on the Spool Settings button, and choose the option "Print directly to the printer." Click OK to exit the Properties window, click OK again to save the new setting, exit the Printers window, then restart Windows 95. Try printing again. If this does not resolve your problem, take the cable and printer to another computer to determine if the problem is hardware related. If the printer prints fine from another computer, have your computer's port tested.
Q: How can I change the printer's default settings?
A: There are two ways to change the default settings on the LQ-2170. You can use the Epson Remote! utility program to change the printer's default settings from your computer or you can change the default settings manually with the printer's front control panel buttons.
Q: When printing from MS-DOS applications, I'm getting characters instead of lines.
A: To print lines instead of characters, the printer needs to be in graphics mode. Select a graphics character table (PC437). To switch to PC437, enter your Default Settings mode and select character table PC437.
Q: I'm replacing my LQ-1050 with the LQ-2170. Can I use the same serial interface that I used on the LQ-1050, with the LQ-2170?
A: No, they cannot be interchanged. The LQ-1050 uses a Type-A interface and the LQ-1070+ uses a Type-B interface.
Q: Can I connect this printer to IBM mainframe (IBM 3270) and IBM minicomputer (AS/400 or System 3X) environments?
A: Yes, you can. For IBM mainframe environments, you can purchase an optional Type-B Coax interface card which allows direct connectivity and emulates IBM printer models: 3287, 3268, 4214-1, and 4224 (non IPDS). For direct connectivity to IBM minicomputer environments emulating IBM printer models: 4210, 4214, 5225, 5224, 5256, 5219, and 3812, you will need the optional Type-B Twinax interface card.
Q: I'm printing serial, my baud rate is at 9600, and intermittently the printer will lose data. What can I do to correct this?
A: If you are using a non-buffered serial interface board and XON/XOFF is enabled, the XOFF signal may not reach the printer in time to delay data transmission which would result in an overflow and loss of data. If you can use a DTR setting, change XON/XOFF to DTR. If you must use XON/XOFF, try decreasing the baud rate. Another option would be to purchase a 32KB buffered serial interface card. The buffered serial interface has a flag reset timing, which sets aside additional buffer space to "catch" the data overflow. The flag reset timing feature settings are selectable through dip switches on the serial interface card.
Q: Can I connect this to an Apple Macintosh® computer?
A: You may be able to connect the LQ-2170 to an Apple Macintosh by using the LocalTalk I/F card and the Epson Print Utility.
Q: Does the LQ-2170 support Apple EtherTalk?
A: Yes, with the optional Ethernet/EtherTalk interface card.
Q: LQ2170 encounters a general network problem such that printer is currently connected as a remote printer. Printing from DOS through network (under Netware 3.12) is fine and so is local printing under Windows (not involving network). However, in the network, garbage is printed from any Windows application. Sometimes, the printer will manage to print only a few lines but stop printing after that.
A: The user should first check its network setting and also to ensure if the network print queue for LQ2170 is correctly captured. If the printer prints only a few lines and stop, the suggestion is to change the printer’s cable. And if you are running on Windows 95, you can replace with the lpt.vxd (version 4.00.503) under windows\system directory.
Q: Why won't my printer print bidirectional in Windows?
A: Since Windows is a graphic environment, the drivers are set to print unidirectional for better print quality.
Q: How do you select bar codes on the LQ-2170?
A: The eight built-in bar codes are only selectable through software using an ESC code sequence. The built-in bar codes include: EAN-13, EAN-8, Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 39, code 128 and POSTNET. | 
