problems. A too-tight platen gap may cause ribbon snags, paper jams, poor dot placement, or
loss of Top-of-Form position. A too-loose platen gap may cause poor print quality or light print
on multi-part forms.
The "closed" platen gap should initially be set to 0.011" at the GREEN-3 setting, with no paper
installed.
If the print is not evenly dark across the entire hammerbank, even when printing on single-part
paper, then you must realign the platen gap (see below).
If you are using multi-part forms and have difficulty getting good print quality while maintaining
enough platen gap to avoid paper/ribbon problems, try the following steps:
a. Set "OPER->Forms->Impact"=HIGH and "OPER->Forms->Paper"=HEAVY, and save
these settings to the appropriate Form Configuration. This ensures that the maximum
hammer impact will be applied when printing on this form.
b. Try using an E60H (5mil) ribbon. This ribbon is less likely to snag than the E40 or E250
ribbons.
c. If the form's left tractor edge falls within the print station (over the hammers), then use
the "OPER->Forms->Horz Fine Adjust" menu item to move the print image to the right.
You can then position the left tractor further left, outside the hammer-printing area.
Adjustment units are in 30ths of an inch. This helps avoid ribbon snags when the form
is thicker at the edges than in the middle.
d. If the form is of uneven thickness, you will need to compensate by adjusting the platen
gap for the thickest part of the form.
e. Make sure Ribbon Shield is properly aligned with the hammers. The hammer tips
should be flush with the surface of the Ribbon Shield's inner layer. If any hammers
protrude, the Ribbon Shield must be shimmed. The installation of shims must be
performed by a qualified technician.
3.
PERFORMING THE PLATEN GAP CALIBRATION ROUTINE
.
This procedure must be performed when the platen has been realigned, or when the printer
displays the "Platen Cal. Required" message.
This procedure must be performed by a qualified technician.
4.
PLATEN GAP ALIGNMENT
(from Maintenance Manual, Procedure 11).
This procedure must be done if the Hammer Bank or Shuttle has been replaced.
This procedure must be performed by a qualified technician.
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