HP FlexJet E - Manual

Control Center Menu Bar Features ............................................................... 27 File ........................................................................................................................................... 27Communications .........................................

Cartridge Maintenance and Handling ............................................................ 46 Check Cartridges ................................................................................................................. 46Automatic Cleaning Procedure ..........................................

The Ioline FlexJet E and StudioJet printers have many fast moving components. Please read and follow these safety guidelines before beginning operation of the printer: n Do not try to repair the machine without factory authoriza- tion. Only qualified service personnel should attempt any disassembly ...

The Ioline FlexJet E Printer Front View. x A. Left End Cover B. Right End Cover C. Take-up Motor D. Stand Leveling Foot E. Feed Roll F. Take-up Shaft G. Feed Shaft H. Dancer Bar I. Stand AA. Power Switch BB. Serial Port CC. USB Port KEY D A B E I C G H F AA BB CC Rear Panel Behind Right End Cover Vi...

Visual Reference Guide The Ioline FlexJet E Printer Front View Close-up J. Drive Shaft Marker K. Pinchwheel L. Traverse or Carriage Rail M. Carriage Assembly N. Platen P. Ink Cartridge Latch Q. Ink Cartridge Stall R. Pinchwheel Lever S. Keypad T. Service Station U . Take Up Sensors KEY K M T N J R U...

Visual Reference Guide Figure 5. The Ioline StudioJet Front View. A B C H G M L N K D E E F O I J A. Left End Cover B. Drive Shaft Marker C. Pinchwheel Lever D. Pinchwheel E. Drive Shaft F. Right End Cover G. Keypad H. Stand Leg I. Inkjet Cartridge J. Carriage K. Stand Leveling Foot L. Feed Shaft M....

Getting Started Thank you for purchasing the Ioline FlexJet E or StudioJet printer.This manual contains instructions and guidelines for setting up, operating and maintaining your Ioline printer. The following compo- nents are needed to create markers: n A FlexJet E printer assembled according to the...

Printer Assembly Unpacking the Printer Carefully remove the printer from the box and place it on a flat, stable surface. This procedure requires two people. Check the pack- ing list to ensure that all of the accessories are present. ( See the FlexJet E printer or StudioJet Quick Start Guide for more...

18 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Cable Connections When connecting the printer to the computer by serial cable:1. Make sure that power to the printer is off. Power is off when the switch is in the “0” position, and is turned on when placed in the “1” position. 2. Connect the supplied serial cable and ...

19 Chapter 2: Installation Figure 10. FlexPlot Serial Port set-up window. Baud Rate The serial port on the printer has an adjustable baud rate. Available speeds are 9600, 19200, 38400, 57600, and 115200. The default is set at the factory to 38,400. The baud rate is adjustable in the Control Center i...

20 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Figure 11. Workflow: output direct from CAD software (without FlexPlot). 2. Use FlexPlot software to convert files before sending them to the printer for output. The printer includes the FlexPlot software which will convert many different files into a format that is co...

21 Chapter 2: Installation Power On Turn on the computer and the printer to make sure they both work. The printer power switch is located next to the power cord on the back of the machine, behind the keypad. When the paper is properly loaded and the printer is powered up, the carriage will move towa...

Keypad Controls The keypad provides access to the main functions of the printer. Figure 13. The Printer Keypad. Start/Stop The Start/Stop key toggles the printer online and offline. If the Start/ Stop key is pressed during printing, the OK light turns red and the machine will stop after it finishes ...

24 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Clean Runs the print heads through a cleaning cycle in the Service Station . Put the printer in STOP mode and wait until the OK light turns red. Then press the Clean button. If the carriage is not already parked, it will return to the Service Station . After auto clean...

25 Chapter 3: Operation Arrow Keys Pressing the Arrow keys moves the carriage left or right. The Arrow keys are only active in STOP mode (see Start/Stop ), when the OK light is red. Page Advance Pressing this button advances the paper in small increments. This is useful if a plot was removed from th...

26 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide The Control Center Overview The Control Center is a utility program that does two things: n Allows you to adjust settings to tailor output (e.g. scale, line width) from the computer. n Provides an interface to send completed files to the printer. Figure 15. Control Cen...

27 Chapter 3: Operation Control Center Menu Bar Features File Send Plot File Print a PLT or PLX file. Download Firmware Allows the user to download the lat- est firmware version for the printer. See the section Downloading Firm- ware in the Routine Maintenance chapter for more information. Exit Exit...

28 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Control Center Menu Options Firmware Version and Base Displays the current firmware version installed in the printer. Enabled Heads Displays how many cartridges are in active use by the printer. Get Plotter Data Reads and displays the current settings stored in the pri...

29 Chapter 3: Operation X-axis (paper direction) frame size is 46-in (116.8-cm), maximum is 21600-in (54,864-cm). Default and maximum Y-axis (carriage direc- tion) frame size is 72-in (182.9-cm). Quality Setting Choose Draft or Best to control line density. Draft mode uses 300 DPI. Best mode uses 60...

30 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide 3. Insert the new cartridge with the print head pointing down toward the rear of the stall and at a slight outward angle. Press firmly while rotating the top of cartridge toward the back of the stall until it stops in an upright position. ( See Figure 17. ) 4. Close th...

31 Chapter 3: Operation Loading Paper on the StudioJet See the StudioJet Quick Start Guide . Loading Paper on the FlexJet E 1. Before loading a new paper roll always make sure the drive shaft is clean. See the Routine Maintenance section for more details . 2. Place a paper hub in each end of the pap...

32 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Installing the Take-up Shaft (FlexJet E only) The Paper Out sensor on the back of the printer detects when the paper runs out. If paper isn’t loaded or if the take-up key is not posi- tioned properly, place a small piece of masking tape over the Paper Out sensor before...

33 Chapter 3: Operation take-up shaft into place until it is seated in the support block. Feeding Paper (FlexJet E only) Figure 20 represents the proper paper path. The left side of the dia- gram shows the paper path for a 1H FlexJet E. The right side shows the proper path for a FlexJet E with 2 or ...

34 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Tape Paper to the Take-up Shaft 1. Stand in front of the machine. 2. Place 3 short pieces of masking tape within easy reach on the top cover. ( See Figure 21 .) 3. Holding the edge of the paper with one hand, use your free hand to lower the pinchwheel lever to raise th...

35 Chapter 3: Operation 3. Make sure that the paper roll is tight on the feed shaft. 4. Move the pinchwheels into their proper positions over a tread and under the white markers on the traverse rail. ( See Figure 22 . ) Do not place pinchwheels over drive shaft bearings.) 5. Lower the pinchwheels. I...

36 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Set an Origin 1. Ensure that cartridges are installed in the carriage stall(s). ( See Guidelines for Installing a Cartridge earlier in this chapter. ) 2. Turn on the power. After a brief pause, the carriage will glide to the left end plate, then return to the Service S...

37 Chapter 3: Operation Canceling a Marker Plot 1. Press the Start/Stop key to place the printer in STOP mode (red light). The printer will finish printing the current scan and pause. 2. To stop the computer from sending plot files to the printer, click the Abort button in FlexPlot . 3. Use the keyp...

40 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Printing to the Floor With careful setup and constant supervision, the printer will print markers directly onto the floor. This method is NOT intended for printing long markers or unattended printing. 1. Thread the paper on the front of the machine. It should drape off...

Cleaning the Drive Shaft Clean the drive shaft regularly to assure ac- curate plotting: 1. Turn off the print- er and disconnect the power cord. 2. Gently remove any accumulated dust and residue with the stiff non- metal bristle brush provided in the Accessory Kit . Cleaning the Platen and Traverse ...

42 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Figure 29. Calibration screen in Control Center . Cleaning the Support Blocks (FlexJet E Only) When dust and paper residue will accumulate on the take-up and feed shaft support blocks, frequent feed shaft jams can occur. Per- form this procedure when debris inhibits ea...

43 Chapter 4: Routine Maintenance Use the Control Center to Gather the Calibration Data 1. Open the Control Center program. 2. Select Tools>Size Calibration from the Menu Bar . The win- dow in Figure 30 will appear: 3. Press the Send Size Plot button to print the factory stored calibration box. T...

44 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Prepare the Printer 1. Load the printer with paper. (Follow the loading instructions under the Operation chapter.) Install cartridges. 2. Move the carriage using the Arrow keys so that the carriage notch is over the paper and roughly one inch from the right paper edge....

46 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Cartridge Maintenance and Handling A key to maintaining good print quality is proper print cartridge maintenance. During printing, ink-spray, paper fibers and dust can build up on the print cartridge and eventually will degrade plot quality. In addition, when print car...

47 Chapter 4: Routine Maintenance Manual Cleaning Procedure To maintain optimal print quality, manually clean cartridges after they sit idle for longer than two days—or are placed in storage. Wip- ing the print head will clean out the nozzles and firing chambers. A Cloth Should Be: n Soft, fiberless...

48 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Print Cartridge Storage Short-term Storage (7 days or less) n Simply leave the print cartridge in the machine, capped in the Service Station . n If the cartridge was not in the Ser- vice Station , it may require manual cleaning. Long-term Storage (greater than 7 days) ...

49 Chapter 4: Routine Maintenance 3. If you do not see a firmware version displayed, please check connections to the printer. Call Ioline Customer Service for help resolving communication issues. Update the Firmware 1. Choose File>Download Firmware from the menu bar. 2. Press the Select Firmware ...

50 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Reset Calibration Values Perform the steps below if calibration values have been altered:1. With the printer in STOP mode, use the arrow keys to move the carriage to the center of the traverse. 2. Turn power off on the printer. 3. Copy the factory calibration values fr...

General Troubleshooting If the printer is not working correctly the problem could arise from the computer, the cable, the design software or the printer.Changes to the computer operating system or the installation of new peripherals or software might cause conflicts. If the computer or the design so...

52 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide Printing Quality Good printing quality is dependent upon a number of different fac- tors. The type of paper, environmental conditions, and operator hab- its are only a few of the variables that can affect the quality of a plot. It is important that the printer is loade...

53 Chapter 5: Troubleshooting OK n l p Problem/Status G OFF OFF OFF Ready to Print, Origin Set R OFF OFF OFF Paused / Offline, Keypad Active R G OFF OFF Power on reset finished. R Y-Blink OFF OFF Cover open (obsolete) R OFF Y-Blink OFF Paper Feed Out / Jammed Y-Blink R R OFF X- (paper) axis jam Y-Bl...

Service & Support Ioline has many years of experience working with designers, graders and marker makers. Feel free to contact us if you have questions—or to share information. Getting Help Ioline is committed to providing the highest quality service and sup- port to its customers. If you need as...

60 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide prevent damage. Seal the container and note the RMA number near the address block. 3. Ship the container using FED-EX or another approved carrier. COD shipments ARE NOT ACCEPTED . An Ioline representa- tive will contact you prior to the start of work with an estimate o...

61 Chapter 6: End Notes Name: Company Name: Phone Number: Fax: E-mail: Model: Serial Number*: Date of purchase: Dealer: Type of media & ink used: Type of Computer: Type of design software: New software or peripherals: Service history: Before you contact Support… Please gather the following infor...

62 Ioline FlexJet E User Guide The FCC Wants You to Know... This equipment generates and uses radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used properly (in strict accordance with manufac- turer instructions), it may cause interference to radio and television reception. Operation is subject to t...

A Acceleration – The rate that a printer changes the velocity of the carriage or the paper. Acceleration is measured in units of g (1 g = 32.2 ft/s2). Arc – A segment of a circle, also called a curve. Axis – A geometric guideline used to place a coordinate. B Bottom Cover – Metal housing that protec...

Index Symbols 51645A 29 A Acceleration 63 Accessory Kit 17, 31, 41 Active print cartridges 27 Alignment — See Calibration ; See Troubleshooting Arc 63 Arrow keys ix, 23, 24, 25, 37, 42, 44, 55 Buttons 25 Assembly 17 Lifting technique ix ASTM 6959 20 Automatic Buffer Closing 27 Automatic mode 25 Auto...