Epson ESCP/2 EPESCP2.DRV v. 1.60 Release Notes (113290)

MORE INFORMATION

---------------------------------------------------------------------
Epson Research Center
Imaging Products Development

Release Notes for
MS Windows Mini Driver for Epson ESC/P 2 Printers

EPESCP2.DRV ver 1.60

February 4, 1994

Product Description
This is a release of an upgraded Windows driver which supports the
latest Epson printer models and paper sizes.  It is a "Mini driver"
which works in conjunction with the Microsoft Universal Printer Driver.
The Mini Driver code and copyright for EPESCP2.DRV ver 1.6 are owned by
Microsoft Corporation.  The Universal Printer Driver code and copyright
are owned by Microsoft Corporation.  The copyright displayed in the
driver's About box refers to the Universal Printer Driver and is
"Microsoft Corporation".

The following files are included in this release:

EPESCP2.DRV       1/3/94    13699    (the Mini driver)
OEMSETUP.INF    1/3/94    1332     (setup file)

In addition, the following related files are required for a complete
driver solution:
UNIDRV.DLL      ver. 3.1.1 or later (the Universal driver)
UNIDRV.HLP                          (help file)

Version Update Description
The differences between version 1.60 compared to the previous version
1.5 are as follows:
1)   Stylus 400 has been added.
2)   Stylus 800+ has been added.
3)   A2 paper size has been added to Stylus 1000

Installation
Use Control Panel / Printers to install these drivers.  Remove all
previously installed version 1.0, 1.1, 1.3, 1.4, or 1.5  Epson ESC/P 2
drivers before installing 1.6.
Be sure to use Universal Printer Driver 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.4 or later.
This Mini driver is not recommended for use with Universal Printer
Driver 3.1.

Deinstallation
To deinstall the ESC/P 2 drivers, within the Control Panel / Printers
dialog, highlight the driver name in the "Installed Printer" box, then
click the Remove button.

Usage
Refer to Microsoft Windows documentation for use of printer drivers.

Technical Limitations
1)  Matching Paper Size with Paper Source
It is very important that the correct Paper Source (Tractor, Sheet
Feeder or Manual) be selected for each Paper Size.

    a) Only the Fanfold paper sizes (sizes with the word Fanfold in
       their name) can be used properly with the Tractor Paper Source.
       Do not use any other Paper Sizes with the Tractor Paper Source.

    b) All other paper sizes (including User Defined) can be used only
       with the Manual or Sheet Feeder Paper Source.  Do not use any
       Fanfold Paper Sizes with the Manual or Sheet Feeder Paper Source.

Here is a complete list of which Paper Sizes can be used for each Paper
Source:

Tractor only                             Sheet Feeder or Manual only
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Letter Fanfold 8 1/2 x 11 in             Letter 8 1/2 x 11 in
Fanfold 11 x 8 1/2 in                    Legal 8 1/2 x 14 in
Fanfold 210 x 305 mm                     Statement 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 in
A4 Fanfold 210 mm x 11 2/3 in            Tabloid 11 x 17 in
Fanfold 358 x 305 mm                     A3 297 x 420 mm
US Standard Fanfold 14 7/8 x 11 in       A3 420 x 297 mm
                                         A4 210 x 297 mm
                                         A5 148 x 210 mm
                                         B4 250 x 354 mm
                                         B5 182 x 257 mm
                                         6 3/4 Envelope 3 5/8 x 6 1/2 in
                                         Envelope #10 4 1/8 x 9 1/2 in
                                         Envelope DL 110 x 220 mm
                                         Envelope C5 162 x 229 mm
                                         User Defined Size...
                                         A2 420 x 594 mm

If these simple and intuitive rules are not followed, the correct
results cannot be assured.  The margins will be incorrect and the image
will possibly spill over onto a second page.
Matching the Paper Source with the Paper Size is a new requirement for
version 1.5 and 1.6 which was not necessary on version 1.4.

2)  User Defined Size
Note that User Defined paper size is not to be used with the Tractor
Paper Source.
If User Defined Paper Size is selected while the Tractor Paper Source is
selected, the user defined paper length will be ignored as the physical
form length and the printer's maximum form length of 22 inches will be
used.  At the end of each page, the printer will feed the paper as if it
was a 22 inch form.  The command for the User Defined form length
entered by the user cannot be sent to the printer.  This is a limitation
of the Uni/Mini Driver.  There is no problem in Sheet Feeder or Manual
mode, the paper will be correctly ejected.

3)  B4 and B5 Paper Sizes
There are two standards for defining B4 and B5 size paper.  This driver
only supports the sizes which are standard in Windows.

      Standard 1     Standard 2     Size used in Windows and this driver
------------------------------------------------------------------------
B4    250 x 354 mm   257 x 364 mm   250 x 354 mm
B5    177 x 250 mm   182 x 257 mm   182 x 257 mm

The differences seem to be between European and Japanese implementation
of these paper sizes.  If using B4 or B5 paper, check that it matches
the supported size in the driver.

4)  Auto Print Direction
The Auto Print Direction feature of the Stylus printer family is not
supported by this driver.  It always prints in uni-directional mode.

5) A2 Paper Size Printable Area
Due to the limitation of the physical mechanism width, and a limitation
of the printer command language length, the printable area on A2 paper
is only 13.6 inches wide and 22 inches long.


Application Notes
1)  Universal Printer Driver
These drivers require Universal Printer Driver 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 3.1.4 or
later.  Only one Uni Driver can be installed at a time.  If you already
have other printer mini drivers installed which require an earlier
version of Uni Driver than the 3.1.1, 3.1.2, or 3.1.4 driver you are
installing, then some incompatibilities may occur in those other printer
mini drivers.  This is an issue with the Uni Driver / Mini Driver
concept.

2)  Setting Resolution
Some applications such as Microsoft Write, require the resolution
settings to be set in the Control Panel.  Setting a resolution in the
Write Print dialog which conflicts with the Windows Control Panel
setting may give unexpected results.

3)  "Non-standard" Paper Sizes
Some "non-standard" paper sizes are not fully recognized by some
applications.  The sizes may not be listed in the Page Setup dialog.  To
use these sizes, they must first be selected in the Windows Control
Panel.  The paper size may then appear as "blank" in the application's
Page Setup dialog.  The document can then be printed normally.  The
following paper sizes are "non-standard":

A3 420 x 297 mm
Letter Fanfold 8 1/2 x 11 in
Fanfold 11 x 8 1/2 in
Fanfold 210 x 305 mm
A4 Fanfold 210 mm x 11 2/3 in
Fanfold 358 x 305 mm
US Standard Fanfold 14 7/8 x 11 in
6 3/4 Envelope 3 5/8 x 6 1/2 in
Envelope #10 4 1/8 x 9 1/2 in
Envelope DL 110 x 220 mm
Envelope C5 162 x 229 mm

4)  Ami Pro and Letter Paper Size
There are two paper sizes in the driver that are 8 1/2 x 11 inches;
Letter and Letter Fanfold.  When using Ami Pro, if the Letter button is
selected in the Modify Page Layout dialog, Ami Pro will always select
the Letter paper size regardless of the Paper Size selected in the
driver (in Page Setup).  In this case, it is impossible to print using
the Letter Fanfold paper size.  The result of using Letter is that the
margins for Manual and Sheet Feeder will be used instead of the zero
margins expected when using Letter Fanfold with a Tractor.  The
resulting printout is acceptable unless the user absolutely requires
zero margins.  If zero margins are required, select Custom Size in the
Page Layout dialog and enter values such as 8.40 x 11.0 inches.  Then by
selecting Tractor and Letter Fanfold in the driver, the proper zero
margins will be used.  (Do not enter 8.50 x 11.0 inches, because AmiPro
will still recognize this as Letter size paper and will still use the
Manual and Sheet Feeder margins).

5)  Margin Tolerances
The driver margins have been minimized to as close to the physical
margins in the printer specification as possible.  These margins include
some tolerance for errors in the loading position, paper feeding
accuracy, and paper length.  However, it is not practical to include
enough tolerance to work in every possible situation.  It is possible
that under certain conditions the driver margins will not be large
enough to prevent errors such as the printed image exceeding the
printable area of the sheet of paper and spilling over onto a second
page.  If this occurs, the user should do the following:
a)  Make sure the actual paper size is within one millimeter (0.04
    inches) of its specification size.
b)  Make sure the Paper Source correctly matches the Paper Size (see
    Technical Limitations #1).
c)  Increase the document's bottom margin in the application.

6)  Microsoft Word 2.0 and 6.0
It is possible for a General Protection Fault to occur when printing a
document that has data in the unprintable area.  Only occurs on some
documents.  It is not clear if this is an application problem or a
driver problem.

7)  A2 Paper Size with Microsoft Write
The printable length of A2 paper size is only 22 inches (see Technical
Limitations).  Write reports an incorrect value of 1.93 cm (0.76 inches)
for the minimum bottom margin, but it should be 3.53 cm (1.39 in).  This
error does not affect the actual printable area and does not cause any
other problems.  This error has only been found on Microsoft Write, but
may also occur on some other applications.