I. FAQ'S – PRINTER SET UP
II. FAQ'S – PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE
III. FAQ's - GENERAL PRINTER INFORMATION

This section is for the person who is new to the 13K and needs assistance to set up and operate the printer. For more technical information fill out the request form with your particular question or call us to find out the name of your local dealer at 800.523.0320.

I. FAQ'S – PRINTER SET UP

Q. How do I Connect the Printer to my Computer?

A. Connect the printer to either the serial port or parallel port of the computer. Initialize the printer communications port by sending data to either the parallel or serial port. The Driver must be set to the type of connector (parallel or serial). To change from the serial port to the parallel port or vice versa the printer must be reinitialized or manually changed through the Setup Menu. Doing otherwise may affect the operation and performance of the printer. To connect the printer to the computer:

1. Align male end of parallel cable or serial cable connector. Push the cable connector in.
2. Secure the cable. Use the 2 wire clips to snap into the tabs on the connector. Use the thumb screws on the serial connector to screw into the hex jack screws on the electrical bracket.
3. Align the other end of the cable to the connector on the computer and push into the port.
4. Secure the cable in place. Use the thumb screws on the connector to screw into the hex jack screws on the computer.

A. The 13K uses a C8842A cartridge. To install the cartridge do the following:

1. Verify the LCD display message on the top line of the display is either OFF LINE or ON LINE.
2. Open the front cover.
3. On the top Control Panel, depress Replace Print Cartridge button (plus button) and the carriage will travel to the center position and stop. DO NOT MOVE THE CARRIAGE BY HAND. DAMAGE MAY OCCUR TO THE CARTRIDGE.
4. Remove cartridge from the shipping container. Be careful not to touch the copper ribbon.
5. Remove both pieces of tape covering the ink nozzles on the print cartridge. Be careful not to touch the copper ribbon.
6. Gently insert cartridge down at approximately a 45 degree angle into the cradle of the Print Head Holder Assembly. Insert with the green arrow on top of the cartridge pointing toward the input bin.
7. Place forefinger on cradle tab and thumb on top of ink cartridge and gently squeeze together until the cartridge snaps into place.

A. To avoid problems of misfeeding and jams it is recommended the media be prepared for the printer. Use the following steps:

1. Take a pile of media and fan all sides of the media to make sure each piece is free from one another.
2. Square (tap) the pile against the table top, assuring a square pile on all sides. This allows media to settle toward the bottom of a stuffed envelope and will increase the feeding capabilities of the printer.

A. The printer is designed to feed and print on a variety of media with various finishes and coatings. The sharpness of the print quality will vary with different media types, depending on how absorbent the media is, as well as other qualities. The best results can be achieved using white wove bonded stock. The printing quality will be less sharp on tyvek, recycled and glossy media.

Acceptable media: Envelopes, Booklets, Catalogs, Postcards (must be 3” x 5” or larger), Self Mailers (C or Z folded, and tabbed), Paper (16 to 80 lb.). Note: Check on postal guidelines for tabbing folded material and catalogs.

Acceptable paper types: white wove, bond, recycled, coated, card stock, brown kraft, manila.

Q. How Do I Make the Right Adjustments to Accommodate my Media?

A. To start a print job you want to make the right adjustments to accommodate your media being used.

1. Set the proper feed gap spacing between the feed rollers and the separators.
1. Lift the latch assembly to unlock and raise up the H-Block Assembly.
2. Unlock all three H blocks on the Print Station assembly.
3. Take a piece of media and place between the feed rollers and the H-Block Assemblies.
4. Square the edge of media against the registration wall of the Center Plate.
5. Push the Latch Assembly down and allow the H-Block Assemblies to drop on top of the media. Keep the H-Block Assemblies up that won't contact the media. When just one of the separator fingers is in contact with the media use another piece beneath the other separator finger and the feed roller to set the feed gap.
6. Press the Latch Assembly all the way down to secure H-Block Assemblies in this position. (Hint: set a smaller gap for postcards by using a piece of copy paper. Set a larger gap for stuffed media. Try adding two or three #10 envelopes on top of the media before setting the separators.)
2. Adjust the Envelope Thickness Knob.
1. Adjust the envelope thickness knob to the fully opened position by turning clockwise.
2. While the printer is printing, close the envelope thickness knob by turning counterclockwise until the printed message smudges. Then, back off the adjustment for the desired print quality.
3. Adjust the Wire Form Assembly which supports the media stacked in the input bin and redistributes the weight of the media to assist in the feeding of media. There are three basic adjustments:
1. Use the wire form center adjustment to eliminate skewing of the media and print.
2. Use the wire form height adjustment to allow the printer to feed media of varying density (Hint: rigid media is set low, light weight media is set high.)
3. Use the wire frame ramp adjustment to improve the feeding of media by distributing the weight of the media stack onto the feed roller.

A. The printer has two menu directories to program the printer. These menus are displayed on the LCD panel located on top of the printer. The two menus available are the Main Menu and the Setup Menu. Some of the menu options contain several layers of sub-directories of menu options. To access the printer menus the LCD display must show OFF LINE. The following steps outline how to access the two menu directories.

1. Press the ON LINE button until the LCD display shows OFF LINE. Pressing the ON LINE button on the control panel will toggle the printer from ON LINE to OFF LINE and vice versa.
2. To access the Main Menu depress the MENU button. MAIN MENU will be shown on the LCD display.
3. To access the Setup Menu depress the Menu button for two seconds, until SETUP MENU is shown on the LCD display.
4. Press the + or – button to scroll through the options available in the Main Menu or Setup Menu.
5. Press the Enter button to choose the displayed option from the Main Menu or Setup Menu options.
6. Press the Menu button several times to back out of the Main Menu or Setup Menu until the printer displays OFF LINE.
7. Press the On Line button; now the printer displays ON LINE and is ready for use.

Q. How Do I Clean the Feed Rollers?

A. With regular use lint and paper dust tends to build up on the feed rollers. When the rollers are glazed or have a yellowish residue, clean the rollers. Use alcohol to dampen a soft cotton cloth to clean all rubber rollers.

Q. When Should I Clean or Replace the Ink Cartridge?

A. If the print quality is unacceptable select the Purge Print Head function from the Setup Menu. If the problems still persist do the following:

1. Remove the Ink Jet Cartridge. Clean the nozzles with a soft lint-free cotton cloth. Use a dry cloth or one moistened with water to clean the ink jet cartridge.
2. Remove problem ink jet cartridge and install a new one.

A. With use, a film and/or dust builds up on the sensor causing misfeeds of media. Lift the front door and use compressed air to blow dust from the sensor.

III. GENERAL PRINTER INFORMATION

Q. What is the maximum distance you can print on a mail piece from left to right?

A. The driver is written to only give you a maximum length of 9.4 inches.

Q. Why does my print walk slightly to the right when I am in the middle of printing a large job?

A. There are 3 (three) factors that can cause this to happen.

1. First make sure that the shuttle head is not hitting anything as it is coming out of the home position.
2. If this seems clear then the next possibility is to change the head ribbon cable, this is an inexpensive part and over time the ware from the head shuttling back and fourth can cause breaks in the contacts leading to improper communication between the main logic and the printer head board.
3. If neither of these are an issue then you must check the resistance on the shuttle motor. If the motor falls below 16 Ohs then you must change the shuttle motor and the driver board.

A. You must go through a four phase reset procedure that will reset the printer back to its factory defaults. (Warning: this will reset all of your parameters to their original settings.)

1. The printer must be turned in the off position, then while holding the test button down, turn the printer on. The display will say “Printing starting one”, “Printer starting two”, “memory reset phase one shut off” then “on”.
2. Do not let go of the test button! Repeat this step three more times until the printer says “memory reset complete shut off” then “on”. Then, release the test button and turn the printer off then on. When it boots up it will be reset to its factory default settings.

A. Yes, you may download the printer firmware from our web site and download the file using the instructions to the parallel port.

Q. What type of cartridges do these printers use?

A. Hewlett Packard C8842A.

Q. Do these printers have the ability to print in different colors?

A. There is spot color available (This means that you would have to buy a cartridge of a specific color, insert it into the printer and this would allow you to print one color at a time). This is based on the colors that are sold by Secap. These colors include: Yellow, Red, Green, and Blue.

• Secap 5K-LE
• Secap 9K
• Secap 13K
• Secap 22K
• Secap 26K
• Secap 30K / 30KNFO
• Secap V-Jet
• Secap Jet 1
• Secap™ Printers,
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