Printing issue with Epson LQ-2080
Solved
Charle Emile
-
doudou -
doudou -
Hello everyone,
I am a developer and I have an application running on Windows. For printing from this application, I use an Epson LQ-2080 dot matrix printer. I also use continuous paper where the sheets (or pages) are 140mm in height instead of 279mm.
My problem is as follows: during printing, the data appears on the first page where it should be; however, when it comes to printing the second page, this positioning is no longer respected. There is actually a vertical shift of the printed data as the printing continues. Does anyone have an idea for a solution to my problem?
Thank you all
P.S: I use Clarion 5.0 for the development of the application
Best regards
I am a developer and I have an application running on Windows. For printing from this application, I use an Epson LQ-2080 dot matrix printer. I also use continuous paper where the sheets (or pages) are 140mm in height instead of 279mm.
My problem is as follows: during printing, the data appears on the first page where it should be; however, when it comes to printing the second page, this positioning is no longer respected. There is actually a vertical shift of the printed data as the printing continues. Does anyone have an idea for a solution to my problem?
Thank you all
P.S: I use Clarion 5.0 for the development of the application
Best regards
18 réponses
The problem with my LQ2090 is that
the printer beeps 5 times and flashes, it doesn't respond, thank you.
the printer beeps 5 times and flashes, it doesn't respond, thank you.
ghaf2010
Hello, I had the same problem as your printer, please let me know how you resolved the issue, and thank you in advance.
doudou
>
ghaf2010
error 5 beeps Epson LQ 680 printer
abdo021209
Bonjour, j'ai une imprimante EPSON LQ-2090. Cette imprimante fonctionne bien avec OFFICE (Word, ...) mais ne fonctionne pas avec le logiciel patient. Merci.
movka16
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Hello, I have exactly the same problem: 5 beeps and all the lights on. How can I solve this issue, please?
Well, I hope you've resolved your issue by now.
Anyway, here's a lead for the solution
You need to set the number of lines for the page height. This is done through an escape sequence that you'll find in the Epson programming manual. The sequence starts with CHR(27) followed by the specific codes to define the page height.
You put the number of lines. Thus, when you page break, it doesn't slide the height of an A4, but your number of lines.
You need to place this escape sequence in a string, and print your string as a variable at the beginning of the printout.
At the end of the program, you should restore the previous values to avoid disturbing the following programs (you'll have saved them in another string).
This should work even on Windows. I don't know how to modify the Windows driver directly through a programming sequence.
Best regards
See you later
Anyway, here's a lead for the solution
You need to set the number of lines for the page height. This is done through an escape sequence that you'll find in the Epson programming manual. The sequence starts with CHR(27) followed by the specific codes to define the page height.
You put the number of lines. Thus, when you page break, it doesn't slide the height of an A4, but your number of lines.
You need to place this escape sequence in a string, and print your string as a variable at the beginning of the printout.
At the end of the program, you should restore the previous values to avoid disturbing the following programs (you'll have saved them in another string).
This should work even on Windows. I don't know how to modify the Windows driver directly through a programming sequence.
Best regards
See you later
Hi Fatima,
So, from what you say, I don't have a clear idea.
If it's not a training issue with the paper, it needs to be resolved another way.
We should try different documents.
I think it could be a memory management issue with the printer.
Indeed, these printer models are old (relatively), compared to today's ultra-powerful computers. They are especially ultra-fast, and the printer may miss data because it is too slow compared to the computer.
To confirm this, I suggest testing with documents containing only text. First, small documents (1 page), with text only.
Then gradually increase, up to 10 pages, printed all at once, one click to start printing.
If everything goes well, we need to test with documents containing graphics (like Excel), first on a simple 1-page document, then a mix of text and graphics on 2 or 3 pages.
If all is well, try with photos. Small photos, then large photos (A4, 1 page).
The ribbon will suffer!
But it should lock up at some point.
The problem is that the printer's memory is only 1 line of characters, the size of the needle matrix (24, 36 needles). It's very little, but sufficient because the printer can only print one line at a time (unlike laser printers, which print the entire page at once).
If the printer still freezes on the same type of document, I confirm that it is a driver issue that does not handle saturation of the printer's internal buffer well, because it is not responding quickly enough to the driver's requests (it asks if the line is finished, and it doesn't respond quickly enough, causing the driver to freeze...)
Solution: well, I don't know.
- Change printer (!!!?)
- Reserve the dot matrix printer for simple documents
- Print smaller documents
- Ask the driver developer to check the management of the "time out" or "no response" and to increase the waiting time before it goes off into the clouds...
- Ask the driver developer to check the management of the saturation of the printer's memory buffer...
If you develop the printing program yourself, you need to slow down the printing: add a line counter in the editing loop, and make a pause of 1 to 2 seconds every 10 lines... Use the system's internal clock for counting, not a counting loop that runs idle..., because compilers can optimize this type of loop so they don't last long, and the CPU caches are very efficient.
The problem could come from something else, for example, a conflict with a driver from another device that would use the same interrupt or the same internal port. It could also be a conflict with a program that launches automatically, which has nothing to do with the printer, but which diverts the printer's interrupt for its own use (since XP, the interrupt for the parallel printer has hardly been used, as new printers are USB-based..., some programs can be very invasive and unscrupulous, claiming the interrupt without asking!)
In this case, we should look for "conflicts" with programs that function simultaneously with the printing... To do this, we would need to disable resident programs before starting the problematic print, then restart the print, and reintroduce the programs one by one, until it blocks. The last one could be the problematic one...
Also, check the memory capacity of your computer, if you are using it with very little free memory: starting the print could consume resources that it can't find enough... it launches into a memory swap on disk (cache area), but this could cause it to crash...
There you go, hope this helps...
See you!
So, from what you say, I don't have a clear idea.
If it's not a training issue with the paper, it needs to be resolved another way.
We should try different documents.
I think it could be a memory management issue with the printer.
Indeed, these printer models are old (relatively), compared to today's ultra-powerful computers. They are especially ultra-fast, and the printer may miss data because it is too slow compared to the computer.
To confirm this, I suggest testing with documents containing only text. First, small documents (1 page), with text only.
Then gradually increase, up to 10 pages, printed all at once, one click to start printing.
If everything goes well, we need to test with documents containing graphics (like Excel), first on a simple 1-page document, then a mix of text and graphics on 2 or 3 pages.
If all is well, try with photos. Small photos, then large photos (A4, 1 page).
The ribbon will suffer!
But it should lock up at some point.
The problem is that the printer's memory is only 1 line of characters, the size of the needle matrix (24, 36 needles). It's very little, but sufficient because the printer can only print one line at a time (unlike laser printers, which print the entire page at once).
If the printer still freezes on the same type of document, I confirm that it is a driver issue that does not handle saturation of the printer's internal buffer well, because it is not responding quickly enough to the driver's requests (it asks if the line is finished, and it doesn't respond quickly enough, causing the driver to freeze...)
Solution: well, I don't know.
- Change printer (!!!?)
- Reserve the dot matrix printer for simple documents
- Print smaller documents
- Ask the driver developer to check the management of the "time out" or "no response" and to increase the waiting time before it goes off into the clouds...
- Ask the driver developer to check the management of the saturation of the printer's memory buffer...
If you develop the printing program yourself, you need to slow down the printing: add a line counter in the editing loop, and make a pause of 1 to 2 seconds every 10 lines... Use the system's internal clock for counting, not a counting loop that runs idle..., because compilers can optimize this type of loop so they don't last long, and the CPU caches are very efficient.
The problem could come from something else, for example, a conflict with a driver from another device that would use the same interrupt or the same internal port. It could also be a conflict with a program that launches automatically, which has nothing to do with the printer, but which diverts the printer's interrupt for its own use (since XP, the interrupt for the parallel printer has hardly been used, as new printers are USB-based..., some programs can be very invasive and unscrupulous, claiming the interrupt without asking!)
In this case, we should look for "conflicts" with programs that function simultaneously with the printing... To do this, we would need to disable resident programs before starting the problematic print, then restart the print, and reintroduce the programs one by one, until it blocks. The last one could be the problematic one...
Also, check the memory capacity of your computer, if you are using it with very little free memory: starting the print could consume resources that it can't find enough... it launches into a memory swap on disk (cache area), but this could cause it to crash...
There you go, hope this helps...
See you!
Hello,
I have a problem with the LQ2090 printer when I program it with Clipper.
I need to know the role of each character for the 2090 printer (for example, the character chr(12) indicates the end of the page...)
Can I print a document horizontally that is set to vertical through programming?
Thank you in advance.
I have a problem with the LQ2090 printer when I program it with Clipper.
I need to know the role of each character for the 2090 printer (for example, the character chr(12) indicates the end of the page...)
Can I print a document horizontally that is set to vertical through programming?
Thank you in advance.
You will find the service manual here!
h**p://printer-sm.blogspot.com/2010/02/epson-printers.html
I hope this will help you!
h**p://printer-sm.blogspot.com/2010/02/epson-printers.html
I hope this will help you!
Wow! Excellent site! Well done.
Now, we need to find the book online: "ESC/P Command Codes Reference Manual" which allows you to control the printer in all possible and imaginable conditions. You can find it here: https://epson.ru/support/
The technique for sending command codes with software like Clarion, Report Writer, or Crystal Report is to put the sequence in a memory variable and print that variable only once at the beginning of the report.
To start, you need to initialize the printer to switch it to "ESC/P" mode (otherwise, it may be in IBM Proprinter mode)
This depends on the printer, but generally, the command is ASCII(27) (that's the escape code) + ASCII(64), which resets the printer. You need to set the default ESC/P mode, of course, otherwise it will be in proprietary mode and may not understand the escape sequences it receives.
Next, to set a paper size of 11 inches, for example, you construct a memory variable like page_size_11_inches = ASCII(27) + ASCII(67) + ASCII(00) + ASCII(11)
The same sequence in hex: 1BH - 43H - 00H + 0BH
Print the memory variable as a field in the top left corner of the page, in the "initialization" section, so it is not repeated on every page.
Don’t forget to reset the printer at the end of the report.
Now, we need to find the book online: "ESC/P Command Codes Reference Manual" which allows you to control the printer in all possible and imaginable conditions. You can find it here: https://epson.ru/support/
The technique for sending command codes with software like Clarion, Report Writer, or Crystal Report is to put the sequence in a memory variable and print that variable only once at the beginning of the report.
To start, you need to initialize the printer to switch it to "ESC/P" mode (otherwise, it may be in IBM Proprinter mode)
This depends on the printer, but generally, the command is ASCII(27) (that's the escape code) + ASCII(64), which resets the printer. You need to set the default ESC/P mode, of course, otherwise it will be in proprietary mode and may not understand the escape sequences it receives.
Next, to set a paper size of 11 inches, for example, you construct a memory variable like page_size_11_inches = ASCII(27) + ASCII(67) + ASCII(00) + ASCII(11)
The same sequence in hex: 1BH - 43H - 00H + 0BH
Print the memory variable as a field in the top left corner of the page, in the "initialization" section, so it is not repeated on every page.
Don’t forget to reset the printer at the end of the report.
The problem with your LQ 2080 printer or any other dot matrix printer that causes a vertical misalignment is very simple; it comes from a mechanical defect in the drum drive system consisting of a plastic gear train that feeds the paper through the drum or rubber roller, the latter being fixed to a plastic gear on one side by a clip that fits into a slot on the gear, which prevents any vertical play of the drum, in other words, of the paper.
To verify this diagnosis, make sure that the drum shows no play by moving it slightly up and down by hand; if that's the case, replace the fixed pinion on one side. If you can't find this pinion, glue it with strong adhesive directly onto the shaft that holds it. Finally, oil the translation shaft of the print head, then reset your printer to its default settings and ask for a test copy.
Best regards.
Jamil Benslimane from Morocco.
To verify this diagnosis, make sure that the drum shows no play by moving it slightly up and down by hand; if that's the case, replace the fixed pinion on one side. If you can't find this pinion, glue it with strong adhesive directly onto the shaft that holds it. Finally, oil the translation shaft of the print head, then reset your printer to its default settings and ask for a test copy.
Best regards.
Jamil Benslimane from Morocco.
Hello
This LQ 2090 printer works like a LQ 2080; it is a 24-pin dot matrix printer, 132 columns, friction drive or pin feed. It includes the escape/P sequences in Epson mode. It has an IBM mode interpreter (the escape sequences are different). It's better to use the Epson sequences, which are more flexible and performant, but less "compatible."
According to what you say, I will explore three avenues:
1- The paper feed is blocked after some time. In this case, printing continues, but everything prints on the same line. If it's continuous paper, you need to lift the top of the paper carton and make sure it's correctly aligned with the printer; otherwise, it will skew and jam.
If it's A4 or single-sheet paper, check the friction roller's feed and secure the paper by flipping the lever that tightens the paper on the friction roller.
2- There may be an electronic issue in the printer's internal memory.
The internal buffer is very short and only needs to hold one or two lines in advance. This occurs in a dedicated memory that might have errors in the higher addresses.
As long as this part of the memory is not in use, everything runs smoothly; as soon as the high memory is accessed, the error halts the interpretation program and crashes the printer.
In this case, only a physical repair can save you.
This memory is accessed in the case of graphics. In fact, text occupies less space than graphics, but in absolute terms, it doesn’t change anything; it’s a memory address that dumps its content during the matrix needle pass, and the content is indifferent to it. Just that if the lines are plain text, it takes up less memory than graphic descriptions. That’s when the high addresses can be accessed, causing a blockage.
Solution 2: call printer doctor, there's nothing you can do; you need to replace the printer’s electronic board.
3- The printed data is incoherent.
In this case, a character might be interpreted as an escape sequence, and the printer may begin an internal parameter decoding. But if it’s incoherent, a printer blockage can occur while waiting for the end of a command or a reset order.
This can happen if the cable connecting the printer is very long (more than 15 to 20 meters), or if it is subjected to a "noisy" environment, like electromagnetic interference.
For example, ensure that the PC-printer cable isn’t right next to a 220v power cable; they need to be separated.
Check that there's no high voltage line nearby (15 to 20 meters away). This can disturb the data passing through the low current cable.
To avoid this, use shielded cables between the PC and the printer; they are more expensive but make them immune to the magnetic environment. Still, separate low and high current cables, do not twist them together in order to "tidy up" the cables.
So, solution 3: use short shielded cables.
This LQ 2090 printer works like a LQ 2080; it is a 24-pin dot matrix printer, 132 columns, friction drive or pin feed. It includes the escape/P sequences in Epson mode. It has an IBM mode interpreter (the escape sequences are different). It's better to use the Epson sequences, which are more flexible and performant, but less "compatible."
According to what you say, I will explore three avenues:
1- The paper feed is blocked after some time. In this case, printing continues, but everything prints on the same line. If it's continuous paper, you need to lift the top of the paper carton and make sure it's correctly aligned with the printer; otherwise, it will skew and jam.
If it's A4 or single-sheet paper, check the friction roller's feed and secure the paper by flipping the lever that tightens the paper on the friction roller.
2- There may be an electronic issue in the printer's internal memory.
The internal buffer is very short and only needs to hold one or two lines in advance. This occurs in a dedicated memory that might have errors in the higher addresses.
As long as this part of the memory is not in use, everything runs smoothly; as soon as the high memory is accessed, the error halts the interpretation program and crashes the printer.
In this case, only a physical repair can save you.
This memory is accessed in the case of graphics. In fact, text occupies less space than graphics, but in absolute terms, it doesn’t change anything; it’s a memory address that dumps its content during the matrix needle pass, and the content is indifferent to it. Just that if the lines are plain text, it takes up less memory than graphic descriptions. That’s when the high addresses can be accessed, causing a blockage.
Solution 2: call printer doctor, there's nothing you can do; you need to replace the printer’s electronic board.
3- The printed data is incoherent.
In this case, a character might be interpreted as an escape sequence, and the printer may begin an internal parameter decoding. But if it’s incoherent, a printer blockage can occur while waiting for the end of a command or a reset order.
This can happen if the cable connecting the printer is very long (more than 15 to 20 meters), or if it is subjected to a "noisy" environment, like electromagnetic interference.
For example, ensure that the PC-printer cable isn’t right next to a 220v power cable; they need to be separated.
Check that there's no high voltage line nearby (15 to 20 meters away). This can disturb the data passing through the low current cable.
To avoid this, use shielded cables between the PC and the printer; they are more expensive but make them immune to the magnetic environment. Still, separate low and high current cables, do not twist them together in order to "tidy up" the cables.
So, solution 3: use short shielded cables.
Hello,
I have 3 EPSON LQ 2090 printers.
When I print a table on 4 copies of listing paper (folded), the original tears even with the paper clamp lever set to maximum.
Thank you.
I have 3 EPSON LQ 2090 printers.
When I print a table on 4 copies of listing paper (folded), the original tears even with the paper clamp lever set to maximum.
Thank you.
Two possible cases
to avoid contact between the ribbon and the paper or the listing, the manufacturer has provided a part called a mask made of very thin metal, pierced with a diamond-shaped slit for the passage of the print head needles; this mask is fixed on the guide of the carrier in front of the head nozzle. It happens that the needles strike this mask and tear it, causing sharp burrs on the paper side, which leads either to tearing of the original paper or to jamming of the ribbon, which also tears, resulting in printer stoppage, all the lights blinking at the same time. To remedy this, proceed to change this mask; if you cannot find it, remove it completely. Move the print head adjustment lever to the back to position 3 to avoid contaminating the print with ink from the new ribbon.
Second case, it is possible that one of the needles of the head is broken and has become stuck outside; in this case, change the print head.
A final case is that a foreign object is jammed between the drum and the head.
Good luck.
Sincerely.
Jamil Benslimane
to avoid contact between the ribbon and the paper or the listing, the manufacturer has provided a part called a mask made of very thin metal, pierced with a diamond-shaped slit for the passage of the print head needles; this mask is fixed on the guide of the carrier in front of the head nozzle. It happens that the needles strike this mask and tear it, causing sharp burrs on the paper side, which leads either to tearing of the original paper or to jamming of the ribbon, which also tears, resulting in printer stoppage, all the lights blinking at the same time. To remedy this, proceed to change this mask; if you cannot find it, remove it completely. Move the print head adjustment lever to the back to position 3 to avoid contaminating the print with ink from the new ribbon.
Second case, it is possible that one of the needles of the head is broken and has become stuck outside; in this case, change the print head.
A final case is that a foreign object is jammed between the drum and the head.
Good luck.
Sincerely.
Jamil Benslimane
Hello,
I don't know exactly what happens with your printer when printing; I would need to see the problem as it occurs.
But if I were you, I would focus on the following specific point:
There should be a lever that allows you to adjust the proximity of the print head to the paper.
Indeed, this lever should allow you to move the print head closer or further away from the paper, depending on the number of copies being printed. The thicker the stack, the closer the head should be to the paper so that the needles hit hard enough to mark the last copy. For a simple listing, the needles need to be further away.
But for a 4-part copy, if the head is too close, it will snag the paper and tear the top copy.
So you need to move the print head back; otherwise, you risk breaking the needles.
This lever that moves the head back is not the one that clamps the paper against the roller. There are two different adjustments. This second adjustment should have 4 positions.
Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you; we need to see what's happening.
There you go, I hope this helps you.
I don't know exactly what happens with your printer when printing; I would need to see the problem as it occurs.
But if I were you, I would focus on the following specific point:
There should be a lever that allows you to adjust the proximity of the print head to the paper.
Indeed, this lever should allow you to move the print head closer or further away from the paper, depending on the number of copies being printed. The thicker the stack, the closer the head should be to the paper so that the needles hit hard enough to mark the last copy. For a simple listing, the needles need to be further away.
But for a 4-part copy, if the head is too close, it will snag the paper and tear the top copy.
So you need to move the print head back; otherwise, you risk breaking the needles.
This lever that moves the head back is not the one that clamps the paper against the roller. There are two different adjustments. This second adjustment should have 4 positions.
Otherwise, I don't know what to tell you; we need to see what's happening.
There you go, I hope this helps you.
Hello,
thank you for your response, but my problem persists even with the furthest position of the print head in relation to the paper, and this on 3 out of the 4 printers I tested.
thank you for your response, but my problem persists even with the furthest position of the print head in relation to the paper, and this on 3 out of the 4 printers I tested.
Hello,
HELP me, I have a LQ-2070 printer, when I put paper whether it's A4 or listing "the paper doesn't go in" and when I insist the printer prints a page and the roller keeps rolling.
HELP me, I have a LQ-2070 printer, when I put paper whether it's A4 or listing "the paper doesn't go in" and when I insist the printer prints a page and the roller keeps rolling.
I have an Epson LQ 2070 printer. When I print a text, everything is fine, but then suddenly it skips several lines, and then everything goes back to normal. Is there anyone who can help me? Thank you in advance.
It is possible that the document to be printed contains a sequence that drives the printer, or is interpreted as such.
In fact, it is sufficient for the document to contain ASCII code 27 (in decimal, 1B in hex), and the few subsequent characters are interpreted as a command rather than text. This is because the alphanumeric characters start at 64 (65 for A). Character number 27 was chosen as the entry point for the printer command sequences, and does not correspond to any printable character.
This code can be found in a generated file, in a calculated field, anywhere.
To track this code, it would be necessary to print to a file, then analyze the file with a hexadecimal editor. At the point where the printer malfunctions, it is essential to identify the characters being sent at that moment.
This is a lead to follow....
In fact, it is sufficient for the document to contain ASCII code 27 (in decimal, 1B in hex), and the few subsequent characters are interpreted as a command rather than text. This is because the alphanumeric characters start at 64 (65 for A). Character number 27 was chosen as the entry point for the printer command sequences, and does not correspond to any printable character.
This code can be found in a generated file, in a calculated field, anywhere.
To track this code, it would be necessary to print to a file, then analyze the file with a hexadecimal editor. At the point where the printer malfunctions, it is essential to identify the characters being sent at that moment.
This is a lead to follow....
Hello everyone
I have a technical problem with the Epson LQ 2080, it keeps feeding paper continuously without stopping
Best regards
I have a technical problem with the Epson LQ 2080, it keeps feeding paper continuously without stopping
Best regards
Hello
does this happen with any printed document, or only on a specific document or type of document? For example, all Excel documents, or all Word documents?
Try testing with text entered in Notepad, does the problem occur there?
a) the problem only occurs on a specific document ... it must contain a printer control sequence (see my previous response to track the character CHR(27)
b) the problem only repeats on Word or Excel type documents: could there be an issue with printer initialization at the start of editing, stemming from what the driver sends to the printer?
c) the problem occurs on all documents: the printer's ROM may be defective ...
does this happen with any printed document, or only on a specific document or type of document? For example, all Excel documents, or all Word documents?
Try testing with text entered in Notepad, does the problem occur there?
a) the problem only occurs on a specific document ... it must contain a printer control sequence (see my previous response to track the character CHR(27)
b) the problem only repeats on Word or Excel type documents: could there be an issue with printer initialization at the start of editing, stemming from what the driver sends to the printer?
c) the problem occurs on all documents: the printer's ROM may be defective ...
Hello Charle Emile
I hope that your printer has a mechanical failure at the level of the axis that supports the print head
The solution is:
to clean the axis with alcohol and then with light oil, and I hope at this stage to use sewing machine oil.
Best regards.
I hope that your printer has a mechanical failure at the level of the axis that supports the print head
The solution is:
to clean the axis with alcohol and then with light oil, and I hope at this stage to use sewing machine oil.
Best regards.
Problem printing with Epson LQ-2090 Needle problem
3 destroyed
it prints but poorly. Can I replace the head with one from LQ-2070
thank you
3 destroyed
it prints but poorly. Can I replace the head with one from LQ-2070
thank you