Tektronix supplies and software

Getting the largest printed picture

• The area of media that the Phaser 560 prints on is smaller than the size of the media (refer to Margins and print area for more details). You may have to adjust the margins in your application software.

• Make sure that the image you are printing is smaller than the size of the selected media (for example, when printing on envelopes).

Relative port speed

Fastest print time

• Image complexity

• Image size

• Type of port used and network traffic

• Printer's memory configuration

• Print quality mode selected

• If Image Smoothing is activated

• Number of non-resident fonts used

The printer's optimum image processing throughput via a dedicated Ethernet connection is faster than the other ports. Actual throughput will generally be somewhat affected by network traffic, image complexity, color correction, and memory configuration. For details on the printer's paper-marking speed, see Specifications.

If you tried to print a document with bitmapped images, but are dissatisfied with the speed of the output, here are some suggestions.

All users

• When you use any color correction option (other than None), your printer can take longer to process bitmapped images. Select color corrections from the supported drivers, with downloadable utility files, or from the printer's front panel; see Color corrections for instructions.

• The Fast Color print quality option prints faster than any of the other modes. Select print quality modes from the supported drivers, with downloadable utility files, or from the printer's front panel. See Print-quality modes for details on the print quality modes.

• If you are using Adobe Photoshop, you can print using the Tektronix PhaserPrint plug-in to improve the image data transfer time from your Macintosh to the printer. For instructions on installing and using the plug-in, refer to the printer's CD-ROM and World Wide Web topics.

(using the Tektronix driver)

1. From the Control Panel, double-click Printers.

2. Select the Tektronix Phaser 560 printer in the Printers dialog box.

3. Disable Use Print Manager in the Printers dialog box. Printing via the Print Manager is slower, but turning it off ties up the PC longer.

4. From the Printers dialog box, click Setup.

5. From the Setup dialog box, click Options.

6. From the Options dialog box, click Advanced.

7. Make sure that the Use PostScript Level 2 Features check box in the Advanced Options dialog box is turned on.

8. From your application, choose the Tektronix Phaser 560 as your printer.

9. Try printing the document again.

1. Click the Start icon in the taskbar on your screen; a menu appears.

2. Move the cursor over Settings; another menu appears.

3. In the menu, click Printers; the Printers window appears.

4. In the Printers window, select the Phaser 560 printer icon, then select Properties from the File menu.

5. Click the PostScript tab, then click the Advanced button.

6. Select Use PostScript Level 2 features.

7. Click OK when finished.

8. Try printing the document again.

Workstation users can use the PhaserPrint for UNIX software to increase printer performance when printing bitmapped images. Refer to UNIX workstations for details.

PostScript printing errors

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Note: For information on specific applications, request a document catalog from HAL or EuroHAL, the Tektronix automated fax systems. Refer to Using the automated fax systems for instructions on using these systems.

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1. You should always use the most current printer description file. To determine the date of the file you are using, do the following:
   • Macintosh users:
     Select (highlight) a printer description file and choose Get Info from the File menu. Make a note of the version date.

   • Windows 3.1 users:
     Check a printer description file's creation date in the File Manager. Make a note of the version date.

   • Windows 95 users:
     Check a printer description file's creation date in the Windows Explorer. Make a note of the version date.

2. Check the Tektronix World Wide Web site or the Tektronix Bulletin Board Service (BBS) to see if the printer description files you have are the most recent. Refer to If you need help for instructions.

To turn the error handler on, follow these steps:

1. In the printer's front panel, press the Menu button.

2. Press the right or left arrow button until the front panel displays this message:

3. Press Menu.

4. Press the left arrow button; this message appears:

5. Press Menu. This message appears:

   The * indicates the current selection; disabled is the factory default.

6. Press an arrow button. The front panel displays this message;

7. Press Select.

8. Press the button until the front panel reads Ready.

Fixing timeout problems in Windows

From Windows 3.1

1. Open the Control Panel from the Main menu.

2. Double-click the Printers icon to open the Printers dialog box.

3. Click the Connect button to open the Connect dialog box.

4. Increase the Transmission Retry to 840 seconds by typing in the new number.

5. Click OK.

1. Click the Start icon in the taskbar on your screen; a menu appears.

2. Move the cursor over Settings; another menu appears.

3. In the menu, click Printers; the Printers window appears.

4. In the Printers window, select the Phaser 560 printer icon, then select Properties from the File menu.

5. Click the Details tab and increase the Transmission Retry to 950 seconds by typing in the new number.

6. Click OK.

• Select another Color Correction option in a supported driver and print your image again; refer to Color corrections for more information on color correction.

• If you are not using a supported driver and are sharing the printer with other users on a network, another user may have changed the printer's color adjustment setting. Refer to Sharing the printer on a network for more information on sharing a network printer.

• If you use the driver's Use Printer Setting option and printed colors are not what you expected, check the following:
  • Check the printer's color density settings in the front panel Calibrate Colors menu. You may need to adjust one or all of the colors. Refer to Controlling color density for details.

  • A selection may have been made in the TekColor Correction menu on the printer's front panel. These settings change the printer's color correction setting.

  • A color correction utility file may have been downloaded to the printer. These files change the printer's color correction setting.

    Refer to Color correction descriptions for details on how these settings affect prints made from a driver.

If you have questions about PANTONE Color Matching, refer to the HAL article on PANTONE Colors. Refer to Using the automated fax systems for information on using the HAL and EuroHAL fax systems.

There are many variables in process reproduction of colors generated by the Phaser 560 printer, any one of which may affect the quality of the PANTONE Color simulation, including:

• Type of media used

• Print quality mode selected

• Effective final resolution

• Dot structure/halftones

• Density of the toner colors.

Macintosh file names	PC file names
Setscreen On Setscreen Off LaserWriter Utility	SCREENON.PS SCRENOFF.PS

Macintosh users

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Note: If you are using QuickDraw GX and System Software 7.5, you can download printer utilities from the Tektronix Phaser 560 GX printer driver; refer to topics on the printer's CD-ROM or the Tektronix World Wide Web site for instructions.

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1. Follow the instructions starting on Macintosh software to install the utility files from either the printer's CD-ROM or the Printer Software for Macintosh diskette.

2. Select the appropriate printer in the Chooser.

3. Locate the LaserWriter Utility in the PhaserTools folder on your computer's hard disk, and double-click its icon to start the application.

4. Choose Download PostScript File from the Utilities menu.

5. Select one of the following files from the list, then click Open. (These files were installed in the Phaser 560 Utilities folder, inside the PhaserTools folder.)
   • Select Setscreen On to enable setscreen operations.

   • Select Setscreen Off to disable setscreen operations.

6. At the prompt Save PostScript output as: you are asked for a file name for saving printer output. Use either the default name given in the edit box or type a new name.

7. Click Save to send the file to the printer.

8. If no output is returned by the printer, the LaserWriter Utility displays a dialog box; click OK to continue.

1. Follow the instructions starting on PC/Windows software to install the utility files from either the printer's CD-ROM or the software diskettes.

2. Locate the installed files in the PHSR560 subdirectory, inside the PHSRTOOL directory on your computer's hard disk.

3. Use one of the following files:
   • Select SCREENON.PS to enable setscreen operations.

   • Select SCRENOFF.PS to disable setscreen operations.

4. Use one of the following methods to send a file to the printer:
   • PC users: Use the DOS COPY command, or the Copy command in Windows 3.1 File Manager, to send the file to the printer.

   • Workstation users: Send the file to the printer as you would any PostScript file.

If the Phaser 560 printer page size you want to use is not visible in the list, do the following:

Windows 3.1

1. From the Main window, open the Control Panel and double-click the Printers icon.

2. In the Printers dialog box, select Phaser 560 in the list of printers.

3. Click the Setup button.

4. In the Setup dialog box, select the page size you want and click OK.

5. Return to your application. If you open the Print Setup dialog box again from within your application, the page size selection may be blank. The page size you just selected in the driver is still selected, it is just not visible in the list.

6. Print as usual.

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   Note: If you open the Print Setup dialog box from within an application, and the page size selection is blank, the blank represents the page size last selected from the printer driver through the Control Panel. You can leave the page size selection blank and print as usual, or you can select a page size from the list.

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1. Click the Start icon in the taskbar on your screen; a menu appears.

2. Move the cursor over Settings; another menu appears.

3. In the menu, click Printers; the Printers window appears.

4. In the Printers window, select the Phaser 560 printer icon, then select Properties from the File menu.

5. Click the Paper tab.

6. Choose a page size, and click OK.

7. Return to your application.

• If you have the standard printer configuration, you should have installed Tektronix Phaser 560.

• If you have the printer's Extended Features option with the additional fonts, you should have installed Tektronix Phaser 560 with Extended Features so that Windows recognizes and uses all the printer's 39 fonts.

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  Note: If you select Tektronix Phaser 560 with Extended Features and you have only the standard printer configuration with 17 fonts, any of the additional fonts selected within an application are printed in the Courier typeface.

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Refer to PC/Windows software for instructions on installing the printer and drivers.

Sharing the printer on a network

• When you print from a supported driver with any print feature selection except Use Printer Setting, the driver selection overrides the following selections for prints made from the driver:
  • A color correction utility file, if one has been downloaded.

  • The selection on the front panel TekColor Corrections menu.

• When you print from a supported driver with the Use Printer Setting option, your images are printed with one of the following selections:
  • A color correction utility file, if one has been downloaded to the printer.

  • The selection on the printer's front panel TekColor Corrections menu.

• When you print from a non-supported driver, your images can be printed with one of the following selections:
  • A color correction utility file, if one has been downloaded.

  • The selection on the front panel TekColor Corrections menu.

• If the colors on your prints are not what you expected, and your system administrator has disabled some of the printer's front panel menus, ask what settings are in effect and whether a color correction utility file has been downloaded to the printer. You can also print a Configuration Page to see the current color correction selection; see Printing Help Pages for instructions.

Startup page prints even though it is disabled

If the printer detects a non-fatal error at power-up, the startup page prints, even if you have disabled it. In this case, the page contains one or more of the error messages listed in the following table. Depending on your needs, you may not need to call for service immediately.

Error messages on the startup page

Message	Description
Parallel Port failed I/O Card failed SCSI Port failed	The named port is not working. The other ports can still be used.
DRAM SIMM x failed	One of the memory SIMMs is not working. In this message, x indicates the number of the SIMM that failed. Since the printer's base memory is still working, the printer can still be used, but throughput may suffer.
Extended SIMM failed	The Extended Features SIMM is not working. The printer can be used, but no access to CheckPrint, Quick Collate, and Copystation; no access to the 22 extra fonts. The base 17 fonts are still available, but requests for the optional fonts will be replaced with Courier.

Media hints and tips

Media handling

• Make sure that the media is dust-free. Dust and dirt can result in poor print quality.

• Handle media with both hands at the edges to avoid creases and fingerprints.

• Store media in the original, dust-free package in the same environmental conditions as the printer.

• Use only laser paper for duplex printing; other media may damage printer components.

• When printing side two of a duplex print, always select Paper 2nd Side (in the driver or the front panel) for the media type.

• For best results, do not use heavy toner coverage on Side 1.

• Duplex printing can reduce the life of the printer's components and may require frequent cleaning.

• Place the most frequently-used paper in the paper tray and insert the tray in the printer's Upper tray slot.

• Insert the transparency tray in the printer's Middle tray slot.

• Always set the media thickness switch according to the media being used.

• When printing labels or envelopes, make sure that you use only the recommended types; refer to Labels and Envelopes for details.

• Printing on specialty media can reduce the life of the printer's components and may require more frequent cleaning.