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Phaser 560


Printing hints

Application hints

For information about using specific software applications with your printer, contact Tektronix' HAL or EuroHAL information systems. In the U.S., call 1-800-835-6100 or (503) 682-7450; for EuroHAL telephone numbers, refer to If you need help. For a complete listing of available topics, request a catalog.

Tektronix supplies and software

Always use Tektronix supplies to ensure the highest quality prints and printer performance. Tektronix Printer Description Files (PPDs) and utility files work with the drivers to provide the best access to printer features. See Supplies and accessories for ordering information.

Getting the largest printed picture

To get the largest printed picture, keep in mind the following:

The correct-sized image for the media

Improving print speed

There are different ways to improve print speed, such as by upgrading to EtherTalk on a Macintosh, to Novell NetWare on a PC, or to TCP/IP on a workstation. For more information, 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.

Relative port speed

Ethernet and Token Ring are the fastest ports, followed by the parallel port, the LocalTalk port, then the serial port.

Fastest print time

The total print time depends on the following:

Of these elements, only the time contributed by the printer's paper-marking speed (the time it takes the printer to put the toner on the paper once it has received the processed image) is predictable; the others can vary greatly depending on your system configuration and the type of image you are printing. However, the Phaser 560 printer's PostScript interpreter combines very fast image processing and communication with sophisticated memory management to keep the total print time to a minimum.

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

Macintosh and Windows users

Windows 3.1 users

(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.

Windows 95 users

  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.

UNIX workstation users

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


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.
If your printer reports a PostScript error when printing from Adobe PageMaker, Adobe FreeHand, QuarkXPress, or Canvas, you may be using an older or incorrect version of the Printer Description File (PPD). Refer to Installing Printer Software for instructions on installing printer description files.

  1. You should always use the most current printer description file. To determine the date of the file you are using, do the following:

  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.

Using a PostScript error handler

The error handling utility, enabled in the Printer Defaults menu of the printer's front panel, is useful for diagnosing problems when a job doesn't print. It provides a PostScript error-handling function to help determine the cause of some PostScript printing problems. PostScript errors are printed on a page with other status information when an error occurs. This utility can be useful to programmers and technical support for debugging PostScript code.

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.

After turning on the error handler, resend the print job; the printer produces an error page.

Fixing timeout problems in Windows

Try one of the following procedures to correct Windows timeout problems. If a Windows procedure doesn't work for you, try the DOS procedure (refer to the on-line manual on the printer's CD-ROM or at Tektronix' World Wide Web site).

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.

From Windows 95

  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.

Printed colors are not what you expected

In general

Printing PANTONE Colors

If Phaser 560 printer-specific PANTONE Colors are not printing as expected, make sure that you are printing without any color corrections selected. Refer to Printing and using the color sampler charts for more information.

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:

Using the Tektronix halftone screens

Tektronix halftone screens are designed for Tektronix printers, and improve print quality over application-set halftone screens. The Setscreen Off (SCRENOFF.PS) utility file redefines some PostScript operators, such as the setscreen, setcolorscreen and sethalftone. When downloaded to the printer, this file prevents applications from overriding the Tektronix proprietary halftone screens.

Macintosh file names PC file names
Setscreen On

Setscreen Off

LaserWriter Utility

SCREENON.PS

SCRENOFF.PS

Macintosh users


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.
  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.)

  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.

PC and workstation users

  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:

  4. Use one of the following methods to send a file to the printer:

Selecting page sizes in Windows applications

In some Windows applications, you can select printer page sizes in a Print Setup dialog box accessed from the File menu. If you use a Print Setup dialog box to select the Phaser 560 printer from your application, some page sizes may not be visible in the list.

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.


    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.

Windows 95

  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.

Fonts printing incorrectly from Windows

If fonts are printing incorrectly from Windows, make sure that you installed the correct printer with the supported driver.

Getting printer configuration information

If you are not sure which printer configuration you have, print the Configuration Page from the printer's front panel; they list the amount of memory installed and whether your printer has the Standard or Extended configuration. Refer to Printing Help Pages for instructions.

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

Sharing the printer on a network

Driver, utility files, and front panel interactions

If your printer is shared by other users on a network, you can affect prints made by other users when you use the downloadable utility files or the printer's front panel to change the printer's default color correction setting.

If the LaserWriter Utility does not work (AppleTalk)

The LaserWriter Utility cannot be used if the printer is connected to a print server. See your system administrator to temporarily remove the printer from the print server to download any of the PostScript utility files.

Startup page prints even though it is disabled

The printer's power-up self-test can detect problems that do not necessarily make the printer completely inoperable. Examples of these non-fatal errors include faulty printer ports and some memory failures.

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

Use high-grade media. For best reliability and image-quality, always use Tektronix media. Tektronix printers and Tektronix supplies are Made For Each Other®. Refer to Phaser 560 Printer Supplies for ordering information.

Media handling

Double-sided printing

If your printer has a Lower Tray Assembly installed

Specialty media

Support Home Page
Phaser 560 Support Page

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