USB and USB cables:
When printing your art file separations to an inkjet printer which is a daily process for many screen printers a reliable connection setup is a USB cable that does NOT exceed 6 feet (2 meters). The longer the cable and/or multiple connections you can experience an increase in the risk of poor communication and failures especially when print file memory sizes are large. It’s important to understand that USB is a lower power technology that can't push high data efficiently over a great distance. The inefficiency means that maybe you will succeed but maybe you will not. Issues can range from dropped files (flushed) to incomplete or out of registration prints.
When you must have a connection that is longer than 6 feet (2 meters) then you should use Ethernet over USB.
USB (Universal Serial Bus) is a convenient technology but not a strong technology. Here are things to do to improve performance.
1. Use one cable. Do not patch cables together. Patched cables can cause fatal packet errors. This may cause files to fail to print or to skip when printing. Skips are caused when the USB drivers recover slowly after the data stream is interrupted.
2. A 6 foot cable (2 meters) or shorter cable is best. Since USB is a low powered technology. The print signal strength drops off as it travels over a distance.
3. Have only a USB connection, but need the printer to be far away from the computer? A USB to Ethernet print server adapter is a good option. The computer sends the print via TCP (Ethernet) to the print server adapter (hub) that converts the signal to USB at the end to a short USB cable.
Ethernet vs. USB
USB is a bit easier to setup but if your printer offers you the ability to use Ethernet then it is highly advised to take the time to set it up. Transmitting and canceling print jobs is faster and more efficient than USB.
Epson offers an easy to use free utility called EpsonNet Config which is located on your Epson installer or downloaded from the Epson website which makes this process very easy to manage. If you wish you, may also refer to the printer manual to configure the address from the front control panel of the printer.
Larger Epson printers come with Ethernet on board, but it is configured with odd IP addresses. You will want to lock in a static IP address (one that does not change) that conforms to your local network address range (192.168.0.XXX or 192.168.1.XXX or 10.1.1.XXX). Once you have the number set in the computer you simply use that number in the RIP setup and that allows printing to begin.
A common user created issue:
USB is popular yet a slower technology, so interrupting the RIP process by pushing buttons on your printer, pulling the USB cable in the middle of a print, or turning off the printer are all bad ideas. As the transmission of the data discovers the interruption it will cause prints to go into a loop. That loop will try to complete the last instruction, creating a backlog of new prints to fail until the trouble is addressed.
Windows users can best stop a printer right from the Epson Printer driver. Yes, the Epson driver, after AccuRIP has converted the data to a proper format it passes the data to the genuine printer driver to be delivered to the printer. Mac users can stop files from the AccuRIP® to Epson print monitor window.
WiFi (Wireless Fidelity)
WiFi can be as strong a print system as Ethernet given the right environment. Metal buildings, fluorescent lighting, cellphone signals, cellphone towers, and more are all conditions that could lower the reliability of WiFi connections. WiFi can be tricky for some users to setup. Consult with your printer manufacturer for initial setup assistance. Keep your WiFi router up to date.
(c) Freehand Library Article / AccuRIP / Separation Studio NXT / Spot Process / Dmax / Amaze-Ink / DarkStar
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