Tips
on installing your QMS 2060 laser printer (part I).
When
you order your QMS printer it already comes with plenty
of documentation. Nonetheless, be sure to order the optional
instruction manuals (hard-copy; your printer comes with CD disk
but the images are fuzzy in Adobe Acrobat and you can't flip through
the pages in that electronic format very comfortably). If you have
a technician standing by to hold your hand, and if you have patience
to look everything up on a CD-ROM disk, then go it alone. But when
you really need the information, it is so much more convenient to
have the complete set of manuals in hard copy.
The
printer comes with "Getting Started," which will indeed
get you started, but will not necessarily get you finished. What
we recommend is to purchase the "Options," "Operation,"
and "Reference" manuals, in hard copy. They all fit in
a single 3-ring binder (also available from QMS). You will need
a separate binder for "Getting Started," since all four
together are uncomfortably thick for the ring-binder system. "Getting
Started" comes with the printer in its original box.
The
blue index for each manual is well arranged, and very helpfully
indicates which of the four manuals holds the page(s) you need.
The blue paper was a clever idea to make the index stand out from
the mass of manual. The index was 98% complete, rather good in comparison
with others. Often the manual may be complete, but one's own vocabulary
may be looking for a different term than the one used by the author
of the manual.
I
was unable to find anything about Print Queue in Index. Again, you
need to know your Mac, since some of the situation is caused by
the Mac manner of arranging things in the Chooser. The QMS manual
might point out pertinent Mac and PC situations even though they
pertain more to the computer than to the printer.
Corrections
and Additions needed for the Manual
Since
manuals are written by people that know the system inside out, it
is a challenge to explain the system to a new user who may be learning
challenged when faced with an installation problem or printing hang-up.
I am sure that many people have installed the software with no problems.
I got it all installed (in three computers, a Mac 9600, a Mac PowerBook
3400c, and a Dell Pentium Pro) but had to ask QMS technical service
by phone to hold my hand on two occasions. They solved the problem
in seconds.
When
I wiped my hard disk clean to upgrade to Mac OS 8.5, I then had
to reinstall all the QMS material over again. This time I did it
in about 5 to 10 minutes and the printer functioned perfectly.
Omissions
in the little booklet slipped into the plastic jewel case of your
CD, QMS Software Utilities
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QMS
installation information
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Booklet
says QUICKTI!, no, the actual software says QUICKTIM
Overall,
in almost all the manuals, the abbreviations and titles for files
used in the manuals differ from what is actually on the CD, at least
on the CD that I received (early in '99). For example you are told
to look for ReaderSearch and you get offered only READERSE. Common
sense will prevail but for people who have no IT technician on hand,
and who have no computer guru in their office, it is considerably
less stressful if the manual and the actual CD file names facing
you from the monitor read identically.
I
have a cryptic note in my handwriting saying "please insert
the disk Quicktime Install Disk"
General
tips
First,
read the READ ME file, indeed print out pertinent sections of it.
Hopefully some of my comments here will get into future versions
of the READ ME, or ideally into an updated manual. Until that happens,
realize that some of the description in the manual does not match
what actually exists in the software. For example, the actual icon
reads QMS 2060 Print System, not 2060 GX that the manual led me
to believe.
My
Mac Chooser Window had only LaserWriter 8 and PS Printer, left over
from the several Lexmark and HP printers that I also have in the
FLAAR office. LaserWriter 8 is the one to use for a Mac. I understand
that Mac has issued updates to the LaserWriter 8 (but if so, I have
not yet tried them out).
When
I visited QMS headquarters in Mobile, Alabama in May, I was told
that QMS had issued an update to the 2060 series that allows you
to tweak the lines per inch (lpi) even more than you can on your
own initiative. QMS indicated they would send this, but it has not
yet arrived. When it does we will review its advantages because
the ability to tweak the lpi is what allows the QMS 2060 series
of printers to handle full-size photographs at 11 x 17 tabloid A-3
full bleed.
The
manual kept referring to PPD 4.X.X; my CD had only PPD version 3.x.x.
I
was unable to find any QMS 2060.PPD printer specific functions (these
are notes taken during the trama of installing the software; in
most cases I have long ago figured out how to handle the situation).
In
Print Document it reads QMS 2060Print System not QMS 2060 PPD. Considering
how many different drivers and printers exist, and how the technology
and updates change constantly, it is to be expected that a manual
may not keep up with the actual changes that exist when you install
the latest version of the CD.
Page
5-5 (Getting Started) a sentence is missing, Installing from CD-ROM,
action number 3 should be Double click PLATFORM folder (to get at
Mac folder). As elsewhere, common sense will lead you to this conclusion
anyway, but it does help if the manual follows what is actually
on the CD-ROM.
The
section in the manual on toner settings needs to be completely rewritten.
The toner controls do work nicely, but not the way it might be expected
from reading the manual. Instructions lead you to expect the range
is 1 to 7, but on the window you get 04 14 24 34 up to 94. I had
to fiddle with it a dozen times before I got access to the real
range, 1 to 7 indeed, but hidden behind other ranges.
The
menu offers, for example, Printer's Default, False, Printer Default,
True. Probably logical but can also be confusing.
In
the Reference manual, 4-80, I had some questions about the frame
buffer, but evidently solved them.
I
would recommend you quickly remove the automatic page-printout at
start up. It wastes paper and time. The software allows you to turn
this off. It is, however, very nice to have such a record of how
many pages of what size, very clever of QMS.
If
you use Adobe Photoshop (probably 99% of the people who are reading
this page are in this category otherwise you would unlikely have
landed at this site), read p. 5-11, "A Note for Users of Adobe
PhotoShop." On the previous page there is a cryptic sentence
on p. 5-10 "A Note for Users of Aldus Applications." I
was unsure whether this was a time warp because although I remember
the days gone by when PageMaker came from Aldus (and when Photoshop
came from somewhere else) it might be more relevant to label it
PageMaker right away. Today people will be using QuarkXpress or
more likely the newer Adobe InDesign.
Other
Problems that Can Arise
If
you have a professional computer technician on call, then you don't
have to learn all the technical details. If you have a Macintosh
system, and want to learn how to handle most situations by yourself,
it is essential to buy the MacUpgrade
and Repair Bible, IDG Books, by Todd Stauffer. Because if
you cancel all your printing, and the printer locks up, this is
a Macintosh problem, not a printer failure. You have to dump the
printer icon in the Trash, and rebuild the icon (easy to do).
If
you use Microsoft Word, and if the page starts printing several
inches down from the top, again, this is not a QMS problem, this
is a Bill Gates problem. Go into the page setup and move the borders
around until you get the page to print correctly placed; try the
print preview mode to spare your paper supply
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