G4A User Manual v1.1
G4A User Manual v1.1
G4A User Manual v1.1
Users Manual
Microboards Technology LLC Version 1.01
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 5
WHAT’S INCLUDED .......................................................................................................................... 5
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................ 6
ASSEMBLY AND INSTALLATION ........................................................................................................... 6
ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS ............................................................................................................... 6
G4 AUTO PRINTER ASSEMBLY ..................................................................................................... 6
INSTALLING INK CARTRIDGES .......................................................................................................... 7
SUPPORTED INK CARTRIDGES ...................................................................................................... 7
LOADING / REPLACING INK CARTRIDGES ....................................................................................... 7
LOADING DISCS .............................................................................................................................. 8
FRONT CONTROL PANEL ................................................................................................................. 8
G4 AUTO PRINTER INSTALLATION .................................................................................................... 9
CONNECTING TO A PC .................................................................................................................... 9
WINDOWS 7 AND VISTA HARDWARE INSTALLATION ......................................................................... 10
WINDOWS XP HARDWARE INSTALLATION ....................................................................................... 10
PRINTING PREFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 12
COLOR TAB .................................................................................................................................. 12
MORE COLOR OPTIONS ............................................................................................................. 12
ADVANCED TAB ............................................................................................................................ 13
DIAMETER SETTINGS TAB ............................................................................................................. 13
INK TAB ....................................................................................................................................... 14
ALIGNMENT TAB ........................................................................................................................... 14
PRINT QUALITY TAB ...................................................................................................................... 14
PRINTING RECOMMENDATIONS................................................................................................... 15
ABOUT TAB .................................................................................................................................. 15
THE MICROBOARDS PRINTER TOOLBOX ........................................................................................... 16
PEN CALIBRATION ........................................................................................................................ 16
PRINT TEST DISC ......................................................................................................................... 16
ADVANCE CONVEYOR ................................................................................................................... 16
USING SURETHING DISC LABELER ................................................................................................... 17
CREATING NEW LABELS............................................................................................................. 17
PRINTING LABELS ...................................................................................................................... 17
SOFTWARE RE-INSTALLATION .......................................................................................................... 18
TOOLBOX RE-INSTALLATION .......................................................................................................... 18
SURETHING LABELER SOFTWARE RE-INSTALLATION....................................................................... 19
TROUBLESHOOTING ......................................................................................................................... 20
PRINTER NOT PRINTING: ................................................................................................................ 20
DISC LOADING ERROR:.................................................................................................................. 20
DISC NOT ADVANCING: .................................................................................................................. 20
LOW INK INDICATION: .................................................................................................................... 20
PRINTING OFF THE PRINTABLE SURFACE ........................................................................................ 20
OUT OF MEDIA INDICATOR ON FRONT PRINTER PANEL .................................................................... 21
GAPS OR OVERLAP IN INK COVERAGE ............................................................................................ 21
“NO PRINTERS CONNECTED” MESSAGE ......................................................................................... 21
OUT OF INK MESSAGE .................................................................................................................. 21
PRINTING SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................... 22
TECHNICAL SUPPORT ...................................................................................................................... 22
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Any unauthorized modification to this equipment may result in the revocation by the FCC of the user’s authority to
operate this equipment.
NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part
15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential
installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance
with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will
not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be
determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the
following measures:
This product is in conformity with the EMC Directive (89/336/EEC) through compliance with the following European standards: EN
55022, EN 55024. The CE mark has been affixed in accordance with the CE Marking Directive 93/68/EEC.
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
Introduction
The G4 Auto Printer is a robust automated inkjet CD and DVD printing solution. The G4 Auto Printer has a
50-disc capacity, making the task of printing large numbers of discs fast, easy and hands-free.
What’s Included
When unpacking your G4 Auto Printer system, the following items should be included:
• G4 Auto Printer print system • Microboards G4 Auto Printer Install
• G4 Auto Printer Quick Start Guide CD (Includes Windows XP, Vista,
and Windows 7 drivers, Printer
• Users Manual (This document) Toolbox, and SureThing Label
• Power Cord software)
• USB 2.0 Printer Cable • 1 V102C Tri-color ink cartridge
• 3 Input Bin rods • 1 V101B Black ink cartridge
• 50 disc output assembly • Print Sample
• Cleaning Disc
If any of these items are missing, please contact your distributor or Microboards Technology
Technical Support department at 952-556-1639.
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System Requirements
The Microboards G4 Auto Printer has the following minimum requirements and compatibilities:
Supported Operating Systems
32-bit: Microsoft Windows 8, 7, Windows Vista, or Windows XP with SP2.
64-bit: Microsoft Windows 8, 7, Windows Vista.
Processor
Intel Core 2 Duo or equivalent.
System Memory
A minimum of 1 GB is required.
Hard Drive Space
Approximately 115 MB of free space is required for the applications and drivers.
USB Connection
USB 2.0 is required.
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
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Loading Discs
The next step is to load your G4 Auto Printer with discs. The system will accept CD or DVD 120 mm
(12 cm) inkjet printable discs. If the disc does not have an inkjet printable surface, the ink will not
adhere to the surface of the disc. The G4 Auto Printer will only accept 12 cm discs. Business card or
8 cm discs are not supported by this system.
Figure 1 Figure 2
Load the first 5 or 6 discs flat, as seen in figure 1.
Load the rest of the discs at an angle, against the wide input rod, as seen in figure 2.
The G4 Auto Printer will hold a maximum of 50 discs. DO NOT load more than 50 discs in the
system, as this may cause the discs to feed incorrectly.
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
Connecting to a PC
DO NOT CONNECT YOUR G4 Auto Printer TO A COMPUTER BEFORE RUNNING THE
INSTALLER LOCATED ON THE INSTALLATION DISK!!
The connection between the PC and the Microboards G4 Auto Printer is done with one USB cable.
1. Confirm that the AC power cord to the back of the G4 Auto Printer is connected and that the
switch in the back is ON.
2. Confirm that your PC is powered on.
3. Connect the square shaped end of the USB cable to the back of the G4 Auto Printer.
4. Connect the flat, rectangular end of the USB cable into a USB 2.0 port in
your PC.
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Windows 8, 7, and Vista Hardware Installation
The Microboards G4 Auto Printer Installer should always be run when logged in as user with full
Administrator rights. This is required for the driver pre-installation to be successful. Once the G4
Auto Printer is plugged into the PC via the USB connection, the hardware will automatically be found
and installed on your PC.
During the driver pre-installation, you may need to verify that you would like to install the drivers.
If the Installer is run by a user without full Administrator rights, or you do not verify that the drivers
should be installed, the hardware will need to be installed using the Hardware Wizard. Please follow
the directions below.
1. Select No, not this time and click 3. If this screen appears, click Continue
Next. Anyway.
The following screen will appear:
4. Click Finish.
2. Click the Next button and the files will
be copied from the CD.
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
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Printing Preferences
Access the Printing Preferences by clicking the Start Button on your Windows computer. Select
Settings and then select Printers. Right click on the Microboards G4 printer icon, then select
Printing Preferences. There are 7 tabs across the top of the window. Click each tab to see the
available settings.
Color Tab
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
Advanced Tab
The Advanced Tab allows you to Enable Maximum dpi setting and adjust the amount of ink placed
on the disc using the Ink Volume and Dry Time settings.
Enabling the maximum dpi will result in longer times to process your print image, reducing
throughput.
To change the Ink Volume or Dry Time settings, click the drop-down box and select Change. A
window will open with a setting bar for the option selected.
Changing the Ink Volume will affect how quickly you need to replace your ink cartridges, but also
affects the quality of the printed output.
Changing the Dry Time can increase or decrease your throughput, but if the Dry Time is set too low,
you risk the possibility that the last disc printed will not have dried before the next disc is placed on
top of it in the output bin.
The default settings are the recommended settings and should be used unless absolutely necessary.
If you choose to increase the Ink Volume, you should also increase the Dry Time.
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Ink Tab
The Ink Levels show how
much remains of the color and
black cartridges. The amount
shown as remaining in the
Color cartridge is the individual
color with the lowest level. To
see the individual color level,
click the Advanced Ink Levels
button.
NOTE: If you place a used
cartridge in the G4 Auto
Printer, the ink level may not be reported correctly. If the G4 Auto
Printer can identify the cartridge, it may report the correct ink levels; if
not, it will assume that the ink cartridge is new and will show ink levels
of 100%.
Before each disc is printed, the ink levels are checked. If the level of
any one color is has reached 10%, a warning message will be
displayed on your PC and printing will be temporarily suspended. You
can either change the cartridge at this point and click OK, or click OK
to continue printing using the same cartridge.
If you continue with the same cartridge, printing will continue
uninterrupted until the ink level reaches 5%. The low ink level warning
will be displayed once more. Again, either change the cartridge or
continue.
Once the ink level reaches 3% or less, the warning will be displayed
before each print.
It is strongly recommended that you replace the cartridge at this point.
The Ink Cartridge information includes the re-order part number for the cartridge.
Alignment Tab
Alignment values will move the
print image on the disc. Use the
graphic on the right side of the tab
as a guideline in how alignment
values should be adjusted.
You may need to adjust the alignment depending on the media you are using (see page 11).
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
Print Quality
• Best
• Normal
Print Modes
• Text and Graphics
• Photo
Printing Recommendations
Text and Graphics mode is used for printing mainly text information and small, simple graphics.
Below are some examples for images in Fast, Normal and Best Modes:
Text and Graphics – Fast Text and Graphics – Normal Text and Graphics – Best
About Tab
The About tab provides you with contact information for the worldwide Microboards offices.
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The Microboards Printer Toolbox
To access the Microboards Toolbox, double-click the toolbox icon located in the tool tray.
Select the Microboards G4 printer and click the buttons to access
each maintenance function of the Toolbox for the selected printer.
Cleaning
The printheads may require cleaning if the printed images
show streaks of color. This may occur if the Auto Printer
has been idle for an extended period of time.
There are 3 levels of cleaning available: Light Clean,
Regular Clean, and Heavy Clean.
Light Clean is a low-level cleaning, using the least ink
and taking the least amount of time to complete. Regular
Clean uses more ink and takes more time. Heavy Clean
uses the most ink and takes the longest time to complete.
After each of the cleanings, a disc will be printed to verify
the cleaning results.
Running this process more than once may be required if
the quality does not improve after cleaning one time.
Pen Calibration
The print pens may occasionally need calibration. You will need to have 4 blank discs loaded in the
input hopper for this process.
Press the Pen Calibration button. 2 discs will
print, the second with 4 sets of lines – Black to
Color Horizontal, Black to Color Vertical, Black
bidi Alignment, and Color bidi Alignment.
Position the 4 slide bars in the window shown to
the right based on the line that looks best in each
of the 4 printed sets on the second disc.
Click OK when complete. The 2 discs will be
printed again using the entered pen alignment
values.
This procedure should not be a regular
necessity.
Advance Conveyor
This utility will run the conveyor forward for a few seconds. This utility can be used with the Cleaning
Disc, or to remove any media that is on the conveyors.
Using the Cleaning Disc
The rollers that the Microboards G4 uses to advance the disc will occasionally need to be cleaned as
they pick up dust, lint, and other airborne debris. A Cleaning Disc was included with your
Microboards G4 and should be used when the rollers become dirty.
Follow the directions on the next page to clean the rollers using the Cleaning Disc:
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
Printing Labels
Select Print from the File menu while the label you want to print is open. Be sure that
you have selected the Microboards G4 and that CD/DVD Printer is selected in the
Print Using field before clicking the Print button.
If you are printing more than one copy of a label, enter in the number you wish to print before clicking
the Print button.
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Software Re-Installation
The information in this section will only apply to a manual re-installation of the individual software
packages. If you have not yet installed the G4 Auto Printer using the Installer, it is recommended that
you do so. Installing the G4 Auto Printer in an incorrect order could result in an unsuccessful
installation.
Toolbox Re-Installation
The Microboards Toolbox will be installed automatically during the initial installation of the G4 Auto
Printer from the Installation CD. The Toolbox installation is hidden at that time, but the successful
installation of the Toolbox can be verified by the presence of the Toolbox icon on your Windows
desktop.
There are 2 methods of reinstalling the Toolbox should the need arise:
A. (Recommended) Load the Installation CD and select the Repair option when the installer
starts.
Click the Microboards G4 Auto Printer Toolbox button to reinstall the Toolbox or the Install
Both Applications button to reinstall both SureThing Disc Labeler and the Toolbox.
B. Open the Applications directory on the Installation CD and copy the file Toolbox.exe to the
C:\Program Files\Microboards\G4 Auto Printer\Toolbox directory on your PC (if your PC
does not boot off the C: drive, use the correct drive letter instead). The application is stand-
alone and can be placed anywhere on the PC, but it will not automatically launch when
Windows is started unless it is in this directory.
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
B. Alternately, you can open the Applications directory on the Installation CD and run
SureThing.exe to install SureThing manually. Follow the on-screen instructions as shown in
steps 1-6 above.
C. The SureThing installer was also added to your hard drive in the event that you need to
reinstall but do not have access to the Installation CD. Run SureThing.exe in the
C:\Program Files\Microboards\G4 Auto Printer\Applications directory on your hard drive.
Follow the on-screen instructions as shown in steps 1-7 above.
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Troubleshooting
Printer not printing:
1. Confirm the G4 Auto Printer is plugged into a power source and is turned on. The ON/OFF
switch is located at the back of the unit, above the power cable connector.
2. Confirm the right-hand green light on the power button is lit on the Control
Panel. If AC power is on and the green light is off, press the power button on
the Control Panel and wait for several seconds. If the light still does not come
on, contact Microboards Technical Support.
3. Check the Output Bin! If the Output Bin Indicator, the left-hand green light, on the Control Panel
is on, the Output Bin is full. Empty the Output Bin to continue.
4. Confirm the G4 Auto Printer is connected to the computer. This can be checked by clicking on
Start, going to Settings and selecting Printers. Confirm the printer is listed and is active. If the
icon is not active, make sure the Use Printer Offline is not selected. Also check to make sure the
correct printer port is selected.
5. Confirm that the Microboards V102C and V101B Ink Cartridges are being used. The G4 Auto
Printer will not function with any other cartridge!
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MICROBOARDS TECHNOLOGY, LLC G4 AUTO PRINTER
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Printing Specifications
Print Speed:
Depends upon percentage of coverage and print mode selected
Photo:
• Approx. 115 seconds for 100% full-color coverage, Photo Best Mode
• Approx. 80 seconds for 100% full-color coverage, Photo Normal Mode
Text & Graphics:
• Approx. 65 seconds for 100% full-color coverage, Text & Graphics Best Mode
• Approx. 25 seconds for 100% full-color coverage, Text & Graphics Normal Mode
• Approx. 30 seconds for 20% coverage Text & Graphics Best Mode
• Approx. 20 seconds for 20% coverage Text & Graphics Normal Mode
Technical Support
For technical questions or support issues, contact Microboards Technology technical support:
Please have the Model and Serial Number of your G4 Auto Printer available when contacting
Technical Support.
Date of Purchase:
Place Purchased:
Serial Number:
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