FIRST TIME INSTALL OF EPSON ET-8550 DTF V2 PRINTER

Go to your Printers & Scanners settings on your computer and locate your Epson 8550 printer. The correct printer will be
EPSONXXXXXX (ET-8550 Series) or EPSON ET-8550 Series and will not be the one followed by DTF or DTF v2, you may
have listed.

When you have located the correct ET-8550, click on it and then click on Printing Preferences. The following screen
should look like this, if not check another 8550 printer listed.

If you do not have the advanced options, as shown above, go to Epson’s website at www.epson.com and under Support,
click on Printers and type 8550 in search area to locate the Epson ET-8550 series, click on it and after picking your
operating system (mine shows as Windows 11), click GO and download the Drivers and Utilities Combo Package
Installer.

After downloading your driver package to your computer, locate the download, open and install the file. Once the drivers
are installed, return to your Printers & Scanners settings, as shown in the first step.

Once in the Printing Preferences, click on the Maintenance tab and then click on Extended Settings. In the upper
section, to the right, the only box to check should be Thick Paper and Envelopes.

Once the changes have been made, click OK and you can then exit out of those settings.
On the actual printer, using the LED screen, go to:

Settings

Printer settings

Paper Source setting

Paper Setup – scroll down to Rear Paper Feeder and click on it

Change your Paper Size to match the actual size you are using. Look at your film packaging, if unsure of actual
dimensions. (note: A3 and Super B/A3+ are not the same.) If you are unsure, measure your film, then scroll to the
bottom of the list to manually enter your dimensions. Paper Type set to Thin Paper.

Click the back button 3 times to return to the Printer Settings. Make sure Thick Paper is turned OFF, Quiet Mode is
turned OFF, Ink Drying Time is set to LONGER, and Bidirectional is turned ON.

Click the Home icon.

Open Digital Factory

The Create Queue Wizard should automatically come up if you are installing Cadlink and printer for the first time. If not,
proceed to the area below which is highlighted in blue and come back to the steps below for the setup prompts. If a
printer is not listed in the top box, click Install Printer and locate the Epson ET-8550 DTF v2 (Note: If you do not have the
v2 listed, recheck that you have installed the drivers for your Epson on your computer, under Printers and Scanners.)
Once you choose the Epson ET-8550 DTF v2, click OK. A Device Package Search will pop up and choose Search for new
printer package, click Next and wait for the Printer Port Setup panel to appear

Your USB port will show

Epsonet 8550 series USB

(Note: It is recommended to connect using USB connection. If you do not have a strong internet, your printer, an
interruption in service will cause issues with printing.) To connect via WiFi, choose TCP/IP from the drop down menu
and locate your printer, that also needs to be setup on your network. To connect via USB, choose the Epson USB
connection from the drop down, which should show your printer if the 2 are connected with the proper USB cord. Click
Next. For Print Mode, choose one like Black Garment (this can be changed once in Cadlink). Click Next.
Note: While setting up several people, I have found that the wizard prompts are a little different, depending on version
being used. If a Cutter Defaults prompt is next, check the box to Continue without setting up a printer for cut only…and
click Next. In Media Setup, choose Fixed Sheet Media for Type and for the Size, locate your film size from the drop
down. If the dimensions are on the package, use the dimensions listed, if you cannot find your dimensions on the list,
scroll up on the list to <Add New Media>. (ex. A4 is listed as 8.26 x 11.69 on some packages and 8.3 x11.7 on others,
using either size should be fine). For the margins, I suggest .25” for top, right and left. I use 2.00” for bottom margin,
which is the bottom right box. Using a 2 inch bottom margin ensures none of your design is placed in the 2 inch bottom
part of the film, while importing, sizing and/or nesting images. If part of the design is placed in that area, it will smudge
that portion of your print since the printer will continue to lay ink but the film will not proceed forward due to the front
rollers being removed during the modification. Click Next. Layout Mode, I use Auto Page. Click Next. Output Options, I
use Hold.
Your printer should be now be in Cadlink.

If your printer was successfully added, the v2 printer should show here.

SKIP THE HIGHLIGHTED STEPS IF THE QUEUE WIZARD SUCCESSFULLY ADDED YOUR PRINTER.

If the Create Queue Wizard does not come up, go to Devices and Manage Devices from the pull-down menu and click
on the green + icon to open the wizard and follow the prompts as in the previous step.

Note: My printer is already shown as installed

Once your printer is successfully added, using the Queue Wizard, go to Queue and Manage Queues. The only printer
that should be listed/installed is the Epson ET-8550 DTF v2.

Check your port connection. (A USB connection is recommended over a TCP/IP (Wi-Fi) connection due to instability of
some Wi-Fi internet). If Queue printer and Port is correct, click Install. Click close.

Once your printer is installed, you will need to set up your ink order by going to the Queue drop down menu and then
Set Ink Order. The order should match your actual ink order. (Note: One will be White and one will be White 2.)
To ensure you can access the advanced settings needed, go to Tools and Options in the pulldown menu. Once the control
panel opens, go to General and place an X in the box before Show advanced settings and options, click Save and Close.

Now go to Queue and Properties and go to Media Setup to setup or verify you setup correctly in the Queue Wizard
while installing the printer into Cadlink. Choose Fixed Sheet Media from the pulldown menu, locate your actual size of
film. If it is not listed, scroll to the top of the pulldown menu, and choose <Add New Media> and manually enter your
dimensions. You can then choose to name the new media, your size and brand of film. Also, you can set your margins
below that as explained above.

Note: If you want to print an image longer than your film sheet length, and are using a roll, the media type needs to be
set to Roll Media. If you are using 13” wide film roll and want to print an image that is 20”, you will need to cut a 22”
length of film prior to your print. (I do not ever feed a full roll through my printer when using longer films). You will
lose your bottom margin settings when choosing Roll Media so keep that in mind. If you want to place your designs in
Cadlink first to determine the length of film you need to cut, be sure to add the 2 inches to your measurements before
cutting. When done using a longer sheet cut from a roll, you can return to media setup and return your settings to
Fixed Sheet Media. Use long sheets with caution if you do not have the proper setup to keep the entire film flat during
printing and exit or you will risk the film lifting/buckling and rubbing against the printhead and ruining an image in the
print.

Under Layout Manager, check Mirror Job on Import. (I use Top left design placement using Auto Page).

To place image automatically in the top left,

top right or top center, or the center of the
film, click here to change that setting.

Under Printer Options, your Ink Setup should be CMYKWW (this is not your ink order, just saying you are using a 6-ink
channel printer) and Media Type set to Thin Paper. Note: This is only changing the settings for your current Queue, so
you will go in and change these settings under each print mode next. Also, your Resolution, Inline Speed and Print
Direction may be different than mine and your other print mode settings. The example below is my 1440x720 Black
Garment setting.

Underbase and Highlight

settings is a version 11 option
Once these steps are complete, go to Devices and Manage Print Modes in the pull-down menu. In the lower section of
the control panel, will be 12-14 of Cadlink’s preset print modes and any print modes you have created on your own.
Starting at the top Print Mode, double click on it and go down to Color Layer and Printer Options. Change the Ink Setup
to CMYKWW and Media Type to Thin Paper. Click Save and go to the next Print Mode on the list. Do the same steps
until all print modes are updated. Note: This is where many run into issues after printing fine and then issues start.
They may have updated settings for their current queue but when they choose a different print mode, their Printer
Options are not the same and, suddenly, film jams occur again. Make sure each print mode setting is updated correctly
under Printer Options.

You are now ready to import your first job. You will learn along the way to find the perfect print settings that work for
you. Be sure to check out videos showing how to properly crop and size your images after import and how to choose the
proper print mode for your job.

I will end by saying, these are settings that work for me, and I do not need tape, nor do I have paper jams. If you are
still getting paper jams and have followed all the above steps, then you can try removing your printer from Digital
Factory and reinstalling again, following the steps above.

Search for Fiery/Cadlink Software page on YouTube for very useful and informative videos that will help you
understand settings and help you navigate Digital Factory.