Epson PictureMate Pal PM200 Photo Files Not Being Read

If your Epson PictureMate Pal PM200 is not reading the files prepared for printing, there could be a few factors contributing to this. Use this troubleshooting guide to help diagnose why.

The first thing that you should determine is that the camera you are using to take the pictures you want to print is DCF-compliant. You can most likely find this information in the manual or look for a marking on the camera or packaging itself. If those do not give you confirmation, you can look up your camera's model number and search that way.

Although this printer has two memory card slots, it can only operate if one card is inserted at a time. The two slots are to allow for a wide variety of memory card forms to be housed and not to have two at once. Make sure that there is only one card in the slots when printing.

The type of memory card itself may be the issue. Make sure that you are using a type of memory card that the printer accepts. The types of cards that are compatible can be found in the following link:

Epson PM200 Compatible Memory Cards

The printer requires that the memory card is formatted to ensure that the only files on the card are files created by your camera. You can format the memory card by inserting it into your camera and formatting using the camera's menu. The process for formatting should be outlined in the device's manual.

WARNING: Formatting your memory card will erase all data on the card. Make sure that you either save the content on it to another device or that you do not wish to save preexisting data because it will be deleted upon formatting

The Epson PM200 only processes and prints photo files in JPEG or uncompressed TIFF formats. If your file is, say, in PNG format, it will not print. Two common file formats that digital cameras use are JPEG and RAW. This printer does NOT read progressive-scan JPEG (a different format than regular JPEG files) or RAW files. You can most likely choose which format you camera saves in so make sure to consult a camera-specific guide to ensure that it is saving in a format that the printer can read (most likely JPEG).

The printer may need a restart to be able to refresh its systems. If the previous points have not yielded results, you can go through the tried-and-true method of turning the printer off, waiting a minute, then turning it on again.

If all previous points have not yielded results, you may want to consider getting a new memory card at least to test if it works to confirm that the card itself is the problem. It is recommended to go through all other points in this guide before resorting to replacement. In extreme cases, the printer's memory card reader system itself may be the problem. If this is the case, then it may be an option to replace the motherboard but this is the absolute last resort.