Each product and program carries a respective written warranty, the only
warranty on which the customer can rely. Paxar reserves t he right to make
changes in the product, the programs, and their availability at an y time and
without notice. Although Paxar has made every effort to provide comple te and
accurate information in this manual, Paxar shall not be liable for any omissio ns
or inaccuracies. Any update will be incorporated in a later edition of this
manual.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class
A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when
the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment
generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed
and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. Oper ation of this equipment in a
residential area is likely to cause harmful inter ference in which case the user
will be required to correct the in terference at his own expense.
CANADIAN D.O.C. WARNING
This digital apparatus does not exceed th e Class A limits for radio noise
emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations
of the Canadian Department of Communications .
Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de brui ts radioélectriques
dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de la classe A
prescrites dans le Réglement sur le brouilla ge radioélectrique édicte par le
ministère des Communications du Canada.
Trademarks
Monarch®, MonarchNet2, Smart Relay, 7410, 7411, 9855®, and 9860 are
trademarks of Paxar Americas, Inc.
Paxar® is a trademark of Paxar Corporation.
Avery Dennison® is a trademark of Aver y Dennison Corp.
Microsoft, Windows, NT, and MS-DOS are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation
in the United States and/or other countries .
UNIX® is a trademark of The Open Grou p.
Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Data Computer Corporation.
Avery Dennison Printer Systems Divisio n
170 Monarch Lane
Miamisburg, OH 45342
INDEX ............................................................................................................. i
ii NCL Programmer’s Manual
INTRODUCTION
Your Monarch® 9855™ or 9860™ Version 5.0 or greater printer
contains MonarchNet2™ soft ware with the addition of Monarch® Network
Control Language (NCL). Additional NCL features are available in later
software versions.
1
About NCL
The Network Control Language files (NCL) are in a readable forma t
similar to Microsoft® Windows® 3.0 initialization (.ini) files. You can
create the NCL file using any text editor and save it with a .txt extension.
You can create an NCL file that sets your printer to specific set tings
every time you turn on the printer, such as black mark supply, high
energy ribbon, and on-demand mode. See the sample below of this
information in an NCL file and in an MPCL file. The NCL file is easier to
read and troubleshoot than its MCPL counterpart.
NCL is a powerful tool that can do more than just remotely configure you r
printer and network card.
You can use NCL to
♦ monitor and manage large numbers of printers over WAN and LAN
systems.
♦ update the printer’s or network card’s firmware across the network.
♦ clone a single printer’s confi guration to multiple printers a cross the
network.
♦ transfer files to and from the printe r.
♦ create custom menu items for the printer's display.
♦ query a simple database.
{I,B,0,2,1,0,0,0¦}
Introduction 1-1
There are several methods of configuring a Monarch® printer with a
network card. Decide which method works best for your organization.
You may prefer to use a combination of methods. This man ual explains
the Network Control Language method.
Method See the Related Manual
MPCL Packet Reference Manual (TC9800PM)
MonarchNet2™
Telnet or
Remote Shell
NCL This manual
Offline via the
printer’s menu
Note:Information in this document supercedes information in previous
versions.
Check our Web site (www.paxar.com) for the latest release and
documentation informati on.
This manual is for the System Administrator, who configures and
manages the printers over a network or the Progra mmer, who creates the
configuration files for those printers.
1-2 NCL Programmer’s Manual
Using This Manual
Following is a summary of the contents of this manu al.
Chapter Contents
1 Introduction Information you should know before using NCL.
Configuring the
2
Printer
Configuring the
3
Network
Requesting File
4
Transfers
Using
5
Configuration Files
Creating a Custom
6
Menu
7 Using a Database Information about searching a database.
Using Flash Files &
8
Updating Firmware
9 Troubleshooting
A Samples Several sample NCL files.
B Defaul ts Lists the printer defa ult values.
Information about creating NCL files to configure
the printer, including specifying the supply type ,
contrast, and communication values.
Information about creating NCL files to configure
the network, including Ethernet and wireless
settings including IP address, SSID, and security.
Information about requesting/receiving files using
FTP and TFTP and specifying an initial (first)
configuration file.
Information about uploading and modifying NCL
files and printer cloning.
Information about creating custom menus to
perform specific tasks.
Information about creating a flash file, using
BOOTP/DHCP to boot the printer, and updating the
printer’s firmware.
Information about creating a log file and any errors
you may encounter with NCL.
Introduction 1-3
Conventions
This manual uses the following conventi ons:
Lines of text that you enter are shown in bold with a different typeface.
For example:
SupplyType="Die Cut"
All text shown in square brackets ([]) are required Sectio n names and
must be entered exactly as shown. For example:
[NCL_START]
When a list of mutually-exclusive options exist, they are separated by a
vertical bar (|). Select only ONE of the options. For example:
Aperture | Die Cut | Black Mark | Continuous
When an alphanumeric value is required you see an “n” for each
character; for example, nn nn means to enter four charact ers, such as
9855.
NIC is an abbreviation for Network Interface Card.
Standard Syntax Guidelines
When creating NCL files:
♦ All lines are processed in the order received.
♦ Groups of like parameters are di vided into Sections.
♦ Within each Section are multiple options, which are identified by a
Key-name (Keys) and set to some Value.
♦ Major Sections are identified by square brackets ( []).
♦ Commands and options are ident ified by Keys.
♦ The assigned Values are separated from the Keys by an
equal sign (=).
♦ If no Value is specified, use 1.
♦ White space (spaces, tabs, and blank lines), outside of q uoted strings,
is ignored.
♦ Sections and Keys are not case-sensitive, except for [NCL_START].
♦ Values are case-sensitive.
1-4 NCL Programmer’s Manual
For the Values, use the exact text listed in this manual (or the
♦
printer’s offline menu). For example, Speed=10 does not work, use
Speed="10.0 IPS", which is how it appears in the printer’s offline
menu.
♦ Only include the Keys you need to c hange from their current value in
the NCL file.
♦ Place comments after a semicolon (;).
♦ Strings containing spaces must be in quotes ("").
♦ NCL files must start with [NCL_START] and end with [NCL_End].
♦ One NCL file can contain multiple sections for different print er models,
for example, [Printer.9855] and [Printer.9860]. Information
that does not match the cu rrent printer is ignored.
♦ Use the [Printer.General] section to change values for all printer
models with NCL capability on your network.
♦ Each line, including [NCL_End] must end with a c arriage return, a line
feed, or both (carriage return and a line feed).
♦ When specifying a pathna me or filename, the spelling, capi talization
and spacing must match exactly.
♦ Do not use a backslash (\) o r a forward slash (/) at the be ginning of
the pathname. Follow the standard conventions fo r your operating
system (Microsoft® Windows®, UNIX®, et c.) For example, UNIX uses
a forward slash while Microsoft Windows uses a backslash. However,
some FTP and TFTP software only accepts one or the other and
substitutes the character for the appropriate operating system.
Introduction 1-5
NCL File Sequence
When creating NCL files, foll ow the standard syntax guidelines o utlined
above and keep in mind the follow ing:
♦ Since all lines are processed in the order received and file transfers
may take several minutes to complete, do not re quest file transfers
while making changes to the network configuration in the same NCL
file.
♦ Creating a custom menu [MenuStart] requires the user to make a
selection before processing any instruction s in the rest of the NCL file.
♦ Make sure all lines within the [MenuStart] section are arranged
logically.
♦ Certain sections should be at the beginning of the NCL file or in a
separate NCL file to avoid losing data. For example, after the
firmware is updated, the printer and network card are reset.
♦ When creating NCL files, we recomme nd arranging the sections in this
order:
[NCL_START]
[Flash]
[Log]
[Firmware]
[FirstCfg]
****
[General]
TestLabel=1
[Config]
[NCL_END]
****At this point in the file, you can include configuring the printer
[Printer.9855], network card [NIC.TCPIP.7411BG], network time
[Time], or other sections not prev iously listed.
Note: Not all sections are needed in every NCL file.
1-6 NCL Programmer’s Manual
Using Constants
Constants are replaced by a string or numeric value. Use constants to
generate unique log (or configuration) file names or in mathematical
expressions.
These constants are useful to determine
♦ a printer’s IP address, subnet mask, or location (perform a search).
♦ which file goes with a particular printer?
♦ when a log file was created base d on time and/or date.
%IPAThe IP address is substituted for %IPA and dots (‘.’) are replaced
with dashes (‘-‘).
%MAC The MAC address is substituted for %MAC and dots (‘.’) are
replaced with dashes (‘-‘).
%PUC The value of a Power-Up Counter is inserted in place of %PUC.
The counter is set to zero when the printer is turned on or reset
and incremented each time a log file is sent to the host.
%DAT The current date is substituted for %DAT and slashes (‘/’) are
replaced with dashes (‘-‘). The format is YY-MM-DD.
%TIM The current time is substituted f or %TIM and colons (‘:’) are
replaced with dashes (‘-‘). The format is HH=MM=SS.
%DNT The current date and time are substituted for %DNT and slashes
(‘/’) and colons (‘:’) are replaced with dashes (‘-‘). The format is
YY-MM-DD_ HH=MM=SS.
%NSA Network subnet address. This is the logical AND of the printer's
IP address and the subnet mask. This is a decimal stri ng,
separated by dots or a LONG in nume ric operations.
%PNO The printer number found by the NextPrinter command.
%SNM The subnet mask as a decimal s tring, separated by dots or as a
LONG in numeric operations.
Note:The time comes from the network's time server (if available), not
from the file transfer server (FTP or TFTP).
Example "Logs/PX_%IPA_%DAT.log"
This line generates a filen ame similar to:
"Logs/PX_192-0-0-192_06-06-20.log"
Introduction 1-7
Using Functions
Functions are replaced by a string or numeric value. A function contains
one or more arguments and may be used multiple times in the same file.
%Field(FieldNumber) The function is replaced with t he string in
This code displays "Printer Name" on line 1 of the display and the results
of the strings contained in Field(1) and Field(2) with –0 and the next
printer number in sequence on line 2. The message displays for 3
seconds.
Using Strings
Strings can contain constants or functions. Use strings sepa rately,
enclosed within quotation marks , or concatenated with a plus sign (+) in
between.
Example Echo1="IP" + "Addr:"
Echo2=%IPA
WaitSec=2
This code displays "IPAddr:" on line 1 of the display and the IP address
contained in the constant %IPA on line 2. The mess age displays for 2
seconds.
1-8 NCL Programmer’s Manual
Using Math Operators
The following table lists the priority (precede nce) of math operators from
highest to lowest priority. Otherwise, items shown on t he same line are
processed left to right.
Symbol Description
() parenthesis
+ - positive and negative
* / % multiply, divide, and modulo
+ - add and subtract
<< >> less than and greater than
& AND
^ XOR
| OR
NCL File Specifications
The maximum lengths for the components of an NCL file are listed in the
following table.
Component and Example Character Limit Description
File
Config.txt
Each Line
FeedMode=Continuous
Section
[Printer.9855]
Keys
SupplyType
Values
"Die Cut"
Path/Filename
"Xfer\Config.txt"
Log Buffer
PX_10-24-05.log
2000 This limit is for actual data, after the parser
discards comments.
240 This limit applies to the total line, including
comments.
60 This limit applies to the section name.
60 This limit applies to the key name.
<240 The line limit minus the actual length of the key
name.
240 This limit applies to the combined path and
filename string.
10,000 Data is discarded once the buffer fills.
Introduction 1-9
Using Global Commands
The following commands can be used in any section.
Keys Description Values
Log
LogNum
Echo1
Echo2
EchoNum1
EchoNum2
WaitSec
WaitMS
WaitKey
Saves the value as a string to the log buffer. "any string"
Evaluates the numeric expression and saves the result to
the log buffer.
Writes the contents to the top line of the printer's display. "firstline"
Writes the contents to the second line of the printer's
display.
Displays the numeric value of the expression following the
equal sign.
Displays the numeric value of the expression following the
equal sign.
Pauses for the specified number of seconds. Displays a
countdown on the second line of the printer's display.
Amount of time to show items on the printer's display (in
milliseconds).
Pauses until any button is pressed on the printer's control
panel.
Any expression evaluated as
a number
"secondline"
Any expression evaluated as
a number
Any expression evaluated as
a number
0 to 999999
0 to 999999
Any value
Getting Started
Follow these steps to get the most from NCL:
1. Decide what you want to do: configure the printer or network card,
clone a printer, or update firmware.
2. When configuring the printer o r network card, only include the ite ms
you need to change; for example , the print speed, contrast or
security.
3. Decide if the configuration should be saved in the prin ter’s flash
memory, so it is used ever y time the printer is turned on or reset.
4. Create the NCL file based on your answers above. See Chapters
2 – 7 for more information.
5. Transfer the NCL file to the printe r. See Chapter 4, “Requestin g File
Transfers,” for more information.
6. Correct any common problems that may occur by viewi ng the NCL log
files. See Chapter 9, “Troubleshooting, ” for more information.
1-10 NCL Programmer’s Manual
CONFIGURING THE PRINTER
2
Use the syntax provided in this ch apter to write the printer-specific
section of an NCL file.
Refer to the printer’s Operat or’s Handbook for more information about
each option. For the recommende d file sequence of sections in a n NCL
file, see “NCL File Sequence” in Chapter 1.
Note:You do not have to include every Key in the NCL file unless you
want to change it from the current value. The Keys can be listed
in any order, but they are processed in the order received .
Syntax [NCL_START]
[Printer.nnnn]
Keys=values
[NCL_END]
Keys Description Select ONE of the following:
SupplyType
Ribbon
Speed
FeedMode
Backfeed
PrintPosition
SupplyPosition
MarginPosition
CutPosition
DispensePosition
BackfeedDistance
Selects the supply type Aperture | Die Cut | Black Mark |
Continuous
Selects the ribbon or energy No | Yes | High Energy
Selects the print speed in inches
per second (IPS)
Selects the feed mode Continuous | On-Demand
Enables backfeed mode Off | On | Extended
Adjusts where data prints vertically
on supply
Adjusts the printer to print at 0,0
point
Adjusts where data prints
horizontally on supply
Adjusts where the tag is cut -300 to 300
Adjusts the stopping point of label 50 to 200
Amount to move label backwards 10 to 200
Enables batch separators No | Yes | Long
Enables skip index mode (print one
image over multiple labels)
Adjusts the length of cut tags -20 to 20
Sets the error action mode Normal | Ostrk/Cont 1X |
Adjusts the print contrast -699 to 699
Selects the baud rate for the main serial
port
Selects the word length for the main
serial port
Selects the stop bits for the main serial
port
Selects the parity for the main serial port None | Odd | Even
Selects the flow control for the main
serial port
Resets the serial port to default values No | Yes
Selects the parallel port External | Internal
Selects the parallel port mode Compatible | IEEE-1284
Selects the monetary sign None | USA | UK | Japan | Germany |
Selects the secondary monetary sign No | Yes
Selects the number of decimal places 0 | 1 | 2 | 3
Enables the slashed zero No | Yes
Selects the power up mode Online | Offline
Selects the prompt set English | French | German | Spanish |
Enables flash storage Disabled | Enabled
Enables the verifier Enabled | Disabled
Enables the scan beam Off When Idle | Always On
Selects the verifier mode Def 2 | Def 19
Clears the verifier’s data Yes | No
Detects the verifier’s cables None | I/O | I/O & Data
Japanese | Portuguese | Italian |
Swedish | Spanish 2 | Danish | Dutch |
Finnish | Norwegian
This NCL file for the 9855 printer uses die c ut supply, a ribbon,
continuous feed mode, sets the margi n position to 15, and uses 8.0 IPS
printing. The contrast is set to 100.
Configuring the Printer 2-3
2-4 NCL Programmer’s Manual
CONFIGURING THE NETWORK
Use the syntax provided in this ch apter to write the networkspecific section of an NCL file including TCP/IP, wireless, an d network
time protocol settings .
Refer to the MonarchNet2 Operati ng Instructions for more informa tion
about each option.
3
TCP/IP Settings
For the recommended file sequence o f sections in an NCL file, see “NCL
File Sequence” in Chapter 1.
Syntax [NCL_START]
[NIC.TCPIP.7411BG]
Keys=values
[NCL_END]
Note:Using version 5.4 or greater software, use .7411BG as the
section name. With previous software versions, use .7411 as
the section name.
Keys Description Select ONE of the following:
Address
Banner
Boot
Chksum
Keepalive
Method
RARP
Subnet
Timeout
Sets the network address nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn
Enables trailing banner page for lpr/lpd jobs Enable | Disable
Number of DHCP/BOOTP/RARP tries 1 to 10
Enables the IP receive checksum Enable | Disable
Sets the IP keepalive timer in minutes 1 to 65534
0 keep alive indefinitely
Sets the method of obtaining the IP address Auto | Static | BOOTP | DHCP |
RARP
Selects whether to set the subnet mask or router 1 | 2 | 3
1 Subnet mask is not set
2 Router is not set
3 Neither the subnet mask
or router address is set
Sets the subnet mask nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn
Sets the inactivity timeout in minutes 0 to 255
0 No timeout
Configuring the Network 3-1
Keys Description Select ONE of the following:
Router
CmdStr
Sets the router/gateway address nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn
Sends the quoted string directly to the network card. This
allows data to pass directly through the printer to the
network card. Do not use SHOW or HELP commands.
"your command here"
Example [NCL_START]
[NIC.TCPIP.7411BG]
Boot=4
Method=BOOTP
CmdStr="SET PRN REL POR S2"
[NCL_END]
This NCL file sets the number of Boot tries to 4 and the device receives
its IP address via a BOOTP server. It also sets the Monarch® Smart
Relay™ port to serial port 2 (enables the Smart Relay system).
Wireless Settings
For the recommended file sequence o f sections in an NCL file, see “NCL
File Sequence” in Chapter 1.
Syntax [NCL_START]
[NIC.EN.7411BG]
Keys=values
[NCL_END]
Note:EN is the only valid section name for wireless settings.
Keys Description Values or Select ONE of the following:
Mode
SSID
WEP
ActiveKey
KeyVal
3-2 NCL Programmer’s Manual
Sets the 802.11b/g wireless mode Infastruct | Adhoc
Sets the 802.11b/g wireless SSID or network name nnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Up to 14 alphanumeric characters,
enclose in quotes ("") if using a space
Sets the Wired Equivalent Privacy encryption
Note: Your access point may show 40-bit instead of
64-bit, but they are the same.
Sets which WEP key number is used 1 to 4
Sets the WEP key value for the current ActiveKey;
entered in Hex
Disabled | 64-bit | 128-bit
nnnnnnnnnn
10 digits for 64-bit WEP (or 40-bit)
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
26 digits for 128-bit WEP (or 104-bit)
Keys Description Values or Select ONE of the following:
Speed
APDensity
Auth
CmdStr
Enc
InAP
Cert
CertCN1
CertCN2
CertExp
CertKey
ID
PW
WPAAuto
WPAGroup
WPAPSK
Sets the wireless speed 11 | 5.5 | 2 | 1
Sets the access point’s density Low | Med | High
Sets the authentication value
Note: When disabling WEP, set the
authentication to OPEN.
Sends the quoted string directly to the network
card. This allows data to pass directly through the
printer to the network card. Do not use SHOW or
HELP commands.
This NCL file enables 64-bit WEP and sets values for WEP Key 1
(12345678ABCDEF) and Key 2 (FEDCBA87654321) and selects Key 1 as
the currently used Key. The SSID is set to Acme001. The access point’s
density is MED (2 to 5.5 Mbps communications).
This NCL file sets the encryption to WPA2 and the inner authentication
protocol to PAP. A group ke y is used for data link encryption.
3-4 NCL Programmer’s Manual
Setting the Time
The date/time stamp can be us ed in NCL log and configu ration upload file
names. For the recommende d file sequence of sections in an NCL file,
see “NCL File Sequence” in Chapt er 1.
Network time protocol must be enabled using MonarchNet2 ™ software
before including the [Time] section in an NCL file.
Note:The time comes from the network's time server (if available), not
from the file transfer server (FTP or TFTP).
Syntax [NCL_START]
[Time]
Keys=values
[NCL_END]
Keys Description Values:
IPAddr
TimeZone
IP address of the host time server. nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn
Time zone offset from Greenwich Mean Time (GMT),
in hours and minutes. This offset varies by location
and time zone. For example, Eastern/Standard time
is five hours behind GMT. Use –5:00 for the offset.
For an offset of 3.5 hours, use 3:30.