Avery Dennison Monarch 9855 Quick Reference

Monarch and 9855 are registered trademarks of Avery Dennison Corp.
TC9855RFIDQR Rev. AU 5/15 2007 Avery Dennison Corp. All rights reserved.

QUICK REFERENCE

This Quick R eference contains supply loading and general
maintenanc e procedur es for the Monarch® 9855® RFID
printer. Additiona l RFID docum ents are av ailable on t he
Monarch® Pr inter’s Docum entation CD-ROM and on our
W eb site (www.monarch.averydennison.com

). Refer to th e
RFID Setup Utility at

http://www.servisource1.com/prnutil/rfidsetup for

illustrat ions to deter mine which type of RF ID supplies you
are using and basic printer conf iguration informatio n. For
informat ion about cr eating form ats, confi guring the printer,
or program ming the printer , refer to the Pack et Referenc e
Manual available on our Web site.

Note: Informati on in this document su percedes

inform ation in previous versions. Check our Web
site for t he latest d ocumentati on and releas e
information.

The limited warranty on kni ves used in or with

RFID pri nters is one ( 1) year fr om the date of
shipment , or 500,00 0 cuts, whic hever occur s first.

RFID Overview

Your printer has been engine ered to program (encode) an
RFID (Rad io Frequenc y Identific ation) lab el (comm only
called “RF ID tags”) before the label’s for mat is pr inted.
RFID tags contain an embedded R FID inla y (chip and
antenna).

RFID is only availab le using di e cut or bl ack mark s upplies.
Linerless supplies ar e not curr ently supp orted. The R FID
printer is also capable of printing standard (non-RFID)
supplies.

The print er supports Class 1 Gen eration 2 ( C1Gen2)
protocol enc oding.

2

Connecting the Cables

The power su pply automatica lly switches bet ween 115V or
230V. There are no operator settings required.

1. Review the safety informatio n in the Regulatory
Compliance doc ument included wi th your printer.

2. Plug the power cable into the socket. Plug the other
end of the cable int o a grounded electrica l outlet.

3. Connect t he communic ation cabl e into the appropriat e
port. Secure the cable with the connecting screws
(serial) or spring c lips (para llel).
If you are comm unicating wit h the host through th e
serial por t, make sur e the pri nter's comm unication
values m atch those at the host. The factor y default
values are 9 600 Baud, 8 bit data frame, 1 stop bit, no
parity, an d DTR flo w control (9 600, N, 8, 1 , DTR). Set
the comm unication v alues on the printer to m atch
those at t he host.
The printer also has a USB (Univ ersal Serial Bus)
version 2 .0 comm unications por t, which is compatib le
with vers ion 1.1. Drivers are available on our Web site
for a var iety of oper ating s ystems.

4. Turn on the printer. Press ( I ) to turn on and ( O ) to
turn off the printer.

Parallel Port

USB Port

Serial Port

Power Cable
Goes Here

Power Switch

3

Using the Control Panel

The contr ol panel h as a two-line LCD displa y, two status
lights, a nd five butt ons. The c ontrol pane l displays error
codes/m essages, and allows you to setup/c onfigure th e
printer.

Power:

The print er shows a
steady gree n light
when it is on.

Fault:

The print er shows a
steady am ber light
when it is out of
labels or ribbon, or
when you hav e a
supply jam .

Feed/
Cut:

Prints a label in the on-demand m ode,
feeds a b lank label if there is no print jo b,
and prints a la bel with error infor mation
that is us eful to your System Administrator
if an er ror is d ispla yed. When t he printer
is offline, changes the displayed value by
one or ten.

Enter/
Pause:

Pauses the current pr int job or r esumes a
paused pr int job. S elects the d isplayed
menu item .

Escape/
Clear:

When an err or is pres ent, clears the error .
When a jo b (batch) is printing, cancels the
print job ( batch). E nters the off line menu
mode or re turns the display to the next
higher m enu.



Displa ys the previous m enu item.



Displa ys the next m enu item.



and 

Prints a test label when you press the
buttons a t the sam e time. H old for one
second a nd release.

4

Loading RFID Labels

The RFID supplies are s ensitive to static electricity and can
be damaged by stati c electricity. Ground you rself by
touching some met al, such as the printer’s m etal base,
before handling th e supplies.

Refer to t he 9855 Op erator's H andbook for
additional supply loading instructions if using non-RFID
supplies i n your RFID printer .

1. Open the c over.

2. Unlock t he printhead by turning the retain ing latch.

3. Lift the pr inthead ass embly us ing the printhea d tab

until the assembl y locks into pl ace.

4. Place th e roll of sup ply on the supply hold er. For

labels, t he supply u nrolls from the top or t he bottom .
For tags, make sure the supply u nrolls from the
bottom , because tag rolls are wound face in. Do not

pick up the printer by the supp ly holder.

Printhead
Tab

Deflector

Tab

5

5. Adjust the supply holder guides so the sides barely
touch the roll. Mak e sure the s upply roll turns freel y.

If you are using fan-fold supplies, place the
supply st ack behind the printer , label sid e facin g
up.

6. Push down on the supply lever to unlock the supply
guides.

7. Lay the l abel strip ac ross the s upply guide so that a
few inches extend pas t the fro nt of the pri nter. Tuc k
the suppl y under the nibs and in be tween the die cut
sensor. Do not feed supply between the supply roller
and deflec tor.

For fan-fold supplies, lay the label strip over the
supply holder and across the supply guide so that
a few inc hes extend p ast the fr ont of the pr inter.
Tuck the supply under the nibs and in between the
die cut se nsor.

Supply

Holder
Guides

Supply Lever

6

8. For tag supplies using the optional knife, feed the
supply thro ugh the knife. Mak e sure at least 0.5 inches
of suppl y is past the knife.

9. Adjust the supply guides so they touch the supply.
Push up on the suppl y lever to lock the supp ly guides
into place.

10. Hold the pri nthead assembl y by the printhead ta b while
pressing down on the printhead release.

Deflector

Supply Roller

Tag

Die Cut Sensor

Supply
Lever

7

11. Close the printhead by
pressing d own on the
thumb well un til you
hear it click into place.

12. Close the cover.

13. Press Feed/Cut several

times t o feed at l east
three labels/tags to
properl y position the
supply and the ribbon.

Loading Labels for the Optional Pee l Mode

Peel mod e (on-dem and) mus t be purchas ed separate ly. In
peel mode , the prin ter separa tes the back ing paper f rom
the label. The next label is not print ed until the c ompleted
one is rem oved from the printer . Make sur e the print er is
configure d for on-demand mode and t he correc t supply
type is insta lled. The minimum feed length is 1.5 inch es
for peel mode. Hold the leading edge of peeled labels
when print ing labels longer than six inches. You m ust use
non-per forated su pplies for p eel mode. Follow the s teps
for load ing supplies from the previous sec tion. The n,
follow thes e steps after you clos e the printhead.

1.

Remove the labels from the firs t 10 inches of the

backing pap er.

2.

Press down on the exi t cover tabs to open the exit

cover on t he front of the printer .

8

3.

Feed the backing pa per over the peel bar .

4.

Feed the backing pa per through the lo wer opening of

the exit c over. Clos e the exit cover. Pull down on the
backing pap er to remove any slac k.

When removing the backing pap er, pull up
across the saw-toothed tear edge . Make sure

the back ing paper te ars at the e dge.

5.

Close the pri nter's cove r.

6.

Press Feed/Cut severa l times to feed at leas t three

labels/t ags to proper ly position the suppl y and the
ribbon.

Peel

Bar

Lower

Opening

Tear

Edge

Backing

Paper

9

Adjusting the Wide/Narrow Knobs

You ma y need to adj ust the two w ide/narro w knobs
accordin g to the width of your su pply. For suppl y that is
more than two inches, adjust th e knobs to the wide setting.
For suppl y that is two inches or less , adjust the knobs to
the narro w setting.

You must adjust both of the knobs to the sam e position .
If you ex perience ri bbon smudg ing in cold , dry

environm ents, adjust the wi de/narrow knobs to the wide
setting.

For wide sup plies, push down an d turn the wide/narr ow
knobs clock wise with a scre wdriver.

For narro w supplies , turn the wi de/narro w knobs cou nter­clockwis e with a scre wdriver un til it pops back up.

The adjus tment is sh own in the wide posit ion.

Wide/Narrow Knobs

10

Loading Ribbon

1.

Open the cover .

2.

Unlock the pri nthead by tur ning the r etaining latch.

3.

Lift printhead assembl y using the pr inthead ta b until

the assem bly locks into place.

4.

Push the deflector tab down.

5.

Slide the extr a ribbon cor e on the tak e-up r eel as far

as it will go with the "This End Out" wr iting facing out.
Use your em pty ribbo n core as th e take-up cor e. The
take-up core only fits on the take-up reel one way.

6.

Remove the ne w ribbon fr om the pack age. Do not

wrinkle or crush th e new ribbon.

7.

Slide the rib bon onto the back reel as far as it will go.

Carefull y unwind a f ew inches of ribbon from the
bottom of the roll.

Note: Make sure the “This End Out” wr iting is fac ing

out. The ribbon roll only fits on the reel one way.

Printhead
Tab

Deflector
Tab

11

8.

Carefully fee d the ribbo n under bot h ribbon r ollers and

printhead.

9.

Align the ribb on and mak e sure it is s traight a nd

centered throughout the path.

10.

Tape the ribb on to the take-up core. Do not t ape the

ribbon t o the take-up re el.

11.

Rotate the tak e-up cor e until th e leader is p ast the

printhead.

12.

Remove an y slack in the ribbon by turning the take-up

reel cl ockwise .

13.

Hold the pri nthead assembl y by the printhead ta b while

pressing down on the printhead release.

14. Close the printhead by pressin g down on t he thumb
well until you hear it click into place. Clos e the cover.

15. Press Feed/Cut s everal tim es to feed at least thre e
labels/t ags to proper ly position the suppl y and the
ribbon.

Printing

Before you print, m ake sure the printer is c onnected a nd
ready to rec eive data.

When you turn on the RFID printer, “Monarch Initializing”
flashes br iefly and then you see “ Print Mode Read y.” If an
error occurs while the printer is initializing, the error
message f lashes bri efly on th e display and then you s ee
“Print Mo de Ready.” The printer displays “ Not avail able”
when you try to select the RFID menus if the module is
inoperat ive.

Take-up Core

Take-u p Reel

Ribbon

Rollers

12

The print er accepts RFID and non-RFID batches once you
see “Pri nt Mode Rea dy.”

1. Downloa d a format and a batch. Refer to the Packet
Referenc e Manual for infor mation on downl oading print

jobs.

2. The printer prints a strip of labe ls or labels in on­demand m ode. If pri nting RFID s upplies, you see

RFID Printing…
1 of 10

If the RFI D tag is no t programm able for a ny
reason, th e label may print with an overstrike
pattern, indicating that it shoul d not be used. Your
System Administrator should set the desire d Error
Action acc ordingl y.

When print ing on non-RFID supplies, you may also
see a label with an overstrike pattern. Do not use
that label. When usin g “overstrike” as the Error
Action, t he data pri nts on the n on-RFID label, but
there is n o data print ed on the R FID label.

Note: T he RFID pri nter pauses while progr amming th e

RFID tag.

3. Remove the pr inted labels. If the printer will be
unused for extended periods of time, we recommend
leaving th e printhead unlatc hed.

Clearing Jams

When you are pr inting and a jam occurs, the Fault ligh t on
the print er's front p anel blink s.

1.

Turn off the pr inter and open the co ver and pri nthead

assembly.

2.

If necessary, r emove the label roll and ribbon.

3.

Remove the jam med labels and reloa d the label roll.

4.

Close the pri nthead assem bly and tur n on the pr inter.

5.

Press Feed/Cut severa l times to feed at leas t three

labels/t ags to proper ly position the suppl y and the
ribbon.

13

Voids

Streaks

Cleaning

You must c lean the pr inthead as described below to
maintain printhead l ife.

CAUTION: Do not use shar p objects to clean th e

printhea d or touch t he printhea d. This m ay
damage th e printhea d and requir e a servic e
charge.

The rate a nd frequenc y at which you print d etermines how
often you must clean the printer. You ma y need to clea n
the printh ead, sensor, and p laten roller:

if there is an y adhesive build-up in the supply path.
after print ing approximat ely three rolls of

thermal tr ansfer/th ermal direct supplies or
after eac h ribbon.

daily if your printer is in an ex cessivel y
dirty, hot , or humid environment .

if you fre quently rec eive suppl y error
codes or when you see voids or stre aking
in the pr int as sho wn.

1.

Turn off the pr inter and open the

cover and printhead assembly.

2.

Remove the label roll and ribbon (when cleaning the

printhead).

3.

Press down on the exi t cover tabs to open the exit

cover on t he front of the printer .

14

4. Clean the platen roller when you see significant
adhesive bu ild-up or a label is wrapped around the
platen r oller. Use a dr y, soft-br istle brush, s uch as a
toothbrus h, to clean the
platen r oller.

If the brush d oes not
remove all th e adhesive,
use isopropyl alcohol on
the plate n roller. Moisten
a cotton s wab with
isopropyl alcohol and run
the cotto n swab acros s
the platen r oller.
Turn the p laten roller with your finger to m ake sure
the platen r oller is clean all the way around. After
cleaning, feed sever al inches of supply thr ough
without pr inting to r emove an y remaining isopropyl
alcohol.

5. Rub the c otton swab m oistened w ith isoprop yl alcohol
across the p eel bar and remove an y build-up.

6. Moisten another cott on
swab with isoprop yl
alcohol. Rub the cott on
swab across the
printhea d and remov e
any build-up. You may
need to us e a printhe ad
CLEAN-STRIP if the
printhead is extr emely
dirty or you see stre aks
on the supply.

7. Rub the c otton swab
across th e supply
sensor and d ie cut sensor and rem ove any build-up.

Platen Roller

Printhead

Supply

Sensor

15

8. Clean the bui ld-up in the s upply path.

9. Let the pr inter dr y before you reload sup plies.

10. Push on t he exit co ver firm ly to close it. Both latc hes

will click into place. Close the cover and printhead
assembly.

11. Turn on the pr inter and press Feed/Cut sever al times
to feed at leas t three labels/ta gs to properly pos ition
the supply and the ribbon. Resend your format, batch,
and check digit pack ets.

Troubleshooting

This secti on lists c ommon probl ems and th eir solutions .
For more detailed inf ormation, r efer to the Operator’s
Handbook avai lable on our W eb site.

Problem Action

Error m essage
appears dur ing
startup

Turn OFF the pri nter, wait f ifteen
seconds a nd then tur n ON the
printer. Cal l Service.

Does not print . Check supply and ribbon, send a

correcte d format and batch.
Does not feed. Set wi de/narrow knobs correctly.
Partiall y printed

data.

Clean pr inthead, sen d a corrected

format pac ket.
Printing shadows/

smears. L ight or
Heavy Printing.

Clean pr inthead, cha nge

supply/r ibbon, adjus t print con trast,

check wid e/narrow k nobs.
Voids in print ing. Clean pr inthead, cha nge suppli es.
Serial bar codes

do not sc an.

Unlatch pr inthead when not i n use,

set print spe ed to 2.5 IPS, adjust

print contr ast.
Backing p aper is

wrapped ar ound
platen/pe el roller.

Carefull y remove the back ing

paper. T ear backing paper at t he

tear edge in peel m ode.
Blank lab els print

or 750 errors .

Clean supp ly sensors.

Printer d oes not
read or progr am
the RFID t ag.

See your S ystem Administra tor.

16

Common Errors

If the act ion does not resolve t he problem , call Ser vice.

Error Action
002

Name m ust be 1 to 8 c haracters i nside quot es.

005

Supply width is invalid .

018

Code page selection defined in the field is invalid.

025

Data lengt h is too lon g.

101

Format refer enced by batc h not in memory.

400

Invalid c haracter fo llowing {.

403

Field sep arator was not found.

409

Delete unused formats or graphics from memory.

410

Parity m ismatch.

411

Framing er ror (baud r ate mism atch).

412

Flow contr ol mism atch.

413

Check f or a flow contr ol probl em.

611

Font, bar cod e, or density in the ba tch is invalid.

612

The batch data is m issing or in valid.

613

Referenc e point off supply.

614

Field off sup ply or invalid char acter in packet.

703

Calibrat ion error. Load the corr ect suppl y type.

704

Supply err or. Press

Escape/Clear

. Load supply.

751 Supply error. Pres s Escape/Clear. Load supply.
752

Printer s ensed a m ark in the wr ong place .

753

Printer se nsed a mark that is too lo ng.

754

Ribbon jam. Load ribbon.

755

Printhea d is open. Close the printhead.

756

Load sup plies.

757 Load supplies. Pres s Feed/Cut.
758

Check f or a label jam or reload s upplies.

763 Waiting to dispe nse label. Press Feed/Cut.
765

Less than 8 ba d dots in format area . Press

Escape/Clear.

768

More than 8 bad dots in format ar ea. Replac e or
connect pri nthead.

17

RFID Errors

See the RFID Applica tion Notes for m ore inform ation.
Check with you r System Administrator about the format.
The print er does not recal ibrate (feed a blank label) after
an RFID error .

Error Description/Action

052

Data type in th e RFID Data Field is invalid.

053

The start ing block i n the RFID D ata Field is invalid.

226

Rule Record Line xx. Upload device is invalid.

228

Memory clas s identifier is in valid.

229

Byte code is invalid.

230

Lock code is invalid.

715

Invalid data length/data mismatch in the RFI D Data
Field. T his error a lso occurs when there is an error
in the Expanded C1Gen2 fields.

732

RFID Hardware Error. A non-R FID printer received a
format c ontaining an RFID Data Field.

740

Command , hardware, or m emory allocation er ror.

741

RFID tag missing - no t found in the area i nside the
printer wher e the RFID tag is pro grammed. Chec k
supply lo ading. Mak e sure the RF ID tag was not
moved out of the pro grammable r ange.

742

Tag erase failed. T he RFID tag was found in the RF
Field, but could not be erased.

743

Program tag failed. The RFID t ag was foun d in the
RF Field, but could not be progr ammed.

744

Tag lock ed fail. Th e RFID tag is unable t o be
program med because it is alrea dy locked.

746

Lock tag f ail. The R FID tag has not been l ocked to
prevent r eprogramm ing.

747

Time out failure. An RFID com mand (re ad, program ,
etc.) has failed to complete in the maximum amount
of allowed tim e.

748

Invalid da ta length/d ata mism atch from RFI D
interroga tor module .

749

RFID Verif y Fail. The RFID verific ation proces s
failed after writing (pro gramming) t ag.

18