Brother P-TOUCH PC User Manual

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PROFESSIONAL LABELING SYSTEM

USE R’ S GU ID E

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Congratulations

Thank you for purchasing the P-TOUCH PC EDITOR and the P-TOUCH PC Printer.
Your new system will help you design and print labels for any application. Extremely versatile,

it can create characters of many styles and sizes, as well as barcodes and graphics. You will be
able to store label data and formats into database files and import graphics and text from other
applications.

In addition, by using the variety of tape cassettes available, you can print labels with different
widths and exciting colors.

FCC NOTICE

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 inter
ference 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. FHowever, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installa
tion. If this equipment does cause 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:

— Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
— Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
— Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is con

nected.

— Consult the dealer or an experienced radio,TTV technician for help.

Important - About the interface cable

This printer has been certified to comply with FCC standards, which are applied to the U.S.A. only. A
shielded interface cable should be used according to FCC 1 5.27(c). In addition, a grounded plug should be
plugged into a grounded AC outlet after checking the rating of the local power supply for the printer to
operate properly and safely.

Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Brother Industries, Ltd. could void the user's authority
to operate the equipment.

This product is covered by one or more of the following patents.

USP4839742
USP4922063
USP4927278
USP4966476
USP4976558

USP4983058
USP5009530
USP5069557
USP5120147

EP315369
EP322918
EP322919

GB2223740

Table of contents

Unpacking......................................................................................................................................1

P-TOUCH PC Printer............................................................................................................................ 1

Connection cables (for IBM and Macintosh compatible computers)

P-TOUCH PC Printer software..............................................................................................................2

AC adaptor............................................................................................................................................2

Guarantee............................................................................................................................................2

Tape catalog.........................................................................................................................................2

Order form...........................................................................................................................................2

Laminated tape (one piece).................................................................................................................3

Precautions....................................................................................................................................4

Connecting the P-TOUCH PC Printer.................................................................................5

Tape cassettes..............................................................................................................................6

Inserting a tape cassette......................................................................................................................6

Label stick..................................................................................................9

...............................................

1

Cleaning the print head and rollers..........................................................

How to clean the print head and rollers...........................................................................................10

10

Troubleshooting.......................................................................................ii

Specifications.............................................................................................................................

Hardware.......................................................................................................................................... 12

Software............................................................................................................................................ 13

Interface connector...........................................................................................................................14

Transmission controls....................................................................................................................... 15

Commands........................................................................................................................................ 15

Escape sequences............................................................................................................................. 16

Tape width and print area................................................................................................................ 18

12

Unpacking

P-TOUCH PC Printer

Connection cables (for IBM and Macintosh compatible
computers)

P-TOUCH PC Printer software

AC adaptor

This AC adaptor has been speciaMy designed for use with your P-TOUCH
PC Printer. Do not attempt to use it to power another electrical appliance,
and never try to power your P-TOUCH PC Printer with another AC adap
tor.

Guarantee

Please read this guarantee carefully and keep it in a safe place.

Tape catalog

The tape catalog gives you a list of the many different tapes that you can
use with your P-TOUCH PC Printer.

Order form

Use this order form to order new tapes.

Laminated tape (one piece)

This tape is supplied so that you can start using your P-TOUCH PC Printer
immediately. Consult the tape catalog to order the specific kind of tape

that you may need.

Precautions

I P-TOUCH PC Printer

• To avoid injuries^ do not touch the cutter's edges.

• Do not touch the printer head. The printer head becomes hot when
workings and remains hot for a while after the power has been
switched off.

• Do not place the printer too close to a source of electromagnetic
interference such as a television set.

• Keep the printer out of direct sunlight.

• Avoid using the printer in extremely dusty places.

• Use the AC adaptor designed exclusively for the P-TOUCH PC
Printer.

• Disconnect the AC adaptor from the wall outlet if you do not
intend to use the printer for a long time.

• Do not clean the printer with alcohol or other organic solvents.

Use only a soft, dry cloth.

• Do not leave any rubber or vinyl on the machine for an extended
period of time. Doing so may cause staining.

I

Tape

• Do not pull on the tape. This may damage the tape cassette.

• After cutting a lettering tape, immediately remove the cut portion
of the tape to avoid jamming the tape exit.

I

Floppy disks

• Never open the shutter or touch the magnetic material.

• Keep floppy disks away from magnets or other sources of magnetic
field.

• Never expose the disk to extremely high or low temperatures.

Connecting the P-TOUCH PC Printer

Warning: Before you make any connection, be sure to switch off the
power to both the P-TOUCH PC Printer and the computer.

1. Connect the connection cable to the P-TOUCH PC Printer and to
the COM connector (IBM) or printer connector (Macintosh) of
your computer.

Note: (IBM only) The end of the cable with two connectors goes to the
computer side. Use the connector that is compatible with the COM port
of your computer, and leave the other connector unconnected.

2. Connect the AC adaptor to the P-TOUCH PC Printer and to an
AC outlet.

3. Switch the P-TOUCH PC Printer on.

4. Switch the computer on.

Note: To switch the system off, switch the computer off first, then the

P-TOUCH PC Printer and other peripherals.

Tape cassettes

A laminated tape cassette is supplied with the P-TOUCH PC Printer for
temporary use.

Other tapes are available in a wide range of background colors, type col
ors, and tape sizes. We encourage you to use this variety of tapes for color
coding and other style-intensive uses.

With this in mind, we have designed the P-TOUCH PC Printer to allow
quick and easy insertion and changing of tape cassettes.

Inserting a tape cassette

Note: When you insert or remove a tape cassette, be sure to place the

P-TOUCH PC Printer on a flat, stable surface.

1. Flip the cassette compartment cover knob to release the cassette

compartment cover.

2. Lift the cover so you can easily reach the tape cassette.

3. If there is a tape cassette already in the compartment, pull it

straight up to remove it.

4. Remove the stopper from a new tape cassette.

5. If the tape inside the cassette is loose, use your finger to wind it in
the direction of the arrow on the plastic tape cassette until it is
taut.

6. Insert the tape cassette firmly into the cassette compartment.

7. Shut the cassette compartment cover. The cover knob will auto
matically lock.

8. Put the P-TOUCH PC Printer in its working position (as shown
below), and press power switch to turn the LED indicator on.

Note: The LED indicator is lit when the printer is powered and opera­tion is normal. It flashes when an error is detected. See “Troubleshoot
ing” on page 11 for details.

9. Press the tape FEED/CUT button to remove any slack from the

tape.

Note: When you attempt solid black (or other color) printing, white
spots may appear in characters or graphics. This is caused by a printer

I protection function and is not a sign of malfunction.

Label stick

The attached stick enables the label backing of the tape to be removed
easily. You can also use it to rub instant lettering tapes.

To remove the tape backing

1. Hold the tape in the left hand with the printed surface upside,

and the stick in the right hand.

2. Pass the tape halfway through the slot of the stick.

3. After turning the stick inward halfway, pull the stick to the right.

To transfer the label to paper

Instant lettering tapes act as rub-on character transfers. After creating a
label, simply position the characters over a sheet of paper. By rubbing the
instant lettering tape's non-printed side with the attached label stick, you
can transfer the tape's contents directly onto paper.

Note: Hold the paper very firmly and do not allow it to move while rub

bing the tape.

Cleaning the print head and rollers

Occasionally, specks of dust or dirt may attach themselves to this
machine's print head or rollers. This is particularly likely when using the

unit outdoors, or in very dusty environment. When this occurs, the print
element obstructed by the dust cannot print, causing unprinted (blank) line
to stretch across the label. Vertical lines indicate dirty rollers; horizontal

lines indicate dirty print head.

Therefore, like a tape recorder, this machine's head and rollers may need
to be cleaned from time to time.

How to clean the print head and rollers

1. Turn off the machine.

2.

Open the cassette compartment cover and remove the tape cas
sette. The print head and rollers are located in the cassette com
partment.

3.

Print head: Wipe the print head gently with a dry cotton swab in
the up-down direction.
Rollers: Wipe each roller vertically with a dry cotton swab while
rotating the roller with your finger.

4.

Again try a practice print. If dust still remains^ dip the cotton
swab in isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and repeat step 3.

5.

If none of the above works, contact your service representative.

Warning: Do not touch the printer head with your finger. The printer
head becomes hot when working, and remains hot for a while after the
power has been switched off.

10

Troubleshooting

Problem

The printer does not print.

Zebra tape appears.

The LED indicator is not lit.

The LED indicator flashes.

Possible causes Remedy

The adaptor cable is
not firmly connected.

The tape cassette is not
properly inserted.

The cassette compart
ment cover is open.

Tape end Install a new tape cas

The adaptor cable is

not firmly connected.

• Cutter error

Connect the adaptor
cable firmly.

Insert the tape cassette
properly.

Close the cover.

sette, then press the
Feed/Cut button or
switch the printer off
and on again.

Connect the cable
firmly.

If this does not solve
the problem, contact
your dealer.

Remove any jammed
tape or adhesive from
the cutter.

Press the Feed/Cut but
ton or turn the printer
off and on again.

Lines appear on the printout

11

No tape cassette

The tape cassette was

replaced during data

transmission
Tape end

The print head and/or
the rollers are dirty.

Install a new tape cas
sette, then press the
Feed/Cut button or
switch the printer off
and on again.

Press the Feed/Cut but
ton or turn the printer
off and on again.

Install a new tape cas
sette, then press the

Feed/Cut button or
switch the printer off
and on again.

Clean the print head
and/or the rollers.

Specifications

Hardware

Main
unit

Interface

Tape cassette

Sensors

Power-on checks

When the power is turned on and the system initialized, if an error is detected, the LED is
turned off, DTR is set to BUSY (no Xoff) and the power remains on.

External error detection

When an error caused by noise or other external factors is detected, the power is turned
off.

Operation

Printer

Power source
Dimensions

Weight

Display: LED (Power/Error)
Switches: Power switch

Feed and cut switch

Printing system: Thermal copy laminating / thermal transfer
Print head: 180 dpi, 128 dots

Printing height: 18 mm

Print speed: 30 mm/s
AC Adaptor 9V 2A
82(W)x226(D)x167(H) mm
approximately 1.300 kg
RS232C or equivalent (9-pin)

Type: Laminating 6, 9, 12, 18, 24 mm

Non-laminating (thermal film tape) 24 mm
Lettering 12 mm

Tape length: 15 m
Tape: Tape end sensor (photo sensor)

Cutter: Cut position sensor (leaf switch)
Cassette: Cassette sensors (x4) (mechanical sensors)

12

Software

Printing

Buffer

Transmission
control

Commands

Print type:
Print condition:

Bit image only
Auto tape cut: ON / OFF
Left and right margins: small, medium, large, none

*Print buffer (normal):
**Reception buffer;

Baud rate;

Approximately 30KB (27 cm)
512B

9600 (fixed); data reception at 9600 bps
Busy output: Xon/off and DTR
Length:
Parity:

CR
LF
FF
CTRL-Z
ETX
ESC J

8 bits (fixed)

none (fixed)

Carriage return

Line feed

Print command

Print command with feed

Same as CTRL-Z

Line feed
ESC$ Absolute position assignment
ESC\
ESC*
ESC@

**

Relative position assignment

Bit image selection

Initialization
ESCiS Status request
ESCiM
ESCiD

Mode specification

Print density control
ESCiP Printing command for continuous page

Others

Tape cut ON / OFF

Tape end detection

Cutter error detection

Tape type / Tape detection (with or without)

*Print buffer: stores the print image that is printed by the thermal head
**Reception buffer: stores a received interface data temporarily until it is sent to the print
buffer

13

Interface connector

Q

Type
Pins

0

D-SUB9 PIN
© CD carrier detection
© RXD reception data
© TXD transmission data
© DTR data terminal ready
© GND signal earth
® DSR data set ready
© RTS transmission request
® CTS transmission enabled

0

(input) ignored
(input)
(output)
(output)

(input) ignored
(output) always on
(input) ignored

® Not connected

Items marked "ignored" are irrelevant and can be connected or left disconnected.

14

Transmission controls

Busy

Busy output

ON if one of the following is ON:

1. Buffer busy
ON if the remaining data area in the reception buffer is 256 bytes or less;
OFF if the remaining space in the reception buffer is 384 bytes or more.

2. Printer busy
ON during printing; OFF when not printing.

1. Entering busy condition:
Outputs a Xoff (13h) and requests to stop data transmission.
Turns off DTR and requests to stop data transmission.

2. Exiting busy condition:
Outputs a Xon (11 h) and allows data transmission.
Turns on DTR and allows data transmission.

Commands

Name Function

CR Carriage return
LF

FF Printing command

Line feed

code
OD
OA

OC

Hex

Moves to the beginning of the same line.
Feeds line by 24 dots; does not move when the print

buffer is empty; does not move to the beginning of
line.

Print the buffer data without ejecting; when the cut
mode is set to ON, the tape is cut when the cutting
position is reached; invalid when the print buffer is
empty.

Description

CTRL-Z Printing command

with feed

ETX

15

Printing command
with feed

1A

03 Same as CTRL-Z.

Print the buffer data and ejects; when the cut mode
is set to ON, the tape is cut after printing; when the
print buffer is empty, feeds the tape and cuts it off.

Escape sequences

Sequence

ESC+J+n

ESC+$+n1 +n2 Absolute position

ESC+\+n1 +n2 Relative position Moves by n1-i-256xn2=N dots from the current

ESC+*+m+n1+n2
+data bytes

Line feed

Selects bit image
printing

Function Description

Feeds line by 24 dots; invalid when the print
buffer is empty; does not move to the beginning
of line.
Any value can be used for n.

Moves by n1+256xn2=N dots (1/60 inch) from
the beginning of the line.
0<n1<255; 0<n2<2
The target position must be inside the page or
else an error is detected.

position. N is a signed integer. For a negative
number (-N), use 65536-N
0<n1<255; 0<n2<255
The target position must be inside the page or
else an error is detected.

Prints the bit image data “data byte”.
m=39 is the only valid value. Other values result
in the command being ignored.
n1=total number of dots modulus 256.
n2=total number of dots/256 (integer).
(n1-h256xn2)x3 image bytes are required.
Detects a print buffer error if the image extends

beyond the page limits.
ESC+@
ESC+i+D+byte

Initialization

Print density and bar

code controls

Clears all data in the print buffer.

bit 0 ~3: Print density control (default=3)

0: no change
1 ~5: five levels (other values invalid)

bit 4 and 5: Barcode control (default=3)

0: no change
1: no barcode
2: barcode only
3: including barcode

16

Sequence

Function

Description

ESC+i+M+byte

ESC+i+P

ESC+\+S

Mode setting

Print command for
continuous pages

Status information
request

bit 0 ~ 4: Feed amount (default=large)

0 ~ 7 none

8 ~11 small

12-25 medium

26 ~ 31 large

bit 6: Auto cut (default=ON)

OOFF

1 ON

bit 7: Mirror print (default=OFF)

OOFF

1 ON
This command should be set before sending
data.
Mirror printing is not possible with non-laminated
(thermal film) tapes.

Feed amount is automatically set to large with

lettering tapes.

Images longer than 27 cm can be printed contin
uously on connected pages; invalid when the
print buffer is empty; prints even if the only data
in the print buffer are spaces.

I -8 header: 80h, 20h, 42h, 30h, 30h, 30h,

OOh,OOh

9 error code

bitO: no tape
biti: tape end
bit2: cutter jam

10 error code

bitO: tape change error
biti: print buffer full
bit2: transmission error
bit3 reception buffer full

II tape width (1 ~127mm)

0: no tape

12 tape type (0-127)

0: unidentified tape
1: laminated tape
2; lettering (iron copy)

3: Non-laminated (thermal film) tape
13-15 OOh (fixed)
16 mode (same as for “Mode setting”)
17 print density (same as for “Print density

and barcode controls”)
18-32 irrelevant

17

Tape width and print area

The following illustration shows the relationship between the tape width and the print

area.

12mm

2mm

___1_______

2mm

9mm

1mm

1mm

6mm

1mm

3mm

3mm

24mm

18mm

10.5mm

Top Margin

Bottom Margin

Right Margin

Tape
Width

Left Margin

3mm

Page Length

The page maximum length is 1 m regardless of the tape width.

Left and right margins are as follows:

None

29 dots

Small

56 dots

Medium Large

86 dots

185 dots

Upper and lower margins are fixed. The following table shows the total height of the print
area for different tapes.

Tape width

Print area

(mm) (mm/dots)

24 18.0/128

Upper and lower margins

(mm)

3

Dot positions

U128

Printable lines

(1 llne=24 dots)

5 lines + 8 dots

18

t C. o.u/0/

9 6.9/49

6

12.0/85

3.9/28

3
o 0/1

c.

1 6M09

1

U85

UU 1

6U88

3 lines + 13 dots

L. Ill ICO T yj uu io

2 lines + 1 dot

1 line + 4 dots

18

brother»

UB7438001(B)
Printed in Japan