Century FALCON 4D User Manual

P/N. MD4206U-01

Edition 1
June 2004

Century Falcon 4D User Manual

Table of Contents

FCC COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

FOR AMERICAN USERS

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 instructions, may cause harmful interference
to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in
which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his/her own expense.

EMS AND EMI COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

FOR EUROPEAN USERS

This equipment has been tested and passed with the requirements relating to electromagnetic compatibility based
on the standards EN50081-1 (EN55022 CLASS A) and EN61000-4-2/-3/-4/-5/-6/-8/-11 (IEC Teil 2,3,4). The
equipment also tested and passed in accordance with the European Standard EN55022 for the both Radiated and
Conducted emissions limits.

FALCON 4D Serial

TO WHICH THIS DECLARATION RELATES

IS IN CONFORMITY WITH THE FOLLOWING STANDARDS

EN55022 : 1998,CLSPR 22 , Class A / EN55024 : 1998 IEC 61000-4 Serial / EN61000-3-2 : 2000 / EN 61000-3-3 :
1995 / CRF 47, Part 15/CISPR 22 3rd Edition : 1997,Class A / ANSI C63.4 : 2001 / CNS 13438,CISPR 22(Class A) /
IEC60950 3rd Edition (1999) / GB4943 : 2001 / GB9254 : 1998 / GB17625.1 : 2003

CAUTION
Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced
Replace only with the equivalent type recommended by the manufacture.
Dispose of used batteries according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

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WARRANTY INFORMATION ..........................................................................................II

HAPTER 1 – BARCODE PRINTER .............................................................................. 1

C

1-1 Introduction.......................................................................................................................... 1

1-2 Printer Models ..................................................................................................................... 1

1-3 Printer Accessories.............................................................................................................. 1

1-4 General Specifications......................................................................................................... 2

1-5 Communication Interface.....................................................................................................3

1-6 Printer Parts......................................................................................................................... 4

CHAPTER 2 – PRINTER INSTALLATION........................................................................ 5

2-1 Ribbon Installation............................................................................................................... 5

2-2 Label Installation.................................................................................................................. 6

2-3 Label Roll Core Installation Instruction................................................................................ 7

2-4 Card / Hang tags Installation ...............................................................................................8

2-5 USB Installation................................................................................................................... 8

2-6 USB Uninstallation............................................................................................................. 10

2-7 PC Connection .................................................................................................................. 11

CHAPTER 3 – OPTIONS INSTALLATION ..................................................................... 12

3-1 Stripper Parts..................................................................................................................... 12

3-2 Stripper Installation............................................................................................................ 12

3-3 Stripper Installation Diagram ............................................................................................. 14

3-4 Cutter Parts ....................................................................................................................... 15

3-5 Cutter Installation............................................................................................................... 15

3-6 Extended Memory Parts .................................................................................................... 17

3-7 Extended Memory Installation ........................................................................................... 18

3-8 Ethernet Parts.................................................................................................................... 19

3-9 Ethernet Installation........................................................................................................... 19

CHAPTER 4 – LED MESSAGE DESCRIPTION ............................................................. 21

4-1 LED Status ........................................................................................................................ 21

4-2 General Operation............................................................................................................. 21

4-3 Self-Test ............................................................................................................................ 21

4-4 Dump Mode....................................................................................................................... 23

4-5 Auto Sensing ..................................................................................................................... 23

4-6 Direct Thermal / Thermal Transfer Mode Switch............................................................... 23

4-7 Error Messages ................................................................................................................. 24

CHAPTER 5 – MAINTENANCE AND ADJUSTMENT ....................................................... 25

5-1 Thermal Print Head Cleaning ............................................................................................ 25

5-2 Thermal Print Head Balance Adjustment .......................................................................... 25

5-3 Print Line Adjustment ........................................................................................................ 26

5-4 Adjust the Cutter................................................................................................................ 26

5-5 Troubleshooting................................................................................................................. 27

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Chapter 1 - Barcode Printer

1-1. Introduction

The Century Systems FALCON 4D series is a desktop thermal transfer / direct thermal label printer. With plastic
outer casing, the FALCON 4D series is designed to be a lightweight and a low cost printer for large variety of printing
requirement. Its features are as follows:

 Direct Thermal and Thermal Transfer Printing Mode
 Print head density of 8 dots or 12dots per mm (203 or 300 dots per inch)
 Memory for label, graphics, and fonts download (approximately 100KB)
 Optional Real Time Clock for time recording and tracking
 Internal 5” (125mm) label roll capacity and 300M (Max O.D. 64mm) ribbon length (1” core size)
 Standard 2MB RAM for Maximum 68” print length
 Optional stripper module for label
 Optional cutter for ticketing or receipt printing applications
 Free Bundle of label editing software QLabel III

1-2. Printer Models

CFD-4206 (203 DPI) CFD-4306 (300 DPI)

1-3. Printer Accessories

After unpacking, please check the accessories that come with the package, and store them appropriately.

Barcode Printer Power Cables (110V and 230V) Switching Power Adapter

Parallel Port Cable Serial Port Cable (Optional) USB Cable

Label Roll Core Ribbon Shaft (2pcs) Empty Roll Core

Label Roll Sample Ribbon Roll Sample Quick Start Guide

CD (including Software/Manual/Driver/DLL)

Print Head Cleaning Card 15. Warranty Card / Warranty Information

* If a different power supply is used with the printer which has caused damages to the printer itself, then

this is not covered as part of the product warranty.

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1-4. General Specifications

Model Name
Resolution 203 dpi (8 dot/mm) 300 dpi (12 dot/mm)
Print Mode Thermal Transfer / Direct Thermal Thermal Transfer / Direct Thermal
CPU 16 Bit
Sensor Location Moveable, center aligned
Sensor Type Reflective
Sensor
Detection
Print Speed 2~4 IPS Standard

Print Length Min. 12mm (0.47”); Max. 1727mm (68”) Min. 12mm (0.47”); Max. 762mm (30”)
Print Width 104mm (4.10") 104mm (4.10")
Media Label Roll OD: Max. 127mm (5”)

Ribbon Length: 300M (981 ft)

Printer
Language
Software Application: QLabel-III

Resident Fonts 9 resident alphanumeric fonts (included OCR A & B) those are expandable 8 times horizontally

CFD-4206 CFD-4306

Type: Label gap, black mark, and punch hole sensing.
Detection: Label length auto sensing and / or program command setting

2~3 IPS
5~6 IPS can be achieved (media
dependant)

Core Diameter: 1”, 1.5”, 3”
Width: 25mm (1 “) ~ 118mm (4.65”)
Thickness: 0.06~0.3mm (0.0025”~0.012”)

Max. ribbon roll OD: 64mm (2.52 “)
Type: transfer ribbons (wax, hybrid, and resin) in widths of 30mm to 110mm (1.88” to 4.33”)
Core Inner Diameter: 25.4mm (1”)

EZPL; Firmware Downloadable

DLL & Driver: Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000 and XP

and vertically. All fonts in 8 directions rotation. 6,8,10,12,14,18,24,30 points

Fonts Download Windows Bit-map fonts and Asian fonts downloadable. All fonts in 8 directions rotation.
Image Handling PCX, BMP (With QLabel Software Supporting ICO, WMF, JPG, EMF).
Barcode Code 39, Code 93, Code 128 (subset A, B, C), UCC/EAN-128 K-Mart, UCC/EAN-128, UPC A /

E (add on 2 & 5), I 2 of 5, I 2 of 5 with Shipping Bearer Bars, EAN 8 / 13 (add on 2 & 5),
Codabar, Post NET, EAN 128, DUN 14, MaxiCode, HIBC, Plessey, Random Weight, Telepen,
FIM, China Postal Code, RPS 128, PDF417 & Datamatrix code (QR code available)

Interface Serial, Parallel, USB
Interface
Transmission
Memory DRAM: 2MB, FLASH: 1MB
LED Display LED * 2, Bi-Color

Power Auto Switching 100/240VAC, 50/60 Hz
Environment Operation: 40°F to 104°F (5°C to 40°C)

Humidity Operation: 30-85%, non-condensing. Free air.

Cert. Approval CE, FCC Class A, CCC, CB, CUL, BSMI
Printer
Dimension

Options Rotary Cutter Module

Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Baud rate 4800 ~ 38400, XON/XOFF, DSR/DTR

Function Key * 1,FEED

Storage: -40°F to 122°F (-20°C to 50°C)

Storage: 10-90%, non-condensing. Free air.

Length: 285mm (11.2”)
Height: 171mm (6.8”)
Width: 226mm (8.9”)
Weight: 2.72Kg

Stripper Module
1MB Flash Expansion Card + RTC (Real Time Clock)
2 MB Flash Expansion Card + RTC (Real Time Clock)
Internal Ethernet Adapter Card

2

1-5. Communication Interface

Parallel Interface

Interface cable

Pin out

PIN NO. FUNCTION TRANSMITTER
1
2-9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19-30
31
32
33
34-35
36

Serial Interface

Serial Default
Setting

RS232 HOUSING (9-pin to 9-pin)
DB9 SOCKET DB9 PLUG

--- 1 1 +5V,max 500mA
RXD 2 2 TXD
TXD 3 3 RXD
DTR 4 4 DSR
GND 5 5 GND
DSR 6 6 DTR
RTS 7 7 N/C
CTS 8 8 RTS
RI 9 9 N/C

PC

NOTE: The total voltage output from parallel port and serial port altogether can not exceed 500mA.

USB Interface
Connector Type : Type B

PIN NO. 1 2 3 4

Parallel cable compatible with IBM PC

:

See below

:

/Strobe
Data 0-7
/Acknowledge
Busy
/Paper empty
/Select
/Auto-Linefeed
N/C
Signal Gnd
Chassis Gnd
+5V,max 500mA
Signal Gnd
/Initialize
/Error
Signal Ground
N/C
/Select-in

9600 baud rate, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, XON/XOFF protocol and RTS/CTS

:

host / printer
host
printer
printer
printer
printer
host / printer

host
host / printer
printer

host / printer

PRINTER

FUNCTION USBVCC D- D+ GND

3

1-6. Printer Parts

Please use the following diagrams to identify each printer part.

1 Cover Open Button 11 LED Light (Ready) 21 Power Socket

2 Top Cover 12 LED Light (Status) 22 USB Port

3 Label Roll Core 13 FEED Key 23 Parallel Port

4 Ribbon Rewind Wheel 14 Print Line Adj. Gear 24 Serial Port

5 Print Mechanism 15 Ribbon Supply Shaft 25 Ethernet Socket (Option)

Ribbon Rewind Shaft + Empty

6

Ribbon Take Up Core

7 Locking Tenon (left/right) 17 Label Sensor

8 Front Cover Piece 18 Platen Roller

9 Memory Card Cover 19 Fan-Fold Label Insert

Print Head Pressure Adj. Screw

10

(left/right)

16 Label Guide

20 Power Switch

4

Chapter 2 - Printer Installation

This printer model has the following print modes:

Thermal Transfer (TT): When printing, ribbon must be installed to transfer the print contents onto the media.

Direct Thermal (DT): When printing, no ribbon is necessary; it only requires direct thermal media.

2-1. Ribbon Installation

1. Place the printer onto a
smooth surface, and open the
top cover.

2. Loosen and then lift the upper
print mechanism by pressing
the locking tenons.

3. Take out the ribbon supply
shaft and rewind shaft.

4. Place the new ribbon roll onto
the ribbon supply shaft.

5. Feed the ribbon from the
Ribbon Supply Shaft under
the Print Head.

6. Wrap the ribbon around the
Ribbon Shaft and stick the
ribbon onto the Empty Ribbon
Roll Core.

7. Firmly close the upper print
mechanism.

5

2-2. Label Installation

1. Open the top cover.

2. Place the label roll onto the Label Roll
Core,

3. Loosen and lift the upper print
mechanism by pressing the locking
tenons.

4. Feed the label through the two Label
Guides to the Tear-off Bar.

5. Align the label guides to the label edge.

6. Close the upper print mechanism from
the top to finish label installation.

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