Intermec EasyCoder F4, EasyCoder F4Compact, EasyCoder F4 Compact Industrial Installation Instructions Manual

Installation
Instructions

Thermal Print­head for
EasyCoder F4
and EasyCoder
F4 Compact
Industrial

Information in this manual is subject to change without prior notice and does not represent a com­mitment on the part of Intermec Printer AB.

© Copyright Intermec Printer AB, 2002. All rights reserved. Published in Sweden.

EasyCoder, EasyLAN, Fingerprint, and LabelShop are registered trademarks of Intermec Tech­nologies Corp. The word Intermec, the Intermec logo, InterDriver, PrintSet, and Duratherm are
trademarks of Intermec Technologies Corp.

Printhead for EasyCoder F4 & F4 Compact Industrial, Installation Instructions

1

EasyCoder F4-Series—Printhead Replacement

Simple precautions

Why does the printhead wear out?

The EasyCoder F4 and F4 Compact Industrial are fi tted with8
dots/mm high-performance thermal printheads. When the
media is fed past the printhead, small resistor elements (dots) on
the printhead are electrically charged and thereby heated. The
heat from the dots is transferred to the direct thermal paper or
the thermal transfer ribbon so as to form the dot pattern which
makes up the text, images, or bar codes.

Printhead wear-out is an inevitable process which applies to all
thermal printers regardless of brand. During printing, the dots
must be heated and cooled off very rapidly, which in combina­tion with mechanical abrasion sooner or later will wear out the
printhead, making the printout gradually weaker. Some dots may
even cease to produce any imprint.

Some simple measures can be taken by the user to prevent pre­mature wear-out:

• Clean the printhead regularly, as described in the User’s
Guide. Not only will a dirty printhead produce an inferior
printout, but any residue on the dots will prevent heat to dis­sipate through the media.

• Follow the recommendations regarding Paper Type setup in
the User’s Guide. Too much energy to the printhead will wear
it out rapidly.

• Do not use higher Print Speed setting than necessary.

• Low ambient temperature requires more energy to the print­head dots than room temperatures and will therefore cause
more wear to the printhead. High print speed accelerates the
wear. Thus, at low temperatures, select as low a print speed as
acceptable.

• Do not use a higher Contrast setting than necessary, espe­cially not in combination with the highest Label Constant or
Ribbon Constant settings.

• Do not use a higher printhead pressure than necessary.

• Never print outside the media path. Dots that are not in
contact with the media will not be cooled properly.

Printhead for EasyCoder F4 & F4 Compact Industrial, Installation Instructions2

EasyCoder F4-Series—Printhead Replacement

• When using media with less than full width, be careful to
adjust the printhead lift arm so there is an even pressure
across the media. Not only will an uneven pressure impair the
printout quality, but it may also prevent the dots from being
properly cooled. Moreover, a sharp outer media edge in direct
contact with the printhead may cause excessive mechanical
wear on some dots, which may be visible when printing on
wider media later.

• When using preprinted labels or labels with some type of var­nish or non-standard top coating for direct thermal printing,
use original Intermec labels or inks recommended by leading
manufacturers of direct thermal media. The labels must not
contain any aggressive substances such as chloride or grinding
substances such as titanium dioxide.

• Only use original Intermec transfer ribbons or ribbons recom­mended by Intermec.

This Installation Instruction booklet illustrates an EasyCoder F4
printer. For an EasyCoder F4 Compact Industrial, the installa­tion procedure is the same printer even if the appearance of some
parts differ. If the printer is fi tted with an optional printhead
spring (EasyCoder F4 only), the spring must be removed to allow
the printhead to be pulled out and refi tted after the replacement
printhead has been installed.

Caution!

Always switch off the power while replacing the printhead. The
printer must be restarted before it automatically resets itself for
the characteristics of the new printhead.

Simple precautions, cont.

Printhead for EasyCoder F4 & F4 Compact Industrial, Installation Instructions

3

EasyCoder F4-Series—Printhead Replacement

Step-by-Step Instructions

Open the side door.

Turn the printhead lift lever clockwise to raise the

printhead.

1 2

Remove the media and transfer ribbon.

Pull the printhead bracket away from the magnet in

the pressure arm.

3

4

Printhead for EasyCoder F4 & F4 Compact Industrial, Installation Instructions4

EasyCoder F4-Series—Printhead Replacement

Step-by-Step Instructions, cont.

Disconnect the printhead bracket from the print
mechanism as indicated by the arrows and pull out the

printhead as far as the cables allow.

6

5

Disconnect the cables from the printhead. Note the
snap-lock on the inner connector. Pull at the connec-

tors–not at the cables!

Snap-Lock

Connect the two cables to the replacement printhead.

Put back the printhead in reverse order and check that

the printhead cables run freely.

87

Printhead for EasyCoder F4 & F4 Compact Industrial, Installation Instructions

5

EasyCoder F4-Series—Printhead Replacement

Step-by-Step Instructions, cont.

9

Load a new supply of media and ribbon, as described

in the User’s Guide

Turn the printhead lift lever counterclockwise so the

magnet engages the printhead bracket.

10

Intermec Printer AB

Idrottsvägen 10, P.O. Box 123
S-431 22 Mölndal, Sweden

tel [phone]

fax [phone]

www.intermec.com

*1-960479-02*

*1-960479-02*

Thermal Printhead for EasyCoder F4 & F4 Compact Industrial, Installation Instructions