Intermec PB50 User Manual

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

User’s

Guide

Intermec Technologies Corporation

Worldwide Headquarters

6001 36th Ave.W.

Everett, WA 98203

U.S.A.

www.intermec.com

The information contained herein is provided solely for the purpose of allowing customers to operate and service Intermec-manufactured equipment and is not to be released, reproduced, or used for any other purpose without written permission of Intermec Technologies Corporation.

Information and specifications contained in this document are subject to change without prior notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Intermec Technologies Corporation.

The word Intermec, the Intermec logo, Norand, ArciTech, Beverage Routebook, CrossBar, dcBrowser, Duratherm, EasyADC, EasyCoder, EasySet, Fingerprint, i-gistics, INCA (under license), Intellitag, Intellitag Gen2, JANUS, LabelShop, MobileLAN, Picolink, Ready-to-Work, RoutePower, Sabre, ScanPlus, ShopScan, Smart Mobile Computing, SmartSystems, TE 2000, Trakker Antares, and Vista Powered are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Intermec Technologies Corporation.

There are U.S. and foreign patents as well as U.S. and foreign patents pending.

Wi-Fi is a registered certification mark of the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Bluetooth is a trademark of Bluetooth SIG, Inc., U.S.A.

ii	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Document Change Record

This page records changes to this document. The document was originally released as Revision 001.

Version
Number Date	Description of Change

00211/2008 These changes were made for the current release:

•Support for the ESC/P programming language.

•Addition of a radioless PB50 printer.

•Change to the Ready-to-Work indicator behavior.

•Addition of linerless media support.

•New icons for Bluetooth radio and addition of printhead lifted error message.

•Addition of power management options Sleep Timer and Standby Timer.

iii	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Contents

Before You Begin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Safety Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Global Services and Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Warranty Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii Web Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Telephone Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii Service Location Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

Who Should Read This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Related Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix

1 Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Learning About the PB50 Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 What’s New?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Identifying the Parts of the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Understanding the Printer Firmware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Understanding the Control Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Understanding the Printer Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Managing Power on the PB50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Using the Batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Installing the Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Charging the Batteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Understanding the Battery Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Extending Battery Life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Loading Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Printing a Testprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

2 Configuring the PB50. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Configuring the PB50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Understanding the Display Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Understanding Ready Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Understanding Information Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Understanding Pause Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Understanding Setup Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Understanding Error Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Understanding Test Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Changing Configuration Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Changing Configuration Settings From the Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Contents

Changing Configuration Settings From PrintSet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Changing Configuration Settings Using the Command Line . . . . . . . . 25

Changing Configuration Settings From the Printer Home Page . . . . . . 26

Changing Configuration Settings From SmartSystems Console. . . . . . 26

Establishing Communications With a Host . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Setting Up Bluetooth Communications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Setting Up 802.11 Radio Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Configuring Wireless Printing Using IPL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Configuring Wireless Printing Using Fingerprint . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Setting Up USB Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Setting Up Serial Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Upgrading the Firmware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Downloading Fonts and Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

3 Troubleshooting and Maintaining the PB50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Troubleshooting the PB50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Contacting Product Support. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Understanding Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Troubleshooting Printer Problems and Finding Solutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Troubleshooting Communication Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Using the Line Analyzer in Fingerprint. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Using Dump Mode in IPL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Cold Booting the PB50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Cleaning the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

A Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Accessories for the PB50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

B IPL and Fingerprint Setup Menus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

IPL Setup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Fingerprint Setup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

vi	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Before You Begin

This section provides you with safety information, technical support information, and sources for additional product information.

Safety Information

Your safety is extremely important. Read and follow all warnings and cautions in this document before handling and operating Intermec equipment. You can be seriously injured, and equipment and data can be damaged if you do not follow the safety warnings and cautions.

This section explains how to identify and understand warnings, cautions, and notes that are used in this document.

A warning alerts you of an operating procedure, practice, condition, or statement that must be strictly observed to avoid death or serious injury to the persons working on the equipment.

A caution alerts you to an operating procedure, practice, condition, or statement that must be strictly observed to prevent equipment damage or destruction, or corruption or loss of data.

Note: Notes either provide extra information about a topic or contain special instructions for handling a particular condition or set of circumstances.

Global Services and Support

Warranty Information

To understand the warranty for your Intermec product, visit the

Intermec web site at www.intermec.com and click Support >

Returns and Repairs > Warranty.

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

vii

Before You Begin

Web Support

Visit the Intermec web site at www.intermec.com to download our current manuals (in PDF). To order printed versions of the Intermec manuals, contact your local Intermec representative or distributor.

Visit the Intermec technical knowledge base (Knowledge Central) at intermec.custhelp.com to review technical information or to request technical support for your Intermec product.

Telephone Support

In the U.S.A. and Canada, call 1-800-755-5505.

Outside the U.S.A. and Canada, contact your local Intermec representative. To search for your local representative, from the Intermec web site, click About Us > Contact Us.

Service Location Support

For the most current listing of service locations, go to

www.intermec.com and click Support >Returns and Repairs >

Repair Locations.

For technical support in South Korea, use the after service locations listed below:

AWOO Systems

102-1304 SK Ventium

522 Dangjung-dong

Gunpo-si, Gyeonggi-do Korea, South 435-776 Contact: Mr. Sinbum Kang

Telephone: +82-31-436-1191 E-mail: mjyun@awoo.co.kr

IN Information System PTD LTD

6th Floor

Daegu Venture Center Bldg 95 Shinchun 3 Dong

Donggu, Daegu City, Korea

E-mail: jmyou@idif.co.kr or korlim@gw.idif.co.kr

viii	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Before You Begin

Who Should Read This Manual

This user’s guide is for the person who is responsible for installing, configuring, and maintaining the PB50 printer.

This guide provides you with information about the features of the PB50, and how to install, configure, operate, maintain, and troubleshoot it.

Before you work with the PB50, you should be familiar with your network and general networking terms, such as IP address.

Learning About the PB50 Printer

The PB50 and PB50C are rugged direct thermal label and receipt printers designed for use with the CK31, 700 series, CK61, CN2B, CN3, and CN3e mobile computers as well as the SF51 and SR61 scanners.

Throughout this manual, both models of the printer are referred to as PB50 unless the information is specific to one model.

The PB50 provides:

•print resolution of 203 dpi.

•print speeds of up to 100 mm per second (4 ips).

•802.11 radio, Bluetooth radio, or no radio options.

What’s New?

This version of the PB50 printer manual contains these changes:

•Support for the ESC/P programming language.

•Addition of a PB50 printer without a radio.

•Change to the Ready-to-Work™ indicator behavior.

•Addition of linerless media support.

•New icons for Bluetooth radio and addition of printhead lifted error message.

•Addition of the power management options Sleep Timer and Standby Timer.

2	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

Identifying the Parts of the Printer

Use this illustrations to familiarize yourself with some of the features of the PB50.

Self-strip door

Media cover release button

Control panel

Ready-to-Work	Communications port
indicator

PB50 Printer: This illustration shows the important features of the PB50 printer. A weather-resistant flap protects the communications ports and the external power connector.

Understanding the Printer Firmware

Your PB50 printer comes with Intermec Printer Language (IPL), Fingerprint, or ESC/P firmware. The choice of firmware affects the functionality of the printer and how you interact with it. This manual contains information for using each type of printer firmware.

The current firmware type and version display on the PB50 screen when the printer is in Ready mode.

IPL 11.2.0

SER-COM

The PB50 Display Showing IPL Firmware

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

Understanding the Control Panel

The PB50 control panel contains four buttons, a liquid crystal display (LCD), and one LED indicator. Use the four buttons to navigate the menu system and perform functions on the PB50 printer. See the following tables to understand the buttons, the menu system, and what the LED means.

Feed button

Setup button

SETUP:

SER-COM

Standby button

Info button

Ready-to-Work indicator

PB50 Control Panel: Use this illustration to familiarize yourself with the buttons and lights on the PB50.

Understanding How to Use the PB50 Buttons

Button
Name	Button Function

Feed	Press to advance label or receipt paper. The amount of
	media that feeds is dependent on the type of media you
	are using. It will advance by 5 mm (0.2 inch), feed out
	an entire label, or feed a configured length of media
	based on your media and settings.
	If you hold the button down for longer than two
	seconds, the printer performs a testfeed and calibrates
	the media.
	If the printer is printing, pressing this button causes
	the printer to pause. Press the button again to resume
	printing.

Setup	Press to display the Setup menu.

4	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

Understanding How to Use the PB50 Buttons (continued)

Button
Name	Button	Function

Standby		Press to put the printer in Standby mode. In Standby
(Power)		mode, power to the radio, the display, and the
		backlight are turned off.
		Press to turn the printer back on and put in Ready
		mode.

Info		Press to display a summary of error conditions, serial
		port settings, USB connection status, and wireless
		information (Bluetooth and WiFi). Each setting in the
		summary information displays on the screen for five
		seconds.

All of the buttons can act as “soft keys,” which means that the function of each button depends on the state of the printer. A small icon appears in the screen next to the button to indicate the function it performs

Understanding the Soft Keys

Button	Soft Keys Description

Moves through the settings at the same level in the menu system.

Exit Setup mode and return to Ready mode.

• Moves up one level in the menu system. This soft key appears in Setup mode.

• Increases the value of a number when editing settings s uch as an IP address. This soft key appears in Setup mode.

• Pauses the printing job. This icon appears only when you are printing.

• Moves down one level in the menu system and saves changes to a setting.

• Exits a printing job or exits Information mode.

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

There is only one LED on the PB50 printer: the Ready-to-Work™ indicator.

Understanding the Ready-to-Work Indicator

Indicator State	Description

Off	When the light is off, it can mean one of several
	conditions:
	• The printer is in Standby mode.
	• The printer is in Info mode.
	• The printer is in Setup mode.
On	The PB50 is powered on and operating.

Blinking	A blinking light can mean one of several conditions:
	• The printer is out of paper.
	• The media cover is open.
	• There is a printer error that requires you to perform an
	action. For a list of possible problems, see
	“Troubleshooting the PB50” on page 42.

Understanding the Printer Sounds

The PB50 plays sounds in response to several actions that you can take with the printer. Use the following table to understand when the sounds occur and what they mean.

Understanding the Printer Sounds

Sound	Occurs When:

Power	• You supply power (battery or AC adapter) to the
	printer.
	• The PB50 starts charging the battery.

Hardware	You open the media door, close the media door, or insert a
	cable.

Button	You press any of the PB50 buttons.

Error	• The printer cannot feed paper or print a job because of
	a hardware issue such as the media door open, a paper
	jam, or there is no media.
	• An error occurs such as a paper jam or a print error.

6	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

Managing Power on the PB50

Use the power options on the PB50 to manage and conserve battery power. From the Power option in Setup menu, you can set Low Battery, Sleep Timer, and Standby Timer.

Use the Low Battery option to set the battery voltage at which the low battery warning appears. The values for Low Battery range from 12.1 V to 16.8 V in 0.1 V increments. The default setting is 13.5 V.

Use the Sleep Timer option to set the amount of time it takes for the PB50 to go to “sleep” if the printer is not printing and you do not have any interaction with it. When the printer goes to “sleep,” it turns off the backlight and it dims the Ready-to-Work indicator. By default, the printer backlight turns off after 20 seconds of no user interaction. You can set Sleep Timer to always off, always on, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, or 60 seconds. The backlight turns on when:

•the printer begins printing.

•you press a button.

•you connect the printer to external power.

•you are communicating with or sending data to the printer.

Note: If you have Sleep Timer set to always on, the Standby timer setting will have no effect on the PB50.

Use the Standby Timer option to turn off power to the radio, the display, and the backlight. The Standby Timer option has the same effect on the PB50 as pressing the Standby button. When the printer is in Standby mode, both the LCD and the Ready-to-Work indicator are turned off. You can set Standby Timer to 5 mins, 10 mins, 20 mins, 30 mins, 60 mins, or disabled. Press the Standby button to turn the printer back on.

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

Using the Batteries

The PB50 uses a rechargeable 2200 mAh lithium-ion battery (Model AB13) for power. You must fully charge the battery before you can use the PB50. A fully charged battery can last up to one week without needing to be recharged when the printer is in Standby mode.

Use Intermec Model AB13 battery only. Use of another battery may present a risk of fire or explosion.

The Model AB13 battery may present a fire or chemical burn hazard if mistreated. Do not disassemble, heat above 100°C (212°F), or incinerate.

Dispose of used batteries promptly. Keep away from children.

Installing the Battery

Make sure you fully charge the battery before you use your PB50. You can charge the battery before or after you install them into the PB50.

To install the battery

1 Lay the PB50 upside down on a flat surface.

2Insert the battery with the tab facing away from the front control panel.

8	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

3Insert the edge of the battery under the lip of the PB50 and then push down until you hear the battery latch click.

Charging the Batteries

There are two ways to charge the PB50 battery:

•Connect AC power to the printer and charge the battery while it is in the PB50.

•Charge the battery in the AC18 4-bay battery charger.

For information on charging your battery in the 4-bay battery charger, see the AC18 4-Bay Battery Charger Instructions

(P/N 943-128-xxx).

It takes approximately 6 hours to charge the battery while it is installed in the PB50 printer. To charge the battery inside the PB50, you need:

•an Intermec 12 VDC power supply (Model AE19).

•an AC power cord.

To charge the battery inside the PB50

1Install the battery in the PB50. For help, see the previous section,

“Installing the Battery” on page 8.

2Connect the power supply to the DC power connector on the printer.

3Connect one end of the power cord to the power supply and then plug the other end into an AC outlet.

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

Understanding the Battery Icons

The easiest way to tell the status of your battery is to look at the battery icons on the control panel of the PB50.

Battery Icon Status

Icon Status

Battery is fully charged.

Battery has a medium charge. You should be able to work for several more hours before charging or replacing the battery.

Battery is low. You need to replace the battery soon.

Battery is critically low. You need to replace the battery now.

Battery charging error. You may need to replace the battery.

External power connected and there is no battery in the printer.

Extending Battery Life

Here are some tips for extending the overall life of your battery:

•Never expose the battery to direct sunlight or temperatures over 40°C (104°F).

•Only charge the battery inside the PB50 using a power supply or in the 4-bay battery charger (Model AC18).

•Do not set the backlight to always on. The always on setting disabled automatic power saving modes.

Here are some tips for extending the life of your battery between charges:

•Press the Standby button to put the printer in Standby mode.

•Remove the battery from the printer if you will not be using it for three days or more.

10	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

•Do not operate the PB50 in extremely cold temperatures. Using the PB50 in temperatures below freezing reduces the overall battery life.

Remember that any rechargeable battery loses its ability to maintain a charge over time. You can only recharge it a finite number of times before you must replace it.

Loading Media

You can use roll or fanfold receipt media with the PB50 printer. The PB50 ships with a small amount of media loaded and a test page printed to verify that the printer works. The PB50 supports self-strip printing applications. For information on how to correctly load media for self-strip printing, see “To load media for self-strip printing” on page 14. For information on media specifications, see

“Specifications” on page 52.

To load media

1Press down on the blue media cover release button until the cover releases.

PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

Chapter 1 — Using the PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer

2Press down on the media adjust guide and slide the two media supports apart.

3Insert a roll of media and press the media adjust guide until the roll is held firmly in place. Make sure you load the media clockwise so that it pulls off the core from the bottom of the printer.

4 Pull out approximately 8 cm (3 inches) of the media.

12	PB50 Mobile Label and Receipt Printer User’s Guide

+ 50 hidden pages

Document Title	Part Number

Intermec Fingerprint Command Reference Manual	937-005-xxx

Intermec Fingerprint Developer’s Guide	934-019-xxx

Intermec Printer Language (IPL) Developer’s Guide	934-013-xxx

Intermec Printer Language (IPL) Command Reference Manual	937-007-xxx

ESC/P Programmer’s Reference Manual	937-010-xxx