Intermec Technologies F4-915-LP User Manual

Chapter 11 Maintenance

Printhead Cleaning, cont'd.

87

Wait for approx. 30 seconds to allow the

cleaning fl uid to dissolve the residue.

9

Pull out the cleaning card. If necessary, repeat

the process with a new cleaning card.

Insert most of the cleaning card under the

printhead (1). Close the printhead (2).

10

Allow the cleaned parts to dry before loading

any paper.

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 278

External Cleaning

Chapter 11 Maintenance

1

Always remove the power cord

before cleaning!

3

2

Wipe external surfaces with a soft cloth slightly

moistened with water or a mild detergent.

4

Never spray the printer. Protect it from water

when cleaning the premises.

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 2 79

Never use any sharp tools for removing stuck

labels. The printhead and rollers are delicate.

Chapter 11 Maintenance

Cleaning the
Paper Guides

Both parts of the label stop sensor, which controls the paper feed, are
covered by plastic guides. The guides are provided with seemi ngly
non-t ranspa rent area s, thr ough which the l ight betwee n the two
part s of the lab el stop sensor is tra n sm itte d. T hese areas (indicated
by a shade of gre y in illustration #2 belo w) mus t be kep t c l ean from
dust, stuck labels, and adhesive residue.

If the printer starts to feeed our labels in an unexpected way. lift the
upper guide – as described be lo w – and c h eck f or an ythin g th at m a y
block the beam of light (dust, stuck labels, adhesive residue etc.).
If necessa ry, clean the guides using a cleaning card or a soft cloth
soaked with isopropyl alcohol. Do not use any other the of chemical.
Be careful not to scratch the guides.

Caution!
Isopropyl alco hol [(CH
fl ammable, moderately toxic and mildly irritating substance.

1 2

CHO H; CA S 67- 63- 0] is a h ighly

3)2

Lift the inner part of the upper guide and

pull it outwards,disengaging it from the lower

guide. Take care not to damage the cable.

Tilt the upper guide upwards and clean the

areas marked with grey. After cleaning, reas-

semble in reverse order.

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 280

Chapter 11 Maintenance

Printhead
Replacement

The printhead is subject to wear both from the direct thermal paper
and from the rapid heating and cooling process during printing. Thus,
the printhead will require periodical replacement.

Time between printhead replacements depends on the print images,
the type of paper in use, the amount of energy to the printhead,
and several other factors.

Note!
Whi le repla cing the pr inth ead, t he power sh ould b e switch ed
off.

1 2

Turn the printhead lift knob clockwise to lift

Open the side door.

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 2 81

the printhead.

Chapter 11 Maintenance

Printhead Replacement, cont'd.

3

Remove the paper, if any.

5

4

Pull the printhead bracket away from the

magnet in the pressure arm.

6

Snap-lock

Disconnect the printhead bracket from the print

mechanism – as indicated by the arrows – and

pull out the printhead as far as the cables allow.

Disconnect the cables from the printhead. Note

the snap-lock on the inner connector. Pull at the

connectors – not the cables!

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 282

Printhead Replacement, cont'd.

87

Chapter 11 Maintenance

Connect the two cables to the replacement

printhead.

9

Close the printhead so the magnet engages the

printhead bracket.

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 2 83

Put back the printhead in reserse order and

check that the printhead cables run freely.

10

Load a new supply of paper as described ear-

lier in this manual.

Chapter 12

Adjustments

Narrow Labels
Adjustment

Nut

Pressure Arm

Centre of Paper

The printer is factory-adjusted for full size paper width. When using
paper less than full width, it is recommended to adjust the pressure
arm so it becomes cent red on t he pap er. Thereby, an even pressure
across the paper is obtained.

A poorly adjusted pressure arm may be detected by a weaker printout
on the inner pa rt of a less than f ull width paper. Similarly, when
reverting to a wider paper, the arm should be adjusted, or the printout
on the outer part of the paper could be weak.

T o ad just the pressure arm, proceed as follo ws:

• Loosen the nut that holds the pressure arm. Move the arm inwards
or outwards until the arrow on the tip of the arm becomes
centre-aligned with the paper web.

While moving the arm, push at the part where the nut is situated,

not at the tip. If the arm is hard to move, lift the printhead and pull
the printhead bracket free from the magnet in the arm.

• After having centred the arm, lock it by tightening the nut.

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 284

Chapter 12 Adjustments

Label Stop Sensor
Position

One Sensor

The label stop/black mark sensor (LSS) is a photoelectric sensor that
controls the printer's paper feed by detect ing gaps between labels,
slots in paper strip, or black marks, depending on the printer's setup
in regard of media typ e (see chapter 6 “Setting Up the Pri nter”).
A prerequisite is obviously that the LSS is aligned with the slots
or black marks.

Thus, the LSS can b e moved laterally between 5 fi xed po sit ions.
There is one sensor on top of the upper paper guide and underneath
the bottom of the print unit. These two guides must be set individually
to th e same pos ition. Pu sh them inwa rds as fa r as they go a nd
then pull them out – one at the time – while counting the clicks
from the snap-locks.

The various dete ction points of the sensor in relation to the inner
edge of the paper are as follows:
One click out 3 mm .118"
Two c licks out 8 mm .3 1 5 "
Three clicks out 12 mm .47 2"
Four clicks out 16 mm .639"
Five c licks out 20 mm .787"

If usi ng irr egula rly shape d labels, a lign t he LSS with t he fron t
tips of the labels

Upper part of LSS

One Diode + One Sensor

Lower part of LSS

(printhead and headlift shaft omitted for

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 2 85

Print Unit

improved visibility)

Chapter 12 Adjustments

Printhead
Pressure

The pressure of the thermal printhead against the paper is factory
adjusted. However, the use of thicker or thin ner pap er t ha n nor ma l
could require the printhead pressure to be readjusted.

Using a fl at-tipped screwdriver, turn the adjustment screw clockwise
for increased pressure (+), or counter-cl ockwise for less press ure (-).
Print a few labels, preferably test labels (see chapter 6 “Setting Up
the Printer”), and check the printout. Increa sed pressure general ly
gives a da rker pri ntout and v ice versa. Repe at until t he desir ed
result is obtained.

T o return to the factory setting, tighten the screw (+) as far as it goes
and then loosen it (-) six (6) full turns.

Note!
Do not use a higher prin thead pressure than necessary, because it
may increase the wear of the printhead and thus shorten its life.

Adjustment Screw

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 286

Appendix 1

Technical Data

Printing

Print T echnique Direct Thermal
Printhead Resolution 8 dots/mm (203.2 dpi)
Print Speed (variable) 100 – 200 mm/sec. (≈ 4 – 8"/sec.)
Print Width (max) 104 mm (4.095") = 832 dots
Print Length (max) 32767 dots = 409.5 cm1
Media Width (min/max) 25 – 114.3 mm ( 1 –4.5") Standard paper guide
Media Width (min/max) 40 – 114.3 mm ( 1 .57 – 4.5") Quick-Load guides
Paper Roll Diameter (max) 213 mm (8.38") Short door/no rewind
Paper Roll Core Diameter 38 – 40 mm ( 1 .5") or 76 mm (3")
Print Directions 4

Modes of Operation

T ear Off Yes
Peel Off Optional Requires Rewind Unit

Firmware

Operating System Intermec Fingerprint 7.3 1 Incl. Direct Protocol
Smooth Fonts T rueDoc and T rue Type fonts
Built-in scalable fonts (std) 15 Unicode fonts
Built-in bar code symbologies (std) 36
Startup Program (std) Intermec Shell 4.4

Physical Measures

Dimensions (W x L x H) 244 x 397 x 178 mm (9.6 1 x 15 .63 x 7.00") w. Long side door
Weight (excluding media) ≈ 7 kgs ( 1 5.5 lbs) Depending on model
Ambient Operating Temperature +5°C – +40 ° C (+41 °F – +104° F)
Humidity 20 –80% non-condensin g

Electronics

Microprocessor 32 bit RISC
On-board Flash SIMMs 1 – 2 Std. 1 x 2 Mbytes
On-board DRAM SIMM 1 Std. 4 Mbytes
Real-Time Clock Option 10+ years life

Power Supply

Mains Voltage >90 – <264 V AC, 45 – 65 Hz
PFC Regulation IEC 61000-3-2
Maximum Power Consumption Continuous 1 40 W; Peek 300W

2

Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed. 2 87

Appendix 1 Technical Data

Technical Data, cont’d.

Sensors

Label Gap/Black Mark/Out of Paper Yes 5 fixed positions
Printhead Lifted Yes

Controls

Control Lamps 3
Display 2 x 16 character LCD w. background light
Keyboard 22 keys membrane switch type
Print Button 1
Beeper Yes

Data Interfaces

Serial 1 x RS 232C + 1 x USB
Bar Code Wand Yes
Electronic Keys 2 For setup

Connection for Optional Interface Boards

Memory Card Adapter 1
Accessories and Options Flash or SRAM cards
RFID Module Option
Rewind Unit Option For peel-off operation
Paper Supply Spool Option Replaces hanger
3” Adapter for Paper Supply Spool Option
Short Side Door Option
Long Side Door Option
Label Taken Sensor Option
Real-Time Clock Option 10+ years life
Quick-Load Guides Standard
RS 232C Cable Option
EasySet Bar Code Wand Option For quick setup
Parallel Interface Board Option IEEE 1284
Double Serial Interface Board Option
Industrial Interface Board Option
EasyLAN 100I Interface Board Option Ethernet
External Alphanumeric Keyboard Option
Flash Memory Cards Option
Electronic Keys Option

1. The max. print length is also restricted by the amount of free DRAM memory.

2. Latin, Greek, and Cyrillic fonts according to Unicode standard are included.

3. Depending on model, the printer may be delivered with either a long or a short side door.

1 Future option

3
3

Fitted in some models

= 64 Mbit (8 MB)

88 Intermec EasyCoder F4 – Installation & Operation Ed.2