Microcom 426 User Manual
MODEL 226 / 426
DIRECT THERMA L PRINTER
USER’S GUIDE
PART NUMBER 880018-0110
Revised: December 13, 2004 CPC
© Copyright 2004 by Microcom Corporation, Lewis Center, Ohio – All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
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Proprietary Statement
This manual contains information proprietary to Microcom Corporation. This information is
intended solely for the use of parties operating and maintaining such equipment described
herein.
Product Enhancements
Microcom Corporation is committed to the continual improvement of performance and
quality in our products. For this reason, specifications are subject to change without notice.
Liability Disclaimer
Microcom Corporation makes every effort to assure that all information and specifications
contained in this manual are accurate; however, mistakes are sometimes made. Microcom
Corporation shall not be liable for any damages resulting in the use or misuse of this
product. The exclusion or limitation involving consequential or incidental damage does not
apply to all states; therefore limitation mentioned above may or may not apply.
FCC Compliance Statement
This equipment is 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 contained in this manual, may
cause harmful interference to radio communications.
HyperTerminal® and HyperAccess® are trademarks of Hilgraeve Inc.
Centronics® is a registered trademark of Data Computer Corporation.
HP® and LaserJet II® are trademarks of Hewlett-Pack ard Company.
Arial® is a registered trademark of The Monotype Corporation.
TrueType® is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.
Microsoft®, Windows®, Windows NT® are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Other products and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
Chapter 1: Printer Specifications .............................................................. 3
1.1 General Specifications.........................................................................................3
1.2 Printing Specifications.........................................................................................3
1.3 Media Specifications............................................................................................4
Chapter 2: Features and Options.............................................................. 5
2.1 Fonts ...................................................................................................................5
2.2 Graphics..............................................................................................................5
2.3 Bar codes............................................................................................................5
2.4 Special Features .................................................................................................5
2.5 Options................................................................................................................6
Chapter 3: Getting Started .........................................................................7
3.1 Unpacking and Inspection...................................................................................7
3.2 Connecting the Printer.........................................................................................8
3.2.1 Printer Power.................................................................................................8
3.2.2 Communication Interfaces.............................................................................8
3.3 Loading Media.....................................................................................................9
3.4 Front Panel Button and Indicator Light..............................................................10
3.4.1 Front Panel Button.......................................................................................11
3.4.2 Indicator Light..............................................................................................11
Chapter 4: Printer Modes .........................................................................13
4.1 Idle Mode...........................................................................................................13
4.2 Halted Mode......................................................................................................13
4.2.1 Enquiry Responses .....................................................................................13
4.2.2 Fatal Error Responses.................................................................................16
4.2.3 Basic Status Responses..............................................................................20
4.3 Paused Mode....................................................................................................25
4.4 Diagnostic Mode................................................................................................25
4.4.1 Entering Diagnostic Mode...........................................................................26
226/426 User’s Guide i
4.1.2 Status Label.................................................................................................26
Chapter 5: Communications.................................................................... 29
5.1 RS-232 Serial....................................................................................................29
5.1.1 RS-232 Printer Cables.................................................................................30
5.2 10BASE-T Ethernet...........................................................................................30
5.3 160P Stacker / Auxiliary Interface......................................................................30
Chapter 6: Maintenance and Adjustments............................................. 33
6.1 Maintenance Schedule......................................................................................33
6.2 Thermal Printer Card.........................................................................................34
6.3 Internal Cleaning................................................................................................37
6.4 Print head Maintenance.....................................................................................38
6.5 Cleaning the Dr ive Roller...................................................................................39
6.6 Exterior Cleaning...............................................................................................40
6.7 Gap Detector Adjustment ..................................................................................40
6.8 Auxiliary Button..................................................................................................41
6.9 Flash Memory Update.......................................................................................41
3.2 MCA Compressed File Recovery.......................................................................43
Chapter 7: Troubleshooting..................................................................... 45
7.1 Troubleshooting Tips.........................................................................................45
Appendix A ................................................................................................ 47
Limited Warranty........................................................................................................47
Appendix B ................................................................................................ 49
Return Material Authorization (RMA) Procedure ........................................................49
Glossary..................................................................................................... 51
Index........................................................................................................... 55
User Notes ................................................................................................. 59
ii 226/426 User’s Guide
List of Tables
Table 1 General Specifications...............................................................................3
Table 2 Printing Specifications...............................................................................3
Table 3 Media Specifications..................................................................................4
Table 4 Front Panel Button Description................................................................11
Table 5 Indicator Light Description.......................................................................11
Table 6 Enquiry Responses .................................................................................16
Table 7 RS-232 Cable Configurations.................................................................. 29
Table 8 Recommended Maintenance Schedule...................................................33
226/426 User’s Guide iii
iv 226/426 User’s Guide
List of Figures
Figure 1 426 Front Angled View.............................................................................vi
Figure 2 426 Rear Angled View..............................................................................vi
Figure 3 Standard Printer Accessories.................................................................... 7
Figure 4 Connecting the Printer...............................................................................8
Figure 5 Tag Bracket...............................................................................................9
Figure 6 Loading Media...........................................................................................9
Figure 7 Front Panel Button and Indicator Light....................................................10
Figure 8 ^D960)1 or ^K Test Pattern .....................................................................26
Figure 9 ^D323-List Enablements Example...........................................................26
Figure 10 ^D326-List Settings Example................................................................27
Figure 11 ^D325-List Selections Example............................................................27
Figure 12 ^D324-List Statistics Example..............................................................28
Figure 12 426 Interface Connections....................................................................31
Figure 13 Ethernet Port - 10BASE-T....................................................................31
Figure 14 Insertion of Thermal Cleaning Card......................................................35
Figure 15 Thermal Card Removal ........................................................................35
Figure 16 Removal of top cover............................................................................36
Figure 17 Unlatching of Print head.......................................................................36
Figure 18 Internal Cleaning..................................................................................37
Figure 19 Print head Thermal Elements...............................................................38
Figure 20 Gap Detector........................................................................................40
Figure 21 Auxiliary Button.....................................................................................41
226/426 User’s Guide v
Figure 1 426 Front Angled View
Figure 2 426 Rear Angled View
vi 226/426 User’s Guide
Introduction
The Models 226 and 426 are high performance, Direct Thermal tag/label printers that are
economically priced to fit everyone’s budget. The extensive list of standard features
combined with an easy to operate and maintain design provides continuous and reliable
printing at true high volume throughput. The Model 226 printer is a smaller version of the
Model 426 with the only differences being the AC power plug orientation, the print head size
and the lack of the Auxiliary Port.
This manual provides the information needed to operate and maintain the printers on a daily
basis. The resident Label Design Software II (LDSII) is a powerful and easy-to-use control
language that allows the creation of custom label formats. The software is ASCII text based
and can be interfaced to PC’s, mini-computers, main frames, and other special purpose
machines. The LDSII language uses inches as the default unit of measure but may be set
to use millimeters. All commands and parameters, unless noted otherwise, should be
entered using the selected unit of measure. The conversion values for the printer, using the
standard 203 dpi print head, are 8 dots per millimeter , 203 dots per inch, or 0.0049” per dot.
Refer to the LDSII Programming Guide (part# 880019-xxxx) for additional informati on
regarding LDSII programming instructions where the –xxxx represents the latest version.
Among many other features, LDSII supports downloadable graphics and fonts, serial
numbering, flexible character spacing, reverse video, resident fonts and many of the most
popular bar code symbologies. Bitmapped fonts and bar codes may be multiplied in size in
the X and Y directions while being printed in 0, 90, 180, and 270 degree rotations. Graphic
images and custom designed label formats may also be stored in the printer’s flash memory
for high-speed access to achieve greater throughput performance.
The printers are capable of printing on most types of labels, pre-printed tickets, fax papers,
and tag stocks or varying thickness. The printers are also capable of detecting many
registration marks that enable it to print using media that contains die-cut, blow-hole, blackline sense marks and continuous media. The printers also provides three different cutter
types; full guillotine, full/partial guillotine and rotary cutter. These cutter options provide a
means of cutting media of varying thickness to handle even the most demanding
applications.
Many printer applications use the same label format, but change the data on every label.
This is not a problem for the 226/426 printers, data may be changed without downloading
the same fixed format or fixed data field. This, along with the available serial
communication speeds, increases data access time and productivity. Providing the user
with high performance desired for a low cost.
Contact Microcom Corporation about the availability of Windows® drivers and WYSIWYG
(What You See Is What You Get) software packages which allow quick and easy on-screen
label designing.
226/426 User’s Guide 1
2 226/426 User’s Guide
Chapter 1: Printer Specifications
1.1 General Specifications
Width 226 - 6.6” (167mm); 426 - 8.5” (216mm)
Height 226 - 6.9” (175mm); 426 - 6.9” (175mm)
Depth 226 - 4.8” (122mm); 426 - 4.8” (122mm)
Weight 226 - 6 lbs (2.7kg); 426 - 7.8 lbs. (3.5kg)
Electrical Auto-sensing 120/230 VAC ; 50-60 Hz
4 Amps maximum
Temperature 40° F – 77° F (5° C – 25° C) Operating
Humidity 10% – 85%, non-condensing
SRAM Memory 16MB
Flash Memory 4MB
Agency Approvals CUL, CE, and complies with FCC Class A.
Interface Communications
RS-232 Serial Network Connectivity
RS-232, 9 pin D-Sub connector (DCE) 10BASE-T
Flow Control: XON, XOFF, and CTS
Parity: Odd, Even, and None Protocols: TCP/IP
Data Bits: 7 or 8
Table 1 General Specifications
Hosts: Windows® NT, 95, 98, and 2000
1.2 Printing Specifications
Print Type Direct Thermal
Print Resolution
Maximum Print Speed
Maximum Print Width
Print Length
Table 2 Printing Specifications
203 DPI (8 dots/mm)
300 DPI (11.808 dots/mm) – option on 426 only.
6”/sec. (152mm/sec.)
4”/sec. (102mm/sec.) with optional 300 DPI
226 - 2.205 inches or 448 dots (56 mm)
426 - 4.1 inches or 832 dots (104mm)
426 - 4.26 inches or 1280 dots (108mm) with 300 DPI
50” (1270mm) using standard memory
25” (635mm) with optional 300 DPI print head
226/426 User’s Guide 3
Printer Specifications Chapter 1
1.3 Media Specifications
Media Types
Maximum Media Thickness
Maximum Media Width
Table 3 Media Specifications
The 426P printer is optimally configured with a fixed tag bracket to assist in the installation
of direct thermal rolled or fanfold tag stock. The printer m ay use many other types of media
with varying widths using the standard paper line guides.
*NOTE: The printer may print on thicker media types depending on the pliability of the
material, however this requires testing and eval uation. Contact your authorized Microcom
Corporation representative for additional infor mation regarding testing and evaluation of
thicker media types.
**NOTE: The printer’s media path has a maximum width of 4.5” while the actual printable
width will vary depending on the print head installed.
Continuous, die-cut, preprinted and tag stock either
rolled or fanfold.
.010” (.25mm) * see note below.
4.5” (114.3mm) ** see note below.
4 226/426 User’s Guide
2.1 Fonts
19 smooth bitmapped alphanumeric fonts from 6pt to 28pt including OCR-A
and OCR-B.
Downloadable font support.
Bitmapped fonts expandable in height and width.
Reverse image printing.
Rotated: 0º, 90º, 180º, and 270º.
Chapter 2: Features and Options
2.2 Graphics
Lines and boxes.
Direct Monochrome BMP image support.
Store fonts, scripts and/or graphics.
Rotated: 0º, 90º, 180º, and 270º.
2.3 Bar codes
One-dimensional: Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, Code 128 (A, B, C and Auto),
Code 93, Codabar, Modified Plessey, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN 8, EAN 13,
UCC/EAN 128, and Postnet.
Two-dimensional: PDF-417 and Data Matrix
Rotated: 0º, 90º, 180º, and 270º.
2.4 Special Features
Durable steel case that protects your investment, even in harsh environments.
Head lift lever for easy media loading.
Rotating head mechanism for easy print head cleaning.
226/426 User’s Guide 5
Features and Options Chapter 2
Adjustable media guides for easy label centering or fixed tag bracket.
Software controlled contrast adjustm ent.
Downloadable monochrome BMP image support.
Internal statistical counters for inches and labels printed.
Remote printer interrogation.
Ethernet capability.
Detects label gap, blackline, and blowhole using reflective and transmissive
sensors.
Field incrementing, decrementing and serialization.
Powerful Label Design Software (LDSII) that is easy to master.
Auto-sensing 100-240 VAC 50-60 Hz Internal power supplies.
2.5 Options
Full or partial cutter available in 3” (76.2 mm) or 4” (101.6 mm) versions.
4” (101.6 mm) Rotary cutter available for the 426.
Model 160P vertical media stacker for the 426.
Catch Tray for the 426.
Configurable sensor (Input 1) that may be customized for different
applications.
External media supply holder (8” (203mm) o.d. maximum).
300 DPI (11.8 dots/mm) resolution print head for the 426.
Pinch Roller for Peel-n-Dispense operation.
Cleaning kit.
6 226/426 User’s Guide
Chapter 3: Getting Started
3.1 Unpacking and Inspection
The printer has been packaged to help reduce the damage that may occur during the
shipment of product.
Inspect the shipping container(s) for signs of damage. If damage is evident, contact the
shipping company immediately to file a damage claim.
After the printer is removed from the container(s), verify that all the parts are present and in
good condition (see Figure 3).
The foam and shipping container(s) should be kept and used if the printer is to be shipped.
Additional shipping materials may be ordered by contacting the Microcom Corporation
Service Department in the event the printer needs to be shipped at a later date and the
original packaging materials were not saved.
Figure 3 Standard Printer Accessories
226/426 User’s Guide 7
Getting Started Chapter 3
AC Power Connection
10BASE
-
T Ethernet
3.2 Connecting the Printer
Refer to Figure 4 below for proper connections.
3.2.1 Printer Power
The printers use a universal auto-sensing internal power supply that operates in the 100240 VAC; 50-60 Hertz range. The three-prong female end of the power cord plugs into the
mating connector located on the back of the printer. The Model 226 printer’s AC power
connection is the same internally but rotated 90° counter clockwise externally.
Note: Verify that the printer’s ON/OFF switch is switched to OFF before plugging the power
cord into an electrical outlet.
3.2.2 Communication Interfaces
The printers may be interfaced to PC’s, mini-computers, main frames, and special purpose
machines. This printer offers standard serial RS-232 and 10BASE-T Ethernet.
Auxiliary Port - only available
on the Model 426
Figure 4 Connecting the Printer
RS-232 Serial Port
8 226/426 User’s Guide
Chapter 3 Getting Started
3.3 Loading Media
The 426P printer has been designed to make loading fanfold or continuous media a simple
process. With the fixed Tag bracket installed, no adjustments are needed when installing
media, thus reducing down time. Follow the instructions below to properly load the media.
1. Feed the media below the Line Guide Idler (see Figure 5.), located on the back of the
printer, until you feel resistance.
2. Push down on the Head Lift Lever and continue feeding the media until it passes
through to the front of the printer (see Figure 6.).
Media
Line Guide Idler
Figure 5 Tag Bracket
Note: The Tag bracket has a fixed opening of 3.37” (85.73mm).
Figure 6 Loading Media
Media Path
Head Lift Lever
Line Guide Idler
226/426 User’s Guide 9
Getting Started Chapter 3
3.4 Front Panel Button and Indicator Light
The front panel button and the indicator light (see Figure 7) are used to identify and perform
many functions. This section provides a brief description of the standard configuration to
familiarize you with the basic function of the button and light. Refer to Chapter 4: Printer
Modes for more detailed information. The font panel button is configurable by using the
“^D541)” command, so this section only discusses the standard configuration. Refer to the
LDSII Programming Guide for additional information regarding the button use.
Figure 7 Front Panel Button and Indicator Light
Front Panel Button and indicator
10 226/426 User’s Guide
Chapter 3 Getting Started
3.4.1 Front Panel Button
Operation Description
A button press while the printer is idle or paused will reprint the
Printing a
label.
last label or after a cold start, a power up label will print.
Note: If a power up label has not been enabled or if one does not
exist, the printer will print a blank label.
Printer Pause.
A brief-button press while printing will cause the printer to pause.
Feeding
Labels.
Hold the button down while the printer is idle to feed labels. The
printer will continue feeding labels until the button is released.
Note: Press the button again to continue printing.
Table 4 Front Panel Button Description
3.4.2 Indicator Light
Light Color Description
Solid Green. Indicates that the power is on, the printer is in a ready state, and
is either in LOCKOUT or BASIC access levels.
Solid Am ber.
Solid Red.
Indicates that the printer is busy or is in a tag/tear mode other
Indicates that the printer is either in SERVICE, FACTORY, or
than Advance When Idle (3).
DEVELOPER access levels.
Flashing
Amber.
Indicates an error has occurred. The printer will r emain in this
Flashing
Red.
Note: Refer to Chapter 7: Troubleshooting for helpful hints.
Alternating
Green/Amber.
Alternating
Indicates that the printer is updating or loading a new code
Amber/Red.
Table 5 Indicator Light Description
226/426 User’s Guide 11
Indicates that the printer is paused.
state until the condition is removed.
Indicates that the printer is Initializing the RAM memory.
revision to Flash memory.
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