Microcom 466 User Manual

MODEL 466

THERMAL TRANSFER PRINTER

OPERATOR'S MANUAL

Part Number 880015-0213

- Revised: March 21, 2001 MSG -

Centronics is a registered trademark of Data Computer Corporation. HP and LaserJet are trademarks of Hewlett-Packard Company. Arial is a registered trademark of Agfa Monotype Corporation. Swiss is a trademark of Bitstream Inc. TrueType is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, Windows 2000 are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. HyperTerminal is a registered trademark of Hilgrave Inc. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.

Table of Contents

List of Tables .............................................................. v

List of Figures .............................................................. v

Introduction ................................................................ 1

CHAPTER 1: FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS ................................. 3

1.1 SPECIAL FEATURES ............................................ 3

1.2 BAR CODES ................................................... 3

1.3 FONTS ....................................................... 4

1.4 PRINTING ..................................................... 4

1.5 INTERFACE COMMUNICATIONS ................................... 4

1.6 PHYSICAL ..................................................... 4

1.7 ENVIRONMENT ................................................ 4

1.8 ELECTRICAL ................................................... 5

1.9 OPTIONS ...................................................... 5

1.10 PRINTER VARIATIONS ........................................... 5

1.11 APPROVALS ................................................... 5

CHAPTER 2: BASIC OPERATION .............................................. 7

2.1 UNPACKING THE 466 PRINTER ................................... 7

2.2 INITIAL POWER UP ............................................. 7

2.3 FRONT PANEL SWITCHES AND STATUS LIGHTS ..................... 7

2.3.1 NORMAL MODE .......................................... 7

2.3.2 STATUS LABEL MODE ..................................... 7

2.3.3 PAPER-OUT MODE ....................................... 8

2.4 THE STATUS LIGHTS AND SOUNDS ............................... 9

2.5 LOADING PAPER ............................................... 9

2.5.1 NORMAL AND TAG/TEAR MODES .......................... 10

2.5.2 PEEL-AND-DISPENSE MODE .............................. 10

2.6 PRINT HEAD SUPPORT ADJUSTMENT ............................ 10

2.7 CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS ...................................... 11

CHAPTER 3: COMMUNICATIONS ............................................. 13

3.1 CABLE PINOUT ............................................... 13

3.2 PRINTER CABLES ............................................. 14

CHAPTER 4: DESIGNING LABELS USING LDS .................................. 15

4.1 CONTROL CHARACTERS ....................................... 15

4.2 GETTING STARTED ............................................ 15

4.2.1 PC CONNECTION (SERIAL) ................................ 15

4.2.2 PC CONNECTION (PARALLEL) ............................. 16

4.2.3 LEARNING LDS ......................................... 16

4.3 FORMATTING LABELS: AN OVERVIEW ............................ 17

4.4 LABEL HEADER ............................................... 19

4.4.1 A SAMPLE SESSION (HEADER) ............................ 23

4.5 LABEL FIELDS ................................................ 24

4.5.1 BIT MAPPED TEXT, BAR CODE, AND GRAPHIC FIELDS ......... 24

4.5.2 LINES ................................................. 29

466 Operators Manual

4.5.3 A SAMPLE SESSION (FIELDS) ............................. 31

CHAPTER 5: PRINTER COMMANDS .......................................... 33

5.1 SPECIAL PRINTER CONTROL CODES ............................. 33

5.2 PRINTER STATUS MESSAGES ................................... 34

5.3 SENDING ^D PRINTER COMMANDS ............................... 34

5.3.1 SOFTWARE SWITCHES AND NON-VOLATILE COMMANDS ...... 35

5.3.2 PRINTING COMMANDS ................................... 42

5.3.3 AUTO-SIZING AND VALID GAP COMMANDS .................. 43

5.3.4 REAL-TIME CLOCK ...................................... 45

5.3.5 SERIAL NUMBER COMMANDS ............................. 47

5.3.6 SAVING FORMAT COMMANDS ............................. 49

5.3.7 LABEL PRESENT SENSOR CONTROL ....................... 51

5.3.8 TEXT STRINGS COMMANDS ............................... 52

CHAPTER 6: DOWNLOADABLE GRAPHIC IMAGES .............................. 55

6.1 USING THE GRAPHICS CONVERSION UTILITIES .................... 55

6.1.1 PCX2MIC.EXE PROGRAM ................................. 55

6.1.2 BMP2MIC.EXE PROGRAM ................................. 55

6.2 GRAPHIC IMAGE DOWNLOAD METHODS .......................... 55

6.2.1 COMPRESSED BINARY IMAGE COMMAND (^D107) .............. 55

6.2.2 UNCOMPRESSED IMAGE COMMAND (^D106) .................. 57

6.3 DOWNLOADABLE GRAPHICS COMMAND SUMMARY ................ 60

CHAPTER 7: DOWNLOADABLE FONTS ....................................... 61

7.1 PROCEDURE FOR USING JET2466.EXE UTILITY .................... 61

CHAPTER 8: BAR CODES ................................................... 63

8.1 TYPES OF BAR CODES ......................................... 63

8.2 DESIGNING WITH BAR CODES ................................... 71

8.2.1 BAR CODE HUMAN READABLES ........................... 73

CHAPTER 9: SPECIAL EFFECTS ............................................. 75

9.1 REVERSED PRINT (WHITE TEXT OVER BLACK) ..................... 75

CHAPTER 10: OPTIONS .................................................... 77

10.1 GRAPHICS CONVERSION UTILITIES .............................. 77

10.2 DOWNLOADABLE FONT UTILITIES ............................... 77

10.3 WYSIWYG SOFTWARE PACKAGES ............................... 77

10.4 CLEANING KIT ................................................ 77

10.5 WINDOWS™ DRIVER .......................................... 77

APPENDIX A: WARRANTY AND REPAIR PROCEDURES .......................... 78

APPENDIX B: QUICK REFERENCE COMMAND SUMMARY ........................ 80

APPENDIX C: HARDWARE DIP SWITCHES ..................................... 90

Index .................................................................... 91

466 Operators Manual

Table of Contents

List of Tables

Status Light ................................................................ 9

Serial Port Configuration ..................................................... 13

Print Speed ............................................................... 21

Bitmapped Font Descriptions ................................................. 26

Bar Code Symbologies ...................................................... 27

Character Starting Positions .................................................. 28

Status Messages .......................................................... 34

Clock Field Parameters ...................................................... 45

UPC Zero Reduction Format ................................................. 63

Control Code Equivalents for use in Data Strings .................................. 65

Code 128 Special Function Access ............................................ 67

UCC/EAN Application Identifiers ............................................... 70

List of Figures

Front View ................................................................. 6

Rear View ................................................................. 6

Printer Parts ............................................................... 7

Status Label ............................................................... 8

Printer Feed Mechanism ..................................................... 10

Narrow Label Adjustment .................................................... 10

Print Head Adjustment Screw ................................................. 10

Microcom Label ............................................................ 18

Label Header Parameters of a 4" X 3" Label ..................................... 19

Lines .................................................................... 30

European Date Format ...................................................... 46

US Date Format ........................................................... 46

Unmodified Date Format ..................................................... 46

Sample Graphic ........................................................... 58

Bar Code Rotations ........................................................ 72

UPC-A Bar Code .......................................................... 73

Bar Code Human Readables ................................................. 73

Reverse Video Sample ...................................................... 75

466 Operators Manual

Introduction

The Model 466 is a Direct Thermal or Thermal Transfer label printer with a high resolution (832 dots or 8 dots/mm), 4.09 inch wide print head. Through the use of dual processors, the printer has the ability to handle a wide variety of labeling tasks.

The resident Label Design Software (LDS) is a powerful and easy-to-use package that allows you to create personalized label formats. It can be driven from a PC, mini-computer, mainframe, and most special purpose computers.

Among many other features, LDS supports downloadable graphics and fonts, multiple serial numbering, and flexible character kerning. It offers many font sizes and all popular bar code symbologies. Graphic images can be printed or stored in the printer's memory for future use. Bitmapped Fonts, bar codes, and graphic images can be multiplied in size and printed in 0,90,180,270 degree rotations. Once the labels are designed, they can be stored in the printer for high speed access.

The 466 is capable of printing on most types of label or fax stock. It offers operation in a tag/tear, peel-and-dispense, or cut-off mode. It can handle blow-hole, black-line, label gap, and continuous stock.

Many printer applications use the same label format, but change the data on every label. This is not a problem for the 466 printer. Data may be changed without down-loading the same fixed format, or fixed data fields, time after time. This, along with a greatly increased communication speed, increases data access time and productivity.

Microcom also offers a line of software packages which allow quick and easy on-screen label designing, along with database capabilities.

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CHAPTER 1: FEATURES AND SPECIFICATIONS

The Model 466 Direct Thermal / Thermal Transfer printer is designed with many standard features that are unique when compared to other printers. The 466 is built to meet the demands of complicated applications and rigorous use.

1.1 SPECIAL FEATURES

! Direct thermal or thermal transfer tag/ticket feed operation ! Dot history temperature control ! Resolution of 8 dots/mm (.0049" per dot) and a print width of 832 dots (4.09") ! WYSIWYG software compatible ! Print speed up to 8.0 inches per second ! Slew speed up to 12.0 inches per second ! Internal media supply holds roll sizes up to 8 inches OD ! Prints on die-cut, continuous, fax, or preprinted labels up to 9.0 mil thick ! Software-controlled contrast adjustment ! Standard memory of 512KB ROM and 512KB RAM ! Internal date and time keeping ! Easy to load label path ! Detects label gap, black line, or blow-hole stock ! Internal statistical counter for inches and labels printed ! Downloadable bitmap fonts and graphics ! Field incrementing and decrementing ! Remote printer interrogation.

1.2 BAR CODES

! Code 39, Interleaved 2 of 5, CODABAR, Code 128, UCC/EAN-128, Code 93, Plessey,

Modified Plessey, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN-8, EAN-13, Postnet, MaxiCode, and PDF-417

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Features and Specifications Chapter 1

1.3 FONTS

! Bitmapped fonts (normal/bold and OCR-A and OCR-B) ! Converted HP LaserJet™ or TrueType® font compatibility ! Fonts can be printed with proportional or non-proportional spacing ! All bitmapped fonts expandable in height and width ! Printable in 0, 90, 180, and 270 degree rotations

1.4 PRINTING

! Optional peel function with take up motor and label present sensor ! Optional internal rewind ! Optional rotary cutter ! Batch and tag/tear mode advances label to the tear bar ! Label back-up prevents wasted media in tag/tear and peel modes

1.5 INTERFACE COMMUNICATIONS

! Serial: RS-232C, 25-pin female D-Sub connector (DCE) and 2Kbytes buffer

-Flow control: XON/XOFF, CTS/RTS

-Baud rate: 110 to 38400, user-selectable

-Parity: odd, even or none

-Data bits: 7 or 8

! Parallel (optional): 25-pin female (also includes additional serial port)

1.6 PHYSICAL

! Rigid painted steel construction ! Height: 12" (304.8mm) ! Width: 11" (279.4mm) ! Depth: 18" (457.2mm) ! Weight: 40 LBS (18.14Kg)

1.7 ENVIRONMENT

! Temperature: 0" C to 40" C operating ! Humidity: 10-85% non-condensing

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Chapter 1 Features and Specifications

1.8 ELECTRICAL

! Voltage: 117 VAC nom.,60Hz ! Current: 3 AMPS maximum

1.9 OPTIONS

! Cutter ! Internal rewinder ! Parallel and second serial port ! Assorted printer cables ! On-screen label design PC software packages ! Windows™ 95/98/NT/2000 driver ! PCX/BMP to printer graphics conversion PC software ! TTF/SFP to printer font conversion PC software ! Battery backed RAM ! Additional RAM up to 2MB

1.10 PRINTER VARIATIONS

! 230V European power supply

1.11 APPROVALS

! CUL (UL and CSA), CE, Complies with FCC class A

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Features and Specifications Chapter 1

466 Printer

Front View

Figure 1

466 Printer

Rear View

Figure 2

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CHAPTER 2: BASIC OPERATION

2.1 UNPACKING THE 466 PRINTER

While unpacking the printer, please check all packing materials closely to avoid misplacing any necessary parts. After the printer is removed from the box, verify that all parts are present and in good condition (see Figure 3). All packaging material should be kept and used if the printer is to be shipped. (Some parts shown are optional. Please refer to the packing list or order.)

Printer Parts

Figure 3

A.) Printer B.) Operators Manual C.) Power Cord D.) Optional Cutter E.) Optional Communications Cable

2.2 INITIAL POWER UP

Before connecting the printer to a power source, verify that the voltage printed on the rear panel correctly matches the supply.

Plug the printer in and turn the power switch on. The front panel power LED should turn green. If this does not occur, check the power source and if necessary call your service organization.

2.3 FRONT PANEL SWITCHES AND STATUS LIGHTS

The front panel switches perform several different functions depending on the printer mode:

2.3.1 NORMAL MODE

The "Label Print" button is used to issue a label request. If the button is pressed while the printer is idle, the unit will print a label using the current label format. If the button is pressed while a label is printing, the printer will enter pause mode.

2.3.2 STATUS LABEL MODE

To print a status label, hold the print button while turning on the printer. Release the button and a test pattern with statistical information will be printed (see Figure 4). When a status label is

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Basic Operation Chapter 2

created, the software dip switches are temporarily set to defaults. The printer will return to the old settings, if different, after power down or a soft reset.

The printed labels and total labels represent the number of labels printed to date. The printed labels and printed inches fields can be reset by the user while the total labels and total inches cannot. Printed inches and printed labels are reset using the ^D29 command (see section 5.3). Other useful information on the power-up label is the unit serial number, power-on hours, previous serial parameters (not the default parameters caused by executing creating a status label), and the revision number of the Label Design Software (LDS).

The switch bank settings reflect the contents of the four software dip switches that configure the operation of the printer. See section 5.3, specifically ^D21, ^D22, ^D23, ^D24, ^D25, and ^D26, for more information on software dip switch settings.

Printer Serial #: 1234567890 Printed Labels: 8432 Total Labels: 8498 Printed Inches: 25296 Total Inches: 25494 Power On Hours: 897 Contrast Base: 100 Hard Switch Bank 1: 10100000 Soft Switch Bank 1: 10000001 Soft Switch Bank 2: 01010001 Soft Switch Bank 3: 00000000

Gap Threshold Value: 92 Takeup Motor: Disabled Comm1 Parameters: 9600-N-8-1 Comm2 Parameters: 9600-N-8-1 Parallel: ACTIVE RAM: 524288 Optional ROM: NONE Cutter Installed: NONE Second Proc. Rev: 2.13 RAM Checksum: Enabled

466 REV 2.13 070171-0213 07/11/00 Soft Switch Bank 4: 00000000 Soft Switch Bank 5: 10001011 Soft Switch Bank 6: 00000000

Status Label

Figure 4

2.3.3 PAPER-OUT MODE

When a paper out condition occurs, the printer will continuously beep and the red error indicator will light. The front panel switch "Line Feed" serves to load and realign the new label stock. Pressing the "Label Print" button will print a duplicate of the last label printed. The previous label can be repeated until proper registration occurs. To return to the pre-paper out condition, tap the button while the duplicate label is being printed. The red error light should go out and normal printing may resume.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operation

2.4 THE STATUS LIGHTS AND SOUNDS

The status lights have different functions depending upon the mode of the printer. The following table explains the meanings.

Status Light

Color Sound Mode Meaning

Solid Green None All Power is on. Solid Green Long Error All Memory operation unsuccessful.

Solid Green

Solid Red

Flashing Red

Solid Yellow N/A All Printer is On-Line.

3 Short

Beeps

Continuous

Pulsed

Beep

Continuous

Pulsed

Beep

All Memory operation successful.

Printer error:

Caused by a paper-out, ribbon-out, take-up

All

full, or hardware failure. If an unexplained

condition persists, contact your service

representative.

Spike or low voltage on the AC line. The

unit will remain in this mode until the

condition is removed and the printer is

powered off.

Table 1

2.5 LOADING PAPER

The 466 can dispense labels in a many different ways. The following two sections explain the dispensing modes. If narrow stock is used (3.5 inches wide or less), it may be necessary to adjust the print head support screw (see section 2.6).

Thermal Transfer Note:

The 466 will, on power-up, automatically sense a loaded ribbon and select thermal transfer mode. Please note that the printer will not select thermal transfer mode if the ribbon is loaded after the printer is turned on. To correct the situation simply cycle the power once the ribbon has been loaded.

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Basic Operation Chapter 2

Printer Feed Mechanism

Figure 5

2.5.1 NORMAL AND TAG/TEAR MODES

Place the label roll on the internal supply shaft and adjust the paper width stop. Raise the print head and feed the paper through the printer until it comes out of the front. Lower the print head.

2.5.2 PEEL-AND-DISPENSE MODE (optional)

1. Follow the paper loading in the normal and tag mode directions.

2. Mount the peel plate adapter to the front of the printer.

3. Feed and remove enough labels to expose about two feet of backing paper.

4. Wrap the backing paper around the peel plate adapter and fasten it to the take up spool.

5. If necessary, press the line feed button to properly align the labels. (Avoid a paper jam, removing the labels as they start to peel.

6. Enable the peel-and-dispense mode using the ^A1^D98?. *If the label height is over 2", a label support rack should be used. This rack will support the peeled label until it is removed.

2.6 PRINT HEAD SUPPORT ADJUSTMENT

When using narrow media, less than 3.5" wide, it is possible to increase print quality and prevent premature drive roller wear by correctly adjusting the print head support screw. To make the adjustment, simply turn the head adjustment screw (see Figure 6) clockwise until the print head is slightly lifted from the drive roller. Once the head has been lifted from the roller(see Figure 7), verify that the print head has not been lifted too far by printing a test label. If the print quality on the right side of the label appears weak, then lower the print head by turning the screw counter clockwise until the print quality is corrected. If the quality problem appears on the left side, turn the screw clockwise until the print quality is corrected.

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Chapter 2 Basic Operation

Print Head Adjustment Screw

Figure 6

Narrow Label Adjustment

Figure 7

2.7 CLEANING INSTRUCTIONS

The printer and print head should be cleaned every 5,000 labels, every two weeks, or between label roll changes, whichever occurs first. A Microcom cleaning kit (part #040005-0000) should be used for cleaning and maintaining a Microcom printer product. It is important to note that the optimum print head life is achieved by maintaining a clean printer and print head.

To clean the 466 printer:

1) Turn the printer off.

2) Lift the print head and remove any label stock.

3) Use the cleaning brush to sweep away all small label and adhesive particles that may be in the area of the print head.

4) Moisten a cleaning swab with the cleaning solution and wipe away any adhesive from the rollers or the peel bracket.

5) Dampen a swab with cleaning solution and gently wipe the underside of the print head. Repeat if necessary (if swab is extremely dirty).

WARNING: DO NOT TOUCH THE PRINT HEAD WITH ANY METAL OR SHARP OBJECTS

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Basic Operation Chapter 2

466 Operators Manual12

CHAPTER 3: COMMUNICATIONS

The 466 can be interfaced to PC's, mini-computers, main frames, and special purpose machines. It is capable of serial RS-232 or optional Centronics® parallel communication. The following sections explain the communication interfaces.

Out of the box, unless otherwise requested, the 466 communicates using serial RS-232 at 9600 bits per second, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and no parity with both hardware and software handshaking. This configuration may be changed as shown in Appendix C.

3.1 CABLE PINOUT

Table 2 shows the signals of the 25-pin RS-232 serial port configuration. If serial RS-232 communication is selected and XON/XOFF hand shaking is used, the only

signals the 466 requires are the RXD, TXD, and GND signals. If hardware (CTS/RTS) hand shaking is used, a RTS signal is provided. XON/XOFF may be disabled through software dip switch #1 (see Section 5.3.1). The other signals are offered in the event the host computer requires these signals.

Serial Port Configuration

25 TO 9 PIN 25 TO 25 PIN

State 466 Direction PC HI 8 DCD ---->---- DCD 1 XX 3 TXD ---->---- RXD 2 XX 2 RXD ----<---- TXD 3 HI 6 DSR ----<---- DTR 4 LO 7 GND ---<->--- GND 5 HI 20 DTR ---->---- DSR 6 DC 4 CTS ----<---- RTS 7 XX 5 RTS ---->---- CTS 8 HI 18 +5V

DB-25 DE-9

DC = Do Not Care

XX = Indeterminate

State 466 Direction PC HI 8 DCD ---->---- DCD 8 XX 3 TXD ---->---- RXD 3 XX 2 RXD ----<---- TXD 2 HI 6 DSR ----<---- DTR 20 LO 7 GND ---<->--- GND 7 HI 20 DTR ---->---- DSR 6 DC 4 CTS ----<---- RTS 4 XX 5 RTS ---->---- CTS 5 HI 18 +5V

DB-25 DB-25

DC = Do Not Care

XX = Indeterminate

Table 2

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Communications Chapter 3

3.2 PRINTER CABLES

Warning: Connection of a serial 466 to a parallel port may result in damage to the printer and/or computer. Connection of a 466 with a parallel board to a serial port may result in damage to the printer and/or computer.

The printer cables needed for the 466 printer are standard and available through Microcom Corporation. You will not need a NULL-modem cable because the printer is DCE equipment.

For parallel connection, use a standard 25 pin to 36 pin Centronics printer cable, connected from the desired parallel port of the host computer to the 36 pin connector on the optional 466 parallel board.

For serial connection, (standard on the 466) 25 pin serial com port - Use a standard 25 pin female to 25 pin male serial cable. 9 pin serial com port - Use a 9 pin female to 25 pin male cable.

Note: NULL modem cable adapters are not necessary since the printer is DCE equipment.

466 Operators Manual14

CHAPTER 4: DESIGNING LABELS USING LDS

Label Design Software (LDS) refers to the software resident in the printer used to decipher label formats sent by the host computer. All fonts, character sets and bar codes symbologies are resident in the printer.

A label format is produced by a series of 5 steps: 1: Control commands to define printer operation

2: A header to define label height, width, print speed, etc.. 3: Field data to define placement of text, bar code, graphic or line 4: Actual text data to place in the above text or bar code fields 5: Control commands to initiate printing

4.1 CONTROL CHARACTERS

Throughout this manual there are references to control characters. In order to print them in this manual, they have been written using standard characters and icons. Escape characters are represented by <ESC> and a carriage return is represented by the ? symbol. It is important to note that all printer functions, unless otherwise noted, must be followed with a carriage return?.

4.2 GETTING STARTED

There are many different machines that can send information to the 466 printer: For example main frames, mini-computers, special purpose computers and PC's. However, if you are using the printer for the first time, the easiest way to start is with a PC and a terminal emulation software program. This will allow two-way, serial communication with the printer. You will be able to quickly upload files and access label-sizing and other features that will help considerably in formatting your first labels.

4.2.1 PC CONNECTION (SERIAL)

Items required:

- A computer with at least one unused serial communications port. (COM1,COM2...)

- A serial interface cable. (See section 3.2 for cable information)

- A terminal emulation program for testing. (Such as HyperTerminal™)

Set the communication parameters in the PC terminal software program to 9600 bits per second, no parity, 8 data bits and 1 stop bit. Unless modified by the user, this is the printers' communication configuration out of the box. Send the characters ^D3 and a carriage return character to the printer. If the printer prints a label, proper PC to printer communications have been confirmed. Send the characters ^D5 followed by a carriage return character to verify printer to PC communication. A text response should be returned from the printer.

If a terminal program is not available, it is possible to send files to the printer using the DOS COPY command. To do this, create a text file containing the information to be sent (i.e. ^D3?).

Note: Use an editor that does not add its own formatting characters. Use the following DOS MODE command to set up the appropriate PC port.

466 Operators Manual 15

Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4 Note: COM1 may be any available communications port on your PC.

C:>MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1,P You must then send the file to the printer using the following DOS command. C:>COPY FILENAME COM1

4.2.2 PC CONNECTION (PARALLEL)

Items required:

- A computer with at least one unused parallel communications port. (LPT1, LPT2...)

- A parallel interface cable. (See section 3.2 for cable information)

Create a text file containing the information to be sent. (^C is the print command.) ^C You may use any text editor that does not add its own formatting characters (QEDIT, DOS

EDIT...). Send the file to the printer using the following DOS command. Note: LPT1 may be any available printer port on your PC.

C:>COPY FILENAME LPT1

4.2.3 LEARNING LDS

You can test some of the control code functions (see section 5.1) directly through the keyboard. Large label files may be entered in a straight ASCII text word editor and then uploaded to the printer using a terminal emulation program or the DOS copy command. (To use the DOS copy command, first use the DOS mode instruction to configure the PC. For example, MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1,P).

There are some special features offered by the 466 printer that will aid in label design. For example, the auto-size command (^A2^D39?) will provide most of the header format information needed to define the different properties of label stock. The state of the machine is accessed through the enquiry command (^D5? or ^E). The statistical printer information is made available through the ^A0^D29? command.

The following sections of this chapter are designed to give an overview of a label format, define the label header, and list the different types of field information available. Chapter 5 explains the special functions of the control codes. Once some understanding of these basic concepts are achieved, use the quick reference guide in Appendix B for expedient label design.

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Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

4.3 FORMATTING LABELS: AN OVERVIEW

A label format consists of a header record and field records, followed by the text data to be printed. The records describe how the label is to be printed. The header contains information about the label itself such as label height, width, print speed, etc. The field records refer to the data section and contain information about positioning coordinates, the type of character generators or bar codes to use, etc.. The number of fields is limited only by the amount of free memory.

Below is a sample label format. We will refer to this format as we break down the components of its structure.

(See Figure 8) ^D57?

5,812,1218,,20,35 1,190,1068,8,1,8,,,2,2? 2,139,900,11,1,8,,,2,2? 3,117,760,26,1,8? 4,265,560,11,1,8? 4,123,50,11,16,3,,,3,406? ^D56? ^D2? Microcom? Corporation? Thermal Printing Solutions? 01234567890? ^D3?

The sequence ^D57? puts the printer in format entry mode. The next line is the header information: sizing the label (812 dots wide 1218 dots high). The next five lines are layout information for each data field in the format.

A label format is coming Header information Field #1 information Field #2 information Field #3 information Field #4 information Field #5 Select RAM Format Text Data is Coming Text String #1 Text String #2 Text String #3 Text String #4 Print Label 1

The sequence ^D56? selects the user layout. The sequence ^D2? tells the printer to start accepting data for each defined field. (Field #1 defines

where Data #1 should be positioned.) (Note: The label prints from bottom to top.) The next three lines are data for each field. Text string #4 is accessed twice. The format will print '01234567890' and then the bar code

equivalent. The sequence ^D3? starts the print cycle. (Default is one copy. See section 5.3.2)

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

Microcom Label

Figure 8

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Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

THIS IS THE GAP VALUE

4.4 LABEL HEADER

The header consist of twelve parameters. These parameters contain information about the label. It is not necessary to enter information for all of the parameters: If a parameter is left blank, then the default value will be used. A carriage return must follow the label header parameters.

The value of measurement for many of the header elements is the dot. There are 203 dots per inch on a 466 print head (8 dots/mm). There is a maximum 832 dots in the X direction (width). The Y direction (length) is virtually unlimited.

Most header parameters can be supplied using the auto-size command. (See section 5.3.3.) Below is a list of the header element mnemonics and their default values:

HFM,LSX,LSY,WEB,GAP,DPS,LCB,AGD,SPG,OFX,OFY,,,FMT 0,832,614, 13, 24, 35, 0, 1,490, 0, 0,,, 0

FEED DIRECTION

.0625

OR 12 DOTS

THIS IS THE WEB VALUE

X BEGINNING

Y BEGINNING

THIS IS 0,0

4.0 OR 800 DOTS LSX

MICROCOM

Label Header Parameters of a 4" X 3" Label

Figure 9

3.0 OR 600 DOTS LSY

.125

OR 25 DOTS

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

Refer to Figure 9 for a visual representation of most header parameters. The following is a description of each header element:

HFM NUMBER OF FIELDS IN LAYOUT

This parameter is used to specify the number of fields in the layout. If more fields are defined than what is specified for HFM, the extras will be ignored. To prevent software confusion, do not set the HFM parameter to a number higher than the number of fields defined.

LSX LABEL SIZE X DIRECTION

Specifies the width of the label in dots. For example: A 3" wide label would have an LSX of 3 x 203 = 609 dots. (203 dots = 1 inch)

LSY LABEL SIZE Y DIRECTION

Specifies the height of the label in dots.

WEB WEB SIZE

The width, measured in dots, of the webbing that is found on the left side of the label.

GAP GAP SIZE

The height, measured in dots, of the gap between labels. Auto-sizing (See section 5.3.3) will define this value.

DPS PRINT SPEED

The speed the printer prints a label. Generally, better print quality is obtained at lower print speeds.

The labels per minute a particular format will print can be calculated by the equation below:

IPS x 60 seconds

Labels per Minute = ---------------------------

Label Height

The printer's default print speed is 3.2 inches per second (DPS value = 48). To speed it up or slow it down, the following DPS parameters can be inserted into the label header. Note that a higher value slows the printer down and a smaller value speeds it up.

See Table 3 for a list of print speeds, DPS values, and inches per second.

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Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

Print Speed

DPS VALUE MM PER SECOND INCHES PER SECOND INCHES PER MINUTE

00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

203.2

200.7

198.1

195.6

193.0

190.5

188.0

185.4

182.9

180.3

177.8

175.3

172.7

170.2

167.6

165.1

162.6

160.0

157.5

154.9

152.4

149.9

147.3

144.8

142.2

139.7

137.2

134.6

132.1

129.5

127.0

124.5

121.9

119.4

116.8

114.3

111.8

109.2

106.7

104.1

101.6

99.1

96.5

94.0

91.4

88.9

86.4

83.8

81.3

78.7

76.2

73.7

71.7

68.6

66.0

63.5

Table 3

8.0

7.9

7.8

7.7

7.6

7.5

7.4

7.3

7.2

7.1

7.0

6.9

6.8

6.7

6.6

6.5

6.4

6.3

6.2

6.1

6.0

5.9

5.8

5.7

5.6

5.5

5.4

5.3

5.2

5.1

5.0

4.9

4.8

4.7

4.6

4.5

4.4

4.3

4.2

4.1

4.0

3.9

3.8

3.7

3.6

3.5

3.4

3.3

3.2

3.1

3.0

2.9

2.8

2.7

2.6

2.5

480 474 468 462 456 450 444 438 432 426 420 414 408 402 396 390 384 378 372 366 360 354 348 342 336 330 324 318 312 306 300 294 288 282 276 270 264 258 252 246 240 234 228 222 216 204 204 198 192 186 180 174 168 162 156 150

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

LCB LABEL CONTROL BYTE

This parameter selects between the various gap detection methods. Normal Stock (leading edge): If set to a value of 0, the printer will detect the leading

edge of the label (the start of the next label). Continuous Stock: If set to a value of 2, the printer will not search for a gap or other

sense mark. The printer will print all fields that contain data and advance the paper the amount specified in the SPG parameter. Blank or empty fields will not be printed. For example, Imagine a receipt format that contains 100 lines. If data is provided for the first 50 lines, the printer will not advance the “extra” blank 50 lines. The printer will stop immediately after printing the last pixel and then advance the amount specified in the SPG parameter.

If the AGD is set to 0, the printer will always feed the same amount of media regardless of the data. In this case, the amount of label feed is determined by adding the SPG value to the LSY.

Blow Hole Stock (Slot-Cut): If set to a value of 0, the printer will detect the leading edge of a blow hole (see software dip switch #4 (^D24) for blow hole stock).

Black Line Stock (transmissive sensor): If set to a value of 1, the printer will detect the leading edge of a black line.

Black Line Stock (optional reflective sensor): If set to a value of 3, the printer will detect the leading edge of a black line.

AGD NUMBER OF STEPS TO ACTIVATE GAP DETECTOR

This parameter selects the number of steps (dots) that the printer should skip before gap sensing is activated. This value is usually defaulted.

SPG NUMBER OF STEPS PAST GAP

The number of steps to advance the label after detection of a label gap. Use autosizing (See section 5.3.3) to quickly evaluate this parameter for small stock. It may also be necessary to adjust this value if using material with a sense position not located at the end of the stock.

The 466 uses the following formula to determine the SPG setting: If label height is greater than or equal to 490 then SPG=490 If label height is less than 490, subtract (LSY+GAP) from 490 until the answer is

negative, then add (LSY+GAP) back to become positive again. Subtract the AGD value (usually 1) and the result will be the correct SPG.

If continuous stock is selected in the LCB, an SPG value of 0 will cause the printer to advance paper until the LSY header value plus the SPG header value are reached.

OFX X DIRECTION OFFSET

This parameter moves all the fields in the X direction without changing the fields themselves. (Positive integers only)

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Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

OFY Y DIRECTION OFFSET

This parameter moves all the fields in the Y direction without changing the fields themselves. (Positive integers only)

,,, CONSTANTS

FMT FORCE MEDIA TYPE

This parameter can be configured to produce an error when the media type loaded in the printer does not match the type specified by this parameter. For example: If an application always requires the use of thermal transfer ribbons, this parameter could be set to a value of 2. The printers front panel LED will turn red if a user tries to print a label without first loading a ribbon. The reverse situation could also be configured.

Do Not Force: If set to a value of 0, the printer will print using the mode detected at power-up or the last method selected.

Force Direct Thermal Mode: If set to a value of 1, the printer will print only if ribbon is not present in the printer. If an attempt is made to print, and ribbon is detected, the printer will sound an error tone, turn on the red error light, and halt.

Force Thermal Transfer Mode: If set to a value of 2, the printer will print only if ribbon is present in the printer. If an attempt is made to print, and ribbon is not detected, the printer will sound an error tone, turn on the red error light, and halt.

4.4.1 A SAMPLE SESSION (HEADER)

This is the label header from the sample label in section 4.3.

5,812,1218,,20,35? 5 - 5 fields following the header 812 - Label width (LSX) of 812 (812/203 = 4 inches). 1218 - Label length (LSY) of 1218 (1218/203 = 6 inches).

- The WEB parameter can be defaulted.

20 - GAP between labels of 20 (20/203 = 0.10 inch). 35 - Print speed (DPS) of 35 = 4.5 in/sec (from Table 3)

- No entry for the LCB parameter means default value of 0, normal stock on backing paper.

- The AGD could be defaulted. This value was confirmed using the auto-size command.

- SPG could be defaulted. This value was confirmed using the auto-size function.

? - A carriage return must follow the label header. The

parameters OFX, OFY, and FMT were not entered into the header and therefore the printer assumes the default values, 0 in their cases. Likewise, since the AGD and SPG were defaulted, the carriage return could have followed the DPS.

Note: Defaulted fields must be separated by commas and ending commas may be omitted.

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

4.5 LABEL FIELDS

A field is broken down into many different parameters. These parameters contain the information necessary to position data (text, bar codes, graphics, etc.) on the label. It is not necessary to enter values for all of the field parameters; the default values will be used if left blank. The fields to be defaulted must be separated by commas. A carriage return must follow each label field.

4.5.1 BIT MAPPED TEXT, BAR CODE, AND GRAPHIC FIELDS

The following is a list of bit mapped (ROM stored and Downloaded) field element mnemonics and their default values:

TSN,XB,YB,CC,TCI,CGN,FO,FJ,CMX,CMY,CS,TSP,,,,,AN 1, 0, 0, *, 1, **, 0, 0, 1, 1, *, 1,,,,, 0

* The default depends on the character generator (CGN) used. ** The default depends on the TCI used.

Note: All values must be positive integers.

TSN TEXT STRING NUMBER

Determines from which text string the field obtains the data. This allows for more than one field to use the same text string. A TSN of 0 accesses the clock chip text string (see section 5.3.4). A TSN of 1 accesses the first line of data. A TSN of 2 accesses the second line of data, and so forth. Data is the text that follows a ^D2? command in a label layout. A graphic image field must point to a valid text string that contains at least 1 character. Maximum value is 65536.

XB X BEGINNING COORDINATE

The X coordinate of the field is measured in dots. The far left edge of the label as viewed from the front of the printer is X coordinate 1. There is no X coordinate 0. The X coordinate increases in size from left to right (See Figure 9). An XB of 203 would place the text one inch from the left side of the label.

YB Y BEGINNING COORDINATE

The Y coordinate of the field is measured in dots. A YB of 1 would be specified as the first edge of the label coming out of the front of the printer during a label print. The Y coordinate increases in size from the bottom to the top of the label (See Figure 9). A YB of 203 would place text one inch from the bottom of the label.

CC CHARACTER COUNT

This parameter determines the number of characters that will be used in a field. If the number of characters in the selected text string is more than the quantity specified by CC, then the remainder of the text string is ignored. If the text string has less than the number of characters specified by this parameter, then only those characters defined by the text string are printed. For example, the text string - MICROCOM - would be 8 characters long. This parameter should be set to a value of 1 if the field is a graphic image.

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Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

TCI TEXT CONVERSION IDENTIFIER

This parameter determines what form the text string will be printed in. The following values define which text conversion method is used:

1 Text (standard) 2 Text Surrounded by Asterisks 3 Text with UPC-A/UPC-E Checksum Digit Added 8 Downloadable Fonts and Graphics 12 UPC-A Bar Code 13 UPC-E Bar Code (SEND 11 DIGITS) 14 UPC-E Bar Code (SEND 7 DIGITS) 15 Interleaved 2 of 5 Bar Code 16 Code 3 of 9 Bar Code *17 Text with UPC-E Checksum and Extended Bars Added 20 EAN-13 Bar Code 21 EAN-8 Bar Code *22 Text with EAN-13 Checksum and Extended Bars Added *23 Text with EAN-8 Checksum and Extended Bars Added 24 MSI 1 (Plessey) 25 MSI 2 (Plessey) 26 MSI 3 (Plessey) *28 Text with MSI Checksum Added - Type 1 *29 Text with MSI Checksum Added - Type 2 *32 Text with UPC-A Checksum and Extended Bars Added *33 Text with UPC-A With Extended Bars Added 36 Postnet (Zip+4) 37 Postnet (Zip+6) 38 Maxicode Bar Code

40 Code 128 Bar Code (Automatic Compression) 41 Code 128 Bar Code (Manual Compression) 42 Codabar Bar Code

43 Code 93 Bar Code 44 AS-10 Bar Code 46 PDF417 Bar Code

50 UCC/EAN-128 Bar Code 51 Text with UCC/EAN-128 Information

* Refer to Section 7.1.1 on how to use these TCI's. Example: For the string - 1234567

A TCI of 1 would normally be used when printing regular text . A TCI of 42 would print a Codabar bar code.

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

CGN CHARACTER GENERATOR NUMBER

EMBEDDED FONTS

The following is a list of the character sets and specifications for the embedded fonts. When accessing downloaded fonts or graphics, this position is used to select which downloaded font or graphic to use. Valid slot numbers are 1 through 20.

Bitmapped Font Descriptions

CGN Point Font Type Sample

1 6 Swiss™ 721 Normal 2 6 Swiss™ 721 Bold 3 8 Swiss™ 721 Normal 4 8 Swiss™ 721 Bold 5 10 Swiss™ 721 Normal 6 12 Swiss™ 721 Normal

7 14 Swiss™ 721 Normal

6pt ABCDEFG1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz!@#$%^&*(

8pt ABCDEFG1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuv

10pt ABCDEFG1234567890abcdefg

12pt ABCDEF123456789abcdef

14pt ABCDE1234567abcde

8 18 Swiss™ 721 Normal

18pt ABCDE1234567

9 12 OCR-A

10 12 OCR-B

Note: The Swiss™ 721 typeface is similar to Arial™.

ABCDEFG1234567890abcdefghij

ABCDEFG1234567890abcdefghijklmn

Table 4

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Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

EMBEDDED BAR CODES

Many bar codes can be printed with various ratios and character spacing options. The following table illustrates these options. See Chapter 8 for more information on designing with bar codes.

Bar Code Symbologies

Bar Code CGN Ratio Height Spacing FO

Code 3 of 9 2

3 5 8

I 2 of 5 2

3 5

2:1 3:1 5:2 8:3

2:1 3:1 5:2

1 1 1 1

1 1 1

2 2 2 3

0123 0123 0123 0123

0123 0123

0123 UPC/EAN* - 40% 1 - 0123 UPC Readable* - 40% 1 - 0123 Code 128 &

- 40% 1 - 0123

UCC/EAN-128* Codabar 2

3 5

2:1 3:1 5:2

1 1 1

0123

0123 Code 93 - 2:1 1 - 0123 AS-10 - 2:1 1 - 0123 MaxiCode

(CGN=Mode)

2 3 4 5 6

0123

MSI (Plessy) - 1:1 1 - 0123

Table 5

* These bar codes must be multiplied by 2 for a 80% ratio.

FO FIELD ORIENTATION

This parameter defines the rotation of each field on the label. The point of rotation is determined from the field justification.

0 0 degrees (normal rotation). 1 180 degrees (upside-down rotation). 2 90 degrees (left rotation). 3 270 degrees (right rotation).

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

FJ FIELD JUSTIFICATION

This parameter defines the justification of each field on the label.

0 Left justified above base-line. 1 Right justified above base-line. 2 Left justified below base-line. 3 Right justified below base-line. 4 Centered above base-line. 5 Centered below base-line.

Starting position definitions: Table 6 shows how to obtain proper character placement relative to orientations and

justifications.

Character Starting Positions Relative to Field Orientations and Field Justifications

Rotation Field Orientation and Justification

0,180 Degrees 0 - Left justified above base-line

1 - Right justified above base-line 2 - Left justified below base-line 3 - Right justified below base-line 4 - Centered above base-line 5 - Centered below base-line

90,270 Degrees 0 - Left justified above base-line

1 - Right justified above base-line 2 - Left justified below base-line 3 - Right justified below base-line 4 - Centered on Y axis, right of X coordinate 5 - Centered on Y axis, left of X coordinate

Character Starting Positions

Table 6

CMX CHARACTER MULTIPLIER X DIRECTION

This parameter multiplies each character in the X direction. The valid range is 1 to

65536.

CMY CHARACTER MULTIPLIER Y DIRECTION

This parameter multiplies each character in the Y direction. The valid range is 1 to

65536.

CS CHARACTER SPACING

This parameter adjusts the spacing between each character. If this parameter is not used, then the default for the selected character generator (CGN) is used. The values (0-255) add dots and (256-512) subtract dots. For example, a value of 4 inserts 4 dots between characters and a value of 259 would subtract 4 dots between characters. Bar codes have default spacing according to the indicated multiplier. Multiplying a text

466 Operators Manual28

Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

string will not multiply the spacing between characters. This element should be used to properly space the characters.

TSP TEXT STARTING POSITION

This parameter marks the starting position of the character in the text string to be used as data. This is useful for allowing several fields to use sections of the same text string, minimizing the amount of data transmitted. For example, for the text string 0123456789, A TSP of 5 and a CC (character count) of 2 would print 45. See section

5.3.4 for use of this parameter with clock fields.

,,,,, RESERVED SPACES

AN ATTRIBUTE NUMBER

If this parameter is set to a value of 2, the character spacing will be fixed/nonproportional. A value of 0 is proportional (if available). Reversed text (white on black) is created by setting this value to 1 and printing a black box on top of the text. (Special note: The AN of the line field should also be set to a 1 for a reversed image.) A value of 3 will print both fixed/non-proportional character spacing and reversed text.

4.5.2 LINES

A line field is broken down into ten different parameters. The first position is a constant of 1. Next is the X starting coordinate followed by the Y. The next is a constant of 6 followed by three blank positions. The next two positions are the X size and Y size. Finally there is an attribute position. All fields defaulted must be separated by commas, and a carriage return must follow each graphics field definition.

The following is a list of line field mnemonics and their default values:

1,XB,YB,,6,,,,XS,YS,,,,,,,AN 1, 1, 1,,6,,,, 1, 1,,,,,,, 0

Note: All values must be positive integers.

1 CONSTANT FIELD

This value should be set to 1.

XB X BEGINNING COORDINATE

The X coordinate of the field is measured in dots. The far left edge of the label as viewed from the front of the printer is X coordinate 1. There is no X coordinate 0. The X coordinate increases in size from left to right (see Figure 9). An XB of 203 would place the line one inch from the left side of the label. The valid range is limited to the print head width (832).

YB Y BEGINNING COORDINATE

The Y coordinate of the field is measured in dots. A YB of one would be specified as the first edge of the label coming out of the front of the printer during a label print. The Y coordinate increases in size from the bottom to the top of the label (see Figure 9). A YB of 203 would place the line one inch from the bottom of the label. The valid range is 1 to 65536.

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

CONSTANT FIELD

This field is always defaulted.

CONSTANT FIELD

This field should be set to a value of 6.

CONSTANT FIELDS

The next 3 fields are always defaulted.

XS X SIZE

The X size of the line. Valid range is 1 to 832.

YS Y SIZE

The Y size of the line. Valid range is 1 to 65536.

CONSTANT FIELDS

The next 6 fields are always defaulted.

AN ATTRIBUTE NUMBER

If set top a value of 1, the line will not reverse any text that is printed under it. A value of 0 will instruct the printer to reverse any field that is under it (“reverse video” or “white print on a black background”). (Note: The line field will only reverse text that has already been printed on the label. Therefore, to produce a reversed image, the line field MUST be printed AFTER the image field.)

MAKING LINES

Program sample: Lines

Lines Figure 10

^D57? 4? 1,50,500,,6,,,,150,10? 1,100,50,,6,,,,10,500? 1,250,50,,6,,,,10,500? 1,250,250,,6,,,,150,10? ^D56? ^D2? .? ^D3?

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Chapter 4 Designing Labels Using LDS

4.5.3 A SAMPLE SESSION (FIELDS)

Looking at the sample label...

^D57? 5,812,1218,,20,35? 1,190,1068,8,1,8,,,2,2? 2,139,900,11,1,8,,,2,2? 3,117,760,26,1,8? 4,265,560,11,1,8? 4,123,50,11,16,3,,,3,406? ^D56? ^D2? Microcom? Corporation? Thermal Printing Solutions? 01234567890? ^D3?

... and referring to Field #1.

1,190,1068,8,1,8,,,2,2? 1 - Field refers to text string #1 - Microcom. This field could have referred to

Corporation, if it had a TSN of 2. The fields do not have to be in any kind of

order with respect to the data fields.

190 - X beginning (XB) 190 dots from left edge of the print head. 1068 -Y beginning (YB) 40 dots from bottom of label. 8 - Character Count (CC) of 8 characters, the amount of characters in Microcom. 1 - A TCI of 1 indicates that the data will appear on the label as text, an ASCII

string, as opposed to, for example, a bar code.

8 - This CGN selection of 8 selects an 18pt font. ,,, - This will default the next two positions.

2 - This sets the X multiplication to 2. 2 - This sets the Y multiplication to 2. ? - A carriage return signals the end of this field.

A label format is coming Header information Field #1 information Field #2 information Field #3 information Field #4 information Field #5 information Select RAM Format Text Data is Coming Text String #1 Text String #2 Text String #3 Text String #4 Print Label 1

The field parameters that were not defined will default. A FO and FJ of 0 will place EASY to the right of the X coordinate with a rotation of 0 degrees. CMX and CMY will default to 1, so the character will be the size as defined by the font. The TSN is 1, therefore the entire word EASY will print (a TSN of 2 would have printed ASY). CLX and CLY will default to 5 and 7, respectively, so a full character will be printed.

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Designing Labels Using LDS Chapter 4

466 Operators Manual32

CHAPTER 5: PRINTER COMMANDS

The 466 printer has a large and versatile collection of control codes to meet the special needs of labeling applications. Most of the commands use a ^D control sequence, however the printer also recognizes a selected number of other control sequences.

For all the commands listed in this manual, the 466 will recognize either the one-character control character or the two-character caret and alpha character sequence. In other words, for a PC keyboard, the same command can be generated either by holding down the control key and pressing the letter or by entering two characters - the ^ (the character generated if you press the Shift key and the 6 key) and an alpha character (upper or lower case).

To protect against errors, in situations where two-character caret-alpha sequences are used exclusively as printer commands, control character recognition can be disabled. This is done either through software switch bank #1 (^D21) or command ^D93.

Some main-frame and mini-computers cannot use the ASCII '^' character. In these cases substitute the ASCII pipe symbol '|' or use the one character control-code representation.

The caret and pipe characters can be used in text or bar codes by entering them twice.

5.1 SPECIAL PRINTER CONTROL CODES

The following control characters perform special functions. All other control characters are ignored. Some of these instructions are also accessible through a ^D sequence.

^A Accumulator Mode: Used to supply parameters for ^D commands. ^B Text entry mode: Instructs the printer to enter printable text entry mode. This

command (or the preferred ^D2?) must be sent before the text information. This command is equivalent to ^D2? but does not require a ? after it (^Btext_data string). Because control B is shorter it is easier to use in direct terminal mode. In general it is better to use ^D2 inside a file or program.

^C Print a label: Starts the print cycle or batch. This command is equivalent to ^D3? but

does not require a ? after it. Because control C is shorter than ^D3? it is easier to use in direct terminal mode. In general it is better to use ^D3? inside a file or program.

^D Command mode: Used to issue commands to the printer. This command is normally

preceded by a ^A sequence (see above). ^D commands must be terminated with a ? or another control sequence (^A9^D73^D3? equals ^A9^D73? and ^D3?.

^E Printer status request: See section 5.2 for more details (equivalent to ^D5? but does

not require a ? after it). Because control-E is shorter than ^D5? it is easier to use in direct terminal mode. In general it is better to use ^D5? inside a file or program.

^M Terminate text or data string: Must be used to terminate a text or data string. (Same

as a carriage return or enter key on a PC keyboard.)

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Printer Commands Chapter 5

^H (DEL) Deletes the last printable character entered: This is usually only used when

communicating to the***** printer through the keyboard. (Same as the backspace key on a PC keyboard.)

^K Print test label: A test label consists of a series of diagonal lines. It is useful in

determining the condition of the dots on the print head (equivalent to ^D11?).

^L Form Feed. (Equivalent to ^D12) ^Q XON: Instructs the printer to continue sending data. ^S XOFF: Instructs the printer to stop sending data.

5.2 PRINTER STATUS MESSAGES

The 466 printer is capable of returning three different types of status messages depending on how the machine is configured (see software dip switch #1, ^D21, section 5.3). The text equivalent setting returns a descriptive word or phrase. The “^” or caret setting returns an ASCII '^' character followed by the defining alpha character. The “control-code” setting returns an actual control code.

The printer will send to the host one of the following messages in response to a ^E or ^D5:

Status Messages

TEXT ^ALPHA or

DEFINITION

CTRL CODE

>READY< >CUTTER ERROR< >STACKER ERROR< >TAKE-UP FULL< >RIBBON BROKE< >HEAD IS UP< >PRINTER PAUSED< >DATA ERROR< >TAKE LABEL< >ADD RIBBON< >LOW STOCK< >RESTARTED< >OVER VDD< >REMOVE RIBBON<

^G ^H

^L ^P ^U ^V ^X ^Y

Normal condition Cutter cannot rotate Stacker error or full Internal rewinder is full Printer is out of ribbon Print head is raised Printer is paused Communication error Printer is waiting for a label to be taken Format requires ribbon and ribbon is out Out of paper Printer has been reset Head voltage is out of range Format requires no ribbon and ribbon is loaded

Table 7

5.3 SENDING ^D PRINTER COMMANDS

Unless other-wise specified, these commands are entered by sending a ^DXX where XX is the command number. It is followed by a carriage return or another control code. Some commands

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Chapter 5 Printer Commands

load data or control numbers and are preceded by a ^AXX, where XX represents the data or control number. Unless otherwise specified, command codes should precede or follow the actual format layout. They should be placed before the ^D57 or just before the print command ^D3.

Commands not listed in 5.3.1 (the dip switches and non-volatile commands section) are not retained when the printer is turned off and if desired, must be sent again upon power-up.

When possible, the following commands are grouped by function. See the quick reference command summary in Appendix B for a listing by number.

Some commands can be substituted with equivalent control-codes. If this is the case, there will be an equivalence statement in the description.

Example of Command usage: ^A3^D75^D3? (This sequence will print a batch of three labels).

5.3.1 SOFTWARE SWITCHES AND NON-VOLATILE COMMANDS

The following commands are different from the other printer commands in that they are stored in non-volatile memory and configure the machine upon power-up. Once sent to the printer, they do not need to be sent again.

The following commands are loaded on power-up. Although they can be set, they will not be used until the printer has been restarted. The printer will not use these settings until this is

done.

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Printer Commands Chapter 5

^A ^D COMMAND

21 Change SW1: Change software switch bank #1. The software switch banks use

a ^AB sequence followed by an 8 digit 0 or 1 code. For example: ^AB10100001^D21? selects text equivalent response, accept

control codes, disable echo, and enable XON/XOFF flow control.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

*******.) 1=XON/XOFF Enable, 0=Disable (COM1) ******.)) 1=Send Status Message on Error (COM1) *****.))) 1=Echo Enable, 0=Disable (COM1) ****.)))) 1=Send Status Message on Error (COM2) ***.))))) Always 0 **.)))))) 1=Ignore Control Codes, 0=Accept (COM1,COM2 ** and LPT1) *.)))))))))), .)))))))))),* Status Message Format (COM1 and COM2)

00 = Control Codes 10 = Text Equivalent 11 = ^ Equivalent

Position:

1,2 Status Message Format (COM1 and COM2): This determines what the printer

will send back in response to an enquiry. See Section 5.2.

3 Control Codes (COM1, COM2 and LPT1): This switch setting will allow or

disallow printer response to control codes (below 20h).

4 Not Used 5 Send Status Message on Error: If this switch is enabled and a printer error

occurs, the printer will send the corresponding error message to the host via COM2. Please refer to the ^D5 command for more information about status messages.

6 Echo (COM1): If this feature is enabled, the printer will echo all received

characters to the serial port.

7 Send Status Message on Error: If this switch is enabled and a printer error

occurs, the printer will send the corresponding error message to the host via COM1. Please refer to the ^D5 command for more information about status messages.

8 XON/XOFF (COM1): Enable or disable XON/XOFF software handshaking.

CTS/RTS hardware handshaking is always enabled.

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Chapter 5 Printer Commands

^A ^D COMMAND 22 Change SW2: Change software switch bank #2.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

*******.)))), ******.)))),* *****.)))),** ***** *** Power-up Label Format ***** 000=Power-up Format Disabled ***** 001=ROM or Saved Format File 1 ***** 010=ROM or Saved Format File 2 ***** 011=ROM or Saved Format File 3 ***** 100=ROM or Saved Format File 4 ***** 101=ROM or Saved Format File 5 ***** 110=ROM or Saved Format File 6 ***** 111=ROM or Saved Format File 7 ****.))))) 1=Use Saved Format File, 0=Rom Format ***.)))))) 1=Print Button Enable, 0=Disable **.))))))) 1=Line Feed Button Disable, 0=Enable *.)))))))) 1=>RESTARTED< Message Enable, 0=Disable .))))))))) 1=Clear Text Enable, 0=Disable

Position:

1 Clear Text Function: If enabled, all variable text strings will be erased when a

^D2? is processed.

2 >RESTARTED< Message: If the printer has been reset and this switch has

been enabled, the printer will respond with to the first status request by sending the >RESTARTED< message. If additional enquiries are made the printer will respond normally. The >RESTARTED< message is only sent once after reset.

3 Line Feed Button: If disabled, the line feed button will not feed paper when

pressed. The button can still be used for “Top of Form” if the TOF button function is enabled in soft switch bank #3 (^D23).

4 Print Button: If this is 0, the button can be used for paper feed, but cannot be

used to initiate label printing.

5 Power-up Format Type: Defines the power-up label format. This parameter

determines whether to use a saved format file for the power-up label, or a ROM format (defined by positions 6, 7, and 8). The saved format file must be battery backed to use the saved format file feature. See Appendix B for configuration instructions and section 5.3.7 for saved format file information. Please consult your service organization if changes or additions to the fixed ROM formats are required.

6,7,8 Power-up Label Format: These switches are used in conjunction with switch 5

above. They determine which stored format is loaded at power-up. The printer can be instructed not to load a format at power-up by setting all three switches to 0. (Please note: The printer will not print unless a valid format has been loaded. A format may be loaded by using these switches to automatically load a previously stored format or by simply sending non-stored format to the printer.)

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^A ^D COMMAND 23 Change SW3: Change software switch bank #3.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

*******. Detect Black Line on Power-up (transmissive) ******.) Detect Black Line on Power-up (reflective) *****.)) 1=Enable TOF button, 0=Disable ****.))) 1=Enable TOF at Power-up, 0=Disable ***.)))) Always 0 **.))))) 1=Status after Print (COM1 & 2), 0=No Response *.)))))) 1=Disable Extended ASCII, 0=Enable (COM2) .))))))) 1=Disable Extended ASCII, 0=Enable (COM1)

Position:

1 Extended ASCII (COM1): If enabled, characters over 7F hex will be

processed.

2 Extended ASCII (COM2): If enabled, characters over 7F hex will be

processed.

3 Status after Print (COM1 and COM2): If enabled, a status message will be

sent to the host via COM1 and COM2 after each print cycle. Please refer to the ^D5 command for more information about status messages.

4 Always 0 5 Enable TOF at Power-up: If enabled, the printer will realign the media to “Top

of Form” at power-up. The LTS sensor must be installed for proper operation.

6 Enable TOF Button: If enabled, tapping the line feed button will instruct the

printer to realign the media to “Top of Form”. The LTS sensor must be installed for proper operation. Normal line feed operation is maintained and is activated by pressing and holding the line feed button. Line feed operation may be disabled in switch bank 2 (^D22).

7 Detect Black Line at Power-up: If this switch is enabled, the printer will

automatically run a few labels and correctly set the ^D91 value using the optional reflective sensor.

8 Detect Black Line at Power-up: If this switch is enabled, the printer will

automatically run a few labels and correctly set the ^D91 value using the transmissive sensor.

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Chapter 5 Printer Commands

^A ^D COMMAND

24 Change SW4: Change software switch bank #4.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

*******.)))))), ******.)))))),* *****.)))))),** ****.)))))),*** **** 0000 = Not decoded (8 bit) **** 0001 = Danish (7 bit) **** 0010 = 860 (8 bit) **** 0011 = Spanish (7 bit) **** 0100 = 850 (8 bit) **** 0101 = German (7 bit) **** 0110 = 865 (8 bit) **** 0111 = Swiss (7 bit) **** 1000 = 852 (8 bit) **** 1001 = French (7 bit) **** 1010 = 863 (8 bit) **** 1011 = Swedish (7 bit) **** 1100 = 437 (8 bit) **** 1101 = Italian (7 bit) **** 1110 = British (7 bit) **** 1111 = US English (7 bit) **** ***.)))))) 1=Auto-size on Power-up, 0=Disable **.))))))) 1=Blow-hole Sensing Enable, 0=Disable *.)))))))) Always 0 .))))))))) 1=Enable Slashed Zeros, 0=Disable

Position:

1 Slashed Zeros: If enabled, the printer will print the zero character with a slash. 2 Always 0 3 Blow-hole Stock: Enable this position when using blow-hole or cut-slot stock:

Stock that uses a hole instead of a gap to separate labels.

4 Auto-size on power-up: When enabled, the printer automatically sizes the label

stock when turned on. The printer then uses these header values for all subsequent label formats. See the ^D39 command in section 5.3 for more information on auto-sizing.

5 Code Page Selection 6 Code Page Selection 7 Code Page Selection 8 Code Page Selection

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Printer Commands Chapter 5

^A ^D COMMAND

25 Change SW5: Change software switch bank #5.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

*******.) 1=XON/XOFF Enable, 0=Disable (COM2) ******.)) 1=8 Data Bits, 0=7 Data Bits (COM2) *****.))) 1=Echo Enable, 0=Disable (COM2) ****.)))) 1=No Parity, 0=Enable Parity (COM2) ***.))))) 1=Odd Parity, 0=Even Parity (COM2) **.)))))) 1=Ignore Control Codes, 0=Accept (COM2) *.)))))))))), .)))))))))),* Status Message Format (COM2)

00 = Control Codes 10 = Text Equivalent 11 = ^ Equivalent

Position:

1,2 Status Message Format (COM2): This determines what the printer will send

back in response to an enquiry. See Section 5.2.

3 Control Codes (COM2): This switch setting will allow or disallow printer

response to control codes (below 20h). 4 Parity (COM2): Selects either even or odd parity error checking. 5 Enable Parity (COM2): Enables or disables parity error checking.

6 Echo (COM2): If this feature is enabled, the printer will echo all received

characters to the serial port.

7 Data Bits (COM2): Choose 7 or 8 bit data. 8 XON/XOFF (COM2): Enable or disable XON/XOFF software handshaking.

CTS/RTS hardware handshaking is always enabled.

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^A ^D COMMAND

26 Change SW6: Change software switch bank #6.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

*******. 1=Disable ON/OFF LINE Button, 0=Enable ******.) Not Used *****.)) Not Used ****.))) 1=Stacker Enable, 0=Disable ***.)))) 1=Enable Cutter at Power-up, 0=Disable **.))))) 0=Cutter Type A, 1=Cutter Type B *.)))))) 1=Use > and # for C128 commands, 0=Use # .))))))) 1=Enable Slew Speed, 0=Disable

Position:

1 Slew Speed Control: If enabled, the printer will rapidly advance to the end of

the label after all printing is completed. Slew speed is 12ips in direct thermal

mode and 8ips in thermal transfer mode. 2 Code 128 Command Characters: If enabled, the printer will use the > and #

characters as Code 128 command characters. If disabled, the printer will only

use the # character. 3 Cutter Type Select: If enabled, the printer will assume cutter type B (guillotine).

If disabled, the printer will assume cutter type A (rotary). 4 Cutter Status at Power-up: If enabled, the cutter will be active at power-up. If

disabled, the cutter must be enabled using the ^D99 command.

5 Stacker Status: This switch enables the optional stacker mechanism. 6 Not Used: 7 Not Used: 8 Disable ON/OFF LINE Button: If this switch is enabled, the ON/OFF LINE

Button will no longer function.

^A ^D COMMAND XX 36 Adjust Contrast Base: This command is used to adjust print contrast base.

This command is stored in the EEPROM and skews the entire contrast window

(^D35). This command has a range of 10 to 200%.

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5.3.2 PRINTING COMMANDS

The following commands initiate label printing or define the number of labels to be printed.

^A ^D Command

3 Print Command: Prints a single label or starts the printing of a batch of labels.

This is usually the last command in a format file. 11 Print Test: Prints a label with diagonal lines that is useful in determining the

condition of wear of the print head. (Equivalent to ^K)

12 Form Feed: (Equivalent to ^L) Prints a blank label.

70 Clear commands 73-76.

XX 73 Load copies count: This command instructs the printer to print multiple copies

without regenerating the label image. This command can be used in conjunction

with the ^D75 (load print count) to allow duplicate copies to be made inside a

batch. For example, assume a format has been loaded that has an incrementing

field. The following command string will print a total of 150 labels; three identical

copies of each serial number and 50 sets of each number

(^A3^D73^A50^D75^D3?).

1 74 Infinity Print: Prints a batch of labels but will continue to print until the printer is

turned off. This command is most useful in tag/tear or peel-and-dispense

modes. ^A1 activates this mode. Can be used with serial numbers. Example

usage: ^A1^D74^D3? - Prints until printer turned off or paused, using the front

panel button.

XX 75 Load Label Count: This command instructs the printer to print a batch of labels.

This command differs from the ^D73 command by regenerating the label for

every print. This allows the printer to increment or decrement fields on each

label. It can be used in conjunction with the load copies count command

(^D73). The batch of labels will be printed when a ^D3 is executed. Therefore,

this command must precede a ^D3 command. See section 5.3 for more

information. Example usage: ^A20^D74^D3? - This example will regenerate and

print 20 labels.

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^A ^D COMMAND XXX 76 Load Delay Time Between Printed Labels: Delays the printing between labels

in a batch. Preceded by ^A which contains the wait in 1/10ths of a second

increments. The maximum value is 650. Example usage: ^A10^D76? -

introduces a one second delay between printed labels.

5.3.3 AUTO-SIZING AND VALID GAP COMMANDS

The auto-size feature gives important format file values for the label header. These values are:

LSY - Label height

GAP - Distance between labels

AGD - Steps until activating gap detector

SPG - Steps past gap

^D91Value - Sets gap detection level. See ^D91 definition later in this section.

This value may be obtained using the auto-size command. This should be done whenever the media type is changed.

When auto-size is executed, a sample of approximately 5-10 labels will run through the printer. The printer averages the values it receives from these labels.

To auto-size labels that use a black line instead of a gap, first execute a ^A1^D47? to put the unit in black line mode.

To auto-size blow-hole stock, set software dip switch 4 for blow-hole stock (see section

5.3.1) and then auto-size. There is also a power-up auto-size feature as defined in section 5.3.3, ^D24.

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^A ^D Command

39 Auto-Size Label:

0 Clears the use of auto-size values set by ^A1^D39. 1 Uses the values obtained for the variables above instead of what the user

supplies in the header of the file format. This will not display the variables on the

screen.

2 Automatically sizes a label and sends the values obtained to the serial

communications port. The returned values may then be used to construct a

correct label header.

3 Same as ^A2^D39, but the values are printed on the label being checked

instead.

(Note: The LCB should be set to 1 before auto-sizing black line stock.

^A1^D47?)

XX 91 Gap Threshold Value: This value can be obtained and set using the auto-size

(^D39) command. It must be properly set in order for the printer to determine

when a gap or other sense mark is present. When used with the standard

transmissive sensor which measures the amount of light which passes through

the media, this value represents a point between 0 (no light passing through)

and 240+ (all light passing through) where the printer will assume that a valid

gap has occurred. The ^D91 command should be placed at the beginning of

every label definition file when multiple label types are used. Placing the

command in every file will prevent skipping or other registration errors that may

occur when using media which has different opacity values. This command is

stored in non-volatile memory and is therefore loaded whenever the printer is

powered on. The factory default value is 92.

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5.3.4 REAL-TIME CLOCK

^A ^D Command

30 Change Clock: Use the sequence below to set the time and date of the optional

real-time socket:

^D30?

HH:MM:SS?

DD/MM/YY/W?

HH = hours (24 hour format) MM = month

MM = minutes DD = day of month

SS = seconds YY = last 2 digits of year

W = day of the week

1 = SUN 2 = MON 3 = TUE 4 = WED 5 = THR 6 = FRI 7 = SAT

The optional clock produces a string of text that is accessed through use of a

TSN of 0 (See Table 8 for definitions of field parameters). The text string is shown below...

HH:MM:SS MM/DD/YY XXX DD/MM/YY XXX

...where xxx is the day of the week. These values should be inserted into the Field parameters for proper clock text access:

Clock Field Parameters

TSN TSP CC TEXT

0 1 8 HH:MM:SS 0 10 8 MM/DD/YY 0 19 3 Day of Week 0 23 8 DD/MM/YY 0 32 3 Day of Week

Table 8

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^A ^D Command

31 Show Clock: This command will send the date and time to the serial port.

Sample formats using the clock function:

^D57? 3? 0,410,100,12,16,2,,4,2,60,2,23? 0,410,25,12,1,5,,4,,,,23? 1,410,200,20,1,5,,4? ^D56? ^D2? EUROPEAN DATE FORMAT? ^D3?

European Date Format

Figure 11

^D57? 3? 0,410,100,12,16,2,,4,2,60,2,10? 0,410,25,12,1,5,,4,,,,10? 1,410,200,20,1,5,,4? ^D56? ^D2? US DATE FORMAT? ^D3?

US Date Format

Figure 12

^D57? 2? 0,410,25,34,1,5,,4? 1,410,100,22,1,5,,4? ^D56? ^D2? UNMODIFIED DATE STRING? ^D3?

Unmodified Date Format

Figure 13

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5.3.5 SERIAL NUMBER COMMANDS

The following commands, ^D80 through ^D89, refer to the serial number function of the 466 printer. The 466 can increment or decrement any single serial number on the label by any amount. However, if there is more than one serial number on the label, then all serial number fields can only increment or decrement by one. Single and multiple serial commands cannot be implemented on the same label. Please note that the ^D57 command will clear most of the serial number commands. Therefore, all serial number commands should be placed either after the ^D56 command, or just before the print command ^D3.

The following two commands are valid for both serial number functions:

^A ^D Command

80 Clears Commands 86, 88, 89. 81 Disable Serial Number Function: Will disable either single or multiple serial

number commands.

The next three commands should be used when a single data string must be incremented or decremented by a value other than 1. Only one field per label format may increment or decrement by a value other than 1.

XX 84 Load Text String Number to increment/decrement: Tells the printer which text

string number to increment or decrement. See section 4.4 on text string

numbers. The ^A value states which string is adjusted.

XX 85 Load increment/decrement step value: This is the value that the single serial

number is incremented or decremented. ^A specifies the step value.

86 Single Serial Number Status:

0 Disable increment and decrement. 1 Enable increment. The serial number will be incremented by the value from

^D85.

2 Enable Decrement. The serial number will be decremented by the value from

^D85.

The next three commands should be used when incrementing or decrementing by a value of 1. These commands allow multiple fields to be incremented or decremented individually.

XX 87 Load Field Number to Clear Increment/Decrement status: Clear the status of

one or more serial numbers with this command. Example: ^A1^D87 will

command the printer not to increment/decrement field number one anymore.

XX 88 Load Field Number to Increment by 1: ^A specifies the field. XX 89 Load Field Number to Decrement by 1: ^A specifies the field.

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^A ^D Command XX 75 Load Label Count: Tells the printer to print a batch of labels using the serial

number function if enabled. Can be used in conjunction with load copies count

(^D73, see section 5.3). The batch of labels will be printed when a ^D3 is

executed. Therefore, this must precede a ^D3 command. The only difference

between this command and ^D73 is in the ability of this command to increment

and decrement serial numbers in the batch.

A sample program using the single serial number feature:

^D57?

1,416,25,2,1,6?

^D56?

^A2^D86?

^A1^D84?

^A5^D85?

^A3^D75?

^D2?

20?

^D3?

A sample program using the multiple serial number feature:

^D57?

1,400,25,4,1,6?

2,100,75,4,1,6?

3,100,125,4,1,6?

^D56?

^A2^D88?

^A1^D88?

^A3^D89?

^A3^D75?

^D2?

100?

200?

300?

^D3?

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5.3.6 SAVING FORMAT COMMANDS

The printer has the capability to store up to 128 label formats in printer memory. Once stored, these files may be loaded quickly from memory without the need to transfer them over the external communications ports. If the battery backup option is installed, the printer will retain these files when the printer is powered off. The printer can be configured through software switch bank 2 (^D22 command), to automatically process the file at power-up.

The maximum number of stored files depends on the size of the files and the amount of memory installed in the printer. The standard 1M RAM configuration offers approximately 700K of format storage area .

^A ^D Command XX 54 Send Saved Format File to Serial Port: ^A selects which one (1-128).

XX 58 Process Saved Format: ^A selects which user entered format (1-128) is to be

printed.

XX 59 Save Format File: ^A selects which slot (1-128) in which the user entered

format is to be placed. The format file must be terminated by an ESC (1B hex)

character. 100 Clear User RAM: This command will clear all downloaded fonts, graphics, and

stored label formats. This command must be issued before saving label formats

or when saved label designs need to be changed. There is no way to erase or

change a single slot. USAGE:

Before sending the first downloadable label format, graphic, or font, the user RAM must be cleared by sending ^D100?. When this command is issued, all previously saved files will be erased. Only use this command before sending the first file or when a total user RAM clear is required.

Next send the ^A1^D59? command sequence followed by the label format and an escape character (1B hex or ^[). (The ^A1 value indicates that file #1 of a possible 128 is being sent to the printer. The escape character indicates the end of the file save.)

To access the stored file, send ^A1^D58?, where ^A1 indicates the number of the file that is accessed. The printer will now process the stored file.

Additional files may be stored using the procedure mentioned above. Use the ^AX^D59 command, where X denotes the next available storage location.

To list a file that has previously been sent to the printer, use the ^AX^D54 command, where ^AX denotes the file to be read. The printer will send the file to the serial port.

Sample files: File #1 initializes user memory and downloads label format #1. File #1 includes all the fixed data on the label. File #2 is the file that initiates processing of file #1 and includes all variable data for the format. File #2 also prints the label. File #3 shows how a second saved format would look if the entire format was in one file.

NOTE: <ESC> = 1B hex or ^[

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File #1

^D100? ;Erase all previously stored files. ^A1^D59? ;Load the following data to slot #1

^D57? ;Start label definition 4,288,193,5,19,30,0,1,148? 1,100,20,10,1,10,0,2,1,1,,1? 1,210,20,7,1,10,0,2,2,2,,11? 1,152,154,12,12,,0,2,2,100,,18? 1,130,54,12,32,,0,2,2,2,,18? ^D56? ;End label definition ^D2? ;Start text entry mode <ESC> ;End save

File #2

^A1^D58? ;Recall slot #1 data 24 PRINTS $ 3.79 20496340379? ;(^D2 was include in File #1) ^D3? ;Print

File #3

^A2^D59? ;Load the following data to slot #2 ^D57? ;Start label definition 4,620,161,,18,35,,73,3? 1,120,110,50,1,11? 2,120, 80,70,1,10? 3,120, 60,70,1,10? 4,120, 40,70,1,10? ^D56? ;End label definition ^D2? ;Start text entry mode MICROCOM CORPORATION? 8220 GREEN MEADOWS DR., N.? LEWIS CENTER, OH 43035? (740) 548-6262? <ESC> ;End save

The above file would be selected by sending an ^A2^D58?.

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5.3.7 LABEL PRESENT SENSOR CONTROL

The optional label present sensor gives the printer the ability to print at the operators pace. The following modes define its operation.

^A ^D Command XX 96 Load Advance Delay: ^A specifies how many milliseconds to delay

repositioning of the label in tag/tear and peel-and-dispense modes. Example

usage: ^A1000^D96 would delay label advance by one second. 97 Tag/Tear Operation: A method of dispensing a label where the label is

advanced so the perforation between labels is on the tear bar. This allows

heavy tag stock and regular label stock to be torn off easier. The distance of

advancement may also be defined by the user, if used in conjunction with the

^D95 command. There are three modes of operation:

0 Disable tag/tear operation. 1 Advance after every label: Causes the paper to be advanced to the perforation

after every label is printed. As soon as the label is taken, the paper is backed up

to the beginning of the next label. This mode forces the printer and computer to

operate at the speed of the operator.

2 Advance after copies count: Causes the paper to be advanced to the

perforation after the number of labels specified by the copy count (^D73) or

label count (^D75) commands have been printed. As soon as the labels are

taken, the paper is backed up to the beginning of the next label.

3 Advance when idle: This causes the paper to be advanced to the perforation

whenever the printer does not have a label request pending. When another

label request is made, the paper backs up and the next label is printed. 98 Peel-and-Dispense Mode: A method of dispensing a label, where the backing

paper is automatically peeled away from the label. It allows the operator to take

the label and apply it without having to peel the label from the backing paper.

The printer will advance the label so that it is hanging off the tear bar. Once the

label is taken, the printer will back the paper into the printer so as not to waste

label stock. Larger labels may require the use of a front label support rack. The

peel position can be adjusted using the ^D95 command. (See section 2.5.2 for

Peel-and-Dispense loading instructions.)

0 Turn off peel and dispense mode with ^D98. 1 Turn on peel and dispense mode. 2 (Custom Applicator Mode - peel and dispense without delay.)

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^A ^D Command XX 95 Load User Defined Steps for Label to Advance: Used in conjunction with

tag/tear, peel-and-dispense and cutter mode. This value will advance the label

after a print, a user defined distance. While the user may specify 64,000 steps,

it is not recommended that the number of steps create a situation where the

entire label is back fed into the printer. This command has a default value of

XXX.

5.3.8 TEXT STRINGS COMMANDS

The following commands support special editing features that allows the positioning of new text, protects existing text, and enters text without using the ^D2? or ^B delimiter. These commands are generally used when there is a format already loaded in RAM. They are used to edit that file in order to print variations, often only the text in one field.

^A ^D Command

60 Clears command 61

XX 61 Mark Text Starting Position: ^A designates which text field to start entering

new data. This is useful for creating variable data fields after a string of fixed

data fields. ^AXX^D61? marks the text starting position, where XX is the text

string number where the new text will begin. If XX is a 2, the first line of new text

entered following a ^D2? will overwrite text line two. If two new text strings are

entered, the existing text lines two and three will be over-written. If three new

text strings are entered, the existing lines two, three and four will be overwritten,

and so forth. 62 Pre-padded Text: This command is sent after text that is to appear at the

beginning of each field. Text sent after this command will be appended to the

pre-padded text. This is useful, for example, if the first two numbers of a bar

code are always constant and only the new bar code numbers need to be sent.

The printer would automatically update the new bar code with the two fixed

numbers. A ^D62 prevents existing text lines from being over-written. Any new

text entered after a ^D62? will be appended to the existing lines. 63 Text Mode Control: Allows entry of new text without a ^D2 and/or clears all text

when new text is added. The following ^AXX values have the following effects:

0 Disable 1 & 2. 1 Enable auto-print mode: New text entered after this command are recognized as

text lines and will overwrite existing text. The ^D2? is not needed at the

beginning of new text.

2 Clear all previous text upon receiving new data. When one or more characters

of new text is entered, the existing text area will be erased in its entirety. The

printer can be programmed to enter this mode automatically upon power-up by

setting position 7 of software dip switch 2 (See ^D21, section 5.3.1).

3 Enable 1 & 2.

^A ^D Command

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XX 64 Auto Print String Count: ^A tells the printer how many text strings to accept

before printing. Used in conjunction with ^A1^D63.

When the printer is put in auto-print mode, it is not necessary to send a ^D2? to

inform the printer that text is coming or send a ^D3? to tell the printer to print a

label. The printer will accept all incoming data as text strings (except control

codes) and will print a label as soon as the number of strings equals the amount

specified by the ^D64 command. At this point, the printer will print a label and

continue to accept data. This mode is useful for interfacing to a device that

transmits raw data, such as a scale or meter.

This is an example of the D63, 64 and 65 Commands...

^A0^D64? ^D57? 11,832,640,,20,36? 1,47,463,10,1,2? 2,416,439,20,1,3,,4? 3,416,412,25,1,3,,4? 4,416,385,25,1,3,,4? 5,47,350,10,1,2? 6,307,503,30,1,3? 7,60,207,29,1,5? 7,416,277,20,16,2,,4,2,50,2? 8,60,149,29,1,5? 9,60,090,29,1,5? 10,60,031,29,1,5? ^D56? ^D2? SHIP FROM:? MICROCOM CORPORATION? 8220 GREEN MEADOWS DR., N.? LEWIS CENTER, OH 43035? SHIP TO:? Order No: XXX? 77777777777777777777777777777777777777? 88888888888888888888888888888888888888? 99999999999999999999999999999999999999? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA? ^A3^D63? ^A5^D64? ^A6^D61?

;clear any old settings ;load new format mode ;header ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;field info ;select RAM format ;begin text entry mode ;data line 01 (protected) ;data line 02 (protected) ;data line 03 (protected) ;data line 04 (protected) ;data line 05 (protected) ;data line 06 ;data line 07 ;data line 08 ;data line 09 ;data line 10 ;enable auto print and clear text ;tell printer to print after 6 (CR) ;tell printer to start new data entry at data line 6 instead of 1

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CHAPTER 6: DOWNLOADABLE GRAPHIC IMAGES

The 466 printer has 255 slots available for storing fonts or graphics. Existing graphic images can be converted to the proper format using either the "PCX2MIC.EXE" or “BMP2MIC.EXE” software utilities. The graphic image format sections are provided to support developers that wish to create 466 graphic files from within their own applications.

6.1 USING THE GRAPHICS CONVERSION UTILITIES

The following section details the process required to convert and download graphics. The conversion utilities may be downloaded at http://www.microcomcorp.com. These 16 bit DOS utilities convert PCX or BMP type graphic images to a format suitable for downloading to the 466 printer.

6.1.1 PCX2MIC.EXE PROGRAM

A) Run the program - PCX2MIC B) Follow the on screen instructions and note the slot # the image was placed in. C) Make sure the slot is clear. Printer memory can be cleared using the ^D100 command. D) Download resulting file (filename.N66 or .R66) file to printer E) Section 4.5.3 explains how to access loaded images.

6.1.2 BMP2MIC.EXE PROGRAM

A) Run the program - BMP2MIC B) Follow the on screen instructions and note the slot # the image was placed in. C) Make sure the slot is clear. Printer memory can be cleared using the ^D100 command. D) Download resulting file (filename.N66 or .R66) file to printer E) Section 4.5.3 explains how to access loaded images.

6.2 GRAPHIC IMAGE DOWNLOAD METHODS

The model 466 supports compressed and uncompressed graphic image and font downloads. The compressed format (^D107) shortens download time by reducing the number of bytes sent to the printer. Please note that the compressed format is only usable on 8 bit data connections and will not function using a 7 bit connection. The uncompressed format (^D106) is usable on 7 or 8 bit data connections. The ^D106 method is more flexible but it encodes the image data using ASCII-HEX. This results in a much larger file size. Microcom Corporation recommends using the compressed format when possible.

6.2.1 COMPRESSED BINARY IMAGE COMMAND (^D107)

This command allows graphic images or fonts to be transmitted in binary, thereby cutting the number of bytes sent in half. Furthermore, this command allows for data compression by converting strings of 0h or FFh bytes to shorter byte-plus-count sequences. These sequences are expanded to the proper number of bytes within the printer. This command is only useable on data connections that support 8-bit data such as a serial port configured for 8 data bits and no parity, or a parallel port. This command will not function correctly with a serial port configured to 7 data bits.

The following is the format of ^D107 command when used with a graphic image file. ^A <slot number> ^D107?

Downloadable Graphic Images Chapter 6 <rotation> <count> <image data>

Where: <slot number> is a slot number, 1 through 255 (in ASCII). Note: The 466 uses the same TCI for fonts and graphics. They are both accessed by using a TCI of 8. Therefore a font and a graphic cannot have the same CGN number.

<rotation> is an 8-bit integer, 0 for an upright font and 1 for a 90-degree rotated image. <count> is a 32-bit integer, least significant byte first. This is number of uncompressed bytes

that the image uses, not the number of bytes that will actually be transmitted. Due to compression, the number of bytes transmitted will normally be less than this number.

<image data> is the compressed binary image. Refer to section 6.3 for a detailed description of this data.

Compression Algorithm

The binary data that make up the image file is a run-length compressed version of the image data described in section 6.2. Bytes with a value of 0h or FFh are followed by another byte indicating the number of times that value is repeated.

For example, suppose the original (uncompressed) image file has a sequence of bytes like this: (all values are in hexadecimal) 00 01 02 03 04 00 00 00 00 00 00 FF FD FF FF FF FF FF 00 FF

The encoded result would look like this: 00 00 01 02 03 04 00 05 FF 00 FD FF 04 00 00 FF 00

Here's the interpretation: 00 - the first byte is 00 00 - count of 0 - the previous 00 byte is not repeated 01 - a 01 byte 02 - a 02 byte 03 - a 03 byte 04 - a 04 byte 00 - another 00 byte in the file 05 - count of 5 - insert 5 more 00 bytes (total of 6 in sequence) FF - a FF byte 00 - count of 0 - the previous FF byte is not repeated FD - a FD byte FF - another FF byte 04 - count of 4 - insert 4 more FF bytes (total of 5 in sequence) 00 - another 00 bytes 00 - count of 0 - the previous 00 byte is not repeated FF - another FF byte 00 - count of 0 - the previous FF byte is not repeated.

The compression scheme is slightly inefficient for single occurrences of 0h or FFh, causing these to occupy 2 bytes each. However, most image bitmaps include large areas of either blank space (which is coded as large numbers of 0h bytes) or black space (coded as large numbers of FFh bytes).

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If a string of more than 255 0h or FFh bytes occurs, the byte-plus-count sequence may be repeated as often as necessary to incorporate all occurrences of the byte. For example, a string of 1132 FFh bytes in sequence can be encoded as:

FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF FF 6B The first four pairs of FFh each encode 256 bytes of FFh (one for the first byte and 255

copies), totaling 1024 bytes of FFh. The next FFh byte adds another, and the 6Bh adds 107 more copies. Thus, (4 x 256) + 1 + 107 = 1132 FFh bytes.

6.2.2 UNCOMPRESSED IMAGE COMMAND (^D106)

This command allows graphic images or fonts to be transmitted in ASCII-HEX, thereby allowing all image data to pass over a 7 bit connection. This command is useable on data connections that support 7 or 8 bit data.

The following is the format of ^D106 command when used with a graphic image file. ^A <slot number> ^D106?

<rotation> is an 8-bit integer, 0 for an upright font and 1 for a 90-degree rotated image. <count> is a 32-bit integer, least significant byte first. This is the number of bytes that the

image uses. <image data> is the graphic image data, described in section 6.3, which has been converted to

ASCII-HEX. (The ASCII-HEX conversion is described below.)

ASCII-HEX Conversion

The ASCII-HEX conversion is preformed by OR’ing the most significant and least significant nibbles of every byte with 30h.

For example: To convert the byte 6C to ASCII-HEX, simply OR the first and second nibbles with 30h. This results in two bytes 36h and 3Ch. This conversion results in a file size that is twice a big as the source. The main advantage is that the file can be easily transmitted across a 7 bit data connection.

The following graphics file structure is offered to programmers who with to use their own programs to convert graphic images.

Note: The 466 does not differentiate between graphics and fonts. They are both accessed by using a TCI of 8. Therefore a font and a graphic cannot have the same CGN number. A graphic is simply a font with only one character and all characters point to the same character.

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The 466 font structure consists of commands, a header, a look-up table, a character descriptor, and character data. All words are in Intel format: low byte, high byte. The graphic image structure is the same as the font structure.

Sample Graphic

Figure 14

Note: All multi-byte hexadecimal fields are written least-significant-byte first.

Font/Graphic File Format and Sample Data

File

Data

^An ^D106 freeform, <CR> terminated Download Cmd n = user font number (1-255)

Size Name Notes

ASCII-HEXED

Data

00 1 byte Orientation 00h = upright, 01h = 90 deg.

B2000000 4 bytes File Length length of remaining data in bytes

1E00 2 bytes Max Cell Height >= height of image (or tallest character in font)

00 1 byte Default Spacing 20 1 byte First Printable Char 20 1 byte Last Printable Char 20 1 byte Default Char Char to use if not a printable char.

04000000 4 bytes Char Offset Distance in bytes from beginning of this field to

1E00 2 bytes Char Height Height of char image in dots (corresponds to

2800 2 bytes Char Width Width of char image in dots 0000 2 bytes Top Offset Distance in dots between top of char image

0000 2 bytes Bottom Offset Distance in dots between bottom of char and

0000 2 bytes Right Offset, Non Signed right offset for non-proportional fonts 0000 2 bytes Left Offset, Non Signed left offset for non-proportional fonts 0000 2 bytes Right Offset, Prop Signed right offset for proportional fonts 0000 2 bytes Left Offset, Prop Signed left offset for proportional fonts 0500 2 bytes Byte Width Width of char image data in bytes ((Char

6060606060 5 bytes Bottom row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image

Size Name Notes

beginning of corresponding character

structure (Char Height). (Repeat field as

needed for each character in font. Only one

character is used in a graphic file.)

number of bytes in character generator table

for this char.)

and Max Cell Height

bottom of cell.

Width + 7) / 8)

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F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image F0F0F0F0F0 5 bytes Middle row of image

FFFFFFFFF0 5 bytes Middle row of image FFFFFFFFF0 5 bytes Middle row of image FFFF9FFFF0 5 bytes Middle row of image FFFF0FFFF0 5 bytes Middle row of image FFFF0FFFF0 5 bytes Middle row of image 7FFE07FFE0 5 bytes Top Row of Image

Notes:

1.) For any character, the sum of the Char Height, Top Offset, and Bottom Offset must equal the Max Cell Height for the font. Top Offset and Bottom Offset are used to vertically position any character in the field.

2.) The fields Char Height through Top Row of Image are repeated as needed for each character in the font.

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6.3 DOWNLOADABLE GRAPHICS COMMAND SUMMARY

The following commands refer to the use of downloadable fonts and graphic images:

^A ^D Command

100 Clear User RAM: This command will clear all downloaded fonts, graphics, and

stored label formats.

101 List Memory Bytes Available: The printer will send a < character followed by

the amount of bytes and finally a > character. (ie. >699842<)

XX 106 Load Graphic Image or Font into User Memory: ^A select which slot to place

the image/font in (1-255).

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The 466 is capable of storing up to 255 downloadable fonts. The printer treats downloadable fonts just like the standard bitmapped fonts mentioned in Chapter 4. The "JET2466.EXE" software utility can be used to convert LaserJet II™ compatible fonts and the “TTF2MIC.EXE” utility can convert TrueType® fonts. (Note: The "JET2466.EXE" program uses the Portrait or 0 degree source rotation for both normal and rotated fonts.)

Downloadable fonts are accessed in the same manner as embedded fonts but use a TCI value of 8. The CGN selects the downloaded font number to use.

The following is a list of commands referring to downloadable font functions.

^A ^D Command

100 Clear User RAM: This command will clear all downloaded fonts, graphics, and

stored label formats.

101 List Memory Bytes Available: The printer will send a < character followed by

the amount of bytes and finally a > character. (ie. >699842<)

XX 106 Load Font/Graphic Image into User Memory: ^A select which slot to place the

font/image in (1-255).

The following section details the process required to convert and load user defined fonts. The conversion utility "JET2466.EXE" is available on request. This DOS utility converts fonts from the popular .SFP format in to a format suitable for downloading to the 466 printer.

Note: The 466 treats fonts and graphics the same. Please refer to Chapter 6 for the font/graphic structure.

7.1 PROCEDURE FOR USING JET2466.EXE UTILITY

A) Type at DOS prompt - JET2466 filename.ext B) Follow the on screen instructions and note the slot # the image was placed in. C) Down-load resulting file (filename.N66 or .R66) file to printer D) Section 4.5.3 explains how to access loaded images.

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CHAPTER 8: BAR CODES

Although bar codes are accessed in the same manner as text fields, bar codes often limit or expand the type of data that can be used. The purpose of this chapter is to explain many of the questions that surface when dealing with bar codes for the first time.

8.1 TYPES OF BAR CODES

Universal Product Code - Version A (UPC-A), TCI=12 The UPC-A bar code is primarily used in the supermarket industry. It contains 11 numeric data characters and a single numeric check digit. The 466 must be provided 11 digits in order to print a scanable bar code. The first 6 digits are supplied by the UCC council and are the Manufacture's ID number. The next 5 digits uniquely identify each of the Manufacture's products and are assigned by the Manufacturer. The 12th digit is the checksum and should be omitted because the printer will automatically insert the correct value if a checksum is not sent (Caution: The printer will accept and print an invalid check digit if an incorrect check digit is provided). UPC-A bar codes do not use inter character spacing and therefore the character spacing element CS must be defaulted.

Universal Product Code - Version E (UPC-E, send 11 digits), TCI=13 The UPC-E bar code is primarily used in the supermarket industry. The bar code algorithm uses a zero suppression routine to reduce certain 11 digit UPC-A bar codes to only 6 numeric digits and a conversion type numeric digit. The following chart illustrates how 11 digits are reduced to only 6. (Note: When using TCI 13, the printer requires the unconverted 11 digits.) UPC-E bar codes do not use inter character spacing and therefore the character spacing element CS must be defaulted. Note: The Manufacturer's ID number must begin with 0 in order to use UPC-E.

UPC Zero Reduction Format

SYMBOL DECODED NUMBER X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 NS X1 X2 0 0 0 0 0 X3 X4 X5 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 1 NS X1 X2 1 0 0 0 0 X3 X4 X5 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 2 NS X1 X2 2 0 0 0 0 X3 X4 X5 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 3 NS X1 X2 X3 0 0 0 0 0 X4 X5 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 4 NS X1 X2 X3 X4 0 0 0 0 0 X5 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 5 NS X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 5 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 6 NS X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 6 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 7 NS X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 7 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 8 NS X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 8 X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 9 NS X1 X2 X3 X4 X5 0 0 0 0 9

Table 9

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Universal Product Code - Version E (UPC-E, send 7 digits), TCI=14 TCI 14 is the same as TCI 13 except that only the actual 7 numeric digits are used to produce the bar code. (Caution: It is very important that the valid 7 digits are used. Failure to use valid numbers may result in incorrect bar codes.)

Interleaved 2 of 5 TCI=15 (I2of5) I2of5 is a high density, variable length, numeric bar code that is used mainly in the distribution industry. Although the data can be any length, there must always be an even number of characters. If an odd amount of characters is required, a 0 is normally padded at the beginning. I2of5 bar codes actually encode characters in the spaces as well as the bars. Therefore the character spacing element (CS) must be defaulted.

Code 3 of 9 (Code 39), TCI=16 Code 39 is one of the more popular variable length, alphanumeric, bar code in use today. It can encode numeric characters 0 through 9, all upper case letters, and the characters -.*$/+% and space. Although most specifications require a specific inter character spacing, Code 39 will allow custom inter character spacing as long as the maximum does not exceed the timeout zone of the intended scanning equipment.

European Article Numbering System - Version 13 (EAN-13), TCI=20 EAN-13 contains 13 digits and is constructed in the same manner as UPC-A.

European Article Numbering System - Version 8 (EAN-8), TCI=21 EAN-8 contains 8 numeric digits. Please note that EAN-8 does not use compression and is not a condensed version of EAN-13 (as with UPC-A and UPC-E).

Modified Plessey (MSI 1), TCI=24 MSI is primarily used on retail self labels. It is a low density and numeric only bar code due to the amount of space that each character consumes. MSI 2 and MSI 3 are variations which contain 1 or 2 check digits respectively.

Postnet, TCI=36 Postnet is a numeric only bar code that is used in postal applications to sort mail.

MaxiCode, TCI=38 Modes 2 through 6 of the AIM International MaxiCode specification are supported. Modes 0 and 1 are obsolete, and are not supported.

The format field to describe a MaxiCode label field shall have a TCI of 38 and a CGN with the desired Mode (2-6).

MaxiCode may encode non-printable characters, and Modes 2 and 3 require certain control characters for compatibility with transport industry standards. In order to specify a control character in a MaxiCode data string without causing printer difficulties, use the pound symbol ('#') followed by two hexadecimal digits that give the value of the control character. For example, "#01" specifies Control-A (ASCII SOH) and "#1D" specifies Control-] (ASCII GS). In order to specify an actual pound symbol in the string, use "##". The following table shows all the "#" equivalents that may be used.

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Data String Control Equiv. ASCII Name Hex Value

#00 control-@ NUL 00 #01 control-A SOH 01 #02 control-B STX 02 #03 control-C ETX 03 #04 control-D EOT 04 #05 control-E ENQ 05 #06 control-F ACK 06 #07 control-G BEL 07 #08 control-H BS 08 #09 control-I HT 09 #0A control-J LF 0A #0B control-K VT 0B #0C control-L FF 0C #0D control-M CR 0D #0E control-N SO 0E #0F control-O SI 0F #10 control-P DLE 10 #11 control-Q DC1 11 #12 control-R DC2 12 #13 control-S DC3 13 #14 control-T DC4 14 #15 control-U NAK 15 #16 control-V SYN 16 #17 control-W ETB 17 #18 control-X CAN 18 #19 control-Y EM 19 #1A control-Z SUB 1A #1B control-[ ESC 1B #1C control-\ FS 1C #1D control-] GS 1D #1E control-^ RS 1E #1F control-_ US 1F

## (NA) # (pound) 23

Control Code Equivalents for use in Data Strings

Table 10

The data string associated with a MaxiCode field shall be formatted according to the Mode selected:

Mode 2:

Mode 2 may have either of the following formats: [)>#1e01#1dYYPPPPPPPPP#1dCCC#1dSSS#1dA..A#1dB..B#1dC..C#1e#04 Where: #1e is the ASCII RS character

#1d is the ASCII GS character #04 is the ASCII EOT character YY is the two-digit numeric year

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PPPPPPPPP is the nine-digit numeric US Postal Code. (If using a 5-digit postal code, the last 4 digits must be 0.) CCC is the three-digit numeric Country Code. (840 in the US) SSS is the three-digit numeric Class of Service A..A, B..B, C..C, etc. are variable-length alphanumeric fields separated by #1d. These fields are optional according to the MaxiCode specification, but may be required in certain applications.

PPPPPPPPP#1dCCC#1dSSS#1dA..A#1dB..B#1dC..C#04 Where the fields are the same as those described above.

Mode 3:

Mode 3 may have either of the following formats: [)>#1e01#1dYYPPPPPP#1dCCC#1dSSS#1dA..A#1dB..B#1dC..C#1e#04 Where: #1e is the ASCII RS character

#1d is the ASCII GS character #04 is the ASCII EOT character YY is the two-digit numeric year PPPPPP is the six-character alphanumeric Postal Code. CCC is the three-digit numeric Country Code. SSS is the three-digit numeric Class of Service A..A, B..B, C..C, etc. are variable-length alphanumeric fields separated by #1d. These fields are optional according to the MaxiCode specification, but may be required in certain applications.

PPPPPP#1dCCC#1dSSS#1dA..A#1dB..B#1dC..C#04 Where the fields are the same as those described above.

Mode 4:

Mode 4 may encode any string of up to 93 characters. Control characters are specified as described above, but occupy only 1 character in the encoded string.

Mode 5:

Mode 5 may encode any string of up to 77 characters. Control characters are specified as described above, but occupy only 1 character in the encoded string.

Mode 6:

Mode 6 may encode any string of up to 93 characters. Control characters are specified as described above, but occupy only 1 character in the encoded string.

Code 128 (Automatic Compression, TCI=40), (Manual Compression, TCI-41) Code 128 is a very high density, variable length, full alphanumeric bar code. It contains 3 separate character sets (A, B, and C) and separate shift characters to access them in the same bar code. Subset C contains 99 matched numeric pairs, each encoded as a single character. The pairing of numeric characters allows numeric portions of the bar code to

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consume half as much space as they would using Subsets A or B. If TCI 40 is selected, the printer will automatically decide which subset is most efficient and insert the appropriate shift character. It is also possible to manually change the subset by using TCI=41. Please note that the correct rules must be followed to prevent and incorrect bar code.

Code 128 Special Function Access

# Value CODE A CODE B CODE C #0 96 FNC3 FNC3 ----#1 97 FNC2 FNC2 ----#2 98 SHIFT SHIFT ----#3 99 CODE C CODE C ----#4 100 CODE B FNC4 CODE B #5 101 FNC4 CODE A CODE A #6 102 FNC1 FNC1 FNC1 #7 103 START ----- ----#8 104 ----- START ----#9 105 ----- ----- START

#M or #m 77 CR ----- -----

## 3 # # -----

Table 11

Codabar (Rationalized Codabar), TCI=42 The Codabar bar code is typically used to identify air shipping containers, library items and blood information. It can encode the characters 0 through 9, -$:.+ABCD and four different start/stop characters.

Code 93, TCI=43 Code 93 is a high density, full alphanumeric, variable length, bar code. Through the use of reserved shift characters, it can encode all of the first 128 ASCII characters.

AS-10, TCI=44 AS-10 is not widely used. It is variable length and encodes the numeric values 1234567890 only.

PDF-417, TCI=46 PDF-417 is a two dimensional bar code.

Enter the following command before the label format: :Text^[ number_of_rows<CR>

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number_of_columns<CR> rotation<CR> ;in degrees (0, 90, 180, 270 only) ECC_percent<CR> ;error correction parameter ECC_level<CR> ;level of error correction Aspect_ratio<CR> ;must be in format of, ex., 2:3

(Where "Text" is the data to be encoded in the PDF-417 bar code. It may contain carriage returns and other control codes. It must be terminated by the characters "^[" (without quotes) which will not be printed.)

Enter a normal label format with a field specifying a TCI of 46 and a CC of 1. The string associated with the field described above need contain only 1 character. It may be any printable character, and is used only as a placeholder. This character is not printed.

UCC/EAN-128, TCI=50 (TCI=51 is the text version) UCC/EAN-128 bar codes are actually Code 128 bar codes that have a specific data format that contains multiple data subfields. Subfields are identified by application identifiers as specified in UCC/EAN-128 Application Identifier Standard (January 1993, revised and reprinted July 1995).

The UCC/EAN-128 bar code field has a TCI of 50. The CGN field is ignored. The UCC/EAN-128 text field has a TCI of 51. The CGN selects the desired resident font for

printing the text string. In other words, use the same CGN that would be used if printing the string with a regular resident font using a TCI of 1.

Data strings can contain one or more substrings appended onto one line. Each substring can consists of a 2-, 3-, or 4-digit Application Identifier immediately followed by a data string meeting the formatting requirements for that Application Identifier.

The following table is a list of supported Application Identifiers and their data format requirements. Use this legend when reading the data format requirements:

a alphabetic character n numeric character an alphanumeric character a3 3 alphabetic characters, fixed length n3 3 numeric characters, fixed length an3 3 alphanumeric characters, fixed length a..3 variable length up to 3 alphabetic characters n..3 variable length up to 3 numeric characters an..3 variable length up to 3 alphanumeric characters

AI Content Format

00 SSCC-18 n2+n18 01 SCC-14 n2+n14 10 Batch or Lot Number n2+an..20 11(*) Production Date (YYMMDD) n2+n6 13(*) Packaging Date (YYMMDD) n2+n6 15(*) Sell By Date (Quality) (YYMMDD) n2+n6 17(*) Expiration Date (Safety) (YYMMDD) n2+n6

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AI Content Format

20 Product Variant n2+n2 21 Serial Number n2+an..20 22 HIBCC - Quantity, Date, Batch and Link n2+an..29 23(**) Lot Number (Transitional Use) n3+n..19 240 Additional Product Identification assigned by the Manufacturer n3+an..30 250 Secondary Serial Number n3+an..30 30 Quantity n2+n..8 310(***) Net Weight, Kilograms n4+n6 311(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Meters n4+n6 312(***) Width, Diameter or 2nd Dimension, Meters n4+n6 313(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Meters n4+n6 314(***) Area, Square Meters n4+n6 315(***) Volume, Liters n4+n6 316(***) Volume, Cubic Meters n4+n6 320(***) Net Weight, Pounds n4+n6 321(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Inches n4+n6 322(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Feet n4+n6 323(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Yards n4+n6 324(***) Width, Diameter, or 2nd Dimension, Inches n4+n6 325(***) Width, Diameter, or 2nd Dimension, Feet n4+n6 326(***) Width, Diameter, or 2nd Dimension, Yards n4+n6 327(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Inches n4+n6 328(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Feet n4+n6 329(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Yards n4+n6 330(***) Gross Weight, Kilograms n4+n6 331(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Meters, Logistics n4+n6 332(***) Width, Diameter or 2nd Dimension, Meters, Logistics n4+n6 333(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Meters, Logistics n4+n6 334(***) Area, Square Meters, Logistics n4+n6 335(***) Gross Volume, Liters n4+n6 336(***) Gross Volume, Cubic Meters n4+n6 340(***) Gross Weight, Pounds n4+n6 341(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Inches, Logistics n4+n6 342(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Feet, Logistics n4+n6 343(***) Length or 1st Dimension, Yards, Logistics n4+n6 344(***) Width, Diameter or 2nd Dimension, Inches, Logistics n4+n6 345(***) Width, Diameter or 2nd Dimension, Feet, Logistics n4+n6 346(***) Width, Diameter or 2nd Dimension, Yards, Logistics n4+n6 347(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Inches, Logistics n4+n6 348(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Feet, Logistics n4+n6 349(***) Depth, Thickness, Height or 3rd Dimension, Yards, Logistics n4+n6 350(***) Area, Square Inches n4+n6 351(***) Area, Square Feet n4+n6 352(***) Area, Square Yards n4+n6 353(***) Area, Square Inches, Logistics n4+n6 354(***) Area, Square Feet, Logistics n4+n6 355(***) Area, Square Yards, Logistics n4+n6 356(***) Net Weight, Troy Ounce n4+n6 360(***) Volume, Quarts n4+n6 361(***) Volume, Gallons n4+n6

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AI Content Format

362(***) Gross Volume, Quarts n4+n6 363(***) Gross Volume, Gallons n4+n6 364(***) Volume, Cubic Inches n4+n6 365(***) Volume, Cubic Feet n4+n6 366(***) Volume, Cubic Yards n4+n6 367(***) Gross Volume, Cubic Inches n4+n6 368(***) Gross Volume, Cubic Feet n4+n6 369(***) Gross Volume, Cubic Yards n4+n6 400 Customer’s Purchase Order Number n3+an..30 410 Ship To (Deliver To) Location Code Using EAN-13 n3+n13 411 Bill To (Invoice To) Location Code Using EAN-13 n3+n13 412 Purchase From (Location Code of Party from Whom Goods are

Purchased) 414 EAN Location Code for Physical Identification n3+n13 420 Ship To (Deliver To) Postal Code Within a Single Postal

Authority 421 Ship To (Deliver To) Postal Code With 3-Digit ISO Country

Code Prefix 8001 Roll products - Width, Length, Core Diameter, Direction and

Splices 8002 Electronic Serial Number for Cellular Mobile Telephones n4+an..20 8003 UPC/EAN Number and Serial Number of Returnable Asset n4+n14+an..16 8100 Coupon Extended Code - Number System Character and Offer n4+n1+n5 8101 Coupon Extended Code - Number System Character, Offer, and

End of Offer 8102 Coupon Extended Code - Number System Character preceded

by zero 90 Mutually Agreed, Between Trading Partners or FACT DIs n2+an..30 91 Intra-Company (Internal) n2+an..30 92 Intra-Company (Internal) n2+an..30 93 Intra-Company (Internal) n2+an..30 94 Intra-Company (Internal) n2+an..30 95 Internal-Carriers n2+an..30 96 Internal-Carriers n2+an..30 97 Intra-Company (Internal) n2+an..30 98 Intra-Company (Internal) n2+an..30 99 Internal n2+an..30

n3+n13

n3+an..9 n3+n3+an..9 n4+n14

n4+n1+n5+n4 n4+n1+n1

UCC/EAN Application Identifiers

Table 12

(*) : To indicate only year and month, DD must be filled with “00” (**) : Plus one digit for length indication (***) : Plus one digit for decimal point indication

Each subfield's format is expressed as the format of the Application Identifier number + the format of the associated data. Each subfield must adhere to the format specified or else the printer will be unable to locate following subfields, causing errors in printing.

Any variable length subfield (unless it is the last subfield in a field) must be terminated by the characters "#6" (without quotes). These characters are translated to the Code 128 "FNC1"

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Chapter 8 Bar Codes

character, which is specified by UCC/EAN-128 as the variable-length field terminator. The "#6" is not printed.

When printing a UCC/EAN-128 text field, the printer automatically surrounds each application identifier number with parentheses, and follows the right parenthesis with a space character. Do not use parentheses or spaces when specifying an application identifier string.

Several application identifiers (00, 01, 22, 8003) specify fields that will have a check digit as part of their data. A character must be included in the check digit place (although it need not be the correct check digit.) This character is used only as a placeholder and will not be printed. The printer will calculate the correct check digit and replace the character already there.

^A3^D97? ^D57? 6,832,600,,,30? 1,50,100,80,40,,0,,2,100? 1,50,300,80,50,,0,,2,100? 1,50,500,80,51,5,0? 2,50,60,30,1,3? 3,50,260,30,1,3? 4,50,460,30,1,3? ^D56? ^D2? 011234567890123-420abcde#63101123456? code128? EAN128? EAN128 Human Readable? ^D3?

8.2 DESIGNING WITH BAR CODES

When 0 and 180 degree bar codes are X multiplied (CMX), the space between characters is also multiplied to maintain the correct ratios. The printer will do this internally. Therefore, when multiplying bar codes, use the default value for the spacing element (SP) in the field parameters. On some bar codes (CODE 39 ...) you may choose a larger spacing than the printer default, but you may not use a smaller spacing.

If the Y multiplier (CMY) is not multiplied, a bar code with a vertical length of one dot is produced. Of course, this will not be picked up by scanners. Multiply the Y co-ordinate to the proper height. For example: Multiply the Y co-ordinate (CMY) by 203 to create a one inch tall bar code.

If the bar code is in a ladder (or vertical) orientation (90 and 270 degrees), multiply CMY for width, and CMX for bar code length. It may be necessary to slightly adjust the contrast window and/or adjust the print speed due to the "bleeding" effect caused by heat build up in the print head.

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Bar Codes Chapter 8

Program sample: Bar codes in four rotations (See Figure 11) ^D57?

9,814,609? 1,410,30,11,1,4,,4? 2,410,100,11,1,2,,4? 2,410,137,3,16,2,,4,3,40? 3,680,300,11,1,2,3,4? 3,640,300,3,16,2,3,4,40,3? 4,410,500,11,1,2,1,4? 4,410,465,3,16,2,1,4,3,40? 5,140,300,11,1,2,2,4? 5,180,300,3,16,2,2,4,40,3? ^D56? ^D2? ROTATIONS? 000 DEGREES? 090 DEGREES? 180 DEGREES? 270 DEGREES? ^D3?

Bar Code Rotations Figure 15

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Chapter 8 Bar Codes

8.2.1 BAR CODE HUMAN READABLES

Text conversion identifiers (TCI position in field description) 32 and 33 refer to the human readable portion of UPC-A bar codes. They are designed to be used in conjunction with UPCA bar codes, They only create the text equivalent of the UPC-A bar code and optionally add the extended portions of the bar code lines. This lower portion must them be lined up with the upper to create a correct UPC-A bar code. (See Figure 16)

<---------------- UPC-A BAR CODE

<---------------- Human Readable

UPC-A Bar Code Figure 16

Text conversion identifiers 28 and 29 are MSI human readables that do not border themselves with bar lines like 32 and 33. Their purpose is only to add the calculated check digit(s) to text lines. To design with these TCI's, select a text character generator number and multiply as with any other text field. Place this field underneath the MSI bar code. TCI 3 works in this same way but for UPC-A bar codes. All other bar code human readables only require a text TCI of 1, a user selectable text character generator, and text positioning under the desired bar code. This field must refer to the bar code number. ^D57? 16,814,609? 1,100,20,17,1,1? 3,60,37,11,32,,,,2,2? 3,82,55,11,12,,,,2,60? 2,375,20,19,1,1? 3,350,37,11,33,,,,2,2? 3,372,55,11,12,,,,2,60? 4,80,150,19,1,1? 4,65,167,12,20,,,,2,60,,8? 5,408,150,14,1,1? 5,395,167,7,21,,,,2,60,,7 6,110,270,5,1,1? 6,120,287,12,13,,,,2,60,,8? 9,180,270,8,3,1? 7,400,270,5,1,1? 7,470,287,12,13,,,,2,60,,8? Bar Code Human Readables 8,460,270,8,3,1? Figure 17 ^D56^D2? UPC-A HR W/CHKSUM? UPC-A HR W/O CHKSUM? 01234567890? EAN13 012345678901? EAN8 0123456? UPC-E 00123400005? UPC-E 10123400005? ^D3?

466 Operators Manual 73

Bar Codes Chapter 8

466 Operators Manual74

CHAPTER 9: SPECIAL EFFECTS

9.1 REVERSED PRINT (WHITE TEXT OVER BLACK)

The 466 has the ability to print white text on a user definable black background. Reversed text can be produced by manually placing a black box on top of an existing image by using the line command and setting the line and text field ANs (attribute numbers) to a value of 1. It should be noted that the above method produces a fixed background that will not automatically adjust to the amount of text printed on top.

Reverse video sample:

^D57? 2,812,609? 1,200,425,13,1,8,,,,,,,,,,,1? 1,170,410,,6,,,,450,90,,,,,,,1? ^D56? ^D2? REVERSE VIDEO? ^D3?

REVERSE VIDEO

Reverse Video Sample

Figure 16

466 Operators Manual 75

Special Effects Chapter 9

466 Operators Manual76

CHAPTER 10: OPTIONS

The 466 printer has many options available to enhance the performance of the printer. Contact your sales representative for more information on these features.

10.1 GRAPHICS CONVERSION UTILITIES

PCX2MIC.EXE or BMP2MIC.EXE These DOS based software programs convert PCX or BMP files to the Microcom Corporation 466 format. See Section 4.5 and Chapter 6 for more information about printing graphic images.

10.2 DOWNLOADABLE FONT UTILITIES

JET2466.EXE or TTF2MIC.EXE These DOS based software programs convert LaserJet™ or TrueType® compatible fonts to the Microcom Corporation 466 format. Converted fonts may be stored in user RAM for future use. See Chapter 7 for more information on downloadable fonts. Please note that the battery backup option is necessary to permanently store downloaded fonts.

10.3 WYSIWYG SOFTWARE PACKAGES

WYSIWYG Software packages offer a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) label design environment.

10.4 CLEANING KIT

An approved cleaning kit is offered for the 466 printer. It is suggested the printer be cleaned once every two weeks, every 5,000 labels, or whenever label stock is replaced.

10.5 WINDOWS™ DRIVER

Windows™ 95/98/NT/2000 drivers are available upon request. These drivers greatly increase the number of programs that may used to create labels for the model 466.

466 Operators Manual 77

APPENDIX A: WARRANTY AND REPAIR PROCEDURES

LIMITED WARRANTY

Microcom Corporation printers, excluding thermal print heads which are warranted separately below, are warranted against defects in material and workmanship for twelve (12) months from the date of original shipment by Microcom Corporation. This warranty does not cover normal wear and tear and shall be null and void if the printer is modified, improperly installed or used, damaged by accident or neglect, or in the event any parts are improperly installed or replaced by the user.

The thermal print head is covered by a limited warranty of three (3) months or 500,00 linear inches to be free from defects in material and workmanship. The length of media run through the printer may be verified using the printer’s internal statistical counter. Although the user is not required to purchase Microcom Corporation brand supplies, to the extent it is determined that the use of other supplies (such as non-approved label stock, ribbons, and cleaning solutions) shall have caused any defects in the thermal print head for which the warranty claim has been made, the user shall be responsible for Microcom Corporation’s customary charges for labor and materials to repair such defects.

MICROCOM CORPORATION’S SOLE OBLIGATION UNDER THIS WARRANTY SHALL BE TO FURNISH PARTS AND LABOR FOR THE REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF PRODUCTS FOUND TO BE DEFECTIVE IN MATERIAL OR WORKMANSHIP DURING THE WARRANTY PERIOD.

Except for the express warranties stated, Microcom Corporation disclaims all warranties on products, including all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The stated warranties and remedies are in lieu of all other warranties, obligations or liabilities on the part of Microcom Corporation for any damages, including, but not limited to, special, indirect, or consequential damages arising out of or in conjunction with the sale, use, or performance of the products.

MICROCOM CORPORATION SHALL NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WHATSOEVER, BE LIABLE TO BUYER OR ANY OTHER PARTY FOR LOST PROFITS, DIMINUTION OF GOODWILL OR ANY OTHER SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES WHATSOEVER WITH RESPECT TO ANY CLAIM HEREUNDER. IN ADDITION, MICROCOM CORPORATION’S LIABILITY FOR WARRANTY CLAIMS SHALL NOT, IN ANY EVENT, EXCEED THE INVOICE PRICE OF THE PRODUCT CLAIMED TO BE DEFECTIVE, NOR SHALL MICROCOM CORPORATION BE LIABLE FOR DELAYS IN REPLACEMENT OR REPAIR OF PRODUCTS.

466 Operators Manual78

Appendix A Warranty and Repair Procedures

RETURN MATERIAL AUTHORIZATION (RMA) PROCEDURE

A Return Material Authorization (RMA) number must be obtained prior to the return of printers and/or materials the Microcom Corporation Service Department. The purpose of the RMA number is to provide effective tracking and control of returned printers and/or materials. Microcom Corporation will not be responsible or accountable for printers and/or materials returned without proper authorization.

Shipping Charges: The return of printers and/or materials returned to Microcom Corporation for repair should be

returned freight and insurance prepaid. Microcom Corporation will pay the return shipping charges (standard ground service) on all warranty repairs, expedited services will be paid at customer expense. The return of non-warranty repair printers and/or materials will be shipped by a shipping carrier and service determined by the customer.

Receiving a Return Material Authorization (RMA) Number:

1. To receive an RMA number, either complete the online RMA request form located on the world wide web ( http://www.microcomcorp.com ) or contact the Microcom Corporation Service Department and provide the representative with the following information.

- Company Name

- Contact name and phone number.

- Model number

- Serial number

- A detailed description of the problem

- Service Selection (1 Day, 3 Day ,5 Day or Standard turnaround)

- Purchase Order number

2. The shipping label should contain the following information. Microcom Corporation

Attn: Service Dept. RMA# <place number here > 8220 Green Meadows Dr. N. Lewis Center, OH 43035 USA

3. Return the defective item(s) for repair to the above listed address, freight and insurance prepaid.

4. Upon receipt of an RMA number, the customer contact will be notified by a Microcom Corporation representative regarding repair charges, at which time the ship method will be determined. Items returned for repair with inadequate packaging material will be returned to the customer in Microcom Corporation approved packaging at the customers expense.

466 Operators Manual 79

APPENDIX B: QUICK REFERENCE COMMAND SUMMARY

The following is a list of HEADER element mnemonics and the default values:

HFM,LSX,LSY,WEB,GAP,DPS,LCB,AGD,SPG,OFX,OFY,,,FMT 0,832,443, 10, 10, 48, 0, 1,479, 0, 0,,, 0

The following is a list of FONT, BAR CODE, AND GRAPHIC IMAGE field mnemonics:

TSN,XB,YB,CC,TCI,CGN,FO,FJ,CMX,CMY,CS,TSP,,,,,AN

The following is a list of SQUARE LINE field mnemonics and the default values:

1,XB,YB,,6,,,,XS,YS,,,,,,,AN 1, 1, 1,,6,,,, 1, 1,,,,,,, 0

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Appendix B Quick Reference Command Summary

The following is a combined list of all TCI (Text Conversion Identifier) numbers:

1 Text (standard) 2 Text Surrounded by Asterisks 3 Text with UPC-A/UPC-E Checksum Digit Added 6 Square Line/Box 8 Downloadable Fonts and Graphics 12 UPC-A Bar Code 13 UPC-E Bar Code (SEND 11 DIGITS) 14 UPC-E Bar Code (SEND 7 DIGITS) 15 Interleaved 2 of 5 Bar Code 16 Code 3 of 9 Bar Code 17 Text with UPC-E Checksum and Extended Bars Added 20 EAN-13 Bar Code 21 EAN-8 Bar Code 22 Text with EAN-13 Checksum and Extended Bars Added 23 Text with EAN-8 Checksum and Extended Bars Added 24 MSI 1 (Plessey) 25 MSI 2 (Plessey) 26 MSI 3 (Plessey) 28 Text with MSI Checksum Added - Type 1 29 Text with MSI Checksum Added - Type 2 32 Text with UPC-A Checksum and Extended Bars Added 33 Text with UPC-A With Extended Bars Added 36 Postnet (Zip+4) 37 Postnet (Zip+6) 38 Maxicode Bar Code

40 Code 128 Bar Code (Automatic Compression) 41 Code 128 Bar Code (Manual Compression) 42 Codabar Bar Code

43 Code 93 Bar Code 44 AS-10 Bar Code 46 PDF417 Bar Code

50 UCC/EAN-128 Bar Code 51 Text with UCC/EAN-128 Information

466 Operators Manual 81

Quick Reference Command Summary Appendix B

^A ^D Command

2 Text string entry mode: Precedes the text strings that are supplied to the

various fields in the label (Equivalent to ^B).

3 Print Command: Prints a single label or starts the printing of a batch of labels.

(Equivalent to ^C)

5 Send Printer Status: (Equivalent to ^E)

11 Print a Test Label: (Equivalent to ^K) 12 Print a Blank Label: (Equivalent to ^L)

13 Rewind Motor Control: Enables or Disables the internal rewind motor. 0 Enable 1 Disable

14 Cutter Control: Enables or Disables the paper cutter. (This command is

included for compatibility reasons only. Use the ^D99 command for new formats.)

0 Enable 1 Disable

20 Bits per Second (COM2): This sets the data rate of the optional 2nd serial port. 0 300 bps

1 600 bps 2 1200 bps 3 2400 bps 4 4800 bps 5 9600 bps 6 19200 bps 7 38400 bps

21 Change SW1: Change software switch bank #1.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

00 = Control Codes 10 = Text Equivalent 11 = ^ Equivalent

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Appendix B Quick Reference Command Summary

^A ^D COMMAND 22 Change SW2: Change software switch bank #2.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

23 Change SW3: Change software switch bank #3.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

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Quick Reference Command Summary Appendix B

^A ^D COMMAND

24 Change SW4: Change software switch bank #4.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

^A ^D COMMAND

25 Change SW5: Change software switch bank #5.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

00 = Control Codes 10 = Text Equivalent 11 = ^ Equivalent

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Appendix B Quick Reference Command Summary

A ^D COMMAND

26 Change SW6: Change software switch bank #6.

12345678 ^ABxxxxxxxx

29 Printer Statistics:

0 Print statistics to serial port 1 Print statistics on a label 2 Clear the printed labels variable in the statistics 3 Clear the printed inches variable in the statistics

30 Change Clock: Use the sequence below to set the time and date of the

optional real-time clock:

^D30 (return) HH:MM:SS (return)

DD/MM/YY/W (return) 31 Show Clock: This command will send the date and time to the serial port. 32 Reset Machine: Restores printer to power-up settings. 33 Display Model and Revision Number.

XX 35 Contrast Window Adjust: This is the temporary contrast adjustment. The ^AXX

is between 10 and 200%

XX 36 Adjust Contrast Base: Non-Volatile command. The ^AXX is between 10 and

200%. Section 5.3.

XX 37 Show Voltages: This command will send the values of the internal printer

voltages. 39 Auto-Size Label: Section 5.3.3.

0 Clears the use of auto-size values set by ^A1^D39. 1 Uses the values obtained for the variables instead of what the user supplies in

the header of the format file. Note: The ^D91 value is stored in non-volatile

memory.

2 Automatically sizes the label and displays on the screen the values for the size

variables.

3 Same as ^A2^D39, but prints the values on a label, instead of on the screen. 10 Move media to “Top of Form” position

466 Operators Manual 85

Quick Reference Command Summary Appendix B

40 Clear Commands 41-51.

XX 41 Load number of fields in layout (HFM): Preceded by ^A. XX 42 Load label width in dots (LXS): Preceded by ^A. XX 43 Load label height in dots (LSY): Preceded by ^A. XX 44 Load web size in dots (WEB): Preceded by ^A. XX 45 Load gap size in dots (GAP): Preceded by ^A. XX 46 Load print speed (DPS): Preceded by ^A. XX 47 Load label control byte (LCB): Preceded by ^A. XX 48 Load number of steps to activate gap detector (AGD): Preceded by ^A. XX 49 Load number of steps past gap (SPG): Preceded by ^A. XX 50 Load X direction offset (OFX): Preceded by ^A. XX 51 Load Y direction offset (OFY): Preceded by ^A. XX 54 Send Saved Format File to Serial Port: ^A selection which one (1-128).

Section 5.3.6.

XX 55 Select Default Label Layout: Select from the ROM power-up layouts. ^AXX

ranges from 1 to 8. 56 Select User Defined Layout: Signals to the printer the end of the label fields

and precedes the text fields in a format file. 57 Enter Label Format Mode: This tells the printer that information for a label is

following.

XX 58 Process Saved Format: ^A selects which one (1-128). Section 5.3.6. XX 59 Save Format File: ^A selects which one (1-128). Section 5.3.6.

60 Clears command 61

XX 61 Mark Text Starting Position: ^A designates which text field to start entering

new data. Section 5.3.8. 62 Pre-padded Text: This command is sent after text that is to appear at the

beginning of each field is sent.

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Appendix B Quick Reference Command Summary

63 Text Mode Control: Section 5.3.8.

0 Disable 1 & 2. 1 Enable auto-print mode 2 Clear all previous text upon receiving new data. 3 Enable 1 & 2.

XX 64 Auto Print String Count: ^A tells the printer how many text strings to accept

before printing. Section 5.3.

70 Clear commands 73-76.

71 Load Maxicode Bar Code Data: 72 Clock Initialization:

XX 73 Load copies count: Tells the printer to print a group of labels. Will not

increment serial numbers (use ^D75).

1 74 Infinity Print: Prints a batch of labels like ^D75 but will continue to print until the

machine is turned off.

XX 75 Load Label Count: Tells the printer to print a batch of labels using the serial

number function if enabled.

XX 76 Load Delay Time Between Labels: Preceded by ^A which contains the wait in

1/10ths of a second. Maximum value is 650.

77 Load PDF-417 Bar Code Data:

80 Clears Commands 86, 88, 89.

81 Disable Serial Number Function: Will disable either single or multiple serial

number commands.

XX 84 Load Text String Number to Increment/Decrement: Tells the printer which

text string number to increment or decrement. For single serial numbers.

Section 5.3.8.

XX 85 Load Increment/Decrement Step Value: This is the value that the single serial

number is incremented or decremented.

86 Single Serial Number Status:

0 Disable increment and decrement. 1 Enable increment. The serial number will be increased by the value from ^D85. 2 Enable Decrement. The serial number will be decreased by the value from

^D85.

XX 87 Load Field Number to Clear Increment/Decrement

status: Clear the status of one or more serial numbers with this command.

466 Operators Manual 87

Quick Reference Command Summary Appendix B

XX 88 Load Field Number to Increment by 1: For multiple serial numbers. XX 89 Load Field Number to Decrement by 1: For multiple serial numbers. XX 90 Piezo Beep Control: Enter number of times to beep pieze before turning it off.

This setting is used to control the number of times that the pieze beeps after an

error occurs. A value of 0 will produce a continuous beep.

XX 91 Load Value for Printer to See Valid Gap. Section 5.3. XX 92 Load Value for Slices to Process: This command adjusts the number of slices

generated before the drive motor starts moving. The default is 256 and the

valid range is 1 to 366. 93 Load Control Code Recognition Status:

0 Enable control code recognition. 1 Disable control code recognition.

94 Piezo On/Off:

0 Enable piezo. 1 Disable piezo.

XX 95 Load User Defined Steps for Label to Advance: XX 96 Load Advance Delay: ^A specifies how many milliseconds to delay

repositioning of the label in tag/tear and peel-and-dispense modes.

97 Tag/Tear Operation:

0 Turns off tag/tear operation. 1 Advance after every label. 2 Advance after copies count. 3 Advance when idle.

98 Peel-and-Dispense Mode: Sections 2.5.2 and 5.3.7

0 Turn off peel-and-dispense mode. 1 Turn on peel-and dispense mode.

2 (Custom Applicator Mode - peel and dispense with no delay.)

99 Cutter Control:

0 Disable cutter. 1 Enable cutter.

100 Clear User RAM: This command will clear all downloaded fonts, graphics, and

stored label formats. See Section 5.3.8. 101 Send User RAM Available: The printer will send the number of free bytes to the

serial port (ie. >699842<).

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Appendix B Quick Reference Command Summary

102 Allocate XX amount of blocks for PDF Memory: The remaining blocks will be

allocated to user memory.

1 (256K) 1 block 2 (512K) 5 blocks 3 (1024K) 13 blocks 4 (2048K) 29 blocks

103 User memory configuration:

0 Send the size (in bytes) of PDF Memory to serial port 1. 1 Send the size (in bytes) of total User Memory to serial port 1. Note: This is the

total size of user memory, not the size of unused User Memory, which can still

be obtained by the ^D101 command.

105 Clear fonts and graphics: (This command is currently not implemented)

0 Clear all fonts and graphics. 1-32 Clear individual fonts and graphics. The value will determine which slot is

cleared. 106 Load Font or Graphic: The ^A value determines which slot (1-255) the font or

graphic image will be stored in. 121 Set ^D122/^D123 retract/advance speed: This command sets the speed at

which the ^D122 and^D123 commands advance or retract media. The ^A value

is specified using the print speed chart. 122 Advance media: This command causes the printer to advance the media. The

amount is set using the ^A value. Note: The printer does not automatically

retract using this command. This command is used only in special applications. 123 Retract media: This command causes the printer to retract the media. The

amount is set using the ^A value. Note: The printer does not automatically

advance using this command. This command is used only in special

applications. 160 Slew speed control: If enabled, this command will cause the printer to rapidly

advance the current label when it has completed all printing.

0 Disable slew 1 Enable slew

161 RAM checksum control: If enabled, this command will cause the printer to

verify the integrity of internal user RAM. The RAM checksum is updated each

time that a file is stored in user RAM. This command should be enabled if the

printer is equipped with the battery backed RAM option.

0 Disable RAM checksumming 1 Enable RAM checksumming

466 Operators Manual 89

APPENDIX C: HARDWARE DIP SWITCHES (on rear panel)

Hard Switch 1

123456 78 xxxxxx xx

****** *.) Parallel Board Jumper Status (Must be 0 when using ****** * firmware versions 1.65 and higher) ****** .)) 1=Parallel Board Detected ****** *****.)))0=No Parity, 1=Enable Parity (COM1) ****.))))0=Odd Parity, 1=Even Parity (COM1) ***.)))))0=8 Data Bits, 1=7 Data Bits (COM1) **.)))))))), *.)))))))),* .)))))))),** Bits per Second (COM1)

000 300 bps 100 600 bps 010 1200 bps 110 2400 bps 001 4800 bps 101 9600 bps 011 19200 bps 111 38400 bps

466 Operators Manual90

Index

^A 33, 36-49, 51-53, 55, 57, 60, 61, 82-84, 86-89 ^B 33, 52, 82 ^C 16, 33, 82 ^D 33, 34, 36-49, 51, 52, 60, 61, 82-85 ^E 16, 33, 34, 82 ^H 34 ^K 34, 42, 82 ^L 34, 42, 82 ^M 33 ^Q 34 ^S 34 Accumulator 33 Bar code 1, 15, 17, 24, 25, 27, 31, 52, 63, 64, 66-68, 71-73, 80, 81, 87 Bar code Symbologies 1, 27 Baud Rate 4 Cable Pinout 13 Centronics i, 14 Character Count 24, 29, 31 Character Generators 17 Character Multiplier X Direction 28 Character Multiplier Y Direction 28 Character Spacing 27-29, 63, 64 Cleaning Instructions 11 Cleaning Kit 11, 77 Clear Text 37, 53, 83 Clock 24, 29, 45, 46, 85, 87 Contrast 3, 8, 41, 71, 85 Control Codes 16, 33, 36, 40, 53, 68, 82, 84

how to use 33

Default Label 86 Dip Switches

how to display 7 how to set 35

Electrical 5 Emulation 15, 16 Enquiries 37 Environment 4, 77 Escape 15, 49 Field Justification 27, 28 Field Orientation 27, 28 Field Parameters 24, 31, 45, 71 Flow Control 4, 36 Form Feed 34, 42 Graphic Images 1, 55, 57, 60, 77 Human Readables 73 Justification 27, 28 Label Control Byte 22, 86 Label Fields 24, 86

466 Operators Manual 91

Label Header 16, 19, 20, 23, 43, 44 Label Size X Direction 20 Label Size Y Direction 20 Line Feed 8, 10, 37, 38, 83 Offset 22, 23, 58, 59, 86 Parallel 4, 5, 8, 13, 14, 16, 55, 90 Physical 4, 70 Power-Up 8, 9, 23, 35, 37-39, 41, 43, 49, 52, 83-86 Print Count 42 Print Head 1, 9-11, 19, 29, 31, 34, 42, 71, 78 Print Width 3 Printing Commands 42 Repair 78, 79 Reset 8, 34, 37, 85 Resolution 1, 3 Reverse Video 75 Revision Number 8, 85 Serial Number 8, 42, 47, 48, 69, 70, 79, 87 Serial Port 4, 5, 13, 14, 36, 40, 46, 49, 55, 82, 85, 86, 88, 89 Speed 1, 3, 15, 17, 20, 21, 23, 41, 51, 71, 85, 86, 89 Status Label 7, 8 Text Conversion Identifier 25, 81 Text Starting Position 29, 52, 86 Text String Number 24, 47, 52, 87 Text Strings Commands 52 Variable Text 37 VDD 34 Warranty 78, 79 XOFF 4, 13, 34, 36, 40, 82, 84 XON 4, 13, 34, 36, 40, 82, 84 Y Beginning Coordinate 24, 29 Y Direction Offset 23, 86

466 Operators Manual92

Notes

______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________

466 Operators Manual 93

Microcom 466 User Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual