Monarch 9820, 9830, 9805, 9835 User Manual

Monarch

Printers

9403

✦

9805

✦

9820

✦

9830

✦

9835

✦

9840

✦

9850

✦





Each product and program carries a respective written warranty, the only warranty on which the customer can rely. Monarch reserves the right to make changes in the product, the programs, and their availability at any time and without notice. Although Monarch has made every effort to provide complete and accurate information in this manual, Monarch shall not be liable for any omissions or inaccuracies. Any update will be incorporated in a later edition of this manual.

©1998 Monarch Marking Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form by any means, without the prior written permission of Monarch Marking Systems, Inc.

WARNING

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction manual, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause harmful interference in which case the user will be required to correct the interference at his own expense.

CANADIAN D.O.C. WARNING

This digital apparatus does not exceed the Class A limits for radio noise emissions from digital apparatus set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.

Le présent appareil numérique n’émet pas de bruits radioélectriques dépassant les limites applicables aux appareils numériques de la classe A prescrites dans le Réglement sur le brouillage radioélectrique édicte par le ministère des Communications du Canada.

Trademarks

Monarch, 9403, 9820, and 9830 are registered trademarks of Monarch Marking Systems, Inc. Monarch, 1464, 1465, 917, 918, 926, 928, 9800, 9805, 9835, 9840, and 9850 are trademarks of Monarch Marking Systems, Inc. Paxar is a trademark of Paxar Corporation. Microsoft, Windows, NT, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. TrueType is a registered trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. Hewlett-Packard is a registered trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. CG Triumvirate and CG Triumvirate Bold are trademarks of AGFA Corporation. Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Data Computer Corporation.

Monarch Marking Systems P.O. Box 608 Dayton, Ohio 45401

TABLE OF CONTENTS

GETTING STARTED

About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Creating an MPCLII Format Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2

Daily Startup Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4

Starting with a Design. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5

Determining Format Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Determining the Print Area. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6

Drawing Rough Sketches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7

Using Supply Layout Grids. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8

Considering Field Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-9

Considering Fonts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

Interchanging Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

Using the Format Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10

CONFIGURING THE PRINTER

Setting Communication Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

About DIP Switches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2

Using Parallel Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Using Autobaud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3

Using MPCLII Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Using Online Configuration Packets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-6

Making Print Adjustments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1

Filling in the Format Worksheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-11

MPCLII Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-4

Standard Syntax Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5

Configuration Packet Header. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7

Configuration Syntax Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1

Defining the System Setup Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10

Defining the Supply Setup Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-12

Defining the Print Control Packet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14

Defining the Monetary Formatting Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15

Defining the Control Characters Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16

Resetting Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18

Defining the Communication Settings Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18

Defining the Backfeed Control Packet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20

Special Considerations When Using Backfeed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-22

Defining the Memory Configuration Packet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23

Checking Current Buffer Sizes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-25

About Memory Buffers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-26

Buffer Worksheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28

Buffer Allocation Considerations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-28

Memory Considerations with Downloaded TrueType Fonts . . . . . . . 2-29

Using Immediate Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-29

Enabling Immediate Commands. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30

Sending Immediate Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-30

Clearing Packets from Memory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-32

Using the Font Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-33

Using the Flash Upload Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-36

Flash Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38

Uploading Format Header Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-38

DEFINING FIELDS

Defining the Format Header. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2

Defining Text Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3

Defining Bar Code Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-9

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1

203 DPI Barcode Densities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13

203 DPI Barcode Densities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-15

300 DPI Barcode Densities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-16

300 DPI Barcode Densities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-18

Defining Non-Printable Text Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-20

Defining Constant Text Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21

Defining Line Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26

Line Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-26

Defining Box Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-29

DEFINING FIELD OPTIONS

Applying Field Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Combining Field Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

Option 1 (Fixed Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3

Option 2 (Data Type Restrictions). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Option 3 (Data Entry Templates) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Option 4 (Copy Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6

Merging Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7

Sub-Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8

Option 5 (Define Data Entry Sources) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9

Option 20 (Define Data Entry Prompts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10

Option 30 (Padding Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Sample Use for Padding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11

Option 31 (Calculate Check Digit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12

Option 42 (Price Field) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13

Option 50 (Bar Code Density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14

Option 51 (PDF417 Security/Truncation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15

Option 52 (PDF417 Width/Length). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-16

Option 60 (Incrementing/Decrementing Fields) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-17

Fixing the First Number in the Incrementing Sequence . . . . . . . . . . 4-17

Option 61 (Reimage Field) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-18

Using Check Digits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-19

Sum of Products Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-20

Sum of Digits Calculation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-21

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1

Restrictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2

4-4 4-5

iii

CREATING GRAPHICS

Overview of Compliance Labels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2

Overview of Bitmapped Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Determining a Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3

Designing Compliance Labels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Designing Bitmapped Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Special Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4

Using the Hex Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-5

Using the Run Length Encoding Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7

Determining How to Store the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Using Flash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9

Using Non-volatile RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10

Using Volatile RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10

Using Temporary Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10

Creating a Graphic Packet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11

Positioning the Graphic Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11

Defining the Graphic Header. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

Creating Bitmap Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15

Creating Next-Bitmap Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17

Creating Duplicate Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-18

Sample Compliance Graphic Packet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19

Sample Hex Graphic Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20

Sample Run Length Graphic Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-21

Placing the Graphic in a Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23

Defining the Graphic Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-23

Sample Compliance Label. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-25

Sample Bitmap Graphic Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-26

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1

Within the Graphic Packet Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-11

Within the Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12

Within a Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13

PRINTING

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2

Defining the Batch Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3

Defining the Batch Control Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4

Defining Batch Data Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Using Special Characters in Batch Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6

Merged or Sub-Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Incrementing Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Special Printing Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7

Downloading Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8

Sequential Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8

Batch Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9

Batch Quantity Zero Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-9

Modifying Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10

Optional Entry Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10

Creating DOS Batch Files for Downloading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-10

STATUS POLLING

Inquiry Request (ENQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2

ENQ Reference Table - Byte #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4

ENQ Reference Table - Byte #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6

Job Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-1

Inquiry Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2

ENQ Reference Table - Byte #2 (continued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5

ENQ Reference Table - Byte #3 (continued) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7

Job Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9

Job Status 0, 1, 2 Response Table (Status 1 Codes) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13

Job Status 0, 1, 2 Response Table (Status 2 Codes) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-14

DIAGNOSTICS AND ERRORS

Printing a Test Label. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2

Using the 9403 or 9850 Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2

Using the 9805 Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

Using the 9820/9830/9835/9840 Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3

Reading a 9820/9830/9835/9840/9850 Test Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

If You Receive an Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4

If the PC and Printer Aren’t Communicating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Resetting Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Calling Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5

Additional Diagnostics Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6

Reading an Error Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7

Data Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-7

Communication Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-16

Data Formatting Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-18

Machine Faults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-21

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1

PRINTER OPTIMIZATION

Adjusting the Print Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1

Reducing Imaging Time. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3

General Format Tips and Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1

Increasing Throughput . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5

With Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5

With Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-5

With Bar Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6

With Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-6

SAMPLES

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-1

Sample UPCA Format Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-2

Sample MaxiCode Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-3

Mode 0 (Obsolete) Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-4

Mode 2 Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-5

Mode 3 Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-6

Sample Data Matrix Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7

Square Data Matrix Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7

Rectangular Data Matrix Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7

Sample Compliance Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8

Sample Format Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11

Sample Data Entry Format Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-13

FONTS

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1

EFF Swiss Bold Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4

Paxar Font 70 and Font 71 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4

NAFTA Font 72 and Font 73 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5

Bitmap Font Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-5

Monospaced Font Magnification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6

Using 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6

Using 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6

Proportional Font Magnification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10

CG Triumvirate Bold (9 pt.) 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10

Height Magnification 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10

CG Triumvirate Bold (9 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11

Height Magnification 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11

CG Triumvirate (6 pt.) 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11

Height Maginfication 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12

CG Triumvirate (6 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12

Height Maginfication 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12

CG Triumvirate (7 pt.) 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13

Height Magnification 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13

vii

CG Triumvirate (7 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13

CG Triumvirate (9 pt.) 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14

CG Triumvirate (9 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-15

CG Triumvirate (11 pt.) 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-15

CG Triumvirate (11 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-16

CG Triumvirate (15 pt.) 203 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17

CG Triumvirate (15 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-18

Scalable/TrueType® Font Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19

Format Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-19

About the Scalable Font 50. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-20

Downloading TrueType Fonts (9840/9850) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-21

Using Asian (2-Byte) TrueType Fonts (9850). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-22

Sample Asian (2-Byte) Font Format and Batch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23

Licensing Your Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-23

Using Font Numbers in Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-24

Locating the Font Number in a Font Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-25

SYMBOL SETS/CODE PAGES

Supported Symbol Sets and Code Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Selecting the Internal Symbol Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Selecting the ANSI Symbol Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2

Selecting the 437 or 850 Code Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2

Using Code 128 Function Codes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2

Entering Extended Characters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2

Using International Character Sets/Code Pages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2

Internal Symbol Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-3

ANSI Symbol Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4

Bold Character Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-4

OCRA Character Set. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-5

Code Page 100 (Macintosh) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-5

Code Page 101 (Wingdings). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6

Code Page 437 (Latin U.S.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6

viii

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1

Code Page 850 (Latin 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7

Code Page 852 (Latin 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7

Code Page 855 (Russian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8

Code Page 857 (IBM Turkish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8

Code Page 860 (MS-DOS Portuguese). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9

Code Page 1250 (Latin 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9

Code Page 1251 (Cyrillic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10

Code Page 1252 (Latin 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10

Code Page 1253 (Greek). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-11

Code Page 1254 (Turkish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-11

Code Page 1255 (Hebrew) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-12

Code Page 1256 (Arabic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-12

Code Page 1257 (Baltic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-13

Code Page 1258 (Vietnamese) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-13

ASCII to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-14

ASCII to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued) . . . . . . . . . . . . C-15

ASCII to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued) . . . . . . . . . . . . C-16

Binary to Hex Conversion Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-17

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued) . . . . . . . . . . . C-18

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued) . . . . . . . . . . . C-19

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued) . . . . . . . . . . . C-20

Dot to Run Length Encoding Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-21

ON (Black) Dots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-21

OFF (White Dots). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-21

FORMAT DESIGN TOOLS

Online Configuration Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-2

Batch Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3

Check Digit Worksheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-4

PRINTER DIFFERENCES

Printer Comparison. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1

1464/1465 Printer/Applicator Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-3

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-1

Printer Configuration Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-4

Status Polling Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E-4

GETTING STARTED

Before you read this manual, review the printer information in the Operator’s Handbook or Operating Instructions. This manual provides the necessary information to design, write and print a Monarch® Printer Control Language II (MPCLII) format. The following printers support this type of format:

9403® (V. 1.0 or greater)

9805 (V. 1.0 or greater)

9820® (V. 1.0 or greater)

9830® (V. 2.0 or greater)

9835 (V. 3.0 or greater)

9840 (V. 6.1 or greater)

9850 (V. 1.0 or greater)

If you are designing formats for a Monarch® 1464 or 1465 printer applicator, follow the 9840 printer information provided in this manual. However, there are a few differences. See Appendix E, "Printer Differences" for 1464/1465 specific information, along with a description of each printer’s features and their differences.

About This Manual

You do not need to be a programmer to use this manual, but you must be familiar with creating text files and using basic MS-DOS® commands. This chapter describes how to

create and download a sample MPCLII packet.

use the Supply Layout Grid and Format Worksheet.

categorize data into field types and select fonts to use in your format.

Getting Started

1-1

See "Defining Text Fields" in Chapter 3 for a list of available fonts for your printer. See Chapter 4, "Defining Field Options," for a list of available Options for your printer.

Before You Begin

Connect the printer to the host. Refer to your Operator’s

Handbook or Operating Instructions for more information.

Load supplies in the printer. Refer to your Operator’s

Handbook or Operating Instructions for more information.

Turn on the printer.

Set the communication parameters and configure the printer.

The communication parameters at the printer must match those at the host. See Chapter 2, "Configuring the Printer," for more information.

Design your format. See "Starting with a Design" for more

information.

Download your format to the printer. See Chapter 6,

"Printing," for more information.

1-2

Getting Started

Creating an MPCLII Format Packet

A format defines which fields appear and where the fields are printed on the label. The printer requires this information in a special form, using Monarch Printer Control Language II (MPCL). This section describes how to create a sample MPCLII format packet.

Make sure supplies are loaded, the printer is connected to the host and is ready to receive data. Refer your Operator’s Handbook or Operating Instructions for more information.

For detailed information about the format header, text, constant text, and bar code fields, see Chapter 3, "Defining Fields." For information about batch packets, see Chapter 6, "Printing."

Type the following format header, in any text editor:

{F,25,A,R,M,508,508,"FMT-25" p

Type the following constant text field:

C,250,80,0,1,1,1,W,C,0,0,"MONARCH MARKING:",0 p

Type the following bar code field:

B,1,12,F,110,115,1,2,120,5,L,0 p

Type the following text field:

T,2,18,V,30,30,1,1,1,1,B,C,0,0,0 p }

You have created a format packet for your MPCLII printer. Now, a batch packet must be created before you can print the format.

Type the following batch header, after the text field line:

{B,25,N,1 p

Type the following bar code data:

1,"12345678901" p

Type the following text field data:

2,"DAYTON, OHIO" p }

Save your file as SAMPLE.FMT.

Type MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1 at the DOS prompt if you are

using serial communications. This sets the communication parameters at your host. These communication parameters must match those at your printer. See "Setting Communication Parameters," "Using Parallel Communications" in Chapter 2, or your host’s documentation for more information.

Getting Started

1-3

Type COPY SAMPLE.FMT COM1. The following 2 inch by 2

10.

inch label prints:

{F,25,A,R,M,508,508,"Fmt 25" p C,250,80,0,1,2,1,W,C,0,0,"MONARCH MARKING" p B,1,12,F,110,115,1,2,120,5,L,0 p

T,2,18,V,30,30,1,1,1,1,B,C,0,0 p }

Sample Batch Packet

{B,25,N,1 p 1,"12345678901" p 2,"DAYTON, OHIO" p }

See "Starting with a Design" to design your format and Chapter 3, "Defining Fields" to create text, bar code, and line fields.

Daily Startup Procedures

You may want to design a checklist for operators to follow each day. Here are a few suggested items: Turn on the printer and host, make sure ribbon and supplies are loaded, make sure communication parameters are set, and download packets from the host to the printer.

1-4

Getting Started

You may want to keep records of supplies that have been printed. A good way to do this is to design a print log for operators to complete at the end of the day. Here are some suggestions for types of information to include in a print log: date, operator’s name, format name, supply size, quantity printed, evaluation of print quality, and problems/comments.

Keep backup copies of your format, batch data, check digit, and graphic packets.

Starting with a Design

Before you create a format packet, you must design your label. There are several steps to designing a custom label:

Decide which fields should appear on your label. See

"Determining Format Contents" for more information.

Determine your label size. Labels are available from Monarch

in a wide variety of sizes. Your application and the amount of data you need to print determines the supply size. Contact your Account Manager or Technical Support for more information.

Draw a rough sketch of your label. You may want to draw

several variations to see what works best. See "Drawing Rough Sketches" for more information.

Identify the field types that appear on your label. See

"Considering Field Types" for more information.

Decide which fonts you want to use. See "Considering Fonts"

for more information.

Fill out your Format Worksheet. See "Using the Format

Worksheet" for more information.

At this point, you are ready to send your design to the printer. To do this:

Create a format packet, based on how you filled out your

worksheet. See Chapter 3, "Defining Fields," for more information.

Download your format packet to the printer. See Chapter 6,

"Printing," for more information.

Getting Started

1-5

Determining Format Contents

Before you lay out your format, you need to make a few decisions. For example: How large is your supply, which fonts do you want to use, do you want to include a bar code, and do you want to include graphics?

Determining the Print Area

The "bottom" is the edge that exits the printer first. The 0,0 point is at the bottom left corner of the label. For the 9403 printer, the print area begins 0.10 inches from the left edge of the supply. For the 9800 series printers, the print area is in the center of the label. Check the table to determine the maximum print area.

Printer Unit of Measure Maximum Supply Size

(Width x Length)

9403 English (1/100 in) 200 x 600 200 x 600

Metric (1/10mm) 508 x 1524 508 x 1524

Dots (1/203 dots) 406 x 1218 406 x 1218

9805 English 425 x 650 400 x 600

Metric 1080 x 1650 1016 x 1524

Dots 863 x 1320 812 x 1218

9820 English 425 x 1200 400 x 1200

Metric 1080 x 3048 1016 x 3048

Dots 863 x 2436 812 x 2436

9830 English 425 x 1600 400 x 1600

Metric 1080 x 4064 1016 x 4064

Dots 863 x 3248 812 x 3248

9835/9840 English 425 x 1600 400 x 1600

Metric 1080 x 4064 1016 x 4064

Dots 863 x 3248 812 x 3248

9850 English 425 x 1750 400 x 1600

Metric 1080 x 4445 1524 x 4064

Dots 863 x 3553 1800 x 3248

Maximum Print Area

(Width x Length)

1-6

Getting Started

When designing formats, keep in mind the following non-print zones for the 9403 printer:

Bottom .035 inches at the beginning of the label. Left .10 inches from the left edge of the label.

The following non-print zones are recommended for the 9800 series printers:

All Supplies .050 inches on either edge of the label. All Supplies .020 inches at the end of the label.

If using the optional verifier, allow a minimum no-scan zone at the top of the label of 1.3" (33 mm) for speeds 6.0 ips or less; 1.8" (46 mm) for 8.0 ips; and 2.2" (56 mm) for 10.0 ips.

Use the following formulas to convert inches to dots and metric:

Dots = inches x 203 (or 300 dots per inch) Metric (1/10mm) = inches x 254 English (1/100 inch) = 100 x (dots/203) or (dots/300) Dots = Metric (1/10 mm) x 799/1000 (or 1181/1000) 300 dpi depends on your printer.

Drawing Rough Sketches

After you decide what information you want to print, sketch how you want the information to appear on the label. Note any areas that are preprinted on the label, such as a logo.

As soon as you know what information to include on the label, and you have a rough sketch, you can use a supply layout grid to help you layout and size your label. If you do not want to use a grid, go to "Considering Field Types" to choose what information you want on your label.

Getting Started

1-7

Using Supply Layout Grids

A supply layout grid contains measurement markers. These markers help you accurately position information on your label.

Decide whether you want to design formats using English, Metric, or Dot measurements. Choose from the following grids:

English

The English grid, shown to the

right, is measured in 1/100

inches.

Metric

The Metric grid is measured in

1/10 millimeters (mm).

Graphic

The printer uses dots to print

images on a label. The

printhead has 203 dots per inch

203 300

1624

1523

1421

1320

1218

1117

1015

914

812

711

609

508

406

305

203

102

0.0

102

203

0.0

203

300

150

0.0

300

305

406

450

600

Supply Layout (dpi)

508 609

711

812

750

900

1050

1200

853

1350 1500 1650 1800 1950 2100

(dpi) or an optional 300 dots per

inch printhead depending on

your printer.

Choose English or Metric units when designing formats to use with different printers. English or Metric units allow more direct use of formats on printers with different density printheads.

If you want to use supply layout grids, a copy of each is in Appendix D, "Format Design Tools."

2400

2250

2100

1950

1800

1650

1500

1350

1200

1050

900

750

600

450

300

150

0.0

1-8

Getting Started

Considering Field Types

After you select a supply size, the next step in designing a format is to decide what information you want to print on the label. For example, you may want to print your company name, price of an item, and a bar code that combines information from other places. Everything you want to print falls into one of the following categories.

Field Type Description Examples

Text Contains letters, numbers, or

Non-Printable Te x t

Bar Code Used for printing bar codes that

Constant Text Prints fixed characters that print

Line or Box Highlights or separates items. line marking out the regular price,

Graphic Contains a bitmap image or a

symbols you want to print.

Holds data for use later, such as for merging into another field. The printer does not print non-printable text fields.

can be scanned.

without changing.

compliance label overlay.

item number, item description, department number, price, date

city, state, and zip code to be included in a bar code

item or serial numbers, zip codes, information you don’t want to have visible to customers

company name, company address

border around the supply

logos

All of the above field types except graphics

are discussed in Chapter 3. See Chapter 5,

"Creating Graphics," for information on

including graphics in your format.

Getting Started

1-9

Considering Fonts

When working with fonts, you have three considerations:

font appearance

font size (scalable or bitmapped)

font spacing (monospaced or proportional)

The scalable font, CG Triumvirate Bold (font 50) is standard on the 9830, 9835, 9840, and 9850 printers. It is not available for the 9403, 9805 or 9820 printers. With the 9840 printer (V. 6.5+) or the 9850 printer, font 50 is a TrueType® font (EFF Swiss Bold). See Appendix B, "Fonts," for samples of each font.

Interchanging Packets

You can use an MPCLII format that was designed for another MPCLII printer on a 9800 series printer. However, the format may appear smaller (fields will be shorter), because most of the 9800 series printers use a 203 dpi printhead. The 9840 and 9850 printers have an optional 300 dpi printhead.

1-10

Using the Format Worksheet

The Format Worksheet is divided into sections that list the field types. Each section has boxes to fill in with parameters that define your format. A format worksheet is included in Appendix D, "Format Design Tools."

Getting Started

Filling in the Format Worksheet

Decide what type of field to use on your label.

Make a copy of the Format Worksheet.

Define the Format Header.

Define all non-printable text fields before you define the ones

you want to print. See "Defining Non-Printable Text Fields" in Chapter 3 for more information.

Define options as you require them. See Chapter 4, "Defining

Field Options" for more information.

Getting Started

1-11

1-12

Getting Started

CONFIGURING THE PRINTER

This chapter discusses how to

set communication parameters.

upload the printer’s configuration or font information.

configure the printer using online configuration packets.

use immediate commands to control the printer’s operation at any time.

Some parameters may not be available on each printer.

See Appendix E, "Printer Differences," for a list of

differences between all the printers and a

Monarch® 9446 printer.

Configuring the Printer

2-1

Setting Communication Parameters

Use the following information if you are using serial communications. See "Using Parallel Communications" for information about parallel communications.

Not all printers have a parallel port.

The communication parameters at the printer must match those at the host, or you will not be able to communicate.

You can use the communication settings packet or DIP switches to set communication parameters for your printer.

Not all printers have DIP switches.

On MS-DOS computers, you can use the MODE command to set communication values on your PC.

For example

MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1

This command sets your host to these communication values: 9600 baud, no parity, an 8 bit word length, 1 stop bit.

About DIP Switches

The DIP switches are read when the printer is turned on. The DIP switch settings override the settings from the online configuration packets. For example, if you have the DIP switches set for thermal transfer printing and send the supply setup packet to specify thermal direct printing, thermal direct printing is used until the printer is turned off. When the printer is turned back on, it uses the DIP switch setting for thermal transfer.

2-2

Configuring the Printer

Using Parallel Communications

If your printer supports parallel communications, the parallel port is IEEE-1284 or Centronics® mode. You can set which mode to use by changing a DIP switch or by using the control panel. Refer to your Operator’s Handbook for DIP switch settings and control panel information. The communication settings are automatically configured for you. There are no operator settings required. We recommend waiting at least two seconds (or longer) when switching between the serial and parallel ports to send data, because data may be lost. Be careful when using print spoolers, because data transmission occurs in the background of the operating system. This makes data transmission completion difficult to determine when switching between ports.

Using Autobaud

You can use the autobaud feature to automatically set the printer’s baud rate, parity, data bits, and stop bits to match the host’s. Autobaud overrides the DIP switch settings and the values in the communication settings packet.

Do not send any data to the printer before

using autobaud. The 9850 printer does not

support autobaud.

To use autobaud, you must:

Power up the host first and then turn on the printer. Autobaud

only works during the initial power up. Wait 2 to 5 seconds.

After the 9800 series printer’s power LED comes on (or the

9403 printer displays "Print Mode READY"), send a sequence of 32 alternating @A characters (for a total of 64 characters) to the printer.

Example

@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A @A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A@A

Configuring the Printer

2-3

Do not use character pacing (delay for each character) or any other delay while sending the autobaud sequence. Wait one second after sending the autobaud sequence before sending any commands (including setting flow control) or data to the printer. During this time, the hardware is being changed to the new settings.

To select flow control and finalize communications, send the

communication settings packet. Or, use the Optional Entry method described in Chapter 6, "Printing."

Example

This packet sets the flow control parameter to XON/XOFF, without changing the current communication settings established with Autobaud.

{I,F,,,,,3 p }

Using MPCLII Conventions

Here are some guidelines to follow when using MPCLII.

MPCLII Punctuation

Use the following symbols when creating MPCLII packets:

{ start of header

} end of header

p field separator

, parameter separator

"ABC" Quotation marks enclose character strings.

Empty quotes ("") identify null strings or unused fields.

2-4

Configuring the Printer

‘comment‘ Grave accents enclose comments. Any data

enclosed in grave accents is ignored. Do not embed comments within a quoted string. ENQ and immediate commands are always processed, even if they are included within grave accents Grave accents are also used to reject mainframe data.

These MPCL characters are the default. See "Defining the Control Characters Packet" to change these characters.

Standard Syntax Guidelines

When creating MPCLII packets:

Begin each packet with a start of header ({).

End each packet with an end of header (}).

Define no more than 1000 fields (100 fields for 9403/9805) in

a format. Each p indicates one field. However, options are not counted as fields. The actual number of fields a format can have may be less, because the number of fields is limited by the available memory.

The field number 0 to 999 (99 for the 9403/9805) must be unique. Monarch recommends starting at 1, instead of 0.

Do not use a field number more than once per format.

Define all fields in the order you want to image/print them. The printer does not print in field number order.

Separate all parameters with a Parameter Separator (,).

End each field with a Field Separator ( p ).

Enter all information in CAPITAL letters, except words or phrases within quotation marks.

Include all parameters for a field unless documented as optional.

Define non-printable text fields before the field to which they apply.

Configuring the Printer

2-5

Define options immediately after the field to which they apply.

Multiple options can be used with most fields. Options can be

used in any combination except as noted with each definition.

When using multiple options on the 9403 printer, remember

that options are processed in the order they are received.

Keep in mind that proportionally spaced fonts need wider

fields than monospaced fonts. For variable field data, use a

letter "W" to determine the maximum field size.

Do not place a new line (return) or any other non-printing

character in a character string. However, a carriage return or

line break after each p makes your formats easier to read.

T,1,20,V,30,30,1,1,1,1,B,C,0,0,0 p

T,2,10,V,50,30,1,1,1,1,B,C,0,0,0 p

Spaces are ignored, except within character strings.

Indenting options improves readability of your formats.

T,1,18,V,30,30,1,1,1,1,B,C,0,0,0 p

R,42,1 p

Use a tilde (~) followed by a 3-digit ASCII code in a quoted

string to send function codes or extended characters or send

the 8-bit ASCII code.

You can modify formats and fields with the optional entry method. See "Optional Entry Method" in Chapter 6 for more information.

Using Online Configuration Packets

Use online configuration packets to change the printer settings. You can send an individual packet or a packet that contains all eight online configuration packets. You can supply all parameters for each packet. Leave the parameters blank that you do not need to change. For example, { I,A,,,,1 p } prints a slashed zero and uses the last sent online System Setup parameters.

2-6

Configuring the Printer

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