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1. Table 2 PAL Bar Code List and Samples User s Guide 35 PAL Print and Program Label Tutorial This Label Tutorial provides instructional steps showing the basic commands needed to create labels using PAL Print and Programming Language This section covers some of the most common sequences used to print fonts bar codes lines etc Each label introduces a basic concept and builds on the preceding label Upon completion of the tutorial a label consisting of text in two orientations a line abox and a bar code will be covered The examples may be created using a text editor and saved for subsequent transmission to the printer using the FlashWiz program found on the product CD using the DOS copy command or the send file command that is implemented in most terminal emulators For a deeper understanding of the concepts behind the sample label and the programming capabilities of PAL please refer to the PAL Pint and Program Reference Manual Note The PAL Print and Program command interpreter is case sensitive All commands must be entered exactly as shown in the examples User s Guide 36 Printing Text on a Label Label Output PAL Command Sequences Sans12 00pt findfont 12 scalefont setfont 72 72 moveto Hello World show 1 _showpages Hello World 1 Purpose Demonstrate how to print simple text on a label findfont Establish the font to use The fontname is preceded
2. At this point you can either continue operating the printer in the Feature Management Mode or you can exit To exit the Feature Management Mode power the print off wait 5 seconds then power the printer on Refer to the section Calibrating Media Sensors to recalibrate the printer User s Guide 77 Boot Mode Feature and Value List The Boot Mode has several programmable features that are used during firmware updates Click the Display Up Down buttons to access the Boot mode features FEATURE NAME VALUE RANGE DESCRIPTION Download New F W N A Click the Enter button to start download mode The display will change to Download New F W Waiting For Data lt CANCEL to Stop gt The printer will waiton a firmware update file on the Parallel ports The FlashWiz Lite section of the Feature Man program is used to download firmware files Reboot System N A To exit boot mode and return to normal PAL firmware mode click the Enter button After a firmware update is complete this feature is automatically selected and allows the printer to be rebooted with the newly loaded firmware Interface Select Identical to feature in standard setup mode COM1 Baud Rate Defaults to 57K baud when in boot mode Change to match host if needed COM1 Parity Change to match host if needed COM1 Data Bits Change to match host if needed COM1 Handshake Change to match host if needed Firmware Rev Displays
3. User s Guide 26 FEED Key Operation Pressing the FEED key causes the printer to feed one label During error conditions when the READY LED is blinking the FEED key will cancel the error Power up key functions Several different functions can be selected by holding the FEED key down during power up The table below indicates the function performed when the FEED key is pressed and held for different lengths of time during power up FEED Key Duration Power Up Function FEED key is released after the READY LED flashes once The printer enters the Feature Management mode Placing the printer in this mode while running the FeatureMan program included on the product CD provides an easy way to configure printer features FEED key is released after the READY LED flashes twice PAL program loaded When a PAL program is loaded it runs automatically on power up Pressing this key bypasses the program and places the printer in normal mode The most common reason to bypass a PAL program on power up is to allow a new or updated program to be loaded in the printer No PAL program loaded No function FEED key is released after the calibration sequence starts The printer performs a Media Calibration test which adjusts the sensor sensitivity measures the label length and measures gap notch hole These values are stored in non volatile memory FEED key is held down until the printer starts pri
4. lineto Set the dimensions for the line The line will be drawn from the current position 72 68 to the position set by the lineto 144 68 The vertical position did not change resulting in a horizontal line stretching between the x locations of 72 and 144 stroke Draw the line Actually draws the line specified by the lineto command User s Guide 39 Printing a Box Label Output PAL Command Sequences Sans12 00pt findfont 12 scalefont setfont 72 72 moveto Hello World show 72 68 moveto Hello World 144 68 lineto 1 30 30 moveto 258 30 lineto 1 258 258 lineto 30 258 lineto closepath 2 setlinewidth stroke 1 _showpages Purpose Demonstrate the drawing of a rectangular box This example builds on the previous example by drawing a frame around the label A 4 x 4 288 points x 288 points label is used in this example The frame will be placed within 30 points of the edge of the label moveto Position the drawing cursor at the desired location This example assumes a 4 x 4 label 288 points x 288 points A frame is drawn by moving to the starting point with the moveto operator lineto Set the dimensions for the line Forms three sides of the box with three separate lineto operators closepath Close the shape A box is drawn by drawing 3 sides of the box with the lineto operator followed by closepath which closes the box by drawing the last line
5. 12 When all features have been adjusted click the Online Offline button and the printer is now ready for use If a PAL program is loaded the message now displayed on the simulated printer LCD will vary depending on the program Setup Feature and Value List User s Guide 29 FEATURE NAME VALUE RANGE DESCRIPTION Media Type Direct Thermal Thermal Set to Thermal Transfer if ribbon Transfer is used Media Sensing Gap Continuous Black Bar Set to match media sensing method Calibrate Media Form Length Gap Length automatically displayed and are not adjustable from this feature Click the Enter button to initiate the media calibration The detected media length and Gap are displayed Not required when Media Sensing is set to Continuous Sensor Threshold 0 255 Automatically set by Calibration mode Media Length 0 25 12 00 Inches Automatically set by Calibration mode Media Width 0 5 4 05 Inches 4602 0 5 4 25 Inches 4603 Set to media width used Present Distance 0 00 1 00 Inches Adjust to position label at tear bar If optional Peel and Present kit is installed this feature will specify how far the label is presented After setting this feature the printer will feed to the top of the next label Present Sensor Enable Disable This feature controls the operation of the optional present sensor When install
6. Code39 Options Code93 Options Code128 Options UPCE Options UPCA Options EANG Options EAN13 Options Codabar Options MSI Options IZOFS Options PDF417 Options User s Guide 53 Windows XP Driver Installation 1 Go to the Printers and Faxes folder 2 Inthe Printer Tasks window double click the Add a Printer icon The Add Printer Wizard dialog should be displayed Click the Next button Select the Local printer option and click the Next button If the New Printer Detection dialog is displayed click the Next button to install manually Select the desired printer port and click the Next button From the Manufacturers list dialog click the Have Disk button SD a RS From the Install From Disk dialog browse to the location of the driver files An installation file should be displayed The file has an inf and the filename depends on the model being installed Select this file and click Open Click OK from the Install From Disk dialog 9 The Add Printer Wizard should now display the available models for this driver Select the model you wish to install and click Next 10 Select Replace existing driver Click Next 11 Choose whether to install the printer as the default printer Click Next 12 Select No to the print test page question since the test page does not fit within the printers page size and click Next 13 Click the Finish button on the Completing the Add Printer Wizard If a Hardwa
7. It is important to use this operator to close a shape since the imaging algorithms may or may not actually close the shape due to rounding errors in the algorithm setlinewidth Set the width of the lines The width is set in points In this example the line width is set to 2 points The line width value will remain the effective value for all lines until changed User s Guide 40 Rotate a Text Object Label Output PAL Command Sequences Sans12 00pt findfont 12 scalefont setfont 72 72 moveto Hello World show 72 68 moveto Hello World 144 68 lineto 30 30 moveto 258 30 lineto 258 258 lineto 30 258 lineto closepath 5 S 2 D E stroke 72 90 moveto 90 rotate Hello World show 90 rotate 1 _showpages Purpose Demonstrate how to rotate text This example builds on the previous example by placing another instance of Hello World rotated 90 degrees moveto Position the drawing cursor at the desired location The text will be located at the same x position and slightly higher in the y direction relative to the previous text rotate Rotate the coordinate system In this example the coordinate system is rotated 90 degrees Since the entire drawing surface is being rotated it is important to reset the rotation by the same amount in the opposite direction 90 degrees after text has been placed show Place the text on the label The text to be
8. 1 start ee 8 data bits and 1 stop bit a a l M ee ZN Flow control ee and RTS CTS User s Guide 17 Loading the Ribbon Thermal Transfer Media only If Direct Thermal Media is used skip to the section Loading Media 1 Open the Media Access Cover by lifting it up until it rests in the vertical position 2 Slide the two Print Head Latches toward the back of the printer to unlock the print head module Media Access Cover Print Head Latch Print Head Latch Figure 8 Print Head Latches User s Guide 18 Raise the print head module to the vertical position Verify that the Ribbon Supply Core and the Take up Core have two slots on the left side of the core when the ribbon is positioned to go into the printer These slots will be mated to the notches on the Left Ribbon Holders Note The notches are the drive mechanism for the ribbon If the slots in the core are not present or if they are in the wrong position contact your ribbon supplier to obtain a correct ribbon Notch Figure 9 Ribbon Holder Notch Location User s Guide 19 Unwrap the Ribbon Supply Roll and place it into the Supply Holder of the print head module Insert the left end of the Ribbon Supply Roll end with slots into the Supply Holder first then snap in the right end Make sure that the ribbon core slots are mated with the notches on the ribbon drive mechanism Place the Take up Core into the Take up Holder of the print head module In
9. For example the included Windows driver takes advantage of the powerful printing portion of the language Your VAR or internal programming staff may take advantage of some of the programming abilities The fact that a single printer language supports both capabilities is unique PAL Print and Program enabled printers can be used in many ways not supported by traditional printers A full technical description of the PAL Print and Program Language is beyond the scope of this manual Please refer to the PAL Print and Program Language Reference manual for details For assistance developing PAL applications or solutions for your unique labeling requirements please contact your sales representative User s Guide 43 PAL Print and Program Language Features Oo Q Oo Page Description Language No control Codes easy to pass through networks filters etc Compatible with midrange and mainframe computers and any host or PC programming language Is an executable language Procedures can be defined Functions Conditional statements Loops Can create and use simple and or complex data formats Can gain full access to resident printer features LCD Interfaces Keys Keyboards Internal Memory drives Language is Reverse Polish Notation RPN Like HP Calculator Arguments first then operators i e 4 6 versus 4 6 Data passed on stack PAL Coding Structure is Free Form All operato
10. User s Guide 8 INTRODUCTION The FM412 FM403 are high performance low cost Direct Thermal Thermal Transfer labeling printers featuring the PAL Print and Program language PAL Print and Program language is an interpretive page description language that allows printers to move beyond the role of normal printers In addition to supporting traditional text bar code and graphics print sequences common to other printers PAL Print and Program language also serves as a general purpose programming language This combination of sequence based printing commands and programming ability allows printers to provide unique solutions such as Intelligently read and interpret legacy data streams without host system programming changes Add or replace printers without changing the data streams For example this tremendous flexibility permits changing from dot matrix text or card embosser s to high quality thermal printing with bar codes without changing the original data from the host Store label formats and databases in the printer Store PAL programs in the printer to create powerful stand alone applications that don t require a host or PC connection Create and store PAL programs in the printer which allow it to operate even if the host system goes down Read data from an optional keyboard scanner scale etc and combine this data with fixed formats to create powerful labeling solutions Perform math calculations and perform logical
11. decisions within the printer PAL Print and Program presents many exciting possibilities for rethinking the printer s role within any industry setting The User s Manual will help you understand basic operations of the printer such as set up installation configuration and maintenance For detailed information on the PAL Print and Program language please refer to the PAL Print and Program Reference Manual Before reading the manual you should first identify your printer model The printer model name is located on the bottom of the printer on its product label User s Guide 9 MODEL OVERVIEW Models The PAL Print and Program versions of the Fastmark FM400 series are currently comprised of 2 models FM412 200DPD FM403 300 DPI These models are similar in many ways The FM412 has a print head resolution of 200 DPI versus 300 DPI on the FM403 Throughout this manual instructions and illustrations applying to a particular model will be labeled accordingly otherwise the instructions apply to all models Note The model number is printed on the compliance label attached to the bottom of the printer After un packing please record the model number below for reference MODEL No SERIAL No oo o0 p Model No N And I INN Di Lo O Figure 1 Model and Serial Number Location User s Guide 10 Model Features For detailed feature specifications please refer to Appendix A Bel
12. firmware version installed in the printer Media Type Media Sensing Sensor Threshold Media Length Media Width Present Distance Present Sensor Vert Print Align Horz Print Align Vert Size Adjust Print Darkness Print Speed Interface Select COM1 Baud Rate COM1 Parity COM1 Data Bits COM1 Handshake COM1 PAL Xmit Emulation Mode Date Time Daylight Saving Firmware Rev PAL Boot Drive Max Media Length Keypad Lockout Label Count Drive A 131072 Drive B 262144 Drive C 0 Drive D 32768 Thermal Transfer 4 00 Inches 4 00 Inches 0 24 Inches Disabled 0 00 Inches 0 20 Inches 0 8 6 Auto Select 9600 None 8 RTS amp XON Disabled PAL Emulation Not Installed Not Installed Disabled 110156 A Auto Detect 12 00 Inches Disabled 582 Empty Empty Empty Empty Figure 15 Configuration Print Sample User s Guide 25 KEYPAD OPERATION Power LED Ready LED Feed Key On Switch Figure 16 Fastmark 400 Series Front Panel LED Description LED Function O ON Printer is on POWER OFF Printer is off O ON Printer is online READY OFF Printer is either offline or in setup mode This mode is only available only when the printer is in the Feature Management mode Steady Blinking System error occurred Refer to the section Trouble Shooting and Maintenance for information on errors Flickering Printer is receiving data from serial or parallel interface
13. host None COM1 PAL Xmit Enabled Disabled Enables or disables trans mission of PAL messages over serial interface User s Guide 31 Setup Feature and Value List continued Emulation Mode PAL ASCII Hex Display Selects active emulation ASCII emulation is a basic text emulation Hex and Display emulations are used for printing data in a format that shows the exact data being received by the printer This is useful trouble shooting communications or host programming issues Date MM DD YYYY If RTC option is installed this feature allows the date to be set Click the Enter button to select Month Date Year to modify Click the Display Up Down buttons to modify then click the Enter button to select next parameter When the full date is displayed the change is complete Time HH MM SS If RTC option is installed this feature allows the time to be set The hour is set in 24 hour format 0 23 Click the Enter button to select Hour Minutes Seconds to modify Click the Display Up Down buitons to modify then click the Enter button to select next parameter When the full time is displayed the change is complete Daylight Savings Enabled Disabled If RTC option is installed this feature specifies whether the time is automatically updated for Daylight Savings time Print Features N A Click the Enter button to print the feature list Print Test La
14. install and click Next Select Replace existing driver and click Next 11 From the Name your printer dialog enter the name you wish to call the printer This name will be displayed in the Printers Dialog Also if you want this printer to be the default system printer click this check box now Click the Next button Select the desired option from the Printer Sharing dialog and click Next Select No to the print test page question since the test page does not fit within the printers page size and click Next Click the Finish button on the Completing the Add Printer Wizard If a Hardware Installation message is displayed click Continue Anyway A printer icon should be added to the list of printers If a message is displayed indicating the installation could not be completed you may need to change the security level for installing drivers and repeat the installation process If you have set the printer as the default printer the driver is now ready for use If you did not set the printer as the default printer you can change the setting by right clicking on the printers icon and select Set as Default from the dialog If you are replacing an existing driver you may have to reboot your system in order to reload the new driver User s Guide 50 Selecting Printer Fonts When the driver is installed a custom True Type font is also installed called AMT Sans Serif which closely matches the resident scalable font in the printe
15. ll Thermal transfer Paper or vinyl labels and tags butt cut or die cut with various adhesives 4 in 102mm outside diameter 1 in 25 4mm inside roll diameter diameter Ribbon types Wax Wax resin and Resin OD 1 45 in 37 mm ID 0 5 in 12 7mm RS 232 serial and Centronics parallel ports with auto polling Dimension W7 3 in x D10 9 in x H6 0 in W186 mm x D278 mm x H153mm Weight 1 9 kg 4 1 Ibs Electrical FCC class B FCC class A CE UL and CUL approved Input 19 VAC or 24 VDC Operating 40 to 140 F 5 to 38 C temperature min 2 5 A 50 60 Hz Storage 40 to 140 F 40 to 60 C temperature umidity 15 to 85 RH Win 95 98 2000 XP and NT Printer emulation PPLA PPLB PAL Text Display Hex 0 90 180 and 270 4 direction rotations User s Guide 69 Appendix B INTERFACE SPECIFICATIONS This appendix presents the serial and parallel interface specifications These specifications include pin assignments protocols and detailed information about how to properly interface your printer with your host or terminal Serial Interface Pin Configuration The RS 232 serial interface uses a female DB 9 conncetor Pin Ti INo connection k CiLogic Ground sd 6 Tiedtopini Notused 8 lh Clearto Send CTS 9 Out Note Pin 9 is reserved for Keyboard Device Unit KDU only do not connect this pin if you are using a general host like a PC Connection With Host
16. printed is enclosed by parentheses The lower left hand corner of the text is placed at the current cursor position User s Guide 41 Printing a Bar Code Label Output PAL Command Sequence Sans12 00pt findfont 12 scalefont setfont 72 72 moveto HT IM IN Hello World show BARCODE123 72 68 moveto Hello World 144 68 lineto 30 30 moveto 258 30 lineto 258 258 lineto 30 258 lineto closepath 5 S 2 I stroke 72 90 moveto 90 rotate Hello World show 90 rotate 100 100 moveto BARCODE123 Code39 _barcode 1 _showpages Purpose Demonstrate how to print a bar code This example builds on the previous example by placing a bar code near the center of the label Moveto Position the drawing cursor at the desired location Position cursor at desired location for bar code BARCODE123 String object defining the barcode content The parentheses delimit the text string and are not part of the barcode The actual bar code value in this case is BARCODEI23 i e parentheses not included _barcode Place the specified bar code on the label The type of bar code is referenced by a followed by the name of the bar code type For a list of supported bar codes see User s Guide 42 INTRODUCTION TO PAL ADVANCED TOPICS Advanced Overview As previously mentioned the PAL Print and Program Language is both a powerful printing and programming language
17. the hidden F W Update Mode feature Click the Enter button to activate boot mode firmware After the boot mode firmware is activated the FeatureMan program will display the following Off line F W Update Mode The only possible actions at this point are to enter boot setup mode or cycle power to exit this mode This setup mode works like the normal printer setup mode except the feature list is limited to specific features used during firmware updates Click the Display Up Down buttons to enter the boot setup mode Refer to the Boot Mode Feature and Value List for a description of the features Scroll to the Download New F W feature When the Download New F W feature is selected the FeatureMan program will open up a new file download section called FlashWiz Lite Click the Enter or CANCEL button to activate the Download New F W mode After the Download New F W mode is activated the FeatureMan program will display the following Download New F W Waiting For Data CANCEL to Stop User s Guide 76 PownloadNewFAV eu Waiting For Data sun E He D Ses 7 In the FlashWiz Lite section select the appropriate LPT port to be used for the download 8 Click the File button to select the appropriate download file 9 Click the Send button to start the download 10 After the download is complete follow the instructions on the display of the FeatureMan program to reset all printer features
18. AM I Datasouth Fastmark 400 Series with PAL Print and Program Language Barcode Label Printer User s Guide It speaks your language i Ss Part No 110039 A Corporate Headquarters 4765 Calle Quetzal Camarillo CA 93012 805 388 5799 PH 805 484 5282 FX AMT Datasouth Corp Charlotte Operation 4216 Stuart Andrew Blvd Charlotte NC 28217 704 523 8500 PH 704 525 6104 FX www amtdatasouth com AMT Datasouth International Unit B Pinnacle 15 Gowerton Rd Brackmills Northampton NN4 7BW England 44 1604 763394 PH 44 1604 760661 FX IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS AND OTHER NOTICES This label printer complies with the requirements in Part 15 of FCC rules for a Class A computing device Operation of this equipment in a residential area may cause unacceptable interface to radio and TV reception requiring the operator to take whatever steps are necessary to correct the interference Place the printer on a flat firm and solid surface Do not place the printer near a heat source or near water Refer to the specification label on the bottom of this printer and ensure that your power source exactly meets these requirements Do not open the printer during operation to avoid electrical shock Do not attempt to disassemble this printer if it malfunctions All rights are reserved No part of this document may be reproduced or issued to third parties in any form without the permission of AMT Datasouth The material i
19. Bar Codes From Windows XP Applications Using the Fastmark PAL Windows driver printing bar codes from any Windows application is possible These bar codes are printed using the internal bar code ability of the printer resulting in superior bar code quality The following steps indicate how to do this 1 Ensure the Fastmark PAL Driver is selected within this application 2 Select the media size to be used for this label 3 Position the text or numeric data at the approximate position it is to be printed at using whatever methods are possible within the particular program you are using You can use a text box if supported by your application 4 If your application supports text rotation you can do this now Some applications may require you to use a text box to generate rotated text 5 Highlight this text or numeric data as you normally would before changing the font 6 Using the normal method of selecting fonts such as a pull down menu select one of the bar code fonts displayed such as FM Code 128A Note The font will still be displayed as text or numeric data however when printed will appear as a barcode A seien De Gi es pet Foa Joe Tie iri bees Om Bae OA eo Qom H H Cotejt FRE Coda BEM Codes BRA WADONE A SEn ar mi ai User s Guide 56 Adjusting the Windows XP Driver Bar Codes Using the method just described any Windows application can produce bar codes using the Fastmark drivers Simply s
20. Format_Demo txt Notice how strings are enclosed in Also notice how variables are separated by whitespace which may be a single space character or a CR LF Two possible call formats are shown below each producing the same output as the label sample below shows The actual label format name is shown in bold for clarity John Doe 1234 Main St Anytown NC 12345 1234 Mailing_Label Or an equivalent format John Doe 1234 Main St Anytown NC 12345 1234 Mailing Label Print sample produced by label format Mailing Label John Doe 1234 Main St Anytown NC 12345 1234 User s Guide 49 WINDOWS PRINTER DRIVER Windows 2000 Driver Installation 1 2 ae OPT ele SOY ON oe 12 13 14 From the task bar select Start gt Settings gt Printers The printers folder should be displayed Double click the Add Printer icon Q The Add Printer Wizard dialog should be displayed Q Click the Next button Select the Local printer option and click the Next button Select the desired printer port and click the Next button From the Manufacturers list dialog click the Have Disk button From the Install From Disk dialog browse to the location of the driver files and click OK From the Install from Disk dialog select the displayed inf file and click OK Click OK from the Install From Disk dialog The Add Printer Wizard should now display the available models for this driver Select the model you wish to
21. Host 25S Printer 9P Host 9S Printer 9P PC or compatible PC or compatible DTR20 aan 1 DSR DTR4 nn 1 DSR DSR6 ann 6 DTR DSR6 ann 6 DTR TX2 gt n 2 RX TXS o ae 2 RX RX3 nenn 3 TX RX2 n 3 TX CTS5 mn 7 RTS CTSE nn 7 RTS RTS4 gt n 8 CTR RTS7 aan 8 CTS GND7 an 5 GND GND5 aan 5 GND Three Wire Connection This method is the simplest method of connecting the printer to a host or terminal This method requires Software Protocol Handshaking XON XOFF flow control Host 25S Printer 9P Host 9S Printer 9P PC or compatible PC or compatible TX2 n 2 RX TXS ugninis 2 RX RX3 onen 3 TX RX2 an 3 TX GND7 an 5 GND GND 5 5 GND pin 4 pin 4 pin 5 Pin6 o pin 6 Pin7 pin20 Ping Serial port settings Baud Rate Parity Data Bits and Handshaking may be configured using the Feature Management mode User s Guide 70 Parallel Centronics Interface The parallel port uses a standard 36 pin Centronics connector fm STROBE e foa SELECT Be eae ene Ground ph oa e 6 nc fin pes rt 30 foom 7 m s ar me e m Data7 a o ro e In pes fes e ofo pa o o mfo fs fi fe oa fpe Auto Interface Select The setup feature Interface Select controls the operation of interface arbitration One of 3 settings is possible Parallel Only With this setting the serial interface is ignored Serial Only With this setting the parallel interface is ignored Auto Select With this settin
22. L Coordinate System An internal cursor is maintained by PAL that keeps track of where to put the next print object i e text or lines etc At power up this internal cursor is set to the origin or 0 0 The default unit used for measuring distance in this coordinate system is the point A point is a common typographical unit equivalent to 1 72 There are 72 points to an inch The example sets the cursor to 72 72 to place text at a point inch to right of the origin and 1 inch above Some printing commands such as show will change the location of the cursor This happens for example after a text string is put on the label After the text has been written to the label the cursor is updated to point to the end of the text in preparation for the next string User s Guide 38 Printing a Line Label Output PAL Command Sequences Sans12 00pt findfont 12 scalefont setfont 72 72 moveto Hello World show 72 68 moveto Hello World 144 68 lineto 1 stroke 1 _showpages 1 Purpose Demonstrate drawing lines on a label This example underlines the Hello World text from the previous example moveto Position the drawing cursor at the desired location The line will be positioned near the same location as the text a bit lower in the y direction to allow for a small space between the bottom of the text and the line This example uses the value 68 4 points below the text 4 72 inches
23. adapter Caution Incorrect source voltage could cause damage to the printer and or the power adapter 2 Ensure the printer power switch is Off O 3 Connect the power plug to the Power Jack on the back of the printer Avoid touching the parallel connector 4 Connect AC power plug to a suitable AC source 5 Connect either a Centronics Parallel or RS 232 Cable Figure 6 Power Connection User s Guide 16 Connecting the Printer to Your Host 1 You can connect the printer with any standard Centronics cable to the parallel port of the host computer or network print server Alternatively you can connect the printer with a serial cable to the RS 232C port of your computer or terminal For PC compatibles the RS 232C port is COM1 COM2 or COM3 Note Using the Centronics interface allows for higher communication speed than the serial interface Figure 7 Communication Cable If you use the serial port with your own cable refer to the Appendix B and check the pin connection Caution Pin 9 on the serial port is directly connected to 5volts DC Do not connect this pin in your cable Be sure that the speed baud rate and protocol are the same between printer and host Note Refer to the section Feature Management Mode for instructions on how to change communication features Default serial port settings Pe baud rate ae ieee format
24. bel N A Click Enter button to print a test label Firmware Rev N A Firmware P N and revision User s Guide 32 PAL PRINT LANGUAGE INTRODUCTION This section provides an introduction to basic PAL print language abilities including fonts and bar codes For information regarding PAL programming abilities creating stand alone applications and other advanced topics please refer to the Fastmark PAL Print and Program Reference Manual The Windows driver included with the printer is an excellent method to generate PAL print sequence based commands For example to easily determine which PAL print sequences are used to produce a given label format the Windows driver can be used to generate the necessary commands In this case the basic label format would be generated using a Windows program then the print to file option is selected This will produce a file containing the exact commands required to produce a given label format Using this file as a template a programmer can incorporate the necessary commands into the host or Windows based application For more information refer to the section titled Using the Windows Driver To Produce PAL Print Command Examples User s Guide 33 Smooth Scalable Fonts PAL Print and Program capable printers allow a font to be selected by name scaled rotated and placed on the drawing service The table below lists the unique names used to select the fonts and a print sample sh
25. by a In this example a Sans Serif 12 point font was chosen See or supported fonts scalefont Scale the selected font s size in points It is typical to use the value indicated in the selected font In this example since Sans12 00pt was the selected font the scaling was set to 12 Optionally the command may be used to scale the font to a different size e g 13 or 11 setfont Set the current font to the scaled font defined by the scalefont operator This font will be used for all subsequent text unless another font is chosen moveto Position the drawing cursor at the desired location Moves the cursor position 1 inch to the right and 1 inch from the bottom see box on next page for description of coordinate system show Place the text on the label The text to be printed is enclosed by parentheses The lower left hand corner of the text is placed at the current cursor position In this example the cursor position is established with the moveto command as described above _Showpages Print the created label The 1 in the example indicates that one label is to be printed If printing 10 labels the command would be 10 _showpages User s Guide 37 PAL Print and Program Coordinate System The default coordinate system used by PAL Print and Program Language is a traditional Cartesian coordinate system with the origin at the lower left hand corner of the drawing surface PA
26. cation can produce bar codes using the Fastmark drivers Simply selecting the font as a bar code font does this The driver also provides ways to finely adjust the bar code printed For example human readable text may be enabled or disabled The X dimension may be adjusted Depending on the bar code type other parameters may be adjusted for example enabling or disabling a check digit Each bar code property may be accessed by selecting the driver then Advanced Options dialog box Each bar code type is listed Click on the symbol to expand the possible selections for a particular bar code Then the settings for that bar code may be adjusted and will be saved with the current document Barcode Properties User s Guide 61 Using the Windows Driver To Produce PAL Print Command Examples To use the Windows driver to produce a PAL sample for use in host programming do the following 1 2 3 4 5 6 Design the label as needed using suitable Windows application Where possible always use the printer resident font such as AMT Sans Serif Use bar code fonts for data fields to be printed as bar codes Use the driver Advanced Properties dialog box to select various options for the bar codes to be printed While working on the label format print to the attached Fastmark printer as needed to finally adjust the position of text lines boxes graphics and bar codes When the printed output closely matches the desired output use
27. d also work Box draw botX in 0 1 botY in 0 1 topX in 3 9 Box topY in lwidth in Led 0 User s Guide 46 01 Box Demo Label showing use of Print Utility Procedures After the file Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt has been copied to the printer a number of new procedures are now defined in the printer until powered off These procedures have been written specifically to demonstrate how to use the PAL Print and Program operators to produce printed output These procedures also provide easy ways to print various objects without actually needing to know the PAL language The print utility procedures may be incorporated into custom programming or just used as reference to better understand the PAL Print and Program operators After downloading Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt to the printer copy the file Proc_Demo txt to the printer This file uses the various print utility procedures defined to produce a demo label Using a text editor open the file Proc_Demo txt file to see how these various utilities may be used as shown in the demo label print sample below The interesting thing to note in the Proc_Demo txt file is that the only actual PAL operator used is the showpage operator The other procedure names used such as Printfont and Printbarcode are not native PAL operators but new procedures defined A careful study of the definition of these procedures will reveal the actual PAL operators u
28. e list is now enabled and may be selected by clicking the Display Down button Hidden Setup Feature and Value List FEATURE NAME VALUE RANGE DESCRIPTION Ripple Pattern N A Click the Enter button to initiate a rolling ASCII ripple pattern Factory Defaults N A Clicking the Enter button resets all keypad features to factory defaults If the RTC clock is installed these features are not reset The Label Count Feature can not be reset Caution This feature could cause a loss of communication with host if interface features have been modified PAL Boot Drive A B C Auto Detect This feature selects the boot drive During power up the system will scan the boot drive for a PAL program to run If Auto Detect is selected the system will scan all drives in succession starting with A searching for the first PAL program to run F W Update Mode N A Clicking the Enter button causes main firmware control to be halted and boot load firmware to be loaded This mode has a distinct setup mode feature list allowing serial port parameters to be adjusted for the firmware download See Appendix F on firmware updates for more information User s Guide 74 Hidden Setup Feature and Value List Continued Max Media Length 12 80 inches This feature sets the maximum length media that the printer will recognize In normal setup mode this value sets the upper limit on the Media Length feature to av
29. ed and enabled the printer suspends printing after each label until it is removed by the operator This is typically used when the peel and present option is installed but could also be used with the tear bar User s Guide 30 Setup Feature and Value List continued Vert Print Align 0 50 0 50 Inches Adjust to move printed image up or down on label Positive values move image up Negative values move image down After setting this feature the printer will feed to the top of the next label Horz Print Align 0 00 1 00 Inches Adjust to move printed image left or right Larger values move the image to the right Vert Size Adjust 60 60 Vertically expands or compresses print image Negative values are compressed positive values are expanded Print Darkness 12 12 Adjust for optimal print darkness Positive values are darker Print Speed 2 3 IPS Adjusts print speed Interface Select Parallel Only Serial Only Auto Select Selects active interface while ignoring non selected interface Setting to Auto Select enables both interfaces and performs automatic port arbitration COM1 Baud Rate 1200 2400 4800 9600 14400 Set to match host 19200 38400 57600 COM1 Parity None Odd Even Set to match host COM1 Data Bits 7 8 Set to match host COM1 Handshake RTS XON XOFF RTS amp XON Set to match
30. edia is installed 1 2 3 Turn off the printer open the top cover and if installed remove the ribbon Lift the print head module to the vertical position Rub the print head with a piece of cotton which has been moistened with Isopropyl Alcohol or use a thermal head cleaning pen Check for any traces of discoloration or adhesive on the cotton after cleaning Repeat if necessary until the cotton is clean after it is passed over the print head Figure 20 Print Head Location Note The print head should be cleaned at least every time the ribbon is replaced and more often depending on actual usage and conditions User s Guide 66 Cleaning the Platen Roller It is recommended that the platen roller should be cleaned when e Excessive dusty condition exists e Following a media jam where the adhesive comes in contact with it 1 Turn off the printer and open the top cover 2 Lift the print head module to the vertical position 3 Rub the full length of the platen available with a piece of cotton which has been moistened with Isopropyl Alcohol 4 Manually rotate the platen and repeat step 3 until the entire platen has been cleaned Platen Roller Figure 21 Platen Roller Note The roller should be cleaned whenever it has been in contact with foreign materials such as dust or adhesives User s Guide 67 Cleaning the Paper Compartment It is recommended that the Paper Compartment be cleaned regularly if ex
31. electing the font as a bar code font does this The driver also provides ways to finely adjust the bar code printed For example human readable text may be enabled or disabled The X dimension may be adjusted Depending on the bar code type other parameters may be adjusted for example enabling or disabling a check digit Each bar code property may be accessed by selecting the driver then Advanced Options dialog box Each bar code type is listed Click on the symbol to expand the possible selections for a particular bar code Then the settings for that bar code may be adjusted and will be saved with the current document Advanced Printing Features Enabled Halftoning Auto Select Print Optimizations Enabled Print Darkness 50 Barcodes Code39 Options Code93 Options Code128 Options PDF417 Options User s Guide 57 Windows NT 9x Driver Installation 1 Go to the Printers and Faxes folder 2 Double click the Add Printer icon The Add Printer Wizard dialog should be displayed Click the Next button 3 Select the Local printer option and click the Next button 4 Select the desired printer port and click the Next button 5 6 7 7 8 From the Manufacturers list dialog click the Have Disk button From the Install From Disk dialog browse to the location of the driver files and click OK From the Install from Disk dialog select the displayed inf file and click OK Click OK from the Install From D
32. g the printer automatically arbitrates between the parallel and serial interfaces The first interface to go active maintains active status while the other interface is held busy After a time out period the other interface is placed in a ready state User s Guide 71 Appendix C ASCII TABLE The following table may be used to determine HEX values of ASCII characters For example the character A is hex 41 commonly shown as 0x41H 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 0 NUL 0 P P 1 SOH XON 1 A 0 a 0 2 STX 2 B IR b R 3 XOF G 1 S fee s 4 4 amp ok for 5 NAK 5 Er el U 6 ACK amp 6 FTV f V 7 BEL 7 6 w gg w 8 BS 8 H x nhl xX 9 9 Y i Y A LF k J Z j Z B ESC K k c FF l lt L D CR z IM m E SO RS gt N N n F si us o _ o DEL User s Guide 72 Appendix D SELF TEST PRINT SAMPLE AMT Datasouth FastMark Test Label JUNDA W OW eoan N 0 123456 789050 012545678905 JUN N NOU 01234565 o 123643 2 III INN nnlullunhunndahunn Alban hal SansSerif Spt rp PM ie oa eae RT SansSerif 12pt y SansSerif 16pt SansSerif 18pt m Pe u 2 A amp pF EBEN TL 0 123643 2 User s Guide 73 Appendix E HIDDEN SETUP FEATURES To access the hidden list of features select the Firmware Rev feature then click the Enter button twice The hidden featur
33. he FeatureMan program included on the product CD 2 Attach the printer to the PC using the included serial cable Be sure to note which COM port is used on the PC 3 Run the FeatureMan program on the PC Select the COM port used as noted in the previous step The simulated printer LCD should display Connecting 4 Power on the printer while holding down the FEED key 5 Release the FEED key after the READY LED flashes once 6 The printer should now begin communicating with the FeatureMan program The printer will run through a series of power up messages ending with an Off line message Displayed messages from printer Online Offline button Set to match the com port to Press Display Up Down to which the printer is connected enter setup mode Figure 17 FeatureMan Program 7 Click the Display Up Down buttons to enter the setup mode User s Guide 28 8 Continue to click the Display Up Down buttons as needed until the feature to be modified is displayed on the top line of the display ex Baud Rate Figure 18 Changing Features 9 Click the Enter button to enter the Change mode The top line of the display should start blinking to indicate the Change mode is active 10 Click the Display Up Down buttons as needed to select the new value 11 Click the Enter button to save the new value and exit the Change mode The top line of the display should no longer be blinking Figure 19 Changing Feature Values
34. ibration test Error Media Feed A media feed error is displayed when the printer is unable to find the top of form indication as configured either gap or black bar Open print head and verify media is loaded correctly Check the feature Media Sensing and verify it is set to the type of media used either gap or black bar Close print head and press the FEED key Run the Media Calibration test Error Ribbon Out Reported when the printer detects the end of ribbon while printing or feeding media after the current label is complete Open the print head remove old ribbon cores replace with new ribbon ensuring the routing is correct Close print head and press the FEED key If this is direct thermal application change Media Type feature to Direct Thermal User s Guide 63 Printer Detected Errors Continued Error Image System Error reported by the imaging sub system indicating a memory shortage or other graphics problem Press the FEED key to remove current print job Cycle power on the printer Verify communications settings are correct Re send print job Error Data Format The printer has detected a data format or parity error on the serial port This could be caused by improper settings between host and printer or a glitch in data transmission such as a PC being powered up Press the FEED key to clear the error and print buffer Resend the print job If the erro
35. ing loaded release system for quick print head replacement Rugged all metal print mechanism with high impact ABS housing User s Guide 11 PAL PRINT AND PROGRAM OVERVIEW Printers featuring PAL Print and Program ability can be used in several ways in any given environment This section describes 3 common ways this advanced capability is used Details of how to take advantage of this advanced ability can be found in the PAL Print and Program Reference Manual For help and assistance determining the best way to use this ability in your situation please consult your sales representative Traditional Printing This environment represents the most common use of printers Generally a single print job PAL print sequences generates a single label In this role the PAL Print and Program interpreter accepts the print job performs the required operator processing and prints the label tag or ticket Using a Windows driver in conjunction with a Windows application program is a typical way to print in this environment Alternatively PAL print sequences may also be generated by any host application written to take advantage of this powerful language When a PAL capable printer is used this way no special PAL program must be loaded on the printer Print sequences generated by a Windows driver or host programs are simply sent to the printer resulting in print output just like traditional printers PAL Sequence PAL Interp
36. inter resident font User s Guide 59 Printing Bar Codes From Windows NT 9x Applications Using the Fastmark PAL Windows driver printing bar codes from any Windows application is possible These bar codes are printed using the internal bar code ability of the printer resulting in superior bar code quality The following steps indicate how to do this 1 Ensure the Fastmark PAL Driver is selected within this application 2 Select the media size to be used for this label 3 Position the text or numeric data at the approximate position it is to be printed at using whatever methods are possible within the particular program you are using You can use a text box if supported by your application 4 If your application supports text rotation you can do this now Some applications may require you to use a text box to generate rotated text 5 Highlight this text or numeric data as you normally would before changing the font 6 Using the normal method of selecting fonts such as a pull down menu select one of the bar code fonts displayed such as FM Code 128A Note The font will still be displayed as text or numeric data however when printed will appear as a barcode A seien De Gi es pet Foa Joe Tie iri bees Om Bae OA eo Qom H H Cotejt FRE Coda BEM Codes BRA DOB4E H Z A SHERW a7 vi Wi User s Guide 60 Adjusting the Windows NT 9x Driver Bar Codes Using the method just described any Windows appli
37. inter run properly and efficiently Caution Indicate guidelines that if not followed can cause damage to equipment Warning Indicate a situation where there may be a danger to you Important Indicate that the associated material needs to be done to ensure proper printer operation The use of the term s right and left assume that you are looking at the front of the printer TECHNICAL SUPPORT Please contact your local dealer first for technical support Your dealer is knowledgeable about driver installation application software and general printer operation If you still need factory technical support after contacting your dealer you may mail any problems through the E mail account www amtdatasouth com You can also get the most updated driver or application from the web site http www amtdatasouth com Copyright 2004 by AMT Datasouth Corporation First Edition January 2004 User s Guide 5 Table of Contents User s Guide 6 ROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE Printer Detected Errors User Detected Errors Preventive Maintenance Appendix A GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS Appendix B INTERFACE SPECIFICATIONS Serial Interface Parallel Centronics Interface Auto Interface Select Appendix C ASCII TABLE Appendix D SELF TEST PRINT SAMPLE Appendix E HIDDEN SETUP FEATURES Hidden Setup Feature and Value List Appendix F UPDATING PRINTER FIRMWARE Boot Mode Feature and Value List User s Guide 7 TABLE OF FIGURES
38. isk dialog The Add Printer Wizard should now display the available models for this driver Select the model you wish to install and click Next Select No to the print test page question since the test page does not fit within the printers page size and click Next 10 Click the Finish button on the Completing the Add Printer Wizard A printer icon should be added to the list of printers If you have set the printer as the default printer the driver is now ready for use If you did not set the printer as the default printer you can change the setting by right clicking on the printers icon and select Set as Default from the dialog If you are replacing an existing driver you may have to reboot your system in order to reload the new driver User s Guide 58 Selecting Printer Fonts The driver has a resident font called AMT Sans Serif which is displayed in the application s font list This font may be printed in a variety of point sizes Using this font increases print speed and minimizes the data transmitted to the printer Use of True Type fonts are supported but are printed as graphics To use the printer resident font 1 For each size font highlight the font using the mouse 2 From your applications font selection list select AMT Sans Serif font 3 Using your applications font size ability select the point size as needed to produce the size font desired Repeat for all text area s for which you will use the pr
39. led in Loading Media section While pressing and holding the FEED key power on the printer The READY LED right most LED will blink twice Continue to hold the FEED key until the printer begins to feed the media Release the FEED key When feeding stops the printer has completed the Media Sensor Calibration procedure The print head module can be opened and the media may be manually reversed back to the first label to save label stock After closing the print head module press the FEED key again to re align the media to the top of the label Note For the Calibration procedure to function properly the proper Media Sensing Type Gap or Black Bar must be selected This setting may be made using the FeatureMan program supplied User s Guide 24 Printing the Configuration Label 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ensure the printer is powered off Verify that the media is properly loaded and routed as detailed in Loading Media Section While pressing and holding the FEED key power on the printer The READY LED right most LED will blink twice Continue holding the FEED key while the media feeds for several label lengths When the printer begins to print the configuration label you may release the FEED key Note Media width at least 3 inches wide should be used for the configuration print out The following figure is an example configuration printout The feature settings on your printer may vary based on any setup changes made or
40. lide the Retainer Disk up against the media until it is snug 7 Inthe base of the printer locate the Right and Left Media Guides User s Guide 21 Note The Right and Left Media Guides are U shaped parts that are located at the bottom of the paper path Only the Right Media Guide can be moved The media should be snugly positioned in the U portion of the guides 8 Slide the adjustable Right Media Guide to the far right of the printer Media guides Figure 13 Loading Media 9 Pull out 6 inches of media and thread the end of the media under the Left Media Guide and over the platen roller 10 Slide the adjustable Right Media Guide to the left until it is gently touching the media Note If the Media Guides are too loose the media may pull out from them and result in false media out errors If the Media Guides are too tight the media may buckle and result in media jams 11 Close and lock the print head module by pressing firmly until the right and left Print Head Latches snap shut 12 Close the Media Access Cover Note The first time media is installed the Media Sensor must be calibrated After the first calibration no further calibration is required unless the media type length color backing material etc is changed or irregular feeding occurs Refer to the section Calibrating Media Sensors for instructions on how to calibrate the media sensor User s Guide 22 Loading Media when Peel and Present Opti
41. n this document is provided for general information and is subject to change without notice User s Guide 3 TRADEMARK CREDITS Windows MS Word and MS DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation PC is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Corporation PAL is a registered trademark of AMT Datasouth Corporation COPYRIGHT NOTICES 2004 AMT Datasouth Corp All rights reserved 2003 Adobe Systems Incorporated 1996 2003 The FreeType Project All rights reserved 1993 Symbol Technologies Inc 1990 United Parcel Service of America Inc COMPUTER SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT This computer software including display screens and all related materials are confidential and the exclusive property of AMT Datasouth Corp They are available for limited use but only pursuant to a written license agreement distributed with this computer software This computer software including display screens and all related materials shall not be copied reproduced published or distributed in whole or in part in any medium by any means for any purpose without the express written consent of AMT Datasouth Corp COPYRIGHT AMT Datasouth Corp 2004 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED User s Guide 4 CONVENTIONS Some of the procedures in this guide contain special notices that highlight important information Note Indicate information that you should know to help your pr
42. nowledge of the PAL Print and Program Language In this label format the procedures Printfont PrintBoldfont and Printbarcode are used These are not native PAL operators but new procedures also defined in this file Using print utility procedures like this in the label format makes it easy to define formats using inches as the measurement system with very little knowledge of PAL operators The procedure below defines a label format called Mailing Label This name is case sensitive The first 5 lines after the character assign the passed parameters to names These names are in turn used when needed to pass information to PAL operators or in this case other PAL procedures When the label format is called the very first parameter specified will be the name Notice in the definition below that the Name variable is actually the last defined This is due to the stack based nature of PAL The first defined parameter on the stack is the last off the stack just like a stack of plates for example last one stacked is first one off The line below shows that at an X Y position of 0 25 0 75 the name variable will be printed in bold at a size of 12 points with no rotation This PrintBoldfont procedure makes it easy to place text of any size and rotation at any position just by specifying the parameters in correct order then calling the PrintBoldfont 0 25 0 75 0 12 Name PrintBoldfont If should also be noted that the label format defined bel
43. nting the configuration label The printer generates a configuration label showing current feature settings firmware revision and PAL drive storage capacity User s Guide 27 Feature Management Mode The printer can be easily configured using the Feature Management Mode When this mode is enabled the printer uses the serial interface to communicate feature settings to the FeatureMan program running on the PC The printer remains fully functional while in the Feature Management Mode with the exception that the serial interface is dedicated to the FeatureMan program and cannot be used for host communication Once features such as baud rate or media type are configured the values are retained in non volatile memory NVM Refer to the Setup Feature and Value List for a description of the printer features and their valid range of values If the serial interface is used for host communication the printer must be powered off after con figuring the features reconnected to the host and powered back on to resume normal printing If the parallel interface is used for host communication the printer may be operated directly from the Feature Management Mode In this mode of operation the FeatureMan program will continue to provide front panel control and will display all On line Off line PAL programming and error messages Use the following procedure to enable the Feature Management Mode and configure the printer features 1 Install t
44. oid excessive menu scrolling This also controls how long of a label the printer will look for when performing a label calibration Increase this value if media over 12 inches long is used Keypad Lockout Enabled Disabled When Keypad Lockout is Enabled the value of features may be viewed but not changed Also any feature value which may be changed from downline using a PAL operator is also locked out from change This feature may be used to keep users from modifying features or to override host changes if needed Label Count N A This feature displays the number of labels printed since the printer was manufactured The total label length issued by the printer will be dependant on the label length used For example if 4 inch label stock is used and the Label Count feature indicates 100 then 400 inches of media have been printed User s Guide 75 Appendix F UPDATING PRINTER FIRMWARE Occasionally there may be a need to update printer firmware either to enhance capabilities or correct issues Updating firmware via the parallel interface is possible only after activating the printers boot mode firmware Use the following procedure to activate the boot mode firmware 1 2 3 4 5 6 Enable the Feature Management mode Refer to the section Feature Management Mode section for instructions Enable the Hidden Setup Features Refer to Appendix E for instructions Scroll to
45. on is Installed 1 Follow the same procedures in Loading Media up until step 11 close and lock the print head module Peel off 6 inches of labels from its backing Thread the label backing over the platen roller over the Peel and Present Bar then back under the Peel and Present Bar towards the platen Turn on the power to 1 position With the print head module still open press the FEED key The printer will advance the backing Once the label backing comes out of the front of the printer turn off the power to O position Close and lock the print head module by pressing firmly until the right and left Print Head Latches snap shut Close the Media Access Cover Turn on the power to 1 position Press the FEED key to feed out the first label in the printer Note For the Peel and Present mode to function properly the Present Sensor must be enabled Refer to the section Feature Management Mode for instructions on how to change the Present Sensor feature Figure 14 Loading Media Peal and Present User s Guide 23 Calibrating Media Sensors Important The first time media is installed the Media Sensor must be calibrated After N a Se oe the first calibration no further calibration is required unless the media type length color backing material etc is changed or irregular feeding occurs Ensure the printer is powered off Verify that the media is properly loaded and routed as detai
46. ot reported by the printer Vertical streaks in the print This could indicate a dirty or faulty print head Clean the print head first Verify the media does not have excessive paper fibers or dust Verify there are no nicks or burrs anywhere in the paper path such as a scratched rail If no other source of streaks can be found replace the print head Vertical gaps in the print This could indicate a dirty or faulty print head First clean the print head Verify the ribbon is not wrinkling Verify darkness feature is set high enough Manually add force to the print head bracket in the area of the streaks If the streaks go away the print head itself is not the cause Poor print out quality Q Oo Q Verify type of media and ribbon if used are compatible Verify ribbon is not being used with direct thermal media Lower print speed and adjust print darkness Verify print head is clean Verify platen roller is clean Verify media and ribbon are both loaded exactly as described in media and ribbon loading sections Replace print head if print out is streaked or missing and all of above does not resolve User s Guide 65 Preventive Maintenance Before performing any Preventive Maintenance be sure to turn off the printer s power and unplug the power cable Cleaning the Thermal Print Head TPH It is recommended at a minimum that the Print Head should be cleaned e Each time a Ribbon is changed e Each time a new roll of m
47. ow is a brief summary of printer features Standard Features Q PAL Print and Program Language The PAL Print and Programming Language is a powerful printer language combining both exceptional printing abilities with flexible programming abilities Because it is designed as both a printing and programming language it is extremely powerful flexible and efficient compared to any other thermal printer language on the market today e PAL Print ability Free Type font engine with smooth scaling and rotation graphics with internal scaling lines boxes all popular linear and 2D bar code types Full rotation and scaling of coordinate system Ability to define and use print procedures e PAL Programming ability General I O file handling loops procedures floating point math logical operators database access procedure definitions string manipulations time date functions Ability to store and run printer resident PAL programs enabling powerful solutions for a wide variety of print applications Powerful Windows Drivers are included that enable any Windows application to easily access printer resident bar codes and fonts FeatureMan ager program for quick and easy printer configuration All popular linear and 2D bar codes Serial and Parallel ports standard Clamshell design for simplified media and ribbon loading Reflective media detection sensor Ribbon out sensor Removable media spindle for 1 inch core sizes Spr
48. ow is actually just another PAL procedure definition just like the PrintBoldfont Parameters are passed to these procedures in the same way The big difference is that the PAL operator showpage is included in the label format procedure which will actually cause a label to be printed each time this format is called See ee eee eee ee eee aaa aaa SS Se SS Mailing_Label procedure definition Usage Name Street CityState Zips Zip4 Mailing_Label Example John Doe 1234 Main St Anytown NC 12345 1234 Mailing_Label SSS SSS 5555555555555 55S S55 SSS SS SSS SS SS SS SS SS SSS SS SS SSS SS SSS SSS SS SSS SSS S55 gt Mailing_Label Zip4 exch def Zip5 exch def CityState exch def Street exch def Name exch def 0 25 0 75 0 12 Name PrintBoldfont 0 25 0 55 0 12 Street Printfont 0 25 0 35 0 12 CityState concat Zip5 concat concat Zip4 concat Printfont 0 1 0 1 00 1 Zip4 Zip5 concat Postnet Printbarcode showpage bind def User s Guide 48 Example of calling Label Format from Host Application The example below shows how a form named Mailing Label that was defined in the file Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt may be called from a host or PC application The file Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt must be copied to the printer first before the label format is defined Also it is possible to store the formats in Flash memory which is an advanced topic not covered here Other examples of calling these formats may be found in
49. owing a specific point size Please refer to the PAL Print and Program Reference manual for detailed information on the use of fonts Point PAL Font Size Identifier Sample Sans Serif 14 SansSerif ABCDEabcde01234 OCRB 10 OCRB ABCDEFabcdef012345 Table 1 PAL Font List and Samples Supported Bar Codes PAL Print and Program capable printers allow a bar code to be selected by name rotated if needed and placed on the drawing surface All popular linear and 2D bar codes are supported Depending on bar code type a number of parameters may be adjusted as needed for example human readable height X dimension check digits Please refer to the PAL Print and Program Reference manual for detail information on the use of bar codes Bar Code PAL Sample Identifier S O TTT 123456 NIMM 1234567890 Code 128 Code128 IANA 12345678 Interleave 2of5 ne TL 1234567890 User s Guide 34 Ea roe WAN 1123456178901 2 UPC E UPCE AT O 234560 14 on INN 1234 5670 i ini IMM 012345 678905 Al Al 12345678 Posinet Postnet foualdusladaaldasluslalaloallvatssalfalalsltalal Maxicode Maxicode MSI Plessy MSI m m 123448 PDF 417 PDF417 se
50. posed to a dust environment This will keep dirt and dust from contaminating or damaging your printer Print Head and Platen 1 Turn off the printer and open the top cover 2 Remove paper dust by blowing using compressed air or vacuuming 3 Clean the paper compartment with cotton which has been moistened with mild detergent Cleaning the paper sensor It is recommended that the Paper Sensor be cleaned regularly if exposed to a dusty environment This will prevent false paper OUT or paper IN conditions 1 Turn off the printer and open the top cover 2 Remove paper dust by blowing using compressed air or vacuuming 3 Clean the two Paper Sensor LED s with cotton stick which has been moistened with Isopropyl Alcohol Paper Compartment Paper Sensor Figure 22 Paper Compartment and Paper Sensor User s Guide 68 Appendix A GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS Note The FM402TT does not support the PAL Print and Program Language but is included here for reference only Specification FM402TT FM412TT FM403TT Direct thermal and thermal transfer 8 dots mm 8 dots mm 12 dots mm 4 2 in 107 mm 4 10 in 104 mm width 43 in 1090 mm 80 in 2032 mm 54 in 1371 mm length 3 inches 76 2 mm per second 2 inches 50 8 mm speed per second Onboard RAM 512 K bytes 2 M bytes 2 M bytes Media type Direct thermal Paper vinyl visible light and infrared scannable label tag stock butt cut or die cut with various adhesives
51. r This font may be printed in a variety of point sizes Using this font increases print speed and minimizes the data transmitted to the printer Use of other True Type fonts are supported but are printed as graphics To use the printer resident font 1 For each size font highlight the font using the mouse 2 From your applications font selection list select AMT Sans Serif font 3 Using your applications font size ability select the point size as needed to produce the size font desired Repeat for all text area s for which you will use the printer resident font User s Guide 51 Printing Bar Codes From Windows 2000 Applications Using the Fastmark PAL Windows driver printing bar codes from any Windows application is possible These bar codes are printed using the internal bar code ability of the printer resulting in superior bar code quality The following steps indicate how to do this 1 Ensure the Fastmark PAL Driver is selected within this application 2 Select the media size to be used for this label 3 Position the text or numeric data at the approximate position it is to be printed at using whatever methods are possible within the particular program you are using You can use a text box if supported by your application 4 If your application supports text rotation you can do this now Some applications may require you to use a text box to generate rotated text 5 Highlight this text or numeric data as you normall
52. r occurs again verify baud rate data bits and parity settings match host and cable pin out are correct Error Data Overrun This error is unlikely to occur and would indicate data is being transmitted to the printer faster than it can be processed If this error does occur it might indicate a faulty parallel cable or other communication problem Press the FEED key then cycle power on the printer If the error occurs again verify all communication features are set to match host and quality interface cables correctly pinned out are used Error Buffer Overflow This error indicates the printers incoming print buffer FIFO has overflowed The most common cause of this error is improper handshaking between the printer and host due to improper settings or improper cable Press the FEED key and re send the print job If the error occurs again verify all communication features are set to match host and quality interface cables correctly pinned out are used Software Locked This error is reported when PAL Print and Program firmware is loaded into a printer after another type of firmware was previously installed Since PAL Print and Program firmware is Copyrighted a special code is needed to enable it Call your sales representative for information on how to correct this error User s Guide 64 User Detected Errors The following issues may be detected by the user but are n
53. re Installation message is displayed click Continue Anyway A printer icon should be added to the list of printers If a message is displayed indicating the installation could not be completed you may need to change the security level for installing drivers and repeat the installation process If you have set the printer as the default printer the driver is now ready for use If you did not set the printer as the default printer you can change the setting by right clicking on the printers icon and select Set as Default from the dialog If you are replacing an existing driver you may have to reboot your system in order to reload the new driver User s Guide 54 Selecting Printer Fonts When the driver is installed a custom True Type font is also installed called AMT Sans Serif which closely matches the resident scalable font in the printer This font may be printed in a variety of point sizes Using this font increases print speed and minimizes the data transmitted to the printer Use of other True Type fonts are supported but are printed as graphics To use the printer resident font 1 For each size font highlight the font using the mouse 2 From your applications font selection list select AMT Sans Serif font 3 Using your applications font size ability select the point size as needed to produce the size font desired Repeat for all text area s for which you will use the printer resident font User s Guide 55 Printing
54. reter Printed Document PAL Sequence m Host System PAL Printer Figure 2 Traditional Printing User s Guide 12 Legacy Data Stream Interpretation PAL Print and Program capable printers uniquely address applications where upgrading to modern cost effective technology is desired Often cost prohibitive software reprogramming to change a data stream prevents an organization from moving to new printing technologies Using a PAL Print and Program capable printer solves this problem In this case a PAL program is written which interprets a data stream normally sent to the legacy device being replaced This program is stored on the printer and is automatically executed each time the printer is powered on This program is able to produce a new label format based on this legacy data Even though the host computer is sending the exact same legacy data to the printer the label format can be completely different For example the new format may include bar codes scaled and or rotated fonts lines logo s etc Even though the legacy device being replaced does not support these print abilities the new label format can For example text only outputs such as produced by a dot matrix printer or card embosser may now be presented in a more functional format Information in the data stream can be reformatted into any size font in any rotation or even printed as bar code This e
55. revision of boot code currently loaded The boot code can only be updated by changing Flash chips located on main board User s Guide 78
56. rocedure like this to draw boxes is to simplify the use of the PAL language Instead of issuing 7 PAL commands to draw a box this single procedure may be called with 5 parameters lower left corner x y upper right corner x y and line width SSS SSS SS SSS S55 SSS SS SSS SSS SSS SS SS SS SS SSS SS SS SS SS SSS SS SS SSS SS SS gt Box draw procedure topY in lwidth in 19 ORRORE Box A SSS 5 SSS SS SS SSS 5S SSS SS SS SSS SS gt Usage botX in botY in Example 0 1 041 topX topY eS SS botX boty Box lwidth exch def topY exch def topX exch def botY exch def botX exch def botX inchtopts botY inchtopts botX inchtopts topY inchtopts topX inchtopts topY inchtopts topX inchtopts botY inchtopts closepath lwidth inchtopts setlinewidth stroke bind def moveto lineto lineto lineto Example of calling a Procedure from a host application The two lines preceded by are comment lines ignored by the PAL interpreter and don t actually need to be transmitted to the printer The last line shows the actual call to the procedure named Box defined in Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt Note that floating point numbers must have a leading 0 for example 0 1 instead of 1 Also note while the example below uses many spaces between parameters this is only for clarity and only a single whitespace character is actually needed i e 0 1 0 1 3 9 1 9 0 01 Box woul
57. rocs_and_Formats txt Proc_Template txt This file shows the format of the calls to the print utility procedures defined in Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt Format_Template txt This file can be used to define new label formats It includes all the print utilities defined in Pal_Procs_and_Format txt Once new label formats are defined this file may be copied to the printer and the new formats may be called up and used as demonstrated by the other files Note Before using any of the print utility procedures or label format procedures defined in the text file Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt this file must be copied to the printer so that the PAL interpreter can parse these new procedures The FlashWiz utility included on the product CD may be used to copy this file to the printer prior to use User s Guide 45 Example of a Procedure defined in PAL The following procedure is defined in Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt and illustrates how PAL commands may be combined in a procedure to create a completely new function or capability The file Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt must be copied to the printer prior to using any of these utilities The following utility shows how PAL operators are used to create a simple Box draw procedure This Box procedure makes use of another procedure defined called inchtopts This procedure takes measurements in inches and converts to points which is the native unit used by PAL The advantage of using a p
58. rs objects and data are separated by whitespace CR CR LF LF LF CR Tab or Space Extra lines in data are OK Comments may be added proceeded by character Powerful Object handling Basic Objects Integers Fixed Point Boolean Composite Objects String Name Arrays Dictionaries Procedures User s Guide 44 Sample Demo Files Several text files containing PAL examples are included on the product CD These files show programming techniques and examples which may be incorporated into host or PC programming or just used as reference Each text file includes descriptive comments within the file Below is a description of each file File Name Description Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt This file contains a number of print utilities written as PAL procedures These were designed to illustrate common printing commands and the use of common PAL operators These utilities once defined may simplify common printing functions Also within this file is a number of sample label Formats These label formats make extensive use of the print utilities defined in this file These formats show how once a label format is defined it may be used by simply listing the variable data and calling the format name Format_Demo txt This file shows how to call up and use the label formats defined in the file Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt Proc_Demo txt This file shows how to call up and use the print utility procedures defined in Pal_P
59. sed The basics of creating procedures and using them in the PAL language should start to make sense after reviewing how the procedures are defined in Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt and how they can be used in Proc_Demo txt New procedures performing virtually any task can now be written using the PAL Print and Program Reference manual for detailed information on additional PAL operators The existing procedures may be modified as needed to meet requirements or completely new procedures may be written _ Demo Program Showing Use of Procedures Defined in Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt 6 pt 8 pt 12 pt 24 pt UU REN 0123456789 Sur m Bold Font Dwiae DHigh DWideDHigh a PULAU ETL 2 0123456789 MIENEN EE NA VA M og a 089 tate 0 0123456789 VEG ANYAD MU RED UY A TN N I 5 0123456789 N User s Guide 47 Example of How to Define Label Formats The example below shows how a label format can be defined as a PAL procedure This label format called Mailing_Label uses 5 variables Notice how the variables are defined in reverse order compared to how this format is called This format is defined in Pal_Procs_and_Formats txt Looking at this file will also reveal that this procedure makes use of the print utility procedures also defined in this file Instead of using these print utilities these formats could also use direct PAL operators This approach however allows label formats to be defined with very little k
60. sert the left end of the Take up Core into the Take up Holder first then snap in the right end Make sure that the Take up core slots are mated with the notches on the ribbon drive mechanism Take up Holder Ribbon Supply Roll Supply Holder Figure 10 Ribbon Loading Manually rotate the Take up Core until the transfer typically black portion of the ribbon from the Supply Holder start onto the Take up Core Close and latch the print head module Note The printer must be set to the Thermal Transfer mode to ensure the end of ribbon is detected Refer to the section Feature Management Mode for instructions on how to change the Media Type feature User s Guide 20 Loading Media 1 Open the Media Access Cover by lifting it up until it rests in the vertical position 2 Slide the two Print Head Latches toward the back and unlock the print head module 3 Raise the print head module Media Access Cover Print Head Latch Print Head Latch Figure 11 Open Media Access Cover 4 Insert the Media Spindle into the core of the label media The Retainer Disk should be on the right of the media with the smooth side toward the media gt ac Retainer Disk Figure 12 Media Spindle and Retainer Disk 5 Insert the Media Spindle and media assembly into the spindle holder slots inside the printer The labels should be face out feeding off the top of the roll 6 Slide the media to the far left and then s
61. the Print to File option of the driver and give the output a descriptive name with a txt extension For example shipping txt Edit this text file using any text editor for a sample PAL Print and Program commands This file may be further adjusted referring to the PAL Print and Program Reference Manual or used as is It may be incorporated into a host program or just used as a reference User s Guide 62 TROUBLESHOOTING AND MAINTENANCE The printer can detect the following errors In each case the READY LED will blink at a steady rate to indicate there is an error If the error is not obvious Media or Ribbon Out use the Feature Management Mode and FeatureMan program to determine the error When the Feature Management Mode is enabled the FeatureMan program will display the corresponding error message Printer Detected Errors LCD ERROR MESSAGE DESCRIPTION RECOVERY Error Power Fail The printer has detected 24VDC has dropped below a minimum acceptable level causing the printer to back up all settings to EEPROM Turn printer off wait 5 seconds and turn back on Error Media Out The printer has detected a media out condition while printing or feeding media Open print head and replace media Close print head and press the FEED key If media appears to be loaded check for proper routing check Media Sensing feature to make sure it matches media type used either gap or black bar Run the Media Cal
62. x contains the following materials when unpacking mmoeeaoge Printer Quick Start Up Guide Media spindle with retainer disk Power adapter AC to AC CD or disks with User s manual and Windows drivers A sample media roll not pictured A sample ribbon roll and a take up ribbon core not pictured Thermal Transfer printers only Power Adapter Printer N F Quick Start Up Guide Media Spindle LF CD or Diskette Figure 4 Shipped with Printer User s Guide 14 INSTALLATION AND CONFIGURATION Finding a Location for the Printer Determine a suitable location for the printer and power supply brick with the following requirements e Find a flat stable surface with sufficient clearance to allow for interface cables and media loading e The location should be near the host or terminal Consider the distance between the host and printer for the communication cable serial or parallel cable e The location should be free from excessive direct sunlight temperature humidity dust dirt and debris e The location should be near a grounded AC power receptacle wired in compliance with local ordinances Power LED a SK lt x Ze SZ Serial Port Power Jack Parallel Port Ready LED Feed button On Switch Figure 5 Switches Indicators and Connections User s Guide 15 Connecting the Power Cord 1 Make sure that the source voltage matches the input voltage of the power
63. xample demonstrates how PAL Print and Program capable printer can replace a legacy print device with no host software changes required PAL Data Stream Legacy Data Stream Application PAL Interpreter Printer Flash Memory Printed Document Legacy Data Stream yes a Host System PAL Printer Figure 3 Legacy Data stream Interpretation User s Guide 13 UNPACKING AND INSPECTION This section is provided to assist you in removing the printer from the shipping container and setting it up in the application environment Inspect the shipping carton and contact the carrier directly to report any suspected damage 1 2 3 4 5 6 With the shipping container in the upright position remove the top foam packing piece Carefully lift the printer straight up out of the box Remove the printer from the plastic bag and place the printer on a flat stable surface Remove the power supply from the separate enclosed box Remove the accessory kit and supplies Inspect the shipping container and the printer for any damage that may have occurred during shipping Note Save the box and all packing materials for future use in the event the printer needs to be shipped Units returned for service in non approved packaging may void the warranty or increase repair costs due to shipping damage Verify that the printer bo
64. y would before changing the font 6 Using the normal method of selecting fonts such as a pull down menu select one of the bar code fonts displayed such as FM Code 128A Note The font will still be displayed as text or numeric data however when printed will appear as a barcode De i Mews pei fa Jode Tie hie Het Druga lee 0 on En er lEm EE ER T AACR TE a FM Codel2sa HRB Coda176 CodaJz Eodelze Code RRA eae aie ijoan Oo EA A A A ZIE Em E ii ai ni tai User s Guide 52 Adjusting the Windows 2000 Driver Bar Codes Using the method just described any Windows application can produce bar codes using the Fastmark drivers Simply selecting the font as a bar code font does this The driver also provides ways to finely adjust the bar code printed For example human readable text may be enabled or disabled The X dimension may be adjusted Depending on the bar code type other parameters may be adjusted for example enabling or disabling a check digit Each bar code property may be accessed by selecting the driver then Advanced Options dialog box Each bar code type is listed Click on the symbol to expand the possible selections for a particular bar code Then the settings for that bar code may be adjusted and will be saved with the current document un Copy Count 1 Copy Document Options Advanced Printing Features Enabled Halftoning Auto Select Print Optimizations Enabled Print Darkness 50 Barcodes

- AMT Datasouth

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