Monarch®

Printers

♦ 9416®
♦ 9416® XL®

TC941XPM Rev. AE 6/08 ©1998 Paxar Americas, Inc. a subsidiary of Avery Dennison Corp. All rights reserved.
Each product and program carries a respective written warranty, the only
warranty on which the customer can rely. Paxar reserves the right to make
changes in the product, the programs, and their availability at any time and
without notice. Although Paxar has made every effort to provide complete and
accurate information in this manual, Paxar shall not be liable for any omissions
or inaccuracies. Any update will be incorporated in a later edition of this
manual.
©1998 Paxar Americas, Inc. a subsidiary of Avery Dennison Corp. 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 Paxar Americas, 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®, 9416, and 9416 XL are trademarks of Paxar Americas, Inc.
Avery Dennison® is a trademark of Avery Dennison Corporation.
Microsoft, Windows, and NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Novell and NetWare are trademarks of Novell, Inc. in the United States and other countries.
Centronics is a registered trademark of Centronics Data Computer Corporation.
Adobe and Acrobat are trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
UFST, Monotype, the Monotype logo, and CG Triumvirate are trademarks of Monotype Imaging, Inc.

Avery Dennison Printer Systems Division

170 Monarch Lane
Miamisburg, OH 45342
TA B L E O F C O N T E N T S
GETTING STARTED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-1
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Creating an MPCLII Format Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-2
Starting with a Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-4
Determining Format Contents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Determining the Print Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-5
Drawing Rough Sketches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Using Supply Layout Grids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-6
Considering Field Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Considering Fonts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
Interchanging Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Using the Format Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Filling in the Format Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
CONFIGURING THE PRINTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-1
Setting Communication Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Using Parallel Communications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-2
Using MPCLII Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
MPCLII Punctuation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Standard Syntax Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3
Using Online Configuration Packets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-5
Configuration Syntax Guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-7
Making Print Adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Defining the System Setup Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-8
Defining the Supply Setup Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-10
Defining the Print Control Packet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-11
Defining the Monetary Formatting Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-13
Defining the Control Characters Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-14
Resetting Control Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-15

i
 Using Immediate Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Enabling Immediate Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Sending Immediate Commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-16
Defining the Communication Settings Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-18
Clearing Packets from Memory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-19
Using the Font Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-20
Uploading Format Header Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-23
DEFINING FIELDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-1
Defining the Format Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-2
Defining Text Fields. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-3
Defining Bar Code Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-8
203 and 300 DPI Densities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-13
300 DPI Bar Code Densities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-14
Defining Constant Text Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-17
Defining Non-Printable Text Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-21
Defining Line Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Line Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-22
Defining Box Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3-25
DEFINING FIELD OPTIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-1
Applying Field Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Combining Field Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-2
Option 1 (Fixed Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-3
Option 4 (Copy Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-4
Merging Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Sub-Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5
Option 30 (Pad Data) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Sample Use for Padding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-6
Option 31 (Calculate Check Digit) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Option 42 (Price Field) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-7
Option 50 (Bar Code Density) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8
Option 51 (PDF417 Security/Truncation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-9
Option 52 (PDF417 Width/Length) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-10

ii
 Option 60 (Incrementing/Decrementing Fields). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-11
Fixing the First Number in the Incrementing Sequence . . . . . . . . . . 4-11
Option 61 (Re-image Field). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-12
Using Check Digits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-13
Sum of Products Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-14
Sum of Digits Calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-15
CREATING GRAPHICS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-1
Overview of Bitmapped Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Determining a Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-2
Designing Bitmapped Images . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Special Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-3
Using the Hex Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-4
Using the Run Length Encoding Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-6
Determining How to Store the Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Using Volatile RAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-7
Using Temporary Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Using a Memory Card. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Creating a Graphic Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-8
Positioning the Graphic Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-9
Defining the Graphic Header. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-10
Creating Bitmap Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-12
Creating Next-Bitmap Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-13
Creating Duplicate Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-14
Sample Hex Graphic Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-15
Sample Run Length Graphic Packet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-17
Placing the Graphic in a Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Defining the Graphic Field. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-19
Sample Bitmap Graphic Image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5-20

iii
PRINTING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-1
Downloading Files. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-2
Defining the Batch Header . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3
Defining the Batch Control Field . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-4
Defining Batch Data Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Using Special Characters in Batch Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-5
Merged or Sub-Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Incrementing Fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Downloading Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Sequential Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-6
Batch Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Batch Quantity Zero Method. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-7
Modifying Formats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Optional Entry Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8
Inquiry Request (ENQ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
Inquiry Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-2
ENQ Reference Table - Byte #2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-4
ENQ Reference Table - Byte #2 (continued). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-5
ENQ Reference Table - Byte #3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-6
ENQ Reference Table - Byte #3 (continued). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-7
Job Request . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-8
Job Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-9
Job Status 0, 1, 2 Response Table (Status 1 Codes) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-12
Job Status 0, 1, 2 Response Table (Status 2 Codes) . . . . . . . . . . . . 7-13
DIAGNOSTICS AND ERRORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-1
Printing a Test Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Reading a Test Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-2
Using Data Dump . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-3
Resetting Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
If You Receive an Error Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
If the PC and Printer Are Not Communicating. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-4
Calling Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Additional Diagnostics Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
iv
 Data Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-5
Format Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-6
Batch Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-8
Option Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-9
Online Configuration Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-10
Check Digit Errors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Graphic Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-13
Communication Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-14
Data Formatting Failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-16
Machine Faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-18
Hard Printer Failure Errors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8-21
PRINTER OPTIMIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-1
Adjusting the Print Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-2
Reducing Imaging Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-3
General Format Tips and Hints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9-4
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 Quick Response Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
Entering Batch Data for QR Code . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-7
QR Code Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-8
Structured Append Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-9
Structured Append QR Code Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-10
HangTag Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Tag Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-11
Label Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12
Receipt Format Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-12
Label Sample 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-13
Label Sample 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A-13

v
FONTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-1
Bitmap Font Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Monospaced Font Magnification. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-4
Proportional Font Magnification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-6
CG Triumvirate Typeface (9 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-9
CG Triumvirate Typeface (11 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-10
CG Triumvirate Typeface (15 pt.) 300 DPI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-11
Scalable Font Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-12
TrueType Font Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13
Downloading TrueType Fonts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-13
Using International Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-14
Selecting a Symbol Set . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-15
International Font Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-16
Licensing Your Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-16
Locating the Font Number in a Font Packet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . B-17
SYMBOL SETS/CODE PAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Supported Symbol Sets and Code Pages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Selecting a Symbol Set or Code Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-1
Using Code 128 Function Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2
Entering Extended Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-2

vi
 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 437 (Latin U.S.) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-5
Code Page 850 (Latin 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6
Code Page 852 (Latin 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-6
Code Page 855 (Russian) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Code Page 857 (IBM Turkish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-7
Code Page 860 (MS-DOS Portuguese) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8
Code Page 1250 (Latin 2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-8
Code Page 1251 (Cyrillic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9
Code Page 1252 (Latin 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-9
Code Page 1253 (Greek) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10
Code Page 1254 (Turkish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-10
Code Page 1255 (Hebrew). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-11
Code Page 1256 (Arabic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-11
Code Page 1257 (Baltic) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-12
Code Page 1258 (Vietnamese) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-12
ASCII to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-13
Binary to Hex Conversion Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-16
Dot to Run Length Encoding Chart. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-20
ON (Black) Dots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-20
OFF (White Dots). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . C-20
FORMAT DESIGN TOOLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-1
Online Configuration Worksheet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-2
Batch Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-3
Check Digit Worksheet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . D-4
GLOSSARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . G-1

vii
viii
G E T T I N G S TA R T E D 1
This manual provides the necessary information to design, write
and print a Monarch® Printer Control Language II (MPCLII) format
on a Monarch® 9416® or 9416® XL® printer. These printers
support both thermal direct and thermal transfer printing. Before
you read this manual, review the printer information in the Quick
Reference or Equipment Manual.

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.

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 field options for your printer.

Printer Differences 1-1

B e f o r e Yo u B e g i n
1. Connect the printer to the host. Refer to the Equipment Manual for
more information.
2. Load supplies in the printer. Refer to the Equipment Manual for more
information.
3. Turn on the printer.
4. 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.
5. Design your format. See “Starting with a Design” for more information.
6. Download your format to the printer. See Chapter 6, “Printing,” for more
information.

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.
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.”
1. Type the following format header in any text editor:

{F,25,A,R,E,200,200,"FMT-25" p

2. Type the following constant text field:

C,140,40,0,1,2,1,W,C,0,0,"SAMPLE FORMAT",1 p

3. Type the following bar code field:

B,1,12,F,85,40,1,2,40,5,L,0 p

4. Type the following text field:

T,2,18,V,50,50,1,3,1,1,B,L,0,0,1 p }

1-2 Getting Started

You have created a format packet for your MPCLII printer. Now, a batch
packet must be created before you can print the format.
5. Type the following batch header, after the text field line:

{B,25,N,1 p

6. Type the following bar code data:

1,"02802811111" p

7. Type the following text field data:

2,"TEXT FIELD" p }

8. Save your file as SAMPLE.FMT.

9. 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,” in Chapter 2 or your host’s
documentation for more information.
10. Type COPY SAMPLE.FMT COM1. The following 2 inch by 2 inch label
prints.

Printer Differences 1-3

Starting with a Design
Before you create a format packet, you must design your label. There are
several steps to designing a custom label:
1. Decide which fields should appear on your label. See “Determining
Format Contents” for more information.
2. Determine your label size. Labels are available from us in a wide
variety of sizes. Your application and the amount of data you need to
print determines the supply size. Contact your Sales Representative for
more information.
3. 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.
4. Identify the field types that appear on your label. See “Considering
Field Types” for more information.
5. Decide which fonts you want to use. See “Considering Fonts” for more
information.
6. Fill out your Format Worksheet. See “Using the Format Worksheet” for
more information.

At this point, you are ready to use your format.

7. Create a format packet, based on how you filled out your worksheet.
See Chapter 3, “Defining Fields,” for more information.

1-4 Getting Started

Determining Format Contents
Before you lay out your format, answer these questions. 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. The print area varies, depending on the size
of your supply. Below are the maximum and minimum print areas. When
designing formats, the following non-print zone is recommended: 0.04
inches at the top and bottom of the label.

Unit of Minimum Supply Maximum Supply Maximum Print

Measure Size (WxL) Size (WxL) Area (WxL)

English
25 x 75 425 x 1000 400 x 1000
(1/100")

Metric
63 x 191 1080 x 2540 1016 x 2540
(1/10mm)

Dots
51 x 152 864 x 2030 812 x 2030
(½03 dots)

Dots
75 x 225 1275 x 2700 1200 x 2700
(1/300 dots)

The minimum label feed length for peel mode is 0.75 inches (19 mm).
Note: For exact print area measurements of your supply, see the supply
layout grids in Appendix D, "Format Design Tools."

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

Dots = inches x 203 or (x 300 for 300 dpi)
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.

Printer Differences 1-5

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.

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 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 (dpi) or 300 dots per
inch.

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.

1-6 Getting Started

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

C o n s i d e r i n g F i e l d Ty p e s
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 item number, item description,

symbols you want to print. department number, price, date
Non-Printable Holds data for use later, such as for city, state, and zip code to be
Text merging into another field. The included in a bar code
printer does not print non-printable
text fields.
Bar Code Used for printing bar codes that can item or serial numbers, zip codes,
be scanned. information you don’t want to have
visible to customers
Constant Text Prints fixed characters that print company name, company address
without changing.
Line or Box Highlights or separates items. line marking out the regular price,
border around the supply
Graphic Contains a bitmap image or a logos
compliance label overlay.

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.

Considering Fonts
When working with fonts, you have three considerations: font appearance,
font size (scalable or bitmapped), and font spacing (monospaced or
proportional). See Appendix B, “Fonts,” for samples of each font.

Printer Differences 1-7

Interchanging Packets
You can use an MPCLII format that was designed for another MPCLII printer
on a 9416 printer. The format may appear smaller (fields will be shorter),
because the 9416 printers use a 203 dpi printhead. However, an optional
300 dpi printhead is available. If you use a 203 dpi format on a 300 dpi
printer, it may appear almost 50 percent smaller.

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.”

Filling in the Format Worksheet

Decide what type of field to use on your label.
1. Make a copy of the Format Worksheet.
2. Define the Format Header.
3. Define options as you require them. See Chapter 4, “Defining Field
Options” for more information.

1-8 Getting Started

CONFIGURING THE PRINTER 2
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.

Configuring the Printer 2-1

Setting Communication Parameters
Use the following information if you are connecting to the printer’s 9-pin
serial 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 to set communication
parameters for your printer.
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:

♦ a baud rate of 9600

♦ no parity
♦ 8 bit word length
♦ 1 stop bit

Using Parallel Communications

If your printer supports parallel communications, the parallel port is
Centronics® mode. 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.

2-2 Configuring the Printer

Using MPCLII Conventions
Here are some guidelines to follow when using MPCLII.

MPCLII Punctuation
Use the following symbols when creating MPCLII packets:

Character Decimal Description

Value
{ (left bracket) 123 start of header
} (right bracket) 125 end of header
p (vertical bar) 124 field separator*
, (comma) 044 parameter separator
“ABC” 034 Quotation marks enclose character strings. Empty quotes (“”)
(quotation marks) identify null strings or unused fields.
'comment' 039 Grave accents enclose comments. Any data enclosed in grave
(single quotation accents is ignored. Do not embed comments within a quoted
marks) string. Grave accents are also used to reject mainframe data.

* The field separator is the split vertical bar, which we are representing as p in this manual. The
decimal value is 124. To enter this character, use the Shift key plus the Split Vertical Bar key on your
computer’s keyboard. Depending on your text editor, it may appear as a solid vertical bar or as a split
vertical bar.

Note: These MPCL characters are the default.

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 than1000 fields 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) must be unique. We recommend starting at
1, instead of 0.

Configuring the Printer 2-3

♦ 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 filed to which they apply.
♦ 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. 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
within a field definition. 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.

2-4 Configuring the Printer

Using Online Configuration Packets
Use online configuration packets to change the printer’s settings. You can
send an individual configuration packet or a single packet containing all the
configuration packets. 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.
Make a copy of the online configuration worksheet in Appendix D, “Format
Design Tools,” and save the original. Packets A-F are listed on the
worksheet.
When you turn off the printer, all the information in the online configuration
packets is saved and used when the printer is turned back on. After you
change printer configurations, you must resend the format, batch, or graphic
to the printer before the changes take effect.
Always include an I , immediately after the left bracket { and before the
packet identifier (A, B, C, etc.). The I parameter identifies the data stream
as a configuration packet.
Note: Include the I parameter with each packet if you are sending them
individually. Include it only at the beginning of a data stream if you
are sending multiple packets.

Configuring the Printer 2-5

This is the syntax to use when you create online configuration packets:
Syntax

{ Start of Header
I, Configuration Header
1 - 8 optional records
A, parameter 1...parameter 5 p System Setup
B, parameter 1...parameter 5 p Supply Setup
C, parameter 1...parameter 5 p Print Control
D, parameter 1...parameter 3 p Monetary Formatting
E, parameter 1...parameter 9 p Control Characters
F, parameter 1...parameter 5 p Communication Settings
} End of Header

Syntax for single packet

{ Start of Header
I, Configuration Header
A, parameter 1...parameter 5 System Setup
} End of Header

You can also add a configuration to RAM or specify units for supply, print,
margin, and cut positions. If you use the optional parameters with the I
packet, any online configuration packets following the split vertical bar ( p )
must specify distances using the selected units. However, the test labels
display the units in dots, even if you entered them in English or Metrics
units.
Syntax {header,ID#,action,device p }

1. header Constant I.

2. ID# ID. Use 0.

3. action Action. Options:

A Add configuration.
U Upload User Configuration.

4. device Storage Device. Use R (Volatile RAM).

Example {I,0,A,N,E p
C,0,25,0,0,0 p }

Adds a configuration to non-volatile RAM and specifies English units. It

also uses the default contrast, moves print 0.25 inches closer to the bottom
of the supply and does not change the margin adjustment, prints at the
default print speed, and uses the default printhead width.

2-6 Configuring the Printer

If you do not use the optional parameters, the syntax for the online
configuration packets does not change. For example,
{I,C,0,50,0,0,0 p }

uses the default contrast, moves print 50 dots (0.25) inches closer to the
bottom of the supply and does not change the margin adjustment, prints at
the default print speed, and uses the default printhead width.
Example {I,0,U,R p }

Uploads the printer configuration from volatile RAM and returns the
following to the host.

A,0,0,0,0,1 p
B,2,0,0,0,0 p
C,0,0,0,0,0,0 p
D,1,0,2 p
E,"~123~044~034~124~125~126","","~013~010" p
F,3,1,0,0,1 p

The parameters for each packet (A-F) are displayed. See each packet
description later in this chapter for more information.

Configuration Syntax Guidelines

When creating a printer configuration packet:

♦ Follow the “Standard Syntax Guidelines” listed at the beginning of this

chapter.
♦ The first character after the start of header ({) is the configuration
header ( I ).
♦ Download multiple configuration packets within one packet or download
a single configuration packet.
♦ If you change any of the online configuration packets, resend the format
packet to the printer, so the configuration changes take effect.
♦ Include the first five ANSI codes, at a minimum, in the control characters
packet.

Configuring the Printer 2-7

♦ Send configuration packets once per session (each time the printer is
turned off and then back on), not with every format or batch packet.
♦ Make sure the communication settings at the host match those at the
printer.

Making Print Adjustments

You can adjust where the printer prints on your supply by adjusting the
supply, print, or margin positions. However, keep in mind the following:

♦ Supply adjustments across the width of your supply, such as the margin
position, are based in dots. The printhead can be 203 or 300 dots per
inch.
♦ Supply adjustments for the length of your supply, such as supply position
or print adjustment, are measured in ½03 of an inch, regardless of your
printhead density.

Defining the System Setup Packet

Use the system setup packet (A) to select the power up mode, display
language, print separators between batches, print a “slashed zero,” and
select the symbol set.
Syntax {I,A,powup_mode,language,sep_on,slash_zero,
symbol_set p}

A1. A System Setup Packet

A2. powup_mode Online Mode. Enter 0.

A3. language Display Language. Enter 0.

A4. sep_on Batch Separators. Enter 0. The printer does not print batch separators.

A5. slash_zero Slash Zero. Enter 0. The printer does not print a zero with a slash through
it.

2-8 Configuring the Printer

A6. symbol_set Symbol Set. Options:
0 Internal (default)
1 ANSI
2 Code Page 437 (Latin U.S.)
3 Code Page 850 (Latin 1)
4 Code Page 1250 (Latin 2)
5 Code Page 1251 (Cyrillic)
6 Code Page 1252 (Latin 1)
7 Code Page 1253 (Greek)
8 Code Page 1254 (Turkish)
9 Code Page 1255 (Hebrew)
10 Code Page 1256 (Arabic)
11 Code Page 1257 (Baltic)
12 Code Page 1258 (Vietnamese)
13 Code Page 852 (Latin 2)
14 Code Page 855 (Russian)
15 Code Page 857 (IBM Turkish)
16 Code Page 860 (MS-DOS Portuguese)
19 Unicode

Note: The CG Triumvirate typefaces support only the ANSI and DOS
Code 437 and 850 symbol sets. The scalable font (font 50) does
not support Code Page 1256 (Arabic). Fonts 15-18 do not support
Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850. Code pages 852-860 and
1250-1258 are for downloaded TrueType fonts or the scalable
font. Symbol set 19 requires a downloaded International TrueType
font (stored on a memory card). TrueType fonts are designed to
be regionally specific; therefore, all code pages may not be
supported in a given font. See Appendix C, "Symbol Sets/Code
Pages" for more information.

Example {I,A,0,0,0,1,0 p }

Powers up the printer in the online mode, displays prompts in English, does
not print a separator after each batch, prints zeros with slashes through
them, and uses the internal symbol set.

Configuring the Printer 2-9

Defining the Supply Setup Packet
Use the supply setup packet (B) to select supply type, ribbon, feed mode,
supply position, and cut position.
Syntax {I,B,supply_type,ribbon,feed_mode,supply_posn,
cut_posn p}

B1. B Supply Setup Packet

B2. supply_type Supply Type. Options:

0 Black mark supply
1 Die Cut/edge aperture supply (default)
2 Continuous (non-indexed) supply

Note: You must use continuous (non-indexed) supply in continuous

mode. You may need to adjust the print contrast (in the Print
Control packet) based on the type of supply you are using.

B3. ribbon Ribbon. The printer automatically senses if a ribbon is installed and
switches to thermal transfer mode. 0 is the default. Options:
0 Ribbon not installed (thermal direct)
1 Ribbon installed (thermal transfer)

Note: If “ribbon installed” is sent to the printer, but no ribbon is installed,

an error occurs. If “ribbon not installed” is sent to the printer, but
a ribbon is installed, no error occurs.

B4. feed_mode Feed Mode. Options:

0 Continuous operation (default)
1 On-demand mode

B5. supply_posn Supply Position. Range: -300 to 300 in ½03 inch. 0 is the default.
Adjusts the machine to print at the vertical 0,0 point on the supply. This
adjustment accounts for mechanical tolerances from machine to machine.
The supply position adjustment only needs to be made on the initial
machine setup. Adjust the supply position if formats do not start at the 0,0
point on the supply. Increase the supply position to move print up,
decrease to move print down on the label. To verify the 0,0 point, print a
test label. See “Printing a Test Label” in Chapter 8 for more information.

You can not change the supply position while the printer is active.
Changing the supply position affects the print position. Once the supply
position is set, use the print control packet to adjust the print position.

2-10 Configuring the Printer

B6. cut_posn Cut position. Range: -300 to 300 in ½03 inch. Adjusts where the tag is
cut. The printer adjusts the cut position according to the black marks on
the supply. You may need to adjust for your supplies. Increase to move
the cut up, decrease to move the cut down.

Example {I,B,0,0,1,10,50 p }

Indicates black mark and thermal direct stock has been loaded, causes the
printer to operate in on-demand mode, feeds the supply approximately .05
inches up before printing the format on each label (10/203 inches), and
feeds the supply .25 inches (50/203 inches) before cutting.

Defining the Print Control Packet

Use the print control packet ©) to set the contrast, print, and margin
adjustment, print speed, and printhead width.
Syntax {I,C,contrast,print_adj,margin_adjust,speed_adj,
ph_width p }

C1. C Print Control Packet

C2. contrast Print Contrast. Range: -390 to 156. 0 is the default. You may need to
adjust this value depending on the type of supplies you are using. To make
the print darker, use increments of 13 (for example, 0, 13, 26, 39, 52, etc.).
To make the print lighter, use increments of -129 (for example, -129, -258,
or -387). You need to use these incremental values to see a difference in
the print contrast. For example, values 1 to 13 produce the same result.
This is true for values -1 to -130..

C3. print_adj Print adjustment (position). Range: -99 to 99 in ½03 inch. 0 is the
default. Adjusts where data prints vertically on the supply. Increase the
print position to move print up, decrease to move print down.

C4. margin_adj Margin adjustment (position). Range: -99 to 99 in ½03 inch. 0 is the
default. Adjusts where data prints horizontally on the supply. Increase the
margin position to move print to the right, decrease to move print to the
left. Margin and print position are format adjustments. They do not effect
the supply position.

Configuring the Printer 2-11

C5. speed_adj Print Speed in inches per second (ips). The only valid settings for 300 dpi
are 20 and 30. Options:
0 This is the default and the printer prints at 3.0 ips.
20 Uses a print speed of 2.0 ips.
30 Uses a print speed of 3.0 ips
40 Uses a print speed of 4.0 ips (not for 300 dpi)
50 Uses a print speed of 5.0 ips (not for 300 dpi)

C6. ph_width Width of the printhead in dots. Use 0.

Example {I,C,0,-20,-10,0,0 p }

Uses the default contrast, moves print 0.1 inch closer to the bottom of the
supply (20/203 inches) and .05 inch to the left on the supply (10/203
inches), the printer prints at the default speed (3.0 ips), and uses the default
printhead width.

2-12 Configuring the Printer

Defining the Monetary Formatting Packet
The monetary formatting packet (D) selects the monetary symbols to print
for a price field. Use the monetary formatting packet to select primary and
secondary monetary symbols, and designate the number of digits to appear
at the right of a decimal.
Syntax {I,D,cur_sym,secondary,decimals p }

D1. D Monetary Formatting Packet

D2. cur_sym Currency Symbol. Options:

0 No symbol
1 USA ($, Dollar- default)
2 UK (£, Pound)
3 Japan (¥, Yen)
4 Germany (1, Deutsche Mark)
5 France (F, Franc)
6 Spain (P, Peseta)
7 Italy (L., Lira)
8 Sweden (Kr, Krona)
9 Finland (2, Markka)
10 Austria (6, Shilling)
11 India (Rs, Rupee)
12 Russian (3, Ruble)
13 Korean (4, Won)
14 Thai (5, Baht)
15 Chinese (¥, Yuan)
16 Euro-Dollar ©)

Note: To use these symbols, select the internal symbol set.

D3. secondary Secondary Sign. Secondary symbols only print if you designate at least
one decimal place. Options:
0 No secondary sign (default)
1 Print secondary sign

D4. decimals Number of digits to the right of the decimal. Options:

0 No digits
1 One digit
2 Two digits (default)
3 Three digits

Example {I,D,1,1,2 p }

Prints the dollar sign, uses a secondary symbol, and places two digits to the
right of the decimal.

Configuring the Printer 2-13

Defining the Control Characters Packet
Use the control characters packet (E) to change the MPCLII control
characters, enable and disable the immediate commands, and change the
default terminator character for job requests and ENQ’s.
Changes take effect with the first character following the end of header
character } of the configuration packet. Each control character must be
unique and cannot appear anywhere else in your packet, except within
quotation marks. You can customize the trailer characters to work with your
host.
Note: Wait two seconds for the new characters to take effect before
sending packets using the new characters.

Use the following syntax for the control characters packet. Notice all but the
first parameter are within quotation marks.
Syntax {I,E,"ANSI_cd","string1","string2" p }

E1. E Control Characters Packet

E2. “ANSI_cd” ~123 Start of header { (left bracket)

~044 Parameter , (comma)
separator
~034 Quoted strings “ (quotes)
~124 Field separator p (pipe sign)
~125 End of header } (right bracket)
~126 Data escape ~~ (double tilde)
character (optional)
def. ch. Immediate command character (optional).
Up to any 3 characters in the 0 to 255 decimal
range. The character must be defined before this
command can be used. The caret (~094) is
normally used.

Note: “ANSI_cd” includes seven separate parameters. The first five

parameters are required. The other parameters are optional.

E3. “string 1" Terminator for status requests and ENQ requests. Up to any 3 characters
in the 0-255 decimal range. The default is “013". Sending ”" disables this
sequence.

E4. “string 2" Terminator for job requests and data uploads. Up to any 3 characters in
the 0-255 decimal range. The default is none. Sending “” disables this
sequence.

2-14 Configuring the Printer

After you change these parameters, all packets, including any future
configuration packets, must use the new control characters. We
recommend using the tilde and ASCII character code sequence when
sending this packet multiple times. Also, set the packet delimiters to
characters within the 21 hex to 7E hex range.
You must send the control characters packet to enable the immediate
commands. An immediate command executes immediately, even if it is
embedded within quotation marks, and all data following the command in
the string is ignored.
Example {I,E,"~123~063~034~124~125~126~094" p }

Changes the parameter separator character from , to ?. The other control

characters remain unchanged. It also enables the immediate commands by
defining the ^ symbol as the command identifier.

Resetting Control Characters

You can change the characters in the previous example back to their
original settings by downloading this packet:

{I?E?"~123~044~034~124~125~126~094" p }

Notice that the parameter separator is ? in this packet. This is the

parameter separator that was set before this packet. Once the packet is
received by the printer, the new parameter separator (a comma, in this
case) is valid.
Be careful when using this feature. If you forget what the control characters
were changed to, print a test label. (The test label lists the current control
characters.) See “Printing a Test Label,” in Chapter 8 for more information.

Configuring the Printer 2-15

Using Immediate Commands
Immediate commands effect printer operation as soon as the printer
receives them, even if they are included within a packet or used inside
quotation marks.
You can use immediate commands to change immediate command or status
polling control characters, reset the printer, or cancel and repeat batches.

Enabling Immediate Commands

When the printer is first turned on, these commands are not available. To
use these commands, you must first send the control characters packet and
define the immediate command control character. The immediate command
control character is saved when you turn off the printer. Once the
immediate command control character is defined, the immediate commands
are enabled.

Sending Immediate Commands

Immediate commands consist of a three- or four-character sequence you
can send in a packet or embed in your application. Each command must be
sent separately.
Syntax control character_immediate command

The printer can accept only one immediate command at a time. Sending a
command before the previous one is completed can result in an error.
Example ^CB

Immediately cancels the batch currently printing unless an error exists on

the printer. This example assumes that the defined immediate command
control character is the caret (^).
The table represents the defined immediate command control character as ^
and the defined status polling control character as d. You may define these
characters to suit your needs.

2-16 Configuring the Printer

Command Parameter
^CA Cancels all the batches in the queue unless an error exists on the printer.

^CB Cancels only the current batch being printed unless an error exists.

^DD or ^DCd Disables the MPCL data escape character (the tilde) and inhibits MPCL from acting on
ANY data escape sequence from the host. Sets the MPCL data escape character to the
ASCII value given by the d parameter. The value can be any ASCII character.

^EA Aborts an error condition. May need to be sent multiple times. Use ^RB to reprint
batch.
CAUTION: This command causes the current batch to stop and the condition that
caused the error to remain uncorrected.

^ER Resets the error. Normal operation resumes.

^FD Feeds a label when printer is idle. Simulates the operation of pressing FEED and
dispenses the next label if the printer is in the on-demand mode.
Note: Printer ignores this command if printing.

^ID or ^ICd Disables the Immediate Command feature by turning off the Immediate Command
escape character. Sets the Immediate Command escape character to the ASCII value
given by the d parameter. The value can be any ASCII character. Use ^IE to enable
immediate commands.

^MC Returns the customer ID or RPQ version to the host. (00 to 99)

^MD Returns the printhead dot density to the host. 00 = 203 dpi 01 = 300 dpi

^MI Returns the customer ID or RPQ revision level to the host. (00 to 99)

^MM Returns the model number to the host. 41 = 9416

^MP Returns the prototype number to the host. (00 to 99)

^MR Returns the revision number to the host. (00 to 99)

^MV Returns the version number to the host. (00 to 99)

^PR Resets the printer. This command takes five seconds to complete and then the printer
is ready to receive data. It has the same effect as turning off and then turning on the
printer. Note: Command should be used only when the printer is not printing.

^RB Repeats the last printed batch, printing the same number of labels as specified in the
original batch. This command does not work if using batch separators.
Note: Printer ignores this command if printing.

^RS Resynchronizes supply when supply roll is changed.

Note: Printer ignores this command if printing.

^TP Prints a test label.

Note: Printer ignores this command if printing.

Note: To use the immediate command control character or the status

polling character within your data, use the tilde sequence.

Configuring the Printer 2-17

Defining the Communication Settings Packet
Use the communication settings packet (F) to set the baud rate, word
length, stop bits, parity, and flow control for serial communications. To set
parallel communications, see “Using Parallel Communications.”
Changing the communication settings takes approximately two seconds.
Communications sent during this interval will be lost. Make sure the host
communication values match the values on the printer and the host is
capable of communicating at the speed you select for the printer.
Do not add any characters, such as a carriage return/line feed, in your
communication settings packet or communications errors may occur.
Syntax {I,F,baud,word_length,stop_bits,parity,
flow_control p }

F1. F Communication Settings Packet

F2. baud Baud Rate. Options:

0 1200 3 9600 (default)
1 2400 4 19200
2 4800 5 38400

F3. word_length Word Length. Options:

0 7-bit word length (odd or even parity only)
1 8-bit word length (default)

F4. stop_bits Stop Bits. Options:

0 1-stop bit (default)
1 2-stop bits

F5. parity Parity. Options:

0 None (default)
1 ODD parity
2 EVEN parity

F6. flow_control Flow Control. Options:

0 None 2 (CTS)
1 DTR (default) 3 XON/XOFF

Note: If you use the DOS COPY command to download your formats, set
“Flow Control” to DTR (not XON/XOFF).

Example {I,F,3,1,0,0,1 p }

Uses 9600 baud, an 8-bit word length, one stop bit, no parity, and the DTR
mode.

2-18 Configuring the Printer

Clearing Packets from Memory
You may want to remove packets from the printer to increase memory
storage capacity or if the formats/fonts are no longer needed. In some
cases, turning the printer off may clear the packets from memory. If not,
send a format clear packet.
Syntax {header,packet#,action,device p }

1. header Identifies the packet. Options:

A Check Digit Scheme
F Format
G Graphic
W Font

2. packet# Identification number of the packet to clear (1 to 999) or font number

(0 to 9999). 0 is for all fonts.

3. action Action. Enter C to clear the packet.

4. device Storage device. Use R (Volatile RAM).

Example {F,1,C,R p }

Clears Format #1 from volatile RAM.

Configuring the Printer 2-19

Using the Font Packet
You can use a font packet to add or clear downloaded fonts from memory,
upload your font buffer, or upload the cell size information for a particular
font. The font packet is useful when you are downloading fonts. If you are
using downloaded fonts, the font number and the number of bytes each
downloaded font uses is listed.
This packet does not list the number of bytes the standard printer fonts use.
Use the MONARCH® MPCL Toolbox Font Utility (available on our Web site)
to create the font header and data. Refer to the online help for more
information.
Syntax {W,font#,action,device,data_length,data_record p }

W1. W Writable Font Header.

W2. font# The font identifier from 0 to 32000.

0 is for all fonts. 1 to 5 digits is the font number.
Example: 3 is the standard printer font, Bold.

W3. action Action. Options:

A Adds the specified font.
C Clears all or specified fonts, except ones in flash.
H Uploads font size information.
M Uploads font memory usage information.

W4. device Device. Options:

M Memory card - this is optional for the 9416 and 9416XL printers.
R Volatile RAM
Z All devices (use for upload).

W5. data_length The length of the font data. The range is 68 to 16384.
(optional)

If you are creating fonts, you need to have font data included with this
packet.
W6. data_ Multiple data records define the font. The first character is either an
record H (hex) or an R (run-length), referring to the algorithm. The rest of the
(optional) record is up to 2710 characters of font data in double quotes. Separate the
algorthm and the data with a comma, and end the record with p .

2-20 Configuring the Printer

Example {W,0,M,R p }

Selects all fonts and checks the memory usage in RAM. The printer returns
the following to the host:

{W,0,M,R p
Number of bytes free, Number of bytes used p }

Example {W,0,H,Z p }

Selects all fonts and uploads the font size information for any downloaded
fonts.
The printer returns the following to the host:

{W,0,H,Z p Font Style Font Name

0,1,0,"Standard",0,0,0,14,22,14,22,3 p Spacing
0,1,437,"Standard",0,0,0,21,33,21,33,5,1 p Baseline
0,2,0,"Reduced",0,0,0,10,21,10,21,2,1 p
Cell Width
0,2,437,"Reduced",0,0,0,10,21,10,21,2,1 p
0,3,0,"Bold",0,0,0,36,51,36,51,5,1 p Cell Height
0,3,437,"Bold",0,0,0,36,51,36,51,5,1 p
Nominal Width
0,4,0,"OCRA",0,0,0,19,36,19,36,5,1 p
0,4,437,"OCRA",0,0,0,19,36,19,36,5,1 p
Nominal Height
0,5,0,"HR1",0,0,0,18,30,18,30,3,1 p
0,5,437,"HR1",0,0,0,18,30,18,30,3,1 p
0,6,0,"HR2",0,0,0,26,24,26,24,2,1 p
Inter-Character Gap
0,6,437,"HR2",0,0,0,26,24,26,24,2,1 p
0,10,0,"CGTriBd9",1,0,7,25,31,10,15,0 p
0,10,1,"CGTriBd9",1,0,7,25,31,10,15,0 p Type
0,10,437,"CGTriBd9",1,0,7,25,31,10,15,0 p
0,10,850,"CGTriBd9",1,0,7,25,31,10,15,0 p
Printhead Density
0,11,0,"CGTriumv6",1,0,5,17,21,5,10,0 p
0,11,1,"CGTriumv6",1,0,5,17,21,5,10,0 p
0,11,437,"CGTriumv6",1,0,5,17,21,5,10,0 p Symbol Set
0,11,850,"CGTriumv6",1,0,5,17,21,5,10,0 p
0,15,0,"CGTriumv7",1,0,7,21,28,9,14,0 p
0,15,1,"CGTriumv7",1,0,7,21,28,9,14,0 p
0,15,437,"CGTriumv7",1,0,7,22,28,9,14,0 p

Configuring the Printer 2-21

 0,15,850,"CGTriumv7",1,0,7,22,28,9,14,0 p
0,16,0,"CGTriumv9",1,0,8,28,35,12,18,0 p
0,16,1,"CGTriumv9",1,0,8,28,35,12,18,0 p
0,16,437,"CGTriumv9",1,0,8,29,35,12,18,0 p
0,16,850,"CGTriumv9",1,0,8,29,35,12,18,0 p
0,17,0,"CGTriumv11",1,0,9,31,40,13,22,0 p
0,17,1,"CGTriumv11",1,0,9,31,40,13,22,0 p
0,17,437,"CGTriumv11",1,0,9,33,40,13,22,0 p
0,17,850,"CGTriumv11",1,0,9,33,40,13,22,0 p
0,18,0,"CGTriumv15",1,0,13,47,59,20,31,0 p
0,18,1,"CGTriumv15",1,0,13,47,59,20,31,0 p
0,18,437,"CGTriumv15",1,0,13,49,59,20,31,0 p
0,18,850,"CGTriumv15",1,0,13,49,59,20,31,0 p
0,50,0,"EffSwissBold",1,1,92248 p }

* The CG Triumvirate typefaces are trademarks of Monotype Imaging, Inc.

Spacing Monospaced (0) or proportional (1).

Type Bitmapped (0) or scalable (1).

Baseline Bottom of the font.

Cell Width Horizontal number of dots to contain the widest

character.

Cell Height Vertical number of dots to contain the tallest character.

Nominal Width Average width for lower-case letters.

Nominal Height Average height for lower-case letters.

Inter-Character Default spacing between characters in monospaced

Gap fonts.

Printhead Density Shows that a 203 (0) dpi or 300 dpi (1) printhead is
used. The scalable font (font 50) does not report a
value for printhead density.

2-22 Configuring the Printer

Uploading Format Header Information
You can upload format header information from the formats in memory to
check the supply length and width for each format.
Syntax {header,format#,action,device p }

F1. header Format Header

F2. format# Format number from 0 to 999. 0 is for all formats in memory.

F3. action Action. Options:

A Adds the specified format
C Clears the specified format
H Uploads format header information

F4. device Device. Options:

R Volatile RAM
Z All devices (use for upload)

Example {F,0,H,Z p }

Selects all formats in memory and returns the following:

Example {F,0,H,Z p
Fmt_1,406,406 p
Fmt_10,324,406 p
Fmt_15,812,812 p
Fmt_20,305,609 p
Fmt_25,1218,406 p }

Displays the format number, supply length and supply width (in dots) for
each format in memory.
Example {F,1,H,Z p }

Selects format1 and returns the following to the host:

{F,1,H,Z p
Fmt_1,406,406 p }

Displays the supply length and supply width (in dots) for format1.

Configuring the Printer 2-23

2-24 Configuring the Printer
DEFINING FIELDS 3
This chapter provides a reference for defining
♦ the format header
♦ text and constant text
♦ non-printable text fields
♦ bar code fields
♦ line and box fields.

Defining Fields 3-1

Defining the Format Header
A Format Header begins a format file.
Syntax {F,format#,action,device,measure,length,
width,"name" p

F1. F Format Header.

F2. format# Unique number from 1 to 999 to identify the format.

F3. action Action. Enter A to add the format to the printer.

F4. device Format storage device. Options:

M Memory Card (only supported by the 9416XL printer with an
optional memory card).
R Volatile RAM

F5. measure Unit of measure. Options:

E English, measured in 1/100 inches
M Metric, measured in 1/10 mm
G Graphic, measured in dots

F6. length Supply length in selected units. Measure supply from the leading edge of
one label to the leading edge of the next label.

English 25 - 1000
Metric 63 - 2540
203 Dots 51 - 2030
300 Dots 75 - 2700
In peel mode, the minimum label length is 0.75 inches (19 mm). For 300
dpi, the maximum label length is 9.0 inches (229 mm).
Make sure your format length matches the actual label size exactly for
correct printer performance. This is especially true for shorter feed length
supply and formats. If an error occurs, recalibrate the supplies in the
printer. Refer to your Quick Reference for more information.

F7. width Supply width, from left to right, in selected units.

English 75 - 400
Metric 191 - 1016
203 Dots 152 - 812
300 Dots 225 - 1200

F8. “name” Format name (optional), 0 to 8 characters, enclose within quotation marks.

Example {F,1,A,R,E,300,100,"TEXTILES" p

Adds Format 1 (“TEXTILES”) to the printer. It uses a three inch long by two
inch wide label.

3-2 Defining Fields

D e f i n i n g Te x t F i e l d s
Create a separate definition for each text field. If text falls on two lines,
each line of text requires a separate definition.
Syntax T,field#,# of char,fix/var,row,column,
gap,font,hgt mag,wid mag,color,alignment,
char rot,field rot,sym set p

T1. T Text Field.

T2. field# Unique number from 1 to 999 to identify this field.

T3. # of char Maximum number of printed characters (0 to 2710) in the field.

T4. fix/var Fixed or variable length field. Options:

F Fixed length
V Variable length

T5. row For monospaced fonts, distance from bottom of print area to the pivot
point. The pivot point varies depending on how text is justified.

For proportionally spaced fonts, distance from bottom of print area to

baseline of characters in field.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

Defining Fields 3-3

T6. column Distance from the left edge of the print area to the
pivot point to find the column location.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

T7. gap Number of dots between characters 203 dpi (or 300 dpi). Range: 0 to 99.

Note: For monospaced fonts, the additional spacing is added to the

existing inter-character gap. This is also true for proportionally
spaced fonts, but remember that the inter-character gap varies
with character combinations.

Any number other than 0 or the default number affects your field width.
Default spacing:

Standard 3 dots
Reduced 1 dot
Bold 3 dots
OCRA-like 3 dots
HR1 3 dots
HR2 2 dots
CG Triumvirate
Typeface Bold varies with each letter
CG Triumvirate Typeface varies with each letter
EFF Swiss Bold varies with each letter

HR1 and HR2 are only used with the UPC bar code family and must be
numeric.

T8. font Style of font. Options:

1 Standard 10 CG Triumvirate Typeface Bold
2 Reduced 11 CG Triumvirate Typeface
3 Bold 15 7 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
4 OCRA-like 16 9 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
5 HR1 17 11 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
6 HR2 18 15 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
50 EFF Swiss Bold (scalable)

Or a valid downloaded font selector number.

Fonts 5 and 6 are only for numeric data.
Fonts 15 - 18 are only for 300 dpi and do not support Code pages 0, 1,
437, and 850.
The CG Triumvirate typefaces support only the ANSI and DOS Code
Page 437 and 850 Symbol Sets. See Appendix C, "Symbol Sets/Code
Pages" for more information.

3-4 Defining Fields

T9. hgt mag Height magnifier, 1 to 7 times (4 to 255 points for the scalable font - font 50
or downloaded TrueType fonts). Use a magnifier of 1 with proportionally
spaced fonts, because characters lose smoothness at higher
magnifications. See Appendix B, “Fonts,” for more information about fonts.

T10. wid mag Width magnifier, 1 to 7 times (4 to 255 points for the scalable font - font 50
or downloaded TrueType fonts). Proportionally spaced fonts do not have a
set width. To estimate the size of your field, use the letter “W” for the
widest field or an “L” for an average width field. Find your selected font
and the desired width in Appendix B, “Fonts.”

Note: To use large point sizes (greater than 60 point), you must
reconfigure memory and increase the size of the scalable (vector)
fonts buffer.

T11. color There are two types of field color overlay attributes:

Transparent The overlay field (text or constant text) does not block out
(or “erase”) existing fields.
Opaque The overlay field blocks out (or “erases”) existing fields.

Options for standard printer fonts:

B Opaque, Normal, Black, Normal
D/R/W Opaque, Normal, White, Normal
O Transparent, Normal, Black, Normal

Options for scalable fonts:

A/N Opaque, Normal, Black, Bold
B/O Opaque, Normal, Black, Normal
E/S Opaque, Italics, Black, Bold
F/T Opaque, Italics, Black, Normal

Line field Line field not

blocked out by blocked out by
opaque field transparent field
using attribute B using attribute O

Note: Solid black print should not exceed 25% on a given square inch of
the label, or the printhead life may be decreased.

Field placement in the packet is an important consideration when using

field color attributes. If a line field is defined before the overlay (text or
constant text) field, the line field is blocked out by the overlay field,
depending on the overlay field’s color attribute. If a line field is defined
after the overlay field, the line field is not blocked out by the overlay field,
regardless of the overlay field’s color attribute.

Defining Fields 3-5

T12. alignment Options:
L Align on left side of field.
C Center text within field (monospaced fonts only)
R Align on right side of field (monospaced fonts only)
B Align at midpoint of field
E Align at endpoint of the field
Use L, B, or E for any font.

T13. char rot Character rotation. The field or supply does not rotate, only the characters
do. Options:
0 Top of character points to top of field
1 Top of character points to left of field
2 Top of character points to bottom of field
3 Top of character points to right of field

Note: Font 50 and downloaded TrueType fonts do not support character

rotation.

T14. field rot Field rotation. Field rotation rotates the whole field, not just the characters.
Rotation is affected by the pivot point, which varies depending on how text
is justified. Lower left corner of field is the pivot point. Options:
0 Top of field points to top of supply
1 Top of field points to left of supply
2 Top of field points to bottom of supply
3 Top of field points to right of supply

3-6 Defining Fields

T15. sym set Symbol set. Options:
0 Internal Symbol Set.
1 ANSI Symbol Set
102 Unicode (user input) for particular mapping
437 DOS Code Page 437 (Domestic)
850 DOS Code Page 850 (International)
852 DOS Code Page 852 (Latin 2)
855 DOS Code Page 855 (Russian)
857 DOS Code Page 857 (IBM Turkish)
860 DOS Code Page 860 (MS-DOS Portuguese)
1250 DOS Code Page 1250 (Latin 2)
1251 DOS Code Page 1251 (Cyrilic)
1252 DOS Code Page 1252 (Latin 1)
1253 DOS Code Page 1253 (Greek)
1254 DOS Code Page 1254 (Turkish)
1255 DOS Code Page 1255 (Hebrew)
1256 DOS Code Page 1256 (Arabic)
1257 DOS Code Page 1257 (Baltic)
1258 DOS Code Page 1258 (Vietnamese)

Note: The CG Triumvirate typefaces support only the ANSI and DOS
Code 437 and 850 symbol sets. The scalable font (font 50) does
not support Code Page 1256 (Arabic). Fonts 15-18 do not support
Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850. Code pages 852-860 and
1250-1258 are for downloaded TrueType fonts or the scalable
font. Symbol set 19 requires a downloaded International TrueType
font (stored on a memory card). TrueType fonts are designed to
be regionally specific; therefore, all code pages may not be
supported in a given font. See Appendix C, "Symbol Sets/Code
Pages" for more information.

Example T,2,10,V,50,80,0,1,1,1,B,C,0,0,0 p

Defines a text field (field #2) with a variable length of up to 10 characters.

The field begins at row 50, column 80. There is no additional gap between
characters, and the Standard font is used without any additional
magnification. The printing is black on white and centered. No field or
character rotation is used. The internal symbol set is used.

Defining Fields 3-7

Defining Bar Code Fields
Each bar code field requires a separate definition.
Syntax B,field#,# of char,fix/var,row,column,
font,density,height,text,alignment,field rot p

B1. B Bar Code Field.

B2. field# Unique number from 1 to 999 to identify this field.

B3. # of char Maximum number of characters. If the bar code uses a check digit, allow
an extra character for the check digit. The actual maximum number of
characters is limited by the size of the label and bar code density. Range:
0 to 2710.

For Quick Response bar codes, this number includes header information.
The maximum depends on the type of characters entered for the batch data
and differs for the two models of the bar code.

Data Type Model 1 Model 2

Numeric Data 1167 2710
Alphanumeric data 707 2710
8-byte data 486 2710
Kanji data 299 1817

Note: The maximum number of characters depends on the selected level

of error correction. As you increase the error correction level, the
maximum number of characters decreases.

3-8 Defining Fields

B4. fix/var Fixed (F) or variable (V) length field.

Bar Code Number of Characters Fixed or Variable

UPCA 12 F
UPCA+2 14 F
UPCA+5 17 F
UPCA+Price CD 12 F
UPCE 7 F
UPCE+2 9 F
UPCE+5 12 F
EAN8 8 F
EAN8+2 10 F
EAN8+5 13 F
EAN13 13 F
EAN13+2 15 F
EAN13+5 18 F
EAN13+Price CD 13 F
POSTNET 9 or 11 F
Interleaved 2 of 5 or Interleaved
0 - 2710 F or V
I 2 of 5 with Barrier Bar
Code 39 (w/ or w/o CD) or MOD43 0 - 2710 F or V
Codabar (NW7) 0 - 2710 F or V
Code 128 0 - 2710 F or V

Code 16K 0 - 2710 V

Code 93 0 - 2710 V

MSI 0 - 14 F or V

PDF 417 0 - 2710 F or V

Maxicode* 0 to 93 (alphanumeric)
F or V
0 to 128 (numeric)

Quick Response* 1167 - 2710 (numeric)

V
707 - 2710 (alphanumeric)

* For more information about MaxiCode and Quick Response, see Appendix A, “Samples.”

Defining Fields 3-9

B5. row Distance from the bottom of the print area to the pivot point of the field.
The pivot point varies, depending on how the field is justified. Pivot points:

Left/Center/Right-Justified Fields

Balanced Fields End-Justified Fields

Remember to include text or numbers that may appear with the bar code
for the row measurement.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

B6. column Distance from the lower left edge of the print area to
the pivot point.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

Allow a minimum of 1/10 inch between the scan edge

of bar code and label edges or other data.

3-10 Defining Fields

B7. font Bar code. Options:
1 UPCA
2 UPCE
3 Interleaved 2 of 5
4 Code 39 (no check digit)
5 Codabar
6 EAN8
7 EAN13
8 Code 128
9 MSI
10 UPCA +2
11 UPCA +5
12 UPCE +2
13 UPCE +5
14 EAN8 +2
15 EAN8 +5
16 EAN13 +2
17 EAN13 +5
21 LAC
22 POSTNET
23 Code 93
31 Code 16K
32 PDF417
33 MaxiCode
36 Quick Response
40 Code 39 (MOD 43 check digit)
41 UPCA & Price CD
44 EAN13 & Price CD
50 Interleaved 2 of 5 with Barrier Bar

B8. density Bar code density. Use 0 for Quick Response bar codes. Use the following
table for the other bar codes.

Defining Fields 3-11

203 DPI Bar Code Densities
Bar Code Density Density Narrow Narrow to Data Appearance Char
Type Selector (% or cpi) Element Wide Ratio Length Codes Set
(dots/mils) Available
UPCA +2/+5 2 76% 2/9.9 N/A 11 or 12 1, 5, 6, 7 or 8 0 to 9
Price CD 4 114% 3/14.8 14/17
UPCE 2 76% 2/9.9 N/A 6 or 7 1, 5, 6, 7 or 8 0 to 9
+2/+5 4 114% 3/14.8 9/12
EAN8 2 76% 2/9.9 N/A 7 or 8 1, 5, 6,7 or 8 0 to 9
+2/+5 4 114% 3/14.8 10/13
EAN13+2/+5 2 76% 2/9.9 N/A 12 or 13 1, 5, 6,7 or 8 0 to 9
Price CD 4 114% 3/14.8 15/18
Interleaved 1 1.1 21/103.4 1:3.0 0 to 2710 8 0 to 9
2 of 5 2 2.1 12/59.1 1:2.5
or I2of5 3 3.2 7/34.5 1:3.0
with Barrier
Bar 4 4.2 6/29.6 1:2.5
5 5.6 4/19.7 1:3.0
6 6.3 4/19.7 1:2.5

7 7.5 3/14.8 1:3.0

8 8.8 3/14.8 1:2.3
9 9.6 3/14.8 1:2.0

10 11.2 2/9.9 1:3.0

11 11.0 2/9.9 1:3.0
12 12.7 2/9.9 1:2.5

13 14.5 2/9.9 1:2.0

(Code 39 or 1 1.4 10/49.3 1:2.5 0 to 2710 8 SPACE
MOD43 2 1.7 8/39.4 1:2.5 $%*+-./
(Extended 3 3.5 4/19.7 1:2.5 0 to 9
Code 39) 4 4.2 3/14.8 1:3.0 A to Z
6 6.3 2/9.9 1:3.0
7 7.0 2/9.9 1:2.5
11 3.9 4/19.7 1:2.0
12 12.7 ¼.9 1:3.0
20 3.0 5/24.6 1:2.2
Codabar 2 2.1 8/39.4 1:3.0 0 to 26 8 $+-./
(NW7) 3 3.0 6/29.6 1:2.5 0 to 9
4 4.6 4/19.7 1:2.5 a to d
5 5.1 4/19.7 1:2.0
7 8.4 2/9.9 1:3.0
8 9.2 2/9.9 1:2.5
9 10.1 2/9.9 1:2.0
Code 128 4 3.5/7.0 5/24.6 N/A 0 to 2710 8 00H to 7FH
or 6 4.4/8.7 4/19.7
Code 16K 8 5.8/11.7 3/14.8
20 8.7/11.5 2/9.9

Note: The start (*) and stop (+) characters are automatically added for
Code 39. Code 39, density 12, produces a one-dot narrow bar. This
density is intended for special U.S.P.S. ACT-tag applications only.

3-12 Defining Fields

Bar Code Density Density Narrow Narrow to Data Appearance Char Set
Type Selector (% or cpi) Element Wide Ratio Length Codes
(dots/mils) Available

CODE 93 3 3.7 6/29.6 N/A 0 to 2710 8 00H to

4 4.5 5/24.6 7FH
5 5.6 4/19.7
7 7.5 3/14.8
10 11.2 2/9.9
MSI 4 4.2 4/19.7 1:2.0 0 to 14 8 0 to 9
5 5.6 3/14.8 1:2.0
7 7.2 2/9.9 1:2.5

POSTNET 0 (fixed at 24/118.2 10/49.3 4/19.7 (5 0,5,6,9 or 8 0 to 9

4.3 cpi) dot gap) 11
MaxiCode 7 N/A N/A N/A 99 8 00H to
FFH

Bar Code Density Element Row Height Aspect Data Appearance Char Set
Type Selector Width (dots/mils) Ratio Length Codes
(dot/mils) Available

PDF417 1 2/9.8 2/9.8 1:1 0 to 2709 8 00H to

2 2/9.8 4/19.7 1:2 FFH
3 2/9.8 6/29.6 1:3
4 3/14.8 3/14.8 1:1
5 3/14.8 6/29.6 1:2
6 3/14.8 9/44.3 1:3
7 4/19.7 4/19.7 1:1
8 4/19.7 8/39.4 1:2
9 4/19.7 12/59.1 1:3

203 and 300 DPI Densities

Bar Code Type Density Data Length

Selector

Quick Response 0 Model 1: 0 - 1167 Numeric;0 - 707 Alphanumeric;

(QR Code) Models 1 and 2 0 - 486 (8-bit); 0 - 299 (Kanji)
Model 2: 0 - 2710 Numeric, Alphanumeric and 8-bit;
0 - 1817 Kanji

Note: Values in bold indicate the default.

Defining Fields 3-13

300 DPI Bar Code Densities

Bar Code Density Density Narrow Narrow to Data Appearance Char

Type Selector (% or cpi) Element Wide Ratio Length Codes Set
(dots/mils) Available
UPCA +2/+5 2 77% 3/10 N/A 11 or 12 1, 5, 6, 7 or 8 0 to 9
Price CD 4 103% 4/13.3 14/17
UPCE 2 77% 3/10 N/A 6 or 7 1, 5, 6, 7 or 8 0 to 9
+2/+5 4 103% 4/13.3 9/12
EAN8 2 77% 3/10 N/A 7 or 8 1, 5, 6,7 or 8 0 to 9
+2/+5 4 103% 4/13.3 10/13
EAN13+2/+5 2 77% 3/10 N/A 12 or 13 1, 5, 6,7 or 8 0 to 9
Price CD 4 103%% 4/13.3 15/18
Interleaved 1 1.1 31/103.4 1:3.0 0 to 2710 8 0 to 9
2 of 5 2 2.1 18/60.1 1:2.5
or I2of5 3 3.3 10/33.4 1:3.0
with Barrier
Bar 4 4.2 9/30.0 1:2.4
5 5.6 6/20.0 1:3.0
6 6.2 6/20.0 1:2.5

7 8.3 4/13.3 1:3.0

8 9.4 4/13.3 1:2.5
9 9.9 4/13.3 1:2.3

10 11.1 3/10 1:3.0

11 11.1 3/10 1:3.0
12 13.0 3/10 1:2.3

13 14.3 3/10 1:2.0

(Code 39 or 1 1.4 15/50.0 1:2.5 0 to 2710 8 SPACE
MOD43 2 1.7 12/40.0 1:2.5 $%*+-./
(Extended 3 3.4 6/20.0 1:2.5 0 to 9
Code 39) 4 4.7 4/13.3 1:3.0 A to Z
6 6.2 3/10.0 1:3.0
7 7.1 3/10.0 1:2.5
11 3.8 6/20.0 1:2.0
12 11.5 2/6.7 1:3.0
20 3.1 7/23.4 1:2.2
Codabar 2 2.3 12/40.0 1:3.0 0 to 26 8 $+-./
(NW7) 3 3.4 9/30.0 1:2.5 0 to 9
4 5.0 6/20.0 1:2.5 a to d
5 5.6 6/20.0 1:2.0
7 9.1 3/10.0 1:3.0
8 10.4 3/10.0 1:2.5
9 11.1 3/10.0 1:2.0
Code 128 4 4.5 6/20.0 N/A 0 to 2710 8 00H to 7FH
or 6 6.8 4/13.3
Code 16K 8 9.1 3/10.0
20 3.9 7/23.4

Note: The start (*) and stop (+) characters are automatically added for Code
39. Code 39, density 12, produces a one-dot narrow bar. This density is
intended for special U.S.P.S. ACT-tag applications only.
3-14 Defining Fields
300 DPI Bar Code Densities

Bar Code Density Density Narrow Narrow to Data Appearance Char Set
Type Selector (% or cpi) Element Wide Ratio Length Codes
(dots/mils) Available

CODE 93 3 3.7 9/30.0 N/A 0 to 2710 8 00H to

4 4.8 7/23.4 7FH
5 5.6 6/20.0
7 8.3 4/13.3
10 11.1 3/10.0
MSI 4 4.2 6/20.0 1:2.0 0 to 2710 8 0 to 9
5 6.2 4/13.3 1:2.0
7 7.5 3/10.0 1:2.3

POSTNET 0 (fixed at 24/118.2 10/49.3 6/20.0 (5 0,5,6,9 or 8 0 to 9

4.3 cpi) dot gap) 11
MaxiCode 7 N/A N/A N/A 99 8 00H to
FFH

Bar Code Density Element Row Height Aspect Data Appearance Char Set
Type Selector Width (dots/mils) Ratio Length Codes
(dot/mils) Available

PDF417 1 3/10.0 3/10.0 1:1 0 to 2709 8 00H to

2 3/10.0 6/20.0 1:2 FFH
3 3/10.0 9/30.0 1:3
4 4/13.33 4/13.3 1:1
5 4/13.3 9/30.0 1:2
6 4/13.3 12/40.0 1:3
7 6/20.0 6/20.0 1:1
8 6/20.0 12/40.0 1:2
9 6/20.0 18/60.0 1:3

B9. height Bar code height, in 1/100 inches, 1/10 mm, or dots. Minimum values:
English 20
Metric 51
203 Dots 40
300 Dots 60

POSTNET, PDF417, and MaxiCode bar codes have a fixed height.

Always use 0 for these bar codes.
For Quick Response bar codes, the value you enter is the symbol's
maximum height. Small bar codes may not be scannable.

Defining Fields 3-15

B10. text Appearance of text with bar code. For UPC and EAN only use 0 to 7. For
all others, use 8, except where noted. Options:
0 Default
MaxiCode Mode 0 (obsolete)
QR Code Model 2
1 No check digit or number system
QR Code Model 1
2 MaxiCode Mode 2 (Numeric Postal Code)
QR Code Model 2
3 MaxiCode Mode 3 (Alphanumeric Postal Code)
5 Number system at bottom, no check digit
6 Check digit at bottom, no number system
7 Check digit and number system at bottom
8 No text, bar code only
MaxiCode (autodetect modes 0, 2, or 3)

B11. alignment Choose L, R, C, B or E to align the bar code data correctly in the field. B
centers variable width bar codes, which may not allow pad-character
centering (Code 128, Code 39, etc.) E right justifies variable width bar
codes. MaxiCode and QR Code must use L.

B12. field rot Field rotation. Field rotation rotates the whole field, not just the characters.
Rotation is affected by the pivot point, which varies depending on how text
is justified. Lower left corner of field is the pivot point. Options:
0 Top of field points to top of supply
(Use for Maxicode)
1 Top of field points to left of supply
2 Top of field points to bottom of supply
3 Top of field points to right of supply

Note: Serial bar codes printed at speeds greater than 3.0 IPS may not
scan properly.

Example B,3,12,V,50,40,1,2,80,7,L,0 p

Defines a bar code field (field #3) with 12 characters of variable length
starting at row 150, column 40. A UPCA bar code with a density of 2 and a
height of 80 is used. The check digit and number system are shown at the
bottom. The bar code is left aligned without any field rotation.

3-16 Defining Fields

D e f i n i n g C o n s t a n t Te x t F i e l d s
A constant text field is a set of fixed characters that prints on all labels.
Define each constant text field separately. This field is not assigned a field
number, but is counted as a field (keep this in mind, as the printer allows a
maximum of 1000 fields per format). The characters in this field cannot be
changed by batch data. Field options do not apply to constant text fields.
Mark the pivot point of your field. This will vary, depending on how your
field is justified.
Syntax C,row,column,gap,font,hgt mag,
wid mag,color,alignment,char rot,
field rot,"fixed char",sym set p

C1. C Constant Text Field.

C2. row For monospaced fonts, distance from bottom of print

area to the pivot point. For proportionally spaced
fonts, distance from bottom of print area to baseline of
characters in the field.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

C3. column Distance from the lower left edge of the print area to
the pivot point.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

C4. gap Number of dots between characters (203 dots per inch). Range: 0 to 99.

Any number other than 0 or the default number affects your field width.
Default spacing:
Standard 3 dots
Reduced 1 dot
Bold 3 dots
OCRA-like 3 dots
HR1 3 dots
HR2 2 dots
CG Triumvirate
Typeface Bold varies with each letter
CG Triumvirate Typeface varies with each letter
EFF Swiss Bold varies with each letter

Defining Fields 3-17

 HR1 and HR2 are only used with the UPC bar code family and must be
numeric.

C5. font Style of font. Options:

1 Standard 10 CG Triumvirate Typeface Bold
2 Reduced 11 CG Triumvirate Typeface
3 Bold 15 7 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
4 OCRA-like 16 9 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
5 HR1 17 11 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
6 HR2 18 15 pt. CG Triumvirate Typeface
50 EFF Swiss Bold (scalable)

Or a valid downloaded font selector number.

Fonts 5 and 6 are only for numeric data.
Fonts 15 - 18 are only for 300 dpi and do not support Code pages 0, 1,
437, and 850.
The CG Triumvirate typefaces support only the ANSI and DOS Code
Page 437 and 850 Symbol Sets. See Appendix C, "Symbol Sets/Code
Pages" for more information.

C6. hgt mag Height magnifier, 1 to 7 times (4 to 255 points for the scalable font - font 50
or downloaded TrueType fonts). Use a magnifier of 1 with proportionally
spaced fonts, because characters lose smoothness at higher
magnifications. See Appendix B, “Fonts,” for more information about fonts.

C7. wid mag Width magnifier, 1 to 7 times (4 to 255 points for the scalable font - font 50
or downloaded TrueType fonts). Proportionally spaced fonts do not have a
set width. To estimate the size of your field, use the letter “W” for the
widest field or an “L” for an average width field. Find your selected font
and the desired width in Appendix B, “Fonts.”

C8. color There are two types of field color overlay attributes:

Transparent The overlay field (text or constant text) does not block out
(or “erase”) existing fields.
Opaque The overlay field blocks out (or “erases”) existing fields.

Options for standard printer fonts:

B Opaque, Normal, Black, Normal
D/R/W Opaque, Normal, White, Normal
O Transparent, Normal, Black, Normal

Options for scalable fonts:

A/N Opaque, Normal, Black, Bold
B/O Opaque, Normal, Black, Normal
E/S Opaque, Italics, Black, Bold
F/T Opaque, Italics, Black, Normal

Note: Solid black print should not exceed 25% on a given square inch of
the label, or the printhead life may be decreased.

3-18 Defining Fields

 Field placement in the packet is an important consideration when using
field color attributes. If a line field is defined before the overlay (text or
constant text) field, the line field is blocked out by the overlay field,
depending on the overlay field’s color attribute. If a line field is defined
after the overlay field, the line field is not blocked out by the overlay field,
regardless of the overlay field’s color attribute.

C9. alignment Alignment of constant text in the field. Options:

L Align on left side of field.
C Center text within field (for monospaced fonts only)
R Align on right side of field (for monospaced fonts only)
B Align at midpoint of field
E Align at end of field.

Use L, B, or E for any font.

C10. char rot Character rotation. The field or supply does not rotate, only the characters
do. Options:
0 Top of character points to top of field
1 Top of character points to left of field
2 Top of character points to bottom of field
3 Top of character points to right of field

Note: Font 50 and downloaded TrueType fonts do not support character

rotation.

C11. field rot Field rotation. Field rotation rotates the whole field, not just the characters.
Rotation is affected by the pivot point, which varies depending on how text
is justified. Lower left corner of field is the pivot point. Options:
0 Top of overlay points to top of supply
1 Top of overlay points to left of supply
2 Top of overlay points to bottom of supply
3 Top of overlay points to right of supply

C12. “fixed char” Fixed characters to appear in the field. Maximum 2710 characters.
Enclose in quotation marks.

Defining Fields 3-19

C13. sym set Symbol set. Options:
0 Internal Symbol Set.
1 ANSI Symbol Set
102 Unicode (user input) for particular mapping
437 DOS Code Page 437 (Domestic)
850 DOS Code Page 850 (International)
852 DOS Code Page 852 (Latin 2)
855 DOS Code Page 855 (Russian)
857 DOS Code Page 857 (IBM Turkish)
860 DOS Code Page 860 (MS-DOS Portuguese)
1250 DOS Code Page 1250 (Latin 2)
1251 DOS Code Page 1251 (Cyrilic)
1252 DOS Code Page 1252 (Latin 1)
1253 DOS Code Page 1253 (Greek)
1254 DOS Code Page 1254 (Turkish)
1255 DOS Code Page 1255 (Hebrew)
1256 DOS Code Page 1256 (Arabic)
1257 DOS Code Page 1257 (Baltic)
1258 DOS Code Page 1258 (Vietnamese)

Note: The CG Triumvirate typefaces support only the ANSI and DOS
Code 437 and 850 symbol sets. The scalable font (font 50) does
not support Code Page 1256 (Arabic). Fonts 15-18 do not support
Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850. Code pages 852-860 and
1250-1258 are for downloaded TrueType fonts or the scalable
font. Symbol set 19 requires a downloaded International TrueType
font (stored on a memory card). TrueType fonts are designed to
be regionally specific; therefore, all code pages may not be
supported in a given font. See Appendix C, "Symbol Sets/Code
Pages" for more information.

Example C,30,10,0,1,1,1,B,L,0,0,"MADE IN USA",0 p

Defines a constant text field starting at row 30, column 10. It does not have
any additional inter-character gap. The Standard font is used without any
additional magnification. The printing is black on white and left justified.
No field or character rotation is used. “MADE IN USA” is printed in this
field. The internal symbol set is used.

3-20 Defining Fields

D e f i n i n g N o n - P r i n t a b l e Te x t F i e l d s
Non-printable text fields allow you to enter data without printing it in its
entered form. Typically, non-printable fields “hold” data that later combines
with other fields to form a merged field. Define non-printable text fields
before you define the field where the information prints.
When you copy this field into another field, the maximum number of
characters for the final field is 2710. Allow only as many characters as you
need, because extra characters use up space. Also, if you are copying into
a bar code field, the maximum number of characters in the destination bar
code is determined by the bar code specification (UPCA-12, EAN-13, etc.).
You need to apply field options to manipulate the text entered in this field.
For example, you may want to copy data from this field into another field.
See “Option 4 Copy Data” in Chapter 4 for more information.
In the following example, data is entered into four non-printable fields and
merged to form field 5, and is then printed as a bar code. See “Merging
Fields” in Chapter 4 for more information.
Field Data Field Type

1 20374 Non-printable
2 339 Non-printable
3 8 Non-printable
4 15 Non-printable
5 20374339815 Bar Code

Each non-printable text field requires a separate definition.

Syntax D,field#,# of char p

D1. D Non-Printable Text Field.

D2. field# Unique number from 0 to 999 assigned to this field.

D3. # of char Maximum number of characters (0 to 2710) in the field.

Example D,4,20 p

Defines a non-printable text field (field #4) with a maximum of 20

characters.

Defining Fields 3-21

Defining Line Fields
Use lines to form borders and mark out original prices. Define each line
separately. This field is not assigned a field number, but is counted as a
field (keep this in mind, as the printer allows a maximum of 1000 fields per
format). You can define any line length and a thickness up to 99 dots, as
long as the solid black print does not exceed 25 percent of any given square
inch of the label.

L i n e Ty p e s
You can create horizontal and vertical lines. There are two ways to define
lines.
Segments You choose the starting point and ending point.

Vectors You choose the starting point, the angle, and the length
of the line.

Syntax L,type,row,column,angle/end row,length/

end col,thickness,"pattern" p

L1. L Line Field.

L2. type Type of line. Only vertical and horizontal lines are supported. Options:
S Segment. You choose the starting point and
ending point.
V Vector. You choose the starting point, angle, and
length.

L3. row Distance from bottom of print area to the starting point.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

3-22 Defining Fields

L4. column Distance from left edge of the print area to line origin.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

L5. angle If Using Segments:

/end row

Row location of ending point. Measure from bottom

of the print area. Ranges same as row above. On
horizontal lines, this value must match item L3.

If Using Vectors:
Angle of line. Options: 0, 90, 180, or 270.

L6. length/ If Using Segments:

end col

Column location of end point. Measure from left edge of print area.
Ranges same as column above. On vertical lines, this value must match
parameter L4.

If Using Vectors:
Length of the line in selected units.

Ranges for horizontal lines:

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

Ranges for vertical lines:

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

Defining Fields 3-23

L7. thickness Using the chart below for reference, write the line thickness
(1 to 99) in box L7. Line thickness fills upward on horizontal lines, or to the
right on vertical lines. Measured in dots.

L8. “pattern” Line pattern. Enter "".

Example L,S,110,30,110,150,10,"" p

Defines a horizontal line field as a segment starting at row 110, column 30

and ending at row 110, column 150. The line thickness is 10 dots.

3-24 Defining Fields

Defining Box Fields
Use boxes to form borders or highlight items of interest. Define each box
field separately. This field is not assigned a field number, but is counted as
a field (keep this in mind, as the printer allows a maximum of 1000 fields per
format). You can define any line length and a thickness up to 99 dots, as
long as the solid black print does not exceed 25 percent of any given square
inch of the label.
Syntax Q,row,column,end row,end col,thickness,"pattern" p

Q1. Q Box (Quadrilateral) Field.

Q2. row Distance from bottom of print area to

lower left corner of box.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

Q3. column Distance from left edge of print area to lower left
corner of box.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

Q4. end row Distance from bottom of print area to upper right
corner of box. Ranges same as row.

Q5. end col Distance from left edge of print area to upper right
corner of box. Ranges same as column.

Defining Fields 3-25

Q6. thickness Using the chart below for reference, write the desired line thickness
(1 to 99) in box Q6. Boxes fill inward, so make sure your boxes do not
overwrite other fields. Measured in dots.

Q7. “pattern” Line pattern. Enter "".

Example Q,40,30,70,150,3,"" p

Defines a box field starting at row 40, column 30. It ends at row 70, column
150. It has a thickness of 3 dots.

3-26 Defining Fields

DEFINING FIELD OPTIONS 4
This chapter provides a reference for defining
♦ field options in formats
♦ check digit packets.

Note: When using multiple options on the printer, options are processed in
the order they are received.

Defining Field Options 4-1

Applying Field Options
Field options further define text, bar code, and non-printable text fields.
The text, constant text, or bar code field must be previously defined before
you can apply any field option to it. Define options immediately after the
field to which they apply.

Combining Field Options

You can use more than one option with most fields. For example, you can
use Option 4 to copy data from another field, and then use Option 30 to pad
the field. When you use multiple options for the same field, you must place
the options in the order you want to apply them to your format.
Restrictions
Some options cannot be used together. For example, incrementing (Option
60) and price field (Option 42) options cannot be applied to the same field.
Refer to the following sections addressing individual options for specific
combinations to avoid.
Option 4 (copy a field) is the only option that can be repeated for a single
field.
Example R,1,3,1,3,1,1 p

Syntax R,option#,parameter...parameter p

R1. R Indicates field option header.

R2. option# Option number:

1 Define fixed characters
4 Copy data from previous field
30 Pad data to left or right with specified character
31 Generate check digit
42 Format as a price field
50 Define bar code densities
51 Define security and truncation of PDF417 bar codes
52 Define width or length of PDF417 bar codes
60 Define incrementing or decrementing field
61 Reimage fields

R3. parameter(s) Varies per option. See the following option descriptions.

4-2 Defining Field Options

Option 1 (Fixed Data)
Fixed data is information (a company name or store number) you want to
print on all labels. You can define fixed characters for an entire field or for
part of a field.
Syntax R,1,"fixed char" p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 1 Option 1.

R3. fixed char Characters to insert. Enclose in quotation marks. If you are defining fixed
characters for part of a field, place underscores(_) in non-fixed positions.
Any spaces in the phrase are fixed characters. Range: 0 to 2710.

Note: Underscore characters are stripped out and the data is

compressed if no data is supplied by the batch and the field length
is variable.

Example R,1,"_ _ _%$_ _ _ _ _" p

Uses fixed characters (%$) in positions 4 and 5. The other positions are
variable.
Example R,1,"MONARCH" p

“MONARCH” appears as a fixed field in this example.

To fill in the non-fixed portion of the field, see “Defining Batch Data Fields”
in Chapter 6. As an alternative, you can apply Option 4 to copy data into
the non-fixed character positions.

Defining Field Options 4-3

Option 4 (Copy Data)
You can create a field that uses data from another field. This is useful for
creating merged fields or sub-fields. You can copy the information from
multiple fields into one field by applying the copy procedure more than once.
Copy data is the only option you can apply to a field more than once.
The maximum number of characters defined in box T3 or B3 must allow for
the number of characters you will place in the field, including any price,
check digit, or fixed characters inserted by the printer. The maximum
number of characters in the field into which data is copied cannot exceed
2710 or the maximum number of characters permitted by the bar code.
Note: When copying from more than one field, copy into the destination
field from left to right.

Syntax R,4,src fld,src start,# to copy,dest start,

copy code p

R1. R Field Option Header.

R2. 4 Option 4.

R3. src fld Field number from which data is copied. Range: 0 to 999.

R4. src start Position number in the source field of the first character to be copied.
Character positions are numbered 1 to 2710, starting from the left.

R5. # to copy Number of characters to copy. Range: 1 to 2710.

R6. dest start Position number where copied characters are to begin printing in the
destination field. Range: 1 to 2710.

R7. copy code Copy Method.

1 Copy field as is (including price symbols,
pad characters, check digits, etc.).

2 Copy unformatted data (without price characters,

pad characters, etc.).

Example R,4,3,1,3,1,1 p

Copies data from field #3, starting at the first position and copying three
characters. In the destination field, the information is placed in position 1
and copied as formatted data.

4-4 Defining Field Options

Merging Fields
You can copy data to merge the contents of fields. Use the copy data option
as many times as necessary to copy all the appropriate fields into the
merged field.
In the following example, two text and two non-printable fields are shown.
Data from these fields is merged to form field 5, and is then printed as a bar
code.
Field Data Field Type

1 203 Non-printable
2 339 Non-printable
3 8 Text
4 BLUE Text
5 2033398BLUE Bar Code

To create this sequence:

1. Define fields 1, 2, 3, and 4.
2. Define field 5 as a bar code. Allow enough characters in the bar code
field to hold all the copied characters.
3. Apply Option 4 to field 5 once for every source field.

Sub-Fields
You can copy a segment of data from one field into a new location, called a
sub-field. For example, extract part of the data in a bar code and display it
in text form in a sub-field. Then, use the copy data option.

Defining Field Options 4-5

Option 30 (Pad Data)
You can add characters to one side of a field to “pad” the field. Padding
allows you to fill in the remaining spaces when the entered data does not fill
an entire field. If a variable length field is not completely filled with batch
data, this option fills the remaining positions in the field with the character
designated by Option 30.
Syntax R,30,L/R,"character" p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 30 Option 30.

R3. L® Indicates type of padding:

L Pad field on left side
R Pad field on right side

R4. “character” Pad character must be within the 0 to 255 decimal range and enclosed
inside quotation marks.

Note: Do not use on fixed length fields.

Example R,30,L,"X" p

Pads data with an “X” on the left side of the field.

Sample Use for Padding

If you have a variable length bar code that you want to occupy a fixed
amount of space on the supply, use pad characters. If the maximum number
of characters in the bar code is 15, but the batch record only has 10
characters, the padding option fills the remainder of the field with pad
characters.

4-6 Defining Field Options

Option 31 (Calculate Check Digit)
The printer generates a check digit if you apply Option 31 to the field. You
cannot use this option if the field contains a UPC, EAN, or Code 39 (with the
MOD43 check digit) bar code.
Syntax R,31,gen/ver,check digit # p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 31 Option 31.

R3. gen/ver Enter G to generate a check digit.

R4. check digit # Specifies a check digit scheme. Enter a number that identifies a check
digit scheme that has been defined. For more information, see “Using
Check Digits.” Range: 1 to 10.

Example R,31,G,5 p

Generates a check digit using the previously defined check digit scheme 5.

Option 42 (Price Field)

You can apply options that will insert monetary symbols automatically. Do
not use this option with Option 31 (define a check digit) or Option 60
(increment or decrement a field). This option is not recommended for bar
codes. When determining the maximum number of characters, add the
maximum number of digits and the monetary symbols.
Syntax R,42,appearance code p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 42 Option 42.

R3. appearance Enter 1 to print price field in standard notation, as defined by country
code setting.

Use the monetary formatting packet to select monetary notations and

symbols by country setting. See “Defining the Monetary Formatting
Packet” for more information.
See Appendix C, “Symbol Sets/Code Pages,” to make sure the monetary
symbol you want to use is printable in the font selected for this field. For
monetary symbols other than the dollar sign, use the internal symbol set.

Defining Field Options 4-7

Example R,42,1 p

Uses a price field that prints the monetary symbol and notations as defined
in the monetary formatting packet.

Option 50 (Bar Code Density)

You can apply this option to bar code fields when you want to create custom
densities. When you apply this option, it overrides the density value in the
bar code field. When using this option, set the density parameter in your
bar code field to the default value. You can only use this option once for
each bar code field.
Bar codes produced using Option 50 may not be scannable. The additional
character gap, narrow space, and wide space parameters are valid only
with Code 39 and Codabar. If these parameters are specified for any other
bar codes, they will be ignored by the printer. Do not use Option 50 with
fixed density bar codes.
Option 50 can be used with PDF417 bar codes for specific customer ratios.
With PDF417 bar codes, use only the narrow and wide parameters. The
narrow parameter defines the individual bar width in dots and the wide
parameter is used to define the height of each individual stacked bar code.
Option 50 can also be used with Option 52 to further customize the
dimensions of a PDF417 bar code. Option 52 allows customization of the
number of columns or number of rows for the bar code.
Syntax R,50,narrow,wide,gap,nar_space,wide_space p

R1. R Field Option Header.

R2. 50 Option 50.

R3. narrow Dot width of the narrow element. Range: 1 to 99.

R4. wide Dot width of the wide element. Range: 1 to 99.

R5. gap Additional dot space between characters. Enter a value of 1 to 99.
(Code 39 and Codabar only.)

R6. nar_space Additional dot width of the narrow bar code space.
(Code 39 and Codabar only). Range: 1 to 99.

4-8 Defining Field Options

R7. wide_space Additional dot width of the wide bar code space.
(Code 39 and Codabar only). Range: 1 to 99.

Example R,50,4,8,4,4,8 p

Creates a custom bar code density with a narrow element of 4 dots, a wide
element of 8 dots, a gap of 4 dots, 4 additional dot widths for the narrow bar
code space, and 8 additional dot widths for the wide bar code space (if this
is a Code 39 or Codabar bar code).

O p t i o n 5 1 ( P D F 4 1 7 S e c u r i t y / Tr u n c a t i o n )
You can define a security level and choose whether or not to truncate a
PDF417 bar code. Higher security levels add data to a bar code, improving
scan reliability. Some damaged bar codes may still be scannable if the
security level is high enough. You can use this option to create standard
PDF417 bar codes or use the truncated option to create a narrower bar
code. This option can appear only once per PDF417 field, in any order,
following the bar code field.
As the security level is increased, so is the size of your PDF417 bar code.
For each level increased, the bar code will double in size.
Syntax R,51,security,stand/default p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 51 Indicates Option 51.

R3. security Security level ranges from 0 to 8 (0 is the default).

Higher security levels add data to a bar code, improving scan reliability.
Some damaged bar codes may still be scannable if the security level is
high enough.

R4. stand/def Truncation selector. Valid values:

S (default) a standard PDF417 bar code
T truncated

Example R,51,2,S p

Defines a security level of 2 for a standard PDF417 bar code.

Defining Field Options 4-9

Option 52 (PDF417 Width/Length)
This option defines the image width or length of a PDF417 bar code. If you
define a fixed number of columns (width), the bar code expands in length. If
you define a fixed number of rows (length), the bar code expands in width.
Column value does not include start/stop or left/right indicator columns.
If this option does not immediately follow the PDF417 bar code field, the
default settings are used. You can only use this option once per PDF417
bar code field.
Syntax R,52,row/column,dimension p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 52 Indicates Option 52.

R3. row/column Indicates if you are defining the number of rows or columns.
R Row
C Column

If you specify rows, the bar code expands in columns,

or vice versa.

R4. dimension The number of rows or columns defined for the bar code.
The default is 4. Valid values:
3-90 for rows
1-30 for columns

Example R,52,C,10 p

Defines the column width of 10, which expands the PDF417 bar code length
by 10.

4-10 Defining Field Options

Option 60 (Incrementing/Decrementing Fields)
You may have an application, such as serial numbers, in which you need a
numeric field to increment (increase in value) or decrement (decrease in
value) on successive tickets within a single batch. Incrementing or
decrementing can be applied to numeric data only. If you have a field that
includes letters and digits, apply incrementing or decrementing to only the
portion of the field that contains digits. Do not use with Option 42 (price
field).
Syntax R,60,I/D,amount,l pos,r pos p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 60 Option 60.

R3. I/D Increment or decrement:

I incrementing field
D decrementing field

R4. amount Amount to increase or decrease. Range: 0 to 999.

R5. l pos Leftmost position in inc/dec portion of field. If this value is not entered, the
default value 1 is used. Range: 0 to 2710.

R6. r pos Rightmost position in inc/dec portion of field. If this value is not used, the
entire field length is used as the default. Range: 0 to 2710.

Example R,60,I,5,1,6 p

Increments a field by 5 each time the field is printed. The field increments
beginning with the first left position and ending with the sixth position.

Fixing the First Number in the Incrementing Sequence

There are two ways to enter the first number in the incrementing sequence.
You can use batch data or use Option 1 to define the first number as a fixed
character. The first number in the sequence must contain the same amount
of digits as the highest number to be counted. For example, to count the
numbers 1 to 999, the first number in the sequence must be entered as 001.

Defining Field Options 4-11

Option 61 (Re-image Field)
This option redraws (reimages) a constant field when you have a constant
field next to a variable field on your label. It can be used on text, constant
text, bar code, line, or box fields.
These printers do not redraw an area if the field data does not change.
When a field changes, that area is cleared and the new field data is imaged.
However, the new field data may require a larger area than the previous
field did. In some cases, neighboring fields that do not change (constant
fields) may be covered with white space from the changing field’s (variable
fields) area. Use this option to reimage the constant field, or it may appear
broken.
Note: The most common use for this option is with incrementing fields on
your label, because they may cover a constant field.

Syntax R,61 p

R1. R Option Header.

R2. 61 Option 61.

Example R,61

Reimages the constant field that appears next to a variable field.

Re-Image Re-Image
ON OFF

Re-Image ON Re-Image OFF

In the above example, Option 61 was applied to the bar code field to keep
the incrementing field (Box #) from blocking out the bar code field.

4-12 Defining Field Options

Using Check Digits
Check digits are typically used to ensure that a text or bar code field scans
correctly. If you apply Option 31, the printer calculates a check digit. A
check digit scheme determines how the printer calculates a check digit.
When you define a check digit scheme, you assign a number to identify it.
This number is later entered in box R4 when you apply Option 31 to a field.
You can use check digits with text or bar code fields. Check digit
calculations are performed on numeric data only.
Do not use check digits with price fields. Do not define a check digit
scheme for UPC, EAN, Code 39 (with the MOD43 check digit), and Code 93
bar codes, because they have predefined check digits.
Syntax {A,selector,action,device,modulus,
fld_length,D/P,"weights" p }

A1. A Check Digit Header.

A2. selector Assign a number from 1 to 10 to this check digit formula.

A3. action The action to perform. Enter A to add the check digit scheme.

A4. device Format storage device. Use R (Volatile RAM).

A5. modulus Number from 2 to 11. The modulus is used to divide the sum of products
or the sum of digits.

A6. fld_length The maximum number of characters the field will contain.
Range: 0 to 2710.

A7. D/P Algorithm. The algorithm determines how the check digit is calculated.
Options:
D sum of digits
P sum of products

A8. “weights” String of digits used for calculation. A weight string is a group of two or
more numbers that is applied to a field. The number of digits in this string
should equal the number in fld_length. Enclose in quotation marks.
Range: 0 to 2710.

Example {A,1,A,R,10,5,P,"65432" p }

Adds check digit scheme number 1 to the printer’s memory. The modulus is
10, the maximum number of characters in the field is 5. The check digit is
calculated by using the Sum of Products and the string of digits used in the
calculation is “65432.”

Defining Field Options 4-13

Sum of Products Calculation
This is an example of how the printer uses Sum of Products to calculate a
check digit for this data:
5 2 3 2 4 5 2 1 9

1. Weights are applied to each digit, starting with the last digit in the
weight string. They are applied right to left, beginning at the right-most
position of the field. Remember, a weight string must contain at least
two different numbers. This example has a weight string of 1,2,3,4:

field: 5 2 3 2 4 5 2 1 9
weight string: 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

2. Each digit in the field is multiplied by the weight assigned to it:

field: 5 2 3 2 4 5 2 1 9
weight string: 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
products: 20 2 6 6 16 5 4 3 36

3. Next, the product of each digit is added together. This is the sum of the
products.
20 + 2 + 6 + 6 + 16 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 36 = 98

4. Divide the sum of the products by the modulus (10 in this case), only to
the whole number. The balance is called the remainder.

9
10 98
90
8

5. Subtract the remainder from the modulus.

The result becomes the check digit. In this case, the check digit is 2.
10 - 8 = 2

4-14 Defining Field Options

Sum of Digits Calculation
This is an example of how the printer uses Sum of Digits to calculate a
check digit for this data:
5 2 3 2 4 5 2 1 9

1. Weights are applied to each digit, starting with the last digit in the
weight string. They are applied right to left, beginning at the right-most
position of the field. Remember, a weight string must contain at least
two different numbers. This example has a weight string of 1,2,3,4:

field: 5 2 3 2 4 5 2 1 9
weight string: 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4

2. Each digit in the field is multiplied by the weight assigned to it:

field: 5 2 3 2 4 5 2 1 9
weight string: 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
products: 20 2 6 6 16 5 4 3 36

3. Next, the digits of the products are added together. Two-digit products
are treated as two separate digits.
This is the sum of the digits.
2 + 0 + 2 + 6 + 6 + 1 + 6 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 3 + 6 = 44

4. Divide the sum of the digits by the modulus (10 in this case), only to the
whole number. The balance is called the remainder.

4
10 44
40
4

5. Subtract the remainder from the modulus.

The result becomes the check digit. In this case, the check digit is 6.
10 - 4 = 6

Defining Field Options 4-15

4-16 Defining Field Options
C R E AT I N G G R A P H I C S 5
This chapter provides information on how to
♦ map out the graphic image using the hexadecimal (hex) or
run length method.
♦ create a graphic packet using a graphic header, bitmap,
duplicate, next-bitmap, text, constant text, line, and box
fields.
♦ place a graphic image into a format.

You can use graphic packets to create bitmapped images. To

include a graphic packet within your format, your format must
contain a graphic field. See “Placing the Graphic in a Format” for
more information.

Creating Graphics 5-1

Overview of Bitmapped Images
A printed image is formed through a series of dots. Each square on the grid
below represents a dot on the printhead. The graphic image is created by
blackening dots in a specific pattern. You can print varying shades of gray
according to the concentration of dots on the image. When the dots are
printed together, the end result is a graphic image.

Determining a Method
You can use one of two methods to map out your graphic image:
Hex Method The dot sequences are segmented into binary numbers
and then converted to hex numbers.

A graphic using gray-scaling, several slanted lines, or

several vertical lines typically translates more efficiently
with hex representation.

Run Length The dot sequences are segmented into black and white
Encoding Method strings within a row. The total count of each white string
is converted to a lower-case letter, corresponding to
numeric value. The total count of each black string is
converted to an uppercase letter, corresponding to
numeric value. This method can reduce imaging time
for graphics that contain repetitive rows of dots. A
graphic with horizontal lines or very few white-to-black
borders typically translates more efficiently with run
length encoding.

5-2 Creating Graphics

The most efficient encoding method depends on how complicated your
graphic image is and whether or not imaging time is a concern. You may
want to experiment with both encoding methods to get optimal performance.

Designing Bitmapped Images

Once you determine the encoding method to use, you
can begin mapping out your graphic image.
Note: The image that you map must be an upside
down mirror image of the final result.

Special Considerations
Solid black print cannot exceed 25% of any given square inch of the supply.
If the black print exceeds this limit, you may lose data or damage the
printhead.
In the first label, the large “M” logo and thick black line exceed the allowed
black to white print ratio. In the second label, the large “M” logo does not
exceed the black to white print ratio.
2 inches 2 inches
Exceeds 0.5" Does not 0.5"
Limit exceed
limit

Exceeds Does not

Limit exceed
limit

Creating Graphics 5-3

Using the Hex Method
The following steps explain how to derive a hex character string from a
bitmapped graphic.
Each square on the grid represents a dot. A black square indicates the dot
is ON, and a white square indicates the dot is OFF. A sequence of binary
numbers, called a bit pattern or bitmap, determines what dots are on and
off. The numbers “0" and ”1" are used for this purpose. The number “1"
turns a dot on and ”0" turns a dot off.
All hex numbers must be two digits. For example, write hex 0 as 00, or hex
E as 0E.
1. Assign 1 to every black square and 0 to every white square.
00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000111111111111111111111111110000000000000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111000000000000000000000000001111111110000000000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000000001111100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001111110000000000000
00000000000000000000000000000011110000000000000000111111111111111111111111110000000000000001111000000000
00000000000000000000000001111100001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110000111110000
00000000000000000000000110000011111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111000001100
00000000000000000000000110001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110
00000000000000000000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110
00000000000000000000000111111111111111111111111111111000000000000000000011111111111111111111111111111110
00000000000000000000000111111111111111111111000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111111111100
00000000000000000000000001111111100000000000000000000111111111111111111100000000000000000011111111110000
00000000000000000000000000011111110000000000000000000111111111111111111100000000000000000001111111000000
00000000000000000000000000011100000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100000000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000000001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000
00000000000000000000000000011111110000000000000000000111111111111111111100000000000000000001111111000000
00000000000000000000000000011100000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100000000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000000001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000
00000000000000000000000000011111110000000000000000000111111111111111111100000000000000000001111111000000
00000000000000000000000000011100000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100000000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000000001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000
00000000000000000000000000011111110000000000000000000111111111111111111100000000000000000001111111000000
00000000000000000000000000011100000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100000000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000000001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000
00000000000000000000000000011111110000000000000000000111111111111111111100000000000000000001111111000000
00000000000000000000000000011100000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100000000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000000001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110000111000000
00000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000
00000010000000000000000000011111110000000000000000000111111111111111111100000000000000000001111111000000
00000011000000000000000000011100000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100000000111000000
00000001111000000000000000000000001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110000111000000
00000000111000000000000000000011111111111111000000000000000000000000000000000000011111111111111000000000
00000000111111000000000000011100000000111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111100000001111000000
00000000111111100000000000000000001111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111110001111000000

5-4 Creating Graphics

2. Section off the grid in columns of eight. If any rows are not divisible by
8, add enough 0’s to complete a column.
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11000000 00000000 00000000 00001111 11111000 00000000 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111110 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000111 11100000 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000 00011110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 01111100 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11110000
00000000 00000000 00000001 10000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00001100
00000000 00000000 00000001 10001111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110
00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110
00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111000 00000000 00000000 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110
00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111111 11111100
00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 10000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00111111 11110000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000010 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000011 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000001 11100000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 11100000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 11111100 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000011 11000000
00000000 11111110 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100011 11000000

3. One row at a time, convert each group of eight binary digits to hex.
starting at position 49 …

00111111 = 3F
11111111 = FF
11111111 = FF
11110000 = F0

4. Write the hex values for each row as a continuous string.

row 1, position 49 = 03FFFFFF00000

5. Repeat steps 3 through 4 for each row on the grid.

6. Insert the hex values in syntax format.

Creating Graphics 5-5

Using the Run Length Encoding Method
The following steps explain how to derive a run length character string from
a bitmapped graphic.
Each square on the grid represents a dot. A black square indicates the dot
is ON, and a white square indicates the dot is OFF.
Note: The following example shows “1" to indicate when a square is ON,
and ”0" to indicate when a square is OFF. You do not have to
convert your dots when using the run length method.
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11000000 00000000 00000000 00001111 11111000 00000000 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111110 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00001111 11000000 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000 00011110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 01111100 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11110000
00000000 00000000 00000001 10000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00001100
00000000 00000000 00000001 10001111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110
00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110
00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111000 00000000 00000000 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110
00000000 00000000 00000001 11111111 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111111 11111100
00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 10000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00111111 11110000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 00000000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000010 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000 00000000 00000111 11111111 11111111 00000000 00000000 00011111 11000000
00000011 00000000 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000001 11000000
00000001 11100000 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100001 11000000
00000000 11100000 00000000 00000011 11111111 11110000 00000000 00000000 00000000 00000000 01111111 11111110 00000000
00000000 11111100 00000000 00011100 00000011 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111110 00000011 11000000
00000000 11111110 00000000 00000000 00111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11111111 11100011 11000000

1. Count the number of consecutive OFF or ON dots in a row. Write the

number of consecutive dots in sequence for the first row on the grid.
Write “ON” or “OFF” after each number to indicate ON or OFF dots.
(row 1, position 50) 26 on
(row 2, position 39) 11 on, 26 off, 9 on
(row 3, position 34) 5 on, 45 off, 6 on

2. Replace each number you have written with its corresponding code from
the Dot to Run Length Encoding Chart provided in Appendix C, “Symbol
Sets/Code Pages.” Be sure to use CAPITAL letters for black dots and
lower-case letters for white dots.
26 on (Z)
11 on (K), 26 off (z), 9 on (I)
.
.

5-6 Creating Graphics

 If the number is greater than 26, write z, followed by the letter
corresponding to the amount over 26. For example, to represent 45 off
dots, write zs.
5 on (E), 45 off (zs), 6 on (F)
.
.

3. Write the letter codes in sequence, uninterrupted, for each row.

(row 1,position 50) Z
(row 2,position 39) KzI
(row 3,position 34) EzsF
(row 4,position 30) DpZoD
.
.

Note: If the end of the line specifies OFF dots (lower-case letters), the
ending lower-case letters can be omitted. For example, uZFu can
be written as uZF.

4. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for each row on the grid.

5. Insert the code values in syntax format.

Determining How to Store the Image

Once you have mapped out your graphic image, determine how you want to
store it. You have several options:

♦ Volatile RAM
♦ Temporary Storage
♦ Memory Card

U s i n g Vo l a t i l e R A M
You should use RAM when the graphic image is used by several formats,
because you only have to send the graphic image once. This eliminates the
need to send the graphic image repeatedly. See “Placing the Graphic in a
Format,” for more information about using the graphic packet in a format.
Graphics smaller than approximately ½ inch by ½ inch can be stored in
printer RAM and referenced by the graphic ID number.

Creating Graphics 5-7

Graphics are stored in the format buffer and remain there until another
graphic packet is sent or the printer is turned off.

U s i n g Te m p o r a r y S t o r a g e
You should use temporary storage when the graphic image is used only in
one format or your graphic image is very large. Graphic data in temporary
storage is held in the image buffer until the graphic is printed and then it is
cleared from memory. Temporary graphics are also cleared from memory
when you send a new batch or update batch. You can use the same graphic
image multiple times on a format. Send the graphic image to the printer
after the format to which it applies.
If a graphic is stored in temporary storage, do not place a graphic field in
the format. This causes an error. Instead, position the graphic image by
using the row and column locations in the graphic packet header. Image
memory (temporary storage) accepts a graphic packet 1218 rows long with
811 dots per row.

Using a Memory Card

The 9416XL printer has an optional memory card that allows storage of
formats, graphics, and fonts. Graphics stored on the memory card are
saved when the printer is turned off. Use M in the Graphic header. See
"Defining the Graphic Header" for more information.

Creating a Graphic Packet

Your graphic packet can contain

♦ bitmapped fields (for bitmapped images)

♦ constant text fields
♦ lines
♦ boxes.

Images using hex representation or run length encoding are bitmapped

images. See “Designing Bitmapped Images” to design your bitmapped
image.
Once you design your graphic image, you are ready to define a graphic
packet. This packet generates the graphic image you use in a format.

5-8 Creating Graphics

Positioning the Graphic Image
This section explains how to position the graphic image within a graphic
packet header, a field of a graphic packet, or within a format.
Within the Graphic Packet Header
When you are using RAM, the row and column parameters in the graphic
header are usually 0,0, because placement is controlled by the graphic field
in your format. This is especially true when designing a compliance label
overlay.
When you are using temporary storage, these parameters control the
placement of the graphic image on the supply.
The area enclosed within the dotted lines
represents the graphic image starting at 0,0 (as
defined in the graphic header).

If you want a fixed amount of white space around

your graphic image, use something other than 0 for
row and/or column.
The area enclosed within the dotted lines
represents the graphic image starting at 0,0 with a
fixed amount of white space (10,10) around the
graphic image.
Within the Field
In a bitmap, constant text, line, or box field, the row
and column parameters control where an individual
field or bitmapped row begins in relation to the
coordinates defined in the graphic header.
The bottom of the triangle in this example
represents the first field of the graphic packet
starting at 10,0.

Creating Graphics 5-9

Within a Format
When you define the graphic field within your format, the row and column
parameters represent where on the format to
place the graphic image.
If you are doing a compliance label, these
numbers are usually 0,0, because your
compliance label covers the entire supply. See
"Placing the Graphic in a Format," for a sample
compliance label.
If you are placing a graphic (a logo, for
example) within a certain area on your supply,
enter the starting position (bottom left corner)
of the graphic image.
This label shows the triangle “logo” beginning
(the bottom left corner) at 155, 33 as defined in
the graphic field.

Defining the Graphic Header

Every graphic packet must contain a graphic header. This is the first thing
you enter. It identifies and provides important measurement and formatting
information for the graphic. Bitmap, duplicate, next-bitmap, constant text,
line, and box fields follow the graphic header, if they are used.
Syntax {G,graphID,action,device,units,row,col,
mode,"name" p

G1. G Graphic Header.

G2. graphID Unique number from 1 to 999 to identify the graphic image.

G3. action The action to perform to the graphic. Options:

A Add the graphic to the printer.
C Clear the graphic from the printer.

G4. device Graphic storage device. Options:

M Memory Card (only supported by the 9416XL printer with an
optional memory card).
R Volatile RAM (format must contain a graphic field)
T Temporary storage

5-10 Creating Graphics

G5. units Unit of measure. For bitmapped graphics, G (dots) is the only valid option.

G6. row Distance between the bottom of the graphic image area and the first bitmap
line. This is usually 0, unless you want a fixed amount of white space
around the graphic image. See “Positioning the Graphic Image,” for more
information.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

G7. column Distance between the left edge of the graphic image area and the left edge
of first bitmap line. This is usually 0, unless you want a fixed amount of
white space around the graphic image. See “Positioning the Graphic
Image,” for more information. Use the previous table for values.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

G8. mode Imaging mode. Enter 0.

G9. “name” Graphic name (optional), 0 to 8 characters, enclose within quotation marks.

Example {G,99,A,R,G,0,0,0,"99Wire" p

Adds a graphic image identified by number 99 to volatile RAM. The graphic

uses dot measurement. The image will be placed according to the row and
column parameters in the graphic field. The imaging mode is 0 and the
image is called 99Wire.

Creating Graphics 5-11

Creating Bitmap Fields
This defines one row of dots, starting at a specific row and column within
the graphic image. Each unique row of dots requires a bitmap field. A
bitmap field can later be repeated by using a duplicate field.
Syntax B,row,column,algorithm,"data" p

B1. B Bitmap Field.

B2. row Distance (in dots) from the graphic image’s bottom margin to the bitmap
line.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

B3. column Distance (in dots) from the graphic image’s left edge to the bitmap line.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

B4. algorithm Coding method for bitmap data:

H Hex Representation
R Run Length Encoding

B5. data Character string made up of hex or run length encoding. Do not put spaces
or any other character between the numbers. Range: 0 to 2710.

Example {B,39,56,H,"3FFFFFF0" p

Defines a bitmapped graphic field. The image begins 39 dots from the
bottom and 56 dots from the left edge of the graphic area. Hex
representation is used.

5-12 Creating Graphics

Creating Next-Bitmap Fields
This field uses the previous field’s row and column locations. It allows you
to use the bitmap or duplicate field data without having to recalculate row
and column locations. This field represents one row of dots on the image.
Syntax N,adjdir,adjamt,algorithm,"data" p

N1. N Next-Bitmap Field.

N2. adjdir Increments or decrements the row count. Inserts the duplicate line after or
before the current row.
0 Increments (inserts after)
1 Decrements (inserts before)
For example:
B,50,35,R,"GsSsG" p
N,0,1,R,"DpZoD" p
prints a next-bitmap field on row 51 at column 35.

N3. adjamt Amount of row adjustment in dot rows. Using 0 overwrites the same line.
Range: 0 to 999.

N4. algorithm Coding method for bitmap data:

H Hex Representation
R Run Length Encoding

N5. “data” Character string made up of hex or run length encoding. Do not put spaces
or any other character between the hex numbers or run length code letters.
Range: 0 to 2710.

Example B,39,56,H,"3FFFFFF0" p
N,0,1,H,"000000E00000" p

Defines a next-bitmap graphic field beginning on row 40. The row count
increments by 1. Hex representation is used.

Creating Graphics 5-13

Creating Duplicate Fields
If a line of data is identical to a previous bitmap or next-bitmap field, the
duplicate field allows you to repeat the dot sequence without retyping the
data. A duplicate field represents one row of dots on the image.
Note: Duplicate fields are useful when you have a graphic with a lot of
repetition.

Syntax D,adjdir,adjamt,count p

D1. D Duplicate Field.

D2. adjdir Increments or decrements the row count. Inserts the duplicate line after or
before the current row.
0 Increments (inserts after)
1 Decrements (inserts before)
For example:
B,50,35,R,"GsSsG" p
D,0,20,2 p
inserts row 50 again at row 70 and row 90. Rows
70 and 90 do not have to be defined later.

D3. adjamt Amount of row adjustment in dot rows. Range for 203 dpi: 0 to 999;
range for 300 dpi: 0 to 2699. The above example adjusts the duplicate
field to image on row 70 and 90 (adding 20 to the current row count).

D4. count Number of times to duplicate the line. Range: 0 to 999.

Example B,117,24,H,"03FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC" p
D,0,1,2 p

Defines a duplicate field that is imaged after the bitmap line. This field
duplicates the preceding bitmap line twice (at row 118 and 119).
You can use constant text, line, or box fields in a graphic packet to create a
compliance label overlay. See Chapter 3, “Defining Fields,” for more
information about these fields.

5-14 Creating Graphics

Sample Hex Graphic Packet
{G,99,A,R,G,0,0,0,"99WIRE"p
B,39,48,H,"3FFFFFF0" p
B,40,32,H,"01FFC000000FF8"p
B,41,32,H,"3E00000000000FC0" p
B,42,24,H,"03C0003FFFFFF0000F"p
B,43,24,H,"7C3FFFFFFFFFFFFFE1F0" p
B,44,16,H,"0183FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF06" p
B,45,16,H,"018FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFE" p
B,46,16,H,"01FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFE"p
B,47,16,H,"01FFFFFF80001FFFFFFFFE" p
B,48,16,H,"01FFFFF0000000007FFFFC" p
B,49,24,H,"7F800007FFFF00003FF0" p
B,50,24,H,"1FC00007FFFF00001FC0" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,51,24,H,"1C03FFFFFFFFFFFE01C0"p
D,0,4,4 p
B,52,32,H,"3FFFFFFFFFFFFFE1C0" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,53,24,H,"03FFF0000000007FFE"p
D,0,4,4 p
B,70,0,H,"0400001FC00007FFFF00001FC0" p
B,71,0,H,"0600001C03FFFFFFFFFFFE01C0" p
B,72,0,H,"030000003FFFFFFFFFFFFFE1C0" p
B,73,0,H,"01000003FFF0000000007FFE" p
B,74,8,H,"FC001C03FFFFFFFFFFFE00C0" p
B,75,8,H,"FE00003FFFFFFFFFFFFFE0C0" p
B,76,8,H,"1FF803FFF0000000007FFE" p
B,77,8,H,"0FFFCFFC00000000000001C0" p
B,78,16,H,"FFDF000FFFFFFFFF8003C0" p
B,79,16,H,"7FFFC00007FFFF00001FC0" p
B,80,24,H,"1C03FFFFFFFFFFFE01C0" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,81,32,H,"3FFFFFFFFFFFFFE1C0" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,82,24,H,"03FFF0000000007FFE" p
D,0,4,3 p
B,83,24,H,"1FC00007FFFF00001FC0" p
D,0,4,3 p
B,98,24,H,"03FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF0" p

Creating Graphics 5-15

B,99,24,H,"07FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC" p
B,100,24,H,"1FF9FFFFFFFFFFFFFF" p
B,101,24,H,"3FFE0007FFFF8000FF80" p
B,102,24,H,"391E0027FFFF803FFFC0" p
B,103,24,H,"1C7FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC0" p
B,104,24,H,"1FC1FFFFFFFFFFFF1FC0" p
B,105,24,H,"0FFDFFFFFFFFFFE0FF" p
B,106,24,H,"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF8" p
B,107,32,H,"3FFFFFFFFFFFFFE0" p
B,108,32,H,"03FFFFFFFFFFFF"p
B,109,48,H,"07FFFF80" p
D,0,1,2 p
B,111,48,H,"FFFFFFFF" p
B,112,32,H,"FFFF00000000FFE0" p
B,113,24,H,"078000FFFFFFFF001F" p
B,114,24,H,"78FFFFFFFFFFFFFFE060" p
B,115,16,H,"0187FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC18" p
B,116,16,H,"027FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF2" p
B,117,16,H,"03FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC" p
D,0,1,2 p
B,120,16,H,"01FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF8"p
B,121,24,H,"FEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFE0"p
B,122,24,H,"07FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFC" p
B,123,32,H,"FFFFFFFFFFFFFFC0" p
B,124,32,H,"01FFFFFFFFFFF8" p }

5-16 Creating Graphics

Sample Run Length Graphic Packet
{G,99,A,R,G,0,0,0,"99WIRE" p
B,39,50,R,"Z" p
B,40,39,R,"KzI"p
B,41,34,R,"EzsF" p
B,42,30,R,"DpZoD" p
B,43,25,R,"EdZZEdE" p
B,44,23,R,"BeZZMeB" p
B,45,23,R,"BcZZW" p
B,46,23,R,"ZZZA" p
B,47,23,R,"ZDsZE" p
B,48,24,"TzkU" p
B,49,25,"HtRqJ" p
B,50,27,"GsSsG" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,51,27,"ChZWgC" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,52,34,R,"ZZEdC" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,53,30,R,"NzkN" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,70,5,R,"AuGsSsG" p
B,71,5,R,"BtChZWgC" p
B,72,6,R,"DxZZEdC" p
B,73,7,R,"CtNzkN" p
B,74,8,R,"FmChZWhC" p
B,75,8,R,"GsZZEdC" p
B,76,11,R,"JiNzkN" p
B,77,12,R,"NbJzzeC" p
B,78,16,R,"JaElZKmD" p
B,79,17,R,"QsSsG"p
B,80,27,R,"ChZWgC" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,81,34,R,"ZZEdC" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,82,30,R,"NzkN" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,83,27,R,"GsSsG" p
D,0,4,4 p
B,98,30,R,"ZZJ" p
B,99,29,R,"ZZM" p
B,100,27,R,"JbZZE" p

Creating Graphics 5-17

B,101,26,R,"MnToI" p
B,102,26,R,"CbHnTiP" p
B,103,27,R,"CcZZC" p
B,104,27,R,"GeZWcG" p
B,105,28,R,"JaZReH" p
B,106,32,R,"ZZI" p
B,107,34,R,"ZZE" p
B,108,38,R,"ZQ"p
B,109,53,R,"T" p
D,0,1,2 p
B,111,48,R,"ZF" p
B,112,33,R,"PzfK" p
B,113,29,R,"CpZBoE" p
B,114,25,R,"DcZZGfB" p
B,115,23,R,"BdZZMeB" p
B,116,22,R,"AbZZVbA" p
B,117,22,R,"ZZZB" p
D,0,1,2p
B,120,23,R,"ZZZ" p
B,121,25,R,"ZZV" p
B,122,29,R,"ZZM" p
B,123,32,R,"ZZF" p
B,124,39,R,"ZT" p }

5-18 Creating Graphics

Placing the Graphic in a Format
To include a graphic within a format:
1. Design the graphic image as shown in “Designing Bitmapped Images.”
2. If you are using RAM, place a graphic field in the format file to reference
the graphic. See the following section, “Defining the Graphic Field,” for
more information.

Note: If you are using temporary storage, you do not need a graphic field
in your format to reference the graphic image.

3. Download all the necessary packets (check digit, format, etc.).

4. Send the graphic file to the printer, if you have not already done so.
See “Creating a Graphic Packet” for more information.

Defining the Graphic Field

The graphic field in a format references the graphic image by the graphID in
the graphic header. This field is required only if the graphic will be
stored in RAM.
Syntax G,graphID,row,col,mode,rotation p

G1. G Graphic Field.

G2. graphID Unique number from 1 to 999 to identify the graphic image.

G3. row Distance between the bottom of the print area on the supply to the bottom
of the graphic image. Measured in selected units.

English 0 - 999
Metric 0 - 2539
203 Dots 0 - 2029
300 Dots 0 - 2699

The row specified in the constant text, bitmap, line, or box field is added to
the row value above to determine the actual position in the format.

Creating Graphics 5-19

G4. column Distance between the left edge of the print area on the supply and the left
edge of the graphic. Measured in selected units. The column specified in
the constant text, bitmap, line, or box field is added to the col value above
to determine the actual position in the format.

English 0 - 399
Metric 0 - 1015
203 Dots 0 - 811
300 Dots 0 - 1199

G5. mode Imaging mode. Enter 0.

G6. rotation The orientation of the graphic on the supply. Enter 0.

Example G,57,0,0,0,0 p

Defines a graphic field that is identified by the number 57. The image
begins at 0,0. The imaging mode is 0 and there is no rotation.

Sample Bitmap Graphic Image

The following format shows the graphic packets (hex and run length) in a
sample format.
{F,2,A,R,E,400,400,"FMT2" p
G,99,227,35,0,0 p
Q,240,15,300,125,10," " p
T,1,5,V,285,137,0,10,2,2,B,L,0,0,0 p
T,2,5,V,255,137,0,10,2,2,B,L,0,0,0 p
T,3,15,V,180,25,0,10,1,2,B,L,0,0,0 p
T,4,15,V,121,35,0,1,3,1,B,L,0,0,0 p
L,S,94,15,94,235,10,"" p
B,5,12,F,50,65,1,2,40,1,L,0 p }

Sample Batch Packet

{B,2,N,1 p
1,"Pat’s" p

2,"Parts" p
3,"3/8 inch Wire" p
4,"3.55/8 Pack" p
5,"345911871209" p }

5-20 Creating Graphics

PRINTING 6
This chapter describes how to
♦ download files to the printer
♦ define the batch header, batch control, and batch data files
♦ modify formats
♦ create DOS batch files.

Printing 6-1
Turn on the printer and make sure it is ready to receive data before you
download. See your host’s documentation, system administrator, or
“Downloading Methods” for information on ways to download.
When downloading, send your packets in this order:
1. Configuration packets (A-F)
2. Any of the following:
♦ Check digit packets (see Chapter 4)
♦ Format packets (see Chapter 3)
♦ Graphic packets (see Chapter 5)
3. Batch data (see “Defining the Batch Header”)

Downloading Files
To download from a PC:
1. Check that the PC and the printer are connected.
2. Check that communications have been established between the PC and
the printer.
3. Send the communication settings packet to select the printer’s
communication settings. See “Defining the Communication Settings
Packet” in Chapter 2 for more information (only used for serial
communication). If you change the printer’s communication settings,
make sure they match those at the host before sending any packets to
the printer.
4. Type this command at the DOS prompt:

COPY LABEL1.FMT COM1 Transmits a file called “LABEL1.FMT” to COM1.

COPY LABEL1.BCH COM1 Transmits a batch called “LABEL1.BCH” to COM1.

If you use the COPY command to download your formats, set flow control to
DTR (not XON/XOFF). Also, do not use the MS-DOS prompt from inside
Windows, because you receive a framing error.

6-2 Printing
Defining the Batch Header
Batch data is the actual information printed on the supply. Batch data fills in
the format’s text, bar code, and non-printable text fields.
A batch packet contains the following three parts:
batch header identifies the format and how many labels to print.

batch control defines the print job.

batch data defines the actual information printed on the label.

(optional)

A batch header begins the file. It tells which format the batch uses and how
many labels to print. To record batch data, make a copy of the worksheet in
Appendix D, “Format Design Tools.”
Syntax {B,format#,N/U,quantity p

B1. B Batch Header.

B2. format# Format number (1 to 999) to use.

B3. N/U Controls how image is generated.

N New (default). Erase image and re-image all fields using
online data. Any missing fields will be blank.
U Update last image with one or more fields.
All other fields remain the same as the last queued batch.

B4. quantity Quantity to print (0 to 999). Using 0 pre-images the field to reduce the
imaging time for labels. See “Batch Quantity Zero Method” for more
information.

Example {B,1,N,1 p

Defines a batch header that uses format #1 and reimages all fields using the
online data. One label is printed with this batch.

Printing 6-3
Defining the Batch Control Field
The batch header must precede this field. The batch control field defines
the print job and applies only to the batch that immediately follows.
Syntax E,feed_mode,batch_sep,print_mult,multi_part,
cut_type,cut_mult p

E1. E Batch Control Field.

E2. feed_mode Feed Mode. Options:

0 Continuous Feed (default)
1 On-Demand

E3. batch_sep Batch Separator. Use 0 (no separator).

E4. print_mult Number of tags (1 to 999) with the same image. 0 is the default.

E5. multi_part Number of identical parts on one tag (1 to 5). 0 is the default.

E6. cut_type Enables or disables the knife. Options:

0 No cut
1 Cuts before, during, and after the last tag

E7. cut_mult Number of tags to print before cutting. A cut multiple of one cuts after each
tag. The range is 0 to 32,000. 0 is the default. The cut multiple is a
multiple of the print quantity. If the cut multiple is three and the print
quantity is 16, then five sets of three tags and one set of one tag is
produced.

Example E,0,0,0,0,1,0 p

Defines a batch control field. Continuous feed mode is used and no

separator prints between batches. The print multiple, multi-part supply, and
cut multiple are set to 0 (not used). The knife cuts before, during, and after
the last tag in the batch.

6-4 Printing
Defining Batch Data Fields
Batch data fields should be sent in field number order. Use continuation
fields for large amounts of data. If you are using N (New) in the batch
header, you must list all fields with your data in sequence. If you are using
U, you need to list only those fields and data that changes from the last
printed batch.
Syntax field#,"data string" p
C,"continuation" p

field# Identifies the text, bar code, or non-printable text field in which to insert the
following data. Range: 1 to 999.

“data string” Provides the actual information to appear in fields. Enclose in quotation
marks. Length: 0 to 2710 characters.

C Identifies information to be appended to the data string. This parameter is

optional.

“continuation” Provides the actual information to be added to the batch packet. Enclose
in quotation marks. Use this option to break up longer fields.
Length: 0 to 2710 characters. This parameter is optional.

Example 1,"Size 12" p

2,"" p
3,"Blue" p
C,"and this would be appended." p

Defines a batch data field. “Size 12" prints in field #1, a blank line appears
in field #2, ”Blue and this would be appended" prints in field #3.

Using Special Characters in Batch Data

There are two ways to specify special characters in batch data:

♦ Place a tilde (~) before each character

♦ Use a tilde with the decimal ASCII equivalent

For example, you can use “” or ~034 to print the “ character in your batch
data; otherwise, the tilde characters are ignored. You can also use ~XXX
where XXX is the decimal equivalent of an unprintable character.

Printing 6-5
Sample Batch Data with Special Characters

{B,1,N,1 p Decimal Character What Prints

1,"123~034456789" p ~034 is “ 123"456789

2,"~094983~’126LG4451" p ~094 is ^ ^983~’LG4451

~126 is ~

Merged or Sub-Fields
If a field is completely filled by data copied from other fields, use quotation
marks without spaces between them for the "data string" parameter.

Incrementing Fields
In incrementing fields, the first number in the sequence must contain the
same number of digits as the highest number to be counted. For example,
to increment the numbers in a field from 1 to 999, enter the starting number
in the batch as 001.

Downloading Methods
You can download the format and batch data using one of three methods:
sequential, batch, and batch quantity zero.

Sequential Method
Using the sequential method, you send all your format and batch data at
one time. Use this method when your application does not require operator
intervention to input data. All data is sent down at one time, and the printer
then images each field. As soon as the last field is imaged, your labels
begin to print.
Example {Format}
{Batch Packet}

6-6 Printing
Batch Method
This is similar to the sequential method, but it is used when you want to
send multiple batches. All data for the first batch is sent at one time, and
the printer then images each field. As soon as the last field for the first
batch is imaged, labels begin to print. This process is repeated for each
subsequent batch.
Example {Format}
{Batch Packet}
{Batch Packet}

Batch Quantity Zero Method

You may use the batch quantity zero method when your application requires
operator intervention to enter data. While the operator is entering data, the
previous field is sent with a batch quantity of zero. The printer images the
field, but does not print it. After the operator enters the data for the last
field, the batch quantity can be specified. The last remaining field is
imaged, and the label prints almost immediately.
To use the batch quantity zero method:
1. Send the format and a batch header in one file. The first time you send
the batch header, use the parameter N (new batch), and the parameter
0 for (zero quantity). This ensures the label is properly positioned.

The printer images constant text, line, and box fields, but does not print
them.

2. Input data for each field, and send it with a batch header using the
parameter U (batch update) and a quantity of zero. When the printer
receives the data, it immediately images the field, but does not print it.

At this time, the printer is imaging all associated fields, including fields
that copy from other fields.

3. Repeat step 2 for each field except the last one.

4. For the last field, input data and send a batch header with the quantity
of labels you want printed. When the printer receives input for the last
field, it immediately prints the labels. See “Reducing Imaging Time” in
Chapter 9 for an example using the batch quantity zero method.

Printing 6-7
Modifying Formats
The optional entry method is a quick way to modify your format fields, check
digit fields and configuration packets.

Optional Entry Method

This method enables you to reset only the parameters you want to change.
Commas act as placeholders for unchanged parameters. The optional entry
method reduces file size and increases the speed at which files are sent to
the printer.

6-8 Printing
S TAT U S P O L L I N G 7
This chapter explains how to use status polling.
There are two types of Status Polling:
♦ Inquiry Request—information about the readiness of the
printer.
♦ Job Request—information about the current (or last
received) job downloaded to the printer.

Status Polling 7-1

Inquiry Request (ENQ)
An ENQ character acts as a request for printer status information. You can
send an ENQ in front of, in the middle of, or immediately following any
packet downloaded to the printer. An ENQ is a command that can be
executed as part of a packet or sent on its own (using a communications
program). An ENQ is processed immediately. The ENQ character is user
defined.
The ENQ character does not appear as a visible character; however, we are
representing the ENQ character as E .

Inquiry Response
Printer status is returned to the host in a 3-byte (3-character) sequence.
The first byte is the non-printable user-defined ENQ character, which is not
visible on the response. The second and third bytes are printer status
codes. See the ENQ Reference Tables for the meaning of bytes 2 and 3.
Example: E AB

The status codes (A and B in this case) are ASCII equivalents to the hexadecimal
bits that represent the various types of status responses. This response indicates
that the printer is online (Character A) and that there is a stock fault (Character B).

Example: E ??

Indicates that this is the first ENQ response since the printer was turned on.
Send another ENQ immediately to receive the printer’s status.
Example: E @@

Indicates the printer is offline.

7-2 Status Polling

The following graphics can be used as a quick reference for the Status of
Byte #2 and Byte #3. Byte #1 is the non-printable user-defined ENQ
character.

Status Polling 7-3

E N Q R e f e r e n c e Ta b l e - B y t e # 2
Char Const. Const. Comp. Corr. Online Busy Active Online
OFF ON Failure Error Data
Error
Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0
@ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
A 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
B 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
C 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
D 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
E 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
F 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
G 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
H 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
I 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
J 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
K 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1
L 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
M 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 1
N 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
O 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1
P 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Q 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
R 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
S 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1
T 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
U 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
V 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
W 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
X 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
Y 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
Z 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
[ 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1
\ 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0
] 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1
^ 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0
_ 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
` 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Note: A “1" indicates the bit is turned on. A ”0" indicates the bit is off.

7-4 Status Polling

E N Q R e f e r e n c e Ta b l e - B y t e # 2 ( c o n t i n u e d )
Char Const. Const. Comp. Corr. Online Busy Active Online
OFF ON Failure Error Data
Error
Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0
a 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
b 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
c 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
d 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
e 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
f 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
g 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
h 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
I 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
j 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0
k 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1
l 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
m 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
n 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
o 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1
p 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
q 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1
r 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
s 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
t 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
u 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
v 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0
w 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1
x 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
y 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
z 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0
{ 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1
| 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
} 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
~ 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
Dec 127 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Note: A “1" indicates the bit is turned on. A ”0" indicates the bit is off.

Status Polling 7-5

E N Q R e f e r e n c e Ta b l e - B y t e # 3
Char Const. Const. Low Format Waiting Ribbon Stock Online
OFF ON Battery Error to Fault Fault Error
Dispense
Label
Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0
@ 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
A 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1
B 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
C 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
D 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
E 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 1
F 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
G 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1
H 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0
I 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
J 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0
K 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1
L 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0
M 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
N 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0
O 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 1
P 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Q 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
R 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0
S 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 1
T 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0
U 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 1
V 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
W 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1
X 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0
Y 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 1
Z 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0
[ 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1
\ 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 0
] 0 1 0 1 1 1 0 1
^ 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0
_ 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1
` 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0

Note: A “1" indicates the bit is turned on. A ”0" indicates the bit is off.

7-6 Status Polling

E N Q R e f e r e n c e Ta b l e - B y t e # 3 ( c o n t i n u e d )
Char Const. Const. Low Format Waiting Ribbon Stock Online
OFF ON Battery Error to Fault Fault Error
Dispense
Label
Bit 7 Bit 6 Bit 5 Bit 4 Bit 3 Bit 2 Bit 1 Bit 0
a 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1
b 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0
c 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1
d 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
e 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 1
f 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 0
g 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 1
h 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
I 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 1
j 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0
k 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1
l 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0
m 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1
n 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 0
o 0 1 1 0 1 1 1 1
p 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
q 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1
r 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 0
s 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
t 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
u 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 1
v 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0
w 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1
x 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
y 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 1
z 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0
{ 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 1
| 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
} 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
~ 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
Dec 127 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Note: A “1" indicates the bit is turned on. A ”0" indicates the bit is off.

Status Polling 7-7

Job Request
A Job Request returns status information about the most recently processed
print job. You can send a job request after an ENQ or batch. You can send
two levels of Job Requests:

♦ Numeric Error Codes Only (0, 1, or 2)

♦ Verbose (3 or 4)

Syntax {J,#}

Field Type Valid Options Description

Identifier J Job Status Request

request# 0 Returns ASCII coded strings or

1 numeric error codes
2
3 Returns error number
4 Returns number of labels printed in batch

Example {J,3}

The job response may not be immediate. If the printer has an error (out of
supplies, ribbon problem, etc.), or has insufficient memory, correct the
problem and then resend the job request. If the problem is not corrected,
no response is returned. If a formatting error has occurred, the job request
returns the status. The printer must first interpret the format and batch data
before returning the response.
An ENQ can clear errors numbered less than 500. Once the error is
corrected, a job request can be sent. The printer cannot accept another job
request until the error is resolved.

7-8 Status Polling

Job Response
The Job Response varies, depending on the type of request sent to the
printer. The following syntax is the response for a Job 0, 1,or 2 request.
Syntax {J,Status1,Status2,"FMT-1","BCH-2"}

Status1 These errors stop the print job. Examples include out of
stock, supply faults, or data formatting errors. These
errors are numbered less than 24 on the “Job Status 0,
1, 2 Response Table,” later in this chapter.

Status2 These are errors in the syntax of the MPCL data stream.
Printing does not stop, but the information may not print
properly. These errors are numbered greater than 24 on
the “Job Status 0, 1, 2 Response Table,” later in this
chapter.

FMT-1/BCH-2 The format or batch number is returned.

Here is an example of a response returned to a J 0, 1, 2 request:

{J,8,0,"FMT-1","BCH-2"}

Indicates that a portion of the format extends off the tag in format 1, batch
2. Refer to the “Job Status 0, 1, 2 Response Table” later in this chapter for
brief explanations for J, 0, 1, 2 requests. In the above example, refer to
error 8 for an explanation.

Status Polling 7-9

The following syntax is the response for a Job 3 request. You may need to
press the FEED button before the job response is returned.
Syntax {J,"Status1 A,B","Status2
A,B,C,D,E","FMT-1","BCH-2"}

“Status1 A,B” Status1 A contains the field number, in the format or

batch, where an error was found. If the error is not in
the format or batch, a “0" is returned.

Status1 B contains an error number, which represents

the actual printer error. The error numbers can be
found in Chapter 8, ”Diagnostics and Errors."

Example {J,"2,612",}

2 is the field number where an error was found. 612 is the error number,
indicating that data is missing or does not match the format definition for
that field.
Note: Error numbers found in Status1 B, always have a value equal to or
greater than 500. These are considered very serious errors.

“Status2 A,B,C,D,E” contains the packet type, field type, field number,
parameter, and error number.

Status2 represents the MPCLII packet that the error occurred

A- Packet Type on. The packet could be Format (F), Batch (B), Check
Digit (A), Graphic (G), or Font (W).

Status2 represents the MPCLII field that the error occurred on.
B- Field Type If the packet has no fields, Status2 A is replicated. If
the error occurs before the field is identified a question
mark is sent. Since the batch data is variable, a D is
sent to indicate data.

Status2 represents the field number within each packet. The

C- Field Number packet header is the first field and each subsequent
field is indicated by the field separator.

7-10 Status Polling

Status2 represents the parameter within the field that the error
D- Parameter occurred. The numbering begins after the field
identifier.

Status2 is the error that coincides with the error numbers

E- Error Number presented in Chapter 8, “Diagnostics and Errors.”

“FMT-1/BCH-2" The format or batch number is returned.

Note: If more than one error occurred, only the most serious error is
acknowledged.
{J,"","F,B,4,6,33","FMT-1","BCH-2"}

Indicates that an error occurred on a bar code (B) field within a format (F)
packet. The bar code field is the fourth (4) field in the packet. The error
occurred in the sixth (6) parameter of the field. Error number 33 means the
bar code density is invalid.
To clear an error, press the FEED button. An ENQ can also clear errors
numbered less than 500. Once the error is corrected, a job request can be
sent. The printer cannot accept another job request until the error is
resolved.
The following syntax is the response for a Job 4 request.
Syntax {J,printed,total,"FMT-1","BCH-2"}

printed the number of tags or labels already printed in the

batch.

total the total number of tags or labels to be printed in the

current batch.

“FMT-1/BCH-2" The format or batch number is returned.

Example {J,8,25,"FMT-3","Bch-2"}

8 out of 25 tags or labels have been printed from format number 3.

Use a Job Request 4 when printing in the on-demand mode with a large
number of tags or labels from a single batch. A Job Request 4 may not be
accurate if tags or labels are printed in continuous mode, because of the
response time involved. A Job Request 4 is not useful in single ticket
batches (printing 1 of 1) or multiple single ticket batches.

Status Polling 7-11

Note: A batch has to be printing when you send the job request. You
cannot use this job request on batches printing formats with
incrementing fields.

J o b S t a t u s 0 , 1 , 2 R e s p o n s e Ta b l e ( S t a t u s 1 C o d e s )

Number Meaning

0 No error

1 Stacker fault

2 Supply problem

4 Hot printhead

5 Printhead open

6 Insufficient memory

7 Ribbon problem

8 Field ## extends off tag

9 Field ## has a bad font/bar code

10 Field ## contains invalid data

11 Field ## has a graphic missing

12 Invalid communication channel

13 Invalid file type

14 All communication channels are busy

15 Receive overrun error

16 Receive parity error

17 Receive framing error

18 Receive buffer full

19 Label waiting

21 Bad dots (verifier detected a failure)

23 Low battery

24 Memory configuration packet error

Numbers 25 through 50 are not currently in use.

7-12 Status Polling

J o b S t a t u s 0 , 1 , 2 R e s p o n s e Ta b l e ( S t a t u s 2 C o d e s )
Number Meaning
51 Invalid command
52 Invalid separator value
53 Graphic not found
54 Format for batch not found
55 Quantity/Multiples out-of-range
56 Name descriptor too long
57 Invalid cut value
58 Invalid number-of-parts value
59 Invalid orientation value
60 Invalid thickness value
61 Invalid text field
62 Invalid bar code field
63 Data string too long
64 Invalid data field
65 Row greater than stock length
66 Row greater than format length
67 Column greater than printhead width
68 Column greater than format width
69 Invalid label length
70 Invalid label width
71 Invalid increment/decrement value
72 Identifier out-of-range
73 No field to create format
74 Stop location of a line is out of range
75 Syntax error
80 Can’t use offline format for online batch
81 Can’t queue graphic batch
82 Can’t store online format
83 Can’t queue online batch
84 Can’t queue online clear command

Status Polling 7-13

7-14 Status Polling
DIAGNOSTICS AND ERRORS 8
This chapter explains how to
♦ print test labels
♦ reset the printer
♦ call Technical Support.

Before you call Service, print a test label. The label contains
information to help diagnose mechanical and setup problems.

This chapter also provides explanations of your printer’s errors.

The errors are classified by type and are listed in order. If you
have trouble loading supplies or performing maintenance, refer to
the Equipment Manual.

Some errors numbered 400-438 and 500-574 are internal software

errors. Errors numbered 703-758 are supply errors. Follow the
directions provided with the error description to correct the
problem. Errors numbered 900-999 are Hard Printer Failures. If
you cannot clear an error, turn off the printer, wait several seconds
and then turn on the printer. Call Technical Support if you receive
any error message not listed in this chapter.

If a formatting error occurs, the label prints; but data may be

missing. Correct the format or batch and resend them to the
printer.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-1

P r i n t i n g a Te s t L a b e l
1. Turn off the printer.
2. Press and hold the FEED button while turning on the printer.
3. Release the FEED button when the LED is flashing orange and the
printer starts advancing lines.

The test labels print. The first label shows the model number and the
printer’s configuration by packet (A-F). See Chapter 2, “Configuring the
Printer,” for more information.

The second label shows the software version, communication settings,

speed, contrast, gap sensor setting, label length, and total number of
inches printed.

R e a d i n g a Te s t L a b e l
The first test label shows the model number, software version, and the
printer’s configuration by packet. See Chapter 2, “Configuring the Printer”
for more information about the printer’s configuration.
The second test label shows the model number, software version, total
number of inches printed, voltage, print contrast, printhead resistance,
number of bad dots, and memory. In the example above:

♦ The printer has printed 119 inches of regular supplies.

♦ The printer has printed no linerless (high-energy) supplies.
♦ No options are set
♦ CONTRAST POT does not apply.

8-2 Diagnostics and Errors

Using Data Dump
After printing test labels, this printer is in “data dump mode.” To use data
dump mode:
1. Turn off the printer.
2. Press and hold the FEED button while turning on the printer.
3. Release the FEED button when the printer starts advancing lines.

The test labels print.

Your printer is now in data dump mode.

4. Download the data stream you wish to “dump” (print out on a label).
5. The data stream prints out automatically when there is enough data to
fill a label. Press the FEED button to print any remaining data on
another label.
,"06/11/94" p }0 10
D AD
1111" p o2,"G111111" p 03,"Smith" p 04, “12345678" p 05
3,"CHECKER ID: " p }0{B,1,N,1 p 01,”G111111
D D
200,100,0,1,2,1,B,L,0,3 p OC,330,20,0,1,1,1,B,L,0,
D
0,100,0,1,1,1,B,L,0,3,"DATE RECEIVED:" p OT,5,8,V,
D
“VIN #:” p OT,4,17,V,260,130,0,1,2,B,L,0,3 p OC,33
D D
,160,0,1,2,1,B,L,0,3 p OC,330,130,0,1,1,1,B,L,0,3,
D
C,330,160,0,1,1,1,B,L,0,3,"OWNER:" p OT,3,15,F,260
D
,3,3,2,B,L,0,3 p 08,2,9,V,330,220,4,11,080,8,L,3 p 0
D D
{F,1,A,R,E,400,400,"WINDSHIE" p OT,1,9,V,310,340,0
D

6. Download another data stream to dump or press the FEED button to exit
data dump mode.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-3

Resetting Printers
Sometimes the printer receives mixed signals and loses its ability to
communicate. If this happens, reset the printer and attempt communication
again. To reset the printer, turn off the printer, wait 15 seconds, and turn it
back on.
When you turn off the printer, all the information set through the online
configuration packets (A-F) is saved. See the sections in Chapter 2,
“Configuring the Printer,” for more information about each packet.

I f Yo u R e c e i v e a n E r r o r M e s s a g e
Any time you receive a message that is not described in this manual, or the
recommended action does not solve the problem, call Technical Support.
Some errors are the result of communication problems. In this case, reset
your printer and reboot your computer. If you change any of the online
configuration packets, resend the format packet to the printer, so the
configuration changes take effect.

If the PC and Printer Are Not Communicating

If your PC is having trouble communicating with your printer, follow these
steps:

♦ Check any messages that occur at the printer and at the computer. See
the following error message listing in this chapter for more information.
♦ Make sure you are using the correct printer cable.
♦ Make sure the cable is plugged into the correct port on the computer.
♦ Compare your printer’s communications settings (especially flow control)
with the settings on your PC. Your printer and PC communications
should match. Print a test label to identify the printer’s communication
settings.
♦ Make sure the printer is online (ready to receive data).

If all of the above are correct, reset your printer. Try the function again. If
you still can not establish communications, call Technical Support.

8-4 Diagnostics and Errors

C a l l i n g Te c h n i c a l S u p p o r t
Technical support representatives are available Monday through Friday
during regular business hours. Follow these steps before you call:
1. Make sure your PC and printer are properly connected.
2. Record any error messages that occurred.
3. Recreate the problem, if you can.
4. Check your port settings. Your problem may be corrected simply by
changing the communication settings.
5. List any changes that have recently been made to the system. Try to
record what you were doing when the problem occurred.
6. Reset your printer. For information on resetting your printer, see
"Resetting Printers."
7. Reboot your computer. Refer to your computer documentation for
specific instructions.
8. Print a test label, see “Printing a Test Label” for more information.

Have the following information ready before you call: computer brand name
and model, version of DOS, printer model, other peripheral devices on your
system, support agreement, contract number, or invoice information,
customer number, and printer serial number.

Additional Diagnostics Information

For detailed printer diagnostics information, refer to the Equipment Manual.
See Chapter 7, “Status Polling,” for information on requesting printer and
job status. See the following error message listing in this chapter for more
information.

Data Errors
Errors 001 to 499 are data errors. These errors are returned in response to
a J,3 request. See Chapter 7, “Status Polling,” for more information. A data
error indicates that incorrect data was received from the host, causing the
printer to ignore the entire print job. After checking the packet and
correcting the problem, transmit the print job again.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-5

The following is a list of data errors. These errors occur because data in
the format, batch, check digit, font, or graphic packet is invalid.

Format Errors
Error Description
Code

001 Packet ID number must be 1 to 999.

002 Name must be 1 to 8 characters (excluding non-printable control

characters) inside quotes.

003 Action must be A (add) or C (clear).

004 Supply length is invalid. See “Defining the Format Header” in

Chapter 3 for valid lengths.

005 Supply width is invalid. See “Defining the Format Header” in

Chapter 3 for valid widths.

006 Storage device must be F (Flash), M (Memory Card), R (volatile

RAM), or T (temporary for graphics). The 9416 memory card only
stores fonts. The 9416XL memory card stores formats, graphics,
and fonts.

007 Unit of measure must be E (English), M (Metric), or G (Dots). See

“Defining the Format Header” in Chapter 3 for more information.

010 Field ID number is outside the range 0 to 999.

011 Field length exceeds 2710.

012 Row field position is greater than the maximum stock dimension.
See “Defining Text Fields” in Chapter 3 for valid row lengths.

013 Column field position is greater than the maximum stock

dimension. See “Defining Text Fields” in Chapter 3 for valid
column widths.

014 Font style must be 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 15, 16, 17, 18, or 50.
See “Defining Text Fields” in Chapter 3 or Appendix B, “Fonts,” for
more information.

8-6 Diagnostics and Errors

015 Character rotation must be 0 (0 degree), 1 (90 degree),
2 (180 degree), or 3 (270 degree). See “Defining Text Fields” in
Chapter 3 for more information.

016 Field rotation must be 0 (0 degree), 1 (90 degree), 2 (180 degree),

or 3 (270 degree). See “Defining Text Fields” in Chapter 3 for
more information.

017 Field restriction must be V (variable) or F (fixed).

018 Code page/symbol set selection defined in the field must be 0

(Internal), 1 (ANSI), 102 (Unicode), 437 (DOS Page 437), 850
(DOS Page 850), 852 (Latin 2), 855 (Russian), 857 (Turkish), 860
(Portuguese), 1250 (Latin 2), 1251 (Cyrillic), 1252 (Latin 1), 1253
(Greek), 1254 (Turkish), 1255 (Hebrew), 1256 (Arabic), 1257
(Baltic), or 1258 (Vietnamese). See “Defining Text Fields” in
Chapter 3 for more information.

020 Vertical magnification must be 1 to 7 for standard printer fonts or

4 to 255 (point size) for the scalable or downloaded TrueType
fonts.

021 Horizontal magnification must be 1 to 7 or 4 to 255 (point size) for

the scalable or downloaded TrueType fonts.

022 Color must be A, B, D, E, F, N, O, R, S, T, or W. See “Defining

Text Fields” in Chapter 3 for more information.

023 Intercharacter gap must be 0 to 99 dots.

024 Field justification must be B (balanced), C (centered), E (end),

L (left), or R (right). See “Defining Text Fields” in Chapter 3 for
more information.

025 String length is outside the range 0 to 2710.

030 Bar code height must be at least 20 (English), 51 (Metric), 40 (203

Dots), 60 (300 dots), or is not within the supply dimensions.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-7

031 Human readable option must be
0 default
1 no CD or NS
5 NS at bottom, no CD
6 CD at bottom, no NS
7 CD and NS at bottom
8 no text

032 Bar code type is invalid. See “Defining Bar Code Fields” in
Chapter 3 for valid options.

033 Bar code density is invalid. See “Defining Bar Code Fields” in
Chapter 3 for the bar code density chart.

040 Line thickness must be 0 to 99 dots.

041 Line direction must be 0, 90, 180, or 270.

042 End row is invalid. Line segment or box end row is defined
outside of printable area.

043 End column is invalid. Line segment or box end column is defined
outside of printable area.

044 Dot pattern for line or box must be “”.

045 Line length is defined beyond the maximum length. See “Defining
Line Fields” in Chapter 3 for valid lengths.

046 Line type must be S (segment) or V (vector).

051 Imaging mode in the graphic header must be 0.

Batch Errors
Error Description
Code

101 The format referenced by batch is not in memory.

102 Print quantity is outside the range 0 to 32,000.

104 Batch mode must be N (new) or U (update).

8-8 Diagnostics and Errors

105 Batch separator in a batch control field must be 0 (Off).

106 Print multiple is outside the range 1 to 32,000.

107 Cut multiple is outside the range 0 to 999. Only valid for printers
with a knife.

108 Multiple part supply is outside the range 1 to 5.

109 Cut type is outside the range 0 to 5. Only valid for printers with a
knife.

Option Errors
Error Description
Code

200 Option number must be 1, 4, 30, 31, 42, 50, 51, 52, 60, or 61.

201 Copy length is outside the range 0 to 2710.

202 Copy start position must be 1 to 2710.

203 Destination start position must be 1 to 2710.

204 Source field must be 0 to 999.

205 Copy type must be 1 (copy after rules) or 2 (copy before rules).

206 Increment/Decrement selection must be I (increment) or

D (decrement).

207 Incrementing start position must be 0 to 2710.

208 Incrementing end position must be 0 to 2710.

209 The incrementing amount must be 0 to 999.

210 Security value for a PDF-417 bar code must be 0 to 8. Correct

the value and resend the format to the printer.

211 Narrow element value is less than 1 or greater than 99. Correct
the value and resend the format to the printer.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-9

212 Wide element value is less than 1 or greater than 99. Correct the
value and resend the format to the printer.

213 Dimension must be 1 to 30 for a column or 3 to 90 for a row on a

PDF417 bar code.

214 Truncation code must be S (standard) or T (truncated bar code).

215 Aspect code must be C (columns) or R (rows).

216 Option definition must be S (set) or T (template).

217 Input device must be D (Default), H (Host), K (Keyboard), N

(None), or S (Scanner).

218 Pad direction must be L (from left) or R (from right).

219 Pad character is outside the range 0 to 255.

220 Check digit selection must be G to generate check digit.

221 Primary or secondary price format is outside the range 1 to 16.

222 Data type restriction is outside the range of 1 to 6.

223 Option is not valid for the field.

224 Bar code intercharacter gap must be 0 to 99 dots. (This is also

known as the additional character gap when using Option 50,
Defining Bar Code Densities.)

Online Configuration Errors

Error Description
Code

251 Power up mode must be 0 (online).

252 Language selection must be 0 (English).

253 Batch separator must be 0 (off).

254 Slash zero selection must be 0 (standard zero).

8-10 Diagnostics and Errors

255 Supply type must be 0 (black mark), 1 (die cut), or 2
(continuous/non-indexed).

256 Ribbon selection must be 0 (thermal direct) or 1 (thermal

transfer).

257 Feed mode must be 0 (continuous) or 1 (on-demand).

258 Supply position must be -300 to 300 dots.

259 Contrast adjustment must be -390 to 156 dots.

260 Print adjustment (position) must be -99 to 99 dots.

261 Margin adjustment (position) must be -99 to 99 dots.

262 Speed adjustment must be 0 (default), 20 (2.0 ips), 30 (3.0 ips),

40 (4.0 ips), or 50 (5.0 ips).

263 Primary monetary symbol must be 0 (None), 1 (Dollar), 2 (Pound),

3 (Yen), 4 (Deutsche Mark), 5 (Franc), 6 (Peseta), 7 (Lira), 8
(Krona), 9 (Markka), 10 (Schilling), 11 (Rupee), 12 (Ruble), 13
(Won), 14 (Baht), 15 (Yuan), or 16 (Eurodollar).

264 Secondary symbol selection must be 0 (none) or 1 (print

secondary sign).

265 Monetary decimal places must be 0 to 3.

266 Character string length in the control characters packet must be 5

(MPCL control characters) or 7 (ENQ/IMD command character).

267 Baud rate selection must be 0 (1200), 1 (2400), 2 (4800), 3

(9600), 4 (19200), or 5 (38400). Resend the communication
settings packet.

268 Word length selection must be 0 (7 bits), or 1 (8 bits). Resend the

communication settings packet.

269 Stop bits selection must be 0 (1 bit), or 1 (2 bits). Resend the

communication settings packet.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-11

270 Parity selection must be 0 (none), 1 (odd), or 2 (even). Resend
the communication settings packet.

271 Flow control selection must be 0 (none), 1 (DTR), 2 (CTS/RTS), or

3 (XON/XOFF). Resend the communication settings packet.

272 Symbol set (code page) in the System Setup packet must be
0 (Internal), 1 (ANSI), 2 (DOS 437), 3 (DOS 850), 4 (1250- Latin
2), 5 (1251- Cyrillic), 6 (1252- Latin 1), 7 (1253- Greek), 8 (1254-
Turkish), 9 (1255- Hebrew), 10 (1256- Arabic), 11 (1257- Baltic),
12 (1258- Vietnamese), 13 (852- Latin 2), 14 (855- Russian), 15
(857- IBM Turkish), 16 (860- DOS Portuguese), or 19 (Unicode).

282 RS232 Trailer string is too long. Use a maximum of 3 characters.

283 ENQ Trailer string is too long. Use a maximum of 3 characters.

284 The buffer type must be D (Downloadable Fonts), F (Format), I

(Image), R (Receive), T (Transmit), or V (Scalable Fonts).

285 The storage device type in the memory configuration packet must
be R (volatile RAM).

286 The buffer size is invalid.

287 The printhead width must be 0.

290 Action must be 0 (disable) or 1 (enable) for the backfeed control

packet or the printer is active.

291 Dispense position must be 0, or the printer is active.

292 Backfeed distance must be 0 or the printer is active. The

backfeed distance can not be greater than the dispense position.

8-12 Diagnostics and Errors

Check Digit Errors
Error Description
Code

310 Check digit scheme number must be 1 to 10.

311 Modulus must be 2 to11.

314 Check digit algorithm must be D (sum of digits) or P (sum of

products).

Graphic Errors
Error Description
Code

325 Duplicating direction must be 0 (insert after) or 1 (insert before) in

duplicate fields for graphics.

327 Amount of row adjustment must be 0 to 999 dots in duplicate

fields for graphics.

328 Duplicate count must be 0 to 999.

340 Bitmap line encoding must be H (hex) or R (run length).

350 Font selector must be 1 to 9999.

351 Font data length must be 68 to 16384.

352 Insufficient font memory is available for the downloaded font.

380 Job request is outside the range 0 to 4.

400 The character immediately following { is invalid.

402 Field separator is not in the expected location.

403 Field separator was not found.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-13

404 The number (greater than five digits/732,000), string (greater than
2710), or tilde sequence (greater than 255) currently being
processed is out of range.

405 Too many fields exist in the format. You cannot have more than
200 fields in the format. Lines, boxes, and constant text fields
count as fields.

406 Parser error. Format or graphic is already in use. Make sure your
packet not missing p or {} characters.

Communication Errors
Error Description
Code

409 The printer memory is full. Delete unnecessary formats or

graphics from memory. If you are using a graphic file that is very
large, consider using another mapping method (such as run length
encoding) to reduce the required memory.

410 Parity on the printer does not match the parity on the host. Check
the parity setting under SETUP options.

411 Framing error. The printer cannot communicate with the host.
Make sure the host is turned on, communication cables are
connected correctly, port settings are correct, and
communications are active. Check the baud rate, word length,
and stop bits to make sure they match those at the host. Do not
toggle between Microsoft Windows and MS-DOS while using
the COPY command, or you will receive a framing error. Exit
Windows before using the COPY command. Re-transmit the
data.

412 There is a problem with flow control between the printer and the
host. Make sure the printer and the host flow control settings
match (both are DTR or both are XON/XOFF). If the error
persists, call Technical Support.

413 Online receive buffer is full. Check your printer’s XON/XOFF or

DTR SETUP values to be sure there is not a flow control problem.

8-14 Diagnostics and Errors

414 The internal keyboard buffer is full or you need a new keypad.
Call Technical Support.

415 The buffer size you defined exceeds the total available in your
machine.

420 Internal software list error. Call Technical Support.

421 Internal software list error. Call Technical Support.

422 Duplicate internal name. Call Technical Support.

423 Internal software error. Call Technical Support.

424 Internal software list error. Call Technical Support.

425 Internal software list error. Call Technical Support.

426 Internal software list error. Call Technical Support.

427 Format name is invalid. Valid name is 1 to 8 characters inside

quotes or "" for a printer-assigned name. Press the FEED button
and try to continue. If the error reappears, call Technical Support.

428 Batch name is invalid or graphic not found. Press the FEED
button and try to continue. If the error reappears, call Technical
Support.

429 A field number appears more than once in a format.

433 The batch references a field number that does not exist in the
format.

497 An error occurred during the loop back test on the parallel port.
Call Service. Only valid for printers with a parallel port.

499 An error occurred during the loop back test on the serial port.
Call Service.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-15

Data Formatting Failures
Formatting errors indicate that a field will print incorrectly. After you have
checked the data stream and corrected the data, retransmit the format and
batch.
Note: For errors 571-622, the batch still prints, but the field, font, bar
code, or density may be incomplete, missing or contain incorrect
data.

Error Description
Code

571 UPC or EAN bar code data length is invalid. The bar code data
length in the batch does not fit the format.

572 A copy field, padded field, or incrementing field length is invalid.

The field length in the batch does not fit the format or the field
contains blanks. Or, the fixed length field does not contain the
specified number of characters.

573 Price field length is invalid. The price field length in the batch
does not fit the format or the field contains blanks.

574 No CD scheme or room for CD. The CD scheme in the batch does
not fit the format or the field contains blanks.

575 The graphic included in your format could not be found. Resend
the graphic packet. If the error persists, call Technical Support.

600 The printer could not image the batch, because the batch was
refused. Call Technical Support.

601 An error occurred while the batch was imaging. Resend the
format, batch, font, and/or any graphic packets. If the error
persists, call Technical Support.

603 The batch was not found while imaging. Resend the batch packet.
If the error persists, call Technical Support.

611 Font, bar code or density is invalid. The font, bar code or density
in the batch does not fit the format.

8-16 Diagnostics and Errors

612 The data in this line of the batch is either missing or does not
match the format.

613 Reference point off tag.

614 Portion of field off tag. There may be an invalid character in the
packet. Make sure you did not enter O for Ø.

615 Bar code width is greater than 16 inches or the number of

keywords for your PDF 417 bar code exceeds 928. Decrease the
density or shorten the amount of data to print the bar code.

616 A bad dot falls on a bar code and the dot cannot be shifted. A
gray box is printed instead of the bar code.

618 Magnification must be 1 to 7 for standard printer fonts or 4 to 255

(point size) for the scalable or downloaded TrueType fonts.

619 The JIS (16-bit) code for Kanji is invalid.

620 Font and printhead dot density mismatch. A 300 dpi font is
specified in the format, but a 203 dpi printhead is used in the
printer or vice-versa. Check the font or change the printhead to
correct the error.

621 An error occurred opening the TrueType font file. Select a

different font to download. If the error message persists, call
Technical Support.

622 Not enough memory to create the downloaded TrueType

characters in the scalable (vector) fonts buffer. Reconfigure the
printer’s memory and increase the scalable (vector) fonts buffer.
Resend the font, format, and batch packet after reconfiguring the
memory. If the error message persists, call Technical Support.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-17

Machine Faults
These errors occur when there is a problem with the printer.
Error Description
Code

703 The printer sensed a calibration of different-sized black marks.

Make sure the correct supply is loaded.

704 Printer has not sensed a supply mark within the specified number
of inches or out of supplies.
Check the

♦ supply tracking
♦ supply marks
♦ black mark sensor position
♦ supply roll for binding.

If the error continues to appear, change the supply.

710 Band out of data. Call Technical Support.

711 UART receiving communication error (framing, parity, etc.). Call

Technical Support.

712 Receiving failure or command overrun error. Call Technical

Support.

713 Receiving failure or illegal command. Call Technical Support.

714 Receiving failure or undefined command. Call Technical Support.

730 A memory allocation error occurred during initialization.

750 Printhead is overheated. Turn off the printer to let the printhead
cool. If the error persists, call Technical Support.

8-18 Diagnostics and Errors

751 Printer did not sense a black mark when expected. The supply
may be jammed. For errors 751-753, check the

♦ supply tracking
♦ supply marks
♦ black mark sensor position
♦ supply roll for binding.

If the error continues to appear, change the supply

752 Printer sensed a mark in the wrong place.

753 Printer sensed a mark that is too long.

754 Printer has a ribbon problem. Check the ribbon for a jam or
remove any slack by turning the take-up reel clockwise. Load a
new ribbon.

755 Printhead is open. Close the printhead before continuing. If the

error persists, call Technical Support.

756 The printer is out of supplies. Load supplies.

757 Load supplies. The calibrated supply length differs by plus or

minus .25 inches from the format. Press the FEED button to print
on the current supply or load new supply.

758 Check supply. Either the supply is not seen, or the on-demand
sensor is broken (purchase optional). Check for a label jam.
Clear the supply path or reload supplies. This error may occur if
you remove a label too quickly in on-demand mode. The printer
does not recalibrate after this error.

762 Low battery. Recharge the battery.

763 Waiting to dispense label. Press the FEED button.

766 Backfeed error. There is a problem with the backfeed or overfeed

distance.

767 Incorrect AD value. Call Technical Support.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-19

768 Printhead has more than 10 bad dots within the format area or is
not connected. Make sure the printhead is connected.

769 The printhead is not receiving enough volts. Call Technical

Support.

770 The print motor is not ready. Call Technical Support.

771 The format specified by the application was not found. Reload
your application and format, and try again. If the problem
continues, call Technical Support.

781 The voltage is too low. Call Technical Support.

782 The voltage is too high. Call Technical Support.

790 The printer is busy. Wait until the printer is idle (no batch waiting
to print or not receiving data) before you send any packets. This
error may occur when you try to print a test label if the printer is
busy. Turn off the printer. Wait two seconds and turn it back on.
Resend the packets. If the problem continues, call Technical
Support.

791 The printer has an error pending. Turn off the printer. Wait 15
seconds and turn it back on. Resend the packets. If the problem
continues, call Technical Support.

792 The printer is not initialized. Call Technical Support.

793 The printer job queue is full. Turn off the printer. Wait 15
seconds and turn it back on. Resend the packets. If the problem
continues, call Technical Support.

794 The backfeed mode is not set.

795 Print engine lock-up. Call Technical Support.

8-20 Diagnostics and Errors

Hard Printer Failure Errors
These errors are hard printer failures. Call Technical Support if you receive
these messages.
Error Description
Code

900 RAM test failure.

901 ROM/EPROM checksum failure.

902 Software timer failure.

903 Software interrupt failure.

904 No memory for native layer.

905 Illegal interrupt.

906 Non-maskable interrupt. Check format packet for font clear or

format clear packets.

907 Low RAM error.

908 Non Volatile RAM checksum failure.

909 RAM corrupted.

910 Warm restart.

911 Version string mismatch.

Diagnostics and Errors 8-21

8-22 Diagnostics and Errors
P R I N T E R O P T I M I Z AT I O N 9
This chapter provides information on how to improve your printer’s
performance by
♦ adjusting the print quality
♦ reducing the imaging time for printing
♦ providing general tips and hints for designing formats.

This printer uses “smart imaging” to image and print fields on

supplies. Smart imaging remembers the exact boundaries and
locations of each field and places a boundary box (white space)
around each field. When a field changes that particular boundary
box is cleared and the new field data is imaged. However, the new
field data may require a larger boundary box than the previous
field did. In some cases, neighboring fields that do not change
may be covered with white space from the changing field’s
boundary box. To prevent existing fields from being covered by a
changing field, see “Option 61 (Reimage Field)” in Chapter 4.

Printer Optimization 9-1

Adjusting the Print Quality
Many factors affect print quality: type of supplies, print speed, print
contrast, and the type of printer’s application. This printer supports both
thermal transfer and thermal direct supplies. The type of supply should
match the printer’s application.

♦ If you want to print at high speeds, you should use premium supplies.
Using premium supplies reduces smudged images, hard to read labels,
and faded print. Supply type, print speed, and print contrast work
together to improve the print quality of labels. Contact your Sales
Representative for more information.
♦ Select the print speed based on desired throughput and print quality. If
print quality is more important, reduce the print speed, because a lower
print speed increases the print quality of labels. If throughput is more
important, increase the print speed to give you the needed print
performance. See “Increasing Throughput” for more information.
♦ If the print quality is too light or too dark, adjust the print contrast. The
correct contrast setting is important because it effects how well your bar
codes scan and how long the printhead lasts.

Be sure to check the print quality of bar codes with a bar code verifier or
scanner. If you do not have a verifier or scanner, check the bar code
visually. A bar code that is IN SPEC has complete bars and clear
spaces. Small alphanumeric characters look complete. A bar code that
is IN SPEC may not look as good as one that is too dark, but it does
have the highest scan rate.

Note: For highest scan rates, make sure there is adequate white space
before and after the bar code. Also, a darker bar code does not
mean it will scan better.

Dark IN SPEC Light

9-2 Printer Optimization

Reducing Imaging Time
Imaging time is the time it takes the printer to image the data for the first
label after the printer receives the format and batch packet. There are
several ways to reduce the imaging time: send formats and configurations
once, use a batch quantity of zero, or update batch fields.

♦ If the formats use the same check digit scheme, you only need to send
the check digit scheme once.
♦ Send formats once and use the batch update field to change information
on the label. Using a batch update field reduces the imaging time,
because only the fields that change are imaged. All other fields remain
the same as the last queued batch.
♦ Use the batch quantity zero method when your application requires
operator intervention to enter data. While the operator is entering data,
the previous field is sent with a batch quantity of zero. The printer
images the field, but does not print it. After the operator enters the data
for the last field, the batch quantity can be specified. The last remaining
field is imaged, and the label prints almost immediately.

To pre-image a label:

1. Send the format and a batch header in one file. The first time you send
the batch header, use the parameter N (new batch), and the parameter
0 for (zero quantity).

Example {B,1,N,0 p }

The printer images constant text, line, box, and graphic fields, but does
not print them.

2. Input data for each field, and send it with a batch header using the
parameter U (update) and a quantity of zero. When the printer receives
the data, it immediately images the field, but does not print it.

Example {B,1,U,0 p
1,"RODGER DIST CTR" p }
{B,1,U,0 p
2,"8292" p }

At this time, the printer is imaging all associated fields, including fields
that copy from other fields.

Printer Optimization 9-3

3. Repeat step 2 for each field except the last one.
{B,1,U,0 p
3,"BROADWAY" p }
{B,1,U,0 p
4,"555 WEST OAK AVE." p }

4. For the last field, input data and send it with the quantity of labels you
want printed. When the printer receives input for the last field, it
immediately prints the labels.

Example {B,1,U,10 p
5,"DAYTON, OHIO" p }

Increasing Throughput
Reducing the imaging time increases throughput. You can also increase the
baud rate to increase the transmission time and increase throughput. Make
sure the communication settings at the printer match those at the host.
Using a baud rate of 19200 is almost twice as fast as 9600 baud. Using a
baud rate of 38400 is almost twice as fast as 19200 baud.

General Format Tips and Hints

The following tips and hints are helpful to keep in mind when designing
MPCLII formats.
With Packets

♦ Leave parameters blank that you do not need to change when sending
online configuration packets. For example, {I,A,,,,1 p } prints a
slashed zero and uses the last sent online system setup parameters.

You can group fields with similar parameters. For example

T,1,10,V,250,50,1,1,1,1,B,C,0,0 p
T,2,15,,,75 p
T,3,,,,100 p

The first text field sets all the parameters for that field. The second text
field’s number of characters and column location changes from what was
defined in the first field. In the third text field, only the column location is
changed. This method can be used on bar code and constant text fields as
well.

9-4 Printer Optimization

Note: You should understand the basics of each field before using this
method.

After you modify any fields or parameters with the optional entry method,
resend the format, batch, or configuration packet to the printer.
With Bar Codes

♦ Be careful when rotating or placing a UPC/EAN bar code with human

readable characters, because the bottom reference point is at the bottom
of the bars, not at the bottom of the human readable characters.
With Fields

♦ Data that remains the same for each label should be in a constant text
field. Data that varies for each label should be in a text field.
♦ Check for trailing spaces in text or constant text fields if you receive a
“field off tag” error. An easy way to see trailing spaces is to print the
field in the reverse font.
♦ Make sure if you magnify a field, it does not go off the label or cover
another field. Magnifying a field increases the distance between the
printed character and the edge of the cell.

Printer Optimization 9-5

9-6 Printer Optimization
SAMPLES A
This appendix contains sample formats. You can customize any of
these formats to meet your needs.

Samples A-1
Sample UPCA Format Packet
{F,25,A,R,E,200,200,"Fmt 25" p
C,140,40,0,1,2,1,W,C,0,0,"SAMPLE FORMAT" p
B,1,12,F,85,40,1,2,40,5,L,0 p
T,2,18,V,50,50,1,3,1,1,B,L,0,0 p }

Sample Batch Packet

{B,25,N,1 p
1,"02802811111" p
2,"TEXT FIELD" p }

A-2 Samples
Sample MaxiCode Packets
MaxiCode is a two-dimensional bar code developed by UPS (United Parcel
Service, Inc.). Data must be defined in a specific way for UPS. Refer to the
Guide to Bar Coding with UPS or the AIM MaxiCode Specification for more
details about data requirements.
The printer supports modes 0, 1, 2, and 3. Contact us for information about
additional MaxiCode modes.

Mode Description

0 Obsolete
1 Obsolete
2 Structured Message
3 Structured Message

You can select which mode to use in the bar code field or allow the printer
to auto-select the mode (0, 2, or 3) based on your data. See “Defining a
Bar Code Field” for more information. MaxiCode automatically pads data
with the “!” character.
Note: MaxiCode does not support the NULL character.

Modes 2 and 3 are defined by the way the postal code, class of service, and
country code fields are arranged. (The postal code, class of service, and
country code are required fields.) Begin with the message header, then the
primary data (15 characters), followed by the secondary message (up to 78
characters). Or, begin with the primary data, then the message header,
followed by the secondary data. If the postal code data characters are all
numeric then the MaxiCode symbol is set to Mode 2. If the characters are
alphanumeric, or only contain ASCII characters 65 to 90, then the MaxiCode
symbol is set to Mode 3.
If you receive an error 612, check your MaxiCode data. You may have not
correctly structured or left out one of the three required fields (postal code,
class of service, and country code) or the “~029" character.

Samples A-3
Mode 0 (Obsolete) Sample
{F,1,A,R,E,0200,0200,"MAXICODE" p
B,1,93,V,020,20,33,7,0,8,L,0 p } MaxiCode bar code (33)
{B,1,N,1 p Batch header
1,"450660000" p Postal code- zip code
(This field determines Mode)
C,"001" p Country code
C,"840" p Class of service
C,"[)~030" p Message header
C,"01~02996" p Transportation header
C,"1Z12345678~029" p Tracking number
C,"UPSN~029" p Origin carrier SCAC
C,"12345A~029" p UPS shipper number
C,"070~029" p Julian day of pickup
C,"~029" p Shipment ID (empty)
C,"1/1~029" p Package count
C,"15~029" p Weight (lb.)
C,"Y~029" p Address validation
C,"60 SADDLEBROOK CT.~029" p Street address (empty)
C,"DAYTON~029" p City (empty)
C,"OH~030" p State
C,"~004" p } EOT

A-4 Samples
Mode 2 Sample
{F,1,A,R,E,200,200,"MAXI_M2" p
B,1,93,V,020,020,33,7,0,8,L,0 p } MaxiCode bar code (33)
{B,1,N,1 p
1,"[)>~030" p Message header
C,"01~02996" p Transportation header
C,"068100000~029" p Postal Code
(This field determines Mode)
C,"840~029" p Country code
C,"001~029" p Class of service
C,"1Z12345675~029" p Tracking number
C,"UPSN~029" p Origin carrier SCAC
C,"12345E~029" p UPS shipper number
C,"089~029" p Julian day of pickup
C,"~029" p Shipment ID (empty)
C,"1/1~029" p Package count
C,"10~029" p Weight (lb.)
C,"Y~029" p Address validation
C,"~029" p Street address (empty)
C,"~029" p City (empty)
C,"CT~030" p State
C,"~004" p } EOT

Samples A-5
Mode 3 Sample
{F,1,A,R,E,200,200,"MAXI_M3" p
B,1,93,V,020,020,33,7,0,8,L,0 p } MaxiCode bar code (33)
{B,1,N,1 p
1,"[)>~030" p Message header
C,"01~02996" p Transportation header
C,"M5E1G45~029" p Postal Code
(This field determines Mode)
C,"124~029" p Country code
C,"066~029" p Class of service
C,"1Z12345679~029" p Tracking number
C,"UPSN~029" p Origin carrier SCAC
C,"12345E~029" p UPS shipper number
C,"089~029" p Julian day of pickup
C,"~029" p Shipment ID (empty)
C,"1/1~029" p Package count
C,"10~029" p Weight (lb.)
C,"Y~029" p Address validation
C,"~029" p Street address (empty)
C,"TORONTO~029" p City (empty)
C,"ON~030" p State
C,"~004" p } EOT

A-6 Samples
Sample Quick Response Packets
Quick Response (QR Code) is a two-dimensional bar code, which is made
up of square modules arranged in an overall square pattern. A unique
finder pattern is located at three corners of the symbol. Four levels of error
correction are available, along with a wide range of symbol sizes.

♦ Model 1 is the original specification.

♦ Model 2 is an enhanced form that includes additional features.

The maximum number of characters depends on the type of characters

entered for the batch data and differs for the two models of QR Code.

Data Type Model1 Model2

Numeric data 1167 2710

Alphanumeric data 707 2710

8-Bit data 486 2710

Kanji data 299 1817

QR Code can accommodate Japanese Kana and Kanji characters and has a
variety of applications, including marking spark plugs, radiators, printed
circuit boards, and test tubes. Refer to the AIM International Symbology
Specification for more details about data requirements.

Entering Batch Data for QR Code

QR Code requires certain parameters at the beginning of all batch data.
Syntax "error_cor mask# data_input, char"

error_cor Level of error correction. Some damaged bar codes may still be scannable
if the error correction is high enough. Options:
H Ultra high reliability level
Q High reliability level
M Standard level
L High density level

Note: As you increase the error correction level, the maximum number of
characters (in the field) decreases.

Samples A-7
mask# Mask number. Undefined. Leave blank or use 0.

data_input Type of data input. Options:

A Automatic
M Manual

char Type of characters. Options:

A Alphanumeric
B Binary
K Kanji
N Numeric

Note: In binary mode, the number of characters must be represented by

the 4-digit number in decimal.

Example 1,"HM,N0123456789012345" p }

Defines the following batch data for the QR Code: The error correction level
is H, which provides very high reliability. Leave the mask number blank.
The data input mode is Manual. The type of characters are Numeric and the
data is 0123456789012345.

QR Code Packet
{F,1,A,R,E,200,200,"QRCODE" p
B,1,200,V,50,50,36,0,100,2,B,0 p
{B,1,N,1 p
1,"HM,N0123456789012345" p }

A-8 Samples
Structured Append Mode
QR Code offers a mode called structured append (or concatenated) that
allows you to collect data from multiple QR Code symbols and use that data
elsewhere. For example, the components of a sub-assembly can have
individual QR Codes and the QR Code for the entire assembly contains all
the data from the individual codes. This mode also requires certain
parameters at the beginning of all batch data.
Syntax "mode_id code# #of_div parity, error_cor mask#
data_input char"

mode_id Mode identifier. Use D to indicate the structured append (or concatenated)
mode.

code# Code number of the individual symbol in the concatenated set. You must
use a two-digit number in decimal.

#of_div Total number of symbols in this concatenated set. You must use a two-digit
number in decimal.

parity Parity byte. You must use a two-digit number in hexadecimal. There is no
standard parity byte.

error_cor Level of error correction. Some damaged bar codes may still be scannable
if the error correction is high enough. Options:
H Ultra high reliability level
Q High reliability level
M Standard level
L High density level

Note: As you increase the error correction level, the maximum number of
characters (in the field) decreases.

mask# Mask number. Undefined. Leave blank or use 0.

data_input Type of data input. Options:

A Automatic
M Manual

char Type of characters. Options:

A Alphanumeric
B Binary
K Kanji
N Numeric

Note: In binary mode, the number of characters must be represented by

the 4-digit number in decimal.

Samples A-9
Example 1,"D0205E9,Q0A," p
C,"B006qrcode," p }

Defines the structured append mode (D) for QR Code. This is symbol (02)
of a concatenated set containing (05) symbols. The parity byte is E9. The
error correction level is Q, which provides a high reliability. Use 0 for the
mask number. The data input mode is Automatic. The type of characters
are binary (B) and there will be six (06) data characters (qrcode).

Structured Append QR Code Packet

{F,2,A,R,E,200,200,"QRCODE2" p
B,1,200,V,50,50,36,0,100,2,B,0 p }
{B,2,N,1 p
1,"D0202E9,Q0A" p
C,"0123456789ABCD+__âôû~129~064~159~252~224~064" p }

A-10 Samples
H a n g Ta g E x a m p l e
{F,1,A,R,E,275,125,"1TAG01"p
C,228,20,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"0047896320",1p
C,203,20,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"045",1p
C,203,55,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"12",1p
C,203,85,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"099",1p
C,178,20,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"00654113",1p
C,178,85,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"1158",1p
C,54,37,0,50,14,14,A,L,0,0,"$49.99",1p}

Sample Batch Packet

{B,1,N,1p}

Ta g E x a m p l e
{F,1,A,R,E,200,150,"1LAB1520"p
C,44,40,0,50,9,9,A,L,0,0,"PEANUTS",1p
B,1,12,F,125,25,1,2,50,7,L,0p
R,1,"028400067362"p
C,20,34,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"*SALT FREE*",1p
C,84,45,0,50,14,14,A,L,0,0,"$1.19",1p}

Sample Batch Packet

{B,1,N,1p}

Samples A-11
Label Example
{F,1,A,R,E,300,150,"1LAB1530"p
C,100,90,0,50,10,10,A,L,0,1,"BATTERY PACK",1p
C,20,130,0,50,10,10,A,L,0,1,"1452-99311",1p
C,230,128,0,50,12,10,A,L,0,1,"$5.99",1p
B,1,9,F,75,55,4,7,40,8,L,1p
R,5,Np
R,1,"031535512"p
T,2,9,V,125,67,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,1,1p
R,4,1,1,9,1,1p}

Sample Batch Packet

{B,1,N,1p
1,"AAAAAAAAA"p
2,"KKKKKKKKK"p}

Receipt Format Example

{F,1,A,R,E,300,175,"1Garage"p
C,277,15,0,50,10,18,A,L,0,0,"KRAMER’S",1p
C,223,4,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"Can Opener",1p
C,202,4,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"Travel Iron",1p
C,179,4,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"Total",1p
C,163,81,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"Tax",1p
C,140,32,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"TOTAL SALE",1p
C,86,47,0,50,9,9,A,L,0,0,"* * P A I D * *",1p
C,60,45,0,50,9,9,A,L,0,0,"THANK YOU!",1p
C,256,35,0,50,10,10,A,L,0,0,"GARAGE SALE",1p
C,223,122,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"$2.50",1p
C,202,122,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"$1.50",1p
C,182,122,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"$4.00",1p
C,163,122,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"$0.26",1p
C,140,123,0,50,8,8,A,L,0,0,"$4.26",1p}

Sample Batch Packet

{B,1,N,1p}

A-12 Samples
Label Sample 2
{F,1,A,R,E,110,200,"1LAB2011"p
C,92,70,0,50,7,7,A,L,0,0,"PRETZELS",1p
B,1,12,F,45,50,1,2,40,7,L,0p
R,1,"028400067362"p
C,18,105,0,50,10,10,A,L,0,0,"$.79",1p}

Sample Batch Packet

{B,1,N,1p}

Label Sample 3
{F,1,A,R,E,400,200,"1LAB2040"p
C,150,21,0,50,14,12,A,L,0,1,"BATTERY PACK",1p
C,150,46,0,50,14,12,A,L,0,1,"WAREHOUSE 12",1p
C,285,70,0,50,10,10,A,L,0,1,"07/14/00",1p
C,110,70,0,50,10,10,A,L,0,1,"4425",1p
B,1,13,F,95,165,8,6,90,8,L,1p
R,5,Np
R,1,"0315355110299"p
T,2,13,V,214,176,0,50,7,9,A,L,0,1,1p
R,4,1,1,13,1,1p}

Sample Batch Packet

{B,1,N,1p
1,"AAAAAAAAAAAAA"p
2,"KKKKKKKKKKKKK"p}

Samples A-13
A-14 Samples
FONTS B
Our printers support two types of fonts: Bitmapped (traditional
printer fonts such as Standard and Reduced) and
Scalable/TrueType® (Font 50). This appendix gives a brief
overview of each type of font and how your printer interprets fonts.
It also shows examples of the fonts loaded in your printer.

Number Font Size and Appearance Type of # of Dots Between

Spacing Characters

1 Standard monospaced 3 (203 dpi) 5 (300 dpi)

2 Reduced monospaced 1 (203 dpi) 2 (300 dpi)
3 Bold monospaced 3 (203 dpi) 5 (300 dpi)
4 OCRA-like monospaced 3 (203 dpi) 5 (300 dpi)
5 HR1 - only for numeric data monospaced 2 (203 dpi) 3 (300 dpi)
6 HR2 - only for numeric data monospaced 1 (203 dpi) 2 (300 dpi)
CG Triumvirate™ Typeface Bold
10 proportional varies w/ each letter
(9 pt. at 203 dpi or 8 pt. at 300 dpi)
11 6 pt. CG Triumvirate™ Typeface proportional varies w/ each letter
15* 7 pt. CG Triumvirate™ Typeface proportional varies w/ each letter
16* 9 pt. CG Triumvirate™ Typeface proportional varies w/ each letter
17* 11 pt. CG Triumvirate™ Typeface proportional varies w/ each letter
18* 15 pt. CG Triumvirate™ Typeface proportional varies w/ each letter
50 EFF Swiss Bold (TrueType®) scalable varies w/each letter

* Fonts 15 through 18 are only for 300 dpi and do not support Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850.

Fonts B-1
These samples were printed using the Internal Symbol set.

Standard Font Reduced Font Bold Font

EFF Swiss Bold Font

OCRA-like Font

B-2 Fonts
These samples were printed using Code Page 437.

CG Triumvirate™ Typeface Bold CG Triumvirate™ Typeface

Fonts B-3
Bitmap Font Information
Our bitmap fonts are either monospaced (each character occupies the same
amount of space) or proportional (each character is a different width). Use
monospaced fonts for price fields and data you want to list in a column.
With proportionally spaced fonts, you may be able to place more characters
on a line. However, you may need to experiment with these fonts and adjust
field measurements in your format. The bitmapped fonts (either
monospaced or proportional) appear jagged when magnified.
The magnification range is 1 to 7.
Use the MONARCH® MPCL™ Toolbox (Soft Font Utility), available on our
Web site, to convert a bitmap font to Hex or Run-Length encoding for the
printer. Select the point size and characters to print. Bitmap fonts may
image faster than a TrueType font, but you are limited to the point size and
characters you downloaded.

Monospaced Font Magnification

Monospaced characters occupy the same amount of space within a
magnification. Use monospaced fonts for price fields and data you want to
list in a column. Decide how wide and tall you want the characters to
appear on the labels. The following two tables show the width and height of
each of the monospaced fonts after magnification.
This table includes the default (3 dots for Standard, 1 dot for Reduced, 3
dots for Bold) spacing.

Width Mag. Standard Reduced Bold

Units Character Character Character
Width Sample Width Sample Width Sample
1x 1/100 in. 8.37 3.9 13.3
1/10 mm 21.26 9.9 33.78
Dots 17 8 27
7x 1/100 in. 49.75 24.63 84.24
1/10 mm 126.37 62.56 214
Dots 101 50 171

Only the 1x width can be scanned with the OCRA-like font. Using a
printhead with 203 dpi, the character widths are as follows: 7.9
(English), 20.1 (Metric), and 16 (Dots).
To calculate other font widths, multiply the font dots (14 dots for Standard, 7
dots for Reduced, 24 dots for Bold) by the magnification and add the default
spacing (3 dots for Standard, 1 dot for Reduced, 3 dots for Bold) between
characters.

B-4 Fonts
Example

14 (Standard font dots) x 5 (magnification) = 70 + 3 (default spacing

between characters). There are 73 dots in the Standard font at 5x.

Standard 1x 7x

1/100 in. 10.8 75.9

1/10 mm 27.4 192.8

dots 22 154

Reduced

1/100 in. 6.9 48.28

1/10 mm 17.5 122.6

dots 14 98

Bold
1/100 in. 16.7 117.24
1/10 mm 42.4 297.8
dots 34 238

OCRA-like (1x only)

1/100 in. 11.8

1/10 mm 30

dots 24

Fonts B-5
Proportional Font Magnification
Each character in a proportionally spaced font is a different height and
width. You may be able to place more characters on a line using
proportionally spaced fonts. You may want to experiment with these fonts
and adjust field measurements in your format as needed. The bitmapped
fonts (either monospaced or proportional) appear jagged when magnified.
The magnification range is 1 to 7. The following tables provide height and
width magnification of sample characters.

C G Tr i u m v i r a t e ™ Ty p e f a c e B o l d ( 9 p t . )

Width Mag. Minimum Average Maximum

1x 1/100 in. 1.48 6.4 10.8

1/10 mm 3.76 16.26 27.4

Dots 3 13 22
7x 1/100 in. 10.3 44.8 75.9

1/10 mm 26.2 114 192.8

Dots 21 91 154

To calculate other font widths, multiply the font dots (3 dots for Minimum, 13
dots for Average, 22 dots for Maximum) by the magnification.
Example

13 (Average font dots) x 5 (magnification) = 65 dots in an average letter of

the CG Triumvirate™ Typeface Bold at 5x.
Height Magnification

CG Triumvirate 1x 7x
Typeface Bold

1/100 in. 8.87 56

1/10 mm 22.5 158

dots 18 126

B-6 Fonts
C G Tr i u m v i r a t e  Ty p e f a c e ( 6 p t . )

Width Mag. Minimum Average Maximum

1x 1/100 in. .99 2.96 5.9

1/10 mm 2.51 7.52 15

Dots 2 6 12
7x 1/100 in. 6.9 20.7 41.4

1/10 mm 17.5 52.6 105.2

Dots 14 42 84

Height Magnification

CG Triumvirate Typeface 1x 7x

1/100 in. 5.9 41.38

1/10 mm 14.99 105.1

dots 12 84

Fonts B-7
C G Tr i u m v i r a t e  Ty p e f a c e ( 7 p t . ) 3 0 0 D P I
This font does not support Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850.

Width Mag. Minimum Average Maximum

1x 1/100 in. 1 3 7.3

1/10 mm 2.54 7.62 18.6

Dots 3 9 22
7x 1/100 in. 9 21 51.3

1/10 mm 22.9 53.3 130.4

Dots 27 63 154

Height Magnification 300 DPI

CG Triumvirate 1x 7x
Typeface
1/100 in. 9 63
1/10 mm 22.9 160.2
dots 27 189

B-8 Fonts
C G T r i u m v i r a t e  Ty p e f a c e ( 9 p t . ) 3 0 0 D P I
This font does not support Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850.

Width Mag. Minimum Average Maximum

1x 1/100 in. 1.3 4.7 9.6

1/10 mm 3.4 11.8 24.5

Dots 4 14 29
7x 1/100 in. 9.3 32.7 67.7

1/10 mm 23.7 83 171.8

Dots 28 98 203

Height Magnification 300 DPI

CG Triumvirate 1x 7x
Typeface
1/100 in. 10.7 74.7
1/10 mm 27.1 189.6
dots 32 224

Fonts B-9
C G T r i u m v i r a t e  Ty p e f a c e ( 1 1 p t . ) 3 0 0 D P I
This font does not support Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850.

Width Mag. Minimum Average Maximum

1x 1/100 in. 1.7 5.3 10.7

1/10 mm 4.2 13.5 27.1

Dots 5 16 32
7x 1/100 in. 11.7 37.3 74.7

1/10 mm 29.6 94.8 189.6

Dots 35 112 224

Height Magnification 300 DPI

CG Triumvirate 1x 7x
Typeface
1/100 in. 11.7 81.7
1/10 mm 29.6 207.4
dots 35 245

B-10 Fonts
C G T r i u m v i r a t e  Ty p e f a c e ( 1 5 p t . ) 3 0 0 D P I
This font does not support Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850.

Width Mag. Minimum Average Maximum

1x 1/100 in. 2 7.6 15.7

1/10 mm 5.1 19.4 39.8

Dots 6 23 47
7x 1/100 in. 14 53.7 47

1/10 mm 35.5 136.3 119.4

Dots 42 161 141

Height Magnification 300 DPI

CG Triumvirate 1x 7x
Typeface
1/100 in. 17.7 8123.7
1/10 mm 44.8 314.1
dots 53 371

Fonts B-11
Scalable Font Information
The scalable font is smooth at any point size. There are no jagged edges
because the font is created from an equation every time it is used. The field
width varies with each letter.
When you define formats using scalable fonts, remember to set the
character rotation to 0, because it is not supported. However, field rotation
is supported for text or constant text fields using the scalable font. The
scalable font does not print a slashed zero.
Scalable fonts perform better in constant text fields, because those fields
are imaged only once per batch, not once per label as in text fields. The
transparent overlay allows closer field placement when using scalable fonts.
To use large point sizes (greater than 60), you must reconfigure memory
and increase the size of the scalable (vector) fonts buffer.
The height and width magnification are defined in point size.
72 points = one inch. One inch = cell size. The cell size is the built-in
space around the individual characters of the scalable font. The point size
range is 4 to 255. If the height and width are not set to the same point size,
the printed characters look tall and thin or short and thick, which allows for
greater flexibility in the appearance of the font.
The 72 point EFF Swiss Bold sample shows the one inch cell size.
6pt Sample

10pt Sample

24pt Sample

48pt Sample
72pt Sample 1"

B-12 Fonts
T r u e Ty p e F o n t I n f o r m a t i o n
TrueType fonts follow the TrueType outline font standard. These fonts are
smooth at any point size. There are no jagged edges, because the font is
created from an equation every time it is used. The height and width
magnification are defined in point size. 72 points = one inch.
One inch = cell size. The cell size is the built-in space around the individual
characters of the scalable font. The point size range is 4 to 255. The field
width varies with each letter. The printer can accept downloaded TrueType
fonts.

D o w n l o a d i n g T r u e Ty p e F o n t s
The MONARCH® MPCL™ Toolbox (Font Utility) is available on our Web site
and converts TrueType fonts to Hex or Run-Length encoding for the printer.
When downloading a TrueType font, you download the entire font, not
particular characters or one point size. You can print a variety of symbol
sets with International (Turkish, Latin, Spanish, etc.) characters. TrueType
fonts are designed to be regionally specific; therefore, all symbol sets may
not be supported in a given font.
These font files are large and may image slower than bitmap fonts. The
size of the font file, in bytes, is the minimum amount of memory you must
have available for fonts in the printer’s downloadable fonts buffer.
You may need to reallocate memory to use downloaded TrueType fonts.
After reallocating memory, resend the font, format, and batch packets. See
“Defining the Memory Configuration Packet” in Chapter 2 for more
information. Also, Chapter 2 lists some special considerations when
defining memory for downloaded TrueType fonts.

Fonts B-13
Using International Fonts
International fonts are available as bitmap or TrueType fonts. See "Bitmap
Font Information" or "TrueType Font Information" for more details. To use
these fonts, you must purchase the optional memory card and download the
font to the memory card.
To use International fonts, consider the following information:

♦ All fonts contain an internal character mapping. The mapping is

organized by one or more standards, such as BIG5. These mapping
standards can provide over 65,000 characters, which are not
represented in this manual.
The printer supports several mapping standards:
♦ Unicode (UCS-2)
♦ BIG5
♦ GB2312
♦ SJIS
♦ Specify a symbol set based on the characters to print and one that is
compatible with the font's character mapping. For example, to print
Japanese characters, select symbol set 102 (Unicode) and a font
compatible with that symbol set. See "Selecting a Symbol Set" for more
information.
♦ To enter batch data, use the method specified by the font's character
mapping and a compatible symbol set.

B-14 Fonts
Selecting a Symbol Set
Specify a symbol set based on the characters to print and one that is
compatible with the font's character mapping. The symbol set parameter
identifies the character mapping used in the text field or constant text field,
for example, Unicode, BIG5, etc. If no symbol set is selected, the default
symbol set (Internal Symbol Set) is used.
The printer automatically translates some character mappings to others.
For example, if you need a BIG5 font, it is possible to use Unicode text
data. Use Unicode in the symbol set parameter to indicate the text mapping
and select the BIG5 font needed in the font parameter (T8 or C5). The
printer automatically translates the Unicode character values into BIG5
values before printing the character.
The following table lists the compatible mappings and symbol sets.

Font Character Mapping Symbol Set Parameter (T15, C13, or A6)

Batch Data* TrueType Font use in text or constant text fields

Character Mapping

Unicode BIG5 102 - Unicode

If you are unsure which character mapping to select, use this
Unicode SJIS symbol set, because the printer automatically translates the
character mappings.
Unicode KSC5601
Unicode GB2312
Unicode Unicode

* Characters in batch data must be entered based on their mapping (Unicode, BIG5, etc.).

Note: Symbol set 102 requires a downloaded International TrueType font.

Fonts B-15
International Font Sample
{F,3,A,R,E,150,200,"SIMPLE" p
T,1,5,V,10,10,0,100,30,30,B,L,0,0,102 p }
Symbol Set Parameter
{B,3,U,1 p Font Number
1,"~125~000~125~002~125~004~125~005" p }

This example prints these four characters with Unicode batch data of
~125~000, ~125~002, ~125~004 and ~125~005.

Refer to the Internet for a listing of the characters in each code page.
Search on a particular code page, such as “Unicode code page" to view the
characters in that code page.

L i c e n s i n g Yo u r F o n t s
We provide you with tools to create and download TrueType fonts.
However, it is your responsibility to purchase and license any fonts you
download to your printer. Contact your font supplier for licensing
information. Additional fonts that are compatible with the printer can be
purchased from:
The Electronic Font Foundry
11 Silwood Road; Ascot; SL5 OPY; England
(0)1344 875 201
www.eff.co.uk
Korean, Chinese, and Japanese fonts can be purchased from:
Dynalab Inc.
2055 Gateway Place; Suite 400; San Jose, CA 95110
408-490-4224
www.dynalab.com

B-16 Fonts
Locating the Font Number in a Font Packet
If you are creating font packets, the font number is the second parameter in
the packet. Software is available to create the font data and packet. Call
Technical Support for more information.
Font Number
Example {W,200,A,M,68 p
font data p
font data p }

Use this number in T8 or in C5. See “Defining Text Fields” or “Defining Constant
Text Fields” in Chapter 2 for more information.
Font Number
Example T,1,10,V,30,10,0,200,1,1,B,L,0,0,0 p
C,50,30,0,200,1,1,B,L,0,0,"MONARCH",0 p
Font Number
Defines a text and constant text field using the downloaded (#200) font.

Fonts B-17
B-18 Fonts
S Y M B O L S E T S / C O D E PA G E S C
This appendix contains a listing of the symbol sets, code pages,
and extended character sets the printer supports.

Use the charts in this appendix to convert dot sequences from the
image dot pattern to codes you can use in the fields. Use the
Binary to Hex Conversion Chart to convert Binary dot sequences to
Hexadecimal numbers for bitmap files. Use the Dot to Run Length
Encoding Chart to convert dot sequences to alphabetic characters
for bitmap files.

Supported Symbol Sets and Code Pages

The printers support these symbol sets and code pages: Internal,
ANSI, Bold, OCRA Character Set, DOS Code Page 437 and 850.
Additional Code Pages are supported with downloaded TrueType
or Unicode (double-byte) fonts.

The printer defaults to the internal symbol set. See “Defining the
System Setup Packet” in Chapter 2 to change the symbol set.

Selecting a Symbol Set or Code Page

The CG Triumvirate™ typefaces support only the ANSI and DOS
Code Page 437 and 850 Symbol Sets. These fonts print a slashed
zero when using the ANSI symbol set. Fonts 15-18 are only for
300 dpi and do not support Code pages 0, 1, 437, and 850.

Internal Use this symbol set to print international monetary

symbols, the trademark (™) symbol, and for formats that
may be used on other MPCLII printers.

ANSI Use this symbol set with proportionally spaced

fonts.

DOS Code Use this symbol set for extended and international
Pages 437 or 850 characters with proportionally spaced fonts.

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-1

Using Code 128 Function Codes
This table lists the characters for Bar Code 128 function codes. These
functions are used with scanners.

Code Function Code

~201 F1
~202 F2
~203 F3
~204 F4

Entering Extended Characters

When using extended characters in your batch data file, type a tilde in front
of the three-digit code. For example, if you want to include the character Ä
in a text field using the Internal Symbol Set, type:
1,"~142" p

Using International Character Sets/Code Pages

Symbol sets 852-860 and 1250-1258 may only be used with the scalable
font (font 50) or downloaded TrueType fonts. TrueType fonts are designed
to be regionally specific; therefore, all symbol sets may not be supported in
a given font. For example, to print Hebrew characters, you need to find a
font (such as Arial) that supports Hebrew characters; convert, and then
download the font to your printer. Make sure the correct symbol set for
Hebrew characters is selected.
Font 50 does not print the slashed zero or support Code Page 1256
(Arabic). The Euro-dollar symbol at position ~192 is only available in the
Standard, Reduced, and Bold fonts.
Code page 102 contains thousands of characters, which are not represented
in this manual. These code pages require additional memory and a
downloaded International TrueType font.
The Code Pages (437 and greater) on the following pages were printed
using Arial or a similar downloaded TrueType font. To determine the
character code, add the column number and row number for the character.
For example, to produce the ÿ character with the ANSI character set, you
would press Alt 255 (column 15 + row 240).

C-2 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

Internal Symbol Set

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-3

ANSI Symbol Set

Bold Character Set

C-4 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

OCRA Character Set

Code Page 437 (Latin U.S.)

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-5

Code Page 850 (Latin 1)

Code Page 852 (Latin 2)

C-6 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

Code Page 855 (Russian)

C o d e P a g e 8 5 7 ( I B M Tu r k i s h )

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-7

Code Page 860 (MS-DOS Portuguese)

Code Page 1250 (Latin 2)

C-8 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

Code Page 1251 (Cyrillic)

Code Page 1252 (Latin 1)

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-9

Code Page 1253 (Greek)

C o d e P a g e 1 2 5 4 ( Tu r k i s h )

C-10 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

Code Page 1255 (Hebrew)

Code Page 1256 (Arabic)

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-11

Code Page 1257 (Baltic)

Code Page 1258 (Vietnamese)

C-12 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

ASCII to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart
Use the chart below to translate the characters printed on your test label.
The chart lists ASCII characters and their hexadecimal and decimal
equivalents.

Char. Hex Decimal Char. Hex Decimal

NUL 00 0 DC2 12 18

SOH 01 1 DC3 13 19

STX 02 2 DC4 14 20

ETX 03 3 NAK 15 21

EOT 04 4 SYN 16 22

ENQ 05 5 ETB 17 23

ACK 06 6 CAN 18 24

BEL 07 7 EM 19 25

Backspace 08 8 SUB 1A 26

Tab 09 9 Escape 1B 27

linefeed 0A 10 cursor right 1C 28

home 0B 11 cursor left 1D 29

form feed 0C 12 cursor up 1E 30

carriage return 0D 13 cursor down 1F 31

SO 0E 14 space 20 32

SI 0F 15 ! 21 33

DLE 10 16 “ 22 34

DC1 11 17 # 23 35

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-13

ASCII to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued)

Char. Hex Decimal Char. Hex Decimal

$ 24 36 ; 3B 59

% 25 37 < 3C 60

& 26 38 = 3D 61

‘ 27 39 > 3E 62

( 28 40 ? 3F 63

) 29 41 @ 40 64

* 2A 42 A 41 65

++ 2B 43 B 42 66

, 2C 44 C 43 67

- 2D 45 D 44 68

. 2E 46 E 45 69

/ 2F 47 F 46 70

0 30 48 G 47 71

1 31 49 H 48 72

2 32 50 I 49 73

3 33 51 J 4A 74

4 34 52 K 4B 75

5 35 53 L 4C 76

6 36 54 M 4D 77

7 37 55 N 4E 78

8 38 56 O 4F 79

9 39 57 P 50 80

: 3A 58 Q 51 81

C-14 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

ASCII to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued)

Char. Hex Decimal Char. Hex Decimal

R 52 82 I 69 105

S 53 83 j 6A 106

T 54 84 k 6B 107

U 55 85 l 6C 108

V 56 86 m 6D 109

W 57 87 n 6E 110

X 58 88 o 6F 111

Y 59 89 p 70 112

Z 5A 90 q 71 113

[ 5B 91 r 72 114

\ 5C 92 s 73 115

] 5D 93 t 74 116

^^ 5E 94 u 75 117

_ 5F 95 v 76 118

` 60 96 w 77 119

a 61 97 x 78 120

b 62 98 y 79 121

c 63 99 z 7A 122

d 64 100 { 7B 123

e 65 101 p 7C 124

f 66 102 } 7D 125

g 67 103 ~ 7E 126

h 68 104 delete 7F 127

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-15

Binary to Hex Conversion Chart
Binary Hex Binary Hex
00000000 00 00100000 20
00000001 01 00100001 21
00000010 02 00100010 22
00000011 03 00100011 23
00000100 04 00100100 24
00000101 05 00100101 25
00000110 06 00100110 26
00000111 07 00100111 27
00001000 08 00101000 28
00001001 09 00101001 29
00001010 0A 00101010 2A
00001011 0B 00101011 2B
00001100 0C 00101100 2C
00001101 0D 00101101 2D
00001110 0E 00101110 2E
00001111 0F 00101111 2F
00010000 10 00110000 30
00010001 11 00110001 31
00010010 12 00110010 32
00010011 13 00110011 33
00010100 14 00110100 34
00010101 15 00110101 35
00010110 16 00110110 36
00010111 17 00110111 37
00011000 18 00111000 38
00011001 19 00111001 39
00011010 1A 00111010 3A
00011011 1B 00111011 3B
00011100 1C 00111100 3C
00011101 1D 00111101 3D
00011110 1E 00111110 3E
00011111 1F 00111111 3F

C-16 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued)

Binary Hex Binary Hex

01000000 40 01100000 60
01000001 41 01100001 61
01000010 42 01100010 62
01000011 43 01100011 63
01000100 44 01100100 64
01000101 45 01100101 65
01000110 46 01100110 66
01000111 47 01100111 67
01001000 48 01101000 68
01001001 49 01101001 69
01001010 4A 01101010 6A
01001011 4B 01101011 6B
01001100 4C 01101100 6C
01001101 4D 01101101 6D
01001110 4E 01101110 6E
01001111 4F 01101111 6F
01010000 50 01110000 70
01010001 51 01110001 71
01010010 52 01110010 72
01010011 53 01110011 73
01010100 54 01110100 74
01010101 55 01110101 75
01010110 56 01110110 76
01010111 57 01110111 77
01011000 58 01111000 78
01011001 59 01111001 79
01011010 5A 01111010 7A
01011011 5B 01111011 7B
01011100 5C 01111100 7C
01011101 5D 01111101 7D
01011110 5E 01111110 7E
01011111 5F 01111111 7F

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-17

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued)

Binary Hex Binary Hex

10000000 80 10100000 A0
10000001 81 10100001 A1
10000010 82 10100010 A2
10000011 83 10100011 A3
10000100 84 10100100 A4
10000101 85 10100101 A5
10000110 86 10100110 A6
10000111 87 10100111 A7
10001000 88 10101000 A8
10001001 89 10101001 A9
10001010 8A 10101010 AA
10001011 8B 10101011 AB
10001100 8C 10101100 AC
10001101 8D 10101101 AD
10001110 8E 10101110 AE
10001111 8F 10101111 AF
10010000 90 10110000 B0
10010001 91 10110001 B1
10010010 92 10110010 B2
10010011 93 10110011 B3
10010100 94 10110100 B4
10010101 95 10110101 B5
10010110 96 10110110 B6
10010111 97 10110111 B7
10011000 98 10111000 B8
10011001 99 10111001 B9
10011010 9A 10111010 BA
10011011 9B 10111011 BB
10011100 9C 10111100 BC
10011101 9D 10111101 BD
10011110 9E 10111110 BC
10011111 9F 10111111 BF

C-18 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

Binary to Hexadecimal Conversion Chart (continued)

Binary Hex Binary Hex

11000000 C0 11100000 E0
11000001 C1 11100001 E1
11000010 C2 11100010 E2
11000011 C3 11100011 E3
11000100 C4 11100100 E4
11000101 C5 11100101 E5
11000110 C6 11100110 E6
11000111 C7 11100111 E7
11001000 C8 11101000 E8
11001001 C9 11101001 E9
11001010 CA 11101010 EA
11001011 CB 11101011 EB
11001100 CC 11101100 EC
11001101 CD 11101101 ED
11001110 CE 11101110 EE
11001111 CF 11101111 EF
11010000 D0 11110000 F0
11010001 D1 11110001 F1
11010010 D2 11110010 F2
11010011 D3 11110011 F3
11010100 D4 11110100 F4
11010101 D5 11110101 F5
11010110 D6 11110110 F6
11010111 D7 11110111 F7
11011000 D8 11111000 F8
11011001 D9 11111001 F9
11011010 DA 11111010 FA
11011011 DB 11111011 FB
11011100 DC 11111100 FC
11011101 DD 11111101 FD
11011110 DE 11111110 FE
11011111 DF 11111111 FF

Symbol Sets/Code Pages C-19

Dot to Run Length Encoding Chart

ON (Black) Dots

# of Dots Code # of Dots Code

1 A 14 N
2 B 15 O
3 C 16 P
4 D 17 Q
5 E 18 R
6 F 19 S
7 G 20 T
8 H 21 U
9 I 22 V
10 J 23 W
11 K 24 X
12 L 25 Y
13 M 26 Z

OFF (White Dots)

# of Dots Code # of Dots Code

1 a 14 n
2 b 15 o
3 c 16 p
4 d 17 q
5 e 18 r
6 f 19 s
7 g 20 t
8 h 21 u
9 I 22 v
10 j 23 w
11 k 24 x
12 l 25 y
13 m 26 z

C-20 Symbol Sets/Code Pages

F O R M AT D E S I G N T O O L S D
Use copies of these worksheets and grids to create formats, batch
data, and check digit schemes. You may want to keep copies of
the completed forms for your records:
♦ Online Configuration Worksheet
♦ Batch Worksheet
♦ Check Digit Worksheet
♦ Supply Layout Grids (English, Metric, Dots)
♦ Format Worksheet
♦ Sample Format Worksheet

Format Design Tools D-1

Online Configuration Worksheet

D-2 Format Design Tools

Batch Worksheet

Format Design Tools D-3

Check Digit Worksheet

D-4 Format Design Tools

D-8 Format Design Tools
GLOSSARY
Batch Data Defines the actual information (as fields within { })
2,"Monarch" p printed on the label.

Batch Control Defines the print job (as a field).

E,0,1,4,2 p

Batch Header First line of a batch, immediately following ({). Identifies

{B,1,N,1} the format and batch quantity.

Batch Packet Contains a batch header and the batch data. Enclosed
{B,1,N,1 p within { }.
2,"Monarch" p }

Bitmapped Fonts Reside in the printer’s memory. If you change the point
size, you have changed the font. Magnifying these fonts
causes some jaggedness to occur.

Buffer Storage area in the printer’s memory that holds specific

data (images, formats, etc).

Field Can be text, bar codes, lines, boxes, constant, or

non-printable text. It is the result of a field definition.

Field Definition Any string of parameters that pertain to one field. A

field definition begins with a field identifier (such as T,
B, D, C, etc.).
T,1,10,V,250,50,0,1,1,1,B,C,0 p

Field Parameters Parameters that apply to a field and are separated by

commas. (In the above example, B is a field element
for black print on a white background.)

Flash Memory Contains information that is SAVED when the printer is

turned off.

Format Layout or design for your printed label.

Format Header First line of a format, immediately following the start of
packet ({). A format header must begin with F, followed
by various header elements.
{F,1,A,R,E,200,200,"Fmt-1" p

Monospaced Fonts All characters have the same width and are easy to
center justify. (Standard, bold, and reduced are
monospaced.)

Non-volatile RAM Contains information that is SAVED when the printer is

turned off.

Option Any line within a format that applies special formatting

R,4,6,1,3,1 p to a field. This line always begins with R and must
immediately follow the field it applies to.

Packet Any string of characters within ({ }).

{B,1,N,1 p
2,"Monarch" p }

Pre-image A way to optimize the printer, because it images the

fields while data is collected. After the last field is
imaged, the label prints almost immediately.

Proportionally All characters have different widths and are difficult to

Spaced Fonts center justify (CG Triumvirate™ Typefaces).

Scalable Fonts All characters are scalable and smooth at any point
size. There are no jagged edges at any point size
because the font is created from an equation every time
it is used.

Soft (Downloaded) Reside in the printer’s RAM. They can be erased or

Fonts overwritten.

TrueType Fonts All characters follow the TrueType outline font standard.
All characters are scalable and smooth at any point
size.

Volatile RAM Contains information that is LOST when the printer is

turned off.
INDEX
A definition of term G-1
batch data field
adding custom fonts 2-20 defining 6-5
adjustments, print 2-8 syntax 6-5
algorithm,in sum of digits 4-15 sample 6-5
algorithm,in sum of products 4-14 using entered/copied data 6-6
alignment,bar code 3-16 batch data, sample with special char 6-6
Arabic characters C-11 batch data, using special char 6-5
batch header
B syntax 6-3
defining 6-3
Baltic characters C-12 definition of term G-1
bar code sample 6-3
defining aspect ratios 4-10 using zero quantities 9-3
PDF417 options 4-10 batch method of downloading
bar code alignment 3-16 explained 6-7
bar code density batch packet
syntax 4-9 definition of term G-1
bar codes batch quantity zero
character lengths 3-9 downloading explained 6-7
customizing density 4-8 batch quantity, defined 6-3
defining 3-8 baud rate selection 2-18
defining densities 4-9 bitmap
determining distance 3-10, 3-17 defining fields 5-12
generating check digits 4-7 defining next fields 5-13
justification 3-16 defining the header 5-10
list of types 3-11 hexadecimal chart C-16
placing human readables 9-5 hexadecimal method 5-2, 5-4
rotating 3-16 overview 5-2
selecting a density 3-11 run length chart C-20
selecting human readables 3-16 run length method 5-2, 5-6
batch storing the image 5-7
canceling printing 2-16 bitmapped fonts
clearing data from memory 2-19 definition of term G-1
downloading sample 6-2 black to white print ratio 5-3
overview of packet 6-3 boxes
batch control defining 3-25
definition of term G-1 determining distance 3-25
batch control field buffer
defining 6-4 definition of term G-1
syntax 6-4
sample 6-4
batch data

Index 1
 C 1257 table C-12
1258 table C-12
calling technical support 8-5 437 and 850 C-1
changing 437 table C-5
bar code density 4-8 850 table C-6
communication settings 2-18 852 table C-6
control characters 2-14 855 table C-7
security level of PDF417 4-9 - 4-10 857 table C-7
character rotation 860 table C-8
in constant text field 3-19 ANSI table C-4
in text field 3-6 Bold table C-4
characters entering C-2
magnifying font size B-4 International characters 2-9
number of in bar code 3-8 OCRA table C-5
number of in non-printable field 3-21 selecting C-1
number of in text 3-3 color options of text 3-5, 3-18
padding 4-6 communication
placement of human readables 9-5 checklist for trouble 8-4
chart packet syntax 2-18
hexadecimal conversion C-16 compatibility
run length conversion C-20 considering unit of measure 1-6
check digit option configuration
syntax 4-7 types of 2-2
check digit schemes configuration packets
syntax 4-13 communication settings packet F 2-18
using sum of digits 4-15 control characters packet E 2-14
using sum of products 4-14 guidelines 2-7
check digit worksheet D-3 header 2-5
check digits monetary formatting packet D 2-13
clearing scheme from memory 2-19 overview 2-5
customizing a scheme 4-13 print control packet C 2-11
generating 4-7 sample 2-6
checking supply setup packet B 2-10
ENQ trailer characters 8-2 system setup packet A 2-8
ENQ/IMD characters 8-2 constant text fields
job status 7-8 character rotation 3-19
packet control characters 8-2 defining 3-17
printer status 7-2 determining distance 3-17
RS232 trailer characters 8-2 justification 3-19
clearing packets 2-19 modifying character height 3-18
code pages C-1 modifying character width 3-18
1250 table C-8 rotating 3-19
1251 table C-9 sample 3-17, 3-20
1252 table C-9 control characters
1253 table C-10 factory defaults 2-3
1254 table C-10 resetting 2-15
1255 table C-11 selecting 2-14
1256 table C-11 selecting new 2-14

2 Index
 syntax 2-14 non-printable fields 3-21
copy command print control packet C 2-11
sample 6-2 supply setup packet B 2-10
copy data system setup packet A 2-8
in partial form 4-5 text fields 3-3
merging fields 4-5 definition of terms G-1
source field 4-4 density
syntax 4-3 - 4-4 using option 50 to customize 4-8
copying data, using option 4 4-4 design tools
Cyrillic characters C-9 about the grid 1-6
check digit worksheet D-3
D format worksheet D-1
online configuration worksheet D-3
daily checklist 1-4 worksheet overview 1-8
data designing a format
copy option 4 4-4 drawing a sketch 1-6
deciding on a field type 1-7 field type considerations 1-7
for batch 6-5 filling in worksheets 1-8
list of errors 8-5 print area 1-5
padding option 30 4-6 using grids 1-6
data stream worksheet overview 1-8
examples A-3 determining format content 1-5
Maxicode A-3 diagnostics
decimal point selection 2-13 list of data errors 8-5
decrementing fields list of data format errors 8-16
fixing the first number 4-11 list of hard printer failure errors 8-21
syntax 4-11 list of machine fault errors 8-18
using option 60 4-11 other resources 8-5
defining printing test label 8-2
bar code type 3-11 direction of
bar codes 3-8 bar code field 3-16
batch control field 6-4 constant text character 3-19
batch data field 6-5 constant text field 3-19
batch header 6-3 of lines 3-23
bitmap fields 5-12 text character 3-6
boxes 3-25 text field 3-6
check digit scheme w/sod 4-15 double-byte fonts B-14
check digit scheme w/sop 4-14 downloading
communication settings packet F 2-18 batch method 6-7
configuration header 2-5 batch quantity zero method 6-7
constant text fields 3-17 methods 6-6
control characters packet E 2-14 order packets should be received 6-2
duplicate fields 5-14 overview 6-1
font upload packet 2-20 sample 6-2
graphic header 5-10 sequential method 6-6
lines 3-22
monetary formatting packet D 2-13
next-bitmap fields 5-13

Index 3
 E deciding a type 1-7
finding trailing spaces 9-5
enabling immediate commands 2-16 padding 4-6
ENQ repeating parameters 9-4
printing existing config 8-2 text field rotation 3-6
reference table for byte 2 7-4 types briefly described 1-7
reference table of byte 3 7-6 using a worksheet 1-8
requesting status 7-2 using data entry/copied fields 6-6
Response 7-2 fixed data
erasing packets 2-19 in constant text field 3-19
errors in text field 3-3
data, description of 8-5 flash memory
format 8-16 definition of term G-1
hard printer failures 8-21 flow control selection 2-18
machine faults 8-18 font
legal information B-16
F scalable B-12
TrueType 2-9, 3-7, 3-20, B-1, B-13,
feed mode selection 6-4 B-16, C-2
field font packets
bitmap, defining 5-12 clearing from memory 2-19
definition of term G-1 font upload packet
duplicate,defining 5-14 defining 2-20
next-bitmap, defining 5-13 fonts
options 4-10 double-byte B-14
field definition monospaced magnification B-4
definition of term G-1 optimizing 9-4
field elements proportional magnification B-6
definition of term G-1 format
field options definition of term G-1
brief list of 4-2 format header
calculating check digits 4-7 definition of term G-2
copy data 4-4 format worksheet D-1
customized bar code density 4-8 overview 1-8
incrementing/decrementing fields 4-11 formats
ordering 4-2 clearing from memory 2-19
overview 4-2 decisions to make 1-5
padding data 4-6 defining bar codes 3-8
price field 4-7 defining boxes 3-25
restrictions 4-2 defining constant text fields 3-17
security/truncation for PDF417 4-9 defining lines 3-22
using multiple 4-2 defining non-printable fields 3-21
width/length for PDF417 4-10 defining text fields 3-3
fields defining the header 3-2
bar code rotation 3-16 designing 1-4 - 1-6
batch control syntax 6-4 determining content 1-5
batch data syntax 6-5 downloading sample 6-2
constant text rotation 3-19 field types described briefly 1-7

4 Index
 filling in worksheets 1-8 IMD
referenced in batch packet 6-3 printing existing config 8-2
sample A-2 immediate commands
using grids 1-6 enabling 2-16
formats, modifying 6-8 sending 2-16
formatting errors table 2-16
list of 8-16 when to use 2-16
incrementing field
G restrictions 4-2
incrementing fields
generating check digits with option 31 4-7 fixing the first number 4-11
graphic syntax 4-11
defining bitmap fields 5-12 using option 60 4-11
defining duplicate fields 5-14 inquiry request
defining next-bitmap fields 5-13 explanation of 7-2
defining the header 5-10 inquiry response
hexadecimal chart C-16 explanation of 7-2
hexadecimal method 5-2, 5-4 International code pages 2-9
including in a format 5-19
overview of bitmap 5-2 J
run length chart C-20
run length method 5-2, 5-6 job request
storing the image 5-7 syntax 7-8
graphic packets job response
clearing from memory 2-19 explanation of 7-9
Greek characters C-10 syntax for 0-2 7-9
grid syntax for 3 7-10
overview 1-6 syntax for 4 7-11
job status
H explanation of response 7-9
requesting 7-8
hard printer failure errors table 7-12
list of 8-21 justification
Hebrew characters C-11 of bar code 3-16
help, getting 8-5 of constant text fields 3-19
hex graphic packet of text field 3-6
sample 5-15
human readable characters L
placement considerations 9-5
selecting for a bar code 3-16 language, printer 2-8
Latin characters C-5 - C-6, C-8 - C-9
I layout
decisions to make 1-5
imaging designing a label 1-4
repeating parameters 9-4 grid 1-6
using zero batch headers 9-3 print area 1-5
imaging time rough sketches 1-6
when to use scalable fonts 9-4

Index 5
 length monospaced fonts
of a bar code field 3-8 definition of term G-2
of a non-printable field 3-21 monospaced fonts, magnification of B-4
of a text field 3-3
lines N
defining 3-22
defining as segment 3-22 non-printable fields
defining as vectors 3-22 defining 3-21
determining distance 3-22 - 3-23 sample 3-21
thickness 3-24
O
M
online configuration worksheet D-3
machine errors online mode selection 2-8
list of 8-18 opaque overlay
magnification explanation 3-5
considerations 9-5 optimizing
of monospaced fonts B-4 compatibility for multiple printers 1-6
of proportional fonts B-6 print quality 9-2
mapping print speed 9-2
method, hexadecimal 5-2, 5-4 repeating field parameters 9-4
method, run length 5-2, 5-6 using zero batch quantities 9-3
margin adjustment selection 2-11 option
Maxicode definition of term G-2
data stream A-3 optional entry method 6-8
MaxiCode information A-3 options
measurement field 4-10
on a grid 1-6 options,field 4-9
using multiple printer types 1-6 brief list of 4-2
memory calculating check digits 4-7
clearing packets 2-19 copy data 4-4
storing images in RAM 5-7 customized bar code density 4-8
merging general overview 4-2
copied data 4-5 incrementing/decrementing fields 4-11
fields with option 4 4-4 ordering 4-2
modifying formats 6-8 padding data 4-6
modulus price formatting 4-7
description of check digit calc 4-13 restrictions 4-2
in sum of digits 4-15 security/truncation for PDF417 4-9
in sum of products 4-14 using multiple 4-2
monetary width/length for PDF417 4-10
decimal selection 2-13
formatting syntax 2-13
list of options 2-13
symbol selection 2-13
symbol setting 2-13
using price formatting 4-7

6 Index
 P graphic image in a field 5-9
graphic image in a format 5-10
packet graphic image in a packet 5-9
definition of term G-2 pre-image
packet A definition of term G-2
syntax 2-8 price fields
packet B formatting option 4-7
syntax 2-10 monetary formatting 2-13
packet C restrictions with check digits 4-7
syntax 2-11 restrictions with incrementing 4-2
packet control characters syntax 4-8
factory defaults 2-3 print adjustments 2-8
printing existing config 8-2 print area 1-5
resetting 2-15 maximum size 1-5
syntax 2-14 print contrast/vert adjustment selection
packet D 2-11
syntax 2-13 print control
packet E in batch control field 6-4
syntax 2-14 syntax 2-11
packet F printer configuration
syntax 2-18 communication settings packet F 2-18
packets control characters packet E 2-14
batch 6-3 header 2-5
check digit scheme 4-13 monetary formatting packet D 2-13
clearing from memory 2-19 packet C 2-11
configuration 2-5 packet guidelines 2-7
configuration upload 2-6 packet overview 2-5
guidelines 2-3 packet sample 2-6
padding data 4-6 supply setup packet B 2-10
syntax 4-6 system setup packet A 2-8
parallel communication 2-2 upload syntax 2-6
parameters printer status
definition of term G-1 explanation of response 7-2
for batch control field 6-4 overview 7-1
for batch data field 6-5 requesting 7-2
for batch header 6-3 syntax 7-2
repeating 9-4 printers
parity selection 2-18 communication checklist 8-4
PDF417 bar codes data errors 8-5
security/truncation 4-9 data formatting errors 8-16
width/length 4-10 hard printer failure errors 8-21
placing machine fault errors 8-18
human readables 9-5 printhead
point size B-12 unit of measure compatibility 1-6
polling for status printing
overview 7-1 black to white ratio 5-3
Portuguese characters C-8 canceling 2-16
positioning horiz adjustment 2-8

Index 7
 ordering packets to download 6-2 response
overview 6-1 to job request 0-2 7-9
test label 8-2 to job request 3 7-10
vert adjustment 2-8 to job request 4 7-11
problem ribbon selection 2-10
running out of printer memory 2-19 rotating
problems bar codes 3-16
check digit miscalculated 4-7 constant text characters 3-19
communication check 8-4 constant text fields 3-19
dpi varies with printer 1-6 text characters 3-6
framing error while downloading 6-2 text fields 3-6
getting technical support 8-5 rough sketches 1-6
human readables cut off 9-5 RS232 trailer characters
image time and changing data 9-4 printing existing config 8-2
image time and unchanging data 9-3 run length graphic packet
imaging time and repeating field sample 5-17
parameters 9-4 Russian characters C-7
invalid packet syntax 2-3
list of data errors 8-5 S
list of format errors 8-16
list of hard printer failure errors 8-21 sample
list of machine fault errors 8-18 bar code density option 4-9
missing/overlapping due to batch control field 6-4
magnification 9-5 batch data field 6-5
no check digit generated 4-7 batch header 6-3
off tag errors 9-5 batch method downloading 6-7
other resources 8-5 calculate check digit option 4-7
poor print quality 9-2 check digit scheme packet 4-13
procedures communication settings packet F 2-18
daily checklist 1-4 configuration packet 2-6
programming conventions 2-3 control characters packet E 2-14
proportional fonts, magnification of B-6 copy field 4-4
proportionally spaced fonts font packet 2-21
definition of term G-2 font, bold style B-5
font, standard style B-5
R format A-2
format header 3-2
RAM hex graphic packet 5-15
storing images 5-7 immediate command 2-16
requesting job status inc/dec field option 4-11
explanation of 7-8 inquiry response 7-2
requesting printer status job request 7-8
explanation of 7-2 job response 0-2 7-9
overview 7-1 job response 3 7-10
resetting packet control characters 2-15 job response 4 7-11
monetary formatting packet D 2-13
monospaced font magnification B-4
padding data 4-6

8 Index
 price field option 4-8 size of
print control packet C 2-11 monospaced fonts B-4
printer configuration uploaded 2-7 proportional fonts B-6
proportional font magnification B-6 smart imaging 9-1
run length graphic packet 5-17 soft fonts
sequential method downloading 6-6 definition of term G-2
supply setup packet B 2-10 source field, of copy data 4-4
system setup packet A 2-8 special char, using w/batch data 6-5
text field 3-3 speed adjustment selection 2-11
scalable font B-12 status polling
schemes overview 7-1
customizing check digits 4-13 stop bits selection 2-18
security/truncation storage device 5-7
using option 51 4-9 storing
segments images 5-7
defining 3-22 images in RAM 5-7
selecting bar code type 3-11 sum of digits calculation 4-15
selector, check digit sum of products calculation 4-14
description of 4-13 supply
sending immediate commands 2-16 about the layout grid 1-6
sequential downloading measurement on a grid 1-6
explained 6-6 type/position selection 2-10
serial communication 2-2 supply setup
setting syntax 2-10
baud rate 2-18 supply type/position selection 2-11
feed mode 2-10 symbol set C-1
flow control 2-18 ANSI C-1
format number 3-2 entering C-2
language 2-8 Internal table C-3
margin position 2-11 options 3-7
monetary symbol 2-13 selecting C-1
number of decimal places 2-13 symbols
online mode 2-8 monetary 4-7
parallel communication 2-2 syntax
parity 2-18 communication settings packet F 2-18
print contrast 2-11 constant text field 3-17, 3-20
print position 2-11 font upload packet 2-20
print speed 2-11 format header 3-2
printhead width 2-11 monetary formatting packet D 2-13
ribbon 2-10 non-printable field 3-21
serial communication 2-2 packet control characters packet E2-14
stop bits 2-18 print control packet C 2-11
supply size 3-2 printer configuration upload 2-6
supply type/position 2-10 supply setup packet B 2-10
unit of measure 3-2 system setup packet A 2-8
word length 2-18 system setup
syntax 2-8

Index 9
 T U
table unit of measure
bar code lengths 3-9 setting 3-2
ENQ reference byte 2 7-4 unsuccessful communication 8-4
ENQ reference byte 3 7-6 uploading
fixed/variable bar codes 3-9 configuration 2-6
hexadecimal conversion C-16 font packet 2-20
immediate commands 2-16
job status 0-2 7-12 V
run length conversion C-20
special char, sample batch data 6-6 variable length
technical support 8-5 padding for 4-6
terms defined G-1 vectors
test label defining 3-22
list of information 8-2 Vietnamese characters C-12
printing 8-2 volatile RAM
text fields definition of term G-2
character rotation 3-6
color attributes 3-5, 3-18 W
defining 3-3
determining distance 3-4 width/length
determining distance 3-3 using option 52 4-10
justification 3-6 word length selection 2-18
modifying character height 3-5 worksheet
modifying character spacing 3-4, 3-17 check digit D-3
modifying character width 3-5 filling in 1-8
placing proportionally spaced format D-1
characters 3-3 online configuration D-3
rotating 3-6 overview 1-8
syntax 3-3
thickness
line 3-24
trailing spaces
finding 9-5
transparent overlay
explanation 3-5
TrueType font 2-9, 3-7, 3-20, B-1, B-13,
B-16, C-2
Turkish characters C-7, C-10
types of fields
brief description 1-7

10 Index