manual manutenção série f1

F1 Technical Manual Rev. 1.01 2011/2/17

Argox Information Co., Ltd.

F1

Technical Manual

Rev 1.01


Argox Information Co., Ltd. 1

CONTENTS

1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 3 1.1 Scope ........................................................................................................................................ 3

1.2 Printer description .................................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Related manuals ....................................................................................................................... 3

2. GENERAL INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 4 2.1 Communication Specification .................................................................................................. 6 2.1.1 Serial interface specification ................................................................................................. 7 2.1.2 Pin assignment and description ............................................................................................. 7 2.1.3 Parallel interface specification .............................................................................................. 7 2.1.4 Pin assignment and description ............................................................................................. 8 2.1.5 PS2 keyboard interface ......................................................................................................... 8 2.1.6 Pin assignment and description ............................................................................................. 8 2.1.7 USB interface ........................................................................................................................ 9 2.1.8 Pin assignment and description ............................................................................................. 9

3. CONTROLS AND INDICATORS .............................................................................................. 10 3.1 Front panel ............................................................................................................................. 10 3.2 Rear panel .............................................................................................................................. 12

4. OPTIONS ..................................................................................................................................... 14 4.1 Cutter mechanism .................................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Super card module ................................................................................................................. 14 4.3 FONT module ........................................................................................................................ 14 4.4 Dispenser and rewinder .......................................................................................................... 14

5. SETUP AND DIAGNOSTIC ...................................................................................................... 15 5.1 Inlet power voltage and grounding......................................................................................... 15 5.2 Performing the self test .......................................................................................................... 15

5.3 Printer reset ............................................................................................................................ 19 6. CALIBRATION AND ADJUSTMENTS .................................................................................... 22

6.1 Media sensor position adjustment .......................................................................................... 22 6.2 Media sensor calibration ........................................................................................................ 23 6.3 Print head pressure adjustment .............................................................................................. 24 6.4 Ribbon Take-up spindle tension adjustment .......................................................................... 25

6.5 Ribbon Supply spindle tension adjustment ............................................................................ 26 7. OPTIONAL PARTS INSTALLATIONS .................................................................................... 27

7.1 Cutter Installation ................................................................................................................... 27 7.2 Dispenser/Rewinder installation ............................................................................................ 29 7.2.1 Installation ........................................................................................................................... 29



7.2.2 Diagram of Media and ribbon installation for peeler .......................................................... 30 8. FIRMWARE UPGRADING ........................................................................................................ 31 8.1 Upgrade Utility and Diskette ................................................................................................. 31

8.2 Procedure to change the PPLA (Datamax emulation) ........................................................... 31 8.3 Procedure to change the PPLB (EPL2 emulation) ................................................................. 32 8.4 Verification ............................................................................................................................ 33

9. MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLE SHOOTING ...................................................................... 34 9.1 Printer status indication .......................................................................................................... 34 9.2 Trouble Shooting: .................................................................................................................. 36

9.3 Clearance ................................................................................................................................ 41 9.4 Replacement ........................................................................................................................... 42 9.4.1 TPH (thermal print head) replacement ................................................................................ 43 10. OPERATIONAL THEOREM ..................................................................................................... 45 10.1 System block diagram: ......................................................................................................... 45 10.2 Main board block diagram and description .......................................................................... 47 10.3 Panel board block diagram and description ......................................................................... 49 10.4 Sensor board diagram and description ................................................................................. 50 10.5 Wiring diagram .................................................................................................................... 51 11. RECOMMENDED SPARE PARTS ........................................................................................... 52 APPENDIX A: STAND ALONE OPERATION ................................................................................. 53



1. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

1.1 Scope

This manual contains the information necessary for the proper maintenance of F1 label printers of ARGOX . Most of the information included relates to hardware and mechanical parts.

1.2 Printer description

The ARGOX F1 printer is a high-performance low-cost direct thermal and thermal transfer label printer. Its user-friendly design and affordable price set new standard for the heavy duty label printer in retail, office and industrial applications .

The printer is designed with the most efficient memory management technology -True Speed, prints up to 6 inches /second when bundled with its smart printer driver , the user can easily print a label by using any Windows applications, e.g. Microsoft Word, ArgoBar, Bar Tender under Windows Vista/XP/2000/98. All popular bar codes and fonts are resident in the printer memory to handle versatile application .It also provide a PS2 keyboard interface for standalone operation which enables the user to control the printer by using a simple PS2 keyboard .

The solidly designed mechanism allows quick and easy media and ribbon loading. The optional Dispenser and Cutter provide the alternatives of fan-fold label and continuous media handling.

1.3 Related manuals

Users manual (Part No. : 49-20001-006) Programmers manual (Part No. : 49-20002-001)



2. GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Item Description Printing method Direct Thermal / Thermal Transfer Printing resolution 203 dpi (8 dots/mm) Printing speed 1 ~ 6 IPS (25 ~152 mm/s) Printing length 0.5 ~ 90 (13mm ~ 2286mm) Printing width Max 4.09 (104 mm) Memory 8Mb DRAM

4Mb Flash ROM CPU type 32 bit RISC microprocessor Media sensor Reflective (movable)

See-through x 2 Display LED indicators x 2

LCD display x 1 (2 rows x16 characters) Operation interface Button x 6 Communication interface Centronics parallel (Uni-directional)

RS-232 serial (baud rate 1200 ~ 115200 bps) USB (Conforming to USB2.0 full speed) PS2

Barcodes 1-D Barcode Code 128 UCC (shipping container code) Code 128 auto Code 128 subset A Code 128 subset B Code 128 subset C UCC/EAN 128 Interleaved 2 of 5 Interleaved 2 of 5 with check sum digit Interleaved 2 of 5 with human readable check digit German Postcode Matrix 2 of 5 UPC Interleaved 2 of 5 Code 39 Code 39 with check sum digit



Code 93 EAN-13 EAN-13 2 digit add-on EAN-13 5 digit add-on EAN-8 EAN-8 2 digit add-on EAN-8 5 digit add-on Codabar Postnet UPC-A UPC-A 2 digit add-on UPC-A 5 digit add-on UPC-E UPC-E 2 digit add-on UPC-E 5 digit add-on RSS -14 (Basic / Truncated / Stacked / Limited) with composite data 2-D Barcode Maxicode PDF-417 Data Matrix (ECC 200 only) QR code

Fonts Internal character sets standard 5 alpha-numeric fonts with height from 0.049~0.23 20 codepages for 8-bits character (code page 437,850,852,860,863,865,857,861,862,855,866 737,851,869,1250,1251,1252,1253,1254,1255 ) 9 codepages for 7-bits character (USA, British, German, French, Danish, Italian

Spanish, Swedish and Swiss ) All fonts are expandable up to 24x 24 4 direction 0~270 rotation Soft fonts are downloadable (up to 72 points)

Graphic PCX bitmap, GDI graphics and binary raster Stand-alone operation Connect with PC keyboard/ArgoKee or barcode reader (PS/2

interface) Maximum label roll diameter

8 (203 mm) outside diameter Core size 1 and 3 (25mm~76 mm) ID



Media type Roll-feed, die-cut, continuous, fan-fold, tags, thermal ticket, plain paper and fabric label Max width 4.3 (110 mm) Min width 0.75 (19.4 mm) Thickness .0025~. 01 (.0635mm ~. 254mm)

Ribbon Wax/Resin/Semi Resin Ribbon width 1.5~ 4.3 (40mm ~ 110mm) Ribbon roll max OD 2.9 (74 mm) Ribbon length max 1182 (360 M) Core size - ID 1 core (25 mm)

Electrical request 100VAC to 240VAC , 50~60Hz 5Amps

Mechanism request Build-in Tear off bar Easy Peeler install Easy cutter install Side-open cover Clear media window Fanfold slot Centralized ribbon and label path

Power source 100~240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, internal switching power Safety Approval CE, UL, CUL, FCC class A, CCC Operation environment 40F ~ 104F (4C~40C)

10~90% non condensing Storage temperature -4F~140F (-20 C~60 C)

ESD Air : 8KV Contact: 4KV

Optional items Argox Cutter, Dispenser kit, RTC card, Font card(Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean, Japanese)

Compact size 39.9 cm X 30.9 cm X 25.5cm Weight 16.5 lbs (7.5kgs)

2.1 Communication Specification

Argox F1 Label printers send and receive messages through serial, parallel and USB



communication interface . Printer checks each interface for incoming message automatically.

2.1.1 Serial interface specification

The serial interface of F1 printer is a standard RS-232C port with standard 9-pin (DB9-S) connector located at the rear of the printer. You can change the baud rate, data bit, parity bit and stop bit by both sending commands to printer and operating on LCD panel.

2.1.2 Pin assignment and description

Pin No. Direction Description 1 shorted to Pin- 6 2 IN RxD 3 OUT TxD 4 N.C. 5 GROUND 6 shorted to Pin-1 7 OUT RTS 8 IN CTS 9 OUT +5V

Table 2.0

For detail recommend connection between host and printer, please refer to Appendix A of the users manual (Part No. 49.20001.001) .

2.1.3 Parallel interface specification

The serial interface of the F1 printer is standard Centronics port with standard 36-pin connector located at the rear of the printer . A standard parallel cable can be used for the interconnection between the host controller and the F1 label printer.




Pin No. Direction Description Pin No. Direction Description 1 IN /STROBE 13 OUT SELECT 2 IN DATA 1 14,15 ----- N.C. 3 IN DATA 2 16 OUT GROUND 4 IN DATA 3 17 OUT GROUND 5 IN DATA 4 18 ----- N.C. 6 IN DATA 5 19~30 OUT GROUND 7 IN DATA 6 31 ---- N.C. 8 IN DATA 7 32 OUT /FAULT 9 IN DATA 8 33~36 ---- N.C.

10 OUT /ACK 11 OUT BUSY 12 OUT PE

Table 2.1

2.1.5 PS2 keyboard interface

Argox F1 label printer provides a standard IBM PC PS2 keyboard interface which allows the user to control the printer with a standard PS2 keyboard . The scan code set 2 is used and cant be changed .

For detail information of operation, please refer to the users manual (part No. 49.20001.001).


The PS2 keyboard interface on the printer side is a female, 6 pins, and mini. DIN connector

Pin No. Direction Description 1 IN/OUT DATA



2 ----- N.C. 3 ----- GROUND 4 ----- +5V 5 CLOCK 6 ----- N.C.

2.1.7 USB interface

Argox F1 label printer provides a standard USB interface which conforms to USB 2.0 full-speed specification. It increases data transfer rate between the hosts controller and Argox F1 printer and dramatically enhances the performance.


Pin No. Direction Description 1 IN Vcc(+5V) 2 IN/OUT Differential + 3 IN/OUT Differential - 4 GROUND



3. CONTROLS AND INDICATORS

3.1 Front panel

POWER indicator The POWER indicator remains ON when the AC power switch is in ON position except the following conditions :

Storing data to memory. Receiving data from host.

ALERT indicator The ALERT indicator will remain OFF under normal operation. It will start to blink and indicates the printer is in error status like ribbon out, media out, cutter failed etc

LCD display A 16 characters by 2 rows LCD display is designed to display the printer status, label count left and indicates the error message to the user . It is also used to display the input character from PS2 keyboard for stand-alone operation. For detail information, please refer to the users manual (part No. 49.20001.001) .

MENU Key 1. The MENU key forces the printer to enter menu setting page when the printer is idle (not

printing). To exit the menu setting page, just press MENU key again and select if your changes should be saved. Please remind that input data will not be received in menu mode.

ENTER Key 1. When operating under standalone mode or entering menu setting, press this button to

confirm your input data and selections.

FEED Key 1. The FEED. key forces the printer to feed one label when printer is idle (not printing) 2. When operating under standalone mode or entering menu setting, press this button to shift

the cursor on the LCD to right or select next item in the menu.



PAUSE//// Key 1. The PAUSE. key stops the printing process in normal operation . If the PAUSE key is

pressed while printing is in progress, the printing stops immediately. Presses CANCEL to resume the printing.

2. When operating under standalone mode or entering menu setting, press this button to change the input data with increment or select previous options in this item.

CANCEL Key 1. The CANCEL key interrupts and deletes the current printing job. If there is an error

indication occurs , pressing this key to cancel the error indication . 2. When operating under standalone mode or entering menu setting, press this button to shift

the cursor on the LCD to left or select previous item in the menu.

Key 1. When operating under standalone mode or entering menu setting, press this button to change

the input data with decrement or select next options in this item.



Front View

3.2 Rear panel

PS2 keyboard connector For PS2 standard keyboard connection.

Centronics connector (parallel port) For parallel port connection. Mostly it is connected to the printer port of a PC.

RS232 connector (serial port) For serial port connection. Mostly it is connected to the COM. port of a PC.

USB connector For USB port connection. Mostly it is connected to the USB port of a PC.



Power switch Controls application of AC power to printer. The power should be turned OFF to connect or disconnect any internal cable .

AC power socket For AC power connection.

Rear View 1. RS232 Serial Port 2. PS/2 Port 3. USB Port 4. Centronics Parallel Port 5. Power switch (O = Off, I = On) 6. AC power connector

1

2

3

4

5

6



4. OPTIONS

4.1 Cutter mechanism

Optional cutter for cutting labels, tags or tickets. Back feed is included for cutting.

4.2 Super card module

The super card module consists of 2 components, RTC and a 4MB flash memory module. The Real Time Clock (RTC) provides the user to print current time and data message on label. A dedicated battery is embedded inside as power back-up. The 4M bytes flash module will hold data in the module until it is cleared. Typical application for flash module includes downloadable soft fonts, graphics and label forms for use with host controller. For the standalone operation, flash module is required.

4.3 FONT module

Font module, which is used to store special font such as Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

4.4 Dispenser and rewinder

Dispenser and rewinder provides the automatic peel-off and backing paper take-up function.



5. SETUP AND DIAGNOSTIC

5.1 Inlet power voltage and grounding

The F1 printer is designed for both 110VAC and 220VAC outlet. The line voltage should not lower than 90 VAC or higher than 240 VAC and the printer should be connected to a properly grounded receptacle .

5.2 Performing the self test

Once the printer is first installed, a self test should be performed. To perform the self test, please follow the following procedure :

Turn on the power Load the media and ribbon properly Press the MENU key to enter menu setting page. Press the left / right key to choose PRINT OUT SETTING item and press ENTER

to print the self test page. The configuration report should be printed out as Figure 5.0. To return the printer to normal operation, please press MENU key again to exit the

menu setting page.

Note: Keep pressing the ENTER key under PRINT OUT SETTING item for more than 5 seconds can print out all the printer parameters on self test page including passwords information , so it should be operated by factory only.

Some information in the configuration report are important, please check they after the self test :

Version information: This field consists of the programming language, firmware version, printer serial number, and also the EEPROM version number for reference.



Please check for correct version.

Memory Information: This filed contains the relative information of memory device type and sizes, included the Super card details if installed.

Parameters Information: This field consists:

1. Total printed label length and counts. 2. Language of messages shown on the LCD panel.

Printer Settings Information: Most information of settings in menu will be listed here including printing darkness

and speed etc. Please refer to the self test example below.



PRINTER CONFIGURATION VERSION INFORMATION: PPLB F1B0-1.00 . . . . . . . FIRMWARE VERSION 032408 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DATE CODE (mmddyy) 80320001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . SERIAL NO 1.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EEPROM VERSION

MEMORY INFORMATION : 8192 KB . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOTAL RAM 6088 KB . . . . . . . . . . . . . AVAILABLE RAM 4096 KB . . . . . . . . . . . . . TOTAL FLASH 3071 KB . . . . . . . . . . . . . AVAILABLE FLASH ONBOARD . . . . . . . . . . FLASH MODULE

PARAMETERS INFORMATION: 1 M . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PRINTED LENGTH 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LABEL COUNT ENGLISH . . . . . . . . . . . . LANGUAGE

SETTING INFORMATION : TRANSFER THERMAL RIBBON GAP / NOTCH . . . . . . . . MEDIA TYPE 79 MM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . LABEL LENGTH TRANSMISSIVE . . . . . . SENSOR TYPE 1 (CENTER) . . . . . . . . . TRANS. SENSOR 12 INCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . MEDIA CAL LENGTH NORMAL . . . . . . . . . . . . PRINT MODE 0 MM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TEAR OFFSET 0 MM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CUT OFFSET 0 MM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HORI. OFFSET 0 MM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VERT. OFFSET 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DARKNESS 3 IPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SPEED ENABLED . . . . . . . . . . . REPRINT MODE ENABLED . . . . . . . . . . . ALERT BUZZER 9600 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BAUD RATE NONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PARITY 8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DATA BITS 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . STOP BIT



Figure 5.0



5.3 Printer reset

Some parameters of the printer can be reset to the factory default value by following the procedure listed below:

Turn on the power Press the MENU key to enter menu setting page. Press the left / right key to choose the AUTHORISED SETUP 1 item Enter the correct password and press ENTER to access the privileged settings.

The default password is 1234. Press left / right key to choose the LOAD DEFAULT item and LCD will display

RESET EEPROM after pressing ENTER to confirm. To return the printer to normal operation, please press MENU key again to exit the

menu setting page.

Note: Keep pressing both MENU & ENTER keys together for more than 5 seconds under printer standby status, all the printer parameters, including printed length and label count, will be reset to factory default , so this action should be operated by factory only.

Details of what parameters can be reset are shown in the following table:

PARAMETER

DESCRIPTION

FACTORY

DEFAULT

USERS

RESET

MASTERS

RESET

INTERACTIVE

COMMAND

PANEL

SETTING

Number of printed label per cut 1 Label height in GDI mode 3 inch R command offset 0 d command offset 0 Label notch length 10 mm Print width 102 mm Ribbon Detect TT Media Type Gap Transmissive sensor selection Center Maximum media calibration

length

12 inch



Print mode Normal Tear off offset 0 Cut off offset 0 Peel off offset 0 Printing position shift set by

panel

0

TPH offset 0 Printing Darkness 8 Printing Speed 3 IPS Display numbers of label while

printing

Enabled

Display numbers of label in

ascending / descending

sequence

Descending

Flash module Onboard Enable Auto form function Disabled Reprint the last label after

resumed

Enabled

Enter data dump mode Disabled RS232 settings 9600,N,8,1,

XON/XOFF

and

CTS/RTS

Fine tune darkness 0 Base printing speed 0 Enable On demand mode Disabled Enable error/status report Disabled Set prefix character in error

report

Hex 15

Set euro character set 0 Enable slash zero Enabled Set wide bar and narrow bar

width for barcodes

Narrow : 2

Wide : 4

dots

Set the white gap width between

two black stripe of a barcode

3



Set codepage and data bits for

internal fonts

Codepage

437

Databit 8

Enable SJIS Japanese fonts Disabled Set feed button function Feed

function

Enable alert buzzer Enabled

Total printed label length 0 Total printed label counts 0 Ignored command settings Disabled Authorized setup password Level 1 :

1234

Level 2 :

9999

Language displayed on LCD English Enable cut mode without back

feed

Disabled

Enable peel mode without back

feed

Disabled

Base darkness set by factory

Base TPH offset set by factory



6. CALIBRATION AND ADJUSTMENTS

6.1 Media sensor position adjustment

There are 2 types of media sensor available in the printer: 1. Transmissive sensor to detect labels with gap, hole or notch. 2. Reflective sensor to detect labels with black mark or stripes.

There are 2 transmissive sensors; one of them is installed in the center along the media path, and the other one is aligned left. Both sensors are fixed. In order to detect gaps, holes and notch, media must be adjusted to match the sensor position.

However, when using reflective sensor to detect black mark, gaps, holes and notch, user can adjust the sensor location to anywhere along the media sensor slot in order to match the hole position.

How to adjust the position of the reflective sensor: 1. Press down the TPH release lever to release the print head module. 2. Lift the print head module to expose the media sensor cover. 3. Slide the media sensor until the reflective sensor aligns with the gap or notch.



6.2 Media sensor calibration

After the first time of installation, the print media is changed or the media sensor board is replaced, the media sensor calibration must be performed . There are 2 ways to start media sensor calibration.

1. Auto media calibration: Set the media sensor type and media type on LCD panel. Load the media (and ribbon for thermal transfer printing) properly. Move the media sensor to proper position and close the print head. Press the FEED button and media calibration will start automatically.

Note: If auto media calibration is failed, check the media type and feed a label again

2. Manual media calibration: Load the media (and ribbon for thermal transfer printing) properly. Move the media sensor to proper position and close the print head Press the MENU key to enter menu setting page and choose

MEDIA CALIBRATION item. Press MENU key again to exit setting page.

The maximum media calibration length can be changed on menu setting page. The maximum length can be set to 30 inches. It means that any labels with height smaller than 30 inches can be calibrated. For the media calibration to detect label height and gap position with a certain accuracy, printer will feed 3 more labels to collect enough information about the media. So if the label height to be calibrated is 3 inches, during media calibration at less 9 inches of labels will be fed for 3 labels. After calibrated, all related parameters will be stored in the EEPROM which is embedded in the main board .

Note: If media calibration cannot start automatically after media is changed, please perform media calibration manually by panel operation or command. Otherwise the printer may be failed to detect gap position correctly.



6.3 Print head pressure adjustment

All of the F1 printers are aligned in factory with 4 (102 mm) wide label paper and ribbon. If any media less than 4 in width is used, the rest pare of print head and roller might be damaged. In this case, the print head pressure can be readjusted so as to extend the print head life.

How to adjust the print head pressure: 1. Open the side cover 2. Loose the Print head latch. 3. Use a flat tip screwdriver to turn the screw shown the figure below.

To increase the pressure, turn the screw in counterclockwise direction. To decrease the pressure, turn the screw in clockwise direction.

4. Close the Print head latch. 5. Close the side cover

Note: Printing quality may be influenced seriously and even causing damage to the print head

to any misadjustment.



6.4 Ribbon Take-up spindle tension adjustment

How to adjust the ribbon take-up spindle tension: 1. Remove the media and ribbon. 2. Close the Print head latch 3. Use tape to attach a mylar strip to a ribbon core than put the ribbon core to the Ribbon Tack-up spindle. 4. Wind the mylar stripe around the ribbon core 6 full turn clockwise 5. Attach a 1000 gram spring scale to the end of the mylar strip and hold the scale stationary . 6. Pull the scale until the spindle start to move then record the value. 7. If the value between 550 to 600 gram, no adjustment is needed. 8. Adjust the tension adjustment counterclockwise or clockwise depend on the value is too big or too small . Precede #6. #7 and #8



6.5 Ribbon Supply spindle tension adjustment

1. Remove the media and ribbon. 2. Close the Print head latch 3. Use tape to attach a mylar strip to a ribbon core than put the ribbon core to the

Ribbon supply spindle. 4. Wind the mylar stripe around the ribbon core 6 full turn counterclockwise 5. Attach a 1000 gram spring scale to the end of the mylar strip and hold the scale

stationary. 6. Pull the scale until the spindle start to move then record the value. 7. If the value between 550 to 600 gram, no adjustment is needed. 8. Adjust the Tension adjustment counterclockwise or clockwise depend on the value is

too big or to small. Repeat Proceed #6, #7 and #8



7. OPTIONAL PARTS INSTALLATIONS

CAUTION The printer electronics are susceptible to static discharge.

Wear an anti-static wrist and attach it to the printer chassis

7.1 Cutter Installation

1. Turn off the power switch. 2. Remove the left cover and press down the TPH release lever to release the print head

module. 3. Locate the cutter in the two slots and secure two screws indicated in the figure below. 4. Turn on the power switch and enable cutter function from panel setting.



Install the media and the ribbon after the cutter is proper installed.

1. Put the media end on the roller. 2. Close the TPH latch. 3. Enter the setting menu on panel, enable the print mode to cut and

choose rotate cutter function. 4. After the cutter is rotated, exit the menu setting. 5. Press feed button, 1 label will be feed out and cut off.

The above procedure is taken at first time after installation or cutter jam. Normally the procedure is:

1. Put the media end on the roller. 2. Close the TPH latch. 3. Turn on the printer. 4. Press the FEED button to let the media end go through the cutter.

In general the cutter cuts the label at the center of the media gap. User may change the cutting position for special media by operating panel setting or sending a shift command to the printer:

Panel setting: 1. Enter panel setting menu and choose OFFSET item. 2. Use UP/DOWN key to select CUT OFFSET option. 3. Save and exit the menu setting after a suitable cut offset is adjusted. 4. Feed a label and cut off. 5. Repeat the procedure if the cutting position is still incorrect.

Sending a shift command: You may send a shift command. KI; _

where - is a signed byte and in terms of dots. This parameter can be saved permanently in the EEPROM.



7.2 Dispenser/Rewinder installation

7.2.1 Installation

1. Turn off the power switch. 2. Remove the left cover and press down the TPH release lever to release the print head

module. 3. Screw the peeler brace to the printer as shown in the figure below. 4. Turn on the power switch and enable peeler function from panel setting



7.2.2 Diagram of Media and ribbon installation for peeler



8. FIRMWARE UPGRADING

There is only one way to upgrade the firmware or change the emulation (from PPLA to PPLB or PPLB to PPLA).

Run the upgrade utility and let the firmware modify itself. When update utility unsuccessfully, please try again.

8.1 Upgrade Utility and Diskette

This diskette (ZIP file) contains the related files and data that you may change or upgrade the firmware.

The Argox F1 printer basically can run 2 emulation, PPLA (Datamax) or PPLB (EPL2) emulation. It depends on which emulation is burned on the on-board flash memory.

Before changing the firmware decompress the file first.

1. C:\>MD ARGX 2. C:\>CD ARGX 3. C:\ARGX\>COPY A:README.TXT 4. C:\ARGX\>A:PKUNZIP A:FW.ZIP

8.2 Procedure to change the PPLA (Datamax emulation)

For F1: 1. Turn on the printer and wait for 3 seconds 2. Set PC to MS-DOS (exit from Windows) 3. C:\ARGX\>PPLA

... .

.

4. The following messages will be displayed on the LCD sequentially during Installation. Power LED will start to blink.



UPGRADING FW " "RESTART PRINTER

5. When "RESTART PRINTER " is displayed on the LCD and all the LEDs are blinking, turn off the power until all the LEDs go OFF then turn on the printer again.

Note: It is very important that DO NOT TURN OFF the printer during changing the

firmware till "RESTART PRINTER" is present. Otherwise unpredictable results may occur.

8.3 Procedure to change the PPLB (EPL2 emulation)

For F1: 4. Turn on the printer and wait for 3 seconds 5. Set PC to MS-DOS (exit from Windows) 6. C:\ARGX\>PPLB

... .

.

4. The following messages will be displayed on the LCD sequentially during Installation. Power LED will start to blink.

UPGRADING FW " "RESTART PRINTER

5. When "RESTART PRINTER is displayed on the LCD and all the LEDs are blinking, turn off the power until all the LEDs go OFF then turn on the printer again.

Note: It is very important that DO NOT TURN OFF the printer during changing the

firmware till "RESTART PRINTER" is present. Otherwise unpredictable results may occur.

If the whole procedure can not complete within 2 minutes or "Printer Time Out" happens, rerun all procedure. That is for example, Write fault error writing device LPT1 Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail?



You just type and then Y to terminate the procedure.

- Printer: Turn off and turn on the printer - PC: abort the transmission and type >PPLA or >PPLB

8.4 Verification

To confirm that you had successfully changed the firmware you just turn on the printer and check the string displayed on LCD. For PPLA emulation, READY (203, PPLA) will be displayed. For PPLB emulation, READY (203, PPLB) will be displayed.



9. MAINTENANCE AND TROUBLE SHOOTING

9.1 Printer status indication

The printer has built-in monitors for the status. The status and error indications will be displayed on the front panel LED indicators and the LCD display if it is equipped. Generally, when a malfunction or an abnormal condition occurs, the ALERT LED will keep blinking and printing and communication between the host and printer will stop. To understand the problem, please check the LED indicators and LCD display on the front panel.

CAUTION The printer electronics are susceptible to static discharge. Wear an anti-static wrist and attach it to the printer chassis

LCD display Blinking LED

Buzzer alert

Description

PAUSE ALERT NO The printer is at pause state. Press CANCEL to return to normal state.

MEDIA OUT ALERT YES The media is not installed or used up. Printer fail to detect the media gap .

RIBBON OUT ALERT YES The ribbon is not installed or end-of-ribbon occurred. Load new ribbon to the printer. If you just use thermal media , please disable the RIBBON on LCD.

SERIAL IO ERROR ALERT YES Format or baud rate of the RS232 communication is inconsistent between the printer and host.

CUTTER FAILED ALERT YES The cutter can not cut off the media, check the media and cutter.

MEMORY FULL ALERT YES The printer buffer is full caused by the loaded soft fonts, graphics or forms. Check the format of these data. Call for service

HEAD TOO HOT ALERT YES The temperature of print head is too hot. Please wait



for several minutes; printer will resume printing automatically until the print head has cooled down.

HEAD OPEN ALERT YES The print head latch is released. Table 9.0



9.2 Trouble Shooting:

No indication: LCD display LED Description

OFF All the LED are OFF Out of power or printer out of work



Out of media indication:

LCD display Flash LED Description MEDIA OUT MEDIA

READY The media is not installed or used up. Printer is fail to detect the media gap .



Out of ribbon indication:

LCD display Flash LED Description



RIBBON OUT RIBBON READY

The ribbon is not installed or out of ribbon.

Serial port error:



LCD display Flash LED Description SERIAL IO ERROR READY The format or baud rate of the RS232 communication

is inconsistent between the printer and host.



9.3 Clearance


There are some components need to be clean-up occasionally:

Thermal print head

The debris of thermal paper or ribbon may collect on the print head causing characters or bar codes to appear light or faded. To clean the print head, wet a soft paper towel with isopropyl rubbing alcohol and use the damp towel to rub the dirt from the print head surface. To clean the print head after every roll of ribbon is recommended.

Platen roller:

If the roller becomes contaminated with grit, label adhesive, or ink, printing quality may be adversely affected. To clean the roller, using a clean cloth and alcohol, wipe off any accumulated debris.

Media sensor:

The dirt on the paper sensor will cause the miss or unstable detection of label gap. Clean it with bristle brush or air blow once in a while.

Note: Switch off the power before cleaning!



9.4 Replacement


Power supply fuse replacement


1. Switch off the power and disconnect the AC power cord. 2. Open the left side cover of the printer. 3. Replace the fuse which is located at the upper left corner of the power supply with the

same specification (250V 5 amps) fuse. 4. Close the cover.



9.4.1 TPH (thermal print head) replacement

To replace the print head, please follow the procedure as shown on Figures below.

Remove the print head cable from the print head. Release the screws Remove the print head from the module.



10. OPERATIONAL THEOREM

10.1 System block diagram:

F1 printer: F1 printer is the printer, consists of:

Main board: A four layers PCBA, consists of a micro-controller, FLASH ROM, SDRAM components required for the printing functions.

Panel board: A two- layers PCBA, consist of a three push button switches, three LED indicators and one LCD module (option) for users access, status and error indication.

Ribbon sensor:

Main Board

Peeler

sensor

Ribbon sensor

TPH

Reflective

Media sensor

Roller

Motor

Cutter

PS/2 keyboard Controller

F1

LCD module

Panel board

SPS

24V DC

90~240

VAC

RS232/USB/Centronics

See-Through

Media sensor



A one layer PCBA, consist of a reflective type object sensor designate for ribbon detection.

Reflective Media sensor A one layer PCBA, consist of a reflective type object sensor designate for media/gap detection.

See-Through Media sensor A one layer PCBA, consist of a See-through type object sensor designate for media/gap detection.

Thermal print head (TPH) There are 864 heat elements consist in the TPH. Each heat element can be turn on/off individually.

Motor: A bipolar hybrid stepping motor is used for carrying label and ribbon during printing.

Dispenser and rewinder (option) A mechanism designate for the automatic separation of label and take-up the backing paper.

Peeler sensor (option) An one layer PCBA, consist of a see-through type object sensor designate to detect the printed label is removed or still exist.

Cutter assembly (option) Consisting of a DC motor, a switch, gears and a rotary cutter. It is used for cutting the printed label automatically.

SPS (Switching Power supply) The switching Power supply converts the input power (90VAC to 250VAC) to 24VDC. A 5 Amps fuse is also included in the power supply for over current protection.

Host controller: An equipment which can send the printing command to printer through RS232 serial port, Centronics parallel port or USB port. Usually a PC is connected.



10.2 Main board block diagram and description

Micro-controller (U2) A HITACHI 32 bit RISC processor is selected as the controller for this printer. The rich on-chip functions such as: Integrated timer, DMA controller, A/D convert, Serial communication interface, Pattern generator and I/O ports make the printer high performance and compact size.

FLASH memory (U8) There is a 4M bytes FLASH on the main board to store the program, character and bar

TPH

Cutter

Sensors

Power Supply

TPH Driver

Relay

Micro- Controller

EXTENSION SLOT

Flash

DRAM

Centronics Driver

RS232 Driver

DC/DC Converter

TM

STB1-STB3 LATCH DATA CLOCK

PEELER PAPER RIBBON TPH cover

24V DC

A/D

+5V

TxD RxD CTS RTS

A0~A20

D0~D16

To controller

To controller

Panel board Driver

Motor Driver Motor USB

Contrl block

To controller



code fonts. It also saves some parameters which are stored permanently for printing, communication, ribbon and media detection and special controls

SDRAM (U13) A 8M bytes SDRAM is selected as the medium of storage for the printing image. In order to have fast access to the memory, 16 bits data bus width is selected

RS232 driver/receiver (U24) To convert the serial port signal to/from micro-controller to RS232 voltage level, a RS232 driver/receiver with integral charge pump circuit is used.

CENTRONICS interface (U6, U11, U14, U15, U17, and U20) Through these interface, all the data come from the host controller are latched then read by the Micro-controller.

DC/DC converter (U3, U4, U5) To convert the 24V input power to 5V, 3.3V, and 1.5V, to be used as the power supply for micro-controller, EEPROM, SDRAMetc.

Relay (RY1) To prevent the TPH from being damaged by the unstable power condition when the printer is switched on, RY2 disconnected the power supply (24V) to the TPH. RY2 has to be activated before printing.

Extension slot (J4) This slot is designate for the connection of all the optional extension modules.

Motor driver (U10) In order to have enough toque and fast speed, a drivers are used on the main board, drives a unipolar stepper motor.

LED driver (U25) To provides the sink current to turn on/off the LEDs on the Panel Board.

Keyboard interface (U6, U18, U22, U26) This interface is a bi-directional synchronize serial interface, fully compatible with PS2 keyboard interface of IBM PC. User may use a standard PS2 keyboard to control the



printer.

10.3 Panel board block diagram and description

The Panel board consists of six push bottom switches, two LED indicators, one buzzer, and one 16X2 LCD display module for users access, status and error indication.

Panel board diagram



10.4 Sensor board diagram and description

The circuit of all the sensor board (Media sensor board, Ribbon sensor board and Peeler board) is identical. A reflective sensor is used for these purposes.

Sensor board diagram



10.5 Wiring diagram

MAIN BOARD

J3 J8

PANEL BOARD Motor

J2

PEELER/Cutter J5

RIBBON J9

Reflective J11

POWER SUPPLY

TPH

Peeler sensor

board

Ribbon sensor

board

Media sensor

board

J1

See-Through J7/J10 See-through

sensor board



11. RECOMMENDED SPARE PARTS

part number description 55-F1002-001 F1 Main board 55-F1003-001 F1 Panel board 55-F1004-001 F1 Head open sensor board 55-F1005-001 F1 Media sensor(Reflective) 55-F1006-001 F1 Media sensor(See-IR) 55-F1007-001 F1 Media sensor(See-Receiver) 55-F1008-001 F1 Peeler/Cutter connect board 55-F1012-001 F1 Ribbon sensor board 23-82424-002 Thermal print head 22-80001-001 Stepping motor 59-F0001-001 Cutter module 50-20401-001 RS232 cable 98-20002-021 Switching power supply



APPENDIX A: STAND ALONE OPERATION

This appendix covers stand-alone operation with keyboard or barcode reader.

Keyboard

To use the printer in stand-alone operation with a keyboard, please follow the procedure described below:

Press MENU key to enter setting menu on LCD panel. Enter password to switch to privileged menu and enable AUTO FORM function. Save the changes and leave setting menu by pressing MENU key again. Make a form for the keyboard. Download the form to the printer and save it to the flash memory permanently. Turn off the printer. Connect the keyboard to the keyboard interface. Turn on the printer. Select your form and press enter to confirm, or change form by press up and down. Type the input data according to the instructions shown in the first row on LCD.

Keyboard Functions Key Function ESC 1. Go back to the previous variable input field.

2. During data input level, keep pressing or CANCEL key on panel for more than 5 seconds can force the print to go back to the select form level. Users can change to other forms here and press enter to start the form.

3. In select form level, keep pressing or CANCEL key on panel for more than 5 seconds can force the print to exit stand alone mdoe and switch back to normal printing state. However, you must still disable the AUTO FORM function in setting menu. Otherwise it will start stand alone operation mode again when the printer is restarted.

Backspace Delete the first character in the left side of the cursor and shift all the characters in the right side forwards.



Insert Insert a new character on the cursor position Shift Switch between upper/lower case of character during shift key is

pressing. Delete Delete the character on the cursor and shift all the characters in the

right side forwards. Caps Lock Switch to upper case character Space Move the cursor to right Home Move the cursor to the leftmost position End Move the cursor to the rightmost position

Example: Stand alone operation with keyboard form

Please follow the procedure below: 1. Make a command file for the form, KBD.FRM

2. Send the file, KBD.FRM to printer under MS-DOS DOS command: COPY/B KBD.FRM LPT1:

Command Description ZS Enable store to flash FK"KBDFORM" Delete previous one FS"KBDFORM" Start of form

V00,15,N,"Product Name ?" Define variable and display message C0,10,N,+1,"Product No. ?" Define counter and display message Q50,24 Set label dimension q406 Set label width S2 Set printing speed D8 Set printing darkness ZT Print from top

A50,20,0,4,1,1,R,ABC COMPANY Print fixed data B50,60,0,2,2,4,40,B,C0 Print barcode I25 for counter A50,150,0,3,1,1,N,V00 Print the input product FE End of form ZN Disable store to flash



3. Enable the AUTO FORM function in the privileged setting menu. 4. Turn off the printer, connect the keyboard and then turn on the printer. 5. The LCD will display this message:

SELECT FORM KBDFORM

6. Use UP/DOWN key to select form and press enter to confirm. 7. Once a form is selected, LCD will display:

LOADING FORM KBDFORM

8. Key-in the input device and barcode data.

Product Name? Barcode Printer

Product No.? 0123456789

9. Input the label count and copy count.

LABEL SET NO. ? 2

COPIES PER LAB? 3

10. 6 labels will be printed out and the printer will go to step 8, waiting for data input.



Barcode Reader

Example: Stand alone operation with READER form

Please follow the procedure below: 1. Make a command file for the form, READER.FRM

2. Send the file, READER.FRM to printer under MS-DOS DOS command: COPY/B READER.FRM LPT1:

3. Disable the AUTO FORM function in the privileged setting menu. 4. Turn off the printer, connect the keyboard and then turn on the printer. 5. The form READER is automatically executed. Scan product name and number

Command Description ZS Enable store to flash FK"READER" Delete previous one FS"READER Start of form

V00,15,N,"Product Name ?" Define variable and display message C0,10,N,+1,"Product No. ?" Define counter and display message Q50,24 Set label dimension q406 Set label width S2 Set printing speed D8 Set printing darkness ZT Print from top

A50,20,0,4,1,1,R,ABC COMPANY Print fixed data B50,60,0,2,2,4,40,B,C0 Print barcode I25 for counter A50,150,0,3,1,1,N,V00 Print the input product PA1 Single copy FE End of form ZN Disable store to flash



From printed bar codes using the barcode reader.

Product Name? APPLE

Product No.? 11223344

6. A label is printed. The copy count depends on the PA command for the READER form. Step 4 is automatically repeated.

Notes: 1. To return to normal operation, press and hold theon keyboard or CANCEL key

on panel for more than 5 seconds. 2. During stand alone operation, data can be input through

Keyboard Barcode reader Parallel port Serial port USB

3. For the keyboard form the P command is not allowed, while for the barcode reader/ Scanner form, a PA command must be included.

manual manutenção série f1

Documents

pin assignment

printer description

f1 technical manual

serial interface specification

usb interface

argox information

ps2 keyboard interface

communication specification