Avery Dennison ALX 92x User manual

06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL
ALX 92x
Setup
Winding pattern ............................................. 2
Selecting the printing material .......................4
Thermal transfer / direct thermal printing .. 4
Label material ............................................ 4
Thermal transfer ribbon ............................. 5
Inserting label material .................................. 6
Removing spent backing paper ................. 6
Removing glue residue .............................6
Inserting a new label roll ........................... 7
Inserting ribbon ............................................11
Removing spent ribbon ............................11
Inserting a new ribbon roll ........................12
Settings .......................................................13
Ribbon tension .........................................13
Label sensor ............................................14
Adjustment button for printhead pressure 15
Dispensing edge ......................................16
Dispenser parameters .............................16
Material Parameters ................................17
Index ............................................................18

06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL Setup
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Winding pattern
The winding diagram shows the winding direction of material and ribbon
through the ALX92x.
«Follow this basic scheme when inserting/changing material and ribbon.
¯Only specially trained staff to insert and change the ribbons and material.
[1] Material and ribbon path in the ALX92x (left version).
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06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL Setup
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Names of parts No. Name No. Name
1 Adjustment knob for printhead
pressure 13 Feed roller
2Ribbon rewinding mandrel 14 Deflection roll
3 Ribbon unwinding mandrel 15 Material guide
4Operation panel 16 Opener
5 Deflection roll 17 Brake roller
6Material dancer arm 18 Adjustment wheel for label
sensor
7 Material unwinder 19 Print roller
8Guiding rod 20 Dispensing edge
9 Backing paper rewinder 21 Printhead
10 Backing paper dancer arm 22 Ribbon deflection axle
11 Pressure roller 23 Ribbon deflection roller with
stress relief
12 Lever for pressure roller 24 Ribbon roller
[Tab. 1] ALX 92x operating parts

06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL Setup
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Selecting the printing material
Thermal transfer / direct thermal printing
The ALX92x can print onto label material using the direct thermal mode or
thermal transfer mode.
Direct thermal Direct thermal printing is done without ribbon. The direct thermal process
requires label material with a temperature-sensitive coating. The printout is
produced by applying precise bursts of heat to the material under the
printhead. This changes the colour of the coating.
Thermal
transfer Thermal transfer printing is done with (thermal transfer) ribbon on “normal” label material. The printout is produced by applying precise bursts of heat to
the thermal transfer ribbon under the printhead. This transfers the colour
particles to the label.
Label material
The ALX92x was developed for printing on self-adhesive stock.
Pay attention to the following factors when selecting label material:
•The roughness of the material surface
•The printhead temperature required for the colour transfer
•Size of the material roll. The following dimensions need to be checked:
Outside-/inside diameter of the material roll and the material width
Material
roughness If the material is very rough, the printhead will be worn down more quickly than when using a smooth material. This is an important aspect of thermal
printing. With thermal transfer printing, this doesn’t pose such a problem,
because you can – and indeed should – select a ribbon that iswider than the
material. This means that the printhead is protected over the entire width of
the material.
Printhead
temperature High printhead temperatures can similarly cause problems. The material and the ribbon take longer to cool. As a result, the print quality may degrade –
particularly at high print speeds. The printhead also wears down more
quickly.
¯The printing result is highly dependent on the right combination of label
material and thermal transfer ribbon. The surface of the label material
determines which thermal transfer ribbons produces the best adhesion.
Unsuitable ribbons can lead to poor printing results.
PFurther information can be found in the topic section Technical data, section
“Label material”.

06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL Setup
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Thermal transfer ribbon
The following is recommended for thermal transfer ribbons:
•The back of the ribbon should be coated so that it produces no static or
friction (Backcoating). If this isn’t the case, the printhead may be damaged by
static discharge coming off the ribbon surface.
•The ribbons need to be designed for “corner edge” printheads.
•Ribbons should be able to handle print speeds of up to 400mm/s (16ips).
•Size of the ribbon roll: The following dimensions need to be checked: outside/
inside diameter of the ribbon roll, ribbon width.
Armor APR600 (Avery part no. 2240-600-xxx) is a recommended ribbon
type.
¯The thermal transfer ribbon should only be slightly wider than the label
material.
•If an overly narrow ribbon is used, the border of the label material interferes
with the printhead – which wears it down more quickly.
•If an overly wide ribbon is used, creasing may occur in the ribbon. This can
led to poor printing results.
PFor more details on the permissible dimensions of ribbon rolls, refer to
Technical data, “Thermal Transfer Ribbon”.
CAUTION!-Thermaltransferribbonswithoutthesepropertiescandegrade
the performance of the printer and the print quality as well as damage the
printhead!

06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL Setup
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Inserting label material
Removing spent backing paper
The backing paper rewinder can exactly
rewind the amount of backing paper remai-
ning from a material roll with 300mm dia-
meter [2A].
Assuming backing paper has gathered on
the rewinder:
1. Pull out the release button [2B].
The tensioning mechanism of the rewinder
is slackened.
2. Remove the rewound backing paper.
Removing glue residue
«If necessary, clean the following compo-
nents:
•Printhead
•Dispensing plate
•Deflection rollers
•Drive roller
•Pressure rollers
PFollow the directions provided in topic sec-
tion Maintenance and Cleaning.
WARNING!
•Rotating parts can trap items and
draw them in!
«When working on the device, do
not wear loose jewellery, long
sleeves, long hair, and similar.
«Close the devices cover before
printing.
•During operation, the printhead
can become hot.
«Be careful when touching the
printhead!
CAUTION! - A backing paper roll
exceeding the diameter limit can
stall and damage the machine!
«Always remove the backing paper
from the rewinder if you insert a
new material roll!
[1] Rewound backing paper on the ALX92x (A).
A
[2] Removing rewound backing paper.
ABacking paper roll
BRelease button
A
B

06/06 Rev. 3.05-01 OPERATING MANUAL Setup
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Inserting a new label roll
1. Turn thumb screw [3A] loose and swivel
guide rod [3B] aside.
2. Push the material roll onto the unwinder
[3C] with the appropriate adapter rings.
The material roll should turn in an anti-
clockwise direction when unwinding.
3. Swivel guide rod to the unwinder axle as
illustrated [3] and shift it close to the mate-
rial roll. Tighten the thumb screw again.
4. Lay the material around deflection rollers
[4A] and dancer arm [4B].
PContinued overleaf
[3] ALX92x with half used up label roll.
A
B
C
[4] Threading the label material around deflection rollers (A)
and dancer arm (B).
A
AB

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5. Open the front cover.
6. Set the material guide to the width of the
label material. To do this loosen the thumb
screw [5A] at the front material guide, shift
the material guide [5B] crossways to the
feed direction and tighten thumb screw
again.
¯The label material should slide easily
between the material guides.
7. Press the opener [6A] to raise the contact
rollers [6B]. Push the beginning of the
label material through underneath the con-
tact rollers and the print head.
8. Position the contact rollers while pressing
down the opener [7].
¯Both contact rollers should press down
the material symmetrically.
PContinued overleaf
[5] Adjusting the material guide (B).
A
B
[6] Inserting the label material at the print module.
A
B
[7] Positioning the contact rollers.

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9. Peel labels off the backing paper for a
stretch of appr. 50cm [8].
10.Open the pressure roller lever [9A] by
pressing it downwards.
11.Pull the backing paper backwards under-
neath the printing module and insert it as
illustrated [9].
12.ALX925/926: Loosen the two thumb
screws [10B] at the spring-suspended
blocks. Position the spring-suspended
blocks [10A] in a way that the contact rolls
press symmetrically on the backing paper.
Retighten the thumb screws.
ALX924: Loosen the thumb screw [10B].
Position the spring-suspended block [10A]
in a way that the contact roll presses in the
middle on the backing paper. Retighten the
thumb screw.
13.Tighten the backing paper backwards and
close the lever [11].
[8] Peeling some labels off .
[9] Threading the backing paper underneath the printing
module.
A
[10] Spring-suspended block (A) at a ALX924.
B
A
[11] Closing the pessure roller lever.

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14.Thread the backing paper around dancer
arm [12A] and deflection roller as illus-
trated [12].
15.Pull out the release button [12B].
16.Insert the end of the backing paper into the
rewinder as illustrated [13].
17.Push in the locking knob.
18.Turn the rewinder manually anti-clockwise
until the backing paper is tightened [14].
[12] Threading the backing paper around the tensioning arm
(A).
A
B
[13] Threading the backing paper around the rewinder.
[14] Tightening the backing paper.