Comtec Encore 4 User manual

User's Manual
Portable Printer
Part No. UMAN-EN4
Comtec Information Systems, Inc.
Rev. 1.2 July 21, 1998

WARNING
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits
for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provided 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.
Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to
operate this equipment.
Proprietary Statement
This manual contains proprietary information of Comtec Information
Systems, Inc. It is intended solely for the information and use of
parties operating and maintaining the equipment described herein.
Such proprietary information may not be used, reproduced, or
disclosed to any other parties for any other purpose without the
expressed written permission of Comtec Information Systems, Inc.
Inasmuch as every effort has been made to supply accurate informa-
tion in this manual, Comtec is not liable for any erroneous information
or omissions.
Copyrights
The copyrights in this manual and the printer described therein are
owned by Comtec Information Systems, Inc. All rights are reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction of this manual or the software in the
printer may result in imprisonment of up to one year and fines of up
to $10,000 (17 U.S.C.506). Copyright violators may be subject to
civil liability.

iii
Contents
Introduction ................................................................... 1
Printer Specifications ................................................... 3
Physical......................................................................3
Environmental............................................................3
Printing Characteristics..............................................3
Communications Interface .........................................3
Communications Protocol.......................................... 4
Pin Assignments ........................................................ 4
Media Type.................................................................5
Media Handling.......................................................... 5
Software Features...................................................... 5
Controls ......................................................................... 7
Keypad Functions ...................................................... 7
Self Test ..................................................................... 7
Batteries and Charging................................................. 8
Removing and Replacing Batteries ........................... 8
Low Battery Shutdown............................................... 9
Conditioning............................................................... 9
Installation of Media: DirectThermal Units............... 11
Peeler not in use ...................................................... 11
Peeler in use ............................................................ 11
Troubleshooting .......................................................... 13
Self Test: ..................................................................13
Troubleshooting Guide............................................. 13
Maintenence ................................................................ 15
Cleaning the print head:........................................... 15
Cleaning the platen.................................................. 16
Cleaning the peeler roller: ......................................16
Cleaning Sensors .................................................... 16
Communicating to the Printer....................................17
Cable Communications............................................17
IR Communications ................................................. 18
SRRF Communications ........................................... 18
continued next page

APPENDIX A ............................................................. A-1
APPENDIX B ............................................................. A-4
APPENDIX C ............................................................. A-5
APPENDIX D .............................................................. A-6
Patent Information..................................................... A-7

Operation Section

O-1 UMAN-EN4
Encore 4 Printer
Introduction
The Encore™4 Intelligent Portable Printer utilizes the
latest in direct thermal or thermal transfer printing tech-
nology. This product is designed for portable printing and
is ideally suited to print shelf labels, tickets, price change
stickers, receipts, linerless labels and any other mobile
applications where printing is required on-site.
Integrated battery status and hardware diagnostics
circuits, as well as its compact size, make the Encore 4
ideal for mobile printing. Some Encore 4 models offer
wireless communications via short range radio frequency
(SRRF) or infrared (IrDA) interfaces.
This manual should be read in its entirety before at-
tempting operation of this product. Further information
regarding this printer’s features and operation can be
found in the Comtec Printing Systems Programming
Manual (Comtec p/n PRO-MAN).

O-3 UMAN-EN4
Printer Specifications
Physical
Height: 5.5" (139.7 mm)
Width: 6.1" (154.9 mm)
Depth: 4.0" (101.6 mm)
Weight: 2.90 lbs.(1.32 kg) w/o stock
Environmental
Operating temperature: 14°to 104°F (-10°to
40°C)
Storage temperature: -4°to 140°F (-20°to 60°C)
Relative humidity: 95% non-condensing
The Encore 4 automatically compensates for head
temperature when printing. Protection circuitry prevents
damage due to excessive print head temperatures.
Printing Characteristics
Print Head Life: 1,964,160" (50 Km nominal)
(estimated)
Technology: Direct Thermal or Thermal
Transfer
Print Speed: 2-3 IPS (50.8-76.2 mm)
Print Head Width: 4.25" (108 mm)
Print Head Density: 203 DPI (8 dots/mm)
Number of Dots: 832
Communications Interface
• Built-in RS-232 port for one or two-way communi-
cation to terminal or other host up to 19.2K BPS.
• Encore 4 Wireless: Infrared communications via
IrDA specifications or Short Range Radio Fre-
quency (SRRF) communications at 900 MHz or 2.4
GHz. Frequencies of 418 and 433 MHz, compat-
ible with EC specifications, are also available.

O-4
UMAN-EN4
Communications Protocol
The Encore 4 supports RTS/CTS (hardware) and XON/
XOFF handshaking protocols to synchronize with the
host terminal. The handshaking protocol and the baud
rate are programmable. The default communications
parameters are:
Handshaking = RTS/CTS Baud Rate = 19,200
Parity = None Data Bits = 8
Stop Bits = 1
Pin Assignments
The following are the pin assignments for the 8-pin DIN
RS232C serial connector.
Pin Pin Signal Signal
Number Name Type Description
1 RXD input Receive Data
2 TXD output Transmit Data
3 CTS input Clear To Send from host
4 RTS output Request To Send
set high when printer
is ready to accept command/
data
5 GND Ground
6 NC No Connect
7 DSR input Data Set Ready
Low to high transition turns
printer on, High to low
transition turns printer off
(if enabled)
8 DTR output Data Terminal Ready
set high when printer is on
(set to battery voltage for
“S” versions)