Datamax M-Class Mark II User manual

Ope r at or ’s M an ua l

Copyrig ht I nfor m a t ion
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CG Tim es based upon Tim es New Rom an under license from the Monot ype Corporation.
Windows is a registered t radem ark of the Microsoft Corporat ion.
All ot her brand and product nam es ar e tr adem ark s, serv ice m ark s, regist er ed t radem arks, or
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Lim it a t ion of Lia bilit y
I n no event shall Datam ax-O’Neil be liable t o t he purchaser for any indirect, special or
consequential dam ages or lost profit s arising out of or relat ing t o Datam ax-O’Neil’s product s, or
the perform ance or a breach t hereof, even if Dat am ax- O’Neil has been adv ised of t he possibilit y
t her eof. Dat am ax - O’Neil’s liab ilit y, if any, t o t h e purchaser or to the cust om er of the purchaser
hereunder shall in no ev ent exceed t he t ot al am ou nt s paid t o Dat am ax- O’Neil her eunder by t h e
purchaser for a defect ive product .
I n no event shall Datam ax- O’Neil be liable to the purchaser for any dam ages result ing from or
relat ed t o any failure or delay of Datam ax- O’Neil in t he deliv ery or installat ion of t he com puter
hardw are, supplies or soft ware or in the perform ance of any services.
Som e st at es do not perm it the exclusion of incident al or consequent ial dam ages, and in those
st at es t he foregoing lim itat ions m ay not apply . The w ar rant ies her e give you specific legal right s,
and you m ay hav e ot her legal right s w hich var y from st at e t o st at e.
Firm w a re ( Sof t w a re ) Agr ee m e nt
The en closed Fir m w ar e ( Soft w are) residen t in t h e Print er is owned by Licensor or it s suppliers and
is licensed for used only on a single printer in t he user’s Trade or Business. The User agrees not
to, and not to aut horize or perm it any ot her person or party t o, duplicate or copy t he Firm ware or
t he inform ation cont ained in t he non- volatile or program m able m em or y. The firm ware ( Soft war e)
is prot ected by applicable copyright laws and Licensor ret ains all right s not expressly grant ed. I n
no event will Licensor or its suppliers be liable for any dam ages or loss, including direct , incidental,
econom ic, special, or consequent ial dam ages, arising out of the use or inability t o use the
Firm ware ( Soft w are) .
I nform at ion in this document is subj ect t o change wit hout not ice and does not represent a
com m it m ent on t he part of Dat am ax- O’Neil Corporat ion. No part of t his m anual m ay be
reproduced or t ransm it t ed in any form or by any m eans, for any purpose other t han the
purchaser 's personal use, wit hout t he ex pressed written perm ission of Datam ax- O’Neil
Cor poration.
All right s reserved
Cop yright © 2012 , Dat am ax - O’Neil
Par t Num ber 8 8- 2 340- 0 1, Rev ision K

I m port a nt Sa fe t y I n st r uct ion s
This print er has been carefully designed t o pr ovide m any years of safe, reliable per form ance. As
wit h all types of elect rical equipm ent , however, there are a few basic precautions you should t ake
to avoid hurting yourself or dam aging the equipm ent :
• Carefully read t he provided installation and operating inst ruct ions.
• Read and follow all warning instruction labels on the printer.
• Place t he print er on a flat, firm , solid surface.
• Make sure all openings on the printer rem ain unblocked; never insert anyt hing into the
openings or ventilat ion slots.
• Do not place t he print er near a heat source.
• Do not use your printer near wat er, or spill liquid into it .
• Be certain t hat your power source m at ches a list ed voltage rating for t he print er ( if unsure,
check with your dealer or local ut ilit y com pany).
• Do not place the power cord where it can be st epped on; and, if t he power cord becom es
dam aged, im m ediat ely replace it.
• I f service is required, use only qualified trained technicians t o repair your printer.
Agency Com pliance and Approva ls
UL60 95 0- 1 ; 2 nd Edit ion
CSA C22 .2 No. 609 50 - 1- 0 7 2nd Edit ion; 2005- 12
The m anufact ur er declares under sole responsibilit y t hat t his product conform s to the follow ing
st andar ds or ot her nor m at ive docum ent s:
EMC: EN 5 50 22 ( 200 6, A1: 20 07 ) Class B
EN 50024 ( 1998, A1: 2001, A2: 2003)
Safet y: This pr oduct com plies w it h t he requir em en t s of EN 6095 0- 1 , 2nd Edit ion 2005 - 12
ROHS: 2002/ 95/ EC
LVD: 2006/ 95/ EC
Gost - R
GB4 94 3- 2 00 1, GB9254 - 20 08 , GB1 76 25 .1- 2003
FCC: This device com plies wit h FCC CFR 47 Par t 15 Class A.
Note: This equipm ent has been t ested and found t o com ply w it h t he lim it s for a Class A digit al device, pursuant t o
Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These lim its ar e designed to provide reasonable protect ion against har m ful int erfer ence
when t he equipm ent is operat ed in a com m er cial envir onm en t. This equipm en t gen erat es, uses, and can radiat e radio
frequency energy, and if not inst alled and used in accordance w it h the inst ruct ions in t his m anual, it m ay cause
harm ful inter fer ence t o radio com m u nicat ions. Operat ion of t his equipm ent in a r esident ial ar ea is likely t o cause
harm ful inter fer ence in which case the user will be required t o correct t h e int er fer ence at h is ow n ex pen se.

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1 Ge t t in g St a r t ed
1.1 Introduction ................................................................... 1
1.2 Unpacking...................................................................... 1
2 Prin t er Se t up
2.1 Printer Connections ......................................................... 3
2.2 Loading Media ................................................................ 6
2.3 Media Sensor Adjustment ................................................. 8
2.4 Loading Ribbon ............................................................... 9
3 Prin t er Ope ra t ion
3.1 Fr ont Panel ( Non- Display Models) ...................................... 13
3.2 Fr ont Panel ( Display- Equipped Models) ............................... 15
3.3 Windows Driver............................................................... 16
3.4 Printer Configurat ion Ut ilit y............................................... 18
3.5 Media Calibration ............................................................ 19
3.6 User Defin ed Label ( Display- Equipped Models) .................... 22
4 M enu Syst e m
4.1 Menu Sy st em ( Display - Equipped Models) ....... .... .. .... .. .... .. ... 23
4.2 The User Menu................................................................ 24
4.3 The Advanced Menu ........................................................ 24
4.4 The Test Menu ................................................................ 25
4.5 Menu Details .................................................................. 25

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5 M ain t ena nce a nd Adj ust m ent s
5.1 Cleaning Intervals ........................................................... 47
5.2 Cleaning the Printhead..................................................... 48
5.3 Media Width Adjustment .................................................. 49
5.4 Print head Burn Line Adj ust m ent . .... ........ .... ..... .... ..... .... ..... 50
5.5 Print head Pr essure Adj ust m ent ......................................... 51
5.6 Printhead Replacement .................................................... 52
5.7 Darkness Adjustment....................................................... 53
5.8 Resetting the Printer........................................................ 54
5.9 Dow nloading Firm ware and Fonts ...................................... 55
5.10 File Handling Messages ( Display- Equipped Models) .... .... ..... . 56
6 Troublesh oot ing
6.1 Problem Resolution.......................................................... 59
6.2 Fault and Warning Messages ( Display - Equipped Models) .. ..... 63
6.3 Hex Dump Mode ............................................................. 68
Appe ndix A - Specifica t ion s
Appendix B - GPI O Port
Appe ndix C - Pape r M e nu Se t up ( Non- Display Models)
Appe ndix D - Cha ngin g t h e La ngu age

Ch apt e r 1 – Ge t t ing St a r t e d 1
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Congratulations on your M-Class Mark I I print er purchase. The M- Class Mark I I print er fam ily,
her eaft er r efer red t o as ‘t h e pr int er ’, blends t he r ugged dur abilit y of die- cast const r uct ion w it h
st at e- of- t he- art elect r onics and user - fr ien dly f eat u res t o redef ine t he st andar d in indust rial
therm al printers.
This m anual provides all t he inform ation
necessary t o operat e t he print er.
To print labels or t ags, sim ply refer to
the inst ructions included w it h t he
software you have chosen to creat e t he
labels. A Windows™ printer driver can
be found on our websit e
( ht tp: / / www.datam ax- oneil.com / ) or on
t he in cluded CD- ROM for pr int in g fr om
com m on applications. I f you wish t o
wr it e a cust om program , a copy of t he
Class Series 2 Progr am m er’s Manual
can also be found on t he CD- ROM.
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Aft er rem oving t he print er from t he packaging m aterial, check the content s. The following it em s
should be included:
Printer
Power Cord
CD- ROM an d Docu m ent at ion
Any special or additionally purchased it em s
Ad dit ion a l Re qu ir em e nt s
The following it em s are necessary for generat ing labels
from your print er. Cont act y our cust om er support or
sales representat iv e for adv ice on which m edia and
software m ay best be suited for your applicat ion.
Serial, USB or Parallel cable
Et hernet cable for optional LAN connectivit y
Applicable Media
I t is a good idea t o save all packaging m at er ials for fut ur e use.

Ch apt e r 1 – Ge t t ing St a r t e d 2

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 3
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Pow e r Conn ect ion
Before connecting t he AC Power Cord or inter face cables to the print er, ensure t he Power On/ Off
Switch is in the ‘Off’ position.
1. Place t he printer on a firm , level surface.
2. Ensure that the Power Swit ch on t he Print er is in the ‘Off’ position.
3. Connect t he AC Power Cord t o t he recept acle on the back of t he Print er, and t hen plug t he
AC Power Cord into a properly grounded out let . ( The pow er supply aut om at ically d et ect s
and t hen adj ust s t o t he applied line volt age; see Appendix A for t he acceptable volt age
ranges.)

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 4
I n t er fa ce Conn ect ion
The print er can be connect ed t o t he host via t he parallel, USB, serial, or optional net work
interface. The print er will aut om at ically connect t o t he first port that delivers valid dat a. Once
est ablished, the print er ’s pow er m ust be cycled ‘Off’ and ‘On’ to change an interface connect ion.
A couple of Op t ion a l Et h e rn e t Pr in t Se rvers ( w ired a nd w ireless) are available. For
inform ation on using t hese interfaces, refer to the inst ructions included with the opt ion for proper
cabling, set up, and configurat ion.
The Pa r alle l Con n ect ion n eeds a Cen t ron ics I EEE
128 4 cable w it h a 3 6- pin m ale connect or for
unidir ect ional ( forw ar d ch an nel) com m unicat ions, or
an I EEE 128 4 Com pliant cable for bi- dir ect ional
com m unications ( forw ar d and r ev erse channels) .
Also, for bi- direct ional com m unicat ions your host
m ust have suppor ting soft ware.
The U SB Con ne ct ion needs a USB cable and is
support ed in Windows 9 5 and great er oper at ing
sy stem s. Depending upon t he operat ing sy st em of
your host com put er, inst allat ion r equirem ent s m ay
differ slightly.
The Se r ia l Co nn ect ion needs a serial int erface
cable w it h specific pin- ou ts for pr op er
com m unications ( part num ber s and pin- out s ar e
giv en, below ; cont act y our r eseller t o order ) . The
interface supports RS- 232C com m unicat ions via a
DB- 9 con nect or . Serial por t set t ings are m enu-
select able and m ust m at ch your host ’s serial por t
set t ings.
Part # 32-2300-01 Part # 32-2301-01
SD I O a n d USB H ost Port Conn ect ion s
I f equipped wit h t he Secure Digit al I nput Output ( SDI O) and USB Host Por ts, t he print er can
accept ex t er nal st or age dev ices for font s, gr aphics, label for m at s, and firm ware files. The USB
Host Port also accepts a USB keyboard for st andalone, direct data (Line m ode) input applications;
see t he Class Ser ies 2 Progr am m er’s Manual for exam ples.

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 5
SD I O Con n ect ion s - When inst alling an SDI O Card, turn OFF the printer t hen slide t he card into
the slot. Module “ F” will be recognized by the print er. When rem oving a card, t urn OFF the printer
then press inward on t he card to release it .
USB H ost Por t Con ne ct io ns - The USB Host Por ts support plug and play device inst allat ion and
rem ov al. Modu le “ H” an d Modu le “ I ” will be r ecogn ized by t he print er.

• Mem ory device sizes up t o 16 GB are supported.
• I f equipped on t he m em ory device, ensure that t he Write Pr ot ect Swit ch is OFF.
• Before init ial use, form at t he ext ernal m em ory device; see Sect ion 4.5, Print er
Opt ions, Modules for det ails.
• Always allow process com plet ion befor e rem oving m odules.
Usin g M em or y Funct ions ( Display- eq uipped pr int er s)
Download your files t o t he device using Window s Explorer or DMX Config; see FI LE HANDLI NG
DEFI NI TI ONS in Appendix A. The following exam ples highlight several ways t o use m em ory
dev ices; u nless ot her wise n ot ed ( see Sect ion 4. 5, Print er Opt ions, Modu les for d et ails about
funct ion select ions) .

• Files that reside in Module “ X” cannot be copied; see t he Class Series 2 Program m er’s
Manual for m odule det ails.
• For access t o all funct ions, ensure that the Advanced Menu is select ed: Press Syst em
Se t t in gs select M e nu Mode and then Advan ced Men u.
To copy files st ored on a m odule t o or from the print er:
1. Press t he M EN U but t on then select Pr in t e r Op t ion s.
2. Select Module s and t hen Copy File .
3. Select t he file t o copy and t hen t he dest inat ion m odule I D.

When sharing configuration files bet ween print ers, use Rest ore As Current (see Section 4.5,
Sy st em Set t ings, Configurat ion File) an d t hen calibr at e t he print er .
To copy firm war e st ored on a m odule t o the print er:
1. Press t he TEST but t on t hen select User D efined La be l.
2. Select t he m odule I D and t he firm ware file.
To print files st ored on a m odule:
1. Press t he TEST but t on and t hen select Use r D efined La be l.
2. Select t he m odule I D t hen t he file t o print .

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 6

To print dir ect ly fr om st or ed files at pow er - up; see Sect ion 4.5, Syst em Settings, User Label
Mode.
To print a previous label form at t hat is stored in m em ory:
1. Press t he M EN U but t on then select Pr in t e r Op t ion s.
2. Select Module s and t hen Pr int File .
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Load m edia int o t he print er as follow s:
1. Open t he m edia cover and lower t he Media Hanger Guide ( if equipped) and Media Guide.
2. Press in on the Printhead Lat ch and raise t he Print head Assem bly.
Printhead Lat ch
Media Guide
Media Hanger Guide
3. Slide t he Roll Media onto t he Media Hub or Media Hanger. I f t he print er is equipped wit h a
Media Hanger, raise t he Media Hanger Guide. The Media Hanger Guide should be pushed
in war d so t hat it is j ust t ouchin g t he Roll Media.
4. Route t he Media through t he print er as shown. Raise the Media Guide. The Media Guide
should be pushed inward so that it is just t ouching t he edge of t he Media.

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 7
Roll Media
Media Hanger Guide
Media Sensor
Media Guide
5. Close the Printhead Assem bly and press down until it locks int o place.
6. Close the cover and press t he FEED but ton several tim es to position the m edia and ensure
proper t racking.
Pr int head Assem b ly
I f the printer does not correctly sense t he top of each label, it m ay be necessary t o calibrate the
print er ( see Sect ion 3 .5 Media Calibrat ion) .
The print er is fact or y set t o use 4- inch m edia ( and ribbon , if t herm al tr ansfer equipped) . Wh en using
a different widt h of m edia/ ribbon, r efer t o Sect ion 5. 3.
On M- 4 210 m odels eq uip ped w it h a Media Hanger in place of a Media Hub, high print speeds m ay
result in printing degradat ion. I t is r ecom m ended t o set t he print speed at 8ips or less.

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The Media Sensor needs t o be positioned so t hat the print er can detect the pr esence of m edia and
t he t op- of - for m ( ex cept for con t inuous st ock, wh er e t he TOF is set t h rough t h e fr ont p an el.
To adj u st :
1. Wit h m edia loaded, as described in Sect ion 2.2, grasp t he Slide Tab and m ove the Sensor
Eye Mar k int o position over m edia according t o t he t able below.
2. I f loading m edia, ret urn t o the m edia loading inst ruct ions.
Med ia Sensor Select ion an d Adj ust m en t
Media Type Sensor Eye Mark Position Sensing Required
Die-cut Near t he m iddle of t he label Gap
Notched Cent ered over t he notch Gap
Reflect iv e Cent er ed over t he black m ar k Reflect iv e
Con tin uous Near t he m iddle of t he m edia Con tin uous
‘Sensor Eye’ Mar k
Slide Tab

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Ribbon is required w it h t herm al t ransfer m edia. I t is recom m ended t hat t he widt h of t he ribbon be
slight ly wider t han the m edia being used. The printer can use eit her ribbons wit h t he ‘coat ing side
in’ or ribbons wit h t he ‘coat ing side out’. To load:

• Using a ribbon t hat is slight ly w ider t han y ou r m edia ( and liner , if an y) w ill help pr ot ect against
printhead wear.
• The ‘Media Type’ set ting within t he printer ’s set up m ust be set to ‘Therm al Transfer’ t o print
using ribbon. This can be accom plished via the DMXConfig Utility ( see section 3.4) ; or, if
disp lay- equip ped, v ia t he m enu sy st em ( see sect ion 4.5) .
1. Open t he m edia cover .
Press in on t he Print head
Lat ch and raise t he
print head assem bly.
Printhead Lat ch
2. Slide the Ribbon Roll onto t he Ribbon Supply Hub unt il it rest s against the flange. Ensure the
ribbon unwinds in t he correct direct ion ( see Ribbon Routing) . The illustrat ions below depict a
‘Coat ed Side I n’ ribbon.
I n k Side ( CSO Rib bon)
I n k Sid e ( CSI Ribb on )
Direct ional Arrows near t he Ribbon Supply Hub indicat e the correct ribbon rout e. Ribbon t ypes
are available with t he ink ( coat ing) layer w ound ‘in’ or ‘out’. Ensure t he inked side of t he
ribbon faces the m edia and NOT t he print head.

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 1 0
Rib bon Rou t in g D ia gr a m s
( CSI ) ‘Coat in g Side I n ’ Ribbon Rou t ing
( CSO) ‘Coat in g Side Ou t’ Ribbon Rout in g

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 1 1
3. Route t he r ibbon under the Ribbon I dler and then out t he front of the print er approxim ately 12
inches.
Ribbon Roll
Ribbon Supply Hub
Ribbon I dler
4. Close the Printhead Assem bly and press down until it locks int o place.
Pr int head Assem b ly

Ch apt e r 2 - Pr int e r Se t up 1 2
5. Rout e t he ribbon up and t hen around t o t he Ribbon Take- Up Hub, winding it several tim es in a
clockwise direct ion t o secure it in place.
Ribbon Tak e- u p Hu b
6. Close the cover and press t he Feed but t on several t im es t o posit ion the ribbon and ensur e proper
tracking.

Ch apt e r 3 - Pr int e r Oper at ion 1 3
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The Front Panel consist s of t hree indicator light s and t hree
function but tons. The funct ions of t hese light s and cont rols
are list ed in the following sect ions.
Non- display print ers can be configured using the DMXConfig
Ut ility ( see Sect ion 3.4) . The print er can also be configured
using t he Paper Menu Set up, (see Appendix C) for users that
do not have a host connection available.
3 .1 .1 Light s
Normal Mode
(Normal power-up)
STOP Solid On: Indicates the printer is in the ‘Paused’ state
Flashing: (When using the Peel & Present Option) Indicates
a label is presented to the operator.
Indicates a top of form or mechanical error has occurred
Solid On: Indicates the printer is on and ready for printing
Flashing: Indicates the printer is receiving data from the host
ERROR
READY
Both the READY and STOP Light s will be on d ur ing power - up init ializat ion.

Ch apt e r 3 - Pr int e r Oper at ion 1 4
3 .1 .2 Bu t t on s
PAU S E , FEED , and CANCEL perform different funct ions based on the oper at ional m ode.
Re ady Mode Fu nct ions
These funct ions can be perfor m ed at any t im e w hen t he pr in t er is at idle.
Fu nct ion Bu t t on ( s) D escr ipt ion
Pause Pause Pauses and un-pauses t he print er
Feed / Clear Fault Feed Feeds one label or clears fault condition
Cancel Cancel
Cancels t he current bat ch of labels. Press t he
Pause but ton to print t he next batch of labels in
the print er’s buffer.
Soft Reset Press and Hold
Pause & Cancel Reset s the pr inter, see Section 5.8
Print Test Label Pause & Feed Prints the Test Label
Print Configurat ion
Label Feed & Cancel Produces Dat abase Configuration and Test Label
Print Et hernet Label Pause, Feed & Cancel Prints the print ers Ethernet configurat ion
Quick Calibr at ion Press and Hold Feed Per for m s a “ Quick Calibrat ion” , see Sect ion 3. 5
Em pt y Calibration Press and Hold Pause
& Feed Per for m s a “ Em pt y Calibr at ion” , see Sect ion 3. 5
D ela y ed Pow e r- u p Fu nct ions
Turn on t he printer , when t he three light s t urn on press and hold the but t on sequen ce. Cont inu e t o hold t h e
bu t t on( s) u nt il t h e t hr ee light s t ur n off.
Fu nct ion Bu t t on ( s) Descr ipt ion
Reset Et her net Hold Pause & Feed &
Cancel Reset s t he Ethernet set t ings to default values
Hex Dum p Feed Enters Hex Dum p Mode, see Sect ion 6.3
Level 1 Reset Pause & Cancel Reset s t he printer t o a saved configurat ion file,
see Sect ion 5.8.
Level 2 Reset Pause, Feed & Cancel Resets the pr inter t o t he default fact or y
set t ings, see Section 5.8.