Dymo LabelWriter SE450 Label Printer User manual

Quick Start Guide
LabelWriter®
Professional Label Printer for Serial and USB Connections
SE450

Copyright
© 2010 Sanford, L.P. All rights reserved. Revised 05/10.
No part of this document or the software may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or translated into
another language without the prior written consent of Sanford, L.P.
Trademarks
DYMO, LabelWriter, and DYMO Label are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sanford, L.P. All other trademarks are the
property of their respective holders.

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This Quick Start Guide gives instructions for connecting the printer, installing the software, and
loading the labels. For complete information about programming and using the LabelWriter
SE450 printer, refer to the LabelWriter SE450 Technical Reference Guide available on the
Developers Program page of the DYMO Web site (www.dymo.com).
The LabelWriter SE450 label printer is primarily intended for applications limited to sending simple
ASCII print data and Escape commands for printing from computers or devices using the serial or
USB connections. In addition, printer drivers are included for printing from a Mac, Windows, or
Linux system.
The software CD included with the printer includes the printer drivers for Windows, Mac, and Linux,
and the full DYMO Label v.8 software installer. However, when used primarily as an ASCII printer,
the drivers may not be required by your system.
Unpacking the Printer
Make sure you have all the items shown in Figure 1. (Labels included in the package may vary.)
Figure 1
Starter roll of labels
Quick Start Guide
Power adapter
Power cord
LabelWriter printer
USB cable
CD-ROM
Cleaning card
Serial cable
Quick Start Guide

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Become familiar with the printer’s major components. See Figure 2.
LabelWriter Printer Features
Your LabelWriter printer is a direct thermal printer and does not use ink or toner. Instead, the printer
uses heat from a thermal print head to print on specially treated labels. Labels are the only supplies
you will ever need to buy.
The form-feed button on the front of the printer advances a single label.
The status light visually shows the current state of the printer:
•Solid blue - USB cable is connected and printer is ready to print.
•Solid green - Serial cable is connected and printer is ready to print.
•Dimmed blue or green - printer is in power saving mode.
•Flashing red - Labels are not loaded properly or the label roll is empty.
•Flashing green - Printer is in configuration mode. Refer to the Technical Reference Guide.
USB 10101 24VDC
S/N 00000-0000000
Top cover
Label spool
Label release
Label feed path
and tear bar
Label roll
Form-feed button
and status light
DC power
connector
Serial number
Cable
channel
Serial
connector
USB
connector
Figure 2

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Installing as a Serial ASCII Printer (Windows)
1Plug the end of the serial cable with the RJ11 connector
into the serial port on the bottom of the printer. See
Figure 3.
2Connect the 9-pin serial connector to an available serial
port on your computer or device, as appropriate.
3Plug the power cord into the power adapter.
4Plug the power adapter into the power connector on the
bottom of the printer.
5Insert the cables through the cable channel.
6When all the cables are connected, plug the power cord
into an electrical outlet.
7Configure the printer port with the appropriate settings.
The printer default settings are:
Baud Rate: 9600
Data Bits: 8
Stop Bits: 1
Parity: None
Follow the instructions in "Loading Labels" on page 6 to correctly load labels onto the spool and
insert the spool into the printer.
USB 10101 24VDC
Figure 3
10101 24VDC

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Installing as a USB Connected Printer
The LabelWriter SE450 printer includes DYMO Label v.8 label printing software. You can choose to
install the DYMO Label v.8 software or only the LabelWriter SE450 printer drivers depending on how
you plan to use the printer.
Printer drivers for Windows and Mac are installed from the CD. For those familiar with Linux or CUPS,
the CUPS SDK, including the printer drivers, is included on the Software CD.
Installing the Software
Do not connect the printer to your computer until after the software installation is complete.
To install the printer drivers only (Windows only)
1Insert the software CD that came with your printer into the CD-ROM/DVD drive. After a few
seconds, the installation screen appears.
2Click Install and follow the instructions on the next few screens.
3On the Installation Type screen, choose Custom installation.
4Clear the DYMO Label check box so that only the Printer Drivers check box is selected.
5Click Next and follow the instructions.
6When prompted, connect the printer to your computer. See "Connecting the Printer" on page 5.
To install DYMO Label software
Windows Depending on your system configuration, the software installation could take some
time while the required Microsoft .NET™software is installed.
1Close all open Microsoft Office applications.
2Insert the software CD that came with your printer into the CD-ROM/DVD drive.

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3Do one of the following:
•For Windows: Click Install and follow the instructions in the installer.
•For Mac OS: Double-click the Installer icon and follow the instructions.
4When prompted, connect the printer to your computer. See “Connecting the Printer”.
Mac OS If the printer is not in the printer list when the installation is complete, refer to the
ReadMe file for instructions on how to add the printer.
Connecting the Printer
1Plug the USB cable into the USB port on the bottom
of the printer.
2Connect the other end of the USB cable into an
available USB port on your computer or other
device, as appropriate.
3Plug the power cord into the power adapter. See
Figure 4.
4Plug the power adapter into the power connector on
the bottom of the printer.
5Insert the power and USB cables through the cable channel.
6When all the cables are connected, plug the power cord into an electrical outlet.
Follow the instructions in "Loading Labels" on page 6 for the correct way to load labels onto the
spool and insert into the printer.
USB 10101 24VDC
USB
Figure 4
24VDC

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Loading Labels
Important!
In order for the labels to feed properly during printing, the labels must be loaded with the left edge of
the label inserted against the left edge of the label feed slot. See Figure 8.
To load a label roll
1Press the form-feed button to eject the labels that
protected the printer during shipment.
2Open the top cover and remove any packing material
inside the label compartment.
3Remove the label spool from inside the top cover and
pull the spool guide from the spindle.
4Hold the spool spindle in your left hand and place the
label roll on the spindle so that the labels feed from
underneath and the left edge of the label roll is firmly against the side of the spool. See
Figure 5.
5Slide the spool guide onto the right side of the spool and press the
guide tightly against the side of the label roll, leaving no gap
between the roll and the spool. See Figure 6.
NOTE To ensure proper feeding of labels during printing, the label roll
must fit snugly against both sides of the label spool, with no gaps.
Figure 5
Spool
guide
Spool
spindle
Figure 6

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6Insert the label spool into the slot in the printer cover with
the labels extending from underneath the roll. See
Figure 7.
7Align the left edge of the label with the left edge of the
label feed slot and insert the label into the slot.
The printer automatically feeds the label, stopping at the
beginning of the first label.
If the printer does not feed the labels, make sure the
first label is fully inserted and then press the form-feed
button on the front of the printer.
If the first label on the roll is not a full label, press the
form-feed button to eject the partial label.
8Carefully lower the top cover.
Figure 7
Align labels
against left edge

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More Information
For more information about programming and using the LabelWriter SE450 printer, refer to the
following resources:
For customer support, visit the support section of the DYMO Web site (www.dymo.com).
LabelWriter Printer User Guide Complete information for using and caring for
LabelWriter 450 series label printers, including the
LabelWriter SE450 printer.
This user guide is located on the software CD or it can be
viewed from the Help menu in DYMO Label v.8 software.
LabelWriter SE450 Technical Reference Guide Complete information for integrating label printing into
custom applications on Linux, DOS or embedded
platforms.
The Technical Reference Guide can be accessed from
the Developers Program page of the DYMO Web site
under LabelWriter SE450 SDK. (www.dymo.com)
Sample Code Programming examples for the LabelWriter SE450 ASCII
commands are located on the software CD in the
Samples folder.
CUPS SDK CUPS Software Developer’s Kit, including the
LabelWriter SE450 printer drivers, is located on the
software CD.

Distributed by: DYMO, Atlanta, GA 30328
800-426-7827: www.dymo.com
© 2010 Sanford, L.P. 1771221 05/10 10-0938