LabelTac 9 User manual

LabelTac 9 Setup Guide

Contents
Unboxing
What’s in the box
Your printer
Setup & Install
Before you continue...
Connecting LabelTac
Installing LabelTac drivers
Installing templates & symbols
Using LabelTac
Loading print ribbon
Loading tape supply
How to make labels
LED & button functions
Ribbon tension
Troubleshooting
When using die-cut labels...
Warranty
Contact Us
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Contents 1

LabelTac Printers are professional thermal transfer printing
systems, designed for creating custom vinyl labels and
signs, in-house, for a variety of applications including:
Pipe Marking, Safety, Arc Flash, OSHA, Racks/Warehouses,
Tool Identification, Lean & 5S, Kaizen, Kanban, Hazmat,
ANSI/ASME & more.
We’re here to help!
Please give us a call or email if you need any help with
installing or operating your LabelTac Printer:
phone [phone]
web www.labeltac.com
email [email protected]
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What’s in the box
Unboxing What’s in the box 3
Included
tLabelTac 9 Printer
tUSB Cable
tPower Cable
* Print ribbon ships pre-installed for convenience
tInstall CD
tSetup Guide & Lit
t1 Black Print Ribbon*

Unboxing Your Printer4
Your Printer
Ribbon Rewind
Spindle
Parallel Port SD Card Slot
Ethernet Port
PS/2 Port
Power Switch
USB 2.0 Port
RS-232C Port
Power Jack Socket
Ribbon Supply
Spindle
Ribbon Guide Bar
Print Head Pressure
Adjustment Knobs
Print Head Release
Lever
Media Guide Bar
Media Caps
Media Supply
Spindle
Label Guide
Ribbon Sensor (black fork), Media Sensor (green fork),
Gap Sensor (green square), Platen Roller (black roller)
Not Pictured / Not Visible:
Rear Panel

Unboxing Your Printer 5
Your Printer (cont’d)
ERRORPOWER ON-LINE
MENU UP
DOWN
SELECT
PAUSE
FEED
LCD Display and
Control Panel
Printer Cover
Power LED Up Button
On-line LED Down Button
Error LED Select Button
LCD Screen
Menu Button
Pause Button
Feed Button
Mouth and Cutter
Mechanism
Media Supply
Spindle
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2 9
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Ribbon Sensor (black fork), Media Sensor (green fork),
Gap Sensor (green square), Platen Roller (black roller)
LCD Display / Control Panel

Setup & Install Before you continue...6
BEFORE INSTALLING DRIVERS...
Please connect your LabelTac Printer to both
your computer and to power, and make sure
the printer is turned on.
See pages 7-9 for connection instructions.
IMPORTANT
Let us install LabelTac for you, for free!
We offer a quick 5-minute remote installation- Go ahead, let us do the work while
you grab a cup of coffee! Call us at [phone]. Mon-Fri, 6am-3:30pm (PST)
. . .
Before you continue...

Setup & Install Connecting LabelTac 7
Connecting LabelTac
Step 1: Connect to PC
Connect one end of the USB cable to an available USB 2.0
port on the back of your computer.
Connect the other end of the cable to the USB port on your
LabelTac 9 printer.
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USB 2.0

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Connecting LabelTac
Step 2: Connect to Power
Connect one end of the power cord to the power port on the
back of the LabelTac.
Connect the other end of the cable to a power outlet.
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Setup & Install Connecting LabelTac

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Connecting LabelTac (cont’d)
Step 3: Turn on your printer
Flip power switch from ‘off’ position (O) to ‘on’ position ( I ).
The LCD screen and Power LED will come on, indicating that
the LabelTac is powered on and ready.
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Setup & Install Connecting LabelTac

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Installing LabelTac drivers
Setup & Install Installing LabelTac drivers
Insert LabelTac Install CD. The install menu should auto-load.
If it doesn’t, open the CD and run setup.exe manually.
Select ‘Install LabelTac 9’. (If a pop-up appears about making
changes to your computer, select ‘Yes’ and continue)
Click ‘Install printer drivers’, and then click ‘Next’.
Select ‘Install a driver for a Plug and Play printer’ (this should
be already selected by default) and click ‘Next’.
In the Printer name field, change the name to LabelTac 9.
Leave everything else as-is, and click ‘Next’.
Click ‘Finish’ to start the installation. (If a pop-up appears
about driver software publishers, select ‘Install this driver
software anyways’ and continue) Click ‘Close’ when
complete.
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Need a hand with installation?
Our representatives are available Mon-Fri, 6am-3:30pm (PST) to assist in a
variety of ways with installing your printer. Call us toll free at [phone].

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Installing templates and symbols
Setup & Install Installing templates and symbols
From the LabelTac Install CD menu, select ‘Install Templates
& Symbols’.
Choose the folder you would like to install the templates and
symbols, and then click ‘Install’. (We recommend installing to
your desktop for easy access when creating signs and labels)
Click ‘Close’ when complete.
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LabelTac Printers include hundreds of templates and symbols to help you make
professional signs and labels quickly and easily.
Once installed, you will see two folders named ‘Templates’ and ‘Symbols’.
The Templates folder contains customizable industrial templates in MS Word and
OpenOffice formats, and is divided into subfolders based on application as well
as by size/width.
The Symbols folder contains useful symbols often found on industrial labels in a
resizable PNG format. The folder is also divided into subfolders by application,
and all also appear together in an ‘(ALL SYMBOLS)’ folder.
. . .

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Loading print ribbon
Using LabelTac Loading print ribbon
Lift printer cover open. Push print head release lever to open
print head mechanism. (a)
Insert the ribbon onto the ribbon supply spindle (rear), and the
blank cardboard core onto the ribbon rewind spindle (front). (b)
There should be small cardboard spacers already on the
spindles that will align the rolls to the center of the printing path.
If these are not there, call us at 866-777-1360 for replacements.
Thread ribbon through the ribbon sensor slot and up and
over the print head. (c) Stick the ribbon onto the ribbon rewind
cardboard core with tape or a piece of LabelTac supply, being
sure to keep the ribbon as flat and wrinkle-free as possible.
Wind the ribbon rewind spindle by hand ~3-5 turns until
ribbon is smooth, properly stretched and wrinkle-free.
Close the print head mechanism, making sure the latches are
engaged properly. Close printer cover.
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Loading print ribbon (cont’d)
Using LabelTac Loading print ribbon
(a)
(b)
(c)

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Loading tape supply
Using LabelTac Loading tape supply
Lift printer cover open. Remove one media cap from the
media supply spindle.
Place a roll of supply on the spindle with the flap coming
up and over the top from the right hand side of the roll. (a)
When the supply is running through the printer, you want the
‘backing’ side face-down. Replace the media cap and center
the roll and caps in the middle of the media supply spindle.
Push print head release lever to open print head mechanism. (b)
Guide the leading edge of the supply under the media guide
bar, between the label guides, through the (green) media
sensor and out through the mouth of the printer. (c)
Adjust the label guides to fit the width of the supply.
Close print head mechanism, making sure the latches are
engaged properly. Close the printer cover.
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Loading tape supply (cont’d)
Using LabelTac Loading tape supply
(a)
(b)
(c)

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How to make labels
Using LabelTac How to make labels
How LabelTac works
Getting started
LabelTac Printers are designed to work with PC’s running
Microsoft Windows XP or later.
The printer interfaces into your system like a normal printer,
allowing virtually any program to print to it, including:
We find Microsoft Word to be the easiest program to design
labels and signs, but if you don’t have access to Word on your
computer, OpenOffice (included on the Install CD) is a great
free alternative. The majority of the templates that we include
with your LabelTac are in Word format.
Creating labels and signs with LabelTac is easy-
t.JDSPTPGU8PSE(preferred)
t.JDSPTPGU&YDFM
t"QBDIF0QFO0GmDF
t4FBHVMM#BSUFOEFS
t"EPCF$SFBUJWF4VJUF
t(PPHMF%PDT
Start with one of our pre-made templates (see page 11 for
information on installing templates) and customize to fit your
needs & application...
Start from scratch in any word or image processing program.
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OR
. . .

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How to make labels (cont’d)
Using LabelTac How to make labels
Setting up your document (label size)
Designing your label
The size of the label or sign that will print is determined by the
page size in your word/image processing program.
For example- if you want to print a 9”x12” sign, simply set
your page size in the program’s settings to 9” height and to
12” width.
Once you’ve set your document to the size you want to print your
label, you can start placing whatever you want into the label- text,
images/logos, borders- and what you see on your screen is what will
print on your label.
The LabelTac 9 is a monochrome thermal transfer printer, so when
you print your label, the areas of your label that are black (or dark) on-
screen will print to the ribbon, while the areas that are white (or light)
will not print, allowing the color of the tape you use to remain visible.
For example- if you have yellow vinyl material loaded, and a blue print
ribbon- the elements on screen that are black will print to the blue
ribbon, and the elements that are white will not print- resulting in a
blue on yellow final label.
Be sure to load appropriate width material for your job- for the above example,
you would want to load 9” wide material.
Designing your label in black and white or grayscale will produce the best results.

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How to make labels
Adding: Text
Adding: Images & logos
Adding: Borders
Adding: Industrial symbols
Adding: Arrows
The ideal way to add text in labels designed in word processing
programs is through the use of “text boxes”. Text boxes are
easily resizable and are able to be moved independently of other
elements in your label.
You can add images and logos to your labels by “inserting” them
(typically done through your program’s menu bar:
Insert > Image > From File) or by copying and pasting them in.
We find that using PNG images produces the highest quality
results, though most image file types are supported.
Text boxes can also be used to create borders. In the text box
options you can usually add a “stroke” or border to the text box and
adjust the thickness, style, etc.
You can add industrial symbols (hazard pictograms, warning
symbols, NFPA symbols, etc.) to your labels the same way as you
would add other images. We include hundreds of free symbols
in the LabelTac ‘Symbols’ folder. (See page 11 for installation
instructions for LabelTac templates & symbols)
Arrows for marking directions or for use with pipe marking labels
can also be found in the LabelTac ‘Symbols’ folder in the ‘Arrows’
sub-folder. You can also insert or paste your own arrows in most
image formats into your label.
Using LabelTac How to make labels

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We’re here to help!
Stuck on a label design, or new to LabelTac and need a label
ASAP?
Let us design your label or sign for you, for free!
We can create labels to your specifications and then email
them to you... for free, for as long as you own the printer.
All you have to do is open the files, and print them. You can
even keep the files for later printing or editing/customization.
Give us a call at [phone]
or email us at [email protected]
(or call/email your rep directly)