Printronix SL5000r MP User manual

RFID Labeling Reference Manual
SL5000rMP and MP2
RFID Smart Label Printers
™

SL5000rMP and MP2
RFID Smart Label Printers
RFID Labeling Reference Manual

Printronix makes no representations or warranties of any kind regarding this material, including, but not limited
to, implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Printronix shall not be held
responsible for errors contained herein or any omissions from this material or for any damages, whether
direct, indirect, incidental or consequential, in connection with the furnishing, distribution, performance or use
of this material. The information in this manual is subject to change without notice.
This document contains proprietary information protected by copyright. No part of this document may be
reproduced, copied, translated or incorporated in any other material in any form or by any means, whether
manual, graphic, electronic, mechanical or otherwise, without the prior written consent of Printronix.
COPYRIGHT © 2005, 2006 PRINTRONIX, INC. All rights reserved.
Trademark Acknowledgements
Alien and Alien Technology are registered trademarks of Alien Technology Corporation.
Avery is a trademark of Avery Dennison Corporation.
Impinj is a registered trademark of Impinj, Inc.
Manhattan Associates is a registered trademark of Manhattan Associates, Inc.
Matrics is a registered trademark of Matrics, Inc.
Omron is a trademark of OMRON Corporation.
Printronix, PGL, and PrintNet are registered trademarks of Printronix, Inc.
Rafsec is a registered trademark of Rafsec.
SATO is a registered trademark of SATO America, Inc.
SL5000r is a trademark of Printronix, Inc.
Symbol is a registered trademark of Symbol.
TI is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated.
Uniform Code Council, Inc. is a registered trademark of Uniform Code Council, Inc.
Zebra and ZPL are trademarks of Zebra Technologies Corporation.
Zuma is a trademark of Impinj, Inc.

5
1 RFID Smart Label Application
And Reference Notes................................ 9
Overview............................................................................... 9
What To Expect When Running Your RFID Application..... 11
Factors Affecting Smart Label Performance ................ 11
Overstruck Smart Labels.............................................. 11
Smart Label Characteristics ......................................... 12
Transitioning From UCC/GTIN Applications Using
Printronix Software Migration Tools (SMT)......................... 14
How Printronix Makes It Easy ...................................... 14
How It Works................................................................ 14
Hardware/Infrastructure Considerations ............................. 15
Contact Information ............................................................ 16
Printronix Professional Services .................................. 16
How To Order More Smart Labels ............................... 16
Printronix Customer Support Center ............................ 16
Corporate Offices ......................................................... 17
Useful Industry Web Links ........................................... 18
2 Smart Label Development....................... 19
Overview............................................................................. 19
RFID CONTROL Menu....................................................... 20
RFID CONTROL Menu Items ...................................... 23
Admin User Menu Items............................................... 30
Requesting An RFID Report ............................................... 34
RFID PGL Commands........................................................ 35
RFWTAG...................................................................... 35
RFRTAG ...................................................................... 45
VERIFY ........................................................................ 48
Write Tag...................................................................... 52
Read Tag ..................................................................... 54
Table of Contents

Table of Contents
6
RFID PPI/ZGL Commands ..................................................55
Read Tag ......................................................................55
Write Tag ......................................................................56
Write or Read RFID Format ..........................................57
Calibrate RFID Transponder Position ...........................58
Define EPC Data Structure ...........................................58
Enable RFID Motion......................................................59
Specify RFID Retries for a Block...................................59
RFID Setup ...................................................................59
Set RFID Tag Password ...............................................60
Host Verification ............................................................61
PPI/ZGL EPC Programming Examples.........................61
RFID PPI/STGL Commands................................................63
Return Status Port ...............................................................64
Software Migration Tools (SMT)..........................................65
Tools List.......................................................................65
Selecting The Tools ......................................................67
Error Messages ...................................................................68
Troubleshooting...................................................................70
3 MP2 RFID................................................ 71
New Coupler System...........................................................71
Adjusting The Coupler Position.....................................72
64 Bit And 96 Bit EPC Data Formats...................................73
Class 1 Gen 1 ...............................................................73
Gen 2 ............................................................................73
Class 0+, Class Zuma, and Class 1.19.........................73
Moving From 64 Bit Tags To 96 Bit Tags ............................76
When 64 Bit Data Is Sent To A 96 Bit Tag: PGL...........76
When 64 Bit Data Is Sent To A 96 Bit Tag: ZGL...........77
PGL .....................................................................................78
Multiple Read/Write Commands On One Label ............78
The VERIFY Command is not RFID Specific................79

Table of Contents
7
Splitting the EPC................................................................. 79
Customer Scenario ...................................................... 79
Using The Advanced RFID Calibration............................... 81
Tag Profiler................................................................... 81
Custom Tag Configurator............................................. 82
Auto Inlay Locater ........................................................ 82

Table of Contents
8

9
1RFID Smart Label
Application And
Reference Notes
Overview
NOTE: For the latest version of this reference manual, visit the
Services & Support page at www.printronix.com.
This manual covers the following products:
•Printronix SL5000r DK Smart Label Developer's Kit
•Printronix SL5000r DK2 Smart Label Developer's Kit
•Printronix SL5000r MP Multi-protocol RFID printer, supporting
Class 0/0+, Class 1, Class 1.19 RFID, Class Gen 2, and
Class Zuma™ RFID tags and labels
•Printronix SL5000r MP2 Multi-protocol RFID printer, supporting
Class 0/0+, Class 1, Class 1.19 RFID, Class Gen 2, and
Class Zuma™ RFID tags and labels

Chapter 1 Overview
10
The Printronix SL5000r DK/DK2 Smart Label Developer’s Kit
contains:
•SL5000r MP/MP2 multiprotocol RFID printer
•Integrated RFID UHF encoder supporting Class 0/0+, Class 1,
Class 1.19, Class Gen 2, and Class Zuma RFID tags and
labels
•Software Migration Tools that permit the seamless encoding of
smart labels
•Media starter kit (100 4 inch x 6 inch standard labels, 50 m
8500 thermal premium wax resin ribbon, and a printhead
cleaning pen)
•1000 Class 1 RFID smart labels
•One 625 m thermal premium wax ribbon
•Network interface card, which includes Printronix’s PrintNet®
Enterprise, a remote network printer management software
application.
•Programming manuals (CD)
•RFID Labeling Reference Manual (this manual)
•Application and reference notes (this chapter)
•Technical support
The intent of the kit is to provide a complete environment for the
printing and encoding of RFID smart labels right out of the box.
Printronix has specifically designed this kit to help you fast track
your RFID printer application through the use of a suite of Software
Migration Tools (SMT).

Factors Affecting Smart Label Performance
11
What To Expect When Running Your RFID Application
Factors Affecting Smart Label Performance
Smart labels are based on an EEPROM technology that requires
some time to be programmed. You may notice this minor pause
between labels. This time is necessary to better ensure consistent
quality and improved reliability.
When dealing with smart labels, it is possible that an occasional
RFID tag may need to be written and verified more than once (retry)
before being considered acceptable. In this event each retry time
will be added to the inter-label pause.
Static electricity can damage the smart labels. Open the media
cover of the printer and touch an unpainted metal part of the printer
before you handle smart labels. This will discharge any static
electricity that may have built up on your hands.
Overstruck Smart Labels
If an RFID tag within a smart label is deemed unacceptable after
execution of the defined number of retries, what occurs next
depends upon the Error Handling setting. See “Error Handling” on
page 27.

Chapter 1 What To Expect When Running Your RFID Application
12
Smart Label Characteristics
IMPORTANT Purchase additional smart labels directly from Printronix to
assure the highest level of performance and reliability. See
“How To Order More Smart Labels” on page 16.
Supported Tag Types
Printronix RFID SL5000 MP and MP2 printers support a number of
RFID protocols and coupler configurations.
For a list of Certified RFID Smart Labels available from Printronix,
and a complete list of tag types supported by Printronix RFID
SL5000 MP and MP2 printers:
1. Go to www.printronix.com and select your Country/Language
of choice.
2. Under SOLUTION OFFERINGS, click RFID Printers.
3. Under RFID Smart Labels, click View Series.
a. For a list of Certified RFID Smart Labels available from
Printronix, click Certified RFID Labels.
b. For a complete list of supported RFID tag types,
click Supported RFID Tags.
These web pages will be updated regularly to include newly
supported RFID tag types and newly Certified RFID Smart Labels
available from Printronix.
Currently supported smart labels have the following characteristics:
General Tag Type
•UHF 869/915 MHz radio frequency

Smart Label Characteristics
13
Technology Tag Class
•EPC Class 0 tags – 64 data bits Read Only
•EPC Class 0 tags – 96 data bits Read Only
•EPC Class 0+ tags – 64 data bits Read/Write
•EPC Class 0+ tags – 96 data bits Read/Write
NOTE: For EPC Class 0+, Class 1.19, and Class Zuma tags, the
AWID multi-protocol reader used by Printronix enforces the
EPC format in the following manner:
•For 96–bit data, the two most significant bits must be 0.
•For 64–bit data, the two most significant bits must be 1.
•EPC Class 1 tags – 64 data bits Read/Write
•EPC Class 1 tags – 96 data bits Read/Write
•EPC Class 1.19 tags – 96 data bits Read/Write
•EPC Class Gen 2 tags – 96 data bits Read/Write
•Impinj®Zuma tags – 96 data bits Read/Write
Label Size
4 x 2, 4 x 4, 4 x 6, 4 x 8 inch label stock

Chapter 1 Transitioning From UCC/GTIN Applications Using Printronix Soft-
14
Transitioning From UCC/GTIN Applications Using
Printronix Software Migration Tools (SMT)
It is likely that your software is already set up to create bar codes.
You may have also spent a lot of time creating compliance label
templates & integrating them into your system. The Smart Label
Developer’s Kit Software Migration Tools will allow you to
effortlessly transition from printing compliance labels to smart
labels.
How Printronix Makes It Easy
If you are printing bar codes now, you can print smart labels — no
change to your host datastream or existing compliance templates is
required.
How It Works
A set of Software Migration Tools has been created to intercept the
bar code data in the host datastream and copy the data to a smart
label RFID tag according to a set of rules. Each tool has been
designed for a specific end-use application. By simply selecting the
desired Software Migration Tool from the printer’s control panel,
you automatically enable the printer to create an RFID smart label
from your existing software application even if the software does
not have the functionality to program RFID tags. The tools include:
•GTIN: Copies the Global Trade Identification Number (GTIN)
bar code data for case and pallet labels onto the smart label’s
RFID tag.
•EAN-8, EAN13, UPCA, and UCC128: These tools copy the
data from their respective bar code symbologies to a smart
label’s RFID tag. This enables the achievement of supply-chain
efficiencies with RFID-ready trading partners while at the same
time remaining compatible with those who are not.

How It Works
15
•EPC: This tool allows EPC data to be directly encoded into the
smart label’s RFID tag. Simply have your existing software
application write the desired EPC number to a Code 3 of 9
barcode. The printer will then write the EPC data to the RFID
tag without printing the bar code.
The existing toolset will meet the needs of many RFID early
adopters. If you have a requirement for a Software Migration Tool
not included in this kit, feel free to contact Printronix.
To select and use the tools, see “Software Migration Tools (SMT)”
on page 65.
Hardware/Infrastructure Considerations
Once your smart labels have been applied to their target container
or pallet you will need external readers to track them through your
supply chain. Such readers are typically networked devices that are
deployed at key points in the warehouse or distribution center to
track incoming and outgoing packages. The readers are managed
through a server for gathering and filtering all the RFID information.
Readers may have multiple couplers to maximize read range and
reliability.
The readers you purchase must be compatible with the smart
labels programmed by the printer. Specifically, they should be EPC
Class 0, Class 0+, Class 1, Class 1.19, Class Gen 2, and Class
Zuma compliant. Handheld readers with integrated couplers can be
purchased from AWID (www.awid.com).
The data that are gathered by the reader servers must be managed
for tracking and archiving purposes. Software applications that
perform these tasks are available from companies such as
Manhattan Associates®(www.manh.com).

Chapter 1 Contact Information
16
Contact Information
Printronix Professional Services
Printronix can partner with you on your RFID pilot project to make
your existing software applications RFID/smart label capable. We
specialize in smart label print and apply configuration and
integration, RFID pilot implementation, and transition from RFID
pilots to full production rollouts.
Call the Printronix Customer Support Center at [phone] and
ask for Professional Services Support.
How To Order More Smart Labels
Contact the Printronix Supplies Department for genuine Printronix
supplies.
Americas [phone]
Europe, Middle East, and Africa (33) 1 46 25 1900
Asia Pacific (65) 6548 4116 or
(65) 6548 4182
http://www.printronix.com/supplies-parts.aspx
Printronix Customer Support Center
IMPORTANT Please have the following information available prior to calling
the Printronix Customer Support Center:
•Model number
•Serial number (located on the back of the printer)
•Installed options (i.e., interface and host type if applicable to the
problem)
•Configuration printout (see “Printing A Configuration” in the
Quick Setup Guide )
•Is the problem with a new install or an existing printer?

Corporate Offices
17
•Description of the problem (be specific)
•Good and bad samples that clearly show the problem (faxing of
these samples may be required)
Americas [phone]
Europe, Middle East, and Africa (31) 24 6489 311
Asia Pacific (65) 6548 4114
http://www.printronix.com/support.aspx
Corporate Offices
Printronix, Inc.
14600 Myford Road
P.O. Box 19559
Irvine, CA 92623-9559
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Printronix, Inc.
Nederland BV
P.O. Box 163, Nieuweweg 283
NL-6600 Ad Wijchen
The Netherlands
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Printronix Schweiz GmbH
42 Changi South Street 1
Changi South Industrial Estate
Singapore 486763
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Visit the Printronix web site at www.printronix.com

Chapter 1 Contact Information
18
Useful Industry Web Links
Printronix, Inc.
www.printronix.com
Alien Technology®Corporation
www.alientechnology.com
Applied Wireless Identifications Group, Inc.
www.awid.com
EPCglobal, Inc.
www.epcglobalinc.org
RFID Journal
www.rfidjournal.com
Uniform Code Council, Inc.®
www.uc-council.org

19
2Smart Label
Development
Overview
This chapter describes how to use the RFID encoder. The RFID
encoder is designed to be transparent to the printer operation. It
provides the capability of programming smart labels (with
embedded RFID tags) while printing the label format. The smart
labels are provided with the printer or purchased separately from
Printronix.
There are several ways to program RFID tags in smart labels:
•Use the Software Migration Tools (SMT) to enable the printer to
automatically create RFID commands from your existing bar
code commands. These tools are described on page 65.
•Incorporate RFID commands into new or existing Printronix
PGL®programs. Command details start on page 35.
•Incorporate RFID commands into new or existing ZPL™
programs. By selecting the Printronix PPI/ZGL emulation you
can seamlessly upgrade from Zebra™ printers. Command
details start on page 55.
•Incorporate RFID commands into new or existing SATO®
printer language programs. By selecting the Printronix
PPI/STGL emulation you can seamlessly upgrade from SATO
printers. Command details start on page 63.

Chapter 2 RFID CONTROL Menu
20
RFID CONTROL Menu
Alien Squig 96*
Tag Type
RFID CONTROL
RFID Reader
Stop
Error Handling Overstrike* None
Enable* Disable
Label Retry
Notes:
* = Default.
1Appears only if an AWID 915 encoder
(USA/Canada) is installed.
2Appears only on six inch printers.
3Appears only on MP2 RFID printers.
10* 1 to 10
(cont. on next page)
Alien M-TAG 64 1 Alien M-TAG 96 1
RAF Omni 313 64 1 RAF Omni 432 96 1 Matrics1020 64 1 Matrics1020 96 1
Max Retry Error Enable* Disable
Matrics2020 64 1 Matrics2020 96 1
Omron Wave 1 X-Ident PH58 96
Avery AD410 IN 1 Avery BL 1, 2 Alien Itag 96 1, 2
Alien Squig 64 1
ImpZ Prop 96 1
Alien SupS 96 1
TI Dallas G2 Avery AD220 G2 1Imp Prop G2 1, 3 Imp Banjo G2 1, 3
Alien Squig G2 RAF Square G2 1, 3 X-Ident PH60 96RAF Short G2 1, 3
ImpZ Triflex 96 1, 3 Flex Wing 1, 2
EPC Gen2 96 1
RAFUCode 450 96
Avery AD810 96 1, 3 KSW Excal G2 1, 3 Flex Wing G2 1 Sym 4T G2 1, 3
Alien 9334-02 1, 3 Sym Trident G2 1, 3
Omron Wave G2 3 KSW Templar G2 1, 3 EPC G2 Phil2 3 EPC G2 Phil1 3
EPC G2 Phil3 3 EPC G2 Phil4 3
Avery AD210 1 Omron Loop 1
Rafsec 478 1
RAF Frog G2 1, 3 Alien 9460 Omni 3