ARGOX AME-3230 Mobile Printers User Manual

Argox Information Co., Ltd
AME-3230
AME-3230B
AME-3230W
MOBILE PRINTERS
USER’S MANUAL
Revision 9.2http://www.argox.com

Proprietary Statement

This manual contains proprietary information of Argox Information Co., Ltd. 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 Argox Information Co., Ltd.
Product Improvements
Continuous improvement of products is a policy of Argox Information Co., Ltd. All specifications and signs are subject to change without notice.
FCC Compliance Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that the interference will not occur in
a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.
• Connect the equipment into a different outlet on a different circuit.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced Radio/TV technician for help.

This unit was tested with shielded cables on the peripheral devices. Shielded cables must be used with the unit to insure compliance. The user is cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved by Argox Information Co., Ltd. could void the
user’s authority to operate the equipment.
Liability Disclaimer
Argox Information Co., Ltd. takes steps to assure that the company’s published engineering specifications and manuals are correct; however, errors do occur. Argox Information Co., Ltd. reserves the right to correct any such errors and disclaims any resulting liability. In no event shall Argox Information Co., Ltd. or anyone else involved in the creation, production, or delivery of the accompanying product (including hardware and software) be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information, or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or the results of use of or inability to use such product, even if Argox Information Co., Ltd. has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
RF exposure warning
The equipment complies with FCC RF exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment.
The equipment must not be co-located or operated in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.
CAUTION:
Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Safety

The user is cautioned that any changes or modifications which are not recommended by Argox Information Co. Ltd. could result in the loss of the user’s authority to operate the equipment. To ensure compliance, the users must use accessories and peripherals approved by Argox Information Co. Ltd.

Supplemental Information: This device complies with the requirement of FCC Part 15 Rules. Operation is subject to the following two Conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received, including interference  that may cause undesired operation.
Please only use adapters with the following electrical characteristics and certified by current legislation. Using other adapters may damage the device and void the warranty, and pose risks to the user.
Specifications Input: 100-240VAC, 50-60Hz, 1.0 A
Features Output: 9VDC, 1.56A
**** The manufacturer declares under sole responsibility that this product conforms to the following standards or other normative documents:
EMC: EN 55022:2010 class A
EN 55024:2010
Argox Information Co., Ltd certifies that the following products and/or components are compliant with the current requirements of the European Union Restriction on the use of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive, 2011/65/EC.

Getting Started

Congratulations on choosing AME series mobile printer, made by Argox Information Co., a leader in the worldwide barcode industry.
AME series are ideally designed to bring more efficiency to your business. This manual will help you get to know your new printer and provide you with the required information.
Unpacking Printer
After receiving your printer, please check for any shipping damage.
Inspect the outside of both the box and the printer for possible damage.

1. Open the top cover of the printer to check that the media compartments are in order.
   Note: If shipping damage is discovered, contact your shipping company immediately to file a claim.

2. Check whether you have received the following accessories together with the printer. If there are any items missing, please contact your local dealer.

Package Contents

• Printer
• Power Supply
• Battery
• Belt Strap & Screw
• Sample Media
• Media Shield
• Print head Cleaning Pen
• Quick Installation Guide
• DVD

Printer Overview

Battery
Each printer package contains one battery pack. The battery must be installed for the printer to work, even if the Power Supply is connected.
You must fully charge the battery before using the printer for the first time.

Installing the Battery

1. To release the Battery Cover, rotate the Battery Cover Latch 90° to the right as shown below:
   Note: We recommend using a coin to rotate the latch.

2. Remove the Battery Cover and install the Battery Pack into the printer:

3. Replace the Battery Cover and rotate the Battery Cover Latch 90° to lock in place:

Charging the Battery

1. After installing the Battery Pack, connect the Power Supply into the printer’s Power Input Jack.
2. Then plug the Power Supply into the AC wall receptacle. The printer’s Battery LED will remain yellow during charging.
3. The battery is designed for fast-charge; after about 3.5 hours (210 minutes), the Battery LED will turn off, signifying that the battery is fully charged and ready for use.

Note: Operating the printer when charging will increase charging time. Wait until battery is fully charged to operate the printer.

Battery & Power Notifications

1. Do not disassemble the Battery Pack in case of malfunction.
2. Keep the Battery Pack and printer away from fire, liquids, and conductive material, for your own safety and to avoid possible damage.
3. Be sure only to use the Power Supply and Battery Pack provided or approved by Argox.
4. Any damage caused by abnormal use will void the warranty.
5. When the battery not used in long-term, maintained of power at 50% and stored at -20 ~ 25 ° C.

Loading Media

1. Press the Latch Release Button on printer to automatically open the Media Cover:

2. Place the media supply roll into the Media Compartment. Make sure media supply unwinds near Print Head, as in the direction shown below:

3. For media supply rolls with width less than 3 inches:
   Load media supply first, and then align media supply roll to the right end for correct detection of Media Sensor:

4. Install the Media Shield into Media Compartment, and lean closely against the media supply roll:

5. Pull a short length of media out of the printer. Close the Media Cover and press until you hear a click, to properly latch:

6. Tearing Media:
   To tear media, pull the media edge against the Tear Bar as in the direction below:

Wearing Belt Strap
The convenient Belt Strap design, a standard feature of Argox AME  series, is easy to use and quick to install:

1. Prepare the Belt Strap and the Screw.
   Locate the Knob on the underside of the printer, right above the Battery Cover:

2. Attach the Belt Strap onto the Knob.
   Note that the exterior surface of the Belt Strap should face toward you:

3. Insert the Screw onto the Knob, through the Belt Strap, and tighten clockwise until it is fully secured:

4. With the Belt Strap attached to the printer, place the top of the Belt Strap over your belt:

5. Pull down the top of the Belt Strap to fix onto the lock:

Controls & Connections

Self-Test before Connecting
After the Battery is charged and media is loaded, before connecting the printer to a computer or a portable data terminal, perform a printer self-test label to verify that the printer works properly:
Printing a Self-Test Label

• Press the Power Switch to turn off the printer.
• Make sure the Battery is installed, and media is loaded.
• Press and hold the Feed Button, and then press the Power Switch to turn on the printer
• Power LED will then become lit, release the Power Button.
• After the printer stars to print, release the Feed Button.
• Wait until printer finishes printing, press the Power Switch or Feed Button to resume normal printing mode.

Note : For more information on self-test printouts,Troubleshooting – Printing a Configuration Report
Printer Controls and Indicators
The printer’s controls and indicators are shown in the diagram below:

Feed Button:

1. Pressing this button during printing will make printer pause.
2. To feed a blank label.

Power Button: Turn the printer ON/OFF.
The following table explains control and indicator functions to help understand LED indications and printer status:

Printer Status| Power LED (Green)| Battery LED (Yellow & Red)| Media LED (Orange)| Communication LED (Blue)| Beep
---|---|---|---|---|---
Power On| ON| | | |
Power Off| | | | |
Media Out| ON| | Blinking| | Beep
Bluetooth or 802.11b/g Connection| ON| | | ON| Beep
x1
RS232 Connection| ON| | | | Beep
x3
Charger Connected| | ON (Yellow)| | |
Battery Low| ON| Blinking slowly (Red)| | |
Battery Out (printer will power off)| ON| Blinking fast (Red)| | | Beep

Smart Battery Power Management
The AME series mobile printers are equipped with a Li-ion battery pack (7.2V 2600mAH). With the Smart Battery Power Management function, AME series are able to monitor and automatically remind operators of different battery power status:

If Battery is fully charged, LED will be off.
10%| Battery LED blinks slowly
(Reminder: battery power will be 5% in about 30-60 minutes)
5%| Battery LED blinks + warning beeps
(Reminder: battery power will be 0% in about 30-60 minutes)
0%| Printer suspends printing (some minor power remains)

Note:

1. If the standby duration exceeds 3 minutes, printer will turn off automatically in order to decrease power consumption.
2. The standby duration is changeable, to be set by operators; printer’s default standby duration is 3 minutes.

Connecting the Printer

The interfaces of AME-3230 include RS-232 and USB (2.0).
The interfaces of AME-3230B include RS-232, USB (2.0) and Bluetooth 2.0.
The interfaces of AME-3230W include RS-232, USB(2.0) and 802.11b/g.
USB and RS-232 communication cables are optional accessories.

USB & RS-232 Communications:

No additional setups are required for cable communications.
Note: Turn off the printer before connecting or disconnecting USB or RS-232 interface cables
USB:
Once USB cable is connected, printer will detect automatically and link to host, without emitting beeps.
RS-232:
When printer is off and RS-232 cable is connected, printer will emit 3 beeps and automatically switch to RS-232 mode. Next time printer is turned on with RS-232 cable connected, printer will emit 1 beep (Bluetooth mode), and then 3 beeps to indicate RS-232 mode. When RS-232 cable is disconnected, printer will emit 1 beep and switch back to Bluetooth mode.
Note: The Communication Indicator will blink blue during data transmission via all interfaces – Bluetooth, RS-232, 802.11b/g and USB.
Drivers & Software
AME series are bundled with their smart printer drivers. This way, users can easily print a receipt or label within any Windows applications, e.g. Microsoft Word, labeling software such as Bartender, .etc, in operation systems including Windows XP/ Vista/ Windows 7/ Windows 8/ Windows 10.
Drivers & software can be downloaded from Argox website

Troubleshooting

Normally, when the printer is not working properly, the “Power” LED blinks continuously; while printing and communication between the host and printer stops.
Printer Status Indications
Printer status and error indications are displayed via LED indicators. Generally, when a malfunction or an abnormal condition is detected, the ERROR LED will blink. The table below shows the LED indications corresponding to various errors:

Possible Symptoms & Solutions
The printer is in PAUSE status.
Press FEED button to return to normal printing mode.

Possible Symptoms & Solutions

1. The media is not installed or is used up.
2. Printer fails to detect the media gaps/black marks.

Possible Symptoms & Solutions
The format or baud rate of the RS232 communication is inconsistent between the printer and host.

Possible Symptoms & Solutions
The printer memory buffer is fully loaded with downloadable soft fonts, graphics or forms.
Check the format and size of stored data with available memory size or call for service.

Printer enters PAUSE status to wait for print head to cool down; printer will resume printing tasks when it is ready.

Performing Calibration

If labels with gaps/black marks are in use, perform media calibration before printing to make printer index correctly.

1. Properly install labels.
2. Power off the printer.
3. Press and hold the FEED button then turn on power; do not release the button until printer starts to feed labels.
4. Then, press FEED button once or twice to check that labels are correctly indexed.

Note: You must always carry out calibration when changing media. Failure to do so will result in improper detection  by the label sensor.
Printing a Configuration Report
The Configuration report, also known as the Self-Test report, can work as a printer diagnosis tool. Steps to print a Configuration report are listed below:

1. Press the Power Button to turn off the printer.
2. Make sure the Battery is installed and media is loaded.
3. Press and hold the Feed Button, and then press the Power Switch to turn on the printer.
4. After printer starts to print, release the Feed Button.
5. Wait until printer finishes printing, then press the Power Switch or Feed Button to resume normal printing mode.

Sample printout of Configuration (Self-Test):

Printer Maintenance

Print Head Maintenance Guide
To keep the Print Head in the best conditions and efficiency and to extend duration for use, regular cleaning action is needed:
Note: Always switch off printer before cleaning.

1. Cleaning Interval:
   It is strongly recommended to regularly clean print heads, or at least every time a label roll is changed (in direct thermal printing mode). In addition, if the printer is operated under critical applications or environments, or if print quality is found to have degraded, please clean print heads more frequently.

2. Cleaning Material:
   The surface of print head’s heating element is very fragile. To prevent from any possible damage, please use the Printhead Cleaning Pen supplied in the printer package, or a soft cloth/ cotton buds with “Ethanol” or “industrial alcohol” to clean print head’s surface.
   It is strongly recommended to wear gloves during cleaning Do not touch print head surface with bare hands or with any hard objects.
   Water and moisture should be kept away from the print head to avoid corrosion of the heating elements.

3. Cleaning Direction:
   When cleaning the print head, always wipe in One Direction – from Left to Right only, or, from Right to Left only, to gently clean the “Heating Line” of the print head without putting excessive stress on the unit.
   Do not wipe back and forth to avoid dust or dirt on the cleaning cloth/cotton buds attaching to print head again.

Cleaning the Media Sensor:
Debris or dirt on the Media Sensor can cause a misread or unstable detection to index label gaps/black marks. Clean the Media Sensor properly with a cotton bud dampened with alcohol.

Specifications

General Specifications

4MB Flash ROM (3MB User available)
CPU Type| 32 bit RISC microprocessor
Media Sensor| Media gap/black line sensor, Paper end sensor,
Open cover sensor
Operation
Interface| LED indicator x 4
(Power status/Battery/Media/Communication),
Button x 2 (Power/Feed)
Communication Interface| RS-232, USB 35| RS-232, USB , Bluetooth 2.0| RS-232, USB, Wireless 802.11b/g
Wireless Security Authentication
and Encryption Options| N/A| N/A| WEP-128, WPA-PSK (TKIP),
WPA2-PSK (AES)
Fonts| Internal character sets standard 5 alpha-numeric fonts from 0.049″H — 0.23″ H (1.25mm — 6.0mm)
All fonts are expandable up to 24×24 4 direction 0 — 270 rotation
Ability to print any Windows True Type font easily with help of the Font Utility provided
1D Barcodes| Code39, UPC-A, UPC-E, Postnet, Code128 subset AB/C, Interleave 2 of 5, Interleaved 2 of 5 with check sum, Interleaved 2 of 5 with human readable check digit, Code 93, Code 39 with check sum digit MSI, EAN-8, Codabar, Code 11, EAN-13, Plessey GS1 Data bar (RSS), Industrial 2 of 5, Standard 2 of 5, Logmars
2D Barcodes| Maxi Code, PDF417, Data Matrix (ECC 200 only), QR code, Composite Codes, Aztec
Graphics| GRF, Hex and GDI
Emulation| PPLZ
Windows compatibility| Win CE.NET, Pocket PC, Windows Mobile, Windows XPNISTA/Windows 7 / 8 /10
Software| BarTender, Printer Utility, Font Utility
Media Type| Direct Thermal continuous receipt, Direct Thermal labels, die-cut, black mark, Direct Thermal stickers
Media| Recommended Printing Width: Label/Ticket: 3″(76.2mm) [Max roll capacity(OD): 2.2″(57mm)] Receipt: 1″(25.4mm) – 3″(76.2mm) [Max roll
capacity(OD): 2.2″(57mm)] Thickness: Receipt(0.0508-0.1016mm)/ Label: Max. 0.15mm
Drop protection| 1.5m
Dimensions| W 106mm x H 70mm x L 153mm
Weight| 670g (Printer + Battery + 3″ width OD 2.2″ Paper roll)
Power Source| 100-240VAC 50-60 Hz Input$ VDC 1.56 A output
Battery| Rechargeable 7.2V Lithium-ion, 2600mAh, Operating 8 hours (Cover rate 30%), standby 14 hours
Operation Environment| Operation Temperature: 14°F-122°F (-10°C-50°C), 0% – 90% non-condensing
Storage Temperature: -4°F-140°F (-20°C-60°C)
Standard Items| Belt Strap, Battery, AC adapter, Printhead Cleaning Pen, Sample Receipt Paper Roll, Quick Installation  Guide
Optional Items| Shoulder Strap, Environmental Case, Spare Battery, One Battery Charger, 4 Bay Battery Charger, Vehicle Power Adapter, USB/RS-232 Cables

** Special configuration

Interface Specifications

Serial Interface:
RS-232C port with a mini-type 10-pin convertor.
Flow Control mechanism is either RTS/CTS or X-on/X-off (control
characters are DC2 and DC4).
Programmable parameters are listed below:
Speed: 1200, 2400, 4800, 9600, 19200,
38400, 57600, 115200 bauds
Parity: Odd, Even or None.
Data Bits: 7 or 8 bits.
Stop Bit(s): 1 or 2 bits.
Factory Default Parameters: 9600 bauds, no parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit.

Control “
9| Clear to Send, CTS| Input. Used as the control signal for “H/W Flow Control”
10| GND| Signal ground

USB Interface:
This port complies with USB 2.0 Full-Speed communication.
The USB interface is a mini-type USB 10-pin convertor.

Bluetooth Interface:
Bluetooth version: 2.0
Communication range: 10 meters
Wi-Fi (802.11 b/g) Interface:
Wireless Security Authentication and Encryption Options:
WEP-128, WPA-PSK (TKIP), WPA2-PSK (AES)
Wireless access modes: Infrastructure and ad-hoc
Network support: DHCP, UDP, DNS, ARP, ICMP, TCP, sockets

AME Series User’s Manua l

References

• Argox | a Sato Company
• Argox | a Sato Company

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