ALTEC ATP-23 Direct Thermal Label Printer User Manual

ALTEC ATP-23 Direct Thermal Label Printer

Specifications

• Model: ATP-23

• Printing Technology: Thermal Transfer / Direct Thermal

• Compliances:

  • CE Class B: EN55022: 1998+A1: 2000+A2: 2003, EN55024: 1998+A1: 2001+A2: 2003, IEC 61000-4 Series, EN61000-3-2: 2006 &

  • EN61000-3-3: 1995+A1: 2001

  • FCC Part 15, Class B

  • UL, CUL: UL60950-1

  • C-Tick
    CFR 47, Part 15/CISPR 22 3rd Edition: 1997, Class B

  • ANSI C63.4: 2003  Canadian ICES-003

  • Safety: EN60950-1 / IEC 60950-1

CAUTION

1. HAZARDOUS MOVING PARTS IN CUTTER MODULE. KEEP FINGER AND OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY.

2. THE MAIN BOARD INCLUDES REAL TIME CLOCK FEATURE HAS LITHIUM BATTERY CR2032 INSTALLED. RISK OF EXPLOSION IF BATTERY IS REPLACED BY AN
   INCORRECT TYPE.

3. DISPOSE OF USED BATTERIES ACCORDING TO THE MANUFACTURER INSTRUCTIONS.

Operations Overview

Unpacking and Inspection

This printer has been specially packaged to withstand damage during shipping. Please carefully inspect the packaging and printer upon receiving the bar code printer. Please retain the packaging materials in case you need to reship the printer.

Unpacking the printer, the following items are included in the carton.

• One printer unit
• One Windows labeling software/Windows driver CD disk
• One power cord
• One auto switching power supply
• One USB interface cable
• One paper core

If any parts are missing, please contact the Customer Service Department of your purchased reseller or distributor.

Printer Overview

Front View

1. LCD display (Factory option)
2. LED indicator
3. Feed button
4. Paper exit chute
5. Media view window
6. Top cover open lever

Interior View

1. Ribbon access cover
2. Ribbon rewind hub
3. Ribbon rewind gear
4. Print head
5. Ribbon supply hub
6. Gap sensor (receiver)
7. Media holders
8. Media guide
9. Top cover support
10. Black mark sensor
11. Platen roller
12. Gap sensor (transmitter)
13. Media guide adjuster knob
14. Top cover

Rear View

1. Power switch
2. Power jack socket
3. USB interface
4. USB host (Factory option)
5. RS-232C interface / Ethernet interface (Option)
6. SD card socket

Note:

• The interface picture is for reference only. Please refer to the product specification for the interface availability.
• Recommended MicroSD card specification.

–  The DOS FAT file system is supported for the SD card.

–  Folders/files stored in the SD card should be in the 8.3 filename format

Setup

Setting Up the Printer

1. Place the printer on a flat, secure surface.
2. Make sure the power switch is set to “off”.
3. Connect the printer to the computer with the provided USB cable.
4. Plug the power cord into the AC power cord socket at the rear of the printer, and then plug the power cord into a properly grounded power outlet.

Note: Please switch OFF printer power switch prior to plug in the power cord to printer power jack.

Loading the Media

1. Open the printer top cover by pulling the tabs located on each side towards the front of the printer, and then lift the top cover to the maximum open angle.
2. Separate the media holders to the label roll width.
3. Place the roll between the holders and close them onto the core. Place the paper, printing side face up, through the media guides, media sensor and place the label leading edge onto the platen roller.
4. Move the media guides to fit the label width by turning the media guide adjuster knob.
5. Hold the top cover and press the top cover support to disengage the top cover support with lower inner cover. Gently close the top cover. Make sure the cover latches securely.
6. Use “DiagAnostic Tool” to set the media sensor type and calibrate the selected sensor. (Start the “Diagnostic tool” D Select the “Printer Configuration” tab | Click the “Calibrate Sensor” button)

Note: Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media.

Loading Media in Peel-off Mode (Option)

1. Refer to section 3.2.1 to load the media.
2. Open the top cover and peel-off panel after calibrated the sensor.
3. Lead the media through the backing paper opening, beneath the peel-off roller.
4. Push the peel-off panel back to the printer.
5. Close the top cover gently.
6. Press the FEED button to test. Note: Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media.

Loading Media in Cutter Mode (Option)

1. Refer to section 3.2.1 to load the media.
2. Lead the media through the cutter paper opening.
3. Close the top cover gently.
4. Use “Diagnostic Tool” to set the media sensor type and calibrate the selected sensor. (Start the “Diagnostic tool”  Select the “Printer Configuration” tab O Click the “Calibrate Sensor” button)

Note

• Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media.
• Regular cutter specification:
  • Full cut: Paper thickness: 0.06 ~ 0.19 mm, 200,000 cuts
  • Partial cut : Paper thickness: 0.06 ~ 0.12 mm, 500,000 cuts
• Except for the linerless cutter, all regular/heavy duty/care label cutters DO NOT cut on media with glue.

Loading the Thick Media (Thickness is 0.19 mm)

1. Open the printer top cover by pulling the tabs located on each side towards the front of the printer, and then lift the top cover to the maximum open angle.
2. Remove the lower front cover.
3. Disengage the platen holder tabs from the lower inner cover by pulling out the right side and left side tabs. Alter the both side tabs into the 90 degree position for thick label.
4. Reassemble the lower front cover in the reverse procedure.
5. Refer to section 3.2.1 to load the media.

Loading the Ribbon

1. Open the printer’s top cover by pulling the top cover open levers located on each side of the printer and lifting the top cover to the maximum open angle.
2. Insert the ribbon right side onto the supply hub. Align the notches on the left side and mount onto the spokes.
3. Open the ribbon access cover.
4. Insert the paper core right side onto the rewind hub. Align the notches on the left side and mount onto the spokes.
5. Pull the leading ribbon to pass the print head.
6. Stick the ribbon onto the ribbon rewind paper core.
7. Turn the ribbon rewind gear until the ribbon plastic leader is thoroughly wound and the black section of the ribbon covers the print head. Close the ribbon access cover and the top cover.

Setting Ethernet by Diagnostic Utility (Option)
The Diagnostic Utility is enclosed in the CD disk \Tools directory or can be downloaded from www.altec.nl website. Users can use Diagnostic Tool to setup the Ethernet by USB and Ethernet interfaces. The following contents will instruct users how to configure the Ethernet by these interfaces.

Using USB interface to setup Ethernet interface

1. Connect the USB cable between the computer and the printer.

2. Turn on the printer power.

3. Start the Diagnostic Utility by double clicking on the icon.
   Note: This utility works with printer firmware V6.00 and later versions.

4. The Diagnostic Utility default interface setting is USB interface. If USB interface is connected with printer, no other settings need to be changed in the interface field.

5. Click on the “Ethernet Setup” button from “Printer Function” group in Printer Configuration tab to setup the IP address, subnet mask and gateway for the on board Ethernet.

Using Ethernet interface to setup Ethernet interface

1. Connect the computer and the printer to the LAN.

2. Turn on the printer power.

3. Start the Diagnostic Utility by double clicks on the icon.
   Note : This utility works with printer firmware V6.00 and later versions.

4. Select “Ethernet” as the interface then click on the “Setup” button to setup the IP address, subnet mask and gateway for the on board Ethernet.

5. Click the “Discover Device” button to explore the printers that exist on the network.

6. Select the printer in the left side of listed printers, the correspondent IP address will be shown in the right side “IP address/Printer Name” field.

7. Click “Change IP Address” to configure the IP address obtained by DHCP or static. The default IP address is obtained by DHCP. To change the setting to static IP address, click “Static IP” radio button then enter the IP address, subnet mask and gateway. Click “Set IP” to take effect the settings.
   Users can also change the “Printer Name” by another model name in this fields then click “Set Printer Name” to take effect this change.
   Note: After clicking the “Set Printer Name” or “Set IP” button, printer will reset to take effect the settings.

8. Click “Exit” button to exit the Ethernet interface setup and go back to Diagnostic Tool main screen.

Factory Default button
This function will reset the IP, subnet mask, gateway parameters obtained by DHCP and reset the printer name.

Web setup button
Except to use the Diagnostic Utility to setup the printer, you can also explore and configure the printer settings and status or update the firmware with the IE or Firefox web browser. This feature provides a user friendly setup interface and the capability to manage the printer remotely over a network.

LED and Button Functions

This printer has one button and one three-color LED indicator. By indicating the LED with different color and pressing the button, printer can feed labels, pause the printing job, select and calibrate the media sensor, print printer self-test report, reset printer to defaults (initialization). Please refer to the button operation below for different functions.

LED Indicator

use.

Green/ Flash

| This illuminates that the system is downloading data from PC to memory or the printer is paused.
Amber| This illuminates that the system is clearing data from printer.
Red / Solid| This illuminates printer head open, cutter error.

Red / Flash

| This illuminates a printing error, such as head open, paper empty, paper jam or memory error etc.

Regular Button Function

1. Feed labels
   When the printer is ready, press the button to feed one label to the beginning of next label.

2. Pause the printing job
   When the printer is printing, press the button to pause a printing job. When the printer is paused, the LED will be green blinking. Press the button again to continue the printing job.

Power on Utilities
There are six power-on utilities to set up and test printer hardware. These utilities are activated by pressing FEED button then turning on the printer power simultaneously and release the button at different color of LED.

Please follow the steps below for different power-on utilities.

1. Turn off the power switch.
2. Hold on the button then turn on the power switch.
3. Release the button when LED indicates with different color for different functions.

Gap/Black Mark Sensor Calibration

Gap/black mark sensor sensitivity should be calibrated at the following conditions:

1. A brand new printer
2. Change label stock.
3. Printer initialization.

Please follow the steps below to calibrate the gap/black mark sensor.

1. Turn off the power switch.
2. Hold on the button then turn on the power switch.
3. Release the button when LED becomes red and blinking. (Any red will do during the 5 blinks).
   • It will calibrate the gap/black mark sensor sensitivity.
   • The LED color will be changed as following order：
     Amber red (5 blinks) amber (5 blinks) green (5 blinks) green/amber (5 blinks) red/amber (5 blinks) solid green

Note:

1. Sensor calibration can be done by Diagnostic Tool or by power on utility. Please refer to “3.3 Diagnostic Tool” Section for more information.
2. Please select gap or black mark sensor type prior to calibrate the sensor.

Gap/Black Mark Calibration, Self-test and Dump Mode
While calibrate the gap/black mark sensor, printer will measure the label length, print the internal configuration (self-test) on label and then enter the dump mode. To calibrate gap or black mark sensor, depends on the sensor setting in the last print job.

Please follow the steps below to calibrate the sensor.

1. Turn off the power switch.

2. Hold on the button then turn on the power switch.

3. Release the button when LED becomes amber and blinking. (Any amber will do during the 5 blinks)

4. The LED color will be changed as following order.
   Amber red (5 blinks) amber (5 blinks) green (5 blinks) green/amber (5 blinks) red/amber (5 blinks) solid green

5. It calibrates the sensor and measures the label length and prints internal settings then enter the dump mode.

Note:

1. Sensor calibration can be done by Diagnostic Tool or by power on utility.
2. Please select gap or black mark sensor type prior to calibrate the sensor.

Self-test: Printer will print the printer configuration after gap/black mark sensor calibration. Self-test printout can be used to check if there is any dot damage on the heater element, printer configurations and available memory space.

Dump mode
Printer will enter dump mode after printing printer configuration. In the dump mode, all characters will be printed in 2 columns as following. The left side characters are received from your system and right side data are the corresponding hexadecimal value of the characters. It allows users or engineers to verify and debug the program.

Note:

1. Dump mode requires 2” wide paper width.
2. Turn off / on the power to resume printer for normal printing.
3. Press FEED button to back to the previous menu.

Printer Initialization

• Printer initialization is used to clear DRAM and restore printer settings to defaults.
• Printer initialization is activated by the following procedures.

1. Turn off the power switch.
2. Hold on the button then turn on the power switch.
3. Release the button when LED turns green after 5 amber blinks. (Any green will do during the 5 blinks).
4. The LED color will be changed as following:
   Amber red (5 blinks) amber (5 blinks) green (5 blinks) green/amber (5 blinks) red/amber (5 blinks) solid green

Printer configuration will be restore to defaults as below after initialization.

Speed

| 127 mm/sec (5 ips) (203DPI)

76.2 mm/sec (3 ips) (300DPI)

Density| 8
Label Width| 2” (50.8 mm)
Label Height| 2” (50.8 mm)
Sensor Type| Gap sensor
---|---
Gap Setting| 0.12” (3.0 mm)
Print Direction| 0
Reference Point| 0,0 (upper left corner)
Offset| 0
Tear Mode| On
Peel off Mode| Off
Cutter Mode| Off
Serial Port Settings| 9600 bps, none parity, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit
Code Page| 850
Country Code| 001
Clear Flash Memory| No
IP Address| DHCP

Set Black Mark Sensor as Media Sensor and Calibrate the Black Mark Sensor

Please follow the steps as below.

1. Turn off the power switch.
2. Hold on the button then turn on the power switch.
3. Release the button when LED turns green/amber after 5 green blinks. (Any green/amber will do during the 5 blinks).
4. The LED color will be changed as following:
   Amber red (5 blinks) amber (5 blinks) green (5 blinks) green/amber (5 blinks) red/amber (5 blinks) solid green

Set Gap Sensor as Media Sensor and Calibrate the Gap Sensor

Please follow the steps as below.

1. Turn off the power switch.
2. Hold on the button then turn on the power switch.
3. Release the button when LED turns red/amber after 5 green/amber blinks. (Any red/amber will do during the 5 blinks).
   • The LED color will be changed as following:
     Amber red (5 blinks) amber (5 blinks) green (5 blinks) green/amber (5 blinks) red/amber (5 blinks) solid green (5 blinks) solid green

Skip AUTO.BAS

TSPL2 programming language allows user to download an auto execution file to flash memory. Printer will run the AUTO.BAS program immediately when turning on printer power. The AUTO.BAS program can be interrupted without running the program by the power-on utility.

Please follow the procedures below to skip an AUTO.BAS program.
Turn off printer power.

Press the FEED button and then turn on power.

• Release the FEED button when LED becomes solid green.

  • The LED color will be changed as following:
    Amber red (5 blinks) amber (5 blinks) green (5 blinks) green/amber (5 blinks) red/amber (5 blinks) solid green

• Printer will be interrupted to run the AUTO.BAS program.

Troubleshooting

The following guide lists the most common problems that may be encountered when operating this bar code printer. If the printer still does not function after all suggested solutions have been invoked, please contact us.

LED Status
This section lists the common problems that according to the LED status and other problems you may encounter when operating the printer. Also, it provides solutions.

Note: Printer status can be easily shown on the Diagnostic Tool. For more information about the Diagnostic Tool, please refer to the instruction in the software CD disk.

Print Problem

Maintenance

This session presents the clean tools and methods to maintain your printer.

1. Please use one of following material to clean the printer.
   • Cotton swab (Head cleaner pen)
   • Lint-free cloth
   • Vacuum / Blower brush
   • 100% ethanol
2. The cleaning process is described as following:

Note: Do not touch printer head by hand. If you touch it careless, please use ethanol to clean it.

• Please use 100% Ethenol. DO NOT use medical alcohol, which may damage the printer head.
• Regularly clean the print head and supply sensors once change a new media to keep printer performance and extend printer life.
• The maximum printing ratio per dot line is 15% for this printer. To print the full web black line, the maximum black line height is limited to 40 dots, which is 5mm for 203 DPI resolution printer and 3.3mm for 300 DPI resolution printer.

FAQ

• Q: What should I do if the LED status indicates an issue?
  • A: Refer to the Troubleshooting section in the manual for guidance on interpreting LED status indicators and resolving issues.
• Q: How do I load the ribbon or media into the printer?
  • A: Detailed instructions for loading ribbon and media can be  found in the Maintenance section of the user manual.

Contactgegevens

ALTEC industrial identification

• Nieuwland Parc 159
• 3351 LJ PAPENDRECHT
• T +31 (0)78 615 20 33
• info@altec.nl 
• www.altec.nl 

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