MX240/ MX340/ MX640 Series THERMAL TRANSFER / DIRECT THERMAL BAR CODE PRINTER USER’S MANUAL
Copyright Information © 2014 TSC Auto ID Technology Co., Ltd, The copyright in this manual, the software and firmware in the printer described therein are owned by TSC Auto ID Technology Co., Ltd, All rights reserved. CG Triumvirate is a trademark of Agfa Corporation. CG Triumvirate Bold Condensed font is under license from the Monotype Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Agency Compliance and Approvals EN 55022, Class B EN 55024 EN 60950-1 FCC part 15B, Class B AS/NZS CISPR 22, Class B UL 60950-1 EN 60950-1 GB 4943.1 GB 9254 GB 17625.1 Wichtige Sicherheits-Hinweise 1. Bitte lesen Sie diese Hinweis sorgfältig durch. 2. Heben Sie diese Anleitung fűr den späteren Gebrauch auf. 3. Vor jedem Reinigen ist das Gerät vom Stromentz zu trennen. Verwenden Sie keine Flüssig-oder Aerosolreiniger. Am besten eignet sich ein angefeuchtetes Tuch zur Reinigung. 4.
DO NOT throw the battery in municipal waste. The symbol of the crossed out wheeled bin indicates that the battery should not be placed in municipal waste. CAUTION Risk of explosion if battery is replaced by an incorrect type. Dispose of used batteries according to the instructions. “VORSICHT” Explosionsgefahr bei unsachgemäß en Austaush der Batterie. Ersatz nur durch denselben oder einem vom Hersteller empfohlenem ähnlichen Typ. Entsorgung gebrauchter Batterien nach Angabren des Herstellers.
HAZARDOUS MOVING PARTS, KEEP FINGER AND OTHER BODY PARTS AWAY. 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.
Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Product Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Product Features ................................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Printer Standard Features ................................................................................................
6. Diagnostic Tool......................................................................................................... 33 6.1 Start the Diagnostic Tool .................................................................................... 33 6.2 Printer Function ................................................................................................. 34 6.3 Setting Ethernet by Diagnostic Tool .................................................................. 35 6.3.
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1. Introduction 1.1 Product Introduction Thank you very much for purchasing TSC bar code printer. This printer is designed with die-casting aluminum chassis and print mechanism, metal cover with large clear media view window, which ensuring to work for the extreme and heavy duty industrial environment and applications. With back-lit graphic LCD display, printer status can be managed easier and operated more user friendly. The moveable sensor design can accept wide range of label media.
1.2 Product Features 1.2.1 Printer Standard Features The printer offers the following standard features.
Bar code, graphics/image printing Supported bar code 1D bar code Code128 subsets A.B.C, Code128UCC, EAN128, Interleave 2 of 5, Code 39, Code 93, EAN-13, EAN-8, Codabar, POSTNET, UPC-A, UPC-E, EAN and UPC 2(5) digits, MSI, PLESSEY, China Post, ITF14, EAN14, Code 11, TELPEN, PLANET, Code 49, Deutsche Post Identcode, Deutsche Post Leitcode, LOGMARS 2D bar code CODABLOCK F mode, DataMatrix, Maxicode, PDF-417, Aztec, MicroPDF417, QR code, RSS Barcode (GS1 Databar) Supported image BITMAP, BMP, PCX (Max.
ISO-8859-9: Turkish ISO-8859-10: Nordic ISO-8859-15: Latin-9 UTF-8 1.2.2 Printer Optional Features The printer offers the following optional features.
1.3 General Specifications General Specifications Physical dimensions 300 mm (W) x 393 mm (H)x 510 mm (D) 11.81“ (W) x 15.47“ (H) x 20.08“ (D) Weight 18 kg (39.68 lbs) Internal universal switching power supply • Input: AC 100-240V, 3.0A, 50-60Hz • Output: DC 24V, 8.33A, 200W Power Note: The max. full web black bar is limited to 5 mm only, otherwise printer may stop printing to protect power supply.
1.6 Media Specifications Media Specifications MX240 MX340 MX640 Media roll capacity Max. 8” (203.2) OD Media core diameter 3” (76.2 mm) ID core Media type Continuous, die-cut, black mark, external fan-fold, notch Media wound type Outside wound Media width 20 mm ~ 114 mm (0.78“ ~ 4.49“) Media thickness 0.076 mm ~ 0.305 mm (2.99 ~ 12.01 mil) Label length 3 ~ 25,400 mm (0.1“ ~ 1000“) Label length (peeler mode) 25 mm ~ 152 mm (1” ~ 6”) Label length (cutter mode) 25.4~2,286 mm (1” ~ 90”) 25.
2. Operations Overview 2.1 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.
2.2 Printer Overview 2.2.1 Front View 1 5 2 6 3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. P o w4 e r L E D i n dLED indicators i cLCD display aFront panel buttons t oUSB host x 2 r Media view window 6. Paper exit chute 7. Printer cover 7 Pri nt he ad Note: * For LCD control panel, please refer to subsection 2.3.2 for more details.
2.2.2 Interior view 6 5 1 7 6 Pri nt he ad 8 2 Pri nt he ad 3 P o w e 1. r 2. L E 3. D 4. i n 5. d 6. i c 7. a 8. t o 9. r 10. 9 Pri nt 10 he ad 4 Ribbon rewind spindle Pri nt he ad Print head release lever Media sensor position adjustment knob Label guide bar release lever Ribbon supply spindle Ribbon tension adjustment knobs Label supply spindle Rear label guide External label entrance chute Print head pressure adjustment knobs 11. Platen roller 12. Print head 13. Media sensor 14.
2.2.3 Rear View 4 5 1 6 US B inte rfa ce 7 8 10 USB 9inter face 2 3 1. External label entrance chute Pri nt he ad 2. Power cord socket 3. Power switch 4. External BlueTooth or WiFi module (Option) Pri nt he ad 11 Pri nt he ad 5. RS-232C interface 6. GPIO interface (Option) 7. Ethernet interface 8. * SD card socket 9. USB interface 10. Centronics interface 11. USB host x 2 (Option) Note: The interface picture here is for reference only.
V1.0, V1.1 1 GB SanDisk, Transcend, Panasonic V2.0 SDHC CLASS 4 4 GB V2.0 SDHC CLASS 6 4 GB SanDisk, Transcend, Panasonic CLASS 10 16 GB Kingston CLASS 10 32 GB SanDisk, Transcend, Kingston V1.0, V1.1 microSD 128 MB Transcend, Panasonic V1.0, V1.1 microSD 256 MB Transcend, Panasonic V1.0, V1.1 microSD 512 MB Panasonic V1.0, V1.1 microSD 1 GB Transcend, Panasonic V2.0 SDHC CLASS 4 microSD 4 GB Transcend, Panasonic, Kingston V2.0 SDHC CLASS 6 microSD 4 GB Transcend V2.
2.3 Operator Control LEDs USB interfac e Touch screen USB interface Icons Printer firmware version Printer USB model interface USB interface USB interface Keys USB interface 2.3.
Printer is downloading data ERROR Off Printer is ready On Carriage open or cutter error Blinking No paper, paper jam or no ribbon Keys PAUSE Function Pause/Resume the printing process 1. Enter the menu MENU 2. Exit from a menu or cancel a setting and return to the previous menu FEED UP SELECT DOWN Advances one label Scroll up the menu list Enter/Select cursor located option Scroll down the menu list 2.3.2 Touch Screen Tap an item to open/use it.
Scroll down USB interface Set USB interfa - 14 ce Scroll up
3. Setup 3.1 Setting up the printer 1. Place the printer on a flat, secure surface. 2. Make sure the power switch is 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.
3.2 Loading the Ribbon 1. Open the printer right side cover. 2. Install the ribbon and paper core onto ribbon supply spindle and ribbon rewind spindle. 3. Push print head release lever to open print head mechanism.
4. Thread ribbon above the ribbon guide bar and through ribbon sensor slot. (Please refer to “Loading path for ribbon” as following fig.) 5. Wind the ribbon rewind spindle counterclockwise roughly 3~5 circles until ribbon is smooth, properly stretched and wrinkle-free. 6. Close the print head mechanism by pushing the print head release lever. Note: * Please refer to video on TSC YouTube or driver CD.
Loading path for ribbon * Ink coated outside wound * Ink coated inside wound - 18 -
3.3 Loading the Media 3.3.1 Loading the Media 1. Open the printer right side cover. 2. Place the roll of media on the label supply spindle. 3. Push open the print head release lever and label guide bar release lever for loading media.
4. Pull the leading edge of the label forward through the media guide bar pass media sensor, and place the leading edge onto the platen roller. 5. Adjust the rear label guide (green) to fit the label width. 6. Adjust the front label guide (green) to fit the label width.
7. Move the media sensor by adjusting the media sensor position adjustment knob, make sure the gap or black mark sensor is at the location where media gap/black mark will pass through for sensing. Black mark (Blue) GAP (White) Print head Print head 8. Close print head release lever and label guide bar release lever. 9. Set media sensor type and calibrate the selected sensor. Note: * Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media. * Please refer to video on TSC YouTube or driver CD.
3.3.2 Loading the Fan-fold/External Media 1. Open the printer right side cover. 2. Insert the fan-fold media through the 3. bottom or rear external label entrance chute. Please refer to section 3.3.1 step 3~9 for loading media. Note: Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media.
3.3.3 Loading Media in Peel-off Mode (Option) 1. Open the printer right side cover. 2. Please refer to section 3.3.1 step 3~9 for loading media. 3. Using the front display panel to do the calibration first and set the printer mode to peeler mode. Note: Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor before loading media in peel-off mode to avoid paper jam. 4. Open print head release lever and label guide bar release lever to pull approximately 650mm of label through the front of the printer. 5.
7. Feed the leading edge of liner through the peeler sensor and peel-off roller. Peel-off sensor Peel-off roller 8. Wrap the liner onto the paper core and wind the spindle until the liner stretched properly. 9. Press the middle of the peel-off roller to close the peel-off roller release lever.
10. Close print head release lever and label guide bar release lever. 11. Press the FEED button to test.
3.3.4 Loading Media in Rewind Mode (Option) 1. Open the printer right side cover. 2. Please refer to section 3.3.1 step 3~9 for loading media. 3. Using the front display panel to do the calibration and set the printer mode to rewind mode. 4. Install the paper core onto the rewind spindle. 5. Open print head release lever and label guide bar release lever to pull approximately 650mm of label through the front of the printer. 6.
7. Wrap the label onto the internal rewind spindle and stick the label onto the paper core. Wind the spindle until the label stretched properly. 8. Adjust the supply holder guide to fit the supply width. Turn the screw to fix the supply holder guide. Fixing screw 9. Close print head release lever and label guide bar release lever.
4. Moveable Print Head Pressure Adjustment Knob The moveable print head pressure adjustment knob has 5 levels of adjustment. Because the printer’s paper alignment is to the left side of mechanism, different media widths require different pressure to print correctly. Therefore it may require to adjust the pressure knob to get your best print quality. For example, if the label width is 4”, adjust both print head pressure adjustment knobs to the same level.
The print head pressure adjustment knob has 5 levels of settings. Clockwise direction adjustment is to increase the print head pressure. Counter Clockwise adjustment can decrease the print head pressure. Adjustable Printer Parts Symptom Print head pressure adjustment knobs Fixing screws 1. Wrinkle happens from label lower left to upper right direction (“ˊ”) 2.
5. Ribbon Tension Adjustment Knob The ribbon tension adjustment knob has 3 levels of adjustment. Because the printer’s ribbon alignment is to the left side of mechanism, different ribbon width require different tension to print correctly. Therefore it may require to adjust the ribbon tension knob to get your best print quality. The biggest tension is #1.
5.1 Suggestion of Ribbon Tension Adjustment For 4” width ribbon If the ribbon width is 4”, adjust both ribbon tension adjustment knobs to the #1 on ribbon supply & rewind spindles. (Factory default tension is #1) Ribbon Rewind Spindle Tension # 1 Ribbon Supply Spindle Tension # 1 For 3” width ribbon If the ribbon width is 3”, adjust both ribbon tension adjustment knobs to the #2 on ribbon supply & rewind spindles.
For 2” width ribbon If the ribbon width is 2”, adjust both ribbon tension adjustment knobs to the #3 on ribbon supply & rewind spindles.
6. Diagnostic Tool TSC’s Diagnostic Utility is an integrated tool incorporating features that enable you to explore a printer’s settings/status; change a printer’s settings; download graphics, fonts and firmware; create a printer bitmap font; and send additional commands to a printer. With the aid of this powerful tool, you can review printer status and setting in an instant, which makes it much easier to troubleshoot problems and other issues. 6.1 Start the Diagnostic Tool 1.
6.2 Printer Function 1. Connect the printer and computer with a cable. 2. Select the PC interface connected with bar code printer. USB cable Other cable 2 1 The default interface setting is USB interface. If USB interface is connected with printer, no other settings need to be changed in the interface field. 3. Click the “Printer Function” button to setup. 4. The detail functions in the Printer Function Group are listed as below.
6.3 Setting Ethernet by Diagnostic Tool The Diagnostic Utility is enclosed in the CD disk \Utilities directory. Users can use Diagnostic Tool to setup the Ethernet by RS-232, USB and Ethernet interfaces. The following contents will instruct users how to configure the Ethernet by these three interfaces. 6.3.1 Using USB interface to setup Ethernet interface 1. Connect the printer and computer with USB cable. 2. Turn on the printer power switch. 3.
6.3.2 Using RS-232 interface to setup Ethernet interface 1. Connect the computer and the printer with a RS-232 cable. 2. Turn on the printer power. 3. Start the Diagnostic Utility by double clicks on the icon. 4. Select “COM” as interface then click on the “Setup” button to setup the serial port baud rate, parity check, data bits, stop bit and flow control parameters. 5.
6.3.3 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. 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.
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.
7. LCD Menu Function 7.1 Enter the Main Menu * By Keys: Press the “MENU” button and press the “SELECT” button to enter the main menu. * By touch display: Tap the “Menu” icon on LCD to enter the main menu.
7.2 Main Menu Overview There are 8 categories for the main menu. You can easy to set the settings of printer without connecting the computer. Please refer to following sections for more details. Menu TSPL ZPL2 Sensor Interface File Manager Diagnostics Advance Set Service Speed Darkness Status Serial Comm. File List Print Config. Brightness Initialization Density Print Speed Gap Calibration Ethernet Avail. Memory Dump Mode Date & Time Mileage Imfo.
7.3 TSPL2 This “TSPL” category can set up the printer settings for TSPL2. Speed None Density Batch Mode Direction Peeler Mode Print mode Cutter Mode Offset Cutter Batch Menu TSPL Shift X Rewinder Mode Shift Y Reference X Reference Y Code Page Country Item Speed Density Description Use this item to setup print speed. The each increase or decrease is 1 ips. Available setting is from 4 to 12. Use this option to setup printing darkness. The available setting is from 0 to 15, and the step is 1.
Peeler Mode Cutter Mode Cutter Batch Rewinder Mode Enable the label peel off mode. Enable the label cutter mode. Cut the label once at the end of the printing job. Enable the label rewinder mode. This item is used to fine tune media stop location. Available setting value is from “+” to “-” or “0” to “9”. Offset Shift X Shift Y Reference X Reference Y Code page Country This item is used to fine tune print position. Available setting value is from “+” to “-” or “0” to “9”.
7.4 ZPL2 This “ZPL2” category can set up the printer settings for ZPL2.
Print Speed Use this item to setup print speed. The each increase or decrease is 1 ips. Available setting is from 1 to 6. Tear Off This item is used to fine tune media stop location. Available setting value is from “+” to “-” or “0” to “9”. 2 +000 This item is used to set the print mode.
Reprint Mode Format Convert label. The range is -9999 to +9999 dots. When reprint mode is enabled, you can reprint the last label printer by pressing button on printer’s control panel. Selects the bitmap scaling factor. The first number is the original dots per inch (dpi) value; the second, the dpi to which you would like to scale. Disabled Note: If printing from enclosed software/driver, the software/driver will send out the commands, which will overwrite the settings set from the panel.
7.5 Sensor This option is used to calibrate the selected sensor. We recommend calibrate the sensor before printing when changing the media. Gap Auto Calibration Black Mark Continuous Gap Manual Setup Menu Sensor Black Mark Continuous Auto Threshold Detect Fixed Maximum Length Advanced Item Auto Calibration Manual setup Description This option is used to set the media sensor type and calibrate the selected sensor automatically.
7.6 Interface This option is used to set the printer interface settings. Serial Comm. Ethernet Menu Interface Bluetooth Wi-Fi 7.6.1 Serial Comm. This option is used to set the printer RS-232 settings. 1200 bps 2400 bps 4800 bps Baud Rate 9600 bps 19200 bps 38400 bps 57600 bps 115200 bps Menu Interface None Serial Comm. Parity Odd Even Data Bits Stop Bit(s) 7 8 1 2 Item Description Default Baud Rate This item is used to set the RS-232 baud rate.
7.6.2 Ethernet Use this menu to configure internal Ethernet configuration check the printer’s Ethernet module status, and reset the Ethernet module. Status Menu Interface Ethernet DHCP Static IP Item Description Default Status Use this menu to check the Ethernet IP address and MAC setting status. N/A DHCP This item is used to ON or OFF the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) network protocol. N/A Static IP Use this menu to set the printer’s IP address, subnet mask and gateway.
7.6.3 Bluetooth This option is used to set the printer blustooth settings. Bluetooth Name Menu Interface Bluetooth Bluetooth PIN code Item Bluetooth Name Bluetooth Code Description Default This item is used to set the local name for Bluetooth. BT-SPP PIN This item is used to set the local PIN code for Bluetooth. 0000 7.6.
7.7 File Manager This feature is used to check the printer available memory and file list. DRAM Menu Flie List FLASH Avail. Memory CARD File Manager DRAM Del. All Files FLASH CARD Item File List Description Use this menu to show, delete and run (.BAS) the files saved in the printer DRAM/Flash/Card memory. Avail. Memory Use this menu to show available memory space. Del. All Files Use this menu to delete all files.
7.8 Diagnostics Print Config. Menu Diagnostics Dump Mode Rotate Cutter 7.8.1 Print Config. This feature is used to print current printer configuration to the label. On the configuration printout, there is a print head test pattern, which is useful for checking if there is any dot damage on the print head heater element. Menu Diagnostics Print Config.
ZPL setting information Print darkness Print speed (inch/sec) Label size Control prefix Format prefix Delimiter prefix Printer power up motion Printer head close motion Note: ® ZPL is emulating for Zebra language. RS232 serial port configuration Numbers of download files Total & available memory space Print head check pattern Note: Checking dot damage requires 4” wide paper width.
7.8.2 Dump Mode Captures the data from the communications port and prints out the data received by printer. In the dump mode, all characters will be printed in 2 columns. 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. Menu Diagnostics DOWNLOA D „TEST2. DAT“,5,CL S DOWNLO AD F,“TES T4.DAT“,5 ,CLS DOW NLOAD „TE ST2.DAT”, 5,CLS DO WNLOAD F, „TEST4.
7.8.3 Rotate Cutter In case paper is jammed in the cutter, this feature can rotate the cutter blade forward or reverse direction, which is helpful to remove the jammed paper easily from the cutter.
7.9 Advance Set This feature is used to set the printer LCD settings. Brightness Menu Advance Set Date & Time Language Item Description Brightness This item is used to setup the brightness for display. Date & Time This item is used to setup the date and time on display. Language This item is used to setup the language on display.
7.10 Service This feature is used to restore printer settings to defaults and checking information for printer. Initialization Mileage Info. Menu Service Contact us Serial Info. Item Description Initialization This feature is used to restore printer settings to defaults. Mileage Info. This feature is used to check the printed mileage Contact us This feature is used to check the contact information for tech support service Serial Info.
8 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 the Customer Service Department of your purchased reseller or distributor for assistance. Problem Possible Cause Recovery Procedure Power indicator does not illuminate * The power cord is not properly connected. * Plug the power cord in printer and outlet.
Can’t downloading the file to memory (FLASH / * The space of memory is full. DRAM/CARD) SD card is unable to use Poor Print Quality * SD card is damaged. * SD card doesn’t insert correctly. * Use the non-approved SD card manufacturer. * Ribbon and media is loaded incorrectly * Dust or adhesive accumulation on the print head. * Print density is not set properly. * Printhead element is damaged. * Ribbon and media are incompatible. * The printhead pressure is not set properly.
* Calibrate the sensor sensitivity again. * Set the correct label size and gap size. * Press [MENU] [SELECT] x3[DOWN]x6 [SELECT] to fine tune the parameter of Shift Y. * If using the software BarTender, please set the vertical offset in the driver. * Media sensor sensitivity is not set properly. The printing position of small * Label size is incorrect. * The parameter Shift Y in the label is incorrect LCD menu is incorrect. * The vertical offset setting in the driver is incorrect.
9 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 Lint-free cloth Vacuum / Blower brush 100% Ethanol or Isopropyl Alcohol 2. The cleaning process is described as following, Printer Part Method Interval 1. Always turn off the printer before cleaning the print head. 2. Allow the print head to cool for a Clean the print head when changing minimum of one minute. a new label roll. 3.
Revise History Date Content Editor 2014/4/24 Modify agency compliance and approvals Camille 2014/6/18 2014/11/5 2014/12/8 2014/12/9 2014/12/25 2014/12/29 2014/12/31 2014/12/31 2015/1/29 Modify switching power supply spec (section 1.3) Modify agency compliance and approvals Modify pictures for key feature change Add ribbon tension adjustment section Modify section 1.3 Add loading media in peel-off mode section Add loading media in rewind mode section Modify section 7.3 Modify section 7.4 & 7.
TSC Auto ID Technology Co., Ltd. Corporate Headquarters 9F., No.95, Minquan Rd., Xindian Dist., New Taipei City 23141, Taiwan (R.O.C.) TEL: +886-2-2218-6789 FAX: +886-2-2218-5678 Web site: www.tscprinters.com E-mail: apac_sales@tscprinters.com tech_support@tscprinters.com Li Ze Plant No.35, Sec. 2, Ligong 1st Rd., Wujie Township, Yilan County 26841, Taiwan (R.O.C.
