TA200/ TA300 Series THERMAL TRANSFER / DIRECT THERMAL BAR CODE PRINTER USER’S MANUAL i
Copyright Information © 2011 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 CE CLASS A EN 55022 EN 55024 FCC CFR Title 47 Part 15 Subpart B ICES-003 Class A GB-4953 GB9254 (CLASS A) GB27625 此为 A 级产品，在生活环境中，该产品可能会造成无线电干扰，在这种 情况下，可能需要用户对干扰采取切实可行的措施。 IEC 60950-1 iii
Contents 1. Introduction ................................................. 1 1.1 Product Introduction ......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Product Features ............................................................................................... 2 1.2.1 Printer Standard Features ...................................................................... 2 1.2.2 Printer Optional Features ..............................................................
.1 Start the Diagnostic Tool ................................................................................ 24 5.2 Printer Function .............................................................................................. 25 5.3 Calibrating Media Sensor by Diagnostic Tool ...................... 26 5.3.1 Auto Calibration .................................................................................... 26 5.4 Setting Ethernet by Diagnostic Utility (Option) ..................... 27 5.4.
1. Introduction 1.1 Product Introduction Thank you very much for purchasing TSC bar code printer. The TA200 series printer features two durable gear-driven motors that are capable of handling large capacity 300 meter ribbons and large rolls of media inside its sleek design. If the 5” interior label capacity is not enough, simply add an external media roll mount and the TA200 can easily handle 8.4” OD rolls of labels designed for expensive industrial label printers.
1.2 Product Features 1.2.1 Printer Standard Features The printer offers the following standard features. 203 dpi models ○ 300 dpi models ○ Direct thermal printing ○ ○ ABS plastic enclosure ○ ○ Position adjustable gap sensor ○ ○ Position adjustable black mark sensor ○ ○ Ribbon sensor ○ ○ Head open sensor ○ ○ USB 2.
1.2.2 Printer Optional Features The printer offers the following optional features. Product option feature LCD display (graphic type, 128x64 pixel) with back light Internal Ethernet print server (10/100 Mbps) interface User Dealer Factory options options options ○ - - ○ Serial RS-232C (2400-115200 bps) interface - - ○ Centronics interface - - ○ Peel-off module Guillotine cutter module (Full cut and partial cut) Paper thickness: 0.06~ 0.19mm, 500,000 cuts 0.20~ 0.
1.3 General Specifications General Specifications Physical dimensions 224 mm (W) x 186 mm (H) x 294 mm (D) Weight 2.45 kg Electrical External universal switching power supply Input: AC 100-240V Output: DC 24V 2.5A, 60W Environmental condition Operation: 5 ~ 40˚C (41 ~ 104˚F), 25~85% non-condensing Storage: -40 ~ 60 ˚C (-40 ~ 140˚F), 10~90% non-condensing 1.
1.6 Media Specifications Media Specifications 203 dpi models 300 dpi models Label roll capacity 127 mm (5”) OD Media type Continuous, die-cut, black mark, fan-fold, notch Media wound type Printing face outside wound & Printing face inside wound Media width (label + Max. 118 mm (4.6”) liner) Min. 25.4 mm (1.0”) Media thickness (label Max. 0.254 mm (10 mil) + liner) Min. 0.06 mm (2.36 mil) Media core diameter 25.4 mm~38 mm (1”~1.5”) Label length 10~2,794 mm (0.39”~110”) 10~1,016 mm (0.
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 2 3 4 6 5 1. LED indicator 2. Feed key 3. LCD display (Option) 4. Paper exit chute 5. Top cover open tab 6.
2.2.2 Interior View 1 2 3 14 7 4 13 6 12 11 OPEN 5 10 8 9 1. Printer top cover 8. Platen roller 2. Media supply spindle 9. Black mark sensor 3. Ribbon rewind hub 10. Gap sensor 4. Print head release button 11. Media guide 5. Ribbon rewind spindle 12. Media bar 6. Fixing tab 13. Ribbon supply spindle 7. Ribbon supply hub 14.
2.2.3 Rear View 7 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. Power jack socket 2. *microSD card slot 3. Internal Ethernet interface (Option) 4. RS-232C interface (Option) 5. USB interface (USB 2.0/ Full speed mode) 6. Centronics interface (Option) 7. Rear external label entrance chute Note: The interface picture here is for reference only. Please refer to the product specification for the interfaces availability. * Recommended micro SD card specification SD card spec SD card capacity Approved SD card manufacturer V1.0, V1.
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. * The interface picture here is for reference only.
3.2 Loading the Ribbon 1. Open the printer top cover by pressing the top cover open tabs located on each side of the printer. 2. Insert the paper core to the ribbon rewind spindle. 3. Insert the left side of ribbon rewind spindle to the ribbon rewind hub first then insert the right side of ribbon rewind spindle to the hole at the right side of ribbon mechanism.
4. Push the print head release button to open the print head mechanism. 5. Insert the ribbon to the ribbon spindle. 6. Insert the left side of ribbon supply spindle to the ribbon supply hub first then insert the right side of ribbon supply spindle to the hole at the right side of ribbon mechanism.
7. Pull the leader of the ribbon through the print head and stick the leader of the ribbon onto the ribbon rewind paper core. 8. Turn the ribbon rewind hub until the ribbon plastic leader is thoroughly wound and the black section of the ribbon covers the print head. 9. Close the print head mechanism by both hands and make sure the latches are engaged securely.
Note: Please refer to videos on TSC YouTube or driver CD.
3.3 Loading the Media 3.3.1 Loading the Roll Labels 1. Open the printer top cover by pressing the top cover open tabs located on each side of the printer. 2. Insert the paper roll into the media supply spindle and use two fixing tabs to fix the paper roll onto the center of the spindle. (If your paper width is 4 inch, you can remove the fixing tabs from the supply spindle.) 3. Place the paper roll onto the paper roll mount.
4. Push the print head release button to open the print head mechanism. 5. Feed the paper, printing side face up, through the media bar, media sensor and place the label leading edge onto the platen roller. Move the media guides to fit the label width. Gap sensor Black mark sensor Media guide Platen roller Note: The media sensor position is moveable. Please make sure the gap or black mark is at the location where media gap/black mark will pass through for sensing.
6. Close the print head mechanism by both hands and make sure the latches are engaged securely. 7. Use “Diagnostic Tool” to set the media sensor type and calibrate the selected sensor. (Start the “Diagnostic tool” Select the 1 “Printer Configuration” tab Click the “Calibrate Sensor” button ) Please refer to section 5.3. 2 Note: * Please calibrate the gap/ black mark sensor when changing media. * Please refer to videos on TSC YouTube or driver CD.
3.3.2 Loading the Media in Peel-off mode (Option) 1. Refer to chapter 3.3.1 to install the label. Use “Diagnostic Tool” to set the media sensor type and calibrate the selected sensor. 2. Pull the label through the front of the printer and take some labels off only leave the liner. Liner Label 3. Open the peel-off cover. Feed the liner into peel-off cover slot.
4. Close the peel-off module. Use the DiagTool to set the peel-off mode by selecting “PEEL” option for Post-Print Action setting then click “Set” button to enable the peel-off mode. Liner 5. Close the print head mechanism and printer cover. Printer is ready for peel-off mode. 6. Press the FEED button to test. Label Liner Note: Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media.
3.3.3 Loading the Media in Cutter Mode (Option) 1. Refer to chapter 3.3.1 to install the label. 2. Lead the media through the cutter paper opening. 3. Close the print head mechanism and printer cover. Use the DiagTool to set the printer for cutter mode by selecting “CUTTER” option for Post-Print Action setting then click “Set” button to enable the cutter mode. Press the FEED button to test. Note: Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media.
3.3.4 External Label Roll Mount Installation (Option) 1. Use two screws to install the extended plate onto the external Extended plate label roll mount. External label roll mount 2. Attach the extended plate on the bottom of the printer. (If you purchase the external label roll mount only, just need to put it on the rear of printer for using.) 3. Insert a 3” (or 1”) label spindle into a paper roll. And install it on the external paper roll mount.
4. Feed the media through the rear external label entrance chute. 5. Refer to chapter 3.3.1 to install the label. Use “Diagnostic Tool” to set the media sensor type and calibrate the selected sensor. Note: Please calibrate the gap/black mark sensor when changing media.
4. 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. 4.
4.3 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 printer 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.
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: Please select gap or black mark sensor by sending GAP or BLINE command to printer prior to calibrate the sensor. For more information about GAP and BLINE command, please refer to TSPL2 programming manual. 4.3.
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.
Print speed (inch/sec) Print darkness Label size (inch) Gap distance (inch) Gap/black mark sensor intension Code page Country code 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.
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. Hex decimal data related to left ASCII Data column of ASCII data Note: 1. Dump mode requires 4” wide paper width. 2.
Printer configuration will be restored to defaults as below after initialization. Parameter Speed Default setting 101.6 mm/sec (4 ips) (203DPI) 76 mm/sec (3 ips) (300DPI) Density 8 Label Width 4” (101.5 mm) Label Height 4” (101.5 mm) Sensor Type Gap sensor Gap Setting 0.12” (3.
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 4.3.6 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.
5. 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 settings in an instant, which makes it much easier to troubleshoot problems and other issues. 5.1 Start the Diagnostic Tool 1.
5.2 Printer Function 1. Select the PC interface connected with bar code printer. 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. 2. Click the “Printer Function” button to setup. 3. The detail functions in the Printer Function Group are listed as below.
5.3 Calibrating Media Sensor by Diagnostic Tool 5.3.1 Auto Calibration 1. Make sure the media is install ready and print head mechanism is closed. (Please refer to section 3.3.) Note: The media sensor position is moveable. Please make sure the gap (▽) or black mark is at the location where media gap/black mark will pass through for sensing. Gap sensor Black mark sensor 2. Turn on the printer power switch. 3. Open Diagnostic tool and set interface. (The default setting is USB.
5.4 Setting Ethernet by Diagnostic Utility (Option) 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. 5.4.1 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.
5.4.2 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.
5.4.3 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.
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.
6. Troubleshooting 6.1 Common Problems 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 Power indicator does not illuminate Possible Cause Recovery Procedure * The power cord is not properly connected.
Not Printing Memory full ( FLASH / DRAM ) microSD card is unable to use Poor Print Quality Cutter is not working * Re-connect cable to interface. * If using serial cable, - Please replace the cable with pin to pin connected. - Check the baud rate setting. The default baud rate setting of printer is 9600,n,8,1. * If using the Ethernet cable, - Check if the Ethernet RJ-45 connector green LED is lit on. - Check if the Ethernet RJ-45 connector amber LED is blinking.
Skip labels when printing * Label size is not specified * Check if label size is setup correctly. properly. * Calibrate the sensor by Auto Gap or * Sensor sensitivity is not set Manual Gap options. properly. * Clear the GAP/Black mark sensor by * The media sensor is covered blower. with dust. * Calibrate the sensor sensitivity again. * Set the correct label size and gap size. * If using the software BarTender, please set the vertical offset in the driver. * Media sensor sensitivity is not set properly.
7. 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 2. The cleaning process is described as following, Printer Part Method 1. Always turn off the printer before cleaning the print head. 2. Allow the print head to cool for a minimum of one minute. 3. Use a cotton swab and 100% ethanol to clean the print head surface.
Revise History Date 2012/4/2 2012/5/8 2012/8/30 2013/4/2 Content Editor Camille Update chapter 1.6 Modify ribbon and media loading path drawings (Add the media Camille path for inside wound type) Update chapter 1.4 Camille Modify section 1.2.2 (cutter spec) Camille Modify section 4.3.2 (V7.0 F/W self test) Add TSC YouTube web address 2013/9/27 2014/4/14 Modify section 1.2 Camille Modify section 2.2.
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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: printer_sales@tscprinters.com tech_support@tscprinters.com 37 Li Ze Plant No.35, Sec. 2, Ligong 1st Rd., Wujie Township, Yilan County 26841, Taiwan (R.O.C.
