Media Management

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Key Components

  1. Print roller
  2. Label gap
  3. Media sensor
  4. Stabilizing bar (outer)
  1. Stabilizing bar (inner)
  2. Print head
  3. Print head cover

Note that T63 G2 has a shorter print profile and lacks #4 Stabilizing bar (outer)

Media Adjustment

Media Sensor

The gap between the labels are detected by the Media sensor. The sensor is positioned in the center of the paper path, just behind the print head. In Settings ‣ Printer ‣ Media ‣ Media Sensor you can select the sensor type used in your printer.

  • Auto (default):
    The sensor type is selected automatically based on the printer model. D43 - Translucent All other models: Reflective
  • Translucent
    There is a transmitter, emitting light below the labels, and a receiver in the print head profile. The sensor “sees” through the labels and detects the gap by the amount of light that is detected by the receiver. This sensor type is only used for D43 printers. The transmitter and receiver have different colors in the PCB where the yellow PCB should be installed in the printhead profile and the green PCB in the bottom profile.
  • Reflective
    Both the transmitter and receiver are placed in the same unit below the labels. The sensor detects the gap by the difference in reflectiveness between gap and labels.
  • Ultrasonic
    This was a test with an ultrasonic sensor with just a very few printers produced. The Ultrasonic sensor is sometimes referred to as ‘US’.

Inner Stabilizing Bar

The Inner stabilizing bar is mounted onto the printed profile and its purpose is to press down and flatten out the labels. The functionality of this bar is vital for good gap detection.

The stabilizing bar is spring loaded. The functionality of the bar is reduced if the springs are damaged or the bar cannot move freely.

Label Adjustment Won’t Start

Self adjusting applicator (like the QuickTamp) needs to be adjusted before the media can be adjusted. If the printer won’t start the media adjustment, start by verifying there are no applicator related error messages.

Paper Out

The label roller is used for paper out detection. If the roller is spinning when the printer prints / feeds media there are labels loaded. Paper out if not spinning. At the end of a paper roll the last label releases from the paper core which stops the label roller from spinning. Printer knows the distance from the paper roller to the print head and the label size. Using this information it tries to print on as many labels as possible and leave the very last one unprinted.

Why not print on the very last label in the roll? The labels are usually attached to the paper core by e.g. a piece of tape. Printer cannot print on tape so this label cannot be used. Risking to have a label with half a barcode is not an option.

What if the last label is not attached to the print roll? Printer knows there are labels loaded when the paper roller spinns. If the labels are not attached to the paper core the label roller won’t spin and the printer reports a paper out.

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Paper Out Sensor

The paper out sensor detects rotation in the label roller. To verify the functionality, go to Settings ‣ Diagnostics ‣ Sensors ‣ Paper Roll Sensor. The sensor state should toggle between 0 and 1 when rotating the label roller.

Paper Low

During printing the printer detects the speed that the label roller rotates. The speed then translates into a calculated outer roll diameter. The calculated roll diameter is presented in Settings ‣ Diagnosis ‣ Sensors. A full roll is expected to be 300 mm in diameter. The Paper Low setting is in % of a full roll. A Paper low warning is issued when the calculated outer diameter is below the Paper Low threshold. The Paper low warning gives a heads up when to replace the label roll.