LT5
Direct Thermal Printer
User’s Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 3
Installing the LT5
Printer.................................................................................................. 4
Calibrating the Gap
Sensor on the LT5 printer.................................................... 8
Cleaning and
Maintenance................................................................................................ 9
Troubleshooting.................................................................................................................... 10
No power:...................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
The printer has paper in
it, but light comes on red or orange instead of green:......................... 10
Printing is off the end of
the tag, or partly on the next tag:.................................................................. 11
It goes through the
motions of printing, the tag moves, but nothing is printed:........................ 11
The POWER / FAULT light
stays red or orange:...................................................................................................... 11
Printer seems to need
frequent re-calibration:................................................................................................ 11
When trying to print a
tag, the computer display says “printer not responding”:.................... 11
Printing is faded,
splotchy or partly missing:..................................................................................................... 11
The LT5 is a rugged and dependable thermal printer for
use with the Whittier Mailing Products line of Tagger and Barcode Tagger
tray and sack labeling computers.
Capable of both direct thermal and thermal transfer printing, the LT5 can print virtually any domestic
tray or sack label to exact USPS DMM specifications.
Computer
compatibility
Barcode Tagger 600
Barcode Tagger 610
Barcode Tagger 700
Interface:
Serial
Printing
Modes / Media
Print Mode
Definitions: In
Direct Thermal mode the thermal print head is in direct contact with heat-sensitive tag stock.
For
printing: White and
pink tray and sack tags (for all classes of mail) use:
# WMP-LBL-198 Direct Thermal Tray Labels, White
# WMP-LBL-198P Direct Thermal
Tray Labels, Pink
# WMP-LBL-095 1-up Direct Thermal Sack Labels,
White
# WMP-LBL-095P 1-up Direct
Thermal Sack Labels, Pink
Power
requirements: 110 Volts AC, 50-60 Hertz, 2.0 Amps
UNPACKING AND INSPECTION
Carefully remove all items
from the shipping carton. Save
the rigid packing foams and outside shipping carton. If your LT5
ever requires service you may be asked to ship the unit to Whittier Mailing
Products in the original carton.
Inspect the contents of the
box. If any items are missing or
damaged, notify Whittier Mailing Products at once. (562) 464-3000 / FAX
(562) 464-3007
LT5 Packing List
(1) LT5 Direct Thermal Printer
(1) 9-pin male to 9-pin female serial data cable
(1) Power supply, 20
Volts DC
(1) AC power cord
(1) Printer cleaning pen
(1) Instruction manual (you’re holding it)
INSTALLING THE CABLES
The data cable has a male
9-pin connector (with pins) on one end and a female 9-pin connector (with
holes) on the other end. See ILLUSTRATION A. Plug the male connector into the matching
socket on the back of the printer and secure the plug with the two finger
screws on the plug. See
ILLUSTRATION B.
Attach the other end of the
cable to the matching connector on the back of the computer console in a
similar fashion. Depending on the computer,
this connector may be labeled "serial printer", "serial
port", "tag printer", or have no label.
LT5 Installation (cont.)
(!) Important: The LT5 power supply is NOT
interchangeable with the standard LT
power supply. Connecting the incorrect power supply will damage
the printer and
void any warranties.
Look at the label on the
power supply. Make sure the OUTPUT rating is
20V DC.
Move the ON / OFF switch on the right side of the printer to OFF (“0”). See ILLUSTRATION C.
Plug the power supply cable into the round connector on the back of the
printer. Push the AC power cord into
the matching socket on power supply, and plug the other end of the cord into a grounded
AC power outlet.
LT5 Installation (cont.)
Make a right-angle bend in
the power cable approximately two inches from the back of the printer and route
the cord away from the rear of the printer.
Do the same with the data cable.
Note: Using a surge-protected grounded
power strip for all the system components
is highly recommended. This will protect
the equipment from fluctuations in the line
voltage and allows the entire system to be
turned on and off with a single switch.
LOADING PAPER
Open the printer cover by
pushing in the two green Cover Release Buttons on either side of the printer
until the cover springs part way open. See ILLUSTRATION C. Pull open the
cover the rest of the way.
ILLUSTRATION D
Once the cover is open,
locate the green Carriage Release Lever on
the left, close to the front. See ILLUSTRATION D. Unlock the print carriage by pulling the lever forward all the
way.
Position the paper stack so
that it is directly behind the printer.
Pink paper stock should be pink
side up. White paper stock should have
the smooth, shiny side up.
LT5 Installation (cont.)
Feed the paper through the
wide slot in the rear of the printer (NOT
through the center of the lid hinge!). See ILLUSTRATION B. Then guide the paper between the first set of
paper guides, and into the label feed slot.
See ILLUSTRATION E.
Carefully guide the paper through the guide tabs, over the roller and
out the front of the printer.
ILLUSTRATION E
The space between the two
guide tabs is pre-set at the factory, and should not need any adjustment. If necessary, you can adjust it by rotating
the small green wheel to the left of the guide tabs. See ILLUSTRATION E. The tabs should be just touching both sides
of the paper.
With the paper sticking out
the front of the printer, close the print carriage by pushing down on the two
white arrows on either side of the print carriage, until you feel and hear both
sides snap into place. See
ILLUSTRATION D. Close and lock the cover by gently pushing down on the
front corners.
To unload paper: Tear off the rest of the stack of paper, leaving one or two tags
still in the printer. Push the FEED button to clear out the last one
or two tags.
COMPLETING THE INSTALLATION
Turn the printer on by
pushing the power switch on the right side of the printer to the "1"
position. The POWER / FAULT light on the top will come on, indicating
that power is on.
Tap the FEED button until the POWER /
FAULT light turns green.
Print a sample tag. If it does not feed out to the correct
tear-off position after printing, perform the calibration procedure
described on the next page.
Perform the following
calibration procedure if your LT5 printer does not hold its vertical alignment,
stops in the middle of a tag, prints off the end of a tag, or if the red or
amber indicator light comes on while
loading tag stock or printing.
Paper
must be loaded into the printer in order to perform the calibration procedure.
1. Turn the printer off.
2. While holding the Feed key down, turn the printer on.
When the printer begins to feed labels, release the Feed key. The printer should feed out several blank
tags, then print several lines of diagnostic information, ending with "NOW IN DUMP MODE".
If it
does not print this message, go back to step #1 and try again.
3. After the "NOW IN
DUMP MODE" message appears,
press the Feed key again to return to normal operating mode. The message "OUT OF DUMP MODE" will be
printed and the POWER / FAULT light will turn green. Calibration is now complete.
If you need further
assistance, please phone or fax Whittier Mailing Products for technical
support. Phone: (562) 464-3000 / Fax:
(562) 464-3007.
Very little maintenance is
required for the LT5 printer. Although intended for use in a light
industrial environment such as a letter shop, care should still be taken to
keep as much paper dust or other contaminants away from the printer as
possible.
In General:
Use
common sense. Don’t drop the unit, set
heavy objects on it, etc.
Take
care to not spill, drip or drop any liquids, food or other contaminants on or
in the printer.
Everyday:
w Wipe
or blow off the outside of the printer.
w Cover the printer when not in use.
Every time paper is changed:
w
Unlock the print carriage, remove any paper still in the printer, and gently
blow out any paper dust from inside the printer.
w Use
the Printer Cleaning Pen to clean the print head surface.
No other routine cleaning or
maintenance is required.
No power:
w Is
the power supply correct for this printer?
It should have a 20 Volt DC output.
A standard LT power supply (14 Volts AC) will not work, and will damage
the printer.
w Is
the switch on the right side of the printer in the ON (“1”) position?
w Is
the power supply cable plugged into the printer?
w If
the power supply has an indicator light, is it on?
w If
the power supply has a switch, is it in the “ON” or “1” position?
w Is
the power supply plugged into the wall or a power strip?
w Is
the power strip turned on? Most power
strips have an indicator light to show when power is on. Try plugging in some
other device that you know is working (such as a lamp) into the same outlet the
printer was plugged into.
w If
the power supply has a fuse, is it good?
Unplug the power supply and remove the fuse. Check it with a continuity tester or V.O.M. on the ohms (ę) setting. A good fuse should be a dead short-- it
should give about the same reading as touching the leads of the tester
together.
w If
you have another LT5 printer, try using the other LT5 power supply. Or, connect the other LT5 printer to this
power supply. If there is a problem in
the printer itself or in the power supply, this method will allow you to
pinpoint where the problem is. If
you swap power supplies, make sure the other one is an LT5 (20 Volts DC) power
supply (NOT a standard LT power supply).
The printer has paper in it, but light comes on red or orange instead of green:
w Tap
the FEED button until the light turns
green.
w Is
the paper and /or ribbon loaded properly?
w
Perform the Gap Sensor Calibration procedure.
Troubleshooting
(cont.)
Printing is off the end of the tag, or partly on the next tag:
w Perform the Gap Sensor Calibration procedure.
w Are you using the correct paper? You must use WMP paper and 2 up tags will
not work as a tray tag.
It goes through the motions of printing, the tag moves, but nothing is printed:
w If you are using the white Direct Thermal
stock, the paper is probably in upside down.
Direct Thermal paper only prints on one side. Turn the paper stack
around so that as the paper feeds into the printer, the side that previously
faced down now faces up.
w If you are using pink stock, is the pink side facing up as it goes through the
printer?
The POWER / FAULT light stays red or orange:
w Is the paper correctly loaded? Try turning the printer off, re-loading the
paper and turning it back on again.
w Perform the Gap Sensor Calibration procedure.
Printer seems to need frequent re-calibration:
Check the front guide tabs (see ILLUSTRATION E) for
excess play between the tabs and the edge of the paper. The tag stock must move through the printer
in a perfectly straight line in order to maintain accurate calibration.
When trying to print a tag, the computer display says “printer not responding”:
w Is the correct printer (“LT Printer”) selected
from the computer’s Printer menu?
w Is the printer on, loaded with paper, and
on-line? The green light must be on.
w Is the correct printer cable connected? You must use the 9-pin male to 9-pin female
serial cable. A parallel printer cable
for an Epson, Okidata or Datasouth printer will not work for the LT, even
though there is a connector on the back of the
printer that fits this type of cable.
Troubleshooting (cont.)
Printing is faded, splotchy or partly missing:
w Has the tag stock become desensitized due to
age or exposure to heat or direct sunlight?
Try using recently purchased stock.
w Check for piece of label, tape, dirt, etc. on
print head.
w Clean print head. See ILLUSTRATION F.
Still having trouble
with your LT5?
Call Whittier Mailing Products Tech Support at: (562) 464-3000
Please have this information
ready:
w The Whittier
Mailing Products serial number from the printer. This number starts with
a “9”, and will be on the front, back or side of the unit. DO NOT USE THE SERIAL NUMBER FROM THE
SILVER STICKER ON THE BOTTOM OF THE UNIT.
w
The model of the computer it is used
with (Barcode Tagger 600, 610, etc.)
w The settings on the computer at the time the
problem occurred (Print Buffering on or
off, Standard or Custom Origin Line, tray or sack tags, printer, class and category of mail, etc.)
Do not ship the unit to Whittier Mailing Products for repair or
replacement without talking with us about the problem first.
Most problems can be solved
over the phone, but we will usually need to ask you some specific questions and
have you perform some test procedures while we are on the phone.
w Have the system set up near a telephone where we can
walk through the problem together.
w If possible, have the person who was using the
equipment when the trouble occured available to answer any questions.
Before any Original Warranty or Extended Service Contract can be
honored, Whittier Mailing Products must make its own determination of whether a
problem actually exists, and what steps should be taken to resolve it.
FOR
SALES w
SUPPLIES w
SERVICE w
SUPPORT
Write / call / fax / email: Whittier Mailing Products
12366
Penn St.
Whittier,
CA 90602-1103
Phone
(562) 464-3000
Fax
(562) 464-3007