LT7
Direct Thermal Printer
User’s Guide
Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................. 4
Installing the LT7 Printer.................................................................................................. 5
SETTING UP 2 PRINTERS ON 1 TAGGER................................................................................... 9
Calibrating the Gap Sensor on the LT7 printer.................................................. 11
Cleaning and Maintenance.............................................................................................. 12
Troubleshooting.................................................................................................................... 13
No power:...................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
The printer has paper in it, but light comes
on red or orange instead of green:......................... 13
Printing is off the end of the tag, or partly
on the next tag:.................................................................. 14
It goes through the motions of printing, the
tag moves, but nothing is printed:........................ 14
The POWER / FAULT light stays red or orange:...................................................................................................... 14
Printer seems to need frequent re-calibration:................................................................................................ 14
When trying to print a tag, the computer
display says “printer not responding”:.................... 14
Printing is faded, splotchy or partly missing:..................................................................................................... 15
The LT7 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 LT7 can print virtually any domestic
tray or sack label to exact USPS DMM specifications.
Computer
compatibility
Barcode Tagger 600/610
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 LT7
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
LT7 Packing List
(1) LT7 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.
LT7 Installation (cont.)
(!) Important: The LT7 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.
LT7 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.
LT7 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.
SETTING
UP 2 PRINTERS ON 1 TAGGER
The
BT600/610 and 700 system’s 2 COM ports allows for the set up of one printer
specifically for trays and the other for sacks and/or ACT tags. See ILLUSTRATION H for a back view of the
BT700.
The
Device Settings menu is where 2 printers can be configured on
the Tagger. To enter the Device Settings menu,
select [2] on the System Functions menu.
Device Settings
1) Tray Eltron 2742, LT7 198 COM1
2) Sack Eltron 2742, LT7 095 COM2
3) PinkTray Eltron 2742, LT7 198P COM1
4) PinkSack Eltron 2742, LT7 095P COM2
5) ACT Eltron 2742, LT7 LT5 COM2
7) Scanner Symbol LS COM1
ENTER) Accept Configuration
COM1 may be Labeled THERMAL PRINTER
COM2 may be Labeled SCANNER/MODEM
ILLUSTRATION G
The
left hand side of the screen includes a list of every printable type of
media. The second column from the left
contains the device/driver currently selected for each media type. The third column over is the type of paper/tag
you are using for the printer (for example, 198, 095). The rightmost column
displays the port (COM1 or COM2) to which the device connects. To change any of these settings, press the
number that corresponds to the equipment you want to change.
SETTING UP 2 PRINTERS ON 1
TAGGER (cont.)
Attach the serial data link cable from the tray
printer See ILLUSTRATION B to the
9-pin serial connector on the back of the control unit marked “COM1.”
See ILLUSTRATION H Attach the serial data link cable from the sack
printer See ILLUSTRATION B to the
9-pin serial connector on the back of the control unit marked “COM2.”
See ILLUSTRATION H Lock both cables down with the two finger screws. ILLUSTRATION
H
From the On Demand screen on your Tagger, change Routing Tags by selecting [4] to choose between Tray, Sack or None. If you do not want to print any of these tags because you only need ACT tags, choose “<< None >>”. The Tagger will print Tray tags from COM1 and Sack tags from COM2 depending on how you set up your device settings.
Routing Tags
1) Tray
2) Sack
3) <<None>>
Perform the following
calibration procedure if your LT7 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 ext. 106,
107 or 108 / Fax: (562) 464-3007.
Very little maintenance is
required for the LT7 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 (ê) 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 LT7 printer, try using the other LT7 power supply. Or, connect the other LT7 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 LT7 (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.)