Advanced Datamax Programmer’s Language (DPL) Training

1 INTRODUCTION TO PRINTER LANGUAGES – OVERVIEW OF COMMAND

FUNCTIONS ..................................................................................................................................................................2
1.1 FUNCTIONAL GROUPS OF COMMANDS ........................................................................................................ 3
1.1.1 Printer System Status............................................................................................................................ 3
1.1.2 Printer Memory Control......................................................................................................................3
1.1.3 Printer System Control.........................................................................................................................5
1.1.4 Label Respective System Control....................................................................................................... 6
1.1.5 Label Formatting...................................................................................................................................6
1.1.6 Post Print, Reprint Commands...........................................................................................................7
2 FILE REPRESENTATION, DATAFLOW SEQUENCE.........................................................................8
2.1 SPECIAL CHARACTERS...................................................................................................................................9
3 USING THE PROGRAMMER’S MANUAL .............................................................................................10

4 TYPICAL DATASTREAM .............................................................................................................................11

4.1 STATUS RECORDS......................................................................................................................................... 12
4.2 CONFIGURATION HEADER RECORDS......................................................................................................... 13
4.3 LABEL HEADER RECORDS...........................................................................................................................14
4.4 LABEL FORMATTING DATA RECORDS....................................................................................................... 15
4.5 REPRINT WITH NEW DATA RECORDS........................................................................................................ 17
5 CONTROL/STATUS SOH COMMANDS ..................................................................................................18
5.1 CONTROL........................................................................................................................................................19
5.1.1 Reset ......................................................................................................................................................19
5.1.2 Toggle Pause........................................................................................................................................19
5.1.3 Stop/Cancel..........................................................................................................................................19
5.1.4 SOH shutdown.....................................................................................................................................20
5.2 STATUS...........................................................................................................................................................21
5.2.1 Send ASCII Status StringQuery........................................................................................................21
5.2.2 Send Status Byte ..................................................................................................................................22
5.2.3 Send Batch Quantity...........................................................................................................................23
6 STATUS/DIAGNOSTIC STX COMMANDS ............................................................................................24
6.1 STATUS...........................................................................................................................................................25
6.1.1 Set date and time .................................................................................................................................25
6.1.2 Get Time and Date..............................................................................................................................26
6.1.3 Firmware Version string....................................................................................................................26
6.2 DIAGNOSTICS.................................................................................................................................................27
6.2.1 Internal Information and Dot pattern..............................................................................................27
6.2.2 Output sensor values..........................................................................................................................27
7 LABEL FORMATTING AND CONTROL................................................................................................28
7.1 SIMPLE – 1 TEXT FIELD, D11 COMMAND. ............................................................................................... 29
7.1.1 Default Text Field Example...............................................................................................................29
7.1.2 D11 Text Field Example....................................................................................................................29
7.2 FONTS 1-6 ......................................................................................................................................................30
7.2.1 Font 1....................................................................................................................................................30
7.2.2 Font 2....................................................................................................................................................30
7.2.3 Font 3....................................................................................................................................................31
7.2.4 Font 4....................................................................................................................................................31
7.2.5 Font 5....................................................................................................................................................32
7.2.6 Font 6....................................................................................................................................................32
7.3 FONTS 7-8 ......................................................................................................................................................33
7.3.1 Font 7....................................................................................................................................................33
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 7.3.2 Font 8....................................................................................................................................................33
7.4 FONT 9............................................................................................................................................................ 34
7.4.1 Font 9 four point.................................................................................................................................34
7.4.2 Font 9 five point ..................................................................................................................................34
7.4.3 Font 9 six point....................................................................................................................................35
7.4.4 Font 9 eight point................................................................................................................................35
7.4.5 Font 9 ten point ...................................................................................................................................35
7.4.6 Font 9 twelve point..............................................................................................................................35
7.4.7 Font 9 fourteen point..........................................................................................................................36
7.4.8 Font 9 eighteen point..........................................................................................................................37
7.4.9 Font 9 twenty-four point ....................................................................................................................37
7.4.10 Font 9 thirty point...............................................................................................................................37
7.4.11 Font 9 thirty-six point.........................................................................................................................37
7.4.12 Font 9 forty-eight point ......................................................................................................................38
7.4.13 Font 9 seventy-two point....................................................................................................................38
7.5 FORMATTING STYLE.....................................................................................................................................39
7.5.1 Format Attribute..................................................................................................................................39
7.5.2 Mirror Text Example..........................................................................................................................39
7.5.3 Zero Slash .............................................................................................................................................40
7.6 SCALABLE FONT TEXT .................................................................................................................................41
7.6.1 Scalable Font Text Example..............................................................................................................41
7.6.2 Symbol Set Selection...........................................................................................................................42
7.7 COLUMN OFFSET EXAMPLE..........................................................................................................................45
7.8 ROW OFFSET EXAMPLE.................................................................................................................................46
7.9 BARCODE FIELDS.......................................................................................................................................... 47
7.9.1 Rotation 1, human readable..............................................................................................................47
7.9.2 Rotation 2, human readable..............................................................................................................47
7.9.3 Rotation 3, no human readable.........................................................................................................47
7.9.4 Rotation 4, no human readable.........................................................................................................48
7.10 GRAPHICS.......................................................................................................................................................49
7.10.1 LINES....................................................................................................................................................49
7.10.2 LINE Example......................................................................................................................................50
7.10.3 BOXES ..................................................................................................................................................50
7.10.4 BOX Example.......................................................................................................................................50
7.10.5 CIRCLES ..............................................................................................................................................51
7.10.6 Circle Example....................................................................................................................................51
7.10.7 Polygons...............................................................................................................................................52
7.10.8 Polygon Example.................................................................................................................................52
7.11 IMAGES ...........................................................................................................................................................53
7.12 A DVANCED – TEXT FIELDS.........................................................................................................................54
7.12.1 Formatting Inverse Text, Attribute A5.............................................................................................54
7.12.2 Using A Thick Line..............................................................................................................................54
8 LABEL CONTROL WITHIN THE LABEL FORMAT.........................................................................55
8.1 PRINT QUANTITY EXAMPLE.........................................................................................................................56
8.2 M EDIA SPEED ...............................................................................................................................................57
8.2.1 Slew Speed............................................................................................................................................57
8.2.2 Print Speed two inches/sec................................................................................................................57
8.2.3 Print Speed six inches/sec..................................................................................................................57
8.2.4 Slew Speed two inches/sec.................................................................................................................58
8.2.5 Slew Speed six inches/sec..................................................................................................................58
8.2.6 Back speed............................................................................................................................................59
8.3 PRINT HEAT ................................................................................................................................................... 60
8.3.1 Example 1, Heat Setting 5.................................................................................................................60
8.3.2 Example 2, Heat Setting 25...............................................................................................................60

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9 MEDIA SETUP ...................................................................................................................................................61
9.1 GAP STOCK .................................................................................................................................................... 62
9.2 REFLECTIVE STOCK ......................................................................................................................................63
9.3 CONTINUOUS STOCK ....................................................................................................................................64
10 USING A CUTTER .......................................................................................................................................65
10.1 CYCLE CUTTER.............................................................................................................................................66
10.2 CUT BY AMOUNT .......................................................................................................................................... 67
10.3 CUT POSITION EXAMPLE.............................................................................................................................. 68
11 USING A PRESENT SENS OR ..................................................................................................................69
11.1 PRESENT MODE COMMANDS ......................................................................................................................70
12 TYPICAL FORMATTING PROBLEMS ...............................................................................................71
12.1 INTERSECTING LINES XOR .........................................................................................................................72
12.2 LADDER BARCODES PRINT QUALITY......................................................................................................... 73
12.3 BARCODES, VALID CHARACTERS, LENGTHS............................................................................................ 74
12.4 BARCODES, 1-D SIZE CONTROLS................................................................................................................75
12.5 BARCODES, 2-D CONTROLS ........................................................................................................................76
12.5.1 Binary Data, Using the Record Terminator Command Tnn........................................................76
12.5.2 PDF .......................................................................................................................................................77
12.5.3 Datamatrix ...........................................................................................................................................79
12.5.4 Maxicode..............................................................................................................................................79
12.6 BARCODES, CODE-128, SUBSET SWITCHING...........................................................................................80
12.7 BARCODES, SPECIAL CASES........................................................................................................................82
12.7.1 Checksums, Invalid Values from Host.............................................................................................82
12.8 BARCODE CLIPPING......................................................................................................................................84
12.9 FORMATING OBJECTS AT THE LABEL EDGE.............................................................................................. 85
12.9.1 Top Edge Problems.............................................................................................................................85
12.9.2 Bottom Edge problems .......................................................................................................................85
12.9.3 Continuous Media Formatting Minimum Gap...............................................................................86
12.10 OBJECT POSITIONING............................................................................................................................... 87
12.10.1 Character Positioning Baselines..................................................................................................87
12.10.2 Barcode Positioning Baselines.....................................................................................................88
13 MODULES .......................................................................................................................................................89
13.1 TYPES / IDENTIFICATION.............................................................................................................................. 90
13.1.1 Module ID’s .........................................................................................................................................90
13.1.2 Module ID Command References ..................................................................................................91
13.2 DIAGNOSTICS.................................................................................................................................................92
13.2.1 RAM Module........................................................................................................................................92
13.3 DIRECTORY OF CONTENTS / SIZE ...............................................................................................................94
13.3.1 Image Directory Query ......................................................................................................................94
13.3.2 Label Directory Query .......................................................................................................................94
13.3.3 Font Directory Query.........................................................................................................................94
13.4 DETERMINING DEFAULT MODULE.............................................................................................................95
13.4.1 Printer Determined Default...............................................................................................................95
13.4.2 Setting Default Module.......................................................................................................................95
13.5 DELETING CONTENTS...................................................................................................................................96
13.5.1 Clear All Modules...............................................................................................................................96
13.5.2 Clear Specific Module........................................................................................................................96
13.5.3 Delete File – STX x .............................................................................................................................97
13.5.4 Defragmentation (Packing Module)...............................................................................................97
13.6 INTERNAL MODULE SIZE ALLOCATION.....................................................................................................98
13.6.1 Setting Module Size/Cache Size........................................................................................................98

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 13.6.2 Resetting Memory management Defaults........................................................................................99
13.6.3 System Effects ......................................................................................................................................99
14 THROUGH-PUT OPTIMIZING TECHNIQUES............................................................................. 100
14.1 REDUNDANT DATA WITHIN A LABEL FORMAT ......................................................................................101
14.2 BATCH QUANTITY LABELS........................................................................................................................102
14.3 SAVING IMAGES ..........................................................................................................................................103
14.3.1 Image Directory - STX WG command.......................................................................................... 103
14.3.2 Clear Modules - STX Q, STX q ...................................................................................................... 104
14.3.3 Delete File – STX x .......................................................................................................................... 104
14.4 DOWNLOADING FONTS .............................................................................................................................. 105
14.4.1 Scalable Fonts.................................................................................................................................. 106
14.4.2 Bitmap Fonts..................................................................................................................................... 107
14.4.3 Font Directory - ~ WF command .................................................................................................. 108
14.4.4 Clear Modules - STX Q, STX q ...................................................................................................... 108
14.4.5 Delete File – STX x .......................................................................................................................... 108
14.5 SAVING LABEL FORMATS..........................................................................................................................109
14.5.1 Label Directory - ~WL command.................................................................................................. 109
14.5.2 Clear Modules - STX Q, STX q ...................................................................................................... 109
14.5.3 Delete File – STX x .......................................................................................................................... 109
14.6 RECALLING LABEL FORMATS................................................................................................................... 110
14.6.1 Simple Recalling Label Formats................................................................................................... 110
14.6.2 Adding to Recalled Label Formats ............................................................................................... 110
14.6.3 Recalling and Changing Quantity, …........................................................................................... 111
14.7 REPRINTING LABELS ..................................................................................................................................112
14.7.1 Reprint Printed Label...................................................................................................................... 112
14.7.2 Print Exited label............................................................................................................................. 112
14.7.3 Reprint saved label.......................................................................................................................... 112
14.8 DYNAMIC DATA PRINT FIELDS.................................................................................................................113
14.8.1 Recalling Labels............................................................................................................................... 113
14.8.2 Recalling Labels and Update Fields............................................................................................. 113
14.8.3 Recalling Labels and Update Fields, Multiple Quantity........................................................... 113
14.8.4 Incremental Fields........................................................................................................................... 113
14.9 SCALABLE FONT CACHE SIZE................................................................................................................... 116
15 COMMUNICATION PROBLEMS ....................................................................................................... 117
15.1 DIAGNOSTICS...............................................................................................................................................118
15.1.1 Serial Port Comm............................................................................................................................. 118
15.1.2 Dump .................................................................................................................................................. 118
15.2 7-BIT COMM.................................................................................................................................................119
15.2.1 Alternate Control Codes................................................................................................................. 119
15.2.2 Alternate-2 Control Codes.............................................................................................................. 119
15.2.3 Alternate-3 Control Codes.............................................................................................................. 119
15.2.4 Binary Data....................................................................................................................................... 119
15.3 COMM BUFFER OVERFLOW .......................................................................................................................120
16 I-CLASS / E-CLASS DIFFERENCES .................................................................................................. 121

17 SOFTWARE INTERFACE...................................................................................................................... 123

17.1 VB A PPLICATION GENERATING DPL......................................................................................................124
17.2 VB A PPLICATION INTERFACI NG VIAW INDOWS DRIVER......................................................................126
18 AVAILABLE OFF THE SHELF SOFTWARE PACKAGES ....................................................... 128
18.1 CODESOFT ....................................................................................................................................................129
18.2 SEAGULL DRIVER........................................................................................................................................ 130
18.3 LABELVIEW.................................................................................................................................................. 132
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19 EVALUATION OF ACQUIRED KNOWLEDGE............................................................................ 134

20 EVALUATION OF COURSE................................................................................................................. 135

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Introduction
This document is intended to be utilized for teaching Datamax Printer Language (DPL) by personnel
experienced (at least one year).

The document contains references to external documents that must be available prior to beginning this
course.

It is essential that any user of this document read through the entire document prior to teaching the course
in order to understand the flow of the topics. The approach is that of a classic spiral curriculum, where all
topics are introduced at the lowest level, then they are re-touched repeatedly with increasing conceptual
difficulty. This is a necessary approach since all topics are interrelated.

Each topic and subtopic is arranged in the following format:

1. Topic
Time Required/Notes
Time required to teach the segment
Materials
Necessary materials to teach the segment
Supplemental Materials
Additional materials not intended for use during the segment
Teacher Activities
…
Student Activities
…

Class Materials:
Printers – 1-2 students per printer
configured with internal bitmap fonts, scalable fonts
setup for use with alternate Control Codes
Printer - teacher printer
configured with cutter and present sensor
configured with internal bitmap fonts, scalable fonts
setup for use with alternate Control Codes
Serial Cables - 1 per printer
Trash Cans - 1 per printer
Host Computers – 1 per printer
Configured with MS Windows, Notepad or equivalent, HyperTerminal (or
equivalent)
1 available serial port
Media - 1 roll per printer
Scanner - 1 for Teacher
Class Preparation - printers attached to host computers, media loaded
Printers setup for 9600 BAUD serial communication, Alternate Control Codes
Files - This file and all files under the directory structure with root .\class

Text in blue has a corresponding PowerPoint slide.

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1 Introduction to Printer Languages – Overview of Command
Functions
Time Required/Notes
1 Min.

Materials
Handout DPL Lesson Outline and
DPL Programmer’s Manual
Configuration Label (students print)

Teacher Activities
Describe what and why we need a printer language. Pass out reference materials.
Printer languages consist of commands that provide control of the printer, allowing the host
computer send data to the printer for printing. The ASCII character set is a simple printer
language in itself, <CR>, <LF>, <HT>, <VT>, the letters and numbers are all used to
control simple line printers.

Student Activities
Listen

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1.1 Functional Groups of Commands

Teacher Activities
Brief overview of commands and formats, for each subsection.
Printer System Status
Printer Memory Control
Printer System Control
Label Respective System Control
Label Formatting
Post Print, Reprint Commands

Student Activities
Listen

1.1.1 Printer System Status

Note: To clear a fault condition, a form feed key must be pressed by the operator.

Teacher Activities
Briefly describe Printer System Status, why it is needed and how it is normally used.
• Printer version – host may determine printer functionality, based on version,
• Printer time – host verification prior to time-stamping labels,
• Current printer activity, fault conditions,
• Available Memory and resident files.

Student Activities
Listen

1.1.2 Printer Memory Control

Teacher Activities
display configuration coupon
Describe Printer System Configuration, display configuration coupon on
the projector.

Student Activities
Students print Configuration label.

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1.1.2.1 Printer Memory Management

Teacher Activities
Describe Printer System Memory Management, why it is needed and how
it is normally used.
• Throughput optimization.
• Ensuring sufficient printer local storage for host files – label formats,
images and fonts.

Student Activities
Listen
1.1.2.2 Default memory module assignment

Teacher Activities
Describe Printer System Memory Management, why it is needed and how
it is normally used.
• Preparation for bitmap font downloading

Student Activities
Listen
1.1.2.3 File download, file delete

Teacher Activities
Describe Printer System Memory Management, why it is needed and how
it is normally used.
• Label formats – for later retrieval - increased throughput,
• Images – for later retrieval - increased throughput,
• Fonts - increased throughput.

Student Activities
Listen

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1.1.3 Printer System Control

Teacher Activities
Describe Printer System Control, why it is needed and how it is normally used.
• Pause, Cancel, Reset,
• Printer media movement – positioning, speed, form-feed,
• Printer media type controls – gap, reflective, continuous length,
• Operational modes – Pause mode (pause between labels), Feedback mode (label
complete, batch complete messages),
• Diagnostics, Test modes,
• Optional hardware control – cutter, verifier, ribbon saver.
• units of measure (Imperial, metric),

Student Activities
Listen

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1.1.4 Label Respective System Control

Teacher Activities
Briefly describe a typical label for controlling the printer.
• printhead heat, media speed – print quality,
• save retrieve label formats – throughput,
• cutter – cut-by,
• label termination (print, save, exit).
• units of measure (Imperial, metric),

Student Activities
Listen

1.1.5 Label Formatting

Teacher Activities
Briefly describe label format commands.
• Formatting style – Opaque, transparent, XOR, mirror, inverse,
• Font, symbol set, barcode selection,
• Object positioning – text, barcode, image, graphics (line, box,…),
• Label format shifting,
• Print resolution,
• Zero slash convention
• Incremental fields

Student Activities
Listen
1.1.5.1 Label Print Field Records

Teacher Activities
Briefly describe Print Field Records, why they are needed and how they
are typically used.
• Print orientation and direction,
• Font (size) selection,
• Dot size (font magnification),
• Text position (start of string),
• Print data.

Student Activities
Listen

1.1.5.2 Barcode Field Records

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 Teacher Activities
Briefly describe Barcode Field Records, why they are needed and how
they are typically used.
• Print orientation and direction,
• Barcode selection,
• Human readable text,
• Ratio / module size,
• Barcode height,
• Barcode position (start of symbol),
• Special barcode controls (PDF, Datamatrix),
• Print data.

Student Activities
Listen

1.1.6 Post Print, Reprint Commands

Teacher Activities
Describe the process of reprinting labels.
• Reprint, reprint count - throughput,
• Reprint Replacement data - throughput.

Student Activities
Listen

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2 File Representation, Dataflow Sequence
Time Required/Notes
2 Min.

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Describe the process of the host computer sending commands to the printer.
Files are transmitted to the printer from left to right, top to bottom. The
printer receives and interprets the data in this order. Applications software
sends datastreams to printer in same order.
~L<0D>D11131100000500050text field 1<0D>
131100000500050text field 2<0D>
131100000500050text field 3<0D>
131100000500050text field 4<0D>Q0001<0D>E

Non-printable characters represented by name or hex value between < >.

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.

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2.1 Special Characters

Teacher Activities
Attention Getters

In order to be ready for a command sequence, the Printer must first receive a special
character called an “Attention Getter”, this informs the Printer that it is about to receive
a command and the type of command it will be. Immediate Commands, System-Level
Commands, and Font -Loading Commands each have their own Attention Getter. The
Attention Getter character is followed by a Command Character that tells the Printer what
action to take.

ASCII Decimal HEX Printer Command Timeliness of Operation

Character Value Value Dump Type
Name Associated
SOH 1 01 ^A Immediate Printer reacts as soon as
Commands command is received,
regardless of current activity.
STX 2 02 ^B System- Printer reacts when current
Level operation is complete
Commands
ESC 27 1B ^[ Font- Printer reacts when current
Loading operation is complete
Commands
Table 2-1 Attention Getter Characters

Alternate Control Codes are used throughout the entire course for easy file editing.
Control Standard Alternate Alternate -2 Alternate -3 Command Type
Character Associated
SOH 0x01 ^ 0x5E ^ 0x5E ^ 0x5E Immediate Commands
STX 0x02 ~ 0x7E ~ 0x7E # 0x23 System-Level Commands
CR 0x0D CR 0x0D | 0x7C CR 0x0D Line terminator
ESC 0x1B ESC 0x1B ESC 0x1B ESC 0x1B Font -Loading Commands
“Count 0x5E @ 0x40 @ 0x40 @ 0x40 Label Formatting, Count-
By”1 by
Table 2-2 Control Codes
Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.

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3 Using the Programmer’s Manual
Time Required/Notes
1 Min.
Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
The Programmer’s Manual is arranged by commands in alphabetic order. Immediate commands
first, then System Commands, Extended System Commands, followed by Label Commands. The
appendices contain details that cannot be ignored. Use of any command will require checking the
appendices for possible exclusionary conditions.

Table of Contents commands in alphabetic order

Appendices detailed printer differences
Commands by function

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4 Typical Datastream
Time Required/Notes
1 Min.
Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Display a typical datastream with a label data format example on the projector.

Printer Commands Description

^A Status records
~WG
^D Configuration records
~IApImagename<CR>image data...data <CR>
~L Begin label
D11 Label Header record
131100000500050Typical text field 01 Label Formatting Data record
–
Object type, orientation,
position, data
Q0001
E Label Terminate record
^A Status record
~U01new data for field 01 Reprint with New Data
~E0005 Records
~G
Table 4-1 Typical Datastream

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.

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4.1 Status Records
Time Required/Notes
Display Status example on the projector.

Command Name Function

^A – Send ASCII Status Printer returns current operation, fault
String (bytewise)
^E – Send Batch Printer returns current label number of batch
Quantity printing progress
^F – Send Status Byte Printer returns current operation, fault (bitwise)
~v – Get Firmware Printer returns firmware version string and date
Version
~a – Enable Feedback Printer returns <RS> (<1E >) label printed,
mode <US> (<1F >) batch complete
~B – Get Date and Printer returns date and time
Time
~W – Get Module Status Printer returns module ID’s and contents (file
type respective)
~KQ – Memory Printer returns memory allocation values
Configuration (RAM module, scalable font cache, label
Query formatting buffer)
Table 4-2 Status Commands

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.

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4.2 Configuration Header Records
Teacher Activities
Display table on the projector.

Command Name Function

~A – Set Date and Time
~d – Set Double Buffer - Force generation of multiple memory copies
Mode of label format
- Not usually used.
~c – Set Continuous - Must be 0000 for gap media.
Paper Length - Not used for reflective media
~e – Set Edge Sensor - Setup for gap or registration hole type stock
~Kf – Set Present - Determines label stop position, head relative.
Distance - ~f edge sensor relative equivalent command,
older models.
~F – Send Form Feed
~I – Download Image
~i – Download
Scalable Font
~M – Set Maximum - Length to search for next gap or reflective
Label Length mark
- Not used in with continuous media
~m – Set to Metric - Subsequent measurements interpreted in
Mode metric. Most units mm/10
- Label equivalent command can be used
~n – Set to Inch Mode - Subsequent measurements interpreted in
inches. Most units in/100
- Label equivalent command can be used
~O – Set Start of Print - Effect is not on label immediately following
Position command since media position is at Start of
Print between labels
- ~K default position relative ± 64 in/100
maximum deviation
~S – Set Feed Rate - Blank label movement speed
~V – Software Switch - Enable optional hardware, cutter, present
sensor
Table 4-3 Configuration Commands

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.

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4.3 Label Header Records

Teacher Activities
Display table on the projector.

Command Command Name

A Set Format Attribute
C Column Offset
D Set Width and Dot Size
H Set Heat Setting
M Set Mirror Mode
P Set Print Speed
P Set Backup Speed
Q Set Quantity
R Set Row Offset
S Set Slew Speed
Table 4-4 Label Header Commands

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.

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4.4 Label Formatting Data Records

Teacher Activities
Display Label formatting data header record example on the projector.

161100001000100data

Every record is made of three parts: (1) A header that is 15 bytes in length, (2) the
data to be printed, and (3) a termination character (e.g., <CR>) marking the end of
the field. The header is used to select the appearance of the data when printed by
choosing rotation, font type, size, and position options. Every header contains
similar information, but different types of records may use this information in
different ways. The six record types are:
1. Internal Bit-Mapped Font
2. Smooth Font (Simulated)
3. Scalable Font
4. Barcode
5. Images
6. Graphics

The record conforms to the following fixed field format (spaces added for visua l
clarity). Identifying lower case letters have been placed below field values for
reference in the following sections:

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 1 2 1 1 000 0005 0005 DATADATA <CR>
a b c d eee ffff gggg [hhhh iiii] jj…j Termination character
Location Record Type
Within Internal Smooth Scalable Barcode Images Graphics
Record Bit-Mapped Font Font
Font
a Rotation Rotation Rotation Rotation Rotation 1
b Font ID 9 9 Barcode Y X
c Width Width Width Wide Bar Width 1
Multiplier Multiplier Multiplier Multiplier
d Height Height Height Narrow Height 1
Multiplier Multiplier Multiplier Bar Multiplier
eee 000 font size / ID Barcode 000 000
ID Height
ffff Row Position Row Row Row Row Row
Position Position Position Position Position
gggg Column Column Column Column Column Column
Position Position Position Position Position Position
hhhh N/A N/A Font height N/A N/A N/A
iiii N/A N/A Font width N/A N/A N/A
jj...j Data String Data String Point Size Data Image Graphic
Data String String name Specifiers
(2D
spec.’s)

Table 4-5 Record Type Structure

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.
Supplemental Materials
Labelform.doc

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
4.5 Reprint with New Data Records
Teacher Activities

~G command
This command prints a previously formatted label and restarts a canceled batch job
after the last processed label. This is used when there is a label format in the print
buffer. The <STX>E command is used to enter the quantity.

~U command
This command places new label data into format fields. Format fields are used to
build a label. The new data string must equal the original string length and contain
valid data. To easily keep track of fields, place all of the fields to be updated with
the command at the beginning of the label format. A maximum of 99 format fields
can be updated. Fields are numbered consecutively 01 to 99, in the order received.
Teacher provides a sample label the projector.

~L
161100001000100data field 1
161100001100110data field 2
161100001200120data field 3
Q0001
E
~U01New data F1
~U02New data F2
~E0002
~G

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.
The sample results in three printed labels. The first label is formatted with the
commands between <STX>L and E. The next two labels print with the replacement
data contained in the <STX>U commands.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
5 Control/Status SOH Commands
Time Required/Notes
1 Min.

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual
Teacher Activities
Note to Teacher: Each printer is already setup to use the alternate
character set.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
5.1 Control

5.1.1 Reset

Teacher Activities
transmits command via HyperTerminal program.
^#

Student Activities
transmits command via HyperTerminal program.
^#
Observe the printer resetting and initializing, ‘T’ is returned.

5.1.2 Toggle Pause

Note: If the printer is equipped with a front panel, then a PAUSED or READY message
will be displayed.
Executed immediately
Same as PAUSE button

5.1.2.1 Toggle PAUSE ON / OFF

Teacher Activities
transmits command via HyperTerminal program.
^B
^B

Student Activities
Teacher command via HyperTerminal program.
^B
Observe the Pause LED is illuminated, indicating the printer is in a paused state.
^B
Students observe the Pause LED extinguishes, indicating the printer is in a
READY state.

5.1.3 Stop/Cancel
Note: If the printer is equipped with a front panel, then a PAUSED message will be displayed.

Executed immediately
Kills current print job

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Transmits command via HyperTerminal program.
^C
^B

Student Activities
Transmits command via HyperTerminal program.
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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 ^C
Observe the Pause LED is illuminated, indicating the printer is in a paused state.
Transmits command via HyperTerminal program.
^B

5.1.4 SOH shutdown

Teacher Activities
Demo is included with the font download section.
^D
Prevents SOH command execution
Precedes binary data - font/image
3 SOH Commands w/ delay to restore SOH execution (not on I & W Class)

Student Activities
Listen.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
5.2 Status
Send ASCII Status String Query
Send Status Byte
Send Batch Quantity

5.2.1 Send ASCII Status StringQuery

Teacher Activities
^A
Teacher describes the meaning of each byte returned by the printer.
Printer response format: abcdefgh<CR>

Where:
Character Values Y Condition Meaning
a Y/N Interpreter busy (Imaging)
b Y/N Paper out or fault
c Y/N Ribbon out or fault
d Y/N Printing batch
e Y/N Busy printing
f Y/N Printer paused
g Y/N Label presented
h N Always No
Table 5-1 ASCII Status Bytes

5.2.1.1 ASCII Status Query Example #1

Teacher Activities
Send command via HyperTerminal program.
^A
Printer response NNNNNNNN

Student Activities
Send command via HyperTerminal program.
^A
Observe the printer responding with a string of 8 bytes.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
5.2.1.2 ASCII Status Query Example #2
Teacher Activities
Pause the printer.
Send command via HyperTerminal program.
^A
Printer response NNNNNNYN

Student Activities
Pause the printer.
Observe the Pause LED is illuminated, indicating the printer is in a paused state.
Send command via HyperTerminal program.
^A
Observe the printer responding with a string of 8 bytes.

Teacher Activities
UnPause the printer.

5.2.2 Send Status Byte

Teacher Activities

Bit Values 1 Condition Meaning

8 0 Always zero
7 1 or 0 Label presented
6 1 or 0 Printer paused
5 1 or 0 Busy printing
4 1 or 0 Printing batch
3 1 or 0 Ribbon out or Fault
2 1 or 0 Paper out or Fault
1 1 or 0 Command interpreter busy (Imaging)
Table 3-2 Status Byte

Pause the printer.

Send command via HyperTerminal program.
^F
Teacher describes the meaning of each bit returned by the printer.
Student Activities
Pause the printer.
Observe the Pause LED is illuminated, indicating the printer is in a paused state.
Send command via HyperTerminal program.
^F
Observe the printer responding with a status byte.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
5.2.3 Send Batch Quantity
Teacher Activities
Discussed later with labels using batch quantity
^E

Student Activities
Pause printer
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as batch.txt ~L

D11
19119A1000100010batch of labels
Q0020
E

Send the file to the printer via copy or HyperTerminal

Send batch quantity command via HyperTerminal

^E
observe printer response
remove pause and immediately send batch quantity command repeatedly via
HyperTerminal
^E

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
6 Status/Diagnostic STX Commands
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Teacher will send STX commands via HyperTerminal to show a printer response.
System Control STX commands are discussed later, in various sections.
Status - determine printer state
Diagnostics - determine operability
Executed serially

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
6.1 Status
Set date and time
Get Time and Date
Firmware Version string

6.1.1 Set date and time

Teacher Activities
Teacher transmits a command via HyperTerminal program.

Teacher describes the meaning of each time field.

~AwmmddyyyyhhMMjjj

where:
w- 1 digit for day of week
mm - 2 digits for month
dd - 2 digits for day
yyyy - 4 digits for year
hh - 2 digits for hour in 24 hour format
MM - 2 digits for minutes
Jjj - 3 digits for julian date or 000 for printer to calculate.

~A1020320000855034<cr>

This command translates to: Mon. Feb 3 rd., 2000, 8:55AM, 34th day of the year.

Student Activities
Listen and observe the projector.
Send command via HyperTerminal -
~A1020320000855034<cr>

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
6.1.2 Get Time and Date
Teacher Activities
Transmit command via HyperTerminal program.
~B
Teacher describes the meaning of each time field returned by the printer.

Response: wmmddyyyyhhMMjjj

w- 1 digit for day of week

mm - 2 digits for month
dd - 2 digits for day
yyyy - 4 digits for year
hh - 2 digits for hour in 24 hour format
MM - 2 digits for minutes
Jjj - 3 digits for julian date

Student Activities
Transmit command via HyperTerminal program.
~B
Observe the printer responding with a time and date string.

6.1.3 Firmware Version string

Teacher Activities
transmit command via HyperTerminal program.
~v
Printer response: VER DA - 01.01 12/21/93<CR>

Note: Useful when working with Tech Support.

Student Activities
transmit command via HyperTerminal program.
~v
Observe the printer responding with a version string.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
6.2 Diagnostics
Internal Information and Dot Pattern
Output sensor values

6.2.1 Internal Information and Dot pattern

Teacher Activities
transmit command via HyperTerminal program.
~Z

Student Activities
transmit command via HyperTerminal program.
~Z
Observe the printer printing a Configuration label and a dot pattern label.

6.2.2 Output sensor values

Teacher Activities
Teacher describes how to put the printer into TESTMODE. The printer response is
explained when an ~Y query sensors command is sent. The teacher explains how to get
more sensor values from the printer using the “SPACE” command.

~KDG@@@ - 9600 Test

~KD@@@@ - 9600

Student Activities
Configure Test Mode via menu system
Or
transmit setup command via HyperTerminal program.
~KDG@@@<cr>
~Y
<space>

restore normal operation

~KD@@@@ - 9600

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7 Label Formatting and Control
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual
.\materials \images\logo.lab

Teacher Activities
Exit HyperTerminal and start PowerPoint program.
Simple – 1 Text Field, D11 Command
Fonts 1-6
Fonts 7-8
Font 9
Formatting Style
Scalable Font Text
Column offset example
Row offset example
Barcode Fields
Graphics
Images
Advanced – Text Fields

Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.1 Simple – 1 Text Field, D11 Command.

7.1.1 Default Text Field Example

Teacher Activities

Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
131100001000050Hello world D22 default
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Save the file as hello.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy hello.txt lpt1”.

7.1.2 D11 Text Field Example

Teacher Activities

Teacher provides another sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
131100001000050Hello world D11
E

Teacher explains the difference between D11 and the default D22 in the label command.

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Save the file as hello.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy hello.txt lpt1”

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.2 Fonts 1-6
Each font is individual, although similar.
• Bitmap Font, printer resident - faster on older printer models
• monospaced
• Upper case only for some - small ROM constraints
• Character sets vary
• Descenders not included for some.
• stroke widths vary
• slash zero (Ø) - disable slash - label-formatting command Z
• Euro Currency Symbol 0xFF

7.2.1 Font 1
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
111100000500050FONT 1 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 1.

7.2.2 Font 2
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
121100000500050FONT 2 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 2.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.2.3 Font 3
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
131100001000050FONT 3 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 3.

7.2.4 Font 4
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
141100000500050FONT 4 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 4.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.2.5 Font 5
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
151100000500050FONT 5 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 5.

7.2.6 Font 6
Teacher Activities
Note: Upper case only.

Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
261100000500050FONT 6 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 6.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.3 Fonts 7-8
OCR A size I - font 7
OCR B size III - font 8
ANSI Optical Character size specifications.

7.3.1 Font 7
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
271100000500050FONT 7 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”

Student observes Font 7.

7.3.2 Font 8
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
281100000500050FONT 8 ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”

Student observes Font 8.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.4 Font 9
CG Triumvirate bold Condensed, developed by AGFA
• Bitmap Font, printer resident - faster on older printer models
- I & W Class – scalable implementation
• proportional
• Point Sizes 4 to 72 - 4 and 5 point printer model specific
- multiples for 36, 48, 72 points printer model
specific
• Upper and lower case
• Character sets same for all point sizes
• Descenders included for all point sizes
• Stroke widths proportional to point size
• Euro Currency Symbol 0xFF - I & W Class – 0x80 (symbol set respective)

7.4.1 Font 9 four point

Teacher Activities

Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
2911A0400100050Four Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, four-point font.

7.4.2 Font 9 five point

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
3911A0500100050Five Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, five point font.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.4.3 Font 9 six point
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
3911A0600100050Six Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, six-point font.

7.4.4 Font 9 eight point

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
3911A0800100050Eight Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, eight-point font.

7.4.5 Font 9 ten point

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
3911A1000100050Ten Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, ten point font.

7.4.6 Font 9 twelve point

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 D11
3911A1200100050 Twelve Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”

Student observes Font 9, Twelve-point font.

7.4.7 Font 9 fourteen point

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
4911A1400100050Fourteen Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lp t1”.

Student observes Font 9, fourteen-point font.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.4.8 Font 9 eighteen point
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
4911A1800100050Eighteen Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, Eighteen-point font.

7.4.9 Font 9 twenty-four point

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
4911A2400100050Twenty-four Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, Twenty-four-point font.

7.4.10 Font 9 thirty point

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
4911A3000100050Thirty Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, Thirty-point font.

7.4.11 Font 9 thirty-six point

Teacher Activities
Note: Some fonts are multiples of smaller fonts, see chart.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
4911A3600100050Thirty-six Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, Thirty-six-point font.

7.4.12 Font 9 forty-eight point

Teacher Activities
Note: Some fonts are multiples of smaller fonts, see chart.
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
4911A4800100050Forty-eight Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, Forty-eight-point font.

7.4.13 Font 9 seventy-two point

Teacher Activities
Note: Some fonts are multiples of smaller fonts, see chart.
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
4911A7200100050Seventy-two Point ABCDfghij
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as font.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy font.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Font 9, Seventy-two-point font.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.5 Formatting Style

7.5.1 Format Attribute

Teacher Activities
Label command
An

Where:
n- 1,2, 3 or 5

1= XOR
2= TRANSPARENT
3= OPAQUE
5= INVERSE

Student Activities
Observe
7.5.1.1 Inverse Text Example
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
A1
161100003200010 NORMAL TEXT
A5
161100003000300 INVERSE TEXT
A1
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Save the file as inv.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy inv.txt lpt1”.

Student observes Inverse text.

7.5.2 Mirror Text Example

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
A1
161100003200010 NOT MIRRORED
M
161100003000400 MIRRORED
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Save the file as mirror.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy mirror.txt lpt1”.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Student observes Mirror text.

7.5.3 Zero Slash

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
A1
161100003200010 00000
z
161100003000300 00000
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Save the file as slash0.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy slash0.txt lpt1”.

Student observes zeroes and slashed zeroes.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.6 Scalable Font Text
Teacher Activities

Scalable Font Field

The Smooth Scalable Font Technology* has been licensed from AGFA.
Both IntelliFont and True Type scalable Font formats are supported.

1 2 1 1 000 0005 0005 DATADATA <CR>

a b c d eee ffff gggg [hhhh iiii] jj…j Termination character

Field Valid Inputs Meaning

a 1, 2, 3 and 4 Rotation
b 9 Fixed value
c 1 to 9 and A to O Width Multiplier
d 1 to 9 and A to O Height Multiplier
eee S00 to Szz, U00-Uzz, u00-uzz Font data type
ffff 0000 to 9999 Row
gggg Dependent upon printer. See Table 8-7. Column
hhhh P004-P999, 0016-4163* Character height, points,
dots
iiii P004-P999, 0014-4163* Character width, points,
dots
jj…j Valid ASCII character string up to 255 Data
characters followed by a termination
character.
*Character size specifications are printhead resolution dependent as shown in the following table.
Table 7-1 Scalable Font Record Structure

The eee field identifies the scalable font.

S00: Internal scalable font (CG Triumvirate Bold Condensed).
S01 - S49: Manufacturer-supplied Font Cartridges.
S50 - S99: Downloaded Scalable Fonts (IntelliFont and True Type).
U40: Binary Internal Scalable Kanji Font.
u40: HexASCII Internal Scalable Kanji Font.

Student Activities
Observe

7.6.1 Scalable Font Text Example

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Scalable font cache will be discussed later.

~L
D11
1911S0003600020P020P020 20H X 20W
1911S0003000085P015P025 15H X 25W
1911S0002400085P018P010 18H X 10W

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 3911S0001100100P020P020 20H X 20W
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Edit a new file as shown on projector, save the file as scale.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy scale.txt lpt1”.
Student observes different size text printed.

7.6.2 Symbol Set Selection

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual
.\scalable font text\symbol set selection\9224e.bin

Single Byte Code Pages

Code Page Datamax Code Font Format
Identifier Page Family
Datamax HP1 Std2 Enhanced2 IntelliFont TrueType Description
AR √ √ Arabic-8
CP √ √ Cyrillic
DN √ √ √ √ ISO 60 Danish / Norwegian
DT 7J √ √ √ √ DeskTop
D14 11L √ √ ITC Zapf Dingbats/100
D24 12L √ √ ITC Zapf Dingbats/200
D34 13L √ √ ITC Zapf Dingbats/300
DS4 10L √ √ PS ITC Zapf Dingbats
E1 0N √ √ √ √ ISO 8859/1 Latin 1
E2 2N √ √ √ √ ISO 8859/2 Latin 2
E5 5N √ √ √ √ ISO 8859/9 Latin 5
E6 6N √ √ √ ISO 8859/10 Latin 6
E7 √ √ √ ISO 8859/7 Latin/Greek
EG √ √ ISO 8859/7 Latin/Greek
EH √ √ ISO 8859/8 Latin/Hebrew
ER √ √ ISO 8859/5 Latin/Cyrillic
FR √ √ √ √ ISO 69: French Symbol Set
G8 √ √ Greek-8
GK √ √ PC-8 Greek
GR √ √ √ √ ISO 21: German
H0 √ √ Hebrew-7
H8 √ √ Hebrew-8
IT √ √ √ √ ISO 15: Italian
LG 1U √ √ √ √ Legal
M8 8M √ √ √ Math -8
MC 12J √ √ √ √ Macintosh
MS 5M √ √ √ PS Math
PB 6J √ √ √ Microsoft Publishing
PC 10U √ √ √ √ PC-8, Code Page 437
PD 11U √ √ √ √ PC-8 D/N, Code Page 437N
PE 17U √ √ √ √ PC-852 Latin 2
PG √ √ PC-851 Latin/Greek
PH √ √ PC-862 Latin/Hebrew
PI 15U √ √ √ √ Pi Font
PM 12U √ √ √ √ PC-850 Multilingual
PR √ √ PC-864 Latin/Arabic

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Single Byte Code Pages
Code Page Datamax Code Font Format
Identifier Page Family
Datamax HP1 Std2 Enhanced2 IntelliFont TrueType Description
PT 9T √ √ √ √ PC-8 TK, Code Page 437T
PU 9J √ √ √ PC-1004
PV 26U √ √ √ PC-775 Baltic
PX4 √ √ √ PTXT3000
R8 8U √ √ √ √ Roman-8
SP √ √ √ √ ISO 17: Spanish
SW √ √ √ √ ISO 11: Swedish
SY4 √ √ √ Symbol
TS 10J √ √ √ √ PS Text
TK √ √ Turkish-8
UK √ √ √ √ ISO 4: United Kingdom
US √ √ √ √ ISO 6: ASCII
VI 13J √ √ √ √ Ventura International
VU 14J √ √ √ √ Ventura US
VM 6M √ √ Ventura Math
W1 3 19U √ √ √ √ Windows 3.1 Latin 1
WA √ √ Windows Latin/Arabic
WD 4 √ √ √ AgfaTidbits
WE 3 9E √ √ √ √ Windows 3.1 Latin 2
WG √ √ Windows Latin/Greek
WL 19L √ √ √ Windows 3.1 Latin 5
WN √ √ Windows
WO 9U √ √ √ √ Windows 3.0 Latin 1
WR 3 √ √ Windows Latin/Cyrillic
WT 3 5T √ √ √ √ Windows 3.1 Latin 5
1. HP - Hewlett Packard PCL-5 Comparison Guide, Edition 1, Internal Symbol Set Charts, Chart B, for
comparison.
2. Standard and Enhanced Code Page Families are printer configuration respective.
3. As of this writing, the fo llowing symbol sets contain references to the Euro currency symbol ( ), with the
associated single byte decimal values:
W1 - Windows 3.1 Latin 1- 128
WE - Windows 3.1 Latin 2 - 128
WT - Windows 3.1 Latin 5 - 128
WR - Windows Latin/Cyrillic – 136 (optional)
4. Not supported by ILPC CG Times – characters appearing in Code Page identifiers not supported are
unpredictable.
Table I-1 Single Byte Code Pages

Double-Byte Symbols, Chinese, Kanji

Character Map Selection
Double byte scalable fonts are mapped through a ‘character map’. This mapping allows
the host application to select a variety of characters to match the application. Each of the
code pages allows the host application to emulate a character set for their application.

The double-byte symbol set is selected using the ~yUxx command.

Double Byte Character Map

Character Code Page Font Format Description
Map Family1

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Identifier Enhanced TrueType
B5 √ √ BIG 5 (Taiwan) encoded
EU √ √ EUC (Extended UNIX Code)
Government Bureau Industry Standard;
GB √ √
Chinese (PRC) Default.
JS √ √ JIS (Japanese Industry Standard) Default.
SJ √ √ Shift JIS
UC √ √ Unicode
1. Enhanced Code Page Families are printer configuration respective.
Table I-2 Double Byte Character Map

The double-byte symbol set is selected using ~yUxx command. The single -byte symbol
set is selected using the same command, ~ySxx. Each affects an independent database
selection and has no impact on the other.

Teacher Activities
Provide another sample labe l on the projector.
This command selects the scalable font symbol set. The selected symbol set
remains active until another symbol set is selected. See Appendices E, I, and H
for details. Option dependant. Not all symbol sets can be used with all fonts.

Syntax: ~ySxx

Where: S - Byte-size designation; see Appendix H:

S = Single byte symbol sets.
U = Double byte symbol sets.
xx - Symbol set selection.

Sample: ~ySPM

The sample selects the PC-850 multilingual set.

Download scalable font 9224e.bin

~KEY\
~ySPM
~L
D11
1911S500010001000200020symbol set PM\A0A1A2A3A4A5\
E
~ySIT
~L
D11
1911S500010001000200020symbol set PM\A0A1A2A3A4A5\
E

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.7 Column offset example
Teacher Activities
This command pushes a whole format to the right. Generally used to shift previously
created formats for media differences or other adjustments.

Provide a sample label on the projector. This is the previous example with C0050 added.

~L
D11
C0050
A1
161100003200010 00000
z
161100003000300 00000
E

Student Activities
Edit a label format using notepad. Save the file as coloff.txt then send the file via the parallel
port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy coloff.txt lpt1”.

Student observes zeroes and slashed zeroes shifted over a half inch.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.8 Row offset example
Teacher Activities
This command pushes a whole format to the right. Generally used to shift previously
created formats for media differences or other adjustments.
Provide a sample label on the projector. This is the previous examp le with C0050 removed
and R0100 added.

~L
D11
R0100
A1
161100003200010 00000
z
161100003000300 00000
E

Student Activities
Edit a label format using notepad. Save the file as rowoff.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy rowoff.txt lpt1”.

Student observes zeroes and slashed zeroes shifted up a half inch.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.9 Barcode Fields

7.9.1 Rotation 1, human readable

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector
Barcode size control discussed later.
Ladder barcode quality more difficult to control than picket fence.

~L
D11
1A6205002000200ROTATION 1
E
Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Save the file as rotation.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy rotation.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a barcode printed.

7.9.2 Rotation 2, human readable

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
1A6205002000200ROTATION 1
2A6205002000200ROTATION 2
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Edit the file by adding another text string. This time make it rotation 2. Again save the file
as rotation.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS
command “copy rotation.txt lpt1”.
Student observes two barcodes printed.

7.9.3 Rotation 3, no human readable

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1A6205002000200ROTATION 1
2A6205002000200ROTATION 2
3A6205002000200ROTATION 3
Q0001
E
Student Activities
Edit the file by adding another text string. This time make it rotation 3. Again save the file
as rotation.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS
command “copy rotation.txt lpt1”.
Student observes three barcodes printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.9.4 Rotation 4, no human readable
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1A6205002000200ROTATION 1
2A6205002000200ROTATION 2
3A6205002000200ROTATION 3
4A6205002000200ROTATION 4
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Edit the file by adding another text string. This time make it rotation 4. Again save the f ile
as rotation.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS
command “copy rotation.txt lpt1”.
Student observes four barcodes printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.10 Graphics
1 2 1 1 000 0005 0005 DATADATA <CR>
a b c d eee ffff gggg [hhhh iiii] jj…j Termination character

Segment Valid Inputs Meaning

a 1 Fixed value
b X Line box
c 1 Fixed value
d 1 Fixed value
eee 000 Fixed value
ffff 0000 to 9999 Row
gggg 0000-9999, see Table 8-7. Column
jj...j Lhhhvvv - Line Drawing Line *
lhhhhvvvv - Line Drawing Line **
Bhhhvvvtttsss - Box Drawing Box ***
Bhhhhvvvvttttssss - Box Drawing Box ****
Table 7-2 Line and Box Parameters

7.10.1 LINES
Teacher Activities
Lines are sometimes better understood as filled in boxes, while boxes are hollow.

* LINES: Lhhhvvv
Where: L = "L" and specifies line drawing,
hhh = horizontal width of line,
vvv = vertical height of line.
** LINES: lhhhhvvvv
Where: l = "l" and specifies line drawing,
hhhh = horizontal width of line,
vvvv = vertical height of line.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.10.2 LINE Example
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1X1100001580083L255003
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Type in label format using notepad. Save the file as polygon.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy polygon.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a line printed.

7.10.3 BOXES
Teacher Activities
*** BOXES: Bhhhvvvbbbsss
Where: B = "B" and specifies box drawing,
hhh = horizontal width of box,
vvv = vertical height of box,
bbb = thickness of bottom and top,
sss = thickness of sides.
**** BOXES: bhhhhvvvvbbbbssss
Where: b = "b" specifies box drawing,
hhhh = horizontal width of box,
vvvv = vertical height of box,
bbbb = thickness of bottom and top box edges,
ssss = thickness of sides of box.

Student Activities
Observe

7.10.4 BOX Example

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1X1100000000010B100100005005
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Type in label format using notepad. Save the file as polygon.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy polygon.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a box printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.10.5 CIRCLES
Teacher Activities
A circle is defined by its center point and its radius.

1 X 11 fff rrrr cccc C ppp bbbb rrrr <CR>

Where:
Field Meaning Field Meaning
1 rotation (must be 1) cccc column of the center point
X graphic field C Circle ID (Fixed Value)
1 multiplier (must be 1) ppp Fixed Value must be 001
1 multiplier (must be 1) bbbb Fixed Value must be 0001
fff fill pattern # rrrr radius of the circle
rrrr row of the center point <CR> termination character

Table 7-3 Circle Record Structure

Student Activities
Observe

7.10.6 Circle Example

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector

~L
D11
1X1100000000010B100100005005
1X1100100500200C00100010050
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Edit the file by adding another geometric figure. This time add a circle. Again save the file
as polygon.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS
command “copy polygon.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a circle printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.10.7 Polygons
Teacher Activities
Polygons

A polygon is an object that can be defined by specifying a number of data

points that represent the vertices of the object, which can range from a
simple line (2 points), or a triangle (3 points), to any free-form
outline.Field format structure for a polygon

1 X 11 ppp rrrr cccc P ppp bbbb rrrr cccc rrrr cccc ... <CR>
Where:
Field Meaning Field Meaning
1 Rotation (must be 1) 001 Fixed Value
X graphic field ID 0001 Fixed Value
1 multiplier (must be 1) rrrr row of point 2
1 multiplier (must be 1) cccc column of point 2
ppp fill pattern # rrrr row of point 3
rrrr row of point 1 cccc column of point 3
cccc column of point 1 ...... additional points
P Polygon ID (Fixed Value) <CR> termination character
Table 7-4 Polygon Record Structure
Student Activities
Observe

7.10.8 Polygon Example

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1X1100000000010B100100005005
1X1100100500200C00100010050
1X1100000050310P02100100100035000050400
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Edit the file by adding another geometric figure. This time add a triangle. Again save the
file as polygon.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a DOS window using the
DOS command “copy polygon.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a triangle printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.11 Images

Materials
.\materials \images\logo.lab

Teacher Activities
Note: Graphics can not be rotated or resized.
Describe what the different types of modules, availability, and why we need them for
logos.
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1Y1100000500020logo
Q0001
E

Send the file via the parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command
“copy logo.lab lpt1” this is an image file. Storing files to modules will be discussed later.

Student Activities
Send the file via the parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command
“copy logo.lab lpt1” this is an image file. Storing files to modules will be discussed later.

Edit a new file and save the file as rlogo.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy rlogo.txt lpt1”.

Observe the logo being printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
7.12 Advanced – Text Fields

7.12.1 Formatting Inverse Text, Attribute A5

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
A5
1911A1000100010Demonstrate inverse text
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as inv.txt, then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy inv.txt lpt1”.
Student observes text printed.

7.12.2 Using A Thick Line

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Sample shows use of A1 (default formatting mode) not required.

~L
D11
A1
1X1100000100010L200100
1911A1000100010Thick Line
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as inverse.txt, then sends the file via
the parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy inverse.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a thick line printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
8 Label Control within the Label Format
Time Required/Notes
3 Min.

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
8.1 Print Quantity example

Teacher Activities
Provide another samp le label on the projector.

~L
D11
131100000500050Print Quantity
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Save the file as quantity.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy quantity.txt lpt1”.

Student observes 5 labels being printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
8.2 Media Speed
• printer respective range
• printer respective default
• beyond range result in minimum or maximum.
• Value A == 1 ips
• 0.5 ips increment per letter

8.2.1 Slew Speed

Can effect print quality if slippage occurs with certain media
~SA

8.2.2 Print Speed two inches/sec

Teacher Activities
Note: Printer specific ranges and defaults can be found in the Programmer’s Manual.
Provide another sample label on the projector.

~L
PC
D11
131100000500050Print Speed 2
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as speed.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy speed.txt lpt1”

Student observes 5 labels being printed at two inches/sec.

8.2.3 Print Speed six inches/sec

Teacher Activities
Note: Printer specific ranges and defaults can be found in the Programmer’s Manual.
Provide another sample label on the projector.

~L
PK
D11
131100000500050Print Speed 6
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as speed.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy speed.txt lpt1”.

Student observes 5 labels being printed at six inches /sec.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
8.2.4 Slew Speed two inches/sec

Teacher Activities
Teacher provides another sample label on the projector.

~L
PC
SC
D11
131100000500050Slew Speed 2
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as slew.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy slew.txt lpt1”.

Student observes 5 labels being printed at two inches per/sec and the slew speed at two
inches /sec.

8.2.5 Slew Speed six inches/sec

Teacher Activities
Note: Printer specific ranges and defaults can be found in the Programmer’s Manual.
Provide another sample label on the projector.

~L
PC
SK
D11
131100000500050Slew Speed 6
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as slew.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy slew.txt lpt1”.

Student observes 5 labels being printed at two inches per/sec and the slew speed at six
inches /sec.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
8.2.6 Back speed
Teacher Activities
Note: Printer specific ranges and defaults can be found in the Programmer’s Manual.
Note: An example will be discussed in the Present Sensor section.
Provide another sample label on the projector.

~L
pC
D11
131100000500050Back Speed
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Listen.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
8.3 Print Heat

8.3.1 Example 1, Heat Setting 5

Teacher Activities
Note: Printer specific ranges and defaults can be found in the Programmer’s Manual.
Provide another sample label on the projector.

~L
H5
D11
131100000500050Heat Setting 5
Q0002
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as heat.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy heat.txt lpt1”.

Student observes 2 light labels being printed at heat setting 5.

8.3.2 Example 2, Heat Setting 25

Teacher Activities
Note: Printer specific ranges and defaults can be found in the Programmer’s Manual.
Note: Greater than Maximum is changed to the top limit specified in the Programmer’s
Provide another sample label on the projector.

~L
H25
D11
131100000500050Heat Setting 25
Q0002
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as heat.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy heat.txt lpt1”

Student observes 2 darker labels being printed at heat setting 25.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
9 Media Setup
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
9.1 Gap Stock
• enables "see-through" sensing
• top-of-form detection
• die-cut
• notched media
• minimum gap of 0.1 inches (2.54mm) between labels
• 0.5 inches (12.7mm) between each top-of-form (start-of-print to start-of-print).
• ignored when ~c has been issued with non-zero value

Syntax:
~e

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
9.2 Reflective Stock
• selects the reflective media sensor
• top-of-form detection of reflective stock
• carbon-based black marks printed on media underside
• black mark end determines label TOF.
• 0.5" (13mm) between TOF marks.

Syntax:
~r

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
9.3 Continuous Stock
• defines the page (label) size
• printing on continuous media
• disables media sensor top-of-form detection
• monitor paper-out conditions
Syntax:
~cnnnn

Where: nnnn - Is in inches/100 or millimeters/10 (see ~m), the length of the

paper feed for each label format. It must be set to zero for edge
or reflective top-of-form operation.

Sample: ~c0100

This sample sets a page length of 100, which equals 1.00 inch (assuming Imperial Mode is selected).

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
10 Using a Cutter
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Enable before using cutter

Sample:
~V1

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
10.1 Cycle Cutter

Teacher Activities
immediately cycle the cutter blade
Cutter must be installed, enabled
interlocks closed

Syntax: <STX>o

~o

Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
10.2 Cut by Amount
Teacher Activities
cnn
:nnnn
Provide another sample label on the projector.

~V1
~L
:0005
141100001000100SAMPLE LABEL
Q0021
E

The sample instructs the printer to make a cut after labels 5, 10, 15 and 20 have
been printed. Label 21 will be cut at the start of a subsequent label format (batch)
unless a default (cut by amount) greater than one (1) has been entered via the menu
on equipped models.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
10.3 Cut Position example
Teacher Activities
Provide another sample label on the projector.
Present Distance commands
~fnnn - edge sensor relative
~Kfnnnn - printhead relative, effected by start of print <stx>O

~Kf0050
~V1
~L
141100001000100SAMPLE LABEL
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
11 Using a Present Sensor
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Before a Present Sensor can be used, it must be installed and enabled. To enable a Present Sensor,
use the Software switch command.
Sample:
~V4

~Kf0050
~V4
~L
141100001000100SAMPLE LABEL
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
11.1 Present Mode Commands
Teacher Activities
Provide another sample label on the projector.
~Kf nnnn – Printhead relative

This command specifies an additional amount to advance the label after print. It is
printhead sensor relative.

Syntax: ~Kfnnnn

Where: nnnn - Is a four-digit present distance in inches/100 or

mm/10.

Sample:
~Kf0100

The sample represents a one-inch label advance unless the printer is in metric mode.

~J – present mode
This command causes the printer to pause after printing each label and is intended for
use with the optional Peel and Present Mechanism or with a Tear Bar when no Present
Sensor is installed. After removing the printed label, the PAUSE button must be
pushed in order to print the next label. (The printer must be reset to clear the ~J
command.)

Syntax: ~J

~fnnn – edge sensor relative

~Kf0050
~V0
~J
~L
141100001000100SAMPLE LABEL
Q0005
E

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12 Typical Formatting Problems
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual
.\materials \Barcodes 2-D Controls \Datamatrix.bin

Teacher Activities
No syntax error messages
Printer prints all correct fields, ignores incorrect fields
Typical syntax errors results:
• expected format record does not print - missing parameter
• expected format record prints as continuation of the previous record - missing format record
terminator
• no label prints - missing label terminator

Student Activities
Observe and listen.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.1 Intersecting Lines XOR
Teacher Activities
Provide another sample label on the projector.
Two examples:
1. Simple line intersection with transparent.
2. Change label attributes within label format to alleviate XOR line
intersections. Begin with XOR thick line with text, then transparent lines.
~L
A1
D11
1911A1002000010TEXT
1X1100002000000L400020
1X1100000000200L020400
E

~L
A1
D11
1911A1002000010TEXT
1X1100002000000L400020
A2
1X1100000000200L020400
E

Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.2 Ladder Barcodes Print Quality
Teacher Activities
Heat - lower value may improve quality
Print Speed - lower speed may improve quality
Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.3 Barcodes, Valid Characters, Lengths
Teacher Activities
Invalid length will not print
Invalid characters will not print
See Programmer’s Manual
Procure Barcode Specification

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.4 Barcodes, 1 -D size controls
Teacher Activities
Provide another sample label on the projector.
Module based barcodes – set both ratio parameters same for backward compatibility.

~L
D11
1T0205000150100ABCDEF<CR>
121100000000100Barcode T<CR>
E

Wider bars with same ratio

~L
D11
1T0405000150100ABCDEF<CR>
121100000000100Barcode T<CR>
E

Taller bars with same ratio

~L
D11
1T0410000150100ABCDEF<CR>
121100000000100Barcode T<CR>
E

Ratio based barcode s – 3 – wide bar, 1 – narrow bar

~L
D11
1A31050001501000123456789<CR>
121100000000100Barcode A<CR>
E

Wider bars with same ratio

~L
D11
1AC4050001501000123456789<CR>
121100000000100Barcode A<CR>
E

Student Activities
Edit the label format using notepad. Saves the file as bar.txt then sends the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy bar.txt lpt1”
Student observes barcodes printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.5 Barcodes, 2 -D controls
Teacher Activities
PDF
Datamatrix
Maxicode

Student Activities

12.5.1 Binary Data, Using the Record Terminator Command Tnn

Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual
.\materials\Barcodes 2-D Controls \PDF-417.bin

Teacher Activities
This command is valid only for the next format record, after which the terminator
defaults to a carriage return. This allows the user to embed special binary control
codes (e.g., carriage returns) into the data to be printed. It is intended to be used with
record types (e.g., PDF417), that will accept binary data.
Syntax: Tnn

Where: nn - Is an ASCII two-character representation of a HEX

code to be used for the end of data terminator.

Sample: ~KEN
~KEY\
~L
D11
T00
1z0000000300110F0000000\d2d3d4d5d6d7d8d9dadb00\
1911A1000000100PDF-417
E

The above sample sets the terminator code to use a NULL terminator (ASCII NULL,
DEC 0, HEX 00) for the end of data line. The terminator is immediately restored to a
carriage return <CR> as seen in the format record containing the text
‘TERMINATOR’.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.5.2 PDF
Teacher Activities
Dot multipliers control module size.
Aspect ratio controls rows vs. columns. 00 default produces same as 13. Results are data
length dependent

The general form of the label format record for the PDF417 bar code symbol is:
Dzwh000aaaabbbbFsHWRRCCdata
D - rotation, 1,2,3,4
z - PDF417 font designator
w - module width, dots
h - module height, dots
000 - not used
aaaa - position symbol corner (bottom-left) from label bottom, in/100 (mm/10)
bbbb - position symbol corner (bottom-left) from label left, in/100 (mm/10)
F - truncation, T/F, T = truncated (stop bars removed)
s - security, 0 -8
H - symbol height factor
W - symbol width factor
RR - symbol data rows, 00, 03-90
CC - symbol data columns, 00, 01 -30
data - the data to be encoded, any ASCII characters

H:W is referred to as the aspect ratio. Non-zero values for RR or CC have precedence
over HW values. Overall symbol size is dependent on w,h,F,s,H,W,RR, CC, and the data
to be encoded. When RR and CC are both 00, then the overall dimensional ratio is
approxima tely HW. H:W = 0:0 is the same as H:W = 1:2, and the overall dimension ratio
will be approximately 1:2 when wh = 00 or wh = 13. The resulting symbol when
specifying RR or CC is also an approximation of the specified values since the symbol is
also dependent on s as well as the encoded data.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 w

H
RR

W
CC

~L
D11
2z0000002000200F100000014CharactersBZ
121100400000010Barcode z 14 characters, rotation 2
E

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.5.3 Datamatrix
Materials
.\materials\Barcodes 2-D Controls \Datamatrix.bin

Teacher Activities
Recommended minimum dot size 55 at 203 dpi.
Row and Column parameters required
Invalid barcodes may print, but will not scan.
Row / Col specs must be greater than or equal to best fit
Best fit is Row / Col spec = 000000.
Row and column specs should be identical

~L
D11
4911A0600100010 8-bit data, format 0
1Wc77000002000300000000000!/09:@AZ[`az}~Ÿ¯¿Ïßïÿ
E

Student Activities
Observe

12.5.4 Maxicode
Teacher Activities
No sizing controls
Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.6 Barcodes, Code-128, Subset Switching
Teacher Activities
This printer supports the Code 128 subsets A, B, and C. The printer can be selected to
start on any code subset and switch to another within the data stream. The default code
subset is B, otherwise the first character (A, B, C) of the data field determines the
subset. Subset switching is only performed in response to code switch command.
These commands are placed in the data to be encoded at appropriate locations, see
Table G-1.

Code 128 Subset A: Includes all of the standard uppercase alphanumeric keyboard
characters plus the control and special characters. To select Code 128 Subset A, place
an ASCII A (DEC 65, HEX 41) before the data to be encoded.
Code 128 Subset B: Includes all of the standard uppercase alphanumeric keyboard
characters plus the lowercase alphabetic and special characters. To select Code 128
Subset B, place an ASCII B (DEC 66, HEX 42) before the data to be encoded. If no
start character is sent for the 128 font, Code 128 Subset B will be selected by default.
Code 128 Subset C: Includes the set of 100 digit pairs from 00 through 99 inclusive,
as well as special characters. Code 128 Subset C is used for double density encoding of
numeric data. To select Code 128 Subset C, place an ASCII C (DEC 67, HEX 43)
before the data to be encoded. Subset C can only encode an even number of numeric
characters. When the data to be encoded includes an odd number of numeric
characters, the last character causes the printer to automatically generate a ‘switch to
subset B’ and encode the last character appropriately in subset B.
þNote: Recommended to use a B as the first character to prevent an A or C from
changing the subset.

Special Character Handling: Characters with an ASCII value greater than 95 are
considered special characters. To access these values, a two-character reference table is
built into the printer, see table below. As an example, to encode FNC2 into a Code 128
Subset A barcode, send the ASCII & (DEC 38, HEX 26) followed by an ASCII B
(DEC 66, HEX 41). Code FNC2 will be encoded.
Example: ATEST&B123 Data Encoded: TEST<FNC2>123
Data String Printer Interpretation
2 CHAR CODE A CODE B CODE C ASCII
&A FNC3 FNC3 N/A 96
&B FNC2 FNC2 N/A 97
&C SHIFT SHIFT N/A 98
&D CODEC CODEC N/A 99
&E CODEB FNC4 CODEB 100
&F FNC4 CODEA CODEA 101
&G FNC1 FNC1 FNC1 102
Table G-1 Special Character Handling
Control Codes in Subset A:
Control character encoding in Code 128 Subset A by sending these data strings:
Data String Printer Interpretation
` <NUL>

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 a through z <01> - <26>
{ <ESC>
| <FS>
} <GS>
~ <RS>
ASCII 127 <US>

Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.7 Barcodes, Special Cases
Teacher Activities
Checksums, Printer Computed / Validated, Values from Host
Checksums, Printer Computed
Student Activities
Observe

12.7.1 Checksums, Invalid Values from Host

Barcodes that automatically compute checksums. Host computer may supply checksums which
are validated by the printer. Invalid checksums result in all zeros and the correct checksum.
Programmer’s Manual explicitly denotes B, C, F and G.

Barocdes with Printer computed / validated checksums.

Barcode Type Length Checksum Valid ASCII Characters,
ID decimal value representation
B UPC-A 11 Yes 48-57 Numeric only.
Option V used in the 6th & 7th
position
C UPC-E 6 Yes 48-57 Numeric only
F EAN-13 12 Yes 48-57 Numeric only. Option V
used in the 7th & 8th position
G EAN-8 7 Yes 48-57 Numeric only
Negative validation causes printed barcode with 000… data and corrected checksum for original
data.

Barocdes with Printer computed checksums.

Barcode Type Length Checksum Valid ASCII Characters,
ID decimal value representation
E Code 128 Varies M-103 32-127
H HBIC Varies M-43 32, 36-39, 42, 43, 45-57, 65-90
J Interleaved 2 of Varies M-10 48-57 Numeric only
5 with a modulo
10 checksum
K Plessey Up to 14 M-10 48-57 Numeric only. Option + is
Last Character for Second M-11
Checksum
L Interleaved 2 of 13 M-10 48-57 Numeric only
5 with a modulo
10 checksum &
shipping bearer
bars
M 2 digit UPC 2 Yes 48-57 Numeric only
addendum
N 5 digit UPC 5 Yes 48-57 Numeric only
addendum
p Postnet Varies Yes 48-57 Numeric only
Q UCC/EAN 19 Yes 48-57 Numeric only
Code 128
R UCC/EAN 18 Yes 48-57 Numeric only
Code 128
K-Mart NON
EDI barcode

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Barcode Type Length Checksum Valid ASCII Characters,
ID decimal value representation
S UCC/EAN 34 + Yes 48-57 Numeric only
Code 128
Random
Weight
T Telepen Varies Yes Alphanumeric
U UPS MaxiCode 84 Yes Alphanumeric
z PDF-417 Varies Yes All
W1c DataMatrix Varies Yes All 8-bit values

Table F-1 Barcode Summary Data

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.8 Barcode Clipping
Prodigy Plus – prevents clipping, moves barcode position
All other printers allow barcode formatting off the label edge.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.9 Formating Objects at the Label Edge

12.9.1 Top Edge Problems

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1X1100004000000L255001
131100004000260TEXT
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Type in label format using notepad. Save the file as line.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy line.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a line printed.

Repeat with new row position for line and text nearer the label top.
Repeat till 2 labels required for format.

12.9.2 Bottom Edge problems

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1X1100000000000L255001
131100000000260TEXT
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Type in label format using notepad. Save the file as line.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy line.txt lpt1”.
Student observes a line printed.

Examine print quality.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.9.3 Continuous Media Formatting Minimum Gap
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~c0200
~L
D11
1X1100001890000L255001
131100001760260TEXT TOP
1X1100000000000L255001
131100000000260TEXT BOTTOM
Q0001
E
Student Activities
Type in label format using notepad. Save the file as line.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy line.txt lpt1”.
Student examines print near label top.

Repeat with new row position for line and text nearer the label top.
Repeat till 2 labels required for format.

Repeate with continuous label length c01 00.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.10 Object Positioning

12.10.1 Character Positioning Baselines

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1X1100000100000L400001
111100000100010Font 1 g
121100000100050Font 2 g
131100000100100Font 3 g
141100000100170Font 4 g
151100000100260Font 5 g

1X1100000500000L400001
161100000500010Font 6 g
171100000500160Font 7 g
181100000500250Font 8 g
101100000500320Font 0 g

1X1100001000000L400001
1911A0501000010Font 9 g
1911A0601000040Font 9 g
1911A0801000070Font 9 g
1911A1001000120Font 9 g
1911A1201000190Font 9 g
1911A1401000260Font 9 g
1911A1401000340Font 9 g

1X1100001300000L400001
1911S0001300010P010P010Scale g
1911S0001300052P012P012Scale g
1911S0001300100P014P014Scale g
1911S0001300160P016P016Scale g
1911S0001300230P018P018Scale g
1911S0001300305P020P020Scale g
1911S0001300390P022P022Scale g
Q0001
E
Student Activities
Type in label format using notepad. Save the file as line.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy line.txt lpt1”.
Student text printed positions relative line.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
12.10.2 Barcode Positioning Baselines
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1X1100000100000L400001
1A4205000100010BAR A
1a4205000100110BAR A LO
1z2200000100250F1000000Now Is The Time To Come to an Equal
Understanding of the VALUE of PDF417 Barcode Standards in 1995.

1X1100001000000L400001
1B420500100001012345678901
1b420500100013012345678901
Q0001
E
Student Activities
Type in label format using notepad. Save the file as line.txt then send the file via the
parallel port from a DOS window using the DOS command “copy line.txt lpt1”.
Student barcodes printed positions relative line.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13 Modules
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.1 Types / Identification

13.1.1 Module ID’s

Teacher Activities

PE42, PE43
Module Allegro Prodigy Prodigy DMX600 Prodigy Max E-4203
ID Allegro2 Plus DMX800 Ovation!
(Memory DMX400 Ovation!2
Bank) DMX430 ST-3306,
ST-3210,
Titan, XL
A Internal Plug-In Plug-In Plug-In RAM RAM1
RAM
B Plug-In Plug-In Plug-In Plug-In Plug-In Plug-In
C Default Default Default Default Default Default
D N/A N/A N/A Internal Internal NVRAM N/A
NVRAM
E N/A N/A N/A RAM N/A N/A
1
Internal configurable

Module I-4206 I-4212, I-4208

ID I-4308, I-4308
W-6308, W-6308
A Plug-In Plug-In
PC Card PC Card
B Plug-In Plug-In
PC Card PC Card
C Default Default
D – 1024KB1 Internal Internal RAM 1
RAM1
E N/A N/A
F – 4MB user Flash2 User Flash2
G – 256KB N/A Internal user Flash 4
Y3 – 64KB Language Language Flash
Flash
Z3 – 4MB Fonts Flash2 Fonts Flash2
1
Internal configurable
2
Option Board
3
Intended for Datamax use for ILPC

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.1.2 Module ID Command References
Command Function Notes
~Iabfnn…n<CR>data Download image a – module ID
~imtnnName<CR>xx…xdata... Download scalable font m – module ID
Xa Set default module a – module ID
Q Clear all modules Implied reference to all
qa Clear Module a – module ID
xmtnn...n<CR> Delete file m – module ID
zm Pack module m – module ID
<esc> Bitmap font downloading Implied reference to Default module

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.2 Diagnostics
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

13.2.1 RAM Module

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector. Must send via HyperTerminal.

This command tests all RAM modules; however, the printer must be in feedback
mode for the command to function. The printer returns a one -line message stating
whether the module is good or bad, (no message is returned if a module is
unavailable). Feedback mode can be enabled via the menu.
Syntax: ~t

Printer Response: Module A: xxxxK Ram Tested results

Module B: xxxxK Ram Tested results
Module D: xxxxK Ram Tested results

Where: xxxx - Module size in Kbytes.

Results: Module test results: ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.2.1.1 FLASH Module
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector. Must send via HyperTerminal.

This command performs a test sequence on flash memory modules; however, the
time for each test will vary, depending on the size of the module. The module
must have the write protect switch ‘Off’ for testing; all stored data will be
destroyed. The printer responds with ‘good’ or ‘bad’ message results for each
module tested. (No modules present will result in no printer response.)

Syntax: ~wa

Printer response format: Module a: xxxxK Flash test results.

Where: a - Module = A or B

xxxx - Module size in Kilobytes

results - Test results: ‘Good’ or ‘Bad’

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.3 Directory of Contents / Size
Teacher Activities
This command requests a directory listing for memory module(s). Although a module
can store font, graphics and format data together, it can display only one type of
information at a time. If the module contains all three types of data, it will be necessary
to check the directory three times, using each of the control parameters, F, G, and L, to
determine the contents.

Student Activities
Observe

13.3.1 Image Directory Query

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector. Must send via HyperTerminal.
~WG

Printer response example

MODULE: D
LOGO
CAM
AVAILABLE BYTES IN MODULE: 00049083

Student Activities
Observe

13.3.2 Label Directory Query

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector. Must send via HyperTerminal.
~WL

Printer response example

MODULE: D
LABEL1
AVAILABLE BYTES IN MODULE: 00049083

Student Activities
Observe

13.3.3 Font Directory Query

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector. Must send via HyperTerminal.
~WF

Printer response example

MODULE: D
ARIAL
AVAILABLE BYTES IN MODULE: 00049083

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.4 Determining Default Module

13.4.1 Printer Determined Default

Teacher Activities
Describe Default Module logic.

The default module is one of the following:

1. The first alpha designator of existing modules if items 2 or 3 have not
occurred.
2. The most recent module to be inserted while the power is on.
3. The module selected by the ~X command.

Student Activities
Observe

13.4.2 Setting Default Module

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

This command is used when downloading information to a module memory. It is

designed to allow the user to select between modules. If ‘C’ is entered to select a
memory bank, the data will go to the bank set by this command. If the printer
uses only one bank, this command is not required.

Syntax: ~Xa

Where: a - A, B, D;… memory module designator

Sample: ~XB

The sample sets the printer's default module to memory module B.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.5 Deleting Contents

13.5.1 Clear All Modules

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
This command instructs the printer to clear all of the Flash, RAM, and Internal
Modules
~Q

Student Activities
Observe

13.5.2 Clear Specific Module

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
This command clears the selected memory module (Flash or RAM). If a module
is corrupted during normal operations, it must be cleared. A corrupt module is
identified when the printer responds with a ‘No Modules Available’ message to a
~W (request memory module information command).
Syntax: ~qa

Where: a - Memory module bank select, A-D

Sample: ~qA

The sample clears memory module A.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.5.3 Delete File – STX x
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
This command removes a specific file from the specified module. The file name
is removed from the module directory and thus the file cannot be accessed. The
actual storage space occupied by the file is not released. The pack command can
be issued to reclaim all deleted file storage space.

Syntax: ~xmtnn…n<CR>

Where: m - The module identification character, A – D.

t - The file type identification code:

‘G’ = Graphic (Image) file type
‘L’ = Label Format file type
‘F’ = Bit-Mapped file type
‘S’ = Smooth Scalable Font file type

nn...n - The file name to delete. Up to 16 characters for

graphic (image) or label format files. Three digits for
bit-mapped Font files and two digits for smooth
scalable Font files.

Student Activities
Observe

13.5.4 Defragmentation (Packing Module)

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
This command causes the printer to reclaim all storage space associated with all
deleted files on the specified module. A Flash Module cannot be packed.

Syntax: ~zm

Where: m - The module identification character, A-D.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
13.6 Internal Module Size Allocation

13.6.1 Setting Module Size/Cache Size

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Syntax: ~Kix[:jy][:kz]<CR>

Where: i, j, k are M, S, or W as described in the following paragraphs. x, y, z are

four-digit maximum number of 4K byte blocks or in/100 or (mm/10) as
described below.
Any of the three fields is optional and are separated by the colon. Brackets
indicate optional fields.

M This represents the start of a sequence (up to five characters), that assigns
memory to the internal memory module. If this field does not appear, then
the internal memory module is not affected. If no internal memory module
exists, it will be created and formatted. If the internal memory module
already exists, it will be erased, re-sized and formatted. The number that
follows the M is a decimal number (up to four digits) that specifies the
size of memory in 4KB blocks, to assign to the internal memory module.
A value of "0000" will delete the internal memory module, (see Appendix
L for additional information).

S Represents the start of a sequence (up to five characters), that assigns the
amount of internal memory allocated to the smooth scalable font
processor. This field is optional and if it does not appear, the current
amount of memory assigned to the smooth scalable font processor is left
unchanged. This must be at least 15 to print scalable fonts and at least 30
for double byte fonts. The number that follows the S is a decimal number
(up to four dig its) that specifies the size of memory, in 4 KB blocks, to
assign to the smooth scalable font processor. The minimum requirement is
0015 (60KB). Any value less, results in the amount of memory assigned
to be zero (0000) and disables the printing of smooth scalable fonts. The
recommended value is 0025 (100KB).

W Represents the start of a sequence, (up to five characters), that sets the
printable label width. Setting a width smaller than the natural (maximum)
width of the printer effectively extends printable label length. This field is
optional and if it does not appear, the current printable label width is left
unchanged. The number that follows the W is a decimal number (up to
four digits) that specifies the printable label width in either 100th's of
inches or millimeters, depending on the current units setting of the printer
(English or Metric). If the value specified exceeds the natural (maximum)
width of the printer, the printable label width is set to its maximum. If the
value specified is less than the minimum value allowed, then the printable
label width is set to the minimum allowed value. The minimum allowed
value is 200 and maximum value is the maximum printer width.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Only one field M, S, or W is required, any two fields are separated with a
colon as shown.
Label printing requirements may be computed as bytes (label print length
* width allocation * printhead resolution/8). For maximum throughput,
the memory allocated should allow for a minimum of three times the
computed requirement or available the label length as determined by
<STX>KQ should be three times the label print length.

Sample: ~KM0020:S0015<CR>

In the sample, memory is allocated 20*4*1024 bytes for module space and
15*4*1024 bytes for scalable cache.

Student Activities
Observe

13.6.2 Resetting Memory management Defaults

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
This command resets the printer's internal DRAM configuration to default
settings.
~KR

Student Activities
Observe

13.6.3 System Effects

Teacher Activities
Cache size increases - Faster character rendering
Reduced label length – slower label through-put
Module size increases - more space for saving objects
Reduced label length – slower label through-put
Label length increases - Faster label through-put

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14 Through-put Optimizing Techniques
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual
.\materials \redundant data\redundant.bin
.\materials \Scalable Font Text \Symbol Set Selection\92244e.bin
.\materials \downloading fonts \arial.dld
.\materials\downloading fonts \abcFONT.sfp

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.1 Redundant Data within a Label Format
Materials
.\materials \redundant data\redundant.bin

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~L
D11
1911A1000100010 redundant data example
1911A1000300030 redundant data field A
G
1911A1000500050 redundant data field B
G
1911A1000700070~SB
1911A1000900090embedded ~S in a field
E

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.2 Batch Quantity Labels
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

Use SOH Send Batch Quantity command ^E repeatedly after label with large quantity.
~L
D11
1911A1000100010 redundant labels
Q0010
E

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.3 Saving Images
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~I
Label format object x

In a DOS window, set the mode setting for the COM port by issuing this command line:

MODE COM1 96,N,8,1,P

This will set up COM1 for 9600bps, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, No Stop Bits, and Software
Flow Control represented by the letter ‘P’.

Now, create a file called PRE.TXT by issuing the command:

EDIT PRE.TXT <C/R>

PRE.TXT
Command Description
^D<cr> Turns OFF Immediate Commands
~qA<cr> Clears Memory Module as defined as A
~Iapdrail<cr> cam is the filename without extension of the file you wish to
send to the printer

Close and save this file by going to FILE, SAVE, FILE, EXIT.

COPY/B PRE.TXT + drail.PCX drail.DLD

COPY/B drail.DLD COM1:

(substitute cam.pcx with the name of the graphic image you want to copy to the printer, the
/b is an indication to DOS’s COPY that you are sending a BINARY file)

The next example is optional, this LABEL.TXT file is a format to simply print the graphic
image onto a label
Create a file called LABEL.TXT and place the following information in it: NOTE:
Filename is case sensitive.

LABEL.TXT
~L
D11
1Y1100000100100drail
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Observe

14.3.1 Image Directory - STX WG command

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.3.2 Clear Modules - STX Q, STX q
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

Student Activities
Observe

14.3.3 Delete File – STX x

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.4 Downloading Fonts
For situations where random characters will be spread dynamically over various label formats.
Images containing static text may be more efficient for less dynamic situations. Considerations for
using either, involve the download time required for either, the availability of module types and
space. Where character sizes are fixed, bitmap fonts may yet provide better throughput. Printer
processor speed and communications rate is also a consideration. Newer printer models use
processors sufficiently fast so that motor speed, or printhead data rates, have become the limiting
factor rather than label formatting and scalable font processing.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.4.1 Scalable Fonts
Materials
.\materials\Scalable Font Text \Symbol Set Selection\92244e.bin
.\materials\downloading fonts \arial.dld

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

In a DOS window, set the mode setting for the COM port by issuing this command line:

MODE COM1 96,N,8,1,P

This will set up COM1 for 9600bps, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, No Stop Bits, and Software
Flow Control represented by the letter ‘P’.

To download any font to Datamax printers, the first thing you must determine is the font
file size and convert it to a hexadecimal value. You can achieve this by opening MS
Windows’ Calculator program, selecting VIEW, and then SCIENTIFIC to place the
calculator in scientific mode. Use this mode to obtain the hexadecimal value, input the
actual file size into basic mode, and depress the HEX key located on the calculator for the
hex value. The number that is reflected is the value you will need, write this number
down and retain it for future information in downloading. In this instance, we will be
downloading a font called ARIAL to memory module A.

Once you have the HEX value of the font, create a file called HEX.TXT with the
following information:

HEX.TXT
0000FF84

(Hexadecimal value for the font ARIAL.TTF, the value must have a total of 8 characters,
add leading zeroes as necessary, i.e. FF84 hex becomes 0000FF84.)

At this point, we want to copy the font file ARIAL.TTF with the HEX.TXT and merge
them together into a file called ARIAL.FNT. Do this by issuing the following DOS
command:

COPY HEX.TXT + ARIAL.TTF /b ARIAL.FNT<CR>

You should receive a DOS response indicating 1 File Copied.

Now, create a file called HEAD.TXT containing this information:

HEAD.TXT
^D<cr> (Turns OFF Immediate Commands)
~qA<cr> (Clears Memory Module A – Internal Memory)
~iAT52ARIAL<cr> (Informs the printer the name of the font)

Close and save this file by going to FILE, SAVE, FILE, EXIT.

COPY/B HEAD.TXT + ARIAL.FNT ARIAL.DLD

COPY/B ARIAL.DLD LPT1:

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Here is a sample LABEL file to print with the downloaded font ARIAL.FNT

LABEL.TXT

~L
D11
1911S5001000100P010P020 SCALABLE
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Edit files, download font, and print label.

14.4.2 Bitmap Fonts

Materials
.\materials\downloading fonts \abcFONT.sfp

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Portrait (SFP) and Landscape (SFL) PCL-4 (HP LaserJet II) format.
Font ID prefix <ESC>*c nnnD

COPY/B ABCFONT.SFP LPT1:

~LD11
191110200100010SFP FONT ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
291110200500020ABC
391110200500050ABC
E

Student Activities
Download font to printer, edit label file and send to printer
Observe not all characters print.
Font contains only ABC
Font contains only rotation 1, printer can provide rotation 3.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.4.3 Font Directory - ~ WF command
Teacher Activities
~WF

Student Activities
Observe

14.4.4 Clear Modules - STX Q, STX q

Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

Student Activities
Observe

14.4.5 Delete File – STX x

Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
~xCS50
~WF

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.5 Saving Label Formats
Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.

~qA
~L
D11
SK
PK
161100001200010DOUG
Q0003
sATEST

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as stordoug1.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy stordoug1.txt lpt1”.

14.5.1 Label Directory - ~WL command

Teacher Activities
~WL

Student Activities

14.5.2 Clear Modules - STX Q, STX q

Teacher Activities
~qC
~WL

Student Activities

14.5.3 Delete File – STX x

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
~xCLTEST
~WL

Student Activities
Observe

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.6 Recalling Label Formats
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

14.6.1 Simple Recalling Label Formats

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label and save in default module:

~L
D11
1911A1000100010DOUG
sCDoug

Retrieve saved label.

~L
D11
rDoug
E

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as restorel.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy DOUG lpt1”.

14.6.2 Adding to Recalled Label Formats

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label and save in default module:

~L
D11
1911A1000100010DOUG
sCDoug

Retrieve saved label.

~L
D11
rDoug
1911A1000300030guod
E

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as restorel.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy DOUG lpt1”.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.6.3 Recalling and Changing Quantity, …
Teacher Activities
Create test label and save in default module:

~L
D11
1911A1000100010DOUG
sCTest

Label Quantity Command - Result: Printer prints 2 labels with DOUG on them.

Commands Description
~L Begin label formatting
rCTest Recall stored label named TEST
Q0002 Substitute quantity 2
E End label formatting and print

New label commands added after retrieval - Changes print and slew speeds

Commands Description
~L Begin label formatting
rCTest Recall stored label named TEST
D11
191100000300030X New test print field
PA
SA
E

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.7 Reprinting Labels

14.7.1 Reprint Printed Label

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label and save in default module, and reprint – 2 labels print.

~L
D11
1911A1000100010DOUG
E
~G

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as reprint.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy reprint.txt lpt1”.
Student observes reprinted labels.

14.7.2 Print Exited label

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label and save in default module, and print – 1 label prints.

~L
D11
1911A1000100010DOUG
X
~G

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as x.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a DOS
window using the DOS command “copy x.txt lpt1”.

14.7.3 Reprint saved label

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label and save in default module, and print – 2 labels print

Retrieve saved label and print and reprint.

~L
D11
rDoug
E
~G
Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as reprsave.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy reprsave.txt lpt1”.
Stud ent observes reprinted saved labels.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.8 Dynamic Data Print Fields
Print Fields used with dynamic data may be designated as such with the label U command to further
enhance throughput.

14.8.1 Recalling Labels

System Print Command - Result: Printer prints 1 labels with DOUG.

Commands Description
~L Begin label formatting
rTest Recall stored label named TEST
X Terminate label formatting, do not print
~G Print

14.8.2 Recalling Labels and Update Fields

Replacement fields – Prints 2 labels with replacement data only.

Commands Description
~L
rTest
X
~U01data Replacement data
~G Print label
~U01atad Replacement data
~G Print label

Use truncate option ~UTnn for variable length data.

14.8.3 Recalling Labels and Update Fields, Multiple Quantity

Replacement field and System Label Quantity Command - Result: Printer prints 3 labels

Commands Description
~L
rTest
X Do not print
~U01data
~E0003 quantity of update label.
~G

Student Activities

14.8.4 Incremental Fields

Used for serialized labels

14.8.4.1 Numeric Fields

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label to demonstrate incremental numeric fields.

~L
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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 D11
13220000000000012345
+01
Q0003
E

• Roll-over carries left to next digit

• incremental rate of 1 results in roll-over at 9 to 0

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as nfield.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy nfield.txt lpt1”.
Student observes incrementing number printed.
14.8.4.2 Alphanumeric Fields

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label to demonstrate incremental Alphabetic fields.

~L
D11
132200000000000ABCDE
>01
Q0003
E

• uppercase only
• incremental rate of 1 results in roll-over at Z to 1

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as afield.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy afield.txt lpt1”.
Student observes incrementing alphabetic fields printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.8.4.3 Count By Amount

Teacher Activities
Provide a sample label on the projector.
Create test label to demonstrate Count By Amount.

~L
D11
13220000000000012345
-01
^02
Q0006
E

• duplicate labels for each dec/increment

Student Activities
Edit a new file and save the file as cba.txt then send the file via the parallel port from a
DOS window using the DOS command “copy cba.txt lpt1”.
Student observes incrementing numbers by 2 printed.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
14.9 Scalable Font Cache Size
Teacher Activities
Scalable font cache used for scalable font engine computation and storage of bitmap
characters. Large cache can improve throughput for labels utilizing scalable font
characters. Increasing cache size subtracts from print buffer label length. Decreasing label
length can decrease through-put, particularly for labels utilizing replacement fields (~U).
Teacher presents example:
~KQ
~KS30
~KQ
allocates 30*4K bytes
Student Activities
Students edit and save file containing example DPL commands, an send file to printer with
HyperTerminal.
Students observe changes in printer response – label length decreased.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
15 Communication Problems
Time Required/Notes

Materials
DPL Programmer’s Manual

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
15.1 Diagnostics

15.1.1 Serial Port Comm

This command instructs the printer to transmit the character Y from the printer’s RS-232 port. (Failure
to receive Y could indicate an interfacing problem.)

Syntax: ~k

Sample: ~k

Printer Response: Y

15.1.2 Dump
This command instructs the printer to enter the Character Hex Dump Mode (ASCII Dump /
“monitor mode”). All data sent to the printer following this command will be printed in the raw
ASCII format. Labels must be at least four inches (102mm) long and as wide as the maximum
print width. This command has the same effect as turning the printer ‘On’ while pressing the
FEED button; in this case however, a Configuration and Test label will be printed. To return to
normal operation, the printer must be manually reset.

Syntax: ~P

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
15.2 7-bit Comm

15.2.1 Alternate Control Codes

Control Standard Alternate Command Type Associated
Character
SOH 0x01 ^ 0x5E Immediate Commands
STX 0x02 ~ 0x7E System-Level Commands
CR 0x0D CR 0x0D Line terminator
ESC 0x1B ESC 0x1B Font-Loading Commands
“Count By” 1 0x5E @ 0x40 Label Formatting, Count-by

15.2.2 Alternate-2 Control Codes

Control Standard Alternate -2 Command Type Associated
Character
SOH 0x01 ^ 0x5E Immediate Commands
STX 0x02 ~ 0x7E System-Level Commands
CR 0x0D | 0x7C Line terminator
ESC 0x1B ESC 0x1B Font-Loading Commands
“Count By” 1 0x5E @ 0x40 Label Formatting, Count-by

15.2.3 Alternate-3 Control Codes

Control Standard Alternate -3 Command Type Associated
Character
SOH 0x01 ^ 0x5E Immediate Commands
STX 0x02 # 0x23 System-Level Commands
CR 0x0D CR 0x0D Line terminator
ESC 0x1B ESC 0x1B Font-Loading Commands
“Count By” 1 0x5E @ 0x40 Label Formatting, Count-by

15.2.4 Binary Data

System Commands:
~KEN
~KEY\
Encoded Datastreams:
\ABCD12\ == 0xABCD12
\\ == \
Attempting to reassign the hex-interpretation delimiter will result in the printer interpreting the
delimiter as the first of a pair, thus resulting in misinterpretation of any data that follows it.
Recommend turning off hex interpretation prior to enabling.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
15.3 Comm Buffer Overflow
Printer performs handshaking as expected. When host computer ignores handshake signals and
overflows the print buffer, the printer will send ‘v’ until the host data transmission stops or the
printer’s comm buffer has been drained.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
16 I-Class / E-Class differences
Time Required/Notes

Materials

Teacher Activities
I & W Class DPL Constraint Cross-Reference:

Immediate
Command Description
D The internal firmware architecture no longer requires the execution of
an “SOH” shutdown for binary downloading.
All others The firmware architecture no longer will “go busy” due to SOH
commands filling the receive buffer while statusing the printer during
batch printing.

Table N-1 Immediate Command Constraints

System-
Level Description
Command
A&B The printer calculates the Julian date. A non-zero date will not be
stored and returned.
C Copy Module – Not Supported.
D Memory Dump – Not Supported.
H Set Cutter Signal Time – Not Supported.
N Enter Internal Batch Mode – Not Supported.
O Set Start of Print Position – Not Supported – Use Operator Panel or
Label command Row Offset.
S Test Module Memory (Prodigy only) – Not Supported.
V Software Settings – Previously different for each printer – Verify
format.
Y Output Sensor Values – Verify response format.
b Set Cutter Signal Time – Not Supported.
d Double Buffer Mode – Not Supported.
f Set Form Stop Position – Not Supported – Use Operator Panel or
<STX>Kf command.
g Internal Batch Software Mode – Not Supported.
s Single Buffer Mode – Not Supported.
t Test RAM Memory Module – Verify response format.
v Firmware Version – Verify response format1 .
w Test Flash Memory – Verify response format1.

Table N-2 System-Level Command Constraints

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Extended
System Description
Command
KD Configuration – Not Supported.
Kf Set Present Distance – Replaces System Command Set Form Stop
Position.
KI & KO GPIO Configuration – Verify Format.
KM, KR, Set Memory Configuration - Not Supported. Default Configuration
KS, & KW will handle most applications. Use Operator Panel.
KQ Memory Configuration – Verify response format1 .

Table N-3 Extended-System Command Constraints

Label
Command Description
W Wait Mode (Prodigy) – Not Supported.
Z Zip Mode (Prodigy) – Not Supported.

Table N-4 Label Command Constraints

Internal Description
Font
9 (Ann) Smooth Internal CG Triumvirate Bitmap Font – 9. Referencing
the Font 9 to Smooth CG Triumvirate Fonts are automatically
converted to the CG Triumvirate Scalable Font. The printed scalable
font is slightly smaller than previous printers, measuring less than
1/16 inch over three inches of print. The Euro Currency symbol is
referenced as determined by the selected scalable font symbol set. See
Appendix E.
9 (S00) CG Triumvirate Bold Condensed Scalable Font.
9 (S01) CG Triumvirate Scalable Font – Standard.

Table N-5 Internal Font Constraints

Modules Description
Default When specifying a module that is not available, the printer will
automatically select the default module.

Table N-6 Module Constraints

1
Printer Response message format may deviate from older standard DPL Printers; we suggest the
program developer examine the printer responses in detail.

Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
17 Software Interface
Time Required/Notes

Materials

Teacher Activities
Ask student population if plan to use Visual Basic.

Student Activities
Listen

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
17.1 VB Application Generating DPL
Time Required/Notes

Materials
.\matrials\VB Apps\database interface\ frmslant.frm
Teacher Activities
This is a sample Visual Basic program that displays a database record on the screen. The
user can scroll through the records, then print the selected one. Five barcodes are printed
along with data fields and headings.

'Printer DPL Controls

Dim CharSet As String ‘<STX> byte
Const StartLabel = "L"
Const EndLabel = "E"
Const PrintDensity = "D11"

'Printer DPL Data to position dynamic information on label

Const OrderTxt = "191100704150010" ‘font 9, 24 pt
Const OrderBC = "1a6205004200120"
Const CustomerTxt = "191100603600010"

Const Item1NO = "191100403250010"

Const Item1BC = "1a6204002870010"
Const Item1Txt = "191100402690010"
Const Item1Qty = "191100603070260"

'DPL Fixed Items on label

Const Itm1 = "191100303400010Item #"

Const Qty1 = "191100303400250Quantity"

Const Boxsize = "B065035002002"

Const BoxPos1 = "1X1100003050240"
Const Image1 = "1Y3300004750010SLANT1"

Dim Fixed As String

'Item Variables
Dim Item1 As String
Dim PrintLabel As String
Dim OrderData As String

'Print label by clicking print button with the mouse

Private Sub cmdPrint_Click()

‘Concatenate all the dynamic data fields with the constant

header strings, terminated with <cr> Chr$(13)
OrderData = OrderTxt & txtOrderNo.Text & Chr$(13) &
OrderBC & txtOrderNo.Text & Chr$(13) & CustomerTxt &
txtCustomer.Text

Item1 = Item1NO & txtItem1.Text & Chr$(13) & Item1BC &

txtItem1.Text & Chr$(13) & Item1Txt & txtItem1Desc.Text &
Chr$(13) & Item1Qty & txtItem1Qty.Text

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 ‘Concatinate entire label format and send out serial port
PrintLabel = CharSet & MaxLength & Chr$(13) & CharSet &
StartLabel & Chr$(13) & PrintDensity & Chr$(13) & Image1 &
Chr$(13) & OrderData & Chr$(13) & Item1 & Chr$(13) & Fixed &
Chr$(13) & EndLabel
Comm1.Output = PrintLabel End Sub

‘Display the record form on the screen

Private Sub Form_Load()
Fixed = Itm1 & Chr$(13) & Chr$(13) & Qty1 & Chr$(13) &
Chr$(13) & BoxPos1 & Boxsize & Chr$(13)
CharSet = Chr$(126) ‘Alternate <stx> character ~
MComm.PortOpen = 1 ‘Open the serial port
End Sub

‘Exit the program by clicking Exit button with the mouse

Private Sub cmdExit_Click()
Comm1.PortOpen = 0 ‘Close down the serial port
End
End Sub

Student Activities
Listen and observe.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
17.2 VB Application interfacing via Windows Driver
Time Required/Notes

Materials
.\matrials\VB Apps\simple print\Form1.frm

Teacher Activities
This is a sample Visual Basic program that checks for a Datamax DMX-I-4206
printer driver installed. If one is installed then a barcode
is printed via the print driver.

Begin VB.Form Form1

Caption = "Form1"
ClientHeight = 3195
ClientLeft = 60
ClientTop = 345
ClientWidth = 4680
LinkTopic = "Form1"
ScaleHeight = 3195
ScaleWidth = 4680
StartUpPosition = 3 'Windows Default
Begin VB.CommandButton Command1
Caption = "Command1"
Height = 855
Left = 1440
TabIndex = 0
Top = 1080
Width = 1695
End
End
Attribute VB_Name = "Form1"
Attribute VB_GlobalNameSpace = False
Attribute VB_Creatable = False
Attribute VB_PredeclaredId = True
Attribute VB_Exposed = False
Option Explicit

Private Sub Command1_Click()

Dim X As Printer
‘ search for printer queue name / driver name
For Each X In Printers
If X.DeviceName = "Datamax DMX-I-4206" Then ‘printer found
' Set printer as system default.
Set Printer = X
Exit For
End If
Next

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 ‘Print the barcode if driver is selected
If Printer.DeviceName = "Datamax DMX-I-4206" Then
‘ font name as seen in application font list box
‘ if not found, driver will inform GDI to generate an
‘ image that will be downloaded
Printer.FontName = "CODE 39 3:1 x 3"
Printer.Print "0123456789"
Printer.EndDoc

MsgBox ("Font selected and data sent to printer [Datamax DMX-I-4206].")

Else
MsgBox ("Printer [Datamax DMX-I-4206] was not found!")
End If

End Sub

Student Activities
Listen and observe.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
18 Available Off the Shelf Software Packages
Time Required/Notes

Materials
Materials \seagull\output\arial.prn
Materials \seagull\output\box.prn
Materials \seagull\output\font9.prn
Materials \seagull\output\image.prn
Materials \seagull\output\line.prn

Teacher Activities

Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
18.1 Codesoft

Student Activities

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
18.2 Seagull Driver
Materials
Materials \seagull\output\arial.prn
Materials \seagull\output\box.prn
Materials \seagull\output\font9.prn
Materials \seagull\output\image.prn
Materials \seagull\output\line.prn

Teacher Activities
Seagull Driver can do internal bitmap fonts. All other objects rendered using downloaded
images .

Example of a Seagull driver output file:

ySW1 n M1500 O0110 V0 SO d D
L
D11
PK
pI
SO
A2
191100404810035doug
Q0001
E

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Printer Commands Comments
~ySW1 Windows symbo l set selection. Printer
default is PC-850. This selection effects
resident Font 9 on I-Class printers, as well
as scalable fonts on all printers. It ensures
that Windows TTF fonts downloaded will
print, provided the PC is configured for US
English. This may not work for locale
configurations.
~n Imperial units
~M0500 5” maximum label length. Printer default
is 16”. Values must be greater than one
label length. Two label lengths allow for
missing label.
~V0 Turn off optional hardware – cutter,
present sensor.
~SK Slew speed ranges and defaults are printer
specific. Default values recommended.
Redundant since command is also within
label format.
~L Label formatting command
D11
PK Print, Back, and Slew speeds ranges and
pE defaults are printer specific. Default
SK values recommended.
A2 Transparent print formatting, more
intuitive than A1 - XOR formatting.
1911S5000910002P010P010 Downloaded scalable font with ID S50
1911S0100860045P024P024doug Downloaded scalable font with ID S01
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Student observes output file and notices that the driver does not assume that the printer is set
up a certain way and sends most of the setup commands for every file. Note: The <stx>
character shows up differently for different editors and word processors. Sometimes it will
not show at all.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
18.3 Labelview
Teacher Activities
Note: this package uses <stx>, (0x02), for an attention getter only.
• LabelView can generate DPL for most all Datamax printer resident barcodes.
• The 2-d barcodes, PDF and Maxicode, allows selection between symbols generated by the
printer, or by the software .
• Code 128 auto subset switches are performed by the software.
• Labelview can do printer resident bitmap fonts, scalable fonts, box, line, barcode, non-
resident fonts and images are rendered using downloaded images.

Example of a Labelview file:

M3000
c0000
e
O0100
f145
D L
L
D11
PF
SF
H10
191100601260166doug
Q0001
E

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
 Printer Commands Comments
M300 20” maximum label length. Printer default is 16”.
Values must be greater than one label length. Two label
lengths allow for missing label.
c000 Gap label stock setup. c0000 must precede e. Printer
default is for Gap label stock.
O010 Start of print 1” from edge sensor. Printer specific
defaults recommended.
f14 Present distance 1.45” from edge. Printer specific.
Kfnnnn head relative easier for user to understand.
L Turn off SOH commands allowing for downloading
binary data. Not recommended unless download is
performed. Two successive SOH commands with 1 sec
time delay between required to re-enable SOH
commands.

D11
PK Print and Slew speeds ranges and defaults are printer
SK specific. Default values recommended.
H10 Heat ranges and defaults are printer specific. Default
values recommended.
191100701040147Doug
Q0001
E

Student Activities
Students install Labelview, create label with small image, print to file, edit file.

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
19 Evaluation of Acquired Knowledge
Time Required/Notes
25 Min.

Materials
Test form

Teacher Activities
Hand out test

Student Activities
Test

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved
20 Evaluation of Course
Time Required/Notes
15 Min.

Materials
Questionnaire form

Teacher Activities
Hand out questionnaire

Student Activities
Fill out and return

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© Copyright DATAMAX CORP. 2000 All Rights Reserved