Printronix Options

Printronix Options may be label-specific or printer-specific. Label Specific Options (LSOs) can be accessed when you click on the Label Options button from the Label Setup and Properties dialog (F5). Printer Specific Options (PSOs) can be accessed by clicking on the Options button while configuring the printer or by selecting the printer from the Device Configuration grid and clicking on the Options button. (Printronix RFID options are also described in this section.)

Printronix Label Specific Options

Label Options Section

Print Speed (IPS)	The range of available print speeds in inches per second (IPS) varies with the selected printer type. Note that the printer may use a slower print speed than you specify in order to maintain print quality.
Slew Rate (IPS)	This setting affects the speed in inches per second (IPS) at which the paper is fed when advancing over non-printing areas. This setting may affect printer throughput.
Darkness	This allows you to control the darkness of the print. -3 is nominal; setting the temperature higher than -3 causes the label to print darker. Temperature settings lower than -3 cause the label to print lighter. The valid values range from -15 to 15.
Format Number	Specifies the areas of RAM in which the label format is to be stored. The valid values are 1-100.
Print Quality	This setting only applies to the P5000 Series line matrix printers and is somewhat similar to the darkness control on the thermal transfer printers. § Best - prints the darkest images, but at the slowest speed. § High - prints at a faster speed than Best, but the characters are not as dark. § Data Processing - This mode should be set if the highest speed is desired, printing is not as dark as High.

Label Overrides Section

Symbol Set	§ Use Printer Symbol Set – Label uses settings from Printer Specific Options. § User Defined – Label uses an added CodePage. § Other Symbol Sets (Arabic to Turkish)
Send Options	§ Use Printer Setup - Label uses settings from Printer Specific Options (PSO). § No – Overrides any Send Options set in PSO, nothing set. § Yes – Overrides Do Not Send Option in PSO
Cutter	Enables cutter for this label only.
Cut Interval	Sets Cut Interval for this label only.

Printronix Printer Specific Options

Since none of the printer options are sent from Loftware, the Printer must be properly configured through its front panel for this to work. Be sure to enable HOST FORM LENGTH on the printer.

Media Options Section

Stock Type
(Gap Sense)

This option specifies the method used to detect the media top.

§ Advanced Gap Stock - Media being used has liner gaps between die cut labels with black background.

§ Advanced Notch Stock – Media being used has notches or holes that interrupt a black vertical line on the underside of the media.

§ Continuous Stock - Continuous media with no black stripe and no gap is being used.

§ Die Cut Stock - Media with a space or “gap” between die cut labels is being used, where the media backing or liner is present between labels. Also for media with pre-punched notches or holes.

§ Mark Stock - Media with a horizontal black stripe on the backside of the liner is being used.

Media Type
(Print Mode)

§ Direct - Direct Thermal type of printing (no ribbon) requires special heat sensitive media.

§ Transfer - Thermal Transfer type of printing (ribbon installed).

Media Handling

This option specifies how the printer handles the media.

§ Continuous operation - Printer prints on the media and sends it out the front.

§ Cut Each Label - Media is cut after printing each page (requires optional cutter).

§ Peel-Off - Prints and peels die-cut labels from the liner without assistance. The printer waits for you to take away the label before printing the next one. The label backing is rewound on the internal rewinder. A “LABEL PRESENT/Remove Label” message reminds you to remove the label before the next one can be printed.

§ Tear-Off - After each label is printed, the printer positions the label over the tear-off bar and waits for you to tear-off the label before printing the next one. A “LABEL PRESENT/Remove Label” message reminds you to remove the label before the next one can be printed.

§ Tear-Off Strip - Printer prints on the media and sends it out the front until the print buffer is empty, then positions the last label over the tear-off bar for removal.

Forms Control Section

Cut Interval	Sets the printer to cut after the specified number of pages (requires optional cutter).
Tear Off Pause Count	Sets the printer to pause after the specified number of pages. The paper must be completely torn before the printer resumes normal operation.
Offline Pause Count	Sets the printer to pause (offline) after the specified number of physical pages printed.
Auto Eject Labels	Specifies whether the printer ejects the last page of a job if the page is not full.
	When this setting is checked, the printer ejects the last page after the entire job has been processed and printed. By default, this setting is deselected; the printer does not eject the last page unless you send a Page Eject command or until the printer receives another print job.
Form Feed at Top of Form	Specifies whether the printer performs a Form Feed when a Form Feed command is received and the printer is already at the Top of Form.
	When this setting is checked, the printer advances media from the present Top of Form position to the next Top of Form position upon receipt of a Form Feed command, causing a blank form. The factory default is Enable. When this setting is deselected, the printer does not advance media from the present Top of Form position to the next Top of Form position upon receipt of a Form Feed command.
Host Form Length	Determines how the physical label size is affected upon an EXECUTE command.
The physical label length changes to match the form length (defined in CREATE mode). The physical label size remains at the new setting until another EXECUTE command is received, or the PRINTER CONTROL menu settings are changed. The factory default is Enable. Forms printed in EXECUTE mode do not change the physical label size. Therefore, the size of the form (defined in CREATE mode) must fit within the current label dimensions, or errors may occur.

Note: Changing the form length via the EXECUTE command changes the ASCII Emulation logical dimensions.

Field Options Section

Print UPC Descenders

This parameter allows you to print bar code descenders when human readable data is not present in the UPC/EAN bar codes

§ Always - UPC/EAN bar codes are printed with descenders, even if there is no human readable data.

§ With HR Enabled - UPC/EAN bar codes are printed with descenders only when the Human Readable text field is enabled.

Force Uppercase

When checked, any lower case data supplied for text fields are converted to uppercase. When unchecked, lower case data supplied for text fields print in lowercase.

Slashed Zeros

This option applies to all character sets except OCR A and OCR B. When checked, zeros are printed with a slash. When unchecked, zeros are printed without a slash.

Advanced Options Section

Symbol Set

Accesses one of the printer’s internal multinational or international character sets.

Note: See the Templates and Wizards chapter for further information on this.

Error Report	This option sets the error reporting capability of the printer. § Debug - Puts the printer in debug mode whenever a label format is defined. Each line of the format is printed along with any printer language errors. § Fault – If a printer language error occurs, the error is printed on the media, the message “IGP Error” is displayed on the front panel, and then the printer goes offline. The error must be cleared before the printer can resume normal operation. § Off – The printer does no physical boundary checking whatsoever. Fields are clipped if they are beyond the page boundaries. § On - Full physical boundary checking is performed. Any field that falls off the current page is reported as an error.
PPM/PMU	PPM = Printronix Printer Manager – Printronix version, only works with Printronix printers PMU = Print Manager Utility – IBM version, only works with IBM printers
	The PPM/PMU is a program that provides status and control of multiple printers of the associated type on a network. To use this Loftware feature, enter the IP Address of the computer where the PPM/PMU is running, and click the Browse button. This feature assumes you have a browser on your system and that the PPM/PMU is running on the PC whose IP Address is displayed. If you are successful, a login screen is displayed where you can enter your credentials and configure the system. Refer to your Printronix Manual for information on the actual workings of the PPM/PMU. The IP Address is persistent across all IBM/Printronix printers; each time you enter any IBM / Printronix PSO dialog, the display reflects whatever was typed in that box the last time the IBM/Printronix PSO dialog was closed.
Don’t Send Options	When this is checked, Loftware does not send any PSOs or LSOs to the printer. This is useful if you have an older printer or a printer with an older emulation that does not support one or more of the current commands that Loftware sends.

Custom Command Section

The Custom Command box allows you to add additional commands to the data stream that is sent to the printer. Please consult your IGP/PGL manual for custom command syntax.

Note: The custom command is sent after the ~CONFIG command and before the ~CREATE command.

Printronix RFID Options Section

This section applies to Printronix RFID printers.

Use Label or Printer Options	This allows you to use either the Label Specific Options settings or those set in Printer Specific Options (PSO).
Single Protocol Firmware	Changes in firmware affect the commands that the printer accepts. Check this box if your firmware is single protocol.
Send Options to Printer	This will use the currently selected options.
Tag Type	Auto Detect determines the tag type. Select “No Tags” if none is available.
Passcode Write Retries	Number of passcode write retries.