EZ-LP Desktop Label Printer USER’S MANUAL EZLP-UG00000 Rev B 03/30/2009
Copyright © 2009, CognitiveTPG CognitiveTPG™ and EZ-LP™ are trademarks of ATSI Holdings, Inc. Microsoft® and Windows™ are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. EPL is a Zebra trademark and ZPL is a registered trademark of ZIH Corp. Other product and corporate names used in this document may be trademarks or registered trademarks of other companies, and are used only for explanation and to their owner’s benefit, without intent to infringe.
Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction........................................................................................4 Welcome.......................................................................................................4 Package Contents......................................................................................4 Operating Environment...........................................................................4 Printer Feature Overview...........................................
Chapter 1: Introduction Welcome Congratulations on the purchase of a CognitiveTPG EZ-LP desktop label printer. With its durable design, the EZ-LP provides professional quality direct thermal label printing and performance. CognitiveTPG is committed to providing a reliable product and user experience. This User’s Manual provides information on how to install the printer and includes all necessary user support information.
Printer Feature Overview Front/Rear View D A H D B C E Front View F G Rear View - Serial/USB Model D D I H J E F Rear View - Ethernet/USB Model Component A - Power Indicator B - Ready Indicator C - Feed Button D - On/Off Switch E - Power Connector F - USB B Port G - USB A Port H - Serial Port I - Parallel Port J - Ethernet Port G E F G Rear View - Serial/Parallel/USB Model Function Indicates power status ON – printer on and ready to print OFF- no power applied Indicates printer st
Inside View A C B C C D C D Component A - Printhead B - Platen Roller C - Printhead Latches D - Media Guide 6 Function Printing mechanism Friction feed printing surface Latches for printhead mechanism Holds and guides label roll
Chapter 2: Printer Installation Setting up the EZ-LP Printer Connecting the Interface and Power Cables IMPORTANT! PRIOR TO CONNECTING ANY INTERFACE CABLE AND POWER CABLE TO PRINTER, MAKE SURE PRINTER IS OFF. POWER OFF 1. Make sure power switch is OFF 2. Connect power cable to AC adapter 3. Connect the AC adapter to the power connector on the printer 4. Plug the power cable into an AC outlet 5. Connect the interface cable to the rear of the printer.
CAUTION! CAUTION: DO NOT TOUCH PRINTHEAD. ELECTROSTATIC DISCHARGE (ESD) FROM THE HUMAN BODY OR OTHER OBJECTS CAN DAMAGE PRINTHEAD. PLEASE USE STATICSAFE PROCEDURES WHEN WORKING WITH PRINTHEAD. PRINTHEAD MAY BE HOT AFTER PRINTING. ! Loading Media NOTE: USE ONLY COGNITIVETPG APPROVED MEDIA. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON COGNITIVETPG APPROVED SUPPLIES, CONTACT US AT 800-732-8950 or at cognitivetpg.com. 8 1. Unpack and prepare outward wound or inward wound media for installation into printer. 2.
5. Guide media through opening under printhead mechanism. Keep media face up. 6. Adjust right side media holder to match width of media. Click! 7. Place media roll on media holders by flexing out media holders and positioning plastic protrusions into media roll core. 9. Lower dust cover and continue to Self-Testing. 8. Make sure media is face-up out of front of printer and securely latch printhead closed.
Self-Testing: NOTE: AFTER PRINTING A SELFTEST, PRINTER IS IN HEXIDECIMAL DUMP MODE. CYCLE PRINTER’S POWER TO RETURN TO NORMAL OPERATION. 2 1 1. ON Press and hold the feed button while turning printer ON. 2. Release feed button when printing begins and printer will conduct a selftest and print a configuration label. ON OFF 3. 10 Power OFF printer to end hexadecimal dump mode. 4.
Chapter 3: Installing the EZ-LP Important! if baud rate between host system and EZ-LP are not equal, printer will not print. EZ-LP default baud rate is 9600 and default serial port settings are 9600 baud, 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit. Installing Printer via Serial, Parallel, or USB as a Replacement for Legacy Printer 1. Print configuration label or record your current printer’s settings, including the driver port setting. 2. Power off your current desktop label printer and disconnect interface cable. 3.
11. Select Use the following port: and choose the appropriate Serial, Parallel or USB port, then click Next. 12. Select the printer model you are replacing from the available list of printers and click Next. 13. Select Keep existing driver (recommended) and click Next.
14. Provide a Printer name: and select if the EZ-LP will be the default printer then click Next. 15. Select Do not share this printer then click Next. 16. Select No when asked Do you want to print a test page? then click Next. IMPORTANT! IF BAUD RATE BETWEEN HOST SYSTEM AND EZ-LP ARE NOT EQUAL, THE PRINTER WILL NOT PRINT. EZ-LP DEFAULT BAUD RATE IS 9600. 17. Select Finish to complete the installation of the EZ-LP printer.
Chapter 4: Installing CognitiveTPG Printer Administrator and Print Drivers NOTE: INSTALLING COGNITIVETPG PRINTER ADMINISTRATOR WILL ALSO LOAD PRINT DRIVERS FOR COGNITIVETPG LABEL PRINTERS. COGNITIVETPG PRINTER ADMINISTRATOR UTILITY IS VERY USEFUL FOR CONFIGURING, TROUBLESHOOTING AND UPDATING THE EZ-LP PRINTER. CognitiveTPG Printer Administrator is a Java based utility designed for installation on various operating system platforms.
Windows® Driver Installation Installing Printer via USB 1. Connect the printer via the USB cable to the host system and the Found New Hardware Wizard will appear. Select No, not at this time and click Next. 2. Select Install from a list or specific location (Advanced), and click Next. 3. Select Include this location in the search, and then click the Browse button. Select the location: C:\Program Files\Cognitive\Drivers and click Next.
4. The applicable CognitiveTPG driver for your printer will be installed. 5. Click Finish to complete installation.
CognitiveTPG Printer Administrator Utility Connection Settings Connecting Via USB 1. Select the System Printer Connection radio dial. 2. Select the appropriate printer from the Printer Name drop down menu. 3. Click Connect. NOTE: WHEN PRINTER IS PROPERLY CONNECTED, COGNITIVETPG PRINTER ADMINISTRATOR WILL DISPLAY CONNECTED IN A GREEN BOX IN UPPER RIGHT CORNER. Note: THE EZ-LP DEFAULT BAUD RATE IS 9600.
Connecting Via Serial 1. Select the Use Serial Connection radio dial. 2. Select the Com port to which the printer is connected. 3. Select the printer’s baud rate setting. HELPFUL TIP: PRINT A SELF TEST TO DETERMINE PRINTER’S CURRENT SETTINGS. A SELF TEST CAN BE PERFORMED BY HOLDING THE FEED BUTTON WHILE TURNING PRINTER POWER ON. CONTINUE TO HOLD THE FEED BUTTON UNTIL SELF TEST PRINTS. Connecting Via Ethernet 1. Select the Use Network Connection radio dial. 2.
No-Media Timeout The no media timeout value represents the number of inches of media fed through the printer without detecting an index mark prior to reporting an error. EXAMPLE: IF NO MEDIA TIMEOUT IS SET TO 12, THE PRINTER WILL CONTINUE TO FEED 12 INCHES OF MEDIA WITHOUT DETECTING AN INDEX MARK BEFORE REPORTING AN ERROR. Debug Report Level Specifies the method by which the printer reports error. Values: • None = Turns error reporting Off.
Media Adjust Adjust the sharpness of the leading edge of printed text or rotated barcodes. Media Adjust range = 0 to 3. Pitch The pitch represents the dots per inch (dpi) setting for the printer. Values: 100 or 200 for 200 dpi printers Darkness The Darkness value adjusts the print darkness. Darkness range: -200 to 800 NOTE: THE FACTORY DEFAULT FOR DARKNESS IS 0. Primary Language Selects the primary command language the printer uses.
NOTE: WHEN TIME IS SET TO 0 THE LABEL WILL REMAIN ADVANCED UNTIL THE NEXT LABEL IS PRINTED. Auto Recalibration Check and Apply Enable Auto Recalibration and the printer will automatically attempt to recalibrate in the event an index mark is not detected. Auto Top Of Form Check and Apply Enable Automatic TOF and the printer will feed a label when the printer is turned ON or the printhead is latched. Indexing Indexing indicates to the printer the index type of the media being used.
Top of Form Adjust Top of Form (TOF) sets the top of the label with relation to the print head. Increasing the TOF value moves the printed text down the label. Decrease the TOF setting to move the printed test up the label. Shift Left Shift left moves the printed image left across the label. Fonts and Objects The Fonts and Objects tab lists the Fonts, Formats and Graphics currently stored in the printer. Loading Fonts and Objects 1. Select the Fonts and Objects tab. 2.
Profile Management Manage the settings of the EZ-LP using the Profile Management section of CognitiveTPG Printer Administrator. Profile Management displays a list of the printer’s current variable settings. Obtaining Printers Current Profile 1. Select the Profile Management tab in CognitiveTPG Printer Administrator. 2. Click the Get Printer’s Current Profile button. Saving the Current Printer’s Profile 1. Select the Profile Management tab in CognitiveTPG Printer Administrator. 2.
Firmware Upgrade 1. Select the Firmware Upgrade tab. CAUTION! TURNING THE PRINTER OFF DURING FIRMWARE INSTALLATION COULD DAMAGE THE PRINTER. NOTE: If your computer is connected to the internet, use the “get latest firmware from cognitivetpg” button. This action will also load current fonts. Update will take a few minutes. 2. Click the Select Firmware File button. 3. Select the appropriate Firmware file and click Ok. 4. Click the Update Firmware button.
Chapter 5: Advanced EZ-LP Features Making Configurations Changes Using DOS Commands 1. Power off your current desktop label printer and disconnect the communication cable. 2. Connect Power supply to EZ-LP and plug into wall. Do NOT turn on EZ-LP at this time. 3. Connect preferred interface cable to EZ-LP and connect to PC. 4. Turn on the EZ-LP printer. 5. Open a text file editor such as Notepad; START > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad. 6. Type in the desired code (see examples below) and save the file.
For Parallel connection the interface is typically “LPT1” For Ser/Com connection the interface is typically “com1” 8. Hit “Enter” on your computer keyboard to send the settings file to the printer. NOTE: CHANGING VARIABLE PRINTER SETTINGS WITH THE USB FLASH DRIVE REQUIRES USE OF THE COGNITIVE PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE. EZ-LP WILL NOT PRINT CPL LABEL FORMATS BUT WILL RECOGNIZE CPL BASED PRINTER SETTING COMMANDS. FOR MORE INFO ON PROGRAMMING WITH CPL PLEASE REFERENCE THE CPL PROGRAMMERS GUIDE.
Chapter 6: Cleaning and Maintenance IMPORTANT! DISCONNECT POWER PRIOR TO CLEANING THE EZ-LP. For optimal printhead performance CognitiveTPG recommends cleaning the interior components (printhead, platen roller, media sensor, peel bar (if installed), ribbon, and media paths) every 20,000 inches (508 m). The thermal printhead should be cleaned every 5,000 inches if pre-printed labels are used.
Chapter 7: Troubleshooting & Default Settings Use the chart below for troubleshooting your EZ-LP printer prior to contacting Technical Support. If you are unable to resolve the problem using the chart below, please contact our Technical Support.
The EZ-LP ships with the following default settings: Parameter Programming Language Default Setting Auto (automatically detects and sets to EcPL or ZcPL) Speed 5 ips (127 mm/s) Label Width 432 (4.32 inches or 110 mm) Label Length Measure label (automatically measures and sets label length at power up) Indexing Type Gap Reference Point 0,0 (upper left corner) Auto Top of Form On Enable Label Present On Advance Label 25 (0.25” or 6.4 mm) Retract Label 25 (0.25” or 6.
