SP35 Printer Guide 553772-001 May 2003
Information resources for the SP35 Printer Installation To install the printer: To install one printer to a PC using a USB cable, see the Installation Map, shipped at the top of the printer carton. For detailed installation information or for special situations (such as network installation), see e-Guide/SP Series/SP_Info_Central.chm on the driver CD-ROM. Message Help If you see a message, click Help on the message box. Really! Help topics are short and to the point.
Contents About the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Loading cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Loading print ribbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Check the PC connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Status light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Opening Properties or Printing Preferences . . 13 Open the Printer Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Cleaning the printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Printer supplies . . . . . . .
Page 1 About the printer The outside of the printer Printer Cover. Latch: Lift the latch to open the printer cover. Card Tray: Lift the cover to load blank cards. Card output tray: Remove completed cards. Ready button: Push to pause or unpause the printer The status light helps you understand printer operation. See “Status light” on page 11 for details.
Ports are located on the left side of the printer. Manual Advance Knob: Use to release a card in the printer or to turn rollers. Power Receptacle: Plug in the power supply to power on the printer. Cable Guides: Hold the data cable securely. Optional Smart Card USB Port: See “Features and options” on page 4. Optional Smart Card Serial Port: See “Features and options” on page 4. USB Data Port: Connect the data cable to the printer. ALL printers use this port.
Page 3 The inside of the printer Cover Arm: Holds the cover and printhead cartridge in place. Printhead Cartridge: Applies the image to the card. The label includes ”YMC” for color or “K” for monochrome printheads. Print ribbon cartridge with print ribbon. Printer Label: Includes the serial number and model information (located on the left side of the printer and not visible in this drawing). Cleaning roller (not visible in this drawing): Removes dust and debris from cards.
Features and options Features and options are identified on the printer label. • Printers with “K” printing can print one color (monochrome). “C” printing is full-color printing. • All SP35 printers use a USB connection. • A magnetic stripe module can be a three-track (IAT) or singletrack (NTT or J) module. The optional magnetic stripe module is visible inside the printer. • An optional smart card module can be one of the following: • Contact coupler (SC430 on the label): Visible inside the printer.
Page 5 Loading cards 1 Lift the card tray door until it rests open. 2 Remove cards from the original package. Tips: Handling cards Do not touch the surface of cards before printing them. (Oils on hands will reduce printing quality.) Handle cards by the edges or wear gloves. Cards can stick together: Slide or fan cards to separate the edges. Orient all unprinted cards the same way.
3 Place the cards in the card tray. The diagram shows the typical locations for the magnetic stripe and smart card chip. 4 Close the card tray door. Push the door closed to align cards. Magnetic stripe Smart card chip See SP35 Info Central for information about cards to use in the printer.
Page 7 Loading print ribbon 1 Open the printer. 2 Remove the ribbon cartridge with the used ribbon. 3 Remove both used ribbon spools from the cartridge. Tips: Handling print ribbon Keep unused ribbon in the original package. Don’t place ribbon on a dusty or dirty surface–dirt could damage the printhead. 4 Run a cleaning card and replace the cleaning sleeve at the same time that you load a new print ribbon. See “Cleaning the printer” on page 17 for the steps to follow.
6 Replace the loaded ribbon cartridge in the printer. • Make sure both spindles rest in the black supports on the left side of the printer. • Make sure the ribbon cartridge handle rests in the supports on the right side of the printer. • Make sure to install the full, new spool toward the card tray of the printer. 7 Close the printer cover. Press down firmly to latch it.
Page 9 Check the PC connection The printer and PC are connected when the printer is set up. Before beginning card processing, make sure the connection is complete. PC The USB data cable should be connected to a USB port on the PC and to the USB data port on the printer. The printer can be connected in these other ways: Through a direct network connection, where the printer is connected to a network (using a print server) and the PC is connected to the same network.
Power on the printer Plug in the printer to power it on. The printer does not have a power switch. 1 Make sure the power supply cord connects to the printer power receptacle (1). 2 Connect the power cord to the power supply (2). 3 Connect the power cord to the power outlet (3). 4 The printer powers on and initializes. Tips for printer power Wait while the printer initializes. The printer Status Light displays steady green when the printer is ready to print cards. See “Status light” for details.
Page 11 Status light The front of the printer has a light that provides information about the current state of the printer. At startup, the status light displays steady amber for several seconds, the red-amber-green sequence, and blinking green for several seconds. When the printer is ready to print, the status light is steady green. Status Light Description Meaning Red-Amber-Green The printer is starting. The light displays colors while the printer initializes.
Status Light Description Meaning Blinking Amber The printer has an error. Check the following: • See the PC for a message. • If you used the Power-on/Ready sequence to print a test card, check the printer for problems. • If you changed the printer name, power the PC off and on. Steady Red The printer has a problem that requires service or the printer had a power-on problem. Power the printer off and on before calling for service. Off The printer power is off.
Page 13 Opening Properties or Printing Preferences Begin with the printer connected to the PC and powered on so values are saved correctly. 1 Choose Start from the Windows task bar. 2 Choose Settings and then Printers (and Faxes). The Printers (and Faxes) window opens. 3 Click once on the SmartDriver printer icon to select it. • The driver must be installed for the printer icon to be present. • SmartDriver is the default name of the printer. The name of your printer might be different.
5 The dialog box opens. 6 View settings or change settings. • Make sure that driver settings match printer features and supplies used. • The Print Ribbon Type setting depends on the printer and cannot be changed. • If you change the card design, review and update all settings for the new card design. • Use the default settings of “Spool printing so program finishes printing faster.” and “Enable bi-directional support.” 7 Choose OK to save and close or choose Cancel to close without saving changes.
Page 15 Open the Printer Toolbox The Printer Toolbox icon is located in the lower right corner of the Windows desktop. The icon shows the status of communication between the printer and driver. See SP35 Info Central for details about the icon. By default, the Printer Toolbox dialog box is displayed. If it is not, do one of the following to display it: • Double-click the icon. • Open the Properties or Printing Preferences dialog, and click Printer Toolbox.
The Printer Toolbox displays: • The current state of communication between the driver and printer. • Message text, if there are any messages. • The current port mode, which can be USB, Shared Mode, or Directly Networked. • The printer type. • The driver and printer firmware version numbers. Communication automatically resumes when you print a card, or when you open the Properties or Printing Preferences dialog box.
Page 17 Cleaning the printer Run a cleaning card and change the cleaning sleeve when changing the print ribbon. 1 Open the printer cover and remove the ribbon cartridge. 2 Remove the replaceable cleaning roller. 3 Open the card tray door (1). 4 Remove unprinted cards from the card tray (2). 5 Open the Printer Toolbox (if needed, see page 15). Make sure that all cards are printed so the Clean Printer button is enabled. 6 Click the Clean Printer button. A prompt to insert the cleaning card appears.
10 Slide the used cleaning sleeve off the spindle. 11 Place a new cleaning sleeve on the spindle (1). 12 Remove the protective cover from the sleeve (2). 13 Insert the replaceable cleaning roller (with a new cleaning sleeve) into the printer (3). 14 Replace the ribbon cartridge, close the printer cover, and resume printing. 15 Discard the used cleaning card and used sleeve. Cleaning tips Use the cleaning card as soon as you open the package.
Page 19 Printer supplies Ribbon kits and cleaning supplies are available for the printer. Ribbon kits contain a roll of print ribbon, a cleaning card, and a replaceable cleaning sleeve. Datacard recommends that you run a cleaning card and replace the cleaning sleeve each time you change the print ribbon. Color print ribbon Color print ribbon is available as part of the YMCKT Color Ribbon Kit, part number 552854-504. A roll of ribbon prints up to 500 images.
Available colors include: Color Part number Black 552954-501 Dark Blue 552954-502 White 552954-503 Red 552954-504 Silver 552954-507 Scratch-off 552954-513 Cleaning supplies Datacard recommends that you order additional cleaning supplies to have on hand to address unusual situations. A package of 5 replaceable cleaning sleeves is available. The part number is 549716-002. A package of 10 cleaning cards is available. The part number is 552141-002.
Page 21 Getting the most out of your printer To get the best quality cards and to maintain printer performance, follow these tips for success: • Use the best quality cards available with a smooth, glossy PVC surface and print them only once. Make sure options, such as a mylar signature panel or a magnetic stripe, are high quality. • Match the card design and the supplies you use to obtain the results you want.
– Do not apply topcoat over a magnetic stripe, signature panel, or smart card chip. • Follow instructions carefully when replacing supplies, correcting problems, cleaning the printer, and replacing parts. • Use the correct cables and connect them correctly. • Keep supplies on hand and store them safely. • Keep the printer clean and keep the area around the printer clean.
Page 23 Troubleshooting What is the problem? Try this: 1 A message appeared on the PC. • Click the Help button on the message box. The help topic describes possible causes and the solution for each cause. Follow the information in help to fix the problem. 2 The printed cards do not look the • You might have moved the ribbon while the printer was powered off. The next card will print correctly. SP35 Info Central contains detailed information about solving card appearance problems.
What is the problem? 5 The printer does not respond when I print a card or when I click “Resume” on the Printer Toolbox. Try this: • • • • • 6 The printer cover will not close. • • • • Make sure the printer is plugged in. See “Power on the printer” on page 10. Make sure the printer is connected to the PC. See “Check the PC connection” on page 9. If the Status Light on the printer is blinking amber (orange), press the Ready button for 5-7 seconds.
Page 25 Site requirements Operating environment • Relative humidity: 20% to 80% non-condensing • Temperature: 60° F to 95° F (15° C to 35° C) Electrical requirements • The power supply is rated at 100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz, 1.0 amp. (The power supply adjusts to any power within this range.) • Single phase, 3-wire, grounded receptacle only. Physical requirements • The printer weighs less than 9 pounds (4 kg). The weight depends on the options installed. • Printer dimensions are 16.
Legal Notices (FCC) Please note and heed the WARNING and CAUTION labels that have been placed on the equipment for your safety. Please do not attempt to operate or repair this equipment without adequate training. Liability statement This Datacard® product has been built to the high standards of DataCard Corporation. See SP35 Info Central for the statement of liability. Regulatory compliance This Datacard product conforms to FCC and regulatory requirements as specified in North America and Europe.
11111 Bren Road West Minnetonka, MN 55343-9015 952.933.1223 952.933.7971 FAX www.datacard.com Dealer information: Datacard is a registered trademark of DataCard Corporation.
