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PROCEDURES CL408 and CL412
ADJUSTING THE PRINT QUALITY
The CL4XX printers are equipped with two different methods of adjusting the quality
of the print: print darkness and speed. When adjusting the printer for optimum print
quality, a bar code verifier system should be used. The human eye is a poor judge of
the relative widths of the bars in a symbol, a characteristic that is extremely
important for good bar code quality.
Darkness (Print)
This adjustment allows the user to control (within a specified range) the amount of
power that is used to activate the individual print head heat elements. It is important
to find a proper print darkness level based on your particular label and ribbon
combination. The printed images should not be too light nor should the ink from the
ribbon “bleed.” The edges of each image should be crisp and well defined.
The Print Darkness can be set using the front panel LCD panel (see page 2-16) or by
downloading the setting using the Print Darkness software command (see page 4-58).
There are five ranges, 1 , 2, 3, 4 and 5, with setting 1 giving the lightest print and 5
the darkest print . Once the range has
been selected, the PRINT
Potentiometer on the front panel can
be used to make finer adjustments.
PRINT Potentiometer
The fine adjustment for Print Darkness
is the PRINT potentiometer on the
operator panel. It provides a
continuous range of adjustment,
allowing you to make precise changes.
Use a small cross-point screwdriver,
turning clockwise for darker print and
counterclockwise for lighter print. See
Section 2: Installation and
Configuration for instructions on
performing potentiometer adjustments.
NOTE: The PRINT potentiometer adjustment will affect the darkness in all of the
command code speed ranges, i.e. if the PRINT potentiometer is adjusted for lighter
print, the darkness will be lighter in all speed ranges selected by the command code.
Print Speed
The other method of controlling print quality is by controlling the speed at which the
label is printed. This adjustment is made only on an individual label basis using the
either the Print Speed command code or the CL4XX LCD display panel. For more
details on this command, see page 4-62 in Section 4: Programming. Changing the
print speed allows the user to control the amount of time allowed for print element
cooling before the media is stepped to the next print position. It is especially critical
Section 3: Cleaning and Maintenance
SATOCLSeriesPrinters9001035Rev.EPage3-7