Running Auto Calibrate - Printronix SL5000 User Manual

Chapter 2
Printing Adjustments
Calibrating The Media Sensors
Due to manufacturing differences in media and ribbon, the media sensors
may have difficulty differentiating between the label and the liner or the label
and the black mark. When this occurs, the printer may intermittently skip a
label or display a fault message such as "GAP NOT DETECTED/See Manual"
or "PAPER OUT/Load Paper."
Media sensor sensitivity and reliability can be improved by changing the
Gap/Mark Threshold and/or Paper Out Threshold values. You can change
these values automatically by performing the Auto Calibrate or Manual
Calibrate procedure in the CALIBRATE CTRL menu or change them manually
by entering your own Gap/Mark Threshold or Paper Out Threshold values.
(The changes take effect immediately within the current configuration menu.)
Auto or Manual Calibrate is completed successfully when the displayed
Sensed Distance value correctly matches that of the installed media. When
Gap is selected, the Sensed Distance should match the length from the
trailing edge of one gap to the trailing edge of the next gap (or one label + one
gap). When Mark is selected, the Sensed Distance should match the length
from the leading edge of one black mark to the leading edge of the next black
mark.
When you have completed Auto or Manual Calibrate, you can verify the new
values are correct by pressing the FEED key several times. Each time you
press FEED, media advances one label and stops at the correct Top-of-Form
position of the next label.
Once you confirm the correct values, save them to the desired configuration
menu before powering off the printer. See "Saving A Configuration" on
page 88.

Running Auto Calibrate

You can initiate Auto Calibrate via the TEST PRINT key (described in detail
below) or via the CALIBRATE CTRL or DIAGNOSTIC menus in Menu mode.
NOTE: Verify that the Gap/Mark Sensor option (Gap, Mark, Advanced Gap,
72
Advanced Notch, or Disable) matches the installed media. See
"Sensing Different Media Types" on page 71.
Check that the media sensors are horizontally positioned to permit
sensing of the label length indicators. See "Positioning The Media
Sensors" on page 66.
Make sure the Label Length value entered in the QUICK SETUP
menu matches the physical length of the installed media. Entering the
correct length forces the printer to advance media far enough during
calibrate for long labels (so actual gaps, notches, and marks can be
detected) and reduce the amount of media advanced for short labels.
If you try to do an Auto Calibrate when Peel-Off Media Handling is
enabled, the LCD will display "CANNOT CALIBRATE/Disable Peel-
Off." Before you can do an Auto Calibrate, you must select another
media handling mode.