3600 Printer Maintenance Manual
Functional Description of the 3600 Software
This section describes the basic software functionality of the 3600 printer.
Band Buffering and Font Caching
Image band buffering and font caching allow Intermec printers to image and print labels at the same time. Virtually any label length can be accommodated due to the circular system of using image memory. After an image band has printed, it is reused to image the next part of the label, which means the printer can print labels using less memory.
Image Band Buffering
Printer throughput is affected by the number of image bands and the print speed. If imaging is fast enough, throughput will be maximized by using the least number of image bands with the fastest speed (assuming the fastest speed delivers the desired print quality).
Some printers use a fixed size, contiguous portion of RAM for imaging. In these cases, a label is imaged in its entirety before printing commences. During printing, there is no contention with imaging, so the print speed can remain constant. However, if the label is fairly complex, the delay before printing becomes very noticeable. In addition, printing of the label must finish before a second label is imaged. The combination of these delays impede total printer throughput. Another drawback is that the maximum length of a label is limited by the size of the RAM.
With the use of image band buffers (1 band = 1 inch), labels are divided up and imaged band by band. Printing begins after the selected number of image bands is imaged, minimizing the delay before printing. Imaging of a second label can begin while a first is still printing. In addition, the length of a label is virtually unlimited.
With image band buffering, time becomes a critical resource since printing and imaging take place simultaneously. Sometimes, a label cannot be imaged fast enough to keep up with the print speed. The 3600 printer maintains a constant print speed regardless of label complexity.
Label throughput can be
Selecting too many image bands can lead to print delay. If too few image bands are selected, imaging falls behind the print speed. If imaging falls behind printing, the printer stops printing the label, sets the speed to 2 ips, sets the number of image bands to the maximum, and then reprints the label. This condition is known as an image rate error or an image overrun error.
