IBM EasyCoder 3400e Communication Problems and Preventing Data Loss, Symptom, Possible Causes

Troubleshooting 4

Print Quality Problems (continued)

Symptom	Possible Causes
Print quality is	Media may be slipping against the
poor. (continued)	platen roller causing the printing to
	compress.
The printer skips	The label format extends beyond the
labels randomly or	label length.
sends an
intermittent error.

Solution

Switch to approved media or clean the printhead and platen roller as described in Chapter 3, “Maintaining the Printer.”

Edit the format to ensure that the text fits on the label.

Continuous	The label mark sensor is not in the
empty/pause fault	correct position.
light (yellow LED).

Properly position the label mark sensor. For help, see “Adjusting the Label Mark Sensor” in Chapter 5.

Communication Problems and Preventing Data Loss

If your printer is not receiving downloaded data, try the solutions in the accompanying table.

Symptom Possible Causes Solution

Printer does not	Serial port is incorrectly configured.
communicate with
the host.

Make sure the printer’s serial port settings match those of the host. Print a software test configuration label as described in Chapter 1 to check the serial port settings.

Damaged or incorrect I/O cable.

Check the connections at both ends or replace the cable. See Appendix C for cable information.

Several problems can cause data loss or communication problems on the printer. Data loss can result in printing errors or missing field data.

Your printer is a serial ASCII device. It communicates with the host through an ASCII serial communication I/O port. Hardware handshaking involves the use of a hardware wire. Software handshaking involves a two-way datalink between the devices. The two devices communicate with each other without losing data through the use of handshaking. The printer sends both forms of handshaking simultaneously when the printer’s input buffer is full. Any loss of data can cause printing errors.

4-7