B
Appendix B—Application Notes
B-2 SV60970-OG Rev. A

-2

Fixed-head printers differ from shuttle-head printers
in a few very important ways. The DA900 is a fixed-
head printer with six print heads that operate on four
bands. Each print head is able to print 1/2 inch of
your layout. Therefore, the DA900 is able to print a
total of three inches of text and/or graphics.
This differs from shuttle-head printers, which are able
to print your entire envelope layout. The trade-off in
print area is improved speed. By fixing the location of
the print heads, printing can occur at a high speed as
media is moved under the heads.
Designing an envelope layout for the DA900 also im-
poses different requirements than those associated
with a typical shuttle-head printer. With the three-
inch printable area spread across six heads, it is criti-
cal that you think about what information must be
placed where on the mailpiece. In this regard, Enve-
lope Designer™ Plus, which is furnished with the
printer, is an excellent tool that can help you layout
the mailpiece within the limitations imposed by a
fixed-head printer.
By default, heads 4 and 5 are permanently attached
to each another, as are heads 2 and 3. Heads 1 and 6
are independent, with independent bands. Thus, the
six heads print the information contained in four
“bands”. In this configuration, the DA900 has two 1-
inch bands, and two 1/2 inch bands.
The envelope layout editor in Envelope Designer™
Plus attempts to duplicate the physical layout and
limitations of the DA900 printer. For example, while
you may overlay bands 1 and 2 (since they are on
separate rails on the printers), you cannot overlay or
place band 1 “under” band 4—since heads 1 and 6
are on the same rail.

Fixed-Head Versus

Shuttle Head

Printers

Printheads and

Bands