Advance the Ribbon

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Copyright

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The objectives of this lesson are shown here.

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During power up initialization and whenever the swing arm is opened and closed, the
antenna board receives information from the Ribbon RFID Tag that allows it to
identify the ribbon as one of the proprietary ribbon types. Ribbons that are not from
Entrust Datacard will not work in this printer. The Ribbon Index sensor and the
reflective surface on the Thermal Print Head are used to detect the ribbon’s K Panel.
This is used to properly position the print ribbon.

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Ribbon Drive components are shown here as well as the Ribbon Takeup Encoder
Sensor. This sensor and encoder are used for precise ribbon movement during
printing. The gear on the ribbon motor drives the gear portion of the Encoder. The
Encoder drives the Helical Drive gear and is fastened to it with a screw, not visible
here.

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The Helical Drive Gear drives the Ribbon Cartridge Take-up Spindle. This take-up
spindle now has direct drive ribbon management that is used for better tension
control. On the supply side, there is a coarse chopper wheel located inside the printer
on the ribbon cartridge. The Ribbon Supply Sensor is mounted in the chassis and is
used simply as a motion detector. The entire cartridge is a FRU.

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The Ribbon Motor advances the ribbon until the K Panel is seen by the ribbon index
sensor. The ribbon continues moving until the trailing edge of the K Panel clears the
Ribbon Index. It continues to move a fixed distance depending upon the ribbon type
and then moves the ribbon an additional amount as specified by the Ribbon Offset.
After each panel is printed, the card moves an additional distance. This is the Ribbon
Strip Offset distance. This movement along with ribbon movement enables the
ribbon to be stripped from the card.

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Adjustments

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Shown here are the Ribbon related adjustments that can be
made by the technician. Use Printer Dashboard to make
these adjustments. They are located in the Configuration
Menu, then Settings, and then in the Print Submenu.

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This is the Print submenu. The Ribbon adjustments are
located here.

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The RibbonOffset setting represents the distance that the print
ribbon is advanced into the panel before the start of the printing.
This will position the ribbon such that the printing begins about 8
mm or .32 inches into the panel.

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To adjust the Ribbon Offset, print a test card that has color printing on the leading
edge. When the card is complete examine the ribbon panels that were used. The gap
from the beginning of the yellow panel to the start of the printing with the yellow
panel should be approximately 8 mm or .32 inches. If it is not increase or decrease
the offset as indicated and repeat the process.

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The RibbonStripOffset is the additional distance the card moves
after printing a panel. This card movement along with ribbon
movement enables the ribbon to be stripped from the card.

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During the printing process the print ribbon may be stuck to the card when the TPH
heats up to transfer the dye from the ribbon to the card. While the card and ribbon
are both moving, this movement peels the ribbon from the card. At the end of the
printing process the card continues to move an additional distance to complete the
process of peeling the ribbon from the card. This process is called stripping. The
Ribbon Strip Offset determines the distance the card continues to move after the
printing is complete. Engineering states that this should not require adjustment.

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Engineering states that these settings should not be
adjusted.

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The Ribbon Print Tension setting is the amount of ribbon tension
during the print operation.

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The RibbonRegTension setting is the amount of ribbon tension
during initialization.

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This adjustment and the next 2 change parameters for the
Calibrate Ribbon Take-up Tension Test and should never be
adjusted.

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Do not adjust this setting.

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Do not adjust this setting.

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This setting and the next 2 will change your ribbon tension during
normal operation. Do not adjust this setting unless directed to by
Product Support or Engineering.

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Do not adjust this setting.

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And finally, do not adjust this setting.

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Use the Troubleshooting Menu in Printer Dashboard for
diagnosing problems.

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In the Sensors submenu there are three sensors which might affect the
advancing of the ribbon. The Ribbon Index sensor looks for the K Panel
on the ribbon. The Ribbon Supply Encoder is the sensor on the left side
monitoring the Supply spindle for motion. The Ribbon Take-up Encoder is
the sensor on the right side which monitors the Take-up spindle and is
used for precise movement of the ribbon. Use this test to ensure that the
sensors change state when going from covered to uncovered, and back
again.

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There is some variation in sensor names amongst the Printer Dashboard,
cable tags, and circuit board connectors. In each of the following lessons,
on this Troubleshooting – Sensors slide, I show these names.

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Use the motor test to exercise the Ribbon Motor. Remove the ribbon
from the cartridge first, so that you do not waste ribbon. You may change
the duration and speed values.

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Note that this calibration is different than the DRS Printers one in that
this calibration does not change any settings. It only produces data for
the RetrieveInfo query that can be gathered across multiple printers,
then used by Engineering. So it is safe to run any time, but it does not
change any settings.

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The preventive maintenance procedures for the advance the ribbon task
include cleaning the ribbon index, ribbon supply encoder, and ribbon
take-up encoder sensors and the reflective tape on the TPH. The gears on
the ribbon cartridge and motor should also be inspected. Print a few test
cards and inspect the spent ribbon for proper adjustment of the ribbon
offset.

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