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Users Manual

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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Seiko Epson Corporation. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, Seiko Epson Corporation assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. Neither Seiko Epson Corporation nor its affiliates shall be liable to the purchaser of this product or third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by purchaser or third parties as a result of: accident, misuse, or abuse of this product or unauthorized modifications, repairs, or alterations to this product, or (excluding the U.S.) failure to strictly comply with Seiko Epson Corporations operating and maintenance instructions. Seiko Epson Corporation shall not be liable against any damages or problems arising from the use of any options or any consumable products other than those designated as Original Epson Products or Epson Approved Products by Seiko Epson Corporation.

EPSON is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation in Japan and other countries/regions. NOTICE: The contents of this manual are subject to change without notice. Copyright 2009 by Seiko Epson Corporation. All rights reserved.

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Important Safety Information

This section presents important information intended to ensure safe and effective use of this product. Read this section carefully and store it in an accessible location.

Key to Symbols
The symbols in this manual are identified by their level of importance, as defined below. Read the following carefully before handling the product. WARNING:
Warnings must be observed carefully to avoid serious bodily injury.

CAUTION:
Cautions must be observed to avoid minor injury to yourself, damage to your equipment, or loss of data.

Safety Precautions
This section describes the warnings and cautions intended to ensure safe and effective use of the TM-T81. Other warnings and cautions on handling of this product for its safe and effective use are described in other sections of the manual. WARNING:
If the TM-T81 produces smoke, a strange odor, or unusual noise, shut down the TMT81, unplug the power cable immediately, and then contact your dealer or an Epson service center for advice. Continued use may lead to fire or electric shock. Never attempt to repair this product yourself. Improper repair work can be dangerous. Never disassemble or modify this product. Tampering with this product may result in injury or fire. Be sure to use the specified power source. Connection to an improper power source may cause fire. Use the specified AC Adapter [Epson Model M159A/M159B (PS-180)] only. Connection to an improper power source may cause fire. Do not allow foreign matter to fall into the equipment. Penetration by foreign objects may lead to fire. If water or other liquid spills into this equipment, shut down the TM-T81, unplug the power cable of the TM-T81 immediately, and then contact your dealer or an Epson service center for advice. Continued use may lead to fire or shock. If you open the DIP switch cover, be sure to close the cover and tighten the screw after adjusting the DIP switch. Using this product with the cover open may cause fire or electric shock. Do not use aerosol sprayers containing flammable gas inside or around this product. Doing so may cause fire. Do not connect a telephone line to the drawer kick-out connector; otherwise, the printer and the telephone line may be damaged.

CAUTION:
Do not connect cables in ways other than those mentioned in this manual. Different connections may cause equipment damage or fire. Be sure to set this equipment on a firm, stable, horizontal surface. The product may break or cause injury if it falls.

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Do not use this product in locations subject to high humidity or dust levels. Excessive humidity and dust may cause equipment damage or fire. Do not place heavy objects on top of this product. Never stand or lean on this product. Equipment may fall or collapse, causing breakage and possible injury. To ensure safety, unplug this product before leaving it unused for an extended period. Before moving this product, be sure to unplug it and all the cables connected to it.

Restriction of Use
When this product is used for applications requiring high reliability/safety, such as transportation devices related to aviation, rail, marine, automotive, etc.; disaster prevention devices; various safety devices, etc.; or functional/precision devices, etc.; you should use this product only after giving consideration to including fail-safes and redundancies into your design to maintain safety and total system reliability. Because this product was not intended for use in applications requiring extremely high reliability/safety, such as aerospace equipment, main communication equipment, nuclear power control equipment, or medical equipment related to direct medical care, etc., please make your own judgment on this products suitability after a full evaluation.

Caution Labels
The caution labels on the product indicate the following precautions. CAUTION:
The thermal head can be very hot during printing and immediately after printing. Touching it may cause burns. Be sure to do cleaning and other work after the thermal head cools down. And be careful of the autocutter blade located close to the thermal head. For the location of the thermal head and the autocutter blade, see the illustration in Cleaning the Thermal Head on page 9.

CAUTION:
Take care not to injure your fingers on the manual cutter When you remove printed paper When you perform other operations such as loading/replacing roll paper

Purpose of This Manual

This manual provides information to operators of the TM-T81 printer to describe basic operations to enable safe and correct use of the printer.

Unpacking
The following items are included with the standard specification printer. If any item is damaged, contact your dealer. Printer Roll Paper (for operation check) AC adapter Power switch cover Locking wire saddle (for USB interface models) CD-ROM Users Manual (this manual)

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Part Names
Manual cutter Cutter cover Printer cover

Control panel

Power switch

Control Panel
ERROR LED: Orange This indicates an error. (Power) LED: Green This LED is on when the printer is on. FEED button This button feeds paper.

Using the Power Switch Cover

The enclosed power switch cover ensures that the power switch is not pressed accidentally. To use this cover, install it as shown in the illustration. You can turn on and off the power switch by inserting a sharp-pointed object in the holes in the power switch cover. To detach the power switch cover, use a sharppointed object. WARNING:
If an accident occurs with the power switch cover attached, unplug the power cord immediately. Continued use may cause fire or shock.

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Installing the Locking Wire Saddle

For USB interface models, the locking wire saddle is included to prevent the USB cable from falling off the connector. 1. Insert the tip of the locking wire saddle into the leftmost hole in the back of the printer.

Rocking wire saddle

2.

Hook the USB cable with the locking wire saddle.

Installing Roll Paper

1. Place your fingers in the hollows under the printer cover shown in the illustration below, and pull in the direction of the arrow to open the printer cover.

Hollows

2.

Remove the used roll paper core if there is one.

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3.

Install the roll paper in the correct direction as shown in the illustration below.

4. 5.

Pull out some roll paper as shown in the illustration below, and close the printer cover. Tear off the roll paper.

Troubleshooting
No lights on the control panel Check whether the power supply cable is correctly connected to the printer and the power outlet. ERROR LED on (not flashing) with no printing Check if the roll paper is correctly set, and the printer cover is closed properly. ERROR LED flashing with no printing (and no paper jam) Printing stops if the thermal head overheats and resumes automatically when it cools. If overheating is not the cause, turn the printer off, and after 10 seconds, back on.

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Removing Jammed Paper

CAUTION:
Do not touch the thermal head because it can be very hot after printing.

1. 2.

Turn the printer off, and open the printer cover. If you cannot open it, see Recovery of the Autocutter Blade to unlock the autocutter blade. Remove the jammed paper, reinstall the roll, and close the printer cover.

Recovery of the Autocutter Blade

The autocutter blade may be locked because of a paper jam or a foreign object. If the problem is not serious, the autocutter blade returns to its normal position automatically, but if it does not recover, follow the steps below to move its position manually. 1. Turn off the printer. 2. Place your fingers in the hollows next to the cutter cover, and remove the cutter cover by pulling it as shown in the illustration below.
Hollows

3.

Turn the knob of the cutter blade in the direction of the arrow in the illustration below until you see a triangle mark in the opening in the frame.
Triangle mark

Knob

4.

Attach the cutter cover.

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Cleaning the Thermal Head

CAUTION:
After printing, the thermal head can be very hot. Do not touch it and let it cool before you clean it. Do not damage the thermal head by touching it with your fingers or any hard object.

Turn off the printer and open the printer cover. As shown in the illustration below, clean the thermal elements of the thermal head with a cotton swab moistened with an alcohol solvent (ethanol or isopropyl alcohol).

Autocutter blade Thermal head

Epson recommends cleaning the thermal head periodically (generally every 3 months) to maintain good print quality.

Setting the DIP Switches

Be sure to turn off the printer before removing the DIP switch cover. If you remove it when the printer is turned on, the printer may be damaged because of fire or electric shock. 1. Make sure the printer is turned off, and turn over the printer. 2. Remove the DIP switch cover on the bottom of the printer by removing the screw as shown in the illustration. 3. Set the DIP switch settings with a sharp-pointed object. 4. Install the DIP switch cover, and tighten the screw. The new settings become effective after the printer is turned on.

DIP switch cover

DSW2 DSW1

Bottom of the printer

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DIP Switch Tables

DIP switch 1 (Serial Interface)
SW 1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-6 1-7 1-8 Function Data reception error Receive buffer capacity Handshaking Data word length Parity check Parity selection ON Ignored 45 bytes XON/XOFF 7 bits Enabled Even OFF Prints ? 4 KB 1-2 DTR/DSR 8 bits Disabled Odd Receive buffer capacity

DIP switch 1 (Other than Serial Interface)

SW 1-1 Function Auto line feed ON Always enabled 45 bytes OFF Always disabled 4 KB

1-3~ Undefined 1-7 1-8 Reserved (Do not change)

Selects transmission speed. (See table below.)

DIP switch 2 (Other than Serial Interface)

SW 1-7 ON OFF ON OFF 1-8 ON 2-2 ON OFF OFF 2-3 2-4 2-5 Reserved (Do not change) Print density Release condition of receive buffer BUSY (If receive buffer capacity set to 4 KB.) See Table A. Releases BUSY when remaining receive buffer capacity reaches 138 bytes Releases BUSY when remaining receive buffer capacity reaches 256 bytes. Fixed to OFF 2-1 Function Handshaking (BUSY condition) ON Receives buffer full OFF Offline or receives buffer full Fixed to OFF

Transmission speed
Transmission speed (bps)-bits per second Adjustable by control commands (default: 38400) 4800 9600 19200

DIP switch 2 (Serial Interface)

SW 2-1 Function Handshaking (BUSY condition) Reserved (Do not change) Selects print density Release condition of receive buffer BUSY (If receive buffer capacity set to 4 KB.) ON Receive buffer full See Table A. Releases BUSY when remaining receive buffer capacity reaches 138 bytes. Enabled Enabled Releases BUSY when remaining receive buffer capacity reaches 256 bytes. Fixed to OFF Disabled Disabled OFF Offline or Receive buffer full Fixed to OFF

2-2 2-3 2-4 2-5

2-6 2-7 2-8

Reserved (Do not change)

Reserved (Do not Fixed to ON change)

Table A
Print density/low power Print density (Standard) Print density (Darker than standard) Print density (Darkest) SW 3 OFF ON ON OFF SW 4 OFF ON OFF ON

2-6 2-7 2-8

Reserved (Do not change) I/F pin 6 reset I/F pin 25 reset

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Specifications
Printing method Dot density Printing direction Printing width Characters per line (default) Character spacing (default) Character size Thermal line printing 203 dpi 203 dpi [dots per 25.4 mm {1"}] Unidirectional with friction feed 72 mm {2.83"}, 576 dot positions Font A, Special Font A: 48 Font B, Special Font B: 64 Font A: 0.25 mm (2 dots); Font B: 0.25 mm (2 dots) Special Font A: 0.25 mm (2 dots); Special Font B: 0.25 mm (2 dots) Standard/Double-height/Double-width/Double-width and Double-height Font A, Special Font A: 1.25 3.00 mm/1.25 6.00 mm/2.50 3.00 mm/2.50 6.00 mm Font B: 0.88 2.13 mm/0.88 4.25 mm/1.75 2.13 mm/1.75 4.25 mm Special Font B: 0.88 3.00 mm/0.88 6.00 mm/1.75 3.00 mm/1.75 6.00 mm Alphanumeric characters: 95, Extended graphics: 128 1 page International character: 1 Thai characters: 128 3 pages (133 character types) Vietnam characters: 128 2 pages (135 character types) Normal printing: 150 mm/s {5.91"/s} max. Page mode, Bit image printing: 150 mm/s {5.91"/s} max. Bar code, 2D code printing: 99 mm/s {3.9"/s} max. The values are when the printer prints with density "Normal" at 24 V and 25C {77F} Speed is adjusted automatically depending on the voltage applied and head temperature. Approx. 150 mm/s {approx. 5.91"/s} continuous paper feed 3.75 mm Font A, Special Font A: 12 24, Font B: 9 17, Special Font B: 9 24 <Thai characters size in Thai 1-pass mode (default)> Font A: 12 46, Font B: 9 35, Special Font A: 12 24, Special Font B: 9 24 Size: 79.5 mm 0.5 mm {3.13" 0.02"}, Maximum outside diameter: 83 mm {3.27"} Roll Paper spool diameter: Inside: 12 mm {0.47"}; Outside: 18 mm {0.71"} Specified: NTP080-80 Serial (RS-232)/Parallel (IEEE1284)/USB (Full speed)/Ethernet (10/100Base-T) 4 KB/45 bytes 2 drives DC 24 V 7% Mean: Approx. 1.4 A Operating: Storage: Operating: Storage: 5 to 45C {41 to 113F} 10 to 50C {14 to 122F}, except for paper 10 to 90% RH 10 to 90% RH, except for paper

Number of characters

Printing speed

Paper feed speed Line spacing (default) Character structure (including 2-dot horizontal spacing) Roll Paper (single-ply)

Thermal paper type Interface Receive buffer Cash drawer function Supplied voltage Current consumption (at 24V) Temperature Humidity Overall dimensions Weight (mass)

145 144 189 mm {5.71 5.67 7.44"} (H W D) Approx. 1.7 kg {3.75 lb} (Roll paper excluded)

dpi: dots per 25.4 mm (dots per inch)

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Printed in China