Calibrate a TSC DA210 or DA220 label printer

The DA210 and DA220 find the start of each label with a media sensor. Calibration measures your labels so that every print lands in the same place. You can start it with the FEED button, with no PC, or from TSC Console on your computer.

When to calibrate

• When you set up the printer for the first time.
• When you change to labels of a different size or type.
• After a reset to factory defaults.
• When labels skip, print across the gap, or feed through without stopping.
• When the LED blinks red although labels are loaded.

Which sensor your labels need

TSC's manual does not say how the first option (sensor calibration) chooses between the gap and black-mark sensor. For a first setup or a new label type, use the gap or black-mark calibration that matches your labels. Continuous media without gaps or marks is calibrated from software, such as TSC Console, where you choose the media type.

Load the labels correctly

Calibration only works when the labels pass over the sensor. Open the top cover, check that the roll sits between the media holders with the printable side facing up, and that the labels run through the media sensor and onto the platen roller. Close the cover until both latches click. Loading steps are in the DA210/DA220 setup guide.

Calibrate with the FEED button

TSC calls these functions the power-on utilities. You hold FEED while switching the printer on, and the LED steps through a fixed sequence. You choose a function by releasing the button at the right moment.

1. Switch the printer off with the power switch at the back.
2. Press and hold FEED and switch the printer on.
3. Keep holding while the LED lights amber. Then release FEED in the group you need:
   • red, 5 blinks: sensor calibration (gap or black-mark sensor)
   • green and amber, 5 blinks: black-mark sensor calibration
   • red and amber, 5 blinks: gap sensor calibration
4. The printer feeds labels while it measures them. When the LED is solid green, it is ready.

Calibrate in TSC Console

TSC Console is TSC's free Windows tool for setup and diagnostics; it includes the functions of the older Diagnostic Tool. Download it from the TSC Console page.

1. Connect the printer by USB (or over the network on a DA220) and add it in TSC Console.
2. Select the printer and open Functions › Printer Configuration.
3. In Printer Setup, check the media sensor type and the label size, and click Set if you changed them.
4. Click Calibrate in the list of printer functions. The printer detects the media type and the label size.

If your labels are hard to detect, the printer setup also lets you change the intensity of the media sensor. TSC Console's Media Profiler analyses media sensing problems and captures data that you can send to TSC service.

Using the older Diagnostic Tool

If you still use TSC's Diagnostic Tool, select the interface (USB by default), click Calibrate Sensor, choose the media type (GAP, Black Mark, Continuous or Auto Selection) and click Calibrate. TSC describes this in its Diagnostic Tool calibration FAQ.

Match the label size in the driver

The printer also needs the correct label size from your software. In the TSC Windows driver, open Printing preferences › Page Setup, click New under Stock, enter the exact width and height of your labels and select this stock. If you use label software, set the same size there.

If labels still skip

• Check the label size in the driver and in your software. TSC's troubleshooting tables list a wrong label size as a cause of jams and skipped labels.
• Clean the sensor with a soft, non-metallic brush or a vacuum cleaner. TSC recommends this monthly. Don't use canned air inside the printer.
• Reset and recalibrate if labels feed through without stopping: TSC's fix is to initialise the printer (factory default) and calibrate again.
• Fine-tune the position if labels stop correctly but the print is offset. Use the vertical and horizontal position settings in the driver's advanced options, or the Shift X and Shift Y values in TSC's tools; at 203 dpi, 8 dots equal 1 mm.

More fixes are in DA210/DA220 troubleshooting.