1. ZPL II, ZBI 2, Set-Get-Do, Mirror, WML Programming Guide
  2. ZPL II, ZBI 2, Set-Get-Do, Mirror, WML Programming Guide
  3. Real Time Clock
  4. Real Time Clock Parameters
  5. Time and Date Precision
  • ZPL II, ZBI 2, Set-Get-Do, Mirror, WML Programming Guide
Time and Date Precision

Time and Date Precision

As of V60.13.0.1 firmware, the
^CO
 command is now ignored. While the S4M printer has a lower firmware version number (V50.x), its firmware was recently released and follows the rule to ignore the
^CO
 command.
The time and date placed in a label field is determined at the time the label bitmap is created by the printer (start time mode). If a batch of labels is formatted, the date and time will be the same for all labels in the batch. If the printer is paused during the printing process and remains in that state for a period of time, when printing resumes, the time and date will still be the same as when the batch was first started.
If more precise time and date stamps are required on versions prior to V60, follow the process below. For versions after V60, use the Numeric Value mode as shown in ^SL.
Cycle the printer/print engine power Off (O) and On (l) to clear the memory before performing the steps below.
1. Print a Memory Usage Label (^XA^WD*:*.*^XZ) and note the following value: Available RAM (in BYTES)
(A)
__________
2. Print a Configuration Label and note these values: Printer “Print Width” (in DOTS) (NOT the Label Width)
(B)
__________
Label Length (in DOTS)
(C)
__________
3. Determine the desired maximum number of queued labels with the same Time and Date value.
(D)
__________
Increasing the number of queued labels will improve throughput performance, but Real Time Clock values will be less accurate. Two is usually a good compromise.
4. Substitute the values for B through D from the previous page into the following formula:
The “label queue” memory required (in BYTES)(B x C x D)/8 =
(E)
__________
5. Substitute the values for A and E into the following formula: The ^CO command memory required (in KBYTES) (A-E)/1024)-5=
(F)
__________
If the value of (F) is less than zero, then no ^CO command is needed. If the value of (F) is greater than zero, use the integer portion in the ^CO command.
Available RAM (A)
= 71478 BYTES
Print Width (B)
= 832 DOTS
Label Length (C)
= 1000 DOTS
Max Labels Queued (D)
= 2
Then —
The label queue memory required (E) =(B x C x D)/8 = 208000 BYTES
And —
The ^CO command memory required (F) = (71478-208000)/1024)-5=489.87 KBYTES
Therefore, the correct
^CO
 command string to add to the label format would be:
^XA^COY,489^XZ
This command string will cause 489 KBYTES to be set aside as Font Memory and make it unavailable as label format memory. The memory remaining will only allow two labels to be formatted at one time, and the time and date will be more precise for those two labels.