SNAP ERROR MESSAGES

July 2010

Error message Description Prompt

file index
KNIFE DID NOT HOME Knife did not home properly during 12
initialization or after a knife jam. If knife
motor is rotating smoothly, the problem is
either the knife home sensor or the MCB.
If the knife does not rotate or is uneven,
the problem is either the knife motor or
MCB.
STACKER FULL The stacker is full. Remove labels from 13
the stacker. If this message occurs when
the stacker is not full, test the stacker on
another printer. If it works, the problem is
either the printer internal harness or the
MCB. If it doesn’t work, the stacker is
defective.
STACKER SENSOR ERROR These errors indicate that the printer could 14
STACKER CAL RANGE ERROR not home the stacker tray. Make sure the 15
STACKER SENSOR BLOCKED stacker position sensors are not blocked 16
and that the stacker tray runs up and down
smoothly. Check the stacker upper
position sensor using the VCP
Diagnostics. The problem could be the
stacker, printer stacker harness or MCB.
CLOSE BOTTOM PRINTHEAD The bottom printhead must be open for a 17
single sided format.
ST1 LOW TEMP READ ERR These errors indicate that the printer is 18
ST2 LOW TEMP READ ERR measuring a printhead temperature that is 19
out of range. This is caused by a defective
printhead, printhead cable or MCB. Check
the printhead cable connections at both
the printhead and MCB.
STACKER JAM This error was for an upstacker option that 20
was never implemented.
LBL TOO SHORT FOR SPEED The label is too short for the selected print 40
speed. Refer to the printer’s User Manual
for minimum label lengths.

Page 1 of 7
 SNAP ERROR MESSAGES
July 2010

Error message Description Prompt

file index
STOCK OUT This indicates that the stock roll is empty. 45
If this occurs when the stock roll is not
empty and the stock is securely held by
the arbor, test the stock unwind motor in
the VCP Diagnostics. If the motor turns
during the test, the MCB is defective. If
the motor does not turn, check the motor
connection to the MCB. If the connection
is secure, the motor is defective.
INK OUT BOTTOM This indicates that the bottom ink roll is 46
empty. If this occurs when the bottom ink
roll is not empty, test the bottom ink
motors (unwind and rewind) in the VCP
Diagnostics. If the motor turns during the
test, the MCB is defective. If the motor
does not turn, check the motor connection
to the MCB. If the connection is secure,
the motor is defective.
INK OUT TOP This indicates that the top ink roll is 47
empty. If this occurs when the top ink roll
is not empty, test the top ink motors
(unwind and rewind) in the VCP
Diagnostics. If the motor turns during the
test, the MCB is defective. If the motor
does not turn, check the motor connection
to the MCB. If the connection is secure,
the motor is defective
HEAD OPEN BOTTOM These messages indicate that the indicated 50
HEAD OPEN TOP print head is open when it should be 51
closed. If this occurs continuously or does
not occur even if the head is open, check
the head open sensor and MCB.
MISSED SENSE MARK MISSED SENSE MARK. Check the 53
alignment of the sensor to the sense mark
on the stock. If this does not correct the
problem, check the alignment of the top
and bottom sensors (SNAP 700). If the
error continues to occur, the problem may
be the sensor or the MCB.
HEAD 1 OVER TEMP 55

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 SNAP ERROR MESSAGES
July 2010

Error message Description Prompt

file index
HEAD 2 OVER TEMP This message indicates that the printhead 56
is overheated. If this error occurs while
printing, allow the printhead to cool. The
error will clear automatically. If this error
occurs while the printhead is cool, check
the printhead and printhead cable. If these
are OK, the problem may be in the MCB.
VERIFIER HALT 1 These errors indicate the Barcode Verifier 58
VERIFIER HALT 2 detected a bad barcode. It is highly 59
unlikely that this error will occur
erroneously. It is more likely that the
printer will not issue this error when a
barcode is bad or missing. If this occurs,
check to make sure the verifier is enabled
and that the format has verification
enabled. Then check the cable
connections. Hardware failures that could
cause this are the verifier, the harnesses or
the MCB.
SOFTWARE IMAGER ERROR This is an internal software error. Clear 60
the error and continue. Clear the error and
continue. If the error continues to occur,
report the problem (including the
circumstance under which the error
occurred, the PCMate and printer
firmware versions, and the format and
batch that were being printed) to
Engineering
SERIAL COMM OVERFLOW This message indicates that the printer’s 65
serial buffer overflowed. This will not
occur when using PCMate with the
Virtual Control Panel (VCP). If using
third party software, make sure the Serial
Handshaking Protocol of the printer and
the host are both set the same. If using
hardware handshaking (RTS/DTS), make
sure the serial cable has the RTS and DTS
signal wires.
TOO MANY FIELDS This error indicates that there are too 66
many fields in the format. Reduce the
number of fields in the format.

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 SNAP ERROR MESSAGES
July 2010

Error message Description Prompt

file index
SOFTWARE MISMATCH This message indicates that the AT and 79
MCB versions do not match. This may
occur if the MCB is changes without
upgrading the software, or if the flash disk
module is replaced with a used one.
Upgrade the printer to the latest firmware
revision. This error will not normally
occur as the printer should load the
backup operating system automatically.
CORRUPTED BATCH This error indicates that the number of 90
data elements in the batch do not match
the number of fields in the format. Check
the host data stream for errors.
VERIFIER ERROR 91
ERROR PROGRAMMING MCB ! This error indicates that the printer could 94
not write the software to the MCB during
an upgrade. Try rebooting the printer. If
the error continues, replace the MCB, then
the motherboard.
MCB NOT RESPONDING Reboot the printer. If this does not correct 96
the problem, replace the MCB
SECURITY QUEUE FULL This message may occur when running 144
secure batches. This is an internal
software error. It does not indicate a
hardware failure. To clear this error,
connect the printer to PCMate. If this does
not correct the error, upgrade the printer
to the latest firmware version and connect
the printer to PCMate. If this still does not
correct the problem, turn the printer off
and remove the battery on the MCB from
its holder momentarily. NOTE: this will
cause all settings in the printer to return to
their default values and all life counts to
be cleared. Also all actual counts stored in
the security queue will be lost.
OUTDATED SW. UPGRADE This error indicates that the software 148
version does not support the printer type
in which it is installed. Upgrade to the
latest printer version.

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 SNAP ERROR MESSAGES
July 2010

Error message Description Prompt

file index
OPEN TOP PRINTHEAD This message indicates that the top platen 149
roller is closed when there is no print on
the top station. If this error occurs even if
the top station is open or does not occur
when the top station is closed, check the
top station head open sensor and MCB.
RFID COMM ERROR. REBOOT. This error indicates a failure with 163
communications between the MCB and
the RFID Reader. Reboot the printer. If
the error continues, first upgrade to the
latest printer software version. If it still
continues, replace the RFID Reader or the
MCB.
RFID READER NOT DETECTED The RFID Reader was not detected during 168
machine power-up. This error will occur
is an RFID format is printed on a non-
RFID printer. If this error occurs on an
RFID printer, check the internal harness
connections to the RFID Reader, the MCB
and the System Power Harness. Check the
RFID Reader, Harness and MCB.
MULTIPLE RFID NO-READS This message indicates that that there 170
were several consecutive read failures
(SNAP 600RFID Gen 0). Check that the
stock is OK. Try to read a known good tag
using the Manual Read feature of the VCP
RFID Diagnostics. Problems may be in
the RFID Reader, harness or MCB.
SENSE MARK CAL ERROR Sense Mark Calibration error. This is 175
generally caused by the sensor not being
aligned with the sense mark. Perform the
sensor alignment procedure found in the
printer’s Users Manual. If this does not
work, the problem could be the sensor or
the MCB.
MISSED HOLE SENSEMARK missed hole sense mark error 179
MISSED T REFL SENSEMARK missed top reflective sense mark error 180
MISSED B REFL SENSEMARK missed bottom reflective sense mark error 181

Page 5 of 7
 SNAP ERROR MESSAGES
July 2010

Error message Description Prompt

file index
MISSED CONTR SENSEMARK missed contrast sense mark error 182

These errors indicate that the printer did

not see a sense mark when expected. This
is generally caused by a bad sense mark
(e.g. unpunched hole) or mis-alignment of
the sensor to the sense mark.
HOLE SENSEMARK CAL ERR hole sense mark calibration error 184
T REFL SENSEMARK CAL ERR top reflective sense mark calibration error 185
B REFL SENSEMARK CAL ERR bottom reflective sense mark calibration 186
CONTR SENSEMARK CAL ERR error 187
contrast sense mark calibration error

These are the same as the SENSE MARK

CAL ERROR above, modified to indicate
the selected sensor type.
SENSOR FAILURE reduce sense mark led current failure 197
cannot fine-tune LED current down low 198
enough

These errors indicate that the MCB could

not calibrate the sensors. However, these
errors indicate that there may be a
hardware failure in the sensor circuit. The
problem may be the sensor or the MCB.
INCOMPATIBLE HARDWARE hot knife is not compatible with RFID 600 199
machine
MCB Backup battery low These errors indicate the MCB has 200
-5V PS TOO LOW detected a supply voltage out of tolerance. 201
12V PS TOO LOW Measure the actual voltage and replace the 202
-12V PS TOO LOW power supply if it is actually out of spec. 203
24V PS TOO LOW If the voltages are correct, replace the 204
3.3V PS TOO LOW MCB. 205
5v PS TOO LOW 206
MCB Backup battery high 207
-5V PS TOO HIGH 208
12V PS TOO HIGH 209
-12V PS TOO HIGH 210
24V PS TOO HIGH 211
3.3V PS TOO HIGH 212
5V PS TOO HIGH 213

Page 6 of 7
 SNAP ERROR MESSAGES
July 2010

Error message Description Prompt

file index
MULT RFID WRITE FAILURES There were several consecutive RFID 221
write failures. This may be caused by
defective stock or bad format. If these are
the problem, check and replace as
necessary the RFID reader, RF cable or
antenna.
RESET HARDWARE FAILURE The printer did not reset when the 244
command was issued. First check the
connector from the MCB to the reset
switch connector on the motherboard. If
this is OK, replace the MCB.
SOFTWARE XXX PRESS START NOTE: XXX is the error number

These are internal software errors. They

do not represent a hardware failure. They
can be caused by unusual situations that
were not anticipated or found during
development and testing. If one of these
errors occurs, first try pressing the
START button to clear the error and start
printing. If the error continues, try the
following steps until the problem is
resolved:

1. Reboot the printer and try printing

the print job again.
2. Upgrade the printer to the latest
software version.
3. Upgrade PCMate to the latest
version.

If none of these steps works, report the

problem to Engineering. Please include a
detailed description of the problem, the
circumstances under which it occurred,
the PCMate and printer software versions
and the format and batch(es) that caused
the problem.

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