Elephant's Switch

This switch is very useful for Elephant's Rocket Spot color ink.
And this switch also make it possible to create beautiful decal without misalignment easily.
In case you need this switch at your printer, please let us know it at purchasing refurbished printer or repairing. Additional charge is JPY10,000.
Elephant's Switch can be installed at all of ALPS MD printers, ALPS MD-1000, ALPS MD-1300, ALPS MD-1500, ALPS MD-5000 and ALPS MD-5500.


Elephant's Switch OFF: no lighting


Elephant's Switch ON: lighting

[Feature and How to use]
1. Printer ON as usual. (Elephant's Switch OFF: no lighting)
Set ink cartridges for first print and close front cover as usual.

Printer OFF, Elephant's Switch OFF


Printer ON, Elephant's Switch OFF

2. In case Elephant's Switch keep OFF, you can print as usual. There is no difference.

3.

Printer ON, Elephant's Switch ON

(Elephant's Switch ON)
At printer ON (power lighting) and stop printing include pause for overlay, push Elephant's Switch lightly and switch ON (lighting orange and decreasing power lighting). At this way, you can still print as usual in case without opening front cover. However no moving carriage unit at open/close front cover. You can change Elephant's Rocket Spot color ink, but there is no moving carriage unit.
Usually, at the front cover close, the printer gets position information of carriage unit and information of kind of installed ink cartridges by moving carriage unit. But in case Elephant's Switch ON, the printer will not get those information. The inside data of printer is remained last data.
In other words, you can change Elephant's Rocket Spot color ink with same barcode many times without being noticed by the printer.
After changing ink cartridge and close front cover, print as usual.

4. When you finish all of printing, push Elephant's Switch lightly and switch OFF (no lighting orange, and the light of power switch will be normal again). After that, push power switch and printer power OFF.

[Effect]
1. Printing time can be reduced because new position information would not be taken.

2. Reduction in the number of moving caridge unit makes the life of printer longer.

3. Usually, at the front cover close, the printer gets position information of carriage unit by moving carriage unit. However this position information may change slightly at each close rarely.
At Elephant's Switch ON, you can change ink cartridges without getting new position information. The inside data of printer is remained last data.
The misalignment cause of this positioning can be reduced to zero.

4. If you set the different barcode ink, the printer recognize it as the privious kind of ink at that holder. (This function is also important and useful.)


[Important Reminder]
1. You can change ON and OFF by pushing switch lightly. Please don't push strongly. This switch will be broken by pushing strongly.

2. Elephant's Switch ON, at changing ink cartridge, set different color ink to the same holder. If you set the ink to different holder, the printer cannot be find out that ink, and the printer will be subject to error.
The barcode of each Elephant's Rocket Spot color ink is the same barcode with black MDC-FLCK. 1200dpi Black printing is the best way for Elephant's Rocket Spot color ink. You can make decal printing easily using many kind of Elephant's Rocket Spot color inks by changing at the same holder with Elephant's Switch ON.

And if you set the different barcode ink, the printer recognize it as the privious kind of ink at that holder. (This function is also important and useful.)

Should not be changed to Flash (Foil) and Finish ink, because the printing mechanism is different.

3. Don't move the carriage unit by hand at Elephant's Switch ON and front cover open. It makes the printer broken.

4. Don't print with the front cover open at Elephant's Switch ON. It makes the printer broken.

5. When turning off the printer power, be sure to turn off Elephant's Switch first, and then turn off the printer power. Do not turn off the printer power while Elephant's Switch is ON. If you turn off the printer power while Elephant's Switch is on, Elephant's Switch will be turned on at the same time as the printer power is turned on when you use the printer at a later date, and you can proceed with printing without noticing it. This will cause printer failure.

[Example of decal printing]

At this example, at all printing, check overlay, grayscale, 1200dpi printing. Because the printing property is same at each image file, you can print only by click the printer button except the first and the last image printing. At the last image printing, uncheck the overlay.

Let's assume that there are 5 images, image1 for Special color white, image2 for Cyan, image3 for Orange, image4 for Green, image5 for Metallic gold, and print in that turns. Usually, all images should be designed by 100% black.

1. Set one Black or one of Elephant's Rocket Spot color ink in the printer.
2. Elephant's Switch ON.
3. Open front cover and change that ink to Special color white.
4. Print image1 on the printing property check overlay, grayscale, 1200dpi.
5. Change Special color white to Cyan, and print image2. (Only click the printer button.)
6. Change Cyan to Orange, and print image3. (Only click the printer button.)
7. Change Orange to Green, and print image4. (Only click the printer button.)
8. Change Green to Metallic gold, and print image5. (At the last image printing, uncheck the overlay.)


The barcode of Special color white, Cyan and Metallic gold is not needed to changed to Black. In the above case, the printer will recognaize those inks as Black.

In the above case, because all printing are made by 1200dpi, there is no misalignment caused by mixing 600dpi printing and 1200dpi printing.

(Elephant's Rocket Inc. Engineering center)