ELECTRONIC LABELING SYSTEM
User’s Guide
PT 90
PT 90
/ EspañolEnglish
Introduction
With your PT-90 , you can create labels for any application.
Select from the many frames , character sizes and styles to
design beautiful custom labels. In addition, the variety of
tape cartridges ava ilable allows you to print labels with
different widths and exciting colors.
Read this manua l carefully before sta rting and keep the
manual in a handy place fo r future referen ce.
The contents of this g uide and the specifi cations of this
product are sub ject to change without no tice.
Safety Precautions
Warning
Follow these guidelines to avoid the risk of fire, burn,
injury, electric shock, da mage, overheating, abnormal
odors or smoking.
• Do not use th e machine in pla ces of high hu midity such as
bathroom s.
• Do not swallow the cutter stop per.
• Do not get the machin e wet, such as by handling it with wet hands
or spilling beverag es on to it.
• Do not disassem ble or modify the P-touch lab eler/batteries.
• Do not use metallic objects, such as tweezers or a metallic pen,
when changing the batteries.
• Do not thro w the batteries into fire or expose to heat.
• Remove batter ies immediat ely and stop usin g the machine if you
notice abnormal odor, heat, discol oration, defor mation or anything
unusual whil e using or storing it.
Caution
Follow these guidelines to avoid personal injury, liquid
leakage, burn and heat.
• Do not touch the edge of the cutter near t he print head.
• Remove the batteries if you do not intend to u se P-touch l abeler for
an extended period of tim e.
• When power is disconnected for m ore than three m inutes, all text,
format settings and any text files stored in the memor y will be
cleared.
• Do not use o ld and new b atteries togethe r or mix alka line batteries
with other typ e batteries, or set the posit ive and negat ive end i n the
wrong position .
• Do not drop or hit the P-t ouch labeler .
• Do not press hard on the L CD displa y.
• Do not put your fing er between th e covers when you clo se the back
cover.
General Precautions
• Depending o n the location , material, and enviro nmental con ditions,
the label may un peel or become irremovable, the color of th e label
may change o r be trans ferred to ot her objects . Before ap plying the
label, check the environmental condition and the materi al.
• Do not use t he P-touch la beler in any wa y or for any pu rpose not
described in this guide. Doing so may result in accidents or damage
the machine.
• Use only Brother M tap es with this machine. Do not use tape s that
do not have the mark.
• Only use a so ft, dry clo th to clean th e labeler; neve r use alcoho l or
other organic solve nts.
• Use a s oft wipe to c lean the print head; never to uch the pri nt head.
• Do not put any fo reign objects into the tape exit slot, etc.
• Do not pla ce the P-touc h labeler/bat tery in dir ect sunlight o r rain,
near heate rs or other h ot applianc es, in any loc ation exp osed to
extremely high or low temperatures (e.g. on the dashboard or in the
back of your car), high humidity, or dusty locatio ns.
• Do not apply excessive pressure to the cutter lever.
• Do not try to print if the cassette is e mpty; it will damage the print
head.
• Do not pull the tape while printin g or feeding; it will damage the tape
and machine.
• Any data stored in memory will b e lost due to fai lure or re pair of the
P-touch labeler, or if the battery expi res.
FCC NOTICE
This device complies with Part 15 of t he FCC Rules. Operation is
subject to the following two conditions: ( 1) this device may not cause
harmful interference, and (2) this devic e must accept any interference
received, including interference that ma y cause undesired operation.
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for
a Class B digital device, pursuant to Pa rt 15 of the FCC Rules. These
limits are designed to provide reasonab le protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation . This equipment generates,
uses, and can radiate radio frequency en ergy and, if not installed and
used in accordance with the instruction s, may cause harmful
interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee
that interference will not occur in a part icular installation. If this
equipment does cause harmful interfere nce to radio or television
reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on,
the user is encouraged to try to correct the in terference by one or more
of the following measures:
• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receive r.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
Important
• Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Bro ther
Industries, Ltd. could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
Power Supply and Tape Cassette
Changeable Faceplates
The PT-90 comes w ith a variety of differen t faceplates - enabling u sers to customize the m achine. To chan ge the faceplates, f ollow the steps below.
Remove the cassette cover by pressin g the
above indicated ar ea.
If a tape casset te is already install ed, remove it by
pulling it straight up. Also, if batteries are already
installed, remove them.
• Make sure that the power is turned o ff when
replacing b atteries or tape casse ttes.
Insert four new AAA al kaline batteries
(LR03), making sure th at their poles point in
the correct dire ctions.
• Always repl ace all four batter ies at the same tim e
using bran d new ones.
Insert a tape cassette, making sure that it
snaps into place.
• Make sure that the end of the tape feeds under the
tape guides .
• Use only Brother M tapes w ith this machine.
Insert the two hooks at the bottom of the
cassette cover into the slot s on the machine
(1), and then close the cov er securely until
it snaps into place (2).
After you have in stalled the tape, f eed the tape (see
“Feeding”) on ce and then push in the ta pe cutter lever
to cut the ta pe.
Remove the cassette cover by pressin g the
above indicated ar ea. Slide the front cover
back and lift up from machin e.
• Make sure that the power is turned off when
replacing the faceplate.
Remove the inserted faceplate, an d then
replace it with anothe r one.
• Be sure to rem ove the protec tive film from the fr ont
side of the faceplate be fore replacing.
•
Do not insert more than one fac eplate at a time. If t he
front cove r is for cedly clos ed with more than o ne
faceplate inserted, the facepl ates may get wri nkled
or the front co ver will not be able to be clo sed firmly.
Insert the hooks on the front cover into the
slots on the mach ine, and slide back the
cover into place.
Insert the two hooks at the bottom of the
cassette cover into the slot s on the machine
(1), and then close the cov er securely until
it snaps into place (2).
1
Print head
Tape cutter lever
Cassette
cover
23
Cutter’s
edge
Tape
exit slot
Tape guide
End of tape
1
2
4
Cassette cover
Front cover
1
Faceplates
2 3
Hook
Slot
1
2
4
LCD Display & Keyboard
NOTE
The LCD shows on e row of 12 char acters; ho wever, you ca n enter up to 80 characters i n length.
Width
Size
Bold
Cursor
Num Lock
Caps
Label Length
Frame
DECO MODE key
Preview key
Print key
Character key
Num Lock key
Shift key
Symbol key
Caps key
Cursor key
Function key
Cursor key
Power key
Backspace key
Enter key
Shift key
Accent key
Space key
Underline
Italic
Vertical
Outline
Shadow
Initial Settings
1 Start your mach ine.
Supply power by u sing four AAA batteries, and the n
press
.
2 Set the language.
The default setting is [English].
[Language]
[English/Español/F rançais/
Italiano/Nederlan ds/Norsk/Português/
Svenska/Dansk/Deutsch]
• You can also display [Language] by pressing and
.
3 Set the unit of measurement.
The default setting is [inch].
[Unit]
[inch/mm]
• You can also display [Unit] by pressing and .
NOTE
• T he machine autom atically turns off if no keys are
pressed within five minu tes.
• T o cancel operations, press .
• T o initialize the P-touch labeler back to factory settings,
see “Resetting the P-tou ch”.
Troubleshooting
X Error message X What to do when...
Message Cause/Remedy
Low Battery!
The batteri es are weak. Replace them with
new ones.
Full!
The maximum number of characters (80
characters for r egular text, or 50 characters
for DECO MODE) have already be en
entered.
No Text!
• You tried to print a text fi le when there is no
data stored in the m emory.
• is pressed wh en no text is e ntered.
• is pressed wh en no text is en tered.
• You tried to select [Copies] when no text is
entered.
• is pressed when no text is entered in
the text entry screen of DECO MODE.
Line Limit!
•
You tried to enter a 3rd line b y pressing
(Maximum printable lines is 2).
Invalid!
Invalid number is selected for [Label Length].
Text Limit!
• The text length exceeds the selected label
length.
• The text length exceeds 7.8" (200mm)
when [Label Len gth] is set to [Auto] in
DECO MODE.
• If the minimum la bel length (1.2 "/30mm) is
selected, s ome frame ty pes (Leaf or S tar)
will not allow you to enter additional text.
Cooling XX X
If the print he ad becomes too hot, your
machine will stop printing and autom atically
start to cool down. The co ol down time will
be displayed. Once the print head i s cool,
printing will automatically cont inue. Do not
touch the P-touch labe ler while cooling.
Message Cause/Remedy
Problem Solution
The display stays
blank after you have
turned on the
machine.
• Check that the batteries are cor rectly
inserted.
• If the bat teries are we ak, replace them.
The machine doe s
not print, or the
printed chara cters are
not formed pro perly.
• Check that the tape cassette has been
inserted correctly.
• If the tape cassette is empty, repl ace it.
•
Check the cas sette cov er is proper ly closed .
The setting has
cleared on i ts own.
•
The batteries may be weak. Replace them.
• When power is disconnect ed for more
than three minutes, all text & formats in the
display will be lost. Language an d Unit
settings will also be cleared.
A blank horizontal line
appears throug h the
printed la bel.
There maybe som e dust on the pr int head.
Remove the tape cassett e and use a dry
cotton swab to gently wipe the print head
with an up-and -down motion .
The machine ha s
“locked up” (i.e ., nothing
happens when a key i s
pressed, even thou gh
the machine is on.)
Refer to “R esetting the P-touc h”.
The power turn s off
when you try to print.
•
The batteries may be weak. Replace them.
•
Check that the batteries are correctly inserted.
The tape does not
feed prop erly or t he
tape gets stuck i nside
the machine.
• Check that the end of the tape feeds under
the tape guides.
• The cutter lever is used while printin g. Do
not touch the cutter lever during printing.
All text and form at
settings need to be
cleared to create a
new label.
Press while holding down , or go
into Funct ion mode and se lect .
To change la nguage
setting
Refer to “Initial Sett ings”.
Problem Solution
Entering Text and Symbo ls
X Switching Upper Case/L ower Case
Upper case ( ON) Lower case ( OFF)
X Entering Numbers
Num Lock ON Num Lock OFF
X Making a Two Line Lab el
1. Enter the text for the first lin e and press .
2. Enter the text for the se cond line and press .
• D o not press after the second line; otherwise “Line
Limit!” error m essage will appear.
• U se either 3/8" (9mm) o r 1/2" (12mm) wide tape for two
line text.
Display Label imag e
X Entering Symbols
Example: Entering
[Pictograph]
[A7]
Display Label imag e
• Pi ctographs are displ ayed on the LCD displa y with the
correspo nding alph abet and nu mber of th e Pictogra ph
table. For the Pictograp h table and Pictograph List, re fer
to “Symbols ”.
X Entering Accented Characters
- /
• T o cancel operations, press .
• T he order of accen ted characte rs differs by the sele cted
LCD langua ge.
X To Clear ( + )
By pressing , the letters w ill be deleted one by one.
To delete all text and settin gs :
+ [Txt&Format]
To delete text only :
+ [Text Only]
Accented Chara cters Accented Characters
Aa
Cc
Dd
Ee
Gg
Ii
Kk
Ll
Nn
Oo
Rr
Ss
Tt
Uu
Yy
Zz
Designing Labels
1 Press , use to sele ct a function under colum n [A], and then press . (The function
can also be selected with the shortcu t keys listed under colu mn [C]. ( + to ))
2 Use to select a setting liste d under column [B], and then press .
*1 Default setting. To retu rn to the default setting, p ress .
*2 You can select the le ngth by entering the length with the Numbe r Keys ~ . To return to [Auto], press .
Design [A] [B] Label image
[C]
Size Size
Large*
1
+
Small
Width Width
Normal*
1
+
×2
×1/2
Style Style
Normal*
1
+
Bold
Outline
Shadow
Italic
Italic Bold
Italic Outline
Italic Shad ow
Vertical
Underline/Frame Un dl/Frame
Off*
1
+
Underline
Round
Leaf
Tile
Star
Heart
Square
Bubble
Label length Length
Auto*
1
/1.2" - 12.0" (30mm -
300mm)*
2
The label i s printed wi th the specified l ength.
+
Printing Labels
X Text Preview
You can prev iew the text befor e printing.
• T he LCD shows the whol e text and the label leng th (inch/
mm), then return s to the origin al text.
• On ly the text can be previewed, n ot the style, size,
underline/fr ame or any additio nal features.
X Feeding (Tape Feed)
+
The machine w ill feed 1.0" of tape , which may be ne eded
when insta lling a new tape cassette.
X Printing
• T o prevent damage to the tape, do not touch the cutter
lever while t he message “P rinting…” or “Feeding…” is
displayed.
• T o cut off the label, push in the tape cutter lever on th e
upper-left corn er of the machin e.
• P eel the printed l abel from backing and apply the la bel.
X Making Copies ( + )
You can print u p to 9 copies of each la bel.
[Cop ies]
• Y ou can also select the numbe r of copies by entering wi th
the Number Keys ~ .
X Removing the Label Backing
This machine i s equipped wit h a peeler that all ows you to
easily remove the backing from labels.
1. Insert the label, with the printed surfa ce facing down,
as far as possible into the built-in peele r.
2. Fold back the label to the right and quickly pull out the
label. The end of the backin g is separated from the
label.
Resetting the P-touch
You can reset the P-touc h labeler when you want to
initialize the settings, or in the eve nt that the P-touch is not
working pr operly.
1 Press to turn off the powe r.
2 While holding do wn an d , pres s to
turn on the power.
3 Release , and the n release and .
The internal memo ry is reset, and all text, settings an d
stored file s are cleared .
DECO MODE
This function allows you to create unique labels by using
some built-in templates. Y ou can choose from 8 typ es of
templates.
Example: Design 8
[Design 8]
[Auto/1.2"-7.8"
(30-200mm)]
ABC
[Print]
NOTE
• Som e Deco Mode fo rmats may requ ire cooling ( indicated
on the above tabl e). If the print he ad becomes too hot,
your machine will stop pr inting and automatically sta rt to
cool down. The co ol down time wi ll be displayed. Once
the print head is coo l, printing will automatically continu e.
Do not touch the P -touch labeler w hile cooling.
• On ly one line of text can be entered in DECO MODE.
• D epending on t he selected format, the entire text entered
may not be prin ted.
• T he formats of the DECO MODE templates cann ot be
changed.
• Symbols surrounded by a box in the Basic table are
available in DECO MODE. For the Basic table, refer to
“Symbols ”.
• T o clear all the ente red text, press and .
“Clear?” is displayed. P ress to clear the text, or to
cancel this operation.
•
When you access DECO MODE , your most recently
printed DECO MODE text a nd label length will be recalled.
• P ress to return to the previous step.
• To exit DECO MODE, pr ess until the display returns
to the text entry screen . You can also exit this mod e by
pressing w hen [Print] is displ ayed, and selecting
[Quit].
• 1 /2" (12mm) wide tape cassette s are recommended
when using the DE CO MODE feature.
• T he maximu m label leng th is 7.8" (200mm) for DE CO
MODE.
• W hen [Auto] is selected for [La bel Length], the label will
automatically adjust to the correct length for printing the
text one time.
• Pr ess to return to [A uto] for [Label Leng th] mode.
Saving Label Files
X Memory ( + )
You can sa ve your origin al labels on to you r machine. Up to
three labe ls can be saved and recal led for printing at a la ter
time. You ca n also edit and overwrite the stor ed label.
[ F i l e ]
To Save: [Save]
To Print: [Print]
To Open: [Open]
NOTE
If you try to store a la bel when ther e is already a label
stored to t hat number , a message “Overwrite? ” will ap pear.
Press to save your new label. Press to cancel.
Symbols
The followin g symbols are availa ble.
Basic
Pictograph
• T o display the n ext group, press .
• T o cancel operations, press .
• Symbols surrounded by a box in the Basic table are
available i n DECO MODE.
• T he rows of symbols (A to L) in the Pictog raph table can
be selected by pressing the corresponding character.
X Printing the Pictograph List
[Print List]
Label image
Specifications
See the attached “Sup plies and Accessori es Guide” for
detailed info of tape va riation.
Design Label Image Cooling
1
2
3
4
5
6
9
7
9
8
9
Dimensions:
(W × D × H)
Approx. 6.14" × 4.3 7" × 2.22"
(Approx. 156 × 11 1 × 56.5mm)
Weight: Approx. 0.6 lb. (Ap prox. 250 g)
(without batt eries and tape cassette)
Power supply: Four AAA alkal ine batteries (L R03)
Tape casse tte: Brother M tape (width) :
3/8" (9mm), 1/2" ( 12mm)
Should you encounter any problems wit h your product,
please do not return your prod uct to the store!
After referring to the Use r’s guide, if you still need
assistance, call Brother Cust omer Service at:
Voice: 1-877-BROTHER
Web: www.brother-usa.com
Fax: 1-901-379-1210
If you need to locate a service center, please call
1-877-BROTHER or visit us at www.brother-usa.com
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Print ed in C hina
LW4039001