~NC - Network Connect
Wakes one printer on an RS-485 multi-drop network by calling its network ID number.
~NC wakes one printer on an RS-485 multi-drop network by the network ID
number that ^NI gave that printer. Send it at the start of a format, and
only the addressed printer processes what follows. The selection is not
per-format: a connected printer stays connected until another ~NC names a
different one.
Syntax
~NC###Support
Accepted and skipped, because it configures the printer rather than the label. It cannot change the rendered output, and Labelary skips it too.
On real hardware this selects which printer on an RS-485 bus processes what follows; the others ignore it. This service has one virtual printer, so the format always renders. The renderer does not parse this command. It reports IGNORED_COMMAND at info severity, which does not reach X-Warnings. Labelary is also silent, so the rendered label is identical in both engines. — not pinned by a test
Labelary renders this command.
Parameters
###Network ID numberoptional · integerThe ID of the printer to address, written as exactly three digits. It stays selected until another ~NC changes it.
- Default
- 000 (no printer selected)
- Accepted range
- 1 to 999
- Invalid value
- not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse or measure this command. The guide requires three digits but does not state what a shorter or out-of-range value does.
- Test coverage
- No test at the minimum, maximum or one step outside the range.
Behavior
The ID must be exactly three digits — ~NC005, not ~NC5. The guide accepts
001 to 999, and 000 means no printer selected. It does not state what a
shorter entry or a value outside that range does, so this page does not
either.
The guide restricts ~NC to RS-485 printer communications, with ^MW, ^NI,
~NR and ~NT. None of the five means anything over the HTTP interface of a
rendering API: one request carries one document, and no bus needs an address.
The renderer ignores this command and reads no arguments. It reports
IGNORED_COMMAND at info severity, which does not reach the X-Warnings
header. Labelary is also silent, so the rendered label is identical in both
engines.
Example
Addressing printer 005 on an RS-485 network. The image is the same one the format would produce alone:
~NC005
^XA
^FO40,60^A0N,50,50^FDPrinter 005^FS
^XZ
Related commands
^NINetwork ID NumberAssigns this printer its ID on an RS-485 multi-drop network.~NRSet All Network Printers TransparentPuts every printer on an RS-485 network into transparent mode, so all of them accept what follows.~NTSet Currently Connected Printer TransparentPuts the currently addressed RS-485 printer into transparent mode.^MWModify Head Cold WarningEnables or disables the printer's warning for a printhead too cold to print reliably.