^RS - Set Up RFID Parameters

Sets the tag type, the programming position and what the printer does when encoding fails.

^RS is the settings command of the RFID category:

which tag protocol the media carries;
where along the label the printer programs it;
how many labels to sacrifice to a failing tag;
what the printer does after those labels.

The programming position has consequences elsewhere. The printer can print data read from a tag above that position only, because the print head passes everything below it first.

Syntax

^RSt,p,v,n,e,a,c,s

Support

Recognised, deliberately skippedparsed: none · state: none · rendered: none

Accepted and skipped, because it configures the printer rather than the label. It cannot change the rendered output, and Labelary skips it too.

Configures the encode step: the programming position, how many labels to retry, and what to do when they all fail. The renderer draws none of it. 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 and with or without the command. — not pinned by a test

Labelary renders this command.

Parameters

tTag typeoptional · one of a set

The transponder protocol.

Default: 8
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage: No documented value is exercised by a test (8).

8: EPC Class 1 Generation 2, the only type current printers accept. (default)

pProgramming positionoptional · text

Where along the label the printer reads or writes the tag, in millimeters. F0 to F999 feeds forward and prints the leading part of the label first; B0 to B30 backfeeds. The forward maximum is the label length in millimeters, or 999, whichever is smaller.

Default: F0
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage

vVoid printout lengthoptional · dots

How many dot rows of VOID to print down the label when the printer cannot encode a tag.

Default: the label length
Accepted range: 0 to the label length dot rows
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage: No test at the minimum, maximum or one step outside the range.

nEncode attemptsoptional · integer

How many labels to try before the printer abandons a failing tag.

Default: 3
Accepted range: 1 to 10 labels
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage: No test at the minimum, maximum or one step outside the range.

eError handlingoptional · one of a set

What the printer does once it exhausts the attempts.

Default: N
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage: No documented value is exercised by a test (N, P, E).

N: No action. The printer drops the offending format and prints the next one. (default)
P: Pause mode. The format stays queued until the operator cancels.
E: Error mode. The format stays queued until the operator cancels.

aSignals on applicatoroptional · text

The guide marks this parameter not applicable.

Default: not applicable on current printers
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage

cReservedoptional · text

The guide marks this parameter reserved and not applicable.

Default: not applicable on current printers
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage

sVoid print speedoptional · integer

Print speed for the VOID across a failed label. Not supported on every printer model.

Default: the printer's maximum print speed
Invalid value: not documented, and we have not measured it. The renderer does not parse this command or validate its arguments. The guide does not state what a printer does with an out-of-range value.
Test coverage

Behavior

A programming position set by a format stays in effect for every RFID label until another format changes it or the printer goes off. An ^HR calibration writes the same setting, and ^RS overrides it.

After n labels with no successful encode, the error handling parameter decides between a dropped format and a held queue for an operator. In both cases the printer crosses out the sacrificed labels with VOID down v dot rows, at speed s. None of that happens here. A void needs a failed encode, and there is no transponder to fail, so a label that a printer voids renders here as an ordinary label.

Two parameters read differently in the 2006 edition of the guide. Tag type there accepts the values 0 to 9 and A to I for the older HF and UHF families, where current firmware accepts Gen 2 only. That edition also gives the programming position in dot rows from the top of the label and not as a millimeter F/B string.

Differences from the specification

zpl.tools against the ZPL II guide

Where our renderer behaves differently from the specification.

The renderer never draws the void printout. A void needs a failed encode, and with no transponder nothing can fail. A label a printer would cross out with VOID renders here as an ordinary label. Nothing signals the difference. — not pinned by a test

Example

Gen 2 media, programmed without moving the media, giving up after three labels:

^XA
^RS8,0,,3
^FO50,50^A0N,30,30^FDno VOID here^FS
^XZ

Open in viewer

^RF Read or Write RFID FormatReads a tag, encodes a tag, or declares the access password used by later lock commands.
^HR Calibrate RFID Tag PositionRuns RFID tag calibration and returns the resulting position and power table to the host.
^RW Set RF Power Levels for Read and WriteSets the radio power used for reading and writing tags, and picks the antenna element.
^RR Enable Adaptive Antenna SelectionLets the printer retry a failed tag operation on neighboring antenna elements.
^RM Configure RFID MotionChooses whether the media moves while the printer reads or writes a tag.