Printing labels for Casio cash register keys
For the department keys on a Casio PCR-T285, PCR-T295 or SE-S100. PV ECR Tool prints the sheet; this page covers the rest.
The keys
The twelve department keys are square, 15 mm × 15 mm, in a block three keys wide and four tall to the left of the number pad. Department 1 is bottom left and the numbers count up each column, so the top row reads 4 · 8 · 12 and the bottom row 1 · 5 · 9. Each key rings a second department with the DEPT SHIFT key: 13 to 24, so key 1 also rings department 13.
Each key has a clear plastic cap over a paper insert. The cap lifts off with a fingernail or a small flat screwdriver under one edge; the paper slides out and a new one slides in.
What goes on a label
- The item name, big. Three to eight characters read best at this size; the tool shrinks longer names automatically.
- The shift item on the lower half, smaller, with a ⇧ mark, if that key has one.
- The price, optional. Handy on a counter where staff quote prices; a nuisance if prices change often, because every change means new labels.
- The key number, tiny in a corner, so a label goes back on the right key.
Printing at true size
- In the tool's Build, print & download tab, build the program first (labels print only for a built program, so what's on the keys matches what's in the till).
- Choose the options: key size (15 mm), gap between labels (0 for edge to edge, which cuts fastest), copies per sheet (four fit on Letter with room to spare), prices on or off, cut lines on.
- Open the key label sheet and print on Letter, at 100% / "actual size". Turn off "fit to page" and any margins scaling; both shrink the labels.
- Measure the 50 mm bar at the top of the sheet with a ruler. If it isn't 50 mm, the print was scaled: fix the print dialog and print again.
Plain 20 lb / 80 gsm paper slides under the caps easily. Card stock is too thick for most caps. Matte photo paper gives crisper text if you have it.
Cutting
A ruler and a craft knife on a cutting mat give straighter edges than scissors, and the dashed cut lines are exactly on the 15 mm grid. Cut the whole 3 × 4 block out first, then into strips, then into squares. If a label is a hair too big it will bow under the cap; trim a sliver off one side.
Keeping labels and the program in step
Print a fresh sheet whenever you load a new program: the label sheet comes from the same settings as the SD card file, so what's printed on a key is what that key rings. Keep the spare sets from the sheet in the till drawer for when a cap is lost or a label gets wet.