Brother PT-1090 User's Guide

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ELECTRONIC LABELING SYSTEM

PT-1090

User’s Guide

/ Español

/ Español

Printed in China
LW4113001

English

GETTING STARTED

INTRODUCTION

With the PT-1090 you can create labels for 
any application. Select from the many 
frames, character sizes and styles to design 
custom labels. In addition, the variety of tape 
cartridges allows you to print labels with 
different widths and colors.
Read this guide carefully before starting and 
keep the guide in a handy place for future 
reference.
The contents of this guide and the 
specifications of this product are subject to 
change without notice.

FCC NOTICE

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is 

subject to the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause 

harmful interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference 

received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for 

a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These 

limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful 

interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, 

uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and 

used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful 

interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee 

that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this 

equipment does cause harmful interference 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 interference by one or more 

of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to 

which the receiver is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Important

• Changes or modifications not expressly approved by Brother 

Industries, Ltd. could void the user’s authority to operate the 

equipment.

SAFETY PRECAUTIONS

WARNING
Follow these guidelines to avoid the risk of 
fire, burn, injury, electric shock, damage, 
overheating, abnormal odors or smoking.

• Always use the specified voltage and the suggested 

AC adapter (AD-24ES) to prevent any damage or 
failure.

• Unplug the power cord immediately and stop using the 

P-touch labeler during an electric storm.

• Do not use the P-touch labeler/adapter in places of high 

humidity such as bathrooms. Do not get the P-touch 
labeler/adapter/power plug wet such as by handling 
them with wet hands or spilling beverages on to it.

• Do not overload the power cord. Do not forcibly bend or 

pull the power cord. Do not damage or place heavy 
objects on the power cord or plug.

• Hold the plug when disconnecting the power cord from 

the power outlet. Do not use an outlet that is loose.

• Do not swallow the cutter stopper.
• Do not disassemble or modify the P-touch labeler/

adapter/batteries. Do not use metallic objects such as 
tweezers or a pen when changing the batteries. Do not 
throw the batteries into fire or expose to heat.

• Disconnect the adapter, remove the batteries and stop 

using the P-touch labeler immediately if you notice 
abnormal odor, heat, discoloration, deformation or 
anything unusual while using or storing it.

CAUTION
Follow these guidelines to avoid personal 
injury, battery leakage, burn and heat

• Do not touch the edge of the cutter or any metal part 

near the print head.

• Remove the batteries and disconnect the adapter if you 

do not intend to use the P-touch labeler for an extended 
period of time.

• Do not use old and new batteries together or mix 

alkaline batteries with other types.

• Do not drop or hit the P-touch labeler/adapter. Do not 

press hard on the LCD display.

• Do not put your finger between the covers when you 

close the cassette cover.

GENERAL PRECAUTIONS

• Depending on the location, material, and 

environmental conditions, the label may unpeel or 
become irremovable, the color of the label may change 
or be transferred to other objects. Before applying the 
label, check the environmental condition and the 
material.

• Do not use the labeler in any way or for any purpose not 

described in this guide. Doing so may result in 
accidents or damage the machine.

• Only use a soft, dry cloth to clean the labeler; never use 

alcohol or other organic solvents.

• Use a soft wipe to clean the print head; never touch the 

print head.

• Do not put any foreign objects into the tape exit slot or 

adapter etc.

• Do not place the labeler/batteries in direct sunlight or 

rain, near heaters or other hot appliances, in any 
location exposed to extremely high or low temperatures 
(e.g. on the dashboard or in the back of your car), high 
humidity, or dusty locations.

• Do not apply excessive pressure to the cutter lever.
• Do not try to print if the cassette is empty; it will damage 

the print head.

• Do not pull the tape while printing or feeding; it will 

damage the tape and the labeler.

• Any data stored in memory will be lost due to failure or 

repair of the labeler, or if the battery power runs out.

TROUBLESHOOTING

Error message

Cause / remedy

BATTERY!

The batteries are about to run out. Replace all batteries.

Invalid!

- An invalid number is selected for Label length.

No Text!

- You tried to print a text file when there is no data stored 

in the memory.

-

 is pressed when no text is entered.

- You tried to select [Copies], [Preview] or [Cable] when 

no text is entered.

Line Limit!

- You tried to enter a third line by pressing 

.

Note: Use either 3/8" (9 mm) or 1/2" (12 mm) wide tape 
when printing two lines.

Cutter Error

Tape cutter lever is pressed while the machine is printing.
Note: Do not push the cutter lever while printing.

Full!

The maximum number of characters (80 Characters for 
regular text, or 50 characters for DECO MODE) have 
already been entered.

Text Limit!

-The text length exceeds the selected Label length.
-The text length exceeds 7.8" (200mm) when “Label 

Length” is set to [Auto] in DECO MODE.

-If the minimum label length (1.2"/30mm) is selected, some frame 

types (Leaf or Star) will not allow you to enter additional text.

No Frame OK?

Frames can not be printed on 9/64" (3.5mm) tape. 
Select 

 to print with no frame or 

 to cancel.

OK to Feed?

Tape feeds after printing when [Chain Prt] is selected. 
Refer to 'Set margin (tape margin)'.

Cooling

If the print head becomes too hot, the labeler stops printing 
and automatically starts to cool down. The cool down time will 
be displayed. Once the print head is cool, printing will continue 
automatically. Do not touch the labeler while cooling.

Insert 1/2" (12 mm)! 

Only 1/2" (12 mm) tape cassette is available for DECO MODE.

No Cassette!

Insert a cassette.

Problem

Possible solution

The display stays blank after you have 
turned on the machine.

- Check the batteries are correctly inserted.
- The batteries could be weak, replace them.
- Check that the AD-24ES adapter is correctly connected.

The power turns off when trying to print

- The batteries are weak;

replace all batteries.

- Check that the batteries are inserted correctly.

When the label is printed out, there is too 
much margin on both sides of the text.

See 'Set margin (tape margin)' in this user's guide and select 
[Half] or [Narrow] to have smaller margins for your label.

The machine has “locked up” (i.e., nothing 
happens when a key is pressed, even 
though the machine is on).

Refer to 'RESETTING THE P-TOUCH'.

All text and format settings need to be 
cleared to create a new label

Press 

 and select [Txt & Format].

The machine does not print or printing is 
blurry.

- Check that the tape cassette is inserted correctly.
- If the tape cassette is empty, replace it.
- Check that the cassette cover is properly closed.

The setting has cleared on its own.

- The batteries may be weak; replace them.
- When power is disconnected for more than two 

minutes, all text & formatting will be lost. Language and 
Unit settings will also be cleared.

The tape does not feed properly or gets 
stuck inside the labeler

Check that the end of the tape feeds under the tape guides.
The cutter lever is pressed while printing.  Do not touch 
the cutter lever during printing.

To change the language setting

Refer to ‘INITIAL SETTINGS’.

If you encounter any problems with this product, do 
not return the product to the store. After referring to 
the User guide if you still need assistance, call 
Brother Customer Service at: 

Voice:

1-877-BROTHER I Fax 1-901-379-1210

Web:

www.brother-usa.com

If you need to locate a service center, 
call 1-877-BROTHER or visit us at our web site. 

 PREPARATION

A:Cassette cover
B:Tape cutter lever

• Open the cassette cover by pressing the above 

indicated area at the top end of the machine.

A:Cutter edge
B:Cutter stopper
C:Print head

• Insert six AAA alkaline batteries.
• Make sure the + and – of the batteries are 

positioned correctly.

Note: Only use new batteries.

A:

Toothed wheel

• Make sure that the end of the tape feeds under 

the tape guides.

• If the ink ribbon in the cassette is loose, use your 

finger to turn the toothed wheel in the direction of 
the arrow on the cassette until there is no slack.

A:Tape exit slot

• Insert a tape cassette.
• Make sure that the cassette snaps into place.
• Close the cassette cover.
• After you have installed the tape, feed the tape 

(see “Feeding”) once and then push in the tape 
cutter lever to cut the tape.

Note: Use only Brother TZ tapes with this 

machine.

RESETTING THE P-TOUCH

Reset the P-touch labeler if you want to 
initialize the settings or in case the labeler 
does not work properly.
• Turn off the labeler.
• Hold down 

 and 

.

• While holding 

 and 

, press 

once to turn ON the labeler.

• Release  

and 

.

Note: The labeler turns on with its internal 

factory settings. 

All text, settings and stored files are 

cleared.

A

B

A

C

B

A

A

PRINTING LABELS

Display

1. Caps
2. Cursor
3. Size
4. Width
5. Style
6. Label length
7. Underline / Frame 

Keyboard

8. DECO MODE
9. Print

10.Cursor keys
11.Back Space (BS)/Cancel
12.Function
13.Alphabetic keyboard
14.Accent
15.Space
16.Symbol
17.Caps
18.Time/Date
19.Clear
20.Enter
21.Power

Display: 12 characters.
Text buffer: maximum 80 characters.

Adapter (optional)

For memory back up it is 

recommended to use the batteries 

together with the (optional) 

AC adapter (AD-24ES).

INITIAL SETTINGS

1. Start your machine

• Supply power by using the batteries or the 

adapter and press 

.

2. Set the language

[

Language]

[English / Español / Français / Hrvatski/ 
Italiano /Magyar / Nederlands/ Norsk /Polski /
Português /Român

ă

 /Slovenski / Slovenský / 

Suomi / Svenska /Türkçe/ 

Č

eština / Dansk / 

Deutsch] 

3. Set the unit of measurement: inch or mm

[Unit]

[inch/mm]

4. Set date

 (MM/DD/YY)

 and time 

(hh:mm)

Example: Setting the date and time for November 21, 
2009 10:30AM.

 [Time Date] 

[Clock]

[MM/01/10] Input “11”

[11/DD/10] Input “21”

[11/21/YY] Input “09”

[hh:00] Input “10”

[10:mm] Input “30”

[AM/PM]

SETTINGS (LABEL DESIGNS)

Size

[Size]

[Large/Medium/Small]

In addition to this setting, the text size 

automatically adjusts to the tape width.  The 

actual printed size varies with tape width.

Width

[Width]

[Normal/x  2/x 1/2]

Style

[Style]

[Normal/Bold/Outline/Shadow/Italic/

I+Bold/I+Outline/I+Shadow/Vertical/]

Underline/Frame

[Undl/Frame]   

[Underline]

Note:
- 8 Frames are available.  Refer to table 

(

) on the enclosed insertion sheet.

- Frames cannot be printed on 9/64" 

(3.5mm) tape.

1 Underline

3 Leaf

5 Star

7 Bubble

2 Round

4 Tile

6 Heart

8 Flower

ENTERING TEXT

Upper/Lower case

Upper/Lower case: 

 is ON/OFF.

Symbols

-

Basic/Pictograph:

 For entering symbols.

[Basic/Pictograph] 

 [. , : ; " ' •] 

•Refer to the symbol table (Basic:  / 

Pictograph: ) on the enclosed insertion sheet.

•The rows of symbols (A to L) in the 

Pictograph table can be selected by 

pressing the corresponding character.

•To go to the next group, press 

 (again).

-

Print List:

 For printing all symbols in the 

pictograph table.

 [Print List]

[Print OK?] 

Two line text

• Enter the text for the first line and press 

.

• Enter the text for the second line and press 

.

Note: Do not press

 after the second line 

of text otherwise “Line Limit!” error 
message will appear.

Note: Use either 3/8" (9 mm) or 1/2" (12 mm)  

wide tape when printing two lines of text.

Accented characters

• Type a character and press 

.

• Choose an accented character with 

or 

 and press 

. For a list of available 

characters, refer to table ( ) on the 

enclosed insertion sheet.

Clear

By pressing 

, the characters will be 

deleted one by one.

• Deleting all text and settings

[Txt&Format]

• Deleting text only

[Text 

Only]

PRINTING LABELS

Text preview

[Preview]

Note:Only the text can be previewed, not the size, 

font or any additional features.

Feed (tape feed)

[Feed]

Print

• Press .

Set margin (tape margin)

 [Margin]

 [Full/Half/Narrow/Chain Prt]

-

Full/Half/Narrow:

 For leaving equal 

margins on both sides of the text.

-

Chain print:

 For creating labels 

containing text in various styles.

1.

When the message “OK to Feed?” appears 
after the label is printed, press 

.

2.

Clear the text, enter the text for the next 
label, and then press 

.

3.

Repeat steps 1 and 2 for each 
additional label.

4.

When the message “OK to Feed?” 
appears after the last label is printed, 
press .

5.

After the tape is fed, press the cutter 
lever to cut off the chain of labels.

 [Ok to Feed?]

Making Copies

[Copies]

 [Set 1-9?] 

You can print up to 9 copies of the label.

When you want to print the same labels with 
the narrowest margins, set margin to Narrow.

TIME / DATE

You can print time and date with one touch 
on the button. Eight formats are available.

Add Time / Date

[abc_]  

 [abc 11/21/09_ ]

Select a format

 [Time Date]

[Format]

  [M/D/Y hm] 

The following formats are available.

Changing the clock setting

• Refer to INITIAL SETTINGS, step 4.

Format

November 21

st

 2009 3:30 PM

M/D/Y

11/21/09

M/D/Y hm

11/21/09 03:30PM

D/M/Y

21/11/09

D/M/Y hm

21/11/09 03:30PM

D.M.Y

21.11.09

D.M.Y hm

21.11.09 03:30PM

Y-M-D

09-11-21

Y-M-D hm

09-11-21 03:30PM

[Full] 

1”

1”

1/2”

1/2”

1/6”

1/6”

ABC

ABC

ABC

:

:

[Half] [Narrow] 

ABC

ABC
DEF

DECO MODE

This function allows you to create unique 

labels by using built-in templates. For a list of 

available designs, refer to table ( ) on the 

enclosed insertion sheet.

Example: (design/format 10)

 [Design 10] 

[Auto/1.2"-7.8"]

BROTHER 

 [Print/Quit]

• Some designs contain a check mark next to 

them in the table. If selected, your machine may 

automatically stop printing if the print head 

becomes too hot, allowing it to cool down.  The 

cooling time will be displayed. Once the print 

head is cool, printing will continue automatically.

• Depending on the format you have 

selected, the entire contents of your text 

may not be printed.

• The template formats cannot be changed.

• The highlighted symbols on the enclosed 

insertion sheet are available in DECO MODE.

• To clear all text, press 

. “Clear?” appears.

Press 

 to clear or 

 to cancel.

• When you access DECO MODE, the most 

recently printed text and label length will be 

recalled.

• Press 

 to return to the previous step.

• Press 

 to change the “Label Length” 

setting back to [Auto].

• To exit DECO MODE, press 

 until the 

display shows the text entry screen. 

Alternative: select [Quit] in the [Print]/[Quit] 

selection screen.

Note:DECO MODE feature is only available when 

using 1/2" (12mm) wide tape cassettes.

The maximum label length in DECO MODE is 

7.8" (200 mm). When [Auto] is selected, the 

machine will automatically adjust the length so 

that the text appears on the label one time.

CABLE LABELING

To create labels similar to the image below, 

follow the below steps: Input up to 2 lines of text.  

Print label, and wrap around cable.  Always use 

Brother Flexible ID tape when wrapping. 

Refer to the manual enclosed with Flexible ID 

tape about the recommended conditions for use.

[Cable]

[Print OK?]

Label length and margin settings will automatically 

default to [Auto] when Cable Labeling.

ABC
159

ABC
159

SAVING LABELS

Up to nine labels can be saved and recalled 
for printing at a later date. It is also possible 
to edit and overwrite a stored label.

Save

[File]

[Save]

[1-9]

Print

[File]

[Print]

[1-9]

Open

[File]

[Open]

[1-9]

Note: A message “Overwrite?” will appear if 

you try to store a label when there is 

already a label stored with that number.

SHORTCUTS

In addition to the basic steps to search for a 
function, the labeler also provides the user 
with function shortcuts - making it easy to 
jump to a frequently used function.
• Press 

 and then the shortcut key.

• Press  

to 

confirm.

Shortcut keys and functions

Key

Function

Key

Function

Language

File

Size

Cable

Width

Preview

Style

Feed

Undl/Frame

Unit

Label length

Time Date

Copies

Margin

ACCESSORIES

If the cutter blade becomes blunt after repetitive 
use and the tape cannot be cut cleanly, replace 
with new cutter unit (stock no.TC-5) by obtaining 
from an authorized Brother reseller.

Tape cassettes

See the included ‘Supplies
and Accessories Guide’. 

AC adapter

AD-24ES

Cutter unit

TC-5 (replacement)

 CAUTION

• Do not touch the cutter blade directly with your fingers.
• Do not swallow the cutter stopper.

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions
(W x D x H)

4.25" × 8.24" × 2.27" 
(107.9 × 209.4 × 57.6 mm)

Weight

Approx. 0.69lb (Approx. 315g)

Power supply

Six AAA alkaline batteries (LR03)

AC adapter

Model AD-24ES

Tape cassette

Brother TZ tape (width) 
9/64" (3.5 mm), 1/4" (6 mm),
3/8" (9 mm), 1/2" (12 mm)