Honeywell PC43d Desktop Direct Thermal Label Printer 203 dpi Colour LCD Real Time Clock USB PC43DA00100201

End of life. Honeywell discontinued the PC43d on 29 September 2023, with service and support running to 31 December 2028. The replacement is the PC45D, and Honeywell's channel text names PC45D000000201 as the successor to this exact configuration - which Barcode Printer Shop does not currently stock. Honeywell also marks this part non-cancellable and non-refundable in its own channel terms. Remaining PC43DA00100201 stock is sold for fleet matching, replacement units and validated workflows where requalifying a new model is not practical.

Key Features

• In the box: Printer, 24 V power adapter, Americas power cord, USB cable, quick guide and the PrinterCompanion CD with drivers, label design software and PrintSet.
• Direct thermal only. There is no ribbon path on any PC43d and it cannot be converted to thermal transfer.
• This is the colour LCD build, so the real time clock and the adjustable gap sensor are fitted; the icon-display PC43 models have neither.
• USB only on this part number: no Ethernet, no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, no serial and no parallel port.
• Prints the full 104 mm or 4.1 in width at 203 dpi, and up to 1727 mm or 68 in in a single label.
• Accepts both common core sizes, 25.4 mm and 38.1 mm, on a roll up to 127 mm or 5 in across.
• Runs IPL, DP, ZSim2 for ZPL-II, DSim for Datamax DPL and ESim for EPL, so existing label formats need no rewriting.
• 128 MB Flash with 128 MB of DDR2 RAM, extendable to 32 GB with a USB thumbdrive.
• Ships complete, including the power adapter, the Americas cord and a USB cable.
• Disinfectant-resistant case, tested against isopropyl alcohol, 6% sodium hypochlorite, Sani-Cloth, CaviWipes and nine other agents.
• Validated or certified against Epic, McKesson and Sunquest healthcare systems.
• Compact at 167 by 180 by 215 mm and 1.72 kg, and the only PC43 that takes the Smart Battery accessory.

Key Specifications

• In the box: Printer, 24 V power adapter, Americas power cord, USB cable, quick guide and the PrinterCompanion CD with drivers, label design software and PrintSet.
• Print method: Direct thermal only. No ribbon path
• Resolution: 203 dpi (8 dots per mm)
• Print width: Up to 104 mm (4.1 in); maximum label width 118 mm (4.65 in); maximum label length 1727 mm (68 in)
• Media: 19 to 118 mm wide (0.75 to 4.7 in); roll to 127 mm (5 in) outside diameter; 25.4 mm (1 in) or 38.1 mm (1.5 in) core; 0.06 to 0.15 mm thick, or to 0.20 mm with the thick media spring kit; labels, tags, linerless, floodcoat and continuous strip; tear-off
• Interfaces: USB 2.0 device (Type B) and one USB host (Type A). No Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, serial or parallel on this configuration
• Display and clock: 59.94 mm (2.36 in) colour LCD at 480 x 234 in ten languages, eight buttons, ready-to-work LED, real time clock and adjustable gap sensor, all standard on the LCD build
• Memory: 128 MB Flash, 128 MB DDR2 RAM; up to 32 GB by USB thumbdrive
• Languages: IPL, DP, ZSim2 (ZPL-II), DSim (DPL), ESim (EPL); XML enabled for SAP AII and Oracle WMS
• Power: External adapter: input 100 to 240 V AC, 50 to 60 Hz, 1.5 A; output 24 V DC, 2.5 A; Energy Star compliant. Americas power cord supplied
• Environment and size: Printing at +5 C to +40 C (+40 F to +104 F), 10% to 80% RH non-condensing. Honeywell publishes no IP rating and no duty cycle for this family. 167 x 180 x 215 mm (6.6 x 7.1 x 8.4 in), 1.72 kg (3.8 lb)
• Warranty: One-year standard warranty, with service packages available through Honeywell Repair Services

Configuration decoded

PC43DA00100201 is the direct thermal PC43d with Latin fonts, no network module, the colour LCD and real time clock, 203 dpi, and an Americas power cord. The network position is the one that costs money to get wrong: this configuration is USB only, and the Ethernet, dual radio, serial and parallel adapters listed on the data sheet are field-installable options that are not fitted here. Honeywell's own channel description for this exact part number reads 4 inch direct thermal desktop with LCD display and real time clock, USB host port, 203 dpi, includes Americas power cord. One caution about that decode: Honeywell's own configuration article is a JavaScript-gated support page that returns nothing, so this reading is reconstructed by contrasting Honeywell's channel descriptions across nine PC43 part numbers. Positions 6, 10, 11 and 13 are left undecoded rather than guessed at.

Direct thermal only

The D in PC43d is direct thermal and it is not a configuration choice. There is no ribbon mechanism in this printer, no ribbon path to thread and no way to add one later, so it prints only on heat-sensitive media. That is exactly right for shipping labels, receipts, patient wristbands, queue tickets and anything else with a life measured in days or weeks, and it is wrong for anything that has to survive heat, sunlight, abrasion or a year on a chemical drum, because a direct thermal image fades. The thermal transfer sibling is the PC43t, which takes a ribbon and also prints direct thermal media, and it is a physically larger and heavier machine as a result.

Interfaces fitted

This configuration carries a USB 2.0 device port and a USB host port and nothing else. There is no Ethernet on this part number, no Wi-Fi, no Bluetooth, no serial and no parallel, and none of them can be enabled in software. Honeywell does publish an Ethernet module, a dual radio module carrying 802.11 b, g, n plus Bluetooth, a USB-to-serial adapter and a USB-to-parallel adapter for this platform, but they are field-installable options and this printer is not built with any of them. Note that Honeywell's channel string names a single USB host port here, where the equivalent PC43t builds are described with two, so the host-port count is quoted as one.

Display and clock

The display position in the part number does more than choose a screen. This is the LCD build, which brings a 59.94 mm colour display at 480 by 234 in ten languages with eight buttons, plus two things the icon-display models simply do not have: a real time clock, and the adjustable gap sensor. The clock matters wherever a label has to carry a print date or an expiry calculated on the printer rather than supplied by the host, which covers most healthcare and food labelling. The adjustable gap sensor matters on awkward media, because it can be moved to find the gap on stock where a fixed sensor cannot. Both are standard on this configuration and neither can be retrofitted to an icon model.

Media and supplies

Media runs from 19 mm to 118 mm wide, on a roll up to 127 mm or 5 in across, and the printer accepts both a 25.4 mm and a 38.1 mm core, so core size is not a reason to prefer one PC43 over another. Thickness runs from 0.06 mm to 0.15 mm, or to 0.20 mm with the optional thick media spring kit. Honeywell lists self-adhesive labels, non-adhesive tags, linerless, floodcoat and continuous paper strip as supported types, and this configuration is tear-off, with no cutter and no label dispenser. The box holds the printer, the 24 V adapter, an Americas cord, a USB cable, a quick guide and the PrinterCompanion CD, so it prints the day it lands.

Printer languages

The command language set is the reason a PC43 turns up as a replacement for a printer that is not a Honeywell at all. It runs IPL and DP natively, ZSim2 as a ZPL-II emulation, DSim as a Datamax DPL emulation and ESim as an EPL emulation, and it is XML enabled for SAP AII and Oracle WMS. In practice that means an existing ZPL or EPL label format can be sent to this printer without being rewritten, which is where the cost of a printer swap usually sits. ESim is worth singling out: the PXie industrial range does NOT include EPL emulation, so a site replacing an older EPL Zebra can drop in a PC43 and cannot drop in a PXie. Configuration is by PrintSet, with drivers for Windows and CUPS for Linux.

Two figures withheld

Two figures that competitors print against this model are deliberately absent here, and both are absent because Honeywell contradicts itself. The first is print speed: Honeywell's own PC23, PC43 and PC43t data sheet and Honeywell's own product page for this model give different maximum speeds for the same 203 dpi printer, and both were confirmed on repeat fetches of both documents, including the UK page. No speed figure is published on this listing because there is no single Honeywell figure to publish. The second is FCC emissions class, where the same data sheet lists one class under Regulatory Approvals and a different one under EMC Approvals. Class A and Class B differ for anyone siting equipment in a residential or light-commercial building, so neither is asserted. Ask us and we will quote both readings with their sources.

Discontinued status

Honeywell discontinued the PC43d on 29 September 2023 and runs service and support to 31 December 2028, and names the PC45D as the replacement, with PC45D000000201 as the successor to this exact configuration. Those two dates are the useful part: a printer bought today still has years of Honeywell service behind it, which is what makes an end-of-life purchase defensible in a regulated environment. Fleet matching so one spare covers every bench, replacing a failed unit without requalifying label formats, and keeping a validated healthcare workflow untouched are all sound reasons to buy this part number. Starting a new deployment on it is not. Honeywell also sells remaining stock as non-cancellable and non-refundable.

Barcode Printer Shop supplies Honeywell printers to US businesses configuration by configuration rather than model by model, so the part number on the invoice is the one that fits the line. Contact us to learn more or secure this solution for your business today.