diff --git a/src/printing/ql-raster.js b/src/printing/ql-raster.js
index 9415dbb..2bb22bf 100644
--- a/src/printing/ql-raster.js
+++ b/src/printing/ql-raster.js
@@ -1,9 +1,10 @@
 /**
  * Brother QL-8xx raster command builder.
  *
- * Byte-level command sequence follows Brother's "Raster Command Reference"
- * for the QL-800/810W/820NWB series, cross-checked against the reference
- * implementation in pklaus/brother_ql.
+ * Byte-level command sequence follows Brother's "Raster Command Reference,
+ * QL-800/810W/820NWB, Version 1.01". Where that manual and the reference
+ * implementation in pklaus/brother_ql disagree, the manual wins — brother_ql
+ * targets older models and its defaults are not correct for this hardware.
  *
  * The QL-820NWB print head is 720 dots wide (60.96 mm at 300 dpi). Every
  * raster line transmitted is therefore exactly 90 bytes before compression,
@@ -13,17 +14,21 @@
 
 const PIXEL_WIDTH = 720;
 const BYTES_PER_ROW = PIXEL_WIDTH / 8; // 90
-const INVALIDATE_BYTES = 200;
 
-// Endless (continuous) media must be at least this many raster lines long,
-// and no longer than this, or the printer rejects the job.
-const MIN_LENGTH_DOTS = 150;
-const MAX_LENGTH_DOTS = 11811;
+// Manual section 2.1: "Sends a 400-byte invalidate command". brother_ql sends
+// 200, which works on older models but is not what this hardware documents.
+const INVALIDATE_BYTES = 400;
+
+// Manual section 2.3.4. Continuous media outside this range is rejected.
+const MIN_LENGTH_DOTS = 150; // 12.7 mm
+const MAX_LENGTH_DOTS = 11811; // 1000 mm
 
 /**
- * Media definitions. `printableDots` is how many of the 720 head dots
- * actually land on the label; `offsetR` is the gap between the right edge
- * of the printable area and the right edge of the head.
+ * Media definitions, from manual sections 2.3.2 and 2.3.5.
+ *
+ * `printableDots` is how many of the 720 head pins land on the label;
+ * `offsetR` is the number of right-margin pins. For 62 mm continuous the
+ * manual gives 12 left / 696 print area / 12 right.
  */
 const MEDIA = {
   // DK-22205 (62 mm white) and DK-22251 (62 mm black/red) — continuous.
@@ -35,7 +40,7 @@ const MEDIA = {
     lengthMm: 0,
     printableDots: 696,
     offsetR: 12,
-    feedMargin: 35,
+    feedMargin: 35, // 3 mm, the documented minimum for continuous tape
   },
   // Die-cut sizes, kept for completeness.
   '62x29': {
@@ -47,7 +52,7 @@ const MEDIA = {
     printableDots: 696,
     lengthDots: 271,
     offsetR: 12,
-    feedMargin: 0,
+    feedMargin: 0, // must be 0 for die-cut
   },
   '62x100': {
     id: '62x100',
@@ -80,9 +85,9 @@ function getMedia(id) {
  * Pack one row of the ink map into the 90 bytes the printer expects.
  *
  * The printer clocks each raster line out starting from the far side of the
- * head, so the first transmitted bit is the RIGHTMOST dot. brother_ql
- * achieves this by mirroring the image before packing; we do the same thing
- * directly with an index flip, which avoids materialising a mirrored copy.
+ * head, so the first transmitted bit is the RIGHTMOST dot. brother_ql achieves
+ * this by mirroring the image before packing; we do the same thing directly
+ * with an index flip, which avoids materialising a mirrored copy.
  *
  * Get this wrong and every label prints mirrored. See the byte-order tests.
  *
@@ -154,13 +159,24 @@ const CMD = {
   statusRequest: () => Buffer.from([0x1b, 0x69, 0x53]), // ESC i S
   switchToRaster: () => Buffer.from([0x1b, 0x69, 0x61, 0x01]), // ESC i a 1
 
+  /** ESC i ! — automatic status notification. 0 = notify, 1 = stay quiet. */
+  statusNotification: (notify) =>
+    Buffer.from([0x1b, 0x69, 0x21, notify ? 0x00 : 0x01]),
+
   /** ESC i z — media type, width, length, raster count, page flag. */
-  mediaAndQuality({ media, rasterLines, firstPage, highQuality }) {
-    let flags = 0x80; // "recover" bit, always set
-    flags |= 1 << 1; // media type valid
-    flags |= 1 << 2; // media width valid
-    flags |= 1 << 3; // media length valid
-    if (highQuality) flags |= 1 << 6;
+  mediaAndQuality({ media, rasterLines, firstPage, highQuality, twoColour }) {
+    let flags = 0x80; // printer recovery always on
+    flags |= 0x02; // media type valid
+    flags |= 0x04; // media width valid
+
+    // Only meaningful for die-cut stock. Brother's own driver sends 0x86 for
+    // continuous tape — no length bit — and the manual warns that asserting a
+    // valid flag the loaded media doesn't match returns a "replace media"
+    // error (error information 2, bit 0).
+    if (media.dieCut) flags |= 0x08;
+
+    // The manual marks the print-quality bit as invalid for two-colour work.
+    if (highQuality && !twoColour) flags |= 0x40;
 
     const buf = Buffer.alloc(13);
     buf[0] = 0x1b;
@@ -170,6 +186,8 @@ const CMD = {
     buf[4] = media.dieCut ? 0x0b : 0x0a;
     buf[5] = media.widthMm & 0xff;
     buf[6] = media.dieCut ? media.lengthMm & 0xff : 0x00;
+    // For two-colour, one raster line is the whole 186-byte packet
+    // ('w' 01 90 <90> 'w' 02 90 <90>), so this stays a line count either way.
     buf.writeUInt32LE(rasterLines >>> 0, 7);
     buf[11] = firstPage ? 0x00 : 0x01;
     buf[12] = 0x00;
@@ -201,7 +219,7 @@ const CMD = {
     return buf;
   },
 
-  /** M — compression mode (bit 1 = PackBits). */
+  /** M — compression mode (2 = PackBits). Not supported on the QL-800. */
   compression: (enabled) => Buffer.from([0x4d, enabled ? 0x02 : 0x00]),
 
   /** 0x1A ends the last page, 0x0C ends an intermediate page. */
@@ -246,12 +264,8 @@ function buildJob(pages, options = {}) {
     throw new Error('buildJob requires at least one page');
   }
 
-  const chunks = [
-    CMD.switchToRaster(),
-    CMD.invalidate(),
-    CMD.initialize(),
-    CMD.switchToRaster(),
-  ];
+  // Initialisation commands, once per job (manual section 2.1).
+  const chunks = [CMD.invalidate(), CMD.initialize()];
 
   pages.forEach((page, index) => {
     validatePage(page, media);
@@ -260,13 +274,16 @@ function buildJob(pages, options = {}) {
     const isFirst = index === 0;
     const isLast = index === pages.length - 1;
 
-    chunks.push(CMD.statusRequest());
+    // Control codes, repeated for every page, in the manual's documented order.
+    chunks.push(CMD.switchToRaster());
+    chunks.push(CMD.statusNotification(true));
     chunks.push(
       CMD.mediaAndQuality({
         media,
         rasterLines: page.height,
         firstPage: isFirst,
         highQuality,
+        twoColour,
       })
     );
     chunks.push(CMD.autoCut(cut));
@@ -328,7 +345,8 @@ function encodeRasterData(page, compress) {
 
     planes.forEach((row, planeIndex) => {
       const payload = compress ? packBits(row) : row;
-      // 'w' 0x01 = black plane, 'w' 0x02 = red plane, 'g' 0x00 = monochrome.
+      // 'w' 0x01 = first colour (high energy, black), 'w' 0x02 = second colour
+      // (low energy, red). 'g' 0x00 is the monochrome transfer.
       const header = twoColour
         ? Buffer.from([0x77, planeIndex === 0 ? 0x01 : 0x02, payload.length])
         : Buffer.from([0x67, 0x00, payload.length]);
@@ -347,6 +365,7 @@ function buildStatusRequest() {
 export {
   PIXEL_WIDTH,
   BYTES_PER_ROW,
+  INVALIDATE_BYTES,
   MIN_LENGTH_DOTS,
   MAX_LENGTH_DOTS,
   MEDIA,