Zebra Zt230 Printer Paused Media Out Load Media

ZEBRA Thermal Printer Troubleshooting Tips and Tricks

Peak 5 Common issues with zebra thermal printers and how to fix

1. Poor Print Quality
2. Skipping Labels
3. None of the settings save
4. Wrong type of ribbon and paper
5. Poor or low barcode ANSI grade

During my 20 years of troubleshooting zebra printers, I have establish that the same problems ascend over and again. These issues carry through to all thermal printer models in the zebra family unit.  I am going to walk through some quick Zebra troubleshooting tips and, hopefully, salvage you some time and frustration when you find that your printer isn’t performing like it should.

Earlier ANYTHING, Make clean THE PRINTER

The very first matter I do when troubleshooting zebra thermal printer issues in every situation, no thing what, is to thoroughly clean the entire printer. This seems like common sense, only you’d be surprised past how many printers are neglected until something effects performance. Adhesive and rest builds upwardly on the printhead and platen rollers. Grit and particles block sensors field of view. We recommend cleaning the printhead, all the rollers, and sensors with 99.7 % isopropyl booze every time you change the media. Inspect the platen roller (underneath printhead) and make sure there are no cuts in it or labels wrapped around it. Cuts in the platen will create voids in the impress and will demand replaced. The external cover is designed to keep the printer clean! It seems like fifty% pct of the places I go into run their printers with the cover upwards all the fourth dimension. This merely leads to more than down time.

RUN A PAUSE Test Print

­Right after I’m done cleaning, I’ll run a pause test print. This sends a test characterization to the printer and isolates the printing function from the software running a normal impress chore. To practise this: turn the printer off, concord in the intermission push, and plough the printer back on. Keep the intermission button pressed until all the lights flash in one case. This will load 9999 examination print labels into the printer. Release pause and you lot are ready for troubleshooting. Pause test is the all-time way to quickly determine if the printer is functioning properly. It also prints across the entire capable width of the printer which will help you better fine tune your adjustments.

POOR Impress QUALITY

How is the quality of the print? Print quality is greatly affected by darkness and speed. The slower the impress the better the quality of the impress image. I recommend taking the speed downward as much every bit possible to ensure that yous have the best possible prototype. After slowing downwardly the print and you yet have a calorie-free epitome, increase the darkness as much as possible. Too much darkness will melt the ribbon onto the label, your controlling the dwell of the impress head. This is not actually a setting to modify how much heat is practical. If you lot’re still non getting a practiced paradigm check to brand sure yous have the right ribbon for the characterization material selected. Some other good place to cheque to increment print quality is that you must have even force per unit area across the print head. In that location is a toggle with spring above the printhead, brand sure this is evenly space across the label, or if there is one yous want to centre it on the characterization. If at that place is a vertical white line through the print you take a bad print head chemical element and the print head will need (to be) replaced. A white line running diagonally signifies a wrinkle in the ribbon. You can conform this by fine-tuning the ribbon strip plate. Print caput alignment could also cause feathering at the edges of the label. If y’all nonetheless tin’t become a good label check if you have the right ribbon to characterization combination. I should besides add, if y’all are not getting an epitome at all chances are that you accept the ribbon loaded backwards. You lot can test what side the ink is on by sticking a label to the ribbon. If ink is transferred, you lot have the correct side.

SKIPPING LABELS

If your zebra printer is skipping labels, non feeding an entire characterization, or giving a paper or ribbon out error, then follow these steps. I always start with making sure the ribbon and labels are properly fed through the printer along the right path. All zebra printers have guides on proper loading technique. Then, I run a full general calibration by hit pause and selecting the calibrate push button. If you don’t have a calibrate push button then you’ll need to expect up the proper calibration procedure on Zebra’s website and you can find the instructions for the specific model printer in the links provided below. The printer will run through some labels calibrating the sensor to look for the gap betwixt. If all is well, the printer will stop the last label at the peel edge. If information technology didn’t work, you’ll have half a label sticking out or an fault and at this bespeak double bank check the sensors to make sure they are unobstructed and clean. If they are skillful, I’ll run a manual calibration through the carte du jour but if this doesn’t have care of the problem, I’ll run a sensor contour from the menu. A sensor profile prints out a graphical representation of what the sensors are seeing. The spike, which is measuring the gap, should be at to the lowest degree two points high. If information technology’s non y’all may need to supersede a sensor and call LabelPack Automation for an evaluation.

NONE OF THE SETTINGS Salvage

A common issue nosotros come across a lot is a complaint that none of the settings are saving on the printer. “When nosotros make changes to the settings, they revert dorsum to something else when nosotros send a label.”

Labeling software or the impress driver tin alter settings on the printer when the print chore is sent. This frequently happens at facilities when a new label template is created or when a new employee is responsible for the printing. You tin can check this in the label backdrop of the template in whatever software yous are using; Loftware, Bartender, NiceLabel, or Zebra Designer. Also, under printing preferences of the printer commuter navigate to the advanced setup tab. Check employ printer settings. This will keep the settings you lot make on the printer and not use settings from the driver or software. This is a good practice, so you don’t take to worry near someone forgetting to fix all the printer settings when they configure a label.

Incorrect Characterization RIBBON

COMBINATION

You lot must know what type of label material your using when selecting the proper ribbon. When selecting the proper ribbon you lot want durability of print and rub resistance.

A newspaper label prints best with a wax ribbon. Resin is added to the ribbon for durability. A film or polypropylene (synthetics) will demand a total wax/resin combination ribbon. These types of labels accept skilful moisture resistance. Polyesters require a full resin ribbon, used in long term and durable applications, UL or CSA label. A skilful tip to follow is that each ribbon performs best at certain darkness settings. If you’re not getting a skilful image at the expected darkness setting then yous could possibly just take the incorrect ribbon. Newspaper labels usually run effectually a v-12 darkness setting. Picture or polypropylene labels are going to be 15-25 range. Full resins are 20-30. Speed is also disquisitional.

If you are unsure of characterization ribbon combination call LabelPack Automation for some guidance.

Poor or depression barcode ANSI form

Another common issue is a poor ANSI form on a barcode scan and some that won’t scan at all. A good for you print caput is absolutely necessary in maintaining a quality barcode. A void in the barcode profoundly furnishings the scan. Slowing down your print speed is always going to create a ameliorate paradigm, eliminate poor edge’s and expanding barcode distortion. Scanners need good dissimilarity. You e’er want to print your barcode parallel to the motion; we telephone call this lookout man fence. When the lines of the barcode are perpendicular to the feed direction all kinds of problems with quality tin can happen. You lot won’t see a crisp print and a void in the printhead tin go through the entire barcode. Another major barcode problem is a quit zone. A barcode that is correct upwardly to the border of a label or directly next to any type of print will give you errors.  A general rule is: there needs to be x times the width of the narrowest bar of white space around the barcode.

Hopefully this general guide will help save yous some time and frustration when troubleshooting your Zebra Thermal Printer. Please don’t hesitate to call LabelPack Automation with any thermal printer question. We provide telephone support and evaluations of all Zebra printers. Nosotros provide depot service and aid many customers onsite with service contracts. We manufacture all types of labels and labeling equipment. We have over 45 years of labeling and software integration. Nosotros are a Zebra trained and certified partner.

ULTIMATE ZEBRA PRINTER Resource FOR TROUBLESHOOTING WITH VIDEO

https://www.zebra.com/united states of america/en/support-downloads/printers.html

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