Alert | Possible Cause(s) and Remedies | |
|---|---|---|
Printhead Open The cover is open or it has not been closed properly, either after a print command was issued or after FEED ( ) was pressed.   | The cover is open or not properly closed. Close the cover / printhead. Push down on the front top corners of the printer’s cover until you hear and feel the cover latches snap in place. | |
The printer’s Head-Open switch needs service. Call a service technician for assistance. | ||
Media Out The printer cannot detect media in the print path after a print command has been issued or after FEED ( ) was pressed.  | There is no media (roll) in the printer. Load media and close the printer cover. You may need to press FEED ( ) one time or press PAUSE to resume a print operation that was in progress before the printer ran out of media.See Loading Media. | |
A label is missing between two labels at the end of the loaded roll. Roll manufacturers use this method to identify the end of a roll. See Detecting a Media-Out Condition. Replace the empty media roll and continue printing. To avoid losing a print job that is in progress, do NOT switch printer power OFF to load the media. See Detecting a Media-Out Condition. | ||
The media sensor is misaligned. Check the position of the media sensor. See Adjusting the Movable Sensor for Black Marks or Notches. You may have to calibrate the printer for the newly-loaded media after you adjust the sensor location. See Running a SmartCal Media Calibration. | ||
The printer is set for non-continuous (labels or black mark) media, but continuous media is loaded. Check that the media sensor is positioned in the center default location. See Adjusting the Movable Sensor for Web (Gap) Sensing. The printer may need to be calibrated for the media after you adjust the sensor location. See Running a SmartCal Media Calibration. | ||
The media sensor is dirty. Clean the upper web/gap sensor array and the lower movable media sensors. See Cleaning the Sensor. Reload media, adjust the movable media sensor’s position for your media, and recalibrate the printer for the media. See Loading Media and Running a SmartCal Media Calibration. | ||
Media sensing is not working as it should for printing, possibly due to data corruption of memory or faulty components. Reload the printer’s firmware. See Updating Printer Firmware. If this does not fix this issue, call a service technician. | ||
Ribbon In (ZD420 Cartridge Printer only) A print command has been sent to the printer and it is in Direct Thermal Mode with Ribbon installed. The printer has two heat settings: one for Direct Thermal print mode and one for Thermal Transfer print mode. These modes are designed to render equivalent print density / darkness at the same setting level.   | There is a Ribbon Cartridge in the printer while the printer is set to Direct Thermal Mode (and printing on direct thermal media). Remove the ribbon cartridge from the printer without turning printer power OFF, then close the printer. You may need to press FEED one time or press PAUSE to get the printer to resume your print operation. | |
The printer is incorrectly set to Direct Thermal Mode when you are trying to print using Transfer Media and Ribbon Cartridge to print. The print format/form sent for this print job may have Direct Thermal mode set with a ^MTD set instead of ^MTT . You can change the PRINT METHOD in one of three ways:
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Ribbon Out The printer stops while it is printing, or it displays this alert immediately after a print job has been sent to the printer.   | The printer has detected the end of the ribbon. The ends of Genuine Zebra Transfer Ribbons have reflective trailers which the printer interprets as End of Ribbon, meaning the ribbon supply has been used up. Remove the ribbon and replace the ribbon rolls or ribbon cartridge, then close the printer. You may need to press FEED one time or press PAUSE to get the printer to resume your print operation. See Detecting a Ribbon-Out Condition. | |
For ZD420 Cartridge Printers only: A ribbon cartridge needs to be loaded in the printer. The printer is set for Thermal Transfer Mode. See Loading the ZD420 Ribbon Cartridge. | ||
For ZD420 Cartridge Printers only: The printer is unable to sense media possibly because:
Try these:
If these do not fix this issue, call a service technician. | ||
For Standard Roll (Thermal Transfer printers): The printer is unable to sense media due to other issues. Reload the printer’s firmware. See Updating Printer Firmware. If this does not fix this issue, call a service technician. | ||
Ribbon Low (ZD420 Cartridge Printer only)  | The printer has calculated that the ribbon cartridge has only 10% of the ribbon left in the cartridge. The ribbon low value can be changed using programming commands. Check for the availability of ribbon cartridges. For information on changing the Ribbon Low warning point, see Ribbon Cartridge Programming Commands. See also the ZPL Programming Guide for details on printer programming. For links to this and other manuals, see the About this Guide. | |
Cut Error The cutter blade is bound and is not moving properly.   | Media, adhesive, or an foreign object has stopped the cutter blade from operating. Turn printer power OFF by holding POWER down for five seconds. Wait for the printer to shutdown completely, then turn printer power ON.If the printer does not recover from this error, call a service technician for assistance. There are no operator serviceable parts in the cutter unit. Never remove the cutter cover (bezel). Never attempt to insert objects or fingers in to the cutter mechanism. Using unapproved tools, cotton swabs, solvents (including alcohol), etc. may damage or shorten the cutter’s usable life or cause the cutter to jam. | |
The printhead is over temperature and paused to allow the printhead to cool.   | The printer is printing a large batch job, typically with large amounts of print. The print operation will resume after the printhead has cooled. | |
The ambient temperature at the printer's location exceeds the specified operating range. Ambient temperatures in the printer can at times rise if it is in a location that receives direct sunlight. Move the printer to a different location, or cool the ambient temperature in the location where the printer is operating. | ||
The printhead is below operating temperature for proper printing.   | The printhead has had a critical temperature or power failure. Turn printer power OFF by holding POWER down for five seconds. Wait for the printer to shutdown completely, then turn printer power ON. If the printer does not recover from this error, call a service technician. The printhead is not a operator-serviceable item. | |
The printhead is below operating temperature for proper printing.    | The ambient temperature at the printer's location is below the specified operating range. Turn printer power OFF, then move the printer to a warmer location and wait for it to warm naturally. Moisture may condense in and on the printer if the temperature changes too quickly. | |
The printhead thermistor has failed. Turn printer power OFF by holding POWER down for five seconds. Wait for the printer to shutdown completely and turn printer power ON. If the printer does not recover from this error, call a service technician. | ||
Cannot store data in the printer in the specified memory location. There are four types of storage memory: graphic, format, bitmap, and font.   | There is not enough memory to perform the function specified on the second line of the error message.
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