FEED Button Modes

FEED Button Modes

You can enter several printer modes by pressing the
FEED
button.

Power-Off FEED Button Modes

With printer power OFF, press and hold
FEED
while turning printer power ON to access the power-off
FEED
button modes.
Power Off Modes
Flash Sequence
Action
Amber-Red flashing
Firmware Download Mode—The printer starts rapidly flashing red to denote entry into the Firmware Download mode. Releasing the
FEED
at this point in the sequence will initialize the printer for download.
The printer is ready to start downloading firmware when the status light begins to slowly flash between red and green.
See Sending Files to the Printer for more information on using the Firmware (and File) Download utility available for use with this printer. Firmware updates for your printer, if any, are posted on the Zebra website at zebra.com.
Amber
Normal Operations Mode—The printer continues into a normal printer initialization. Releasing
FEED
at this point allows the printer to start as normal without a  firmware download or operating in Communications Diagnostic mode.
Green
Communications Diagnostic (
DUMP
) Mode—Release
FEED
immediately after the printer status light turns green.
The printer prints
Now in DUMP
at the top of the label before advancing to the next label.
After printing the first label, the printer automatically enters diagnostic mode and prints out a literal representation of all data subsequently received.
To exit diagnostic mode and resume printing, turn printer power OFF, wait 30 seconds, and turn power back ON.
Another way to exit diagnostic mode is to press
FEED
as many times as necessary, in sequence, to clear the printer’s command buffer and print
Out of DUMP
on the label.

Power-On FEED Button Modes

With printer power ON and the top cover closed, press and hold
FEED
for several seconds. The green status LED flashes a number of times in sequence. Use the information in this table to release the key after a specific number of flashes and before the next flash sequence starts.
Power-On Modes
When you release the FEED button after...
This happens.
* (the first flash)
Configuration Status—The printer prints a detailed printer configuration status label.
Use this label to:
  • verify proper print function
  • assist with configuring computer communications, maintenance, and troubleshooting
  • help our support team diagnose and address issues as needed
*
** (the second flash)
Standard Auto Media Calibration—The printer detects and sets media type and media length and adjusts the media sensors for optimal performance with the installed media. This method of calibration is the equivalent of issuing the
~JC
ZPL command.
The printer feeds one to four labels while calibrating.
Users familiar with the Zebra EPL desktop printer can use this FEED mode to replace power-up auto-sensing calibration. This method of calibration is the equivalent of issuing the
XA
EPL command.
*
**
*** (the third flash)
Serial Port Configuration—Applies only to printers with serial interface ports.
To reset serial port communication parameters, except for Flow Control, press and release
FEED
while the LED rapidly flashes amber and green.
For autobaud synchronization, send the
^XA^XZ
command sequence to the printer when the LED is rapidly flashing amber and green.
When the printer and host are synchronized, the indicator lights up a steady green.
Labels do not print during autobaud synchronization.
*
**
***
**** (the fourth flash)
Factory Defaults—Resets the printer to the factory default settings. This is the equivalent of issuing the
^JUN
ZPL command. See ZPL Configuration  for a description of the primary configuration settings and their associated ZPL commands.
Some configuration settings are not returned to their initial out-of-box printer settings. Other settings are exclusively set, viewed, and controlled by programming and are also reset.
This performs a standard media calibration and then a memory defragmentation routine.
When the printer has entered Factory Default mode, the status light turns amber for three seconds. During that time you can:
  • Do nothing to let the printer reset the factory defaults automatically as described above, OR
  • For printers that have a network print option such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. press and hold
    FEED
    to enter Factory Default Reset mode. This is the equivalent of issuing the
    ^JUF
     ZPL command.
During this sequence, releasing the button after the first flash resets only the network factory options. This is the equivalent of issuing the
^JUN
ZPL command.
Releasing the button after the second flash sequence (two flashes) resets only the printer defaults.
Releasing
FEED
after the third flash sequence (three flashes) resets both printer and network settings. This is the equivalent of issuing the
^JUN
and
^JUF
ZPL commands.
*
**
***
****
***** (the fifth flash)
Print Width Adjustment—Prints a succession of boxes starting at the minimum print width and ending in the printer’s maximum print width in 4-mm increments.
Press
FEED
once after the printer has reached the desired maximum print width.
The printer driver and applications can override this setting.
*
**
***
****
*****
****** (the sixth flash)
Print Darkness (Density) Adjustment—Prints a succession of barcode simulation patterns starting at the minimum darkness (print density/heat) and ending in the printer’s maximum darkness in increments of four using the ZPL darkness setting range values.
Press
FEED
one time when the pattern is clear and legible. Continuing to increase the darkness setting or barcode line widths may distort the print output, thereby reducing readability.
The printer driver and applications can override this setting.
*
**
***
****
*****
******
******* (the seventh flash)
Manual Media Calibration—The printer runs extensive tests to detect and set media type and media length. It then adjusts the media sensors for optimal performance with the installed media. This is the equivalent of issuing the
~JG
ZPL command.
Manual calibration is recommended whenever you are using pre-printed media, there is print on the liner, or if the printer will not correctly auto-calibrate. A graphical profile of the media sensing operation will print. See Manual Calibration for details and considerations.
To exit Configuration Mode, keep
FEED
pressed until after the seventh flash sequence cycle ends, then release
FEED
.