1. ZD421 and ZD621 Series Desktop Printers User Guide
  2. Troubleshooting
  3. Resolving Alerts and Errors
  4. Alert: Ribbon In – ZD421 Ribbon Cartridge Printer Only
  • ZD421 and ZD621 Desktop Printers User Guide
Alert: Ribbon In – ZD421 Ribbon Cartridge Printer Only

Alert: Ribbon In – ZD421 Ribbon Cartridge Printer Only

When you see this alert, 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 printing and another for Thermal Transfer printing. They are designed to have equivalent print density/darkness at the same setting level. Direct Thermal mode does not use ribbon.
Status indicator alert:
Possible causes and resolutions:
  • 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 the printer OFF. Close the printer. You may need to press
    FEED
     once or
    PAUSE
     the get the printer to resume printing.
  • The printer is incorrectly set to Direct Thermal mode when you are trying to print using transfer media and a ribbon cartridge to print. Change the PRINT METHOD to THERMAL TRANS (Thermal Transfer) mode. The print format (form) send for this print job may have Direct Thermal mode set with a
    ^MTD
     set instead of
    ^MTT
    . The ZPL Programming Guide is available at http://zebra.com/manuals.
  • To change this setting:
    • Use the printer’s color touch display user interface (if present) to change the setting. See Print > Print Quality > Print Type.
    • Use an Ethernet (LAN or WLAN) printer’s Print Server web page to access and set the PRINT METHOD to THERMAL TRANS (Thermal Transfer) mode. See Print > Print Quality > Print Type to learn how to navigate the print server user interface.