Loading Zebra Transfer Roll Ribbon

ZD888TA/ZD230TA Thermal Transfer Desktop Printer User Guide

Follows these steps to load the ribbon.

Prepare the ribbon by removing its wrapping and pulling its adhesive strip free.

Verify that the ribbon and empty ribbon core have notches on the left side of the ribbon cores as shown here. (If they do not, see Loading Non-Zebra 300-Meter Transfer Ribbon.)

1	Notch (required on left side of ribbon)
2	Adhesive strip
3	Notches are also on the right side of the 74-meter ribbon
4	Right side (printer and roll)

With the printer open, place an empty ribbon core on printer’s take-up spindles. Push the right side of the empty core onto the spring loaded spindle (right side). Align the core with the center of the left side spindle’s hub and rotate the core until the notches align and lock.

You can find your first ribbon take-up core in the packing box. Subsequently, use the empty supply core from the supply spindle for the next roll of ribbon.

Place a new ribbon roll on printer’s lower ribbon supply spindle. Push it onto the right spindle and lock the left side the same as the take-up mounting the take-up core.

Attach the ribbon to the take-up core. Use the adhesive strip on new rolls; otherwise, use a thin strip of tape. Align the ribbon so that it will be taken straight onto the core.

Turn the ribbon take-up hub with the top moving toward rear to remove slack from the ribbon. Rotating the hub helps to finish aligning the take-up ribbon position to the supply ribbon roll. The ribbon leader should be completely covered by the ribbon.

Verify that the media is loaded and ready to print and then close the printer cover.

If printer power is ON, press

FEED

to have the printer advance a minimum of 20 cm (8 in.) of media to straighten the ribbon and remove any slack and ribbon wrinkle and align the ribbon on the spindles. (Otherwise, wait to power the printer ON until you are instructed to do so during the setup process by the Installation Wizard.)

Use the printer driver, application software, or printer programming commands to change the print mode setting from Direct Thermal to Thermal Transfer.

When controlling printer operations with ZPL programming...	Refer to the Media Type ZPL II command ( ^MT and, follow the instructions, in the ZPL Programming Guide).
When controlling printer operations with EPL Page Mode...	Refer to the Options EPL command ( O ), and follow the instructions, in the EPL Page Mode Programmer’s Guide).

This sets the printer’s temperature profiles for thermal transfer media.

To verify the mode change from Direct Thermal printing to Thermal Transfer printing, print a configuration label (see Test Printing with the Configuration Report).