1. ZT411/ZT421 Industrial Printer User Guide
  2. Diagnostics and Troubleshooting
  3. Troubleshooting
  4. Linerless Printing Issues
  • ZT411/ZT421 Industrial Printer User Guide
Linerless Printing Issues

Linerless Printing Issues

This section provides operating information and troubleshooting related to the linerless cutter option.

Cutter LED

The linerless cutter provides an LED that indicates the cutter status. You can view the glow from the LED (1) from the side of the cutter.
Linerless cutter LED location
Cutter LED
Issue/Possible Cause
Recommended Solution
Off
The linerless cutter is not powered.
Do the following:
  • Verify that the printer power switch is in the On (|) position.
  • Check that the 10-pin cutter cable is plugged in on both ends: the cutter PCBA and the printer firewall.
  • Check the power connection to the printer's main logic board (MLB).
Solid Green
All conditions are good.
The cutter is ready.
Blinking Amber
Cutter jam
This could be caused by a recent cutter jam. If the cutter jam was addressed and the cutter is ready, close the cutter and feed a label to clear this condition. Verify the LED is now Green.
Other possible causes:
  • Something is physically blocking the cutter blade from moving.
  • The cutter is not receiving 24V voltage from the printer. Check the fuse on the printer's MLB.
Solid Red
The cutter is open.
This is a normal condition when the cutter is pivoted open. To resolve this condition, do the following:
  • Check that the cutter is fully closed and flush with the printer.
  • If necessary, check that the cutter is correctly installed in the printer.
The cutter module is separated from the housing, usually for maintenance purposes.
To avoid personal injury, turn Off
(O)
 the printer before continuing.
When it is safe to do so and all cutter maintenance is resolved, reinstall the cutter housing, and then turn On
(|)
 the printer.
Blinking Red
The cutter upper or lower label-taken sensor was not detected.
The cutter-open sensor was not detected.

Linerless Printing or Cutter Issues

Issue
Possible Cause
Recommended Solution
Issues with printing labels.
A command in the label format is changing the printer settings.
Check the label format for any commands that may be changing printer settings.
For linerless cutter operation, the printer must be set to
Linerless Cut
 mode and
Continuous
 media.
Need the printed label length to match the configured label length.
The linerless cutter option supports a no-print zone (SGD command:
media.linerless_offset
), which increases the label length if the label top (ZPL command:
^LT
) value is positive.
Set the label top (
^LT
) value to zero if you do not want the label length to increase.
Example A (increased printed label length): Setting the label top to 61 for a 203 dpi printer
  • Label length = 609
  • Label Top = 61
  • Printed label length (in dots) = 609 + 61 = 669
  • Printed label length (in inches) = 3 + 0.3 = 3.3 in.
  • Printed label length (in mm) = 76 + 7.6 = 83.6 mm
Example B (same printed label length): Setting the label top to 0 for a 203 dpi printer
  • Label length = 609
  • Label Top = 0
  • Printed label length (in dots) = 609 + 0 = 609
  • Printed label length (in inches) = 3 + 0 = 3 in.
  • Printed label length (in mm) = 76 + 0 = 76 mm
The first label printed is longer than subsequent labels.
The settings for
System
Settings
Power Up Action
 and
System
Settings
Head Close Action
 affect the length of the first label.
Change the setting to
No Motion
 to keep the first label length the same as subsequent labels.
Frequent paper errors during printing or feeding.
Using zero or other small values for the linerless offset command (SGD command:
media.linerless_offset
) increases the likelihood of paper jams.
When possible, use the default value for
media.linerless_offset
, based on your printer dpi.
Minimum
Default
(0.3 in.)
Max
(0.375 in.)
203 dpi
0
61
76
300 dpi
0
90
113
600 dpi
0
180
225
PAPER ERROR
Media is wrapped around the platen roller.
To avoid damaging the platen roller, do not cut against or scrape the surface of the roller.
  1. Open the printhead.
  2. Use a flat-blade screwdriver to rotate the platen roller backwards to release any trapped media.
    Rotating the platen roller with a screwdriver to unroll media wound around it
  3. If the media is stuck to itself and cannot be released easily, remove the platen roller from the printer, and carefully remove the stuck media.
    Do not use any solvents or detergents to help remove the media.
    Replace the platen roller when through removing stuck media from it.
  4. Cut a straight edge on the undamaged media, and load the media through the cutter.
  5. Close the printhead.
  6. If the problem persists, make sure that the media is loaded correctly and that the platen roller is clear of debris.
  7. If the cutter continues to perform unsatisfactorily, contact an authorized service technician for assistance.
Media has jammed fanfold or accordion-style (crumpled) between the platen roller and the cutter.
To avoid damaging the platen roller, do not cut against or scrape the surface of the roller.
  1. Open the printhead.
  2. Check for and remove any jammed media between the platen roller and cutter. If necessary, use a flat-blade screwdriver to rotate the platen roller backwards to release any trapped media.
    Rotating the platen roller with a screwdriver to unroll media wound around it
  3. Cut a straight edge on the undamaged media, and load the media through the cutter.
  4. Close the printhead.
  5. Make sure that the printer is set to
    Linerless cut
     mode. Having the wrong setting can cause this issue.
The media has drifted to the right, so the label-taken sensor cannot detect it.
  1. Ensure that the inboard edge of the media is fully under the label-taken sensor (1). If it is not, open the printhead, check that the roll of media is placed correctly on the media hanger, and adjust the media inward along the entire path.
    Media sliding to the left in the linerless cutter
  2. Check the media guides to ensure that they are just touching the edge of the media.
    Media guide sliding inward
  3. Close the printhead.
The media is not loaded through the cutter.
Load media through the cutter.
CUTTER ERROR
The cutter assembly is open.
  1. Apply pressure to the gold square on the front of the cutter to snap the top of the cutter into place.
    Closing the linerless cutter by pressing the gold square
  2. Open and close the printhead to clear the error.
  3. Press
    PAUSE
     to enable printing.
Debris and media scraps may have fallen behind the cutter and blocked the cutter-closed sensor.
  1. Press down on the cutter release lever, and then pivot the cutter forward.
    Release lever pushing down and cutter rotating away from printer
  2. Clean out any debris blocking the cutter-close sensor. You may gently try to remove debris with a plastic spudger (no metal).
    Check for debris blocking the cutter-open sensor at this location.
  3. If necessary, remove the cutter from the printer to access the sensor and debris.
  4. After the sensor is cleared, reinstall the cutter and lock it into place.
  5. Open and close the printhead to clear the error.