Ribbon Issues

ZT610/ZT620 Industrial Printer with Color Touch Display User Guide

Ribbon Issues

See zebra.com/zt600-info for videos on resolving commonly encountered issues.

Wrinkled Ribbon

If the ribbon tends to wrinkle, try the following:

If the ribbon...	Then...
Wrinkles from the lower left to the upper right	Increase the pressure on the outside toggle OR decrease the pressure on the inside toggle. Go to Adjusting the Printhead Pressure.
Wrinkles from the upper left to the lower right	Increase the pressure on the inside toggle OR decrease the pressure on the outside toggle. Go to Adjusting the Printhead Pressure.
Wrinkles in the middle	Move both toggles toward the center of the label to increase the pressure in that area. Go to Adjusting the Toggle Position.

If those do not solve the problem with wrinkled ribbon, check the following:

Possible Cause	Recommended Solution
Ribbon was loaded incorrectly.	Load the ribbon correctly. Go to Loading the Ribbon.
Incorrect burn temperature.	Perform the steps in Running the Print Wizard and Printing a Test Label. If necessary, manually adjust the darkness or print speed settings. Set the print darkness to the lowest setting that provides good print quality. If you set the darkness too high, the label image may print unclearly, barcodes may not scan correctly, the ribbon may burn through, or the printhead may wear prematurely. Slower print speeds typically yield better print quality. Access the darkness and print speed settings from the Home screen by touching Menu Print Print Quality .
Incorrect or uneven printhead pressure.	Set the printhead pressure to the minimum needed for good print quality. Go to Adjusting the Printhead Pressure, Toggle Position, and Balance.
Media not feeding properly; “walking” from side to side.	Adjust the media guide until it just touches the edge of the media. If this does not solve the issue, check the printhead pressure. Go to Adjusting the Printhead Pressure, Toggle Position, and Balance. If necessary, call a service technician.
The printhead or platen roller may be installed incorrectly.	Verify, if you can, that they are installed correctly. If necessary, call a service technician.

Broken or Melted Ribbon

Possible Cause	Recommended Solution
Darkness is set too high.	Perform the steps in Running the Print Wizard and Printing a Test Label. If necessary, manually adjust the darkness or print speed settings. Set the print darkness to the lowest setting that provides good print quality. If you set the darkness too high, the label image may print unclearly, barcodes may not scan correctly, the ribbon may burn through, or the printhead may wear prematurely. Slower print speeds typically yield better print quality. Access the darkness and print speed settings from the Home screen by touching Menu Print Print Quality . Clean the printhead thoroughly. Go to Cleaning the Printhead and Platen Roller.
The ribbon is coated on the wrong side and cannot be used in this printer.	Replace the ribbon with one coated on the correct side. For more information, go to Determining the Type of Ribbon to Use.

Possible Cause

Recommended Solution

Darkness is set too high.

Perform the steps in Running the Print Wizard and Printing a Test Label.

If necessary, manually adjust the darkness or print speed settings.

Set the print darkness to the lowest setting that provides good print quality. If you set the darkness too high, the label image may print unclearly, barcodes may not scan correctly, the ribbon may burn through, or the printhead may wear prematurely.

Slower print speeds typically yield better print quality.

Access the darkness and print speed settings from the Home screen by touching

Print Quality

Clean the printhead thoroughly. Go to Cleaning the Printhead and Platen Roller.

The ribbon is coated on the wrong side and cannot be used in this printer.

Replace the ribbon with one coated on the correct side. For more information, go to Determining the Type of Ribbon to Use.

Ribbon Detection Issues

Issue	Possible Cause	Recommended Solution
The printer does not detect when the ribbon runs out.	The printer may have been calibrated without ribbon or without the ribbon loaded properly.	Make sure that ribbon is loaded correctly so that it can be detected by the ribbon sensor. Under the printhead, the ribbon should track all the way back, near the printer’s firewall. Go to Loading the Ribbon. Calibrate the printer. Go to Calibrating the Ribbon and Media Sensors.
In thermal transfer mode, the printer did not detect the ribbon even though it is loaded correctly.
The printer indicates that ribbon is out, even though ribbon is loaded correctly.	The printer was not calibrated for the label and ribbon being used.	Calibrate the printer. Go to Calibrating the Ribbon and Media Sensors.