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Zebra Printer Support

By on January 20th, 2020

Experiencing problems with your Zebra ID card printer? Our support section is here to help. You’ll find answers to the most common questions, advice on printing with your Zebra as well as useful links to Drivers and in-depth user manuals. 

Driver and Firmware FAQs

The printer driver is loaded automatically from the Windows Update service when the printer is connected via USB. However, you can install the Driver manually via Zebra’s website. 

To keep your Firmware up to date on to your Zebra printer, you must download Zebra’s ZDownloader Utility. 

After opening ZDownloader Utility: 

  1. In the top menu bar, select ‘Printer’ and then ‘Auto Detect’.
  2. A message displaying ‘Searching Local Network and USB’ should pop up. 
  3. Once the list loads, select the printer that corresponds to the USB port on your computer.
  4. Select ‘File’ and then ‘Select Firmware File’.
  5. Browse to the location of the saved firmware file and click ‘Open.
  6. From the top menu, select ‘Printer’ and then ‘Download All’.
  7. It’ll take a few minutes for the download to complete. You can track its progress via the progress bar at the side of the file.
  8. Allow sufficient time for the firmware to finish processing after the download has completed as there are verification and decompression steps that may be occurring without a printer front panel indication.

Printing and Ribbons FAQs

A card jam is reported by the printer when a card fails to reach a sensor as expected, or a card blocks a sensor unexpectedly. To clean a jam:

  1. Open the printer.
  2. Remove the ribbon cartridge.
  3. Rotate the manual advance wheel located toward the front of the printer until the card exits the printer.

Cards must be inserted in their correct orientation (thin end first) to enter the printer. It’s important to remember the following for different forms of cards: 

  1. Plain cards can be inserted facing either side up.
  2. Magstripe cards should be inserted with the stripe side facing down and to the right-hand side.
  3. Contact smart cards are to be inserted with the chip facing up and forward.
  4. Contactless smart cards can be inserted in any direction. 

If your Zebra printer is printing images too dark or light, or you’re experiencing regularly breaking ribbons, you should try adjusting the print head power. To do this:

  1. Go to your computer’s ‘Devices and Printers’ folder.
  2. Right-click on the Zebra printer you want to adjust the print head power on.
  3. Select ‘Printing Preferences’ from the pop-up menu.
  4. Click on the ‘Image Control’ tab.
  5. You can reduce or increase the print head power for Yellow, Magenta and Cyan using the sliding bars. We recommend adjusting them in sync in increments of five or ten.
  6. Click ‘Apply’, carry out a test print, and adjust again accordingly if required.

To print a sample test card, follow the procedure outlined below:

  1. Ensure the printer is powered on and ‘Ready’.
  2. From the ‘Printer Ready’ screen, press the rightmost soft-key to go to the ‘Tools’ menu. 
  3. Use the centre soft key to move the selection to ‘Print Sample Cards’ and press the rightmost soft key to select.
  4. Use the central soft key to select the cards you wish to print. 
  5. Press the rightmost soft key to being the print. 

A breaking ribbon is to be expected from time to time when using an ID card printer, but if it keeps happening, try the following steps.

  1. Ensure your Zebra printer’s Drivers and Firmware is up to date and running the newest versions.
  2. Carry out a thorough clean of your ID card printer and ensure the print head is free of dust and debris.
  3. Ensure the ribbon is correctly seated in the printer.
  4. Adjust the print head power.
  5. If none of the above helps, try switching your cards for new ones; they may be contaminated. 

Warranty FAQs

Zebra’s latest models including the ZC300 and the ZXP Series 9 come with a two-year warranty on the printer itself and a lifetime warranty for the print head. 

You can find full details on Zebra’s warranty conditions in its detailed product warranty page.

Zebra Resources

ZC100 / ZC300

ZXP Series 7

ZXP Series 9

Zebra is a well-known manufacturer of printing products, and there’s something in its ID card printer line-up to suit low-, medium- and high-volume needs. 

If you need more assistance with your Zebra printer, just get in touch with our helpful staff by calling the number at the bottom of this page. 

Need Zebra printer consumables?

Zebra cleaning kits
Zebra printer ribbons
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