Zebra Technologies 170PAX2TM manual Printer configuration See configuration

Glossary

printer configuration (See configuration.)

printhead wear The degradation of the surface of the printhead and/or the print elements over time. Heat and abrasion can cause printhead wear. Therefore, to maximize the life of the printhead, use the lowest print darkness setting (sometimes called burn temperature or head temperature) and the lowest printhead pressure necessary to produce good print quality. In the thermal transfer printing method, use ribbon that is as wide or wider than the media, to protect the printhead from the rough media surface.

registration Alignment of printing with respect to the top of a label or tag.

rewind A mode of operation in which the label and backing material are wound onto a spindle within the printer and then dispensed for use in a separate process. The rewind option must be installed to operate in this mode.

ribbon A band of material consisting of a base film coated with wax or resin “ink”. The inked side of the material is pressed by the printhead against the media. The ribbon transfers ink onto the media when heated by the small elements within the printhead. Zebra ribbons have a coating on the back that protects the printhead from wear.

ribbon wrinkle A wrinkling of the ribbon caused by improper alignment or improper printhead pressure. This wrinkle can cause voids in the print and/or the used ribbon to rewind unevenly. This condition should be corrected by performing adjustment procedures.

roll media Media that comes supplied rolled onto a core (usually cardboard). Contrast this with fanfold media.

supplies A general term for media and ribbon.

symbology The term generally used when referring to a bar code.

tag A type of media having no adhesive backing but featuring a hole or notch by which the tag can be hung on something. Tags are usually made of cardboard or other durable material.

take label sensor (See label available sensor.)

tear-offA mode of operation in which the user tears the label or tag stock away from the remaining media by hand.

thermal direct (See direct thermal.)

thermal transfer A printing method in which the printhead presses an ink or resin coated ribbon against the media. Heating the printhead elements causes the ink or resin to transfer onto the media. By selectively heating the printhead elements as the media and ribbon move past, an image is printed onto the media. Contrast this with direct thermal.

void A space where printing should have occurred, but did not due to an error condition such as wrinkled ribbon or faulty print elements. A void can cause a printed bar code symbol to be read incorrectly or not at all.

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