Zebra Technologies ZM600, RZ400, RZ600, ZM400 Too dark, Slightly dark, Table 21 • Judging Bar Code Quality, Figure 21 • Bar Code Darkness Comparison

Troubleshooting 133

Printer Diagnostics

4.See Figure 21 and Table 21. Inspect the test labels and determine which one has the best print quality for your application. If you have a bar code verifier, use it to measure bars/spaces and calculate the print contrast. If you do not have a bar code verifier, use your eyes or the system scanner to choose the optimal darkness setting based on the labels printed in this self test.

Figure 21 • Bar Code Darkness Comparison

	Table 21 • Judging Bar Code Quality
Print Quality		Description
Too dark		Labels that are too dark are fairly obvious. They may be
		readable but not “in-spec.”
		• The normal bar code bars increase in size.
		• The openings in small alphanumeric characters may fill in
		with ink.
		• Rotated bar code bars and spaces run together.
Slightly dark		Slightly dark labels are not as obvious.
		• The normal bar code will be “in-spec.”
		• Small character alpha numerics will be bold and could be
		slightly filled in.
		• The rotated bar code spaces are small when compared to
		the “in-spec” code, possibly making the code unreadable.

1/11/11 Z Series®/RZ™ Series User Guide 79695L-003