Zebra Technologies ZP 450 User Manual

®

Zebra

Desktop Thermal Printer

User Guide

ZP 450™

ii

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

©2010 ZIH Corp. ZP-Series,ZP 450, ZBI, ZBI 2.0, ZBI-Developer, Uni-Ribbon,
ZebraDesigner, ZebraNet, EPL, EPL2, ZPL, ZPL II, OpenACCESS and all product names
and numbers are Zebra trademarks, and Zebra, the Zebra head graphic, ZPL, ZPL II,
Element Energy Equalizer circuit, E3 Circuitand, and ZebraNet are registered trademarks
of ZIH Corp. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are the property of their respective
owners.

iii

This product may contain ZPL®, ZPL II®, and ZebraLink™ programs; Element Energy

3

Equalizer™ Circuit; E

®; and Monotype Imaging fonts. Software ©ZIH corp. All rights

reserved worldwide.

All rights reserved worldwide.Monotype®, Intellifont® and UFST® are trademarks of
Monotype Imaging, Inc. registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and
may be registered in certain jurisdictions.

CG Triumvirate is a trademark of Monotype Imaging, Inc. and may be registered in some
jurisdictions.

TrueType® is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc. registered in the United States Patent
and Trademark Office and may be registered in certancertain jurisdictions.

Proprietary Statement

This manual contains proprietary information of Zebra Technologies Corporation and its
subsidiaries (“Zebra Technologies”). It is intended solely for the information and use of
parties operating and maintaining the equipment described herein. Such proprietary
information may not be used, reproduced, or disclosed to any other parties for any other
purpose without the express written permission of Zebra Technologies.

Product Improvements

Continuous improvement of products is a policy of Zebra Technologies. All specifications
and designs are subject to change without notice.

Liability Disclaimer

Zebra Technologies takes steps to ensure that its published Engineering specifications and
manuals are correct; however, errors do occur. Zebra Technologies reserves the right to
correct any such errors and disclaims liability resulting therefrom.

Limitation of Liability

In no event shall Zebra Technologies or anyone else involved in the creation, production,
or delivery of the accompanying product (including hardware and software) be liable for
any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, consequential damages including
loss of business profits, business interruption, or loss of business information) arising out
of the use of, the results of use of, or inability to use such product, even if Zebra
Technologies has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some jurisdictions do
not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above
limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.

Canadian DOC Compliance Statement

This Class B digital apparatus complies with Canadian ICES-003.
Cet appareil numérique de la classe B est conforme à la norme NMB-003 du Canada.

12/8/2010 ZP 450 User Guide P1031442-001

iv

FCC Compliance Statement

This device complies with Part 15 rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and

2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause

undesired operation.

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for Class B Digital
Devices, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable
protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a residential
environment. This equipment generates, use s, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if
not installed and used in accordance with the product manuals, may cause harmful interference
to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a
particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television
reception, the user is encouraged to do one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

• Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver
is connected.

• Consult the dealer or an experienced RF service technician for help.

The user is cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved by Zebra
Technologies could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment. To ensure compliance,
this printer must be used with fully shielded communication cables.

Environmental Management

Do not dispose of this product in unsorted municipal waste. This product is recyclable, a nd
should be recycled according to your local standards.

For more information, please see our website at:

Web address: www.zebra.com/environment

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

About This Document

This section provides you with contact information, document structure and organization, and
additional reference documents.

Contents

Who Should Use This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

How This Document Is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Document Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

12/8/2010 ZP 450 User Guide P1031442-001

About This Document

vi

Who Should Use This Document

Who Should Use This Document

This User Guide is intended for use by any person who needs to operate or to troubleshoot
problems with the printer.

How This Document Is Organized

The User Guide is set up as follows:

Section Description

Introduction on page 1 This section describes what you get in your

Getting Started on page 7 This section describes how to set up your printer

shipping box and provides an overview of printer
features. This section also has procedures that
describe how to open and close the printer and
report any problems.

for the first time and use the most common
operating procedures for loading media.

Operations and Options on page 25 This section provides media and print handling,

font and language support, and the set up of less
common printer configura tions.

Maintenance on page 37 This section provides routine cleaning and

maintenance procedures.

Troubleshooting on page 45 This section provides information about printer

error reporting that you might need for printer
troubleshooting. Assorted diagnostic tests are
included.

Appendix: Interface Wiring

on page 59

Appendix: ZPL Configur ation

on page 65

This section provides additional interface
information and wiring diagrams to assist with
printer to host system integration (typically a PC).

This section briefly covers printer configuration
and includes a cross-reference to ZPL printer
configuration commands.

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

Contacts

About This Document

Technical Support via the Internet is available 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

Web Site: www.zebra.com

E-mail Back Technical Library:

• E-mail address: [e-mail]

• Subject line: Emaillist

Self Service Knowledge Base: www.zebra.com/knowledgebase

Online Case Registration: www.zebra.com/techrequest

Contacts

vii

Which Department

Do You Nee d?

Regional Headquarters

Technical Supp ort

For questions on the
ope ra tion of Ze bra
equipment and software,
please call y our dis tr ibutor.
For additional assistance,
contact us.

Please have your model and
serial numbers available.

Repair Service
Depa rtment

For back-to-base service and
repair.

Technical Training
Depa rtment

For Zebra product training
courses.

Inquiry Department

For product literature and
distr ibu to r an d dea le r
information.

Customer Service
Depa rtment (US)
Internal Sales
Department (UK)

For printers, parts, media,
and ribbon, please call your
distr ibu to r or con tact us.

Key: T: Telephone

F: Facsimile
E: E-mai l

The Americas

Zebra Technologies International, LLC
333 Corporate Woods Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061-3109
U.S.A.

T: [phone]
Toll-free [phone]
F: [phone]

T: +1 877 ASK ZEBRA (275 9327)
F: [phone]

Hardware: [e-mail]
Software: [e-mail]

T: +1 877 ASK ZEBRA (275 9327)
F: [phone]

E: [e-mail]

To request a repair in the U.S.,
go to www.zebra.com/repair.

T: [phone]
T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: [e-mail]

T: +1 877 ASK ZEBRA (275 9327)

E: [e-mail]

T: +1 877 ASK ZEBRA (275 9327)

E: [e-mail]

Europe, Africa,

Middle East, India

Zebra Technologies Europe Limited
Dukes Meadow
Millboard Road
Bourne End
Buckinghamshire, SL8 5XF
United Kingdom

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: [e-mail]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

New requests: [e-mail]
Status updates:

[e-mail]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: [e-mail]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: [e-mail]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: [e-mail]

Asia Pacific

Zebra Technologies Asia
Pacific Pte. Ltd.
120 Robinson Road
#06-01 Parakou Building
Singapore 068913

T: + 65 6858 0722
F: [phone]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: China: [e-mail]

All other areas:

[e-mail]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: China: [e-mail]

All other areas:

[e-mail]

T: + 65 6858 0722
F: [phone]

E: China: [e-mail]

All other areas:

[e-mail]

E: China: [e-mail]

All other areas:

[e-mail]

T: [phone]
F: [phone]

E: China: [e-mail]

All other areas:

[e-mail]

12/8/2010 ZP 450 User Guide P1031442-001

About This Document

viii

Document Conventions

Document Conventions

The following conventions are used throughout this document to convey certain information.

Alternate Color (online only) Cross-references contain hot links to other sections in this
guide. If you are viewing this guide online in .pdf format, you can click the cross-reference
(blue text) to jump directly to its location.

Command Line Examples Command line examples appear in Courier New font. For
example, type

Files and Directories File names and directories appear in Courier New font. For
example, the

Icons Used

Caution • Warns you of the potential for electrostatic discharge.

ZTools to get to the Post-Install scripts in the bin directory.

Zebra<version number>.tar file and the /root directory.

Caution • Warns you of a potential electric shock situation.

Caution • Warns you of a situation where excessive heat could cause a burn.

Caution • Advises you that failure to take or avoid a specific action could result in physical

harm to you.

Caution • (No icon) Advises you that failure to take or avoid a specific action could result in

physical harm to the hardware.

Impo rtant • Advises you of information that is essential to complete a task.

Note • Indicates neutral or positive information that emphasizes or supplements important

points of the main text.

Example • Provides an example, often a scenario, to better clarify a section of text.

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

Contents

About This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v

Who Should Use This Document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

How This Document Is Organized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi

Contacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

Document Conventions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

1 • Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

ZP-Series™ Thermal Printers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What’s in the Box? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Unpack and Inspect the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Inspecting the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Printer Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Mini-CD’s in Printer Storage Slot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2 • Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Attaching Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Modes of Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Loading Roll Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Preparing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Placing the Roll in the Media Compartment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Operator Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Printing a Test Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Pre-install Windows® Printer Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Connecting your Printer to a Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Interface Cable Requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Communicating with the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

3 • Operations and Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Thermal Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

12/8/2010 ZP 450 User Guide P1031442-001

x

Long Term Printer In-activity or Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Replacing Supplies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Determining Thermal Media Types. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Adjusting the Print Width. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Adjusting the Print Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Sending Files to the Printer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

Media Sensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Printing in Dispenser Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Printing on Fan-Fold Media. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

ZebraNet® 10/100 Internal (Wired) Print Server Option. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Printer Network Configuration Status Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

4 • Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Cleaning the Printhead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Cleaning the Media Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Cleaning the Platen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5 • Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Status Light Descriptions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Status Light Error Resolutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Print Quality Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Manual Calibration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Troubleshooting Tests. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Printing a Configuration Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Recalibration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Resetting the Factory Default Values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Communications Diagnostics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Feed Button Modes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

A • Appendix: Interface Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Universal Serial Bus (USB) Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Parallel Interface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Ethernet Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Serial Port Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

B • Appendix: ZPL Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Managing the ZPL Printer Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

ZPL Configuration Status to Command Cross-reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Printer Memory Management and Related Status Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

ZPL Programming for Memory Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

1

Introduction

This section describes what you get in your shipping box and provides an overview of printer
features. This includes procedures that describe how to open and close the printer and report
any problems.

Contents

ZP-Series™ Thermal Printers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

What’s in the Box? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Unpack and Inspect the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Inspecting the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Printer Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

12/8/2010 ZP 450 User Guide P1031442-001

Introducti on

2

ZP-Series™ Thermal Printers

ZP-Series™ Thermal Printers

The Zebra® ZP model is the best value in a desktop thermal printer. The ZP 450™ printer
provides direct thermal printing at speeds up to 5 ips (inches per second) at a 203 dpi (dots per
inch) print density. The ZP 450™ supports both ZPL™ and EPL™ Zebra printer programming
languages and a wide variety of interface and feature options.

The ZP-Series™ printer features:

• Automatic printer language detection and switching between ZPL and EPL programming
and label formats.

• OpenAccess™ design for simplified media loading.

• Color-coded operator controls and media guides.

• Zebra™ Global Printing Solution – supports Microsoft Windows keyboard encoding (and
ANSI), Unicode UTF-8 and UTF 16 (Unicode Transformation Formats), XML, ASCII (7
and 8 bit used by legacy programs and systems), basic single and double byte font
encoding, JIS and Shift-JIS (Japanese International Standards), Hexadecimal encoding,
and custom character maps (DAT table creation, font linking, and character remapping).

• On–The –Fly OpenType and TrueType font scaling and import, Unicode, preloaded Swiss
721 Latin 1 font, one resident scalable font, and a selection of resident bitmap fonts.

• Improved printer performance: faster print speeds and a 32-bit processor.

• Adaptive auto serial port cable sensing and configuration for plug-and-play integration.

• Printhead test and maintenance reporting enabled and customizable by the user.

The ZP-Series printers offer these basic printer options:

• Label Dispense (Peel-Off).

• Internal 10/100 Print Server and Ethernet Interface.

®

•Zebra

ZBI 2.0™ (Zebra BASIC Interpreter) programming language. ZBI™ allows you

to create custom printer operations that can automate processes, use peripherals (i.e.

®

scanners, scales, keyboards, Zebra

KDU or KDU Plus™, etc.) all without being attached

to a PC or network.

This users guide provides all the information you need to operate your printer. To create label
formats, refer to your programming guides or label design applications such as
ZebraDesigner™.

Your printer, when connected to a host computer, functions as a complete system for printing
labels and tags.

Note • Many printer settings may also be controlled by your printer’s driver or label design

software. Refer to the driver or software documentation for more information.

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

What’s in the Box?

Power Cord

varies by locale or region

Documentation

and Software

Kit order Option:

Media Roll

Kit Order Option

Serial Cable

Printer

Cleaning

Pen

USB Cable

Save the carton and all packing materials in case you need to ship or store the printer later.
After unpacking, make sure you have all parts. Follow the procedures for inspecting the
printer to familiarize yourself with printer parts so you can follow the instructions in this book.

Introduction

What’s in the Box?

3

12/8/2010 ZP 450 User Guide P1031442-001

Unpack and Inspect the Printer

When you receive the printer, immediately unpack it and inspect for shipping damage.

• Save all packing materials.

• Check all exterior surfaces for damage.

• Open the printer and inspect the media compartment for damage to components.

If you discover shipping damage upon inspection:

• Immediately notify the shipping company and file a damage report. Zebra
Technologies Corporation is not responsible for any damage to the printer incurred
during shipment, and will not cover the repair of this damage under its warranty
policy.

• Keep all packaging material for shipping company inspection.

Introducti on

Interface

Connectors

Feed Button

Power

Switch

Active

Power

Light

Status Light

Release

Latches

Release
Latches

Power

Supply

Receptacle

Power

Base

4

Inspecting the Printer

Inspecting the Printer

Look at the outside of the printer and make sure that all parts are present.

Opening the printer

To access the media compartment, you must open the printer. Pull the release latches towards
you and lift the cover.

After opening the printer, check the media compartment.

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

Printhead

Head-Up Sensor
(inside)

Label Taken

Sensor

Peel Roller

Peel Bar

Platen

Roller

Media Roll

Holder and

Media Guide

Power Base

Gap

Sensor

Black-Line

Sensor

Mini-CD Storage

Dispenser - Open

Roll Holder Stop

Adjustment

Printer Features

Introduction

Inspecting the Printer

5

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Introducti on

All rights rese rve d .

6

Inspecting the Printer

Closing the printer

Reporting Damage

1. Lower the top cover. Press down until the cover snaps closed.

If you discover damage or missing parts:

• Immediately notify and file a shipping damage report.

• Keep the carton and all packing material for inspection.

Mini-CD’s in Printer Storage Slot

For printer configurations that include the printer support CD:

The printer has a mini-CD storage slot molded between the printer and its power base. Please
keep the mini-CD there for quick access to maintenance, troubleshooting, printer usage
animations, media, contact information and more.

1. Always place the mini-CD in its plastic sleeve to protect the mini-CD from damage.

2. Slide the plastic sleeve with the mini-CD inside, into the printer.

Copyright ©2005 ZIH Corp.

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

2

Getting Started

This section describes how to set up your printer for the first time and use the most common
operating procedures for loading media.

Contents

Attaching Power . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Modes of Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Loading Roll Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Operator Controls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Printing a Test Label. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Pre-install Windows® Printer Drivers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Connecting your Printer to a Computer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Communicating with the Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

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Getting Started

Power

Connector

IEC 60320-C5

Power
Switch

Plug Varies
by Country

Active

Power

Light

Power
Supply
Receptacle

Power
Base

AC Power Cord

Printer

8

Attaching Power

Attaching Power

Impo rtant • Set up your printer so that you can handle the power cord easily if needed. To

make certain the printer cannot carry electrical current, you must separate the power cord from
the power supply receptacle or AC electrical outlet.

Caution • Never operate the printer and power supply in an area where they can get wet.

Serious personal injury could result!

1. Make sure the power switch is in the off position (down).

2. Insert the AC power cord into the power supply.

3. Plug the other end of the cord into an appropriate AC electrical outlet.

Caution • Ensure that the appropriate power cord with a three (3) prong plug and an

IEC 60320-C5 connector is used at all times. This power cord must bear the relevant
certification mark of the country in which the product is being used.

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Modes of Printing

You can operate this printer in different modes:

• Standard tear-off mode allows you to tear off each label (or a strip of labels) after it is
printed. The most common media use configuration is covered in the follow section,
Loading Roll Media.

• Dispense mode will peel the backing material away from the label as it is printed. After
this label is removed, the next one is printed.

• The printer typically uses roll media, but you can use fan-fold or other continuous media
as well.

For procedures to use optional media handling, equipment and features, refer to Operations &

Options on page 25.

Loading Roll Media

• When you load media, you must pla ce the roll on the media hangers.

Getting Started

Modes of Printing

9

• You must use the correct media for the type of printing you require. You must use direct
thermal media.

Preparing Media

Whether your roll media is inside or outside wound you load it into the printer the same way.

• Remove the outside length of media. During shipment, the roll may become dirty when
handled or dusty when stored. Removing the outside length avoids dragging adhesive or
dirty media between the printhead and platen roller.

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Getting Started

10

Loading Roll Media

Placing the Roll in the Media Compartment

1. Open the printer. Remember that you need to pull the release latch levers toward the front

of the printer.

2. Open the media roll holders. Pull the media guides open with your free hand and place the

media roll on the roll holders and release the guides. Orient the media roll so that its
printing surface will face up as it passes over the platen (drive) roller.

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

Getting Started

Under Media

Guides

Loading Roll Media

3. Pull the media so that it extends out of the front of the printer. Verify the roll turns freely.

The roll must not sit in the bottom of the media compartment. Verify that the media’s
printing surface is facing up.

11

4. Push the media under both of the media guides.

5. Close the printer. Press down until the cover snaps closed.

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Getting Started

Power

Switch

Active

Power

Light

12

Operator Controls

Operator Controls

Power Switch

Press up to turn ON or down to turn OFF the printer.

Impo rtant • To make certain the printer cannot carry electrical current, you must s eparate the

power cord from the power supply receptacle or AC electrical outlet. Set up your printer so
that you can handle the power cord easily if needed.

Caution • The power should be turned off before connecting or disconnecting the

communications and power cables.

Active Power Light

Located at the rear of the printer, the active power light indicates that electrical power is
energizing the printer.

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Feed Button

Feed

Button

Status

Light

• Tap the Feed button once to force the printer to feed one blank label.

• Press the Feed button to take the printer out of a “pause” condition. The printer is put into
“pause” by either a programming command or an error condition. See Status Light
Descriptions on page 48 in the Troubleshooting chapter.

• Use the Feed button for printer setup and status (see Feed Button Modes on page 57 in the
Troubleshooting chapter).

Status Light

Located on the top case next to the feed button, the status light functions as a printer
operational indicator (see See Feed Button Modes on page 57 in the Troubleshooting chapter).

Getting Started

Operator Controls

13

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Getting Started

14

Printing a Test Label

Printing a Test Label

Before you connect the printer to your computer, make sure that the printer is in proper
working order.

You can do this by printing a configuration label.

1. Make sure the media is properly loaded and the top cover of the printer is closed. Then,

turn the printer power on if you have not already done so.

2. When the status light is solid green, press and hold the feed button until the status light

flashes once.

3. Release the feed button. A configura tion label will print.

If you cannot get this label to print, refer to Getting Started on page 7.

P1031442-001 ZP 450 User Guide 12/8/2010

Pre-install Windows® Printer Drivers

Getting Started

Pre-install Windows® Printer Drivers

15

Zebra is changing the way you install and use your printer with your Windows based PC

®

systems. We recommend that at minimum, the ZebraDesigner™ Windows

driver be pre-

installed to take advantage of the advancements in ease of use and simplicity of the Windows

®

operating systems since the release of Windows XP

SP2.

Zebra provides the suite of printer drivers with internal utilities and tools for use with most
Windows PC operating systems.The ZebraDesigner Windows printer drivers are available on
the user’s CD and the Zebra web site (www.ups.ze bra .com

®

ZebraDesigner™ Driver: Supports Windows 7

®

Windows

2000®, Windows Server® 2008, and Windows Server® 2003 operating systems.

, Windows Vista®, Windows XP®,

) for latest versions.

The driver supports 32 bit and 64 bit Windows operating systems and is Microsoft Certified.
Zebra Setup Utilities and the ZebraDesigner driver support the following ZP-Series printer
communication interfaces: USB, Parallel, Serial, and Wired Ethernet.

Install the ZebraDesigner Driver before

applying power to the printer connected to the

PC (running a Zebra driver supported Windows operating system).

Plug’N’Play (PnP) Printer Detection and Windows® operating systems

More recent Windows operating systems automatically detect the printer when it is connected
via the USB interface. Depending on the hardware configuration and the Windows version,
your printer may be Plug-and-Play (PnP) detected when connecting to the USB, parallel, or
serial port interfaces. The printer drivers do not support serial port PnP installation at this
time.The printer’s PC interface configuration for the parallel port must support and have
bidirectional communications for PnP operations.

The operating system automatically starts a “Add new hardware’ wizard when connecting the
printer for the first time to the PC. If you have pre-loaded the driver suite with the Zebra Setup
Utility, then the printer driver will automatically install. Go to your Windows printer directory
and right-click and select ‘Properties’. Click on the ‘Print test page’ button to verify a
successful installation.

The Windows operating system will detect and re-link a previously installed printer if it is
reconnected to the USB interface or if printer power is turned on after the PC has finished its
restart of the operating system. Ignore the new device detected warnings and close the Task bar
prompts. Wait several seconds for the operating system to match the printer to the driver
software. The warnings will quit and the printer now should be ready to begin printing.

The Windows operating system will install a separate instance of the printer driver for each
printer. The printer's serial number links the printer to each driver instance to allow the printers
to have unique printer settings.

Universal Serial Bus (USB) Device Communications

The printer is a terminal device (not a host or hub) when using a USB interface. You can refer
to the USB Specification for details regarding this interface.

Note • Scanners, scales or other data input (terminal) devices must use the serial port (not the

USB port) to send data to the printer.

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