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Pax Print Engine Print Quality Issues

Article ID: 32760813

Details

 

Symptom

Pax Printer Print Quality Adjustments and Configurations to troubleshoot print quality issues

Applies To

This solution is useful for Zebra PAX4 Print Engines:

  • Adjusting the quality of the printed image
  • Setting print speed
  • Setting the print darkness

Symptoms addressed by this solution include:

  • Light print
  • Faded image
  • Partially missing print
  • Broken bars or lines in a barcode

 

Solution

A printer self test label can be used to determine if the given print quality issue is seen from the printer itself and to test any changes made on the printer as you are troubleshooting the issue.
To print a self test label to check the print quality, use the Pause Test.   Read More>>

Print Head Cleaning: 

A dirty print head can result in poor heat transfer and a poorly printed image.  Print head cleaning details Read More>>

Media and Ribbon Combination:

  • The type of labels and ribbon (if used) impacts the quality of the print. Consult with your supplier for details.

 

Adjusting the print darkness:
 
The darkness level can be set directly on the printer, through the printer's LCD  ( Read More>>).   The Zebra Setup Utility can also be used to change the printer's darkness setting.   Read More>>
 
Software and driver settings can over-ride the darkness level set on the printer:
  • If your application is printing through the Zebra Designer Driver Read More>>
  • If your application is printing through a 3rd party driver, contact that vendors technical support.
  • If you are using ZPL code in your application Read More>>
For information on viewing the printer's ZPL configuration Read More>>

Adjusting the Print Head Pressure:

The print head pressure can affect the printed image quality.

  • not printing evenly across the label - unbalanced print head pressure
     
  • ribbon wrinkle - unbalanced or excessive print head pressure
     
  • light print - too little pressure 

Print head pressure adjustment details  Read More>>

Print Speed
 
The printer operates at the selected speed in terms of inches/mm per second.  Because print quality is effected by print speed, media, ribbon ( if thermal transfer ), and printer operating modes, it is important to run tests for your application to choose the optimal print speed setting.  Slowing down the print speed can also help if the print is too light.
 
The print speed can be set through the printer's LCD display.   The Zebra Setup Utility can also be used to change the print speed setting.   Read More>>
 

View the printer settings
 

To view the printer's current ZPL configuration Read More>>

+ Product Codes

  • 110PAX Print Engines (disc.)