Solving Print Quality Issues or Color Printing Issues on Card Printers

Problem

Click to expand

• Printer may require cleaning
  • For Value Class printers, refer to the article How to Clean the P100 Zebra Card Printer.
  • For Performance Class printers, refer to the PDF guide P430i Cleaning Procedure.
• Increase color intensity under Printing Preferences
  • For ZXP series printers, refer to the PDF guide Image Control.
• Ribbon may be old or defective, try a new ribbon
• Head resistance is too low. Increase head resistance. 
  • For more information, refer to the article Changing Printhead Resistance on Zebra Card Printers to Lighten or Darken the Image.

Click to expand

• Make sure the correct power supply is being used.
  • Value series printers should have the power supply with an output of 24V. Any power supply with lower voltage will not have enough power to heat the printhead nor operate the printer properly
• Printhead may need alignment.

Click to expand

• Decrease color intensity under Printing Preferences.
  • For ZXP series printers, refer to the PDF guide Image Control.
• Head resistance is too high. Lower head resistance. 
  • For more information, refer to the article Changing Printhead Resistance on Zebra Card Printers to Lighten or Darken the Image.

Click to expand

• Printer may require cleaning
  • For Value Class printers, refer to the article How to Clean the P100 Zebra Card Printer.
  • For Performance Class printers, refer to the PDF guide P430i Cleaning Procedure.
• Cards have contamination. Use clean cards. 
  • For more information, refer to the article Proper Card Handling and Loading Recommendations.
• Monochrome settings may need adjustment. Different settings may be needed when printing black text, barcodes, or images.
  • For ZXP series printers, refer to the article Adjusting the Monochrome Intensity on a ZXP Series 1 and ZXP Series 3 Card Printer.
  • For Value class or Performance class printers, refer to the article How to Increase Black Contrast and Slow Print Speed P Series Zebra Card Printer.
• Head resistance is too low. Increase head resistance. 
  • For more information, refer to the article Changing Printhead Resistance on Zebra Card Printers to Lighten or Darken the Image.

Click to expand

• Cards have contamination. Use clean cards.
  • For more information, refer to the article Proper Card Handling and Loading Recommendations.
• Spotting may be shown due to dirty printer. Printer may require cleaning.
  • For Value Class printers, refer to the article How to Clean the P100 Zebra Card Printer.
  • For Performance Class printers, refer to the PDF guide P430i Cleaning Procedure.

Click to expand

• Mostly visible on white areas. This is due to contamination on the card, most likely the card surface has been touched and the fingers left oil residue. Use new cards following proper card handling recommendations.
  • For more information, refer to the article Proper Card Handling and Loading Recommendations.

Click to expand

• Dust or foreign particles are stuck to the printhead. Run a cleaning procedure to clean printer or clean printhead manually.
  • For Value Class printers, refer to the article How to Clean the P100 Zebra Card Printer.
  • For Performance Class printers, refer to the PDF guide P430i Cleaning Procedure.
• Printhead has damaged elements and needs replacement.
  • For more information, refer to the article There Are White Lines Printing across the Cards When Using a Zebra Card Printer.

Click to expand

• Card may not be traveling properly due to dirty rollers. This disturbs the timing for when the color panels on the ribbon lay down on the card as it prints. Run a cleaning cycle.
  • For Value Class printers, refer to the article How to Clean the P100 Zebra Card Printer.
  • For Performance Class printers, refer to the PDF guide P430i Cleaning Procedure.
• Ribbon sensor may need calibration:
  • For Performance printers, refer to the article Re-calibrating the Performance Class Card Printer's Ribbon Sensor .
  • For Value Class or ZXP series printers, refer to the article Calibrating the Ribbon Sensor on the Value Class and ZXP Series Printer.

Click to expand

• You may need to adjust the End of Card (EC), X or Y offsets Adjusting the EC, X and Y Offsets on ZXP Series 1 and ZXP Series 3

NOTE Procedure for making these changes is labeled for a ZXP Series 3. However, the commands and location of these settings are rather similar to the Performance and Value Class printers.

Click to expand

• Decrease color intensity under Printing Preferences.
  • For ZXP series printers, refer to the PDF guide Image Control.
• Head resistance is too high. Lower head resistance. 
  • For more information, refer to the article Changing Printhead Resistance on Zebra Card Printers to Lighten or Darken the Image .
• Printhead may need alignment. 

Click to expand

•  Incorrect ribbon is being used or printer failed to recognize the ribbon. Card printers use i-Series ribbons only, make sure you are using the correct ribbon and it is installed correctly. 

Click to expand

• When cards are being printed with part of it half of one color, the ribbon sensor needs calibration.
  • For Performance printers, refer to the article Re-calibrating the Performance Class Card Printer's Ribbon Sensor .
  • For Value Class or ZXP series printers, refer to the article Calibrating the Ribbon Sensor on the Value Class and ZXP Series Printer.

• Make sure you are using cards that meet printer's specifications. Contact your card manufacturer if you are not sure.
• When using adhesive backed cards, make sure you are printing on the PVC/printable surface
• Printhead data cable may be disconnected. 
• Printhead may be damaged.

• If ribbon is breaking at the beginning of any color panel, the printhead is printing too close to the edge of the card. Adjust the X offset.
• If ribbon is breaking at the end of any color panel, the printhead is going past the edge of the card. Adjust the EC setting.
• For more information, refer to the article Adjusting the EC, X and Y Offsets on ZXP Series 1 and ZXP Series 3.

NOTE Procedure for making these changes is labeled for a ZXP Series 3. However, the commands and location of these settings are similar, if not the same, as the Performance and Value Class printers.

• Head resistance is too high. Lower head resistance. Changing Printhead Resistance on Zebra Card Printers to Lighten or Darken the Image.
• If using custom cards such as:
  • Adhesive-backed cards, refer to the article Adhesive Style Cards Used with a Zebra Card Printer.
  • Pre-punched cards, refer to the article Using Pre-punched Cards on Card Printers.
• Printer may need alignment.