Must hold pressure on right side of cover in order to get uniform printing accross label.

When printing on less than full width media, the printer has a printhead-leveling cam to adjust the right side of the printhead
for even pressure distribution. To adjust the leveling cam:
1. With media loaded in the printer, print a label (press the
FEED + CANCEL buttons simultaneously) and
examine it..
2. While observing the printed labels, loosen the
Thumbscrew and move it to the left most position. (see
Example 1, below).
3. Next, move the Thumbscrew to the right until the
printed labels contain a complete, even image (see
Example 2). Tighten the Thumbscrew.

There is a tensioner that holds the printhead assembly down, slide it more to the right. It sounds like you just need a bit more pressure on the right hand side of the printhead.

So the left side is blank ? Usually caused by an imbalance across the printhead. Check the toggle pressure on the left side. Each toggle has a dial on top for adjusting the down pressure. Probably less pressure on the left than the right. Quick test would be to use your finger to put some down pressure on the left side of the printhead while printing. If the print is there, you have your answer. If still no printing, then something else is happening.

Hope that helps !

One of two situations exists:
1. If the printing stops with clear stopping edge, then the PRINT WIDTH setting has been changed from the default full width setting of 104mm.
Best way to check this is to take your tallest and widest label and print out a configuration label. This is done by turning off the priner, pressing the CANCEL key and holding while turning on the printer. Release the button when the calibrate led turns off. A config label will print and you can check the setting for PRINT WIDTH.

2. If the printing stops by fading away to the right side, then that is caused by a pressure imbalance across the printhead. There is more pressure on the left side than the right side. There are two toggles the press down on the printhead and the pressure can be adjusted on each by turning the knob on top. Readjust the right side until printing returns across the label.

Hope that helps !

Do you mean that you need to retain the pressure to have good print quality on the right side or you need the pressure to keep the amber status light from showing ?

There is a small optic sensor that functions to indicate if the lid is open or not. The printer will not print as long as it thinks the lid is open. If the lid won't snap down tight enough you can fool the printer by placing a small piece of label or something opaque over the sensor to make it think the lid is closed. The sensor is located on the right side just behind the green adjusting wheel used to adjust the label width guides.

Hope that helps...

It says on the website the labels are 56lb (I guess cover weight). The only way the stock will run right (ie) fuse correctly is in the mp tray using one of the thicker settings. Also if you run labels out of the tray you run the risk of them peeling off making the turn out of the tray and into the machine. All non standard paper is better off using the mp tray.

Normal 0 Driver could be corrupt.
Disconnect the printer or at least be sure it is turned off. I'd do both and reinstall the CD software program that came with the printer. When the software program asks you to connect the printer to the USB port, do so and it should again work properly.
Hope this helps. Bud

Hello, mmgarcia10.

I've dealt with Zebra 140's for a lot of years. It's best to start with the easy fixes, so please don't take offense if I ask you to check obvious probelms.

I'm assuming you use a ribbon (as opposed to direct thermal paper). When replacing ribbon, it's easy to slide the spool on facing the wrong way.

Can you verify that the ribbon is loaded with the ink facing down? The back of the ribbon is probably shiny and should face up. The ink side is dull and ink can probably be scraped off by your fingernail. The ribbon on the spindle should unwind clockwise, not counter-clockwise. If you're familiar with cleaning the printhead, this would be a good time; if not skip the cleaning for now to avoid damage.

If the ribbon was loaded OK, the next thing I'd check is the printhead pressure. The are two posts with thumbscrews located above the printhead. The thumbscrews press against springs that in turn apply a small amount of pressure to the printhead. Each post has two thumbsrews that can be tightened toword each other to lock the position. Labels and ribbons can be a little tricky to load, and sometimes these posts can slide to the side by mistake. A good rule of thumb is to position these above the left and right sides of the label. Don't apply too much pressure, or the printhead will wear out faster, and printheads are exensive. If one side prints light and one side dark, give the light side a little more pressure.

If the labels still don't print, turn the printer off and then on (to reset the main board).

I can't remember if the Z140 can print a configuration page or test print if you hold down the Feed button while turning on the power. It's so easy it's worth a try. I know you can print one by navigating through the front panel. If the label doesn't print, it's probably a hardware problem. I've never seen a ribbon cable work loose from a printhead, but if you can find the connector, you can jiggle it a little and press it in to try to reseat the pins.

If the config page prints but labels from your software don't, you could check the darkness setting in you software, and also in the printer driver (right click the printer name, and choose something like Printing Preferences). There's also a darkness setting stored in the printer that can be set through the front panel, but this is often over-ridden by label software.

Hope this helps,
Label_Guy

Things to check:

1. Move the pressure arm further towards the outside of the printhead. Adjust if needed using only the minimum pressure required in order to achieve uniform print quality.

2. Inspect the printhead to ensure it has properly engaged the alignment pins. I have had after-market printheads that did not line up correctly and required "surgery" to make them properly seat on the mounting pins.

3. Check for worn platen roller bearings. If they're are sufficiently worn, one side of the platen roller will be slightly lower than the other.

4. Consider replacing the platen roller. They do wear out and require replacement. Zebra part number 40038M IIRC.

5. Check the printhead parallelism adjustment. The procedure is in the maintenance manual.

Steve

for starters you need to calibrate your printer.

Note: If printing in Direct Thermal Mode, default the printer first (4 flashes).

1. Load the labels and ribbon (if used) and close the printer
2. Turn on the printer power.
3. Allow the printer to feed or error out.
4. Press and hold the feed button until the green status LED flashes once, then twice. Release the feed button.
6. The printer will set the media sensor for the label backing being used and then automatically feed until a label is positioned at the printhead.
7. A profile of the media sensor settings (similar to the example in Figure 1) will print. Upon completion, the printer will save the new settings in memory and the printer is ready for normal operation.
8. Press the feed button. One entire blank label will feed. If this does not happen, try defaulting (Hold the FEED button until it flashes 4 times)