Ink smearing I am printing from a Zebra TLP 2844-Z, using Polypro 3000t labels (thermal transfer) and a wax/resin ribbon. The labels are used for employee badges. Once printed and applied, the ink is smearing almost immediately. I called Zebra and they said these two products are compatible and should be working. I have not heard back from Zebra since. Anyone have any suggestions?

There are a couple of possible solutions.
1/ Resin ribbons are meant to be used on synthetic labels onle ie vinyl or polyester. If you are trying to print on paper labels then you will get a rubbish print. you need to use either a wax ribbon or a wax resin ribbon.

2/ If you are printing onto a synthetic labels and the print is light, try increasing the "print darkness" some times called contrast or heat or printhead setting.. This can be fount in the printer set up in the labels software you are using or in the print drive under "Print Preference"

The quality depends on the type of support you are using
It can be wax / waxResin or pure resin
Usually:
- Paper = wax ribbon or Wax /resin ribbon
- Plastics = Resin ribbon
Take care I think that the ribbon should be on 1/2 inch cores

Are you using the correct labels?
Direct Thermal Printers use different labels than printers with ribbons.
If you print a label using labels from a ribbon printer in a direct thermal printer they will come out blank.

Simple yeah. Printer calibration is the problem.
see this video , http://vodpod.com/watch/3948392-how-to-calibrate-zebra-tlp-2844-printer
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Just type the part number into google and you will get plenty of hits for sites selling that part number of zebra ribbon.
Zebra 3200 Performance Wax-Resin Ribbons 3200 Perfromance Wax-Resin Ribbon (2.5 in. x 2,928 in., Single Roll) for TLP 2844 Printers

Check the Ribbon type and adjust the darkness levels accordingly, Wax uses less heat and Resin uses more. Another thing to check is if you are using Direct Thermal Labels as this could cause a clarity problem. Also cleaning the Print head with Isopropyl Alcohol each time you change the ribbon will keep the head in good condition.

The red light means out of paper or ink ribbon. Some people chose not to use the ink ribbon and get thermal direct paper which requires no ink ribbon but the printer has to be told by the driver not to expect ribbon or the red light will come on. Also not having the correct paper height set in the driver will make the red light come on as well so check the advanced tab in the properties of the driver then click printing defaults. In the ZDesigner driver height and width are entered there. In the zebra universal, click paper output and enter the size.

Ribbon is probably not installed correctly. Call Andrew @ 908-725-1699 for free tech support

Does the tlp2844 come with a ribbon

You must make sure that the ribbon is compatible with the label you are attempting to print on. It must be a permanent resin. We use the AXR7+ material. Try to avoid using such a high printer head temperature as this will reduce the life of the head.