Labels Not Printing - Zebra Label Printer

Labels Not Printing - Zebra Label Printer

If your labels are not printing, below are a few quick troubleshooting steps you can take to narrow down the source of the problem.

This article is intended for people using a Zebra-brand label printer. If you are trying to print labels from an A4-paper printer, click HERE.
This article is intended to help if you are unable to print labels at all. If you are able to print labels but they are missing information, badly aligned or occasionally blank, try entering the calibration settings found HERE for printers that use transfer ribbon or HERE for printers that do not. If your label printer prints many blank labels when it should only print one, open it up and clear out any loose labels/foreign debris you can find inside.
Firstly, check the lights on the label printer; there should be a solid green light. If there is a flashing green light, press the Feed button. If there are lights that are not green, try restarting your printer. Make sure that it has both labels and ribbon (if used), and that they are seated and feeding correctly. If there are no lights at all, make sure the power cable is firmly attached to the back of the printer and to the wall socket. There may also be a loose connection at the AC adapter, located halfway along the power cable.

Print a Windows Test Page

  1. Click the start menu in Windows and type 'control' on your keyboard. 
  2. Click the Control Panel app.
  3. Select Devices and Printers. Depending on your version of windows, you may have to first change the View by option to Small Icons before this option appears.
  4. Find your label printer in the list of printers. Right-click it and choose Printer Properties.
  5. Click Print Test Page.
If a test label successfully printed from your label printer, then the cause of your problems is most likely your Retailer settings. Firstly, try closing Retailer and opening it again. If this did not help. follow the section below. 

If your label printer does not appear in Devices and Printers, it may not be installed. Follow the installation guide HERE for Zebra printers that use transfer ribbon, or HERE for Zebra printers that do not.

If your label printer appears in Devices and Printers but is greyed out, double check the cables in the label printer are tightly plugged in at both ends. Unplug the connection to the PC and plug it back in.

If your label printer appears in Devices and Printers but will not print a test label, skip to the section titled Restart the Windows Print Controller.

Check Print for Operator Option

In Barcode/Label Manager, you are able to change the ordering of the printed labels based on the options available. The Print for Operator option will also hide any labels that isn't assigned to that operator number. Tick one of the other options if you do not need to use this option.
Click HERE for more information on how to use operator numbers.

Barcode Manager / Label Manager Settings

If you were able to print a windows test page, but cannot print labels from Retailer, check the following settings in the barcode manager or label manager.

  1. Make sure the labels you are trying to print are set to No in the Printed column. If they are marked as Yes, you can change it by clicking into this field, or by clicking Reset to change all labels to No.
  2. Click Printer Settings and make sure Print to the Label Printer is selected, then choose the correct printer from the drop-down box and hit OK.
  3. If you are using Barcode Manager, make sure you are hitting Print Label Printer and not Print.
  4. Close Retailer and restart it.
If you successfully printed a windows test page but are still unable to print labels from Retailer, please contact Tower Support.

Restart the Windows Print Controller

If your printer appears in Devices and Printers but does not print a test label, try these steps:

  1. Open the Windows Task Manager by clicking the start menu and typing 'task manager'.
  2. Right click the Task Manager app and choose Run as Administrator.
  3. Click on the Services tab. Depending on your version of Windows, you may need to first click More Details.
  4. Find Spooler in the list of services. Right-click it and choose Stop.
  5. Right-click it again and choose Start.
  6. Try to print a test label again.
Make sure you have tried restarting both the label printer and the PC that it is plugged into. If your label printer is not plugged into a PC but is instead directly connected to your network, follow the steps below.

Network Printers - IP Address

The following steps apply only to label printers that are not connected to a pc via USB, but are instead connected directly to your network via a network cable or wifi. If your printer is directly connected to your PC, do not follow these steps.

  1. Obtain the IP address of your label printer. An IP address is 4 numbers separated by 3 decimals eg. 192.168.1.20
    1. For GK series printers that do not have a display, hold down the feed button until the light flashes once, then release. A label will print out with the IP address listed.
    2. For ZD series printers that do not have a display, hold down both the feed and cancel buttons for two seconds. A label will print out with the IP address listed.
    3. For label printers with a display, you will have to navigate the menu to find the IP address. It should be under Network Settings or TCP/IP.
  2. Back on your PC, return to the printer properties of your label printer, where you attempted to print a windows test page in the first section of this article.
  3. Click the Ports tab and click Add port.
  4. Choose Standard TCP/IP Port and click New Port...
  5. Click Next, then enter the IP address you obtained in the Printer Name or IP Address section. The port name should fill in automatically.
  6. Click Next & Finish, then try printing a test page again.
If you are still unable to print a test page from windows, you will need to talk to a computer technician to help you troubleshoot this issue.

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