Before you begin setting up your Zebra desktop printer, please ensure you have the following to hand;
  • Zebra printer
  • Printer power cable (provided with the printer) 2 parts, mains lead and power supply unit (PSU)
  • Communications cable (depending on how you wish to connect the printer to your PC, this can be a USB, Parallel or Serial cable or an Ethernet cable) (Purchased separately)
  • Roll of Labels (Purchased separately)
  • Ribbon (Thermal transfer printers only, Purchased separately)
  • Zebra Designer Installation disk (provided with the printer)
If any of the items that should have come with the printer are missing, or you require labels, ribbons or a connection cable, please contact AM Labels technical support using the contact information listed below. From getting your printer out of the box to printing your first label, this can be completed in 6 easy to follow steps. Quick Navigate: Step 1: Loading the labels Step 2: Loading the ribbon (TLP 2844 and G-Series Thermal Transfer Printers) Step 3: Connecting the printer to your PC Step 4: Installing Zebra Designer Step 5: Installing the printer driver Step 1: Loading the labels To load the labels into the printer, have the printer facing towards you. At either side of the printer there are two green clips, simultaneously pull both green clips towards you to open the lid and push the lid upwards. On 2844 series printers, the lid will lock into place using an internal support strut. At the base of the printer there will be two identical green label spindles, pull these apart and place your label roll onto the provided support. On G-Series printers, please ensure that the media is placed between the guides provided. On the 2844 series, you will then need to slide the labels in between the adjustable label guide and use the green wheel on the right hand side, to adjust the two guides to sit snugly either side of the media. Your labels will now be ready to print. Step 2: Loading the ribbon (TLP 2844 and G-Series Thermal Transfer Printers) In the thermal transfer printers, there are two separate spindles in the top half of the printer. On 2844 series printers, place the ribbon on the spindle that is furthest back shiny side up, and a waste core onto the spindle that is closest. Please ensure that the holes in the ribbon and waste cores slide into the notches on their spindle. Pull the ribbon down and underneath the print head and then roll the ribbon around the waste core. To close the 2844 series printers, press the green support strut to the left and slowly close the lid until an audible click can be heard. On G-Series printers close lid and again, ensure it clicks. Step 3: Connecting the printer to your PC Zebra desktop printers have 4 different connectivity options, Serial, Parallel, USB and for local area networking Ethernet. To connect to your PC, connect the PSU to the mains lead, connect PSU into the printer and connect the relevant connectivity option from the printer to the computer (or network point if using the Ethernet cable) Step 4: Installing Zebra Designer Use the installation wizard to install Zebra Designer on your desktop PC. To install the software, do the following:
  1. Put the Zebra Designer CD in your CD-ROM drive. An installation window automatically opens.
  2. Click Install. A new window opens showing all ZebraDesigner editions.
  3. Click on the version of ZebraDesigner that you want to install, and follow the prompts.
To continue installation, do the following:
  1. Click the Next button.
  2. Specify the program group you want to use for ZebraDesigner Pro.
  3. Specify if shortcuts to Zebra Designer should be created on the desktop or in the Quick Launch area.
  4. To finish installation, click the Install button.
Step 5: Installing the printer driver To install the printer driver, please follow the option below for your connectivity type, Serial, Parallel and Ethernet options For all of these options,
  1. Click the Start button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and click the ‘Control Panel’ option. Once open, double click ‘Printers and Faxes’.
  2. On the left hand side, click ‘Add a printer’. The ‘Add printer wizard’ should open.
  3. Click Next
  4. Ensure that ‘Local printer attached to this computer’ is selected and that ‘Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer’ is unchecked. Click Next.
  5. When prompted, select the port required from the drop down list provided (in the case of Ethernet connections you may need to create a port, please contact AM Labels support if you require help with this). Click Next.
  6. Click the ‘Have Disk’ button. A window entitled ‘Install From Disk’ will open, click the ‘Browse…’ button to browse for our driver.
  7. Browse to the following location C:\Program files\ZebraDesigner\Drivers\ZD\0×2000xp. In this folder you should find a file entitled ZD, double click on it, and then click ok on the ‘Install from Disk’ window.
  8. You should now see a list of printers. Please select your printer, and click Next.
  9. The next couple of options allow you to assign a name to the printer, set it as the default or share the printer. Please select your required option at each stage and click ‘Next’ to continue.
  10. When prompted, click Finish. You may receive a prompt informing you that the driver is not digitally signed. If this happens, click the button entitled ‘Continue installation’.
  11. Click Finish to complete the driver installation.
USB For printers connected by USB, upon switching the printer on windows should show a found new hardware wizard box,
  1. Select the ‘Install from a specific location’ option and click next.
  2. Select the ‘Don’t search. I will choose the driver to install’ option and click next.
  3. Click the ‘Have Disk’ button. A window entitled ‘Install From Disk’ will open, click the ‘Browse…’ button to browse for our driver.
  4. Browse to the following location C:\Program files\ZebraDesigner\Drivers\ZD\0×2000xp. In this folder you should find a file entitled ZD, double click on it, and then click ok on the ‘Install from Disk’ window.
  5. You should now see a list of printers. Please select your printer, and click Next. The driver will now be installed. You may receive a prompt informing you that the driver is not digitally signed. If this happens, click the button entitled ‘Continue installation’.
  6. Click the ‘Finish’ button to complete the installation.
Contact Details If you require any of the ‘purchased separately’ items, please don’t hesitate to contact our sales department on 01536 414222 who will be more than willing to assist you with your requirements. For technical support please contact the AM Labels Technical Team on 01536 414400 or e-mail [email protected].