Zebra Printer Jams

Possible Causes:

• Zebra Printer has a cutter that is Jamming
• Zebra Printer labels wrap around white platen roller.
• Zebra Printer jams frequently back inside machine.
• Zebra Printer has labels with Hammer lock or other aggressive adhesive.

Note: Most of the following problems will require the Zebra printer to be cleaned throughout with Isopropyl Alcohol. 

Zebra Printer has a cutter that is Jamming

Cutters add a lot of complexity and, in our opinion, a lot of hassle to printing labels. Your Zebra printer has very few moving parts, but by adding the cutter option you have added a whole lot more. The blade that cuts the label passes thru the adhesive sandwiched into your label stock and invariably ends up with glue deposited on the blade. This sticks to the labels as they pass through the machine. The alignment of the cutter could also cause jamming if it has shifted out of position. Hopefully it has not shifted because adjusting a cutter's physical position on the front of the Zebra printer effects the blades home position. Cutters are for applications where you want a name plate shop with the convenience of infrequent material changes. If you do 10 or more label sizes every 2 hrs then maybe it is worth it. Otherwise buy lower cost printers and buy more of them instead. Clean the cutter often and make sure that a straight paper path exists for your material as it is emerging out of the print head section of the machine to minimize jams.

Zebra Printer labels wrap around white platen roller.

This is probably a more common occurrence then the cutter problem covered above and can be cured rather easily. If you are using your Zebra printer in "tear off" mode, make sure that the "tear position" is ripping the labels at the perforation. If you are pulling the labels off of the Zebra printer by pulling up on the material you need to tear in a downward action, against the tear bar.  The idea is to tear labels off of the Zebra printer in such a way as to eliminate labels from tearing. Tear only the label backing, preferably along a perforation. Some Zebra printers accidentally get set to "rewind" mode causing the labels to be presented incorrectly after printing. The "tear position" adjustment is adjusted from the front operator controls (or menu) on most of the Zebra printers that have this available. The labels begin to wrap around the platen roller because of adhesive build up. This grabs the label onto the roller as it passes through.

Zebra Printer jams frequently back inside machine

Zebra printers that jam towards the rear of the machine or inside the print engine usually are the result of previous jams leaving behind labels that are now stuck inside the machine. Clean the machines label path with alcohol to remove labels and adhesive build up.

Zebra Printer has labels with Hammer lock or other aggressive adhesive

Clean the printer once for every ribbon consumed. (1476 feet of material). Hammer lock is so aggressive that many label converters will not run it on their dies because of the need to clean their machine after handling the material. This material can actually run ok on a Zebra printer but the adhesive deposits need to be tended to much more often. Clean the rollers that are accessible in the machine as often as needed.