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- Case Studies (2)
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- News (10)
- Thermal Printing (3)
- Tips & Tricks (4)
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Advanced Automation has the experience and expertise to understand and solve some of your most complex business challanges.
Our SolutionsZebra 5049 & 4100 Ribbon Discontinuation
As of April 5th, 2011, Zebra Technologies officially announced the discontinuation of the 5049 Wax Ribbon and the 4100 Resin Ribbon. “Due to global thermal transfer ribbon price inflation and material shortages, Zebra is discontinuing legacy ribbons 5049 wax and 4100 resin effective 5/2/11.”
Zebra 5049 Wax Ribbon Users:
We recommend customers currently using Zebra 5049 wax ribbon to transition to either the 2100 or 5319 wax ribbon instead. Both alternatives are less expensive than the 5049, but we’re confident you won’t notice much, if any decline in performance. The Zebra 5319 is one of the most popular Zebra wax ribbons if you’re looking for the most reliable and immediate transition.
Zebra 4100 Resin Ribbon Users:
We recommend customers currently using Zebra 4100 resin ribbon to transition to 5095 resin ribbon. The Zebra 5095 resin ribbon offers a much broader range of acceptance on different substrates without any darkness setting changes by the customer. Although slightly more expensive, you definitely see an improvement in print quality and even more importantly when using a resin ribbon, durability and staying power.
If this discontinuation affects you and you have any questions regarding the alternatives or what consequences there may be for changing ribbons, don’t hesitate to contact your Advanced Automation team. We can easily arrange for some sample ribbon to be sent your way for testing prior to a true transition. We’re here to support you throughout the entire process!
Datamax MP Compact4 Mark II Printer
The Datamax O’neil Compact4 Mark II is a powerful response to desktop thermal printing requirements, and ideal for on-demand printing, especially where space is limited. The printer is ideal at the front desk of a hospital or in the box office of a movie theatre. Able to deliver continuous operation, the Compact4 is the printer of choice whenever ease of use, reliability and high performance are a must.
The Compact4 Mobile Mark II is designed for installation on forklift trucks and mobile stations. It can operate from a connection to a forklift’s battery and its vibration proof design makes it the perfect choice for warehousing logistics. Were other mobile thermal printers struggle to perform, the Datamax Compact4 Mark II shines. This printer works especially great in a fixed mounted fork lift setting where it successfully stands up to the rugged environment in which it has to perform.
The Datamax O’Neil Nova series is for customers who need faster speed, high capacity label rolls, and thermal transfer as an option. These printers are the most compact printers in their class. Featuring all-metal casing, they are tough enough for harsh industrial environments, yet quiet enough for office use.
Advanced Automation recently just worked with a client to overcome their own forklift printing challenges using the Datamax O’neil MP Compact4 Mark II Mobile printer. They were using a desktop clam-shell type printer of a rival manufacturer, but were consistently losing printers due to their non-ruggedness. After a demo of the Compact4 Mark II, they were convinced and rolled the Datamax line out to the rest of their forklifts.
Are you struggling with successful mobile thermal printing challenges? Look no further than Advanced Automation and our complete line of mobile thermal printer solutions. We’ve got the answer you’re looking for!
Datamax O\'neil MP Compact4 Mark II
Poor Zebra 105SL Print Quality
We recently had a customer of our contact us with a touch (wink, wink) of frustration about how their Zebra printer was no longer good and didn’t do a good job of printing anymore. After one of our Zebra technicians did a quick look over their Zebra 105SL Printer, it was apparent that this customer didn’t posses a solid understand about Zebra printers. There are different degrees of a business’s understanding(or lack thereof) of Zebra printers and we see them all.
In our estimation, their Zebra printhead hadn’t been cleaned once since the printer arrived at their facility. The inventory barcode labels they produce looked horrible and we were impressed that even the very best barcode scanners out there could still read them. To resolve this issue, our Zebra Technician simply cleaned the printhead the best that it could be done. With that simple step, which every Zebra Printer owner should know and perform regularly, their Zebra 105SL came back to life! Obviously there is still a few small streaks, but considering that’s printhead is over 2 years old, the print looks great.
Wow, what a difference. Clean your Zebra Printheads folks. Do it regularly! If you’re not sure how to properly clean a Zebra Printhead, let us know or visit this Advanced Automation, Inc. blog frequently as we have it lined up for a very nearby future post.
If you are ever interested in Zebra Printer Repair or have any other questions you’d like to see answered, please don’t hesitate to ask. We’re more than happy to continue doing our best to provide value to those around us!
Good Printhead? Bad Printhead?
The thermal printhead is one of the “necessary evils” of thermal printers. Great production printers, such a Zebra Technology’s, give users the ability to kick out a lot of “on demand” and variable labels that can be incorporated into all types of production. Additionally, the ability to print highly durable labels is a direct benefit of thermal printing technology too. Although when it comes time to replace a printhead… OUCH. They are expensive.
Zebra Printhead Results
Over the next few weeks, we’ll dive into thermal printhead discussion that aims to give you a better understanding on how to elongate their life, maintain optimal printing resolution as well as common maintenance tips. If you can’t wait for these tips and tricks, you know you can always rely on Advanced Automation and can simply give us a buzz or an email with your questions.
In the meantime, below is one of our first videos showing you how to perform a Pause Test with a ZM400 Zebra printer in order to determine the condition of your Zebra printhead. You can see in the image to the right, the comparison of two separate Pause Test results… one with a good Zebra printhead and one with a bad Zebra printhead.
Need help with your thermal printheads or need pricing on replacement costs?
Ask Advanced Automation!
Let’s face it… thermal printers, mobile computers, bar codes and everything related can pose problems. If fact, one would be naive to believe they would never encounter such a thing when utilizing data collection and bar coding technology.
By request of several of our customers as well as it being just a good idea, Advanced Automation will begin to release several “tips, tricks & good things to know” videos and blog posts to address some of the most common issues we see in the field. We’ve already begun filming and putting together our first few video release.
Once these “tips, tricks & good things to know” have been posted, we will also archive them on our Advanced Automation website so you can always access them for any reason.
Do you have an issue or topic you’d like to see Advanced Automation address?
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