[Nhcoll-l] Thermal Transfer Printing with a Zebra

[Pellegrini, Rodrigo [DOS]]

We recently replaced our aging Datamax/O’Neill I-Class thermal transfer printer with a Zebra ZT411, and we have ran into a problem while setting it up.
With our IT dept.’s help we installed the drivers, assembled the cuter kit and connected the printer. We could not get the printer to actually print after loading it though. The media is loaded correctly and advances fine, but the labels come out blank. Turns out the SDR3 ribbon we got from Alpha Systems for our old Datamax is coated on the side of the ribbon that faces the print head, rather than the polyester print media--or maybe it’s the opposite, I’m not quite sure, but it’s on the “wrong” side for the new printer. Bottom line,  the printer we bought cannot use this ribbon—the coating has to be on the other side. The IT guy that was helping me set it up had to google for a while to find it, but apparently the manufacturer is very specific the ribbon has to be coated on the other side or it won’t work. So, here I am with a brand new printer, and no way of using the ribbon we ordered. The questions I’m hoping someone here can answer are:

1)      Could this have as simple a solution as re-spooling the ribbon so the coated surface is on the other side? Or will this affect the printer or the finished product/printed label adversely?

2)      Zebra makes thermal transfer ribbons, too. How do I find a directly comparable ribbon to the Datamax SDR3 or 5? What is it I need to look for? Is the coating on the label side of the ribbon important for preservation issues, or is this of no consequence?
I’m hoping someone already using a Zebra may have some of the answers. Thanks for any input.
Regards,
Rod Pellegrini
New Jersey State Museum
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