Zebra ZT111 Printer Overview

Created by JR Formenti, Modified on Mon, 28 Apr at 12:20 PM by JR Formenti

Printer Overview: Zebra ZT111

The Zebra ZT111 is a compact, industrial-grade thermal printer designed for reliable label printing using Thermal Transfer technology.
This means it prints by heating a ribbon, which transfers ink onto the label surface — producing durable, smudge-resistant labels ideal for inventory management, shipping, and compliance tagging.

Front Panel and Buttons

The printer control panel includes several physical buttons and LED indicators.
Here’s a breakdown:

Button	Icon	Function
Power Button	(circle with line)	Turns the printer ON and OFF. Hold for 5 seconds for safe shutdown.
Pause Button	(two vertical bars)	Pauses and resumes print jobs.
Feed Button	(downward arrow)	Feeds one blank label through the printer. Useful for aligning or testing feed.
Cancel Button	(X symbol)	Cancels the current print job or clears an error.

Status Indicator Lights (LEDs)

Since there’s no screen, the printer uses colored LED lights to communicate status.

LED Color/Pattern	Meaning
Solid Green	Printer is Ready and waiting for a job.
Flashing Green	Printer is Paused.
Solid Amber (Orange)	Warning (e.g., low media, low ribbon).
Flashing Red	Error (e.g., no labels, no ribbon, jam, open printhead).
Off	Printer is powered off or no power.

Basic Button Usage Examples

Feed a label manually: Press the Feed button once.
Pause a print job: Press the Pause button to halt printing; press again to resume.
Cancel a print job: Press the Cancel button while printing or when an error occurs.
Power on/off safely: Press the Power button (holding for ~5 seconds to turn off).

Thermal Transfer Mode Reminder

Since you are using Thermal Transfer, both a label roll and a ribbon roll must be correctly installed:

The ribbon must be threaded through the printhead.
If either the ribbon or labels run out or are incorrectly loaded, the printer will signal an error (usually flashing red LED).
If switching to Direct Thermal printing (no ribbon needed), settings would have to be changed, but for your case we'll stay focused on Thermal Transfer.

Important Notes:

Always install both labels and ribbon before printing.
Do not operate without ribbon in Thermal Transfer mode — this can damage the printhead.
Use the Feed button to verify label alignment after loading new media.
If an error occurs (red flashing light), check that:
- The labels are loaded correctly
- The ribbon is loaded and tight
- The printhead is latched shut