There may be times when it's necessary to re-calibrate your Zebra printer in order to solve issues such as margin settings not working, blank labels as well as improper label or image alignment. The printer needs to be calibrated for the label stock currently loaded.
Note: in some cases, calibration needs to be done every time a new stock is loaded, even if it is the same size and type of stock.
To calibrate, find your model of Zebra printer and follow these steps:
Zebra Gx420:
With the printer powered up, hold down the feed button
Wait until you get the "two flash" sequence from the status light (the light will first flash once, then twice).
After it flashes two times, release the feed button.
Allow the printer to complete feeding labels.
The printer should now be calibrated. Press the feed key and one label should be issued each time.
Zebra ZP-450, ZP-500, ZP-505:
With the printer powered up, hold down the feed button.
Wait until you get the "two flash" sequence from the status light (the light will first flash once, then twice).
After it flashes two times, release the feed button.
Allow the printer to complete feeding labels and printing a sensor profile.
The printer should now be calibrated. Press the feed key and one label should be issued each time.
If this does not resolve the issue, try the four flash calibration steps below.
Four Flash Calibration
With the printer powered up, hold down the feed button
Wait until you get the "four flash" sequence from the status light (the printer will first flash once, then twice, then three times, then four times).
After it flashes four times, release the feed button.
Allow the printer to complete feeding labels.
This should reset the printer to factory defaults and perform a standard calibration.
LP2844
With the printer powered up, hold down the feed button.
Wait until you get the "four flash" sequence from the status light (the printer will first flash once, then twice, then three times, then four times in quick succession).
After it flashes four times, release the feed button.
Allow the printer to complete feeding labels.
Press the Feed button and one label should be issued. If this is successful, try printing from an application.
If pressing the feed button does not result in a successful label feed or the printer goes into a Red Flashing light error state try the manual calibration steps below.
Manual Calibration
Turn off the printer power using the power switch on the back of the printer.
On the printer, hold the feed button down and turn the power back on.
As soon as the feed button starts to blink red, release the feed button.
The printer light will turn green and advance a few blanks and will print the internal information.
After the printer stops advancing, press the feed button one time.
You will get another label with the "Out of Dump" message on it.
ZM400
Go to the Control Panel and click on “View Devices and Printers”.
Right-click the ZM400 printer icon and go to "Printing Preferences".
Select the "Advanced Setup" tab, then select "Calibrate".
Allow the printer to complete feeding labels. Press the Feed button and one label should be issued. If this is successful, try printing from an application.