ZT-420 RFID Tag Printer General Setup

Introduction

WARNING: If you are printing B-tags purchased between August 1st, 2016, and approximately August 2022, you must check the "New Tag Type Setting" box in the Event Tag Information section of the main ChronoPrint page. The M730 tags that began delivery in August of 2022 DO NOT no longer require that option to be selected. 

This document is a summary of general setup procedures for printing ChronoTrack RFID tags on the Zebra ZT-420 printer.

This guide contains links to a variety of videos and documents produced by Zebra. Zebra has a complete printer support page with manuals, videos and software here: Zebra ZT-420 Support

For Your First Print:

1. Download and install ChronoPrint to your PC. ChronoPrint can be found on the Timer Portal in the Downloads section on the main page under Software.
2. Power on the printer.
3. Perform a manual calibration (see the Manual Calibration section below). If you're unsure about where the tags and ribbon should be routed in the printer, see the MEDIA AND RIBBON LOADING video here.
4. Open ChronoPrint and enter your Timer Code and Printer IP (172.20.23.34 if it was configured by ChronoTrack staff)
   You will need to have your PC's LAN/Ethernet IP set to 172.20.23.X where X is any number between 2 and 10.
5. Connect the printer to your PC with an Ethernet cable.
6. Now in ChronoPrint, go to File > Settings > General Settings and UN-check the"Automatically Query Printer" box. 
7. Next, click the Printer Setup tab in the settings window and click Ping Printer. The status should say "Ready".
8. Now, still on the Printer Setup tab, select the desired Tag Type and click Save & Close.
   You do NOT need to do a "Send Setup" if the printer has been configured by ChronoTrack staff.
9. Print several test tags and verify no voids. The basic printing process is to enter
10. If any voids occur, perform a Manual Calibration again. If voids still persist, please contact ChronoTrack Support

Doing a Basic Print

To start printing after following steps 1-7 in the section above, follow this process:

Make sure the "New Tag Type Setting" box is checked when printing any tags purchased between August 1, 2016 and August 2022. The new M730 tags that began deliver in the second half of 2022 DO NOT require this option to be selected.

1. Enter an Event Code for the print job. The event code is programmed onto the tag and helps differentiate tags from one event to those from another event.
2. Enter and Event Name. This isn't programmed to the tag, but is saved in ChronoPrint so that print jobs can be recalled.
3. Enter an Event Year.
4. Check the Select? box to select the first line in the Event Tag Information section.
5. Enter the First Tag Number to be printer.
6. Enter the Last Tag Number to be printed. Every number between the First and Last numbers entered will be printed as part of this print job.
7. Click Print. After several seconds, the first tag will print, and ChronoPrint will display a message asking you to verify that the tag printed correctly. If the tag did print correctly, click OK on the message. If it didn't, click Cancel on the message.
8. After you click OK, the rest of the tags in the range you entered will be printed.

General Setup Procedure:

The steps below should be followed closely when initiating printing after the printer has been powered off for a while.

1. Power on the printer.
2. Load tags and ribbon (see MEDIA AND RIBBON LOADING video here).
3. Perform manual calibration (see the Manual Calibration section below).
4. If switching from one tag type to another, follow the Reset Procedure described below.
5. Set IP address if necessary (see below) This should have been set permanently by ChronoTrack staff when you purchased the printer.
6. Perform an RFID Calibration (see the RFID Calibration section below)
7. From ChronoPrint, select the desired Tag Type and click the Send Setup button.
8. Print several test tags and verify encoding.
9. If any voids occur, perform a Manual Calibration again. If voids still persist, please contact ChronoTrack Support

ChronoPrint – Reset Procedure:

ChronoPrint may in rare instances instruct you to the Reset Procedure.

1. Open ChronoPrint.
2. Click File > Settings > Printer Setup.
3. Select the correct Tag Type.
4. Click the Reset Printer button.
   
5. Click OK when the confirmation message appears.
6. On the ZT-420, press the HOME button (left side, below screen).
7. Press Right arrow and select TOOLS, then press OK.
8. Press Right arrow 7x until LOAD DEFAULTS FACTORY is displayed.
9. Select LOAD by pressing the button on right side directly below screen
10. Press again to confirm.
11. Press the HOME button 2x.
12. Power off the printer, wait until the screen goes blank, then power the printer on.
13. Do a Manual Calibration.

Manual Calibration:

We strongly recommend watching the CALIBRATION – MANUAL video here.
Single B-Tags have a cut-out, so tags should be pulled into the printer completely with no media over the lighted sensor as described in the video linked above.

1. Press the HOME button (left side, below the screen).
2. Press the Right arrow 1 time to access the Tools Menu, then press the OK button. “PRINT INFORMATION” is displayed.
3. Press the Right arrow 8 times until “MEDIA/RIBBON CAL” is displayed.
4. Select START by pressing the button on the right side below the screen.
   Make sure the Print Head is fully closed before pressing Start.
5. The PAUSE light should blink and “LOAD BACKING REMOVE RIBBON” should be displayed.
6. If using Single B-Tags, back-feed the tags onto the tag roll so that no media is over the lighted sensor. For all other tag types, remove 3 inches of tags and back-feed tag until blank media is over the lighted sensor. See pages 120-121 of the User Guide.
7. Remove the ribbon or move it over to the right side and then close the printhead.
8. Press the PAUSE button. "CALIBRATING PLEASE WAIT" should be displayed.
9. After it completes, "RELOAD ALL CONTINUE" should be displayed.
10. Open the printhead, pull tags back through and align the leading tag with the printhead, then adjust the ribbon.
11. Close the printhead.
12. Press the PAUSE button. Tags should feed out and the process is complete.
13. Press the HOME button 2 times.

After calibration is completed, press the FEED button several times to confirm only one tag is feeding.  If tag feed is inconsistent, perform manual calibration again.

Set IP Address (static IP):
With the printer on and a network cable plugged in:

1. Press the HOME button (left side, below screen).
2. Press Right arrow 2 times and select NETWORK, press OK.
3. Press Right arrow until WIRED IP ADDRESS is displayed.
4. Select NEXT by pressing the button on the right side below the screen.
5. Enter the IP address. Use the Up and Down arrows to change value, press NEXT to change fields.
6. Press Right arrow and move to WIRED SUBNET MASK, and change the value as needed.
7. Press Right arrow and move to WIRED GATEWAY, and change the value as needed.
8. Press Right arrow until WIRED IP PROTOCOL ALL is displayed.
9. Press Down arrow until PERMANENT is displayed.
10. Press Right arrow until RESET NETWORK is displayed, and select RESET.
11. Press the HOME button 2 times.
12. Power off the printer, wait until screen goes blank, and then power the printer on.

RFID Calibration

It's a good idea to perform an RFID calibration any time you change tag types. You should only have to complete this process when switching from one tag type to another - NOT when switching between rolls of the same type.

To perform an RFID Calibrate:

1. Press the top left button to access the Home panel.
2. Press the Right button 3 times until RFID is highlighted.
3. Press OK, then press the Right button 1 time until RFID Calibrate is displayed
4. Remove the next exposed tag directly in front of the print head from the backing
5. Press the Right top button to start the RFID Calibration. The process may take up to a minute, depending on the tag type.

When the calibration has finished, you can proceed to the Send Setup process

ChronoPrint – Send Setup:

1. Open ChronoPrint.
2. Click File > Settings > Printer Setup.
3. Enter the IP address of the printer and click the Ping Printer button.  Verify printer connectivity (READY status).
4. Select the correct Tag Type. For Dual B-Tags, select the Tear Off print mode. For Single B-Tags, select the Rewind print mode. Remember to click Save Mode Setting before sending setup.
5. Click the Send Setup button.
   
6. Click OK when the confirmation message appears.
7. Print a test tag and verify encoding.

Zebra ZT-420 – Print Quality and Maintenance:

1. Our default DARKNESS setting is 26.  If the printing on the tag is not dark enough, the print head may need to be tightened. Zebra has a video explaining how to do this here.
   Our recommended tension knob position is shown below:
   
2. The printer needs to be cleaned regularly using a microfiber cloth, isopropyl alcohol, and canned air.
   Zebra has videos on sensor cleaning here
   There is a video on print head/platen cleaning here

Zebra ZT-420 – Notes:

1. The Zebra ZT-420 part number is ZT42063-T0100A0Z
2. The RFID version of the ZT-420 DOES NOT come with a rewinder. In order to rewind tags onto a second spool, a third-party rewinder is required.
   Here are two examples:
   Manual:
   Take-a-Label 100 TAL-100HD Unwind Stand
   Electric:
   Automatic Label Rewinder
   

Contact ChronoTrack for more details on using a third-party rewinder.