ZebraTLP2844Setup
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Contents |
Setting up the Zebra TLP2844 Printer
The Zebra TLP2844 is the most popular bar code printer in the world. Please follow the instructions exactly to avoid any problems. Please visit Zebra.com for more detailed information on this product. Zebra TLP 2844 Page
Prerequisites / Good Things to Know
- Before attempting the install of the TLP2844 unit or any supported software, you need to make sure that you have the ability to install software on your computer. There are an increasing number of IT departments that are limiting your ability to install software by enabling more restrictive permissions on your computer. You may want to check with your IT staff first to make sure that you will be able to install software and devices. If there are any restrictive permissions, it will prevent proper installation. We recommend that you have administrative permissions to your desktop or have your IT staff install the TLP2844 device for you.
- Do not plug in the TLP2844 device to your computer until all software has been installed and you are instructed to plug in the device.
Putting the Device Together
In most cases we will ship more than just this printer device. If you ordered a Symbol MC50 printer along with the printer it will come in one big box. You need to separate the two devices and the parts that are associated with them. The TLP2844 unit will ship with the following items
- (A) Zebra TLP2844 Printer
- (B) Roll of labels
- (C) Wax Resin Ink Roll
- (D) Power Converter
- (E) Bag of supplies with power cable
- (F) USB Cable
- Take all of the items out of the box and arrange so that you have access to each.
- Remove the printer (A) from the plastic shipping bag.
- Remove the power converter (D) from the plastic shipping bag
- Remove all items from the plastic accessories bag (E). The bag contains a power cable for US and UK power outlets. You can discard the UK power plug. Plug the US power cable into the power converter (D).
- Plug the power cable into an available wall outlet and plug the power converter into the back of the printer. Do not turn on the printer at this point.
- Plug the USB cable (F) into the back of the printer. Do not plug the USB port into your computer at this point.
Loading the labels and ink
- Load the labels (B) and wax resin ink roll (C) into the printer. To do this you need to pop up the lid on the printer. To pop the lid you need to pull forward the green tabs on the left and right side of the printer.
- Open the lid until it locks in the open position.
- Take one of the rolls of labels (B) and load into the printer. To load the roll you need to pull apart the green holders and drop in the roll of labels. You also need to remove the description label on the roll of labels that is used to prevent the labels from unrolling while shipping. The first label in your roll should unroll to the front of the printer.
- As you pull the label forward, you need to unroll through the black holder clips. There is a small roller wheel to the right that you can use to open and close the holder clips.
- Now that the labels are loaded, you need to install the wax resin ink roll (c). To begin, you need to pull down the roll holders.
- Take one of the wax resin ink rolls (C) and load into the printer. You will also need the blank holder from the accessories bag (E). This picture shows the plastic flap on the resin roll which indicates the top of the ink roll.
- To load the resin roll, angle the roll and load the right side first. The roll should be loaded on the scrolling wheel. Once the right side is in, you will press the left side of the ink roll towards the right and drop in the left side. NOTICE that the left side of the roll contains notches in the brown roller. Those notches need to line up with the notches in the printers holder. This will force the ink to unroll as the printer is printing.
If the ink roll is loaded properly, you should be able to turn the white roller knob on the left and it will turn the ink roll.
- Unroll the ink resin roll through the back of the printer towards the front.
- While holding the resin roll with your left hand get the brown roller in your right hand.
- Place the brown roller on the sticky part of the wax resin roll and prepare to roll the wax resin roll around the brown roller. Make sure that your alignment is correct or you will have a problem when the printer begins to print. Also, ensure that the notch on the brown roll is on the left.
- Just as you did with the ink roll, you will want to angle the brown roll into the printer and load on the holder.
- Now that the ink and labels are loaded, you can close the printer by pressing the greed holder clip on the back of the printer.
- Close the lid till it locks in place.
Download the printer driver
(Note: Do not use the printer driver that came with the printer. Download the file that we provide on our FTP site)
- Open Internet Explorer on your computer and go to ftp://ftp.trackerproducts.com. You will be presented with a list of files that are available to the public for download. Download the file named ZebraTLP2844Drivers.zip or click this link to download from here.
- Save this file to a folder on your computer.
Installing the printer driver
(Note: Make sure you are logged into your computer with permissions capable enough to install a printer driver)
- Navigate to the directory on your computer where you downloaded the necessary install files.
- Double click the ZebraTLP2844Drivers.zip file to begin unzipping the file.
- Extract the zip file to a folder on your computer. These unzipped files will be required for printer installation.
- Turn on the printer
- Plug the USB cable into the back of your computer in an available USB port.
- Your computer should now recognize that your printer has been plugged in and begin the process of loading the drivers. You may need to direct it to the folder where you unzipped all the drivers.
- After the drivers are loaded you should now have a TLP2844 Printer in your printers’ folder.
Start --> Settings --> Printers OR Start --> Printers - The final step in setting up the printer is to setup the printing preferences. To begin, right click on the TLP2844 printer and select properties.
- Select the advanced tab at the top of the page.
- Click the printing defaults option at the bottom of the page.
- Click the + sign to the left of paper / output. Click the paper size drop down menu and select the correct size of your labels. In most cases we ship 4.00’ by 3.00’ labels.
- Click OK at the bottom of the page and it will take you back to the main preferences page. Click the Print Test Page at the bottom of the page. If everything is installed properly and all settings are correctly programmed, it should print a windows test paper. The print may not look correct but you are looking for any print on the label.
