>Dragan,
>
>don't get me wrong. Having created software that printed over 1 million labels on Zebra printers we have come accross some issues you won't read about in the manual...
>
>We had four main problems:
>- when printing the label the printer could not determine the end of the label so it continued to pull labels through until a default setting was reached (I think is was 1 meter). This was caused by not proper calibration of the printer. We had our Zebra supplier come over to our plants to show the operators how they needed to calibrate the machine
>- make sure that the red-eye that is used for the calibration is not blocked. It must have a clear view and it need to detect its counterpart properly. If one of the two is dirty the callibration will fail
>- the role used to pull the label needs to be worn in. If it is new (out of the box) its traction is too high creating all kinds of problems
>- printer not responding to print jobs: this was caused by a problem with the network card. The interesting part was that the networked printer did respond to its own print queue management software it just wouldn't print. Having brought in the technician he replaced the card the problem was solved. It had us puzzled to more than a day.
>
>An other insight. Our Zebra supplier told us to use Seagull drivers. They are superior to the ones that Zebra supplies themselves.
>
>From reading your message your not having the last two problem, but I'm not convinced that it is not caused by calibration. Your remark about the first label makes me wonder...
>
>Bring in your Zebra supplier if needed. We reached the 1 million marker (on 6 printers) within 10 months of starting the application. We have gained a lot of experience the hard way with this process.

Thanks a lot - this is the experience I'm happy to take from you and not have to live through myself :). The only other device I know that's trickier than printers is modems (I've once had a Zyxel which had an inch thick instruction manual), and the special printers come very close.

Accidentally, Borislav's suggestion worked, and I didn't need to employ any of the good advice you gave me - but I'll surely make sure I have your message at hand. Next time something happens with the Zebras, I'm an expert :).

BTW, we have two other Zebra printers, different model, which just work without a problem. Go figure.