Extend Printhead Life
Extend the Life of Your Printhead with Save-a-Printhead Cleaning Film
Z4Mplus and Z6Mplus User Guide 141
Preventive Maintenance
For optimum performance, clean the printhead regularly. Take care when handling or
cleaning the printhead by removing any jewelry that may scratch it, and use a
grounding strap or anti-static mat to discharge static electricity that could damage the
printhead.
For 200 and 300 dpi printers: Clean after every roll (1500 feet or 450 m) of thermal
transfer ribbon or after every roll (500 feet or 150 m) of direct thermal labels.
To start, use only the presoaked (isopropyl alcohol) cleaning swabs provided in the
preventive maintenance kit (Zebra part number 47362). Open the media cover to
access the printhead, then open the printhead. Lightly blow or brush away any loose
dust and lint particles within the print mechanism (such as rollers, media or ribbon
sensors, and printhead). Never use any hard, metallic, or abrasive objects—such as a
screwdriver—to remove adhesives or other contaminants that may have built up on the
printhead. Next, press the swab tip against the printhead and swipe the print elements
from end to end. Finally, turn the platen rollers while wiping them from side to side.
Repeat this last step until the swab no longer shows dirt.
Avoid the Contributing Factors to Premature Printhead
Failure
Abrasion: Over time, the movement of media and ribbon across the printhead wears
through the protective ceramic coating, exposing and eventually damaging the print
elements (dots).
To avoid abrasion:
• Clean your printhead frequently and use well-lubricated thermal transfer ribbons
with backcoatings optimized to reduce friction.
• Minimize printhead pressure and burn temperature settings by optimizing the
balance between the two.
• Ensure that the thermal transfer ribbon is as wide as or wider than the label media
to prevent exposing the elements to the more abrasive label material.
