3 Replies Latest reply on Jul 13, 2017 8:03 AM by Samantha Corn

    Cancel all print job when paper/ribbon has run out

    Ian Gorse
    Ian Gorse Jul 10, 2017 11:31 PM

      We have a big issue within our company where the end user will print a number of labels, but the ribbon/media will run out before it finished printing the batch.

      Frustratingly, the end user will - instead of replacing the ribbon/media - just walk away.

       

      When the next person comes along, he/she will initiate another print job then realize the media/ribbon has run out so will replace.

       

      Problem with this is the Zebra printer will continue printing the previous batch which then is intermixed with a new batch of printed labels. If the end user is not paying attention, he/she will collect a mixture of labels which is causes a quality concern.

       

      What we would like to do is have the ability to cancel all print jobs once ribbon or media has run out.

       

      Is this possible?

        • Re: Cancel all print job when paper/ribbon has run out
          Samantha Corn
          Samantha Corn Expert Jul 11, 2017 7:34 AM (in response to Ian Gorse)

          Hi Ian,

           

          There is a cancel all command that you could try. You can use the ZPL version of the command, ~JA, or the SGD command:

           

          ! U1 setvar "formats.cancel_all" ""

           

          These commands can be found on pages 220 and 734 of the ZPL Programming Guide. They should clear out everything in the printer's internal buffer.

            • Re: Cancel all print job when paper/ribbon has run out
              Ian Gorse
              Ian Gorse Jul 12, 2017 8:54 AM (in response to Samantha Corn)

              Thank you for the response.

               

              How would I go about using the ZPL version when paper/ribbon has run out?

               

              I have come across this ZPL

                  ^XA ^DFE:AUTOEXEC.ZPL^FS ^JZN^XZ

               

              If I add this to a file and FTP it to the printer, every time an error occurs it stops re-printing the last label.

              If I could make it so it clears the internal buffer instead on error then this might suffice the requirement.

               

              I have tried

                  ^XA ^DFE:AUTOEXEC.ZPL^FS ~JA^XZ

               

              but the printer doesn't seem to accept the file on FTP transfer

                • Re: Cancel all print job when paper/ribbon has run out
                  Samantha Corn
                  Samantha Corn Expert Jul 13, 2017 8:03 AM (in response to Ian Gorse)

                  Hi Ian,

                   

                  Commands that begin with ~ are immediate commands and don't need to be nested in ^XA and ^XZ. You could try moving the ~JA command to after the ^XZ, but then I don't think it would be included in the AUTOEXEC.ZPL. The AUTOEXEC.ZPL file is only run at power up, though, so a different solution may be to send the ~JA before sending a print job if the printers may be left on after the media runs out.