Start with Printing Barcode Labels for how printing works and the checks that fix most problems. This guide covers what is specific to Zebra.
What you need
- A Zebra ZD410 or ZD411 connected by USB to a Mac or Windows computer. These are direct thermal printers, so they need no ribbon. Other Zebra desktop models such as the ZD420 and ZD421 use the same driver and will likely work.
- Direct thermal labels in one of the sizes below. Zebra sells each size, and third-party direct thermal labels in the same size work too.
- On Windows, the ZDesigner driver. Windows usually installs it on its own when you plug the printer in; if not, get it from zebra.com. On a Mac, the driver is built in.
Zebra label sizes Material can print
Choose the matching template under Printer and label type in Material. Each Zebra template is named by its label size and has a short description so you can tell them apart at a glance. Do not choose a DYMO template for a Zebra printer.
Template in Material | Description | Label |
Zebra 1.25" x 1.00" | Small | 1.25" x 1" |
Zebra 1.20" x 0.85" | Small Alt | 1.2" x 0.85" (Zebra part 10010037) |
Zebra 2.25" x 1.25" | Normal | 2.25" x 1.25" |
Zebra 2.00" x 1.00" | Normal Alt | 2" x 1" |
Zebra 2.20" x 0.5" | Jewelry (Barbell Style) | 2.2" x 0.5" barbell tag with a black mark between tags |
Other label sizes are not supported yet. If you have a different roll, let us know which size and we will look into adding it.
Setting up on a Mac
Material adds a printer to your Mac for each Zebra label size you use, so Chrome prints that size with no paper size or orientation changes. You do this once per label size, and again whenever you switch label types.
- Plug the printer in with its USB cable and turn it on.
- In Material, open Print labels and choose your Zebra label under Printer and label type.
- Click Printer setup instructions in the panel on the right. A window opens with one command to copy.
- Open Terminal (press Command and Space, type Terminal, and press Return), paste the command, and press Return. It adds a printer named after your label size, for example "Zebra 2 x 1 labels", and tells the Zebra how wide your labels are so it prints them centered. When it finishes it tells you what it did.
- Calibrate the printer to your roll (see below).
- Press Print labels. In the Chrome print window choose the printer named after your label size, for example "Zebra 2 x 1 labels", as the destination. Leave Paper size as it is and Scale on Default. Chrome remembers the destination for next time.
If Terminal says the printer could not be added, run the second command it shows, which starts with "sudo", and enter your Mac password.
Setting up on Windows
On Windows the label size lives in the Zebra driver's settings. You set it once per label size, and again whenever you switch label types. Material shows you the exact values for the label you chose.
- Plug the printer in with its USB cable and turn it on. Windows usually installs Zebra's ZDesigner driver on its own. If Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners does not list a printer whose name starts with "ZDesigner", install the driver for your model from zebra.com first.
- In Material, open Print labels, choose your Zebra label under Printer and label type, and click Printer setup instructions. Choose Windows PC at the top of the window.
- In Windows, open Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners, click the ZDesigner printer, then Printing preferences.
- On the Page Setup page, enter the Width and Height shown in Material. Click the icon next to each and choose Use settings set in driver (the pencil). For the Jewelry label, do the same for Media type and choose the option for labels with black marks. Leave Rotation at 0°.
- On the Custom Commands page, under Before print job, set Type to Text and paste the line Material shows into Contents. It tells the Zebra how wide your labels are so it prints them centered.
- Click OK, then calibrate the printer to your roll (see below).
- Press Print labels in Material and choose the ZDesigner printer as the destination. Paper size shows only "Custom", which is correct. Keep Scale on Default.
Switching to a different label type
The printer holds the settings for one label size at a time. When you change Printer and label type in Material, a notice appears: "Label type changed. Anytime you switch label type you must run the Printer setup instructions again, so the printer knows the new label size." Click Click here to view instructions, do that size's setup again (the Terminal command on a Mac, the driver fields on Windows), load the new roll, and calibrate.
Calibrating the printer to your roll
The printer has to learn where each label starts and ends. Do this when you set the printer up and again whenever you change to a different roll.
- Load the roll and close the cover. Wait for the status light to turn solid green.
- Press and hold Pause and Cancel together for two seconds, then let go. The printer feeds a few labels while it measures them, then the status light turns solid green again.
- If it still skips labels or prints across two, reset the printer to factory defaults: turn it off, hold Pause and Feed together while turning it back on, keep holding until the status light turns solid green, then let go. It feeds three or four blank labels. This clears any settings left over from a previous system. Then calibrate again with step 2.
Zebra's own guide for your model has pictures of the buttons and lights.
Labels print too small, or shifted up or down
- Check that Printer and label type in Material matches the roll in the printer.
- On a Mac, check the destination in the Chrome print window is the printer named after that label size, for example "Zebra 2 x 1 labels", and that Scale is Default. On Windows, open Printing preferences and check the Width and Height on the Page Setup page match the label.
- Calibrate the printer to the roll.
Labels print off-center to one side
Narrow labels sit in the middle of a wider print head, so the printer has to know how wide your label is. The setup does this for you.
- On a Mac: open Printer setup instructions in Material and run the command again. It sets the width every time it runs.
- On Windows: open Printing preferences, go to the Custom Commands page, and check the line under Before print job matches the one Material shows for this label type.
- Then open the printer, push the roll guides snug against the roll, and calibrate again.
Barcodes look fuzzy or will not scan
- Confirm Scale is Default (100%) in the Chrome print window.
- Confirm you chose a Zebra template in Material, not a DYMO or Avery one.
- Clean the print head with a cotton swab lightly dampened with rubbing alcohol.
- If bars look too bold, lower Darkness in Printing preferences (Windows) or in the print window's printer options (Mac).
Still stuck?
Reach out to us through the Help Center chat with a photo of a printed label next to the on-screen preview, a screenshot of the Chrome print window with More settings expanded, and on Windows screenshots of the Page Setup and Custom Commands pages in Printing preferences.