Zebra LP 2844 > Reviews (3)

We have this printer in our offices at work for printing dispatch labels for couriers such as TNT, YODEL, DHL and UPS

The size of the printer is relatively small as is the size of the labels it prints (4x6inch), there is not anything special about the shape of it and it does look a bit old fashioned compared to some of the newer Zebra/Citizen printers, its also heavier than it looks so its better in a fixed location.

While printing the speed is very quick, mainly due to the fact it is a thermal printer so there is no moving ink or anything like that, just a single print head that heats the label in a particular way as it passes underneath to create whatever you desire.

As above you must bare in mind that it is a thermal printer, so you cannot print in colour, just black, and you have to have thermal paper in order for this to work. (normal paper just gets feeded through and will not print any image)

if you are printing a lot of labels then you can purchase rolls (usually with around 300 4 x 6 labels per roll) and they can be loaded into the machine and just be printed one after another with no stopping to reload (unless you run out). Loading/replacing the roll is very easy to do with this machine, just pop the lid with the little green catch and take out the empty roll and replace it with a new one. In addition to this single sheets can be fed into the back of the printer.

The printer can be connected to a computer Via USB or a serial adaptor, I use both method of connections however the USB is connected to PC 1 and the Serial is connected to PC2, this means we can use two computers to print on the same printer without disconnecting anything.

The printer only has the one button on it, this is a feed button, it has a green ring around it when everything is working correctly, and shows a red ring if there is any errors, usually the only errors you encounter are that the printer has failed to feed the paper. There is no audible sounds to show any errors like there is with the Citizen printers

The print head sometimes requires cleaning as it can become mucky with dirt or adhesives from the labels, nothing is provided to keep the heads clean however I have found that a cloth and some sort of alcohol wipe does the trick really well, the heads for these machines are expensive so its in your interest to maintain them!

The printer is compatible with windows machines and all programs are able to use the printer providing the page size is set to 4 x 6.

My honest opinion on this machine though is do not waste your time buying it if you are not going to raise at least over 100 labels per day, it is far to expensive for general use and the paper is expensive as well.