Zebra ZD420

The ZD420 is the printer the ZD421 replaced, and the first Zebra desktop printer to offer the instant-load ribbon cartridge — a few seconds to swap, one-way and fool-proof, with a chip in the ribbon reporting when it needs replacing. It supports ZPL and EPL natively and emulates non-Zebra printer languages, so it drops into an existing fleet without rewriting label formats.

Print speed is up to 6 in./s (152 mm/s) at 203 dpi over a 108 mm maximum print width, with up to 991 mm of label length. Media runs 15-118 mm wide on rolls up to 127 mm OD; ribbon (thermal transfer) runs 33.8-109.2 mm wide, up to 300 m to a roll. Memory is 512 MB Flash and 256 MB SDRAM on network-connected builds. USB 2.0, USB Host and Bluetooth Low Energy are standard; Ethernet and Serial are field-installable, with a dual-radio 802.11ac Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.1 kit as a further option.

The healthcare builds add the white colour scheme, IEC 60601-1-compliant power supply and disinfectant-ready plastics common to Zebra's -HC line; the direct-thermal healthcare build, ZD420d-HC, is the only one of the three that can take the optional locking media cabinet for prescription forms.