Zebra ZT231

The ZT231 sits above the ZT111 in Zebra's entry industrial line: full metal enclosures rather than plastic side panels, a 4.3-inch colour touchscreen instead of a button-and-LED interface, and — unlike the ZT111 — a field-installable Applicator Interface and UHF RFID kit, so the same base printer can grow into either integration later. The bi-fold door keeps the same space-saving design, and the printhead and platen still come out without tools.

Print speed reaches 12 ips (305 mm/s) at 203 dpi or 8 ips (203 mm/s) with the 300 dpi option, over the same 104 mm maximum print width as the ZT111. Media and ribbon ranges match too — 19.4-114 mm media on the same 203 mm/76 mm-core or 152 mm/25 mm-core roll options, 51-110 mm ribbon, 450 m to a roll — with a factory-fit liner take-up spindle available for continuous peel-mode operation, adding roughly 45 mm of height and 1.8 kg.

The ZT231R adds Zebra's RE40 UHF RFID module for EPC Gen 2 V2.1, ISO/IEC 18000-63 and RAIN RFID tags, with adaptive encoding that picks the right settings automatically rather than needing pre-tested placement guidelines — ribbon width on the RFID model runs down to 40 mm instead of 51. Standard connectivity is USB 2.0, RS-232 Serial, 10/100 Ethernet, USB Host, Bluetooth Low Energy and NFC tap-to-pair, with 802.11ac Wi-Fi, a second Ethernet port or the Applicator Interface as field-installable cards. Software and security carry over from Zebra's wider range rather than the Basic tier on the ZT111: full Print DNA, Printer Profile Manager Enterprise for remote fleet management, and PrintSecure.