Overview
Save time and money by printing your own labels! The GX-430 is a best-in-class printer that is perfect for short and medium runs of food product labels with black-and-white labels with good detail and fine print. The 300dpi capability is for printing the small fonts required for small product labels. The GX430 is perfect for labeling food products in black-and-white with good detail and fine print. Meant for all kinds of food products, the labels stand up to heat, moisture and cold.
The GX430 has a sleek and compact design, boasts the easiest ribbon loading system on the market, and supports a variety of applications and industries.
Many applications: In addition to food label printing, the GX430 integrates easily into a variety of printing applications, including shipping and receiving, warehouse shelf labeling and inventory control, and e-commerce postage. Serial, parallel, and USB interfaces, and an optional internal Ethernet (ZebraNet PrintServer II), make this flexible, reliable and affordable printer a smart investment.
Connecting via USB, it works with Windows 95 to Windows 8. Use the included label design software or Photoshop®, Illustrator® or similar.
Printing your own labels with the Zebra GX430 rather than using a printing service, there are:
- No lead times
- No minimum order requirements
- No obsolete label inventory
- No plate and die charges
Wide Variety of Label Sizes and Materials
More than one hundred standard label types are available in rectangular and circular shapes. Lengths on continuous labels can be up to 11" with the standard memory or 22" with the optional expanded memory.
Water-, heat- and cold-resistant labels! Zebras print on various materials, including high gloss and simi-gloss paper, polyester and polypropylene plastics. The plastic materials are especially resistant to scratches, moisture, heat and cold.
Click here for the full Zebra Desktop Food Label Catalog and Product Guide
Included with the Zebra GX430
- Starter ribbon
- Zebra Designer label design software (delivered by download)
- USB Cable
General Thermal Label Printer Information
This is a thermal transfer printer. Instead of ink, it uses heat to print either by transfer or direct methods. The advantages of thermal transfer over inkjet technology is that the labels are more water-resistant or waterproof, more durable and less expensive. Thermal direct printers are the type most commonly used to produce black-and-white food labels. Short runs of food labels (a few hundred to a few thousand per day) are usually made with thermal transfer printers. A typical food label made this way has a total cost of about a cent.
Thermal transfer label printers come in two main sizes and duty levels. Smaller, "desktop" printers print up to four inches wide and are suitable for printing a few hundred labels a day. Larger "industrial" printers print up to eight inches wide, accept larger label rolls, and easily print a few thousand labels a day. (Note that labels can be printed on their sides so the printer width can be used as the height instead.)
Two print resolutions are typically available- either 203dpi (dots per inch) or 300. 203dpi is the same resolution as most faxes and is best suited for standard or larger fonts. 300dpi, available on better printers, prints small fonts very well and may be required to properly print small food labels so that the smallest text on them is readable.
Label printers are loaded with label rolls of a few hundred to a few thousand labels per roll, depending on the label size. Continuous rolls are also available so labels can be individually cut to length or made unusually long with the automatic cutter separating the labels. Automatic cutters are usually optional extras.
The thermal transfer method heats a ribbon which causes pigment (usually black) to transfer from the ribbon to mark the media (labels). Ribbons are available in a limited variety of colors so the printer can transfer the color of the ribbon, but usually do not mix colors to produce the full spectrum of colors as do inkjets. One ribbon is usually sufficient for one or two rolls of labels. Ribbons are available in various widths and should be at least as wide as the labels being printed.
The widest variety of substrates (labels) are available for use with thermal transfer because the substrates do not need the special coating required for thermal direct printing and thermal ribbons can mark a wide variety of materials. Most dry food labels are printed on high gloss paper because it is scratch-resistant and looks good. Semi-gloss paper is less expensive but does not look as nice as high gloss, but it is more readable when glare is a problem. Plastic substrates are the most durable of all and are best to use for cold, moisture and heat.
The thermal direct method heats specially coated media directly so the media itself is marked by the heat without the use of a ribbon. Thermal direct printing is the least expensive technology because no ribbon is required. Its disadvantage is that thermal direct media remains heat-sensitive, so labels quickly turn dark if exposed to heat or prolonged sunlight and become gray in normal conditions in a few weeks. The variety of sizes of substrates (labels) is more limited because of the special coating they require to work. Thermal direct labels are the best to use with dry, cool food products which will never be on the shelf more than a few days.
Software: Most label printers include basic control software for composing complete food labels with product names, logos, bar codes and nutrition data (such as nutraCoster provides). The included software can usually be upgraded for a fee to more robust versions that can perform advanced functions such as individualizing labels (with lot numbers, weights, etc.) by interfacing with databases.
Labels and Ribbons
More than one hundred standard label types are available in rectangular shapes, from about 1.2" x .85” to 4” x 8”. Label print width can be as narrow as 0.75 inches and as wide as 4 inches. A variety of circular sizes are also available. Length on continuous labels can be up to 11" with the standard memory or 22" with the optional expanded memory. Labels can be printed sideways so width and length can be swapped.
Water-, heat- and cold-resistant labels! Zebras print on various materials, including high gloss and simi-gloss paper, polyester and polypropylene plastics. The plastic materials are especially resistant to scratches, moisture, heat and cold.
Click here for the Zebra Desktop Food Label Catalog
Service
- Warranty: One Year Parts and Labor
- Free factory phone support
Specifications
Standard Features
- Print methods: Direct thermal/thermal transfer (TLP)
- Print speed: up to 4" (102 mm) per second
- Windows® drivers (95, 98, Me, NT4.0, NT2000, XP, 7, 8)
- Windows printer utilities
- Zebra Printer Management
- EPL and ZPL programming languages standard
- OpenACCESS design for easy media loading
- Quick and easy ribbon loading system
- Dual-wall reinforced plastic construction
- 32 bit RISC processor
- XML-enabled printing
Printer Specifications
- Resolution: 300 dpi (12 dots/mm)
- Memory: Standard: 8 MB SDRAM (3 MB available to user); 4 MB Flash (1.5 MB available to user)
- Optional Memory: 64 MB Flash (68 MB total) with real time clock (65.5 MB available to user)
- Print width: 4.09" (104 mm)
- Print length: 39" (991 mm)
- Print speed: 4" (102 mm)/sec
- Media sensors: Reflective, Transmissive
- Media Characteristics:
- Maximum label and liner width: 4.25" (108 mm)
- Minimum label and liner width: 0.75" (19 mm)
- Maximum label and liner length: 0.38" (9.7 mm) to 39" (991 mm)
- Maximum roll diameter: 5" (127 mm)
- Core diameter: 0.5" (12.7 mm), 1.0" (25.4 mm), 1.5" (38.1)
- Media thickness: 0.003" (0.08 mm) to 0.0075" (0.20 mm)
- Media types: black bar, black mark, continuous, continuous receipt, die-cut, fanfold, gap, notched, perforated, receipt, roll-fed, tag, tag stock
- Ribbon Characteristics:
- Outside diameter: 1.34" (34 mm)
- Standard length: 244' (74 m)
- Ratio: 1:1
- Ribbon width: (Recommended to be at least as wide as media)
1.33" (33.8 mm) to 4.3" (110 mm)
- ID Core: 0.5" (12.7 mm)
- Operating Characteristics
- Operating temperature: TT: Operating temperature 40° F (5° C) to 105° F (41° C) Thermal transfer. DT: Operating temperature 40° F (5° C) to 105° F (41° C) Direct thermal
- Storage temperatures: -40° F (-40° C) to 140° F (60° C)
- Operating humidity: 10-90% non-condensing
- Storage humidity: 5-95% non-condensing
- Electrical: Auto-detectable (PFC Compliant) 100-240 VAC, 50-60 Hz
- Agency approvals: FCC Part 15, Subpart 15, VCCI, C-Tick, EN55022 Class-B,
EN6100-3-2, EN6100-3-3, EN55024, CCC, CB Scheme IEC 60950: 1991 +A1 +A2 + A3 +A4, TUV NRTL, IRAM, NOM, AAMI
- Physical Characteristics
- Width: 7.6" (194 mm)
- Height: 7.5" (191 mm)
- Depth: 10" (254 mm)
- Weight: 4.6 lbs (2.1 kg)
- Shipping weight: 9.1 lbs (4.1 kg)
- Orientation: Center
- Options
- 64 MB Flash memory with real time clock (68 MB total)
- 10/100 internal Ethernet connectivity
- 802.11b/g wireless connectivity with LCD display (replaces Parallel port)
- Bluetooth wireless connectivity with LCD display (replaces Parallel port)
- Adjustable media sensor
- Cutter for various media types
- Dispenser - label peel and present with present sensor
- Asian font kits
- Communication and Interface Capabilities
- Serial RS-232 (DB-9)
- USB V1.1
- Parallel (DB-25)
- Optional: 10/100 internal Etherenet (replaces Parallel port)
- Optional: 802.11b/g wireless connectivity with LCD display (replaces Parallel port)
- Optional: Bluetooth wireless connectivity with LCD display (replaces Parallel port
- Programming Languages
- Core programming languages: EPL2, ZPL I/ZPL II
- Bar Codes/Symbologies: Linear, Codabar, Code 11, Code 128, Code 128 with subsets A/B/C, Code 39, Code 93, EAN-13, EAN-14, EAN-8, EAN-8 and EAN-13 with 2 or 5 digit extensions, German Post Code, Industrial 2-of-5, Interleaved 2-of-5, Japanese Postnet, Logmars, MSI, MSI-3, Plessey, Postnet, RSS (reduced space symbology), Standard 2-of-5, UCC/EAN-128, UPC and EAN 2 or 5 digit extensions, UPC-A, UPC-A and UPC-E with 2 or 5 digit extensions, UPC-A and UPC-E with EAN 2 or 5 digit extensions,
UPC-E, 2-dimensional, Aztec, Codablock, Code 49, Data Matrix, MacroPDF417, MaxiCode, MicroPDF417, PDF417, QR Code
- Fonts and Graphics
- 16 resident expandable ZPL II bitmap fonts
- One resident scalable ZPL font
- Five resident expandable EPL2 bitmap fonts
- Supports user-defined fonts and graphics - including customer logos
Policies
Returnable within 20 days of delivery. Refunds are less shipping, 15% restocking fee and charge card merchant fees (if applied).
Related Products
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