Zebra ZQ320 Plus setup guide: battery, paper and first print

This guide takes a new ZQ320 Plus from the box to a first printed receipt or label. You charge the battery, load a roll, check the printer with a configuration report and then connect a phone over Bluetooth or a Windows PC over USB. Our version, ZQ32-A0E04TE-00, is the Bluetooth model without Wi-Fi.

Before you start

Check the box

Zebra ships the printer with a 2280 mAh PowerPrecision+ battery, a belt clip, a USB cable, a quick start guide and the safety and regulatory guides. The battery is already in the printer, but it is protected by a tape insulator that you remove first. There is no paper, no charger and no AC adapter in the box.

Know your version

Zebra makes the ZQ320 Plus in two versions. The black outdoor version, made for transport and logistics, manufacturing and government work, connects by Bluetooth only. The silver and black indoor version for retail also has Wi-Fi. A printer with Wi-Fi has the text "Wireless Network Printer" on its serial number label.

Know the controls

The printer has two buttons: POWER, with a coloured light ring around it, and FEED. Backlit icons show faults, the battery level, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.

Remove the battery insulator

1. If the belt clip is fitted on the bottom of the printer, turn it so that it clears the battery.
2. Press the clip on the battery pack and tilt the battery out of the battery well. Lift it out.
3. Pull up the tab of the tape insulator on the bottom of the battery and peel the tape off the top of the pack.
4. Put the battery back: angle it towards the front of the well with its clip facing the rear of the printer, slide the front in, then press down on the back until it clicks.

Charge the battery fully

Zebra ships the battery in a sleep state to protect it in storage. Charging wakes it up, and Zebra asks you to charge it fully before you use the printer for the first time.

1. Plug the USB-A end of the cable into a Zebra AC-to-USB adapter and the adapter into a wall outlet.
2. Turn the rubber door on the printer anticlockwise to uncover the USB-C port.
3. Plug in the USB-C end. It fits either way round.
4. The printer powers up and starts charging. You can leave it on or switch it off; charging continues either way.

The light ring around POWER shows the charge state:

Charging while you print works, but takes longer. Zebra's spec sheet gives a charging temperature of 0 to 40 °C. For several printers or spare batteries, Zebra offers a 1-slot docking cradle (shipped with a USB cable and AC-to-USB adapter), a 5-slot docking charger, 1-slot and 3-slot battery chargers and vehicle adapters. Zebra rates the battery chargers and the 5-slot cradle at less than 4 hours from empty to full, and the 1-slot cradle at 3.5 hours.

Video: Zebra Technologies

Load the media

1. Push the latch release button forwards. The media cover opens.
2. Drop the roll into the media compartment in the direction shown in Zebra's user guide, so the heat-sensitive side faces the printhead.
3. Pull the end of the paper out past the front of the printer and close the cover until it clicks. The printer advances the paper by itself.

The ZQ320 Plus takes media 80 mm wide on rolls up to 40 mm in diameter and prints up to 72 mm wide. Zebra's media spacer kit adapts the compartment to 76 mm paper. The printer prints by heat only, so use direct thermal media; there is no ribbon.

For receipts with pre-printed black marks, the marks go on the back of the paper, centred on the roll. Keep a strip down the centre of the paper free of dark pre-printed logos and text, because the sensor reads the marks there.

Switch on the printer

1. Press POWER. All lights come on while you hold the button.
2. Release it. The Fault light stays on and the power ring blinks while the printer starts.
3. When the ring stops blinking and stays lit, the printer is ready. Its colour shows the charge state.

Don't hold POWER for more than 5 seconds during start-up, as this cancels it. To switch off, hold POWER for about 3 seconds until the Fault light comes on and the ring blinks. After 20 minutes without use the printer goes to sleep and the ring pulses slowly. Press POWER briefly to wake it. The Bluetooth model also wakes by itself when a device connects over Bluetooth.

Print a configuration report

Zebra recommends plain receipt paper without black marks for the report.

1. With the printer off, press and hold FEED.
2. Keep holding FEED and press POWER until the power light blinks, then release POWER.
3. Keep holding FEED while the Fault light pulses. Zebra's user guide says to release FEED when the Wi-Fi icon lights amber.
4. The printer prints the Zebra logo, "Building Two-Key Report" and then the report.

If the button sequence doesn't produce a report, print it from the Zebra Printer Setup Utility instead: Actions › Print Configuration Label.

The report starts with a line of interlocking x characters that checks every printhead element. It shows the model, the serial number, the Bluetooth address and name, and the battery health. Keep it: you need the Bluetooth name for pairing.

At the end the report reads "Press FEED key to enter DUMP mode". Don't press FEED within 3 seconds, or the printer enters a diagnostic mode that prints incoming data as text. If that happens, switch the printer off, wait 5 seconds and switch it on again.

Connect a phone or tablet

Install the free Zebra Printer Setup Utility from Google Play or the App Store. The app pairs the printer, shows its status and battery, and runs actions such as Print Test Label and Calibrate Media.

• Android with NFC: turn on NFC on the phone and hold its NFC area against the Print Touch icon on the side of the printer, within about 7.6 cm. Tap Pair when asked.
• Android without NFC: in the app tap Connect New Printer, then Bluetooth, choose the printer and tap Pair.
• iPhone or iPad: pair the printer first in Settings › Bluetooth, then open the app. The ZQ320 Plus is certified Made for iPhone.

If the app asks you to enable pairing mode, hold FEED for 5 seconds until the Bluetooth light flashes. Every step, and what to do if the phone can't find the printer, is in Pair the ZQ320 Plus over Bluetooth. Once paired, your point-of-sale or delivery app prints over the same Bluetooth connection.

Connect a Windows PC by USB

Install the driver before you plug in the cable. If Windows finds the printer first, it shows it as an "Unspecified device".

1. Download the Windows driver for the ZQ320 Plus from zebra.com/drivers or the ZQ310 Plus/ZQ320 Plus support page.
2. Run the installer and leave Run the Printer Installation Wizard ticked. In the wizard, accept the licence, choose the ZQ320 Plus, choose Add new printer and select a USB port.
3. Switch the printer off, connect the USB cable to the printer and the PC, then switch the printer on. Windows finishes the installation while the printer starts.
4. Print a test page from the printer properties.

For changing printer settings from the PC, Zebra offers the free Zebra Setup Utilities on the same support page.

Zebra asks you to switch the printer off before you connect or disconnect the data cable. Screens and fixes for the driver are in Install the ZDesigner driver on Windows 11. If a light shows a fault, see ZQ320 Plus troubleshooting.