Fargo 81763 Plastic ID Card

The Zebra ZT600 Series is a line of industrial thermal printers that both print and encode RFID labels in a single pass. The series comprises two models — the 4-inch ZT610 and the 6-inch ZT620 — each built on an all-metal frame with a bi-fold metal media cover, side-loading supplies path and a thin film printhead with E3 Element Energy Equalizer for print quality.

Both models support thermal transfer and direct thermal printing and are designed for manufacturing and transportation and logistics environments where dust, debris, moisture and temperature extremes would disable a lighter printer. RFID encoding is delivered by an integrated encoder that can be ordered from the factory or installed later in the field.

Print width and speed are the main differences. The Zebra ZT610 prints up to 4.09 in. (104 mm) wide at up to 14 ips (356 mm/sec), while the ZT620 prints up to 6.6 in. (168 mm) wide at up to 12 ips (305 mm/sec). Resolution options are 203 dpi standard and 300 dpi optional on both models, with 600 dpi available on the ZT610 only.

Media handling differs accordingly: the ZT610 accepts media from 1.00 in. (25.4 mm) to 4.5 in. (114 mm) in tear/cutter mode, the ZT620 from 2.00 in. (51 mm) to 7.0 in. (178 mm). The ZT620 is also wider and heavier at 13.44 in. (341.45 mm) and 57.4 lbs (26 kg), versus 10.56 in. (268.2 mm) and 50 lbs (22.7 kg) for the ZT610. Choose the ZT620 for wide labels such as pallet and shipping placards, and the ZT610 for standard 4-inch label work or when 600 dpi is required.

Yes. The Zebra ZT600 Series RFID encoder is user-upgradeable in the field and available on both the 4-inch ZT610 and 6-inch ZT620 models. Zebra states the field upgrade takes about five minutes, so a printer purchased without RFID can be converted as tracking requirements evolve rather than replaced.

This makes the ZT600 Series a hedge against uncertain RFID timelines: deploy the printers now for barcode label work, then add encoding when a customer mandate or internal item-level tracking program arrives.

The Zebra ZT600 Series supports tags compatible with UHF EPC Gen 2 V2, ISO/IEC 18000-63 and RAIN RFID protocols. It supports industry-standard, multi-vendor chip-based serialization and block permalocking of user memory compatible with ATA Spec 2000, and includes RFID job-monitoring tools for tracking encoding performance.

Adaptive Encoding Technology automatically selects the optimum encode settings for the media loaded, which removes the need for complex inlay placement guides and simplifies RFID calibration. Zebra's RFID technology is certified on six continents, supporting multinational supply chain deployments.

The Zebra ZT600 Series can encode inlays spaced at a pitch of 0.6 in. (16 mm) or narrower on most RFID inlays — tighter than competing printer/encoders accommodate. Because the inlays sit closer together, label converters use less material per roll, which lowers the cost per label.

Tighter spacing also means more labels per roll, so operators change media rolls less often and printer throughput increases. On high-volume item-level tagging programs, the media saving typically outweighs the hardware cost difference.

Standard connectivity on the Zebra ZT600 Series includes USB 2.0 high-speed, RS-232 Serial, Gigabit Ethernet, USB Host and Bluetooth 4.0. Optional additions include parallel, 802.11ac wireless, an applicator port, IPv6 (via an external dongle on the parallel port) and BTLE. Two open communication slots accept internal cards for future protocols or failover connections.

Zebra Link-OS provides real-time visibility and control of printers on-site or remotely, with cloud-accessible apps for setup, management and troubleshooting. Web View allows browser-based control via ZPL II, and printers with ZebraNet print servers send email alerts to minimize downtime. Firmware supports ZPL and ZPL II, XML-enabled printing and the optional ZBI 2.0 programming language for stand-alone applications.