Frequently asked questions

These Frequently Asked Questions provide information on the U.S. government and transportation & logistics industries, and on how the ZQ500™ mobile printers meet the unique challenges of each. For more information on the ZQ500 Series, visit zebra.com/ZQ500.
How is Zebra meeting the growing mobility needs of government, manufacturing and transportation and logistics (T&L) industries?
Realising the growing demand for mobility and feature-rich, rugged technology within the US government, manufacturing and T&L industries, Zebra® offers a line of products that is flexible enough meet the challenges of the mobile workforce in a variety of applications, work environments and professions. The ZQ500 Series has two models, the 3" (72 mm) ZQ510™ and 4" (104 mm) ZQ520™. The ZQ500 Series features more options with more features, flexibility and ruggedness over other mobile product lines
and is recommended for customers with complex applications than cannot be satisfied with the iMZ™ Series printers.
Where does the ZQ500 Series fit within Zebra’s existing printer portfolio?
MID-RANGE
iMZ Series
VALUE
ZQ110
PREMIUM RUGGED
ZQ500 Series
PREMIUM
QLn Series
Zebra strategically designed the ZQ500 Series to fill the ‘premium rugged’ space in the company’s “value, mid-range, premium” product positioning strategy. As such, the ZQ500 Series is positioned as Zebra’s high-performance or premium solution for receipt printing, as well as labels. The ZQ500 Series replace Zebra’s existing RW™ Series mobile printers.
What applications does the ZQ500 Series support?
The ZQ500 Series premium printers are the printers of choice for harsh, demanding applications requiring defence against shock, vibrations, dust and water. Key transportation and logistics applications include:
Field sales and service receipt printing
Transportation ticketing
Direct store delivery and cash-on-delivery receipt printing
Shipping labels
Car rental receipt printing for vehicle return
Parcel and logistics proof of delivery
Utility readings and delivery receipts/notice printing
Within the US government, the ZQ500 Series is recommended for e-citation and parking enforcement, including instances in which weather-resistant tickets are essential.
What features does the ZQ500 Series offer as the next-generation mobile printer line?
Engineered using years of RW Voice of Customer information, the ZQ500 Series includes many enhancements and improvements
over the RW Series — including a more rugged design, a smaller size, improved Bluetooth® connectivity, a lower cost of ownership and a simplified user interface designed for easy operation even when users are wearing gloves.
In addition, the ZQ500 Series features:
Semi-sleep and instant-on modes for battery conservation and time savings
Zebra’s Link-OS® environment for easy integration, management and maintenance
A secondary Bluetooth communication channel for simultaneous printing and device management
(Zebra’s first product to support this)
Physical characteristics also differ between the ZQ500 Series and RW Series printers:
ZQ500 printers are constructed based on Zebra’s global design programming language
The ZQ510 printer weighs 5% less than the comparative RW220™
The ZQ510 media roll OD is smaller than that of the RW220
The ZQ520 is 25% smaller in cubic volume than the RW420™
The ZQ520 offers a 20% reduction in weight over the RW420
What competitive advantages does the ZQ500 Series offer over similar products?
Durability
The ZQ500 Series printers are the most rugged printers available in the mobile printer market. The ZQ510 and ZQ520 provide unmatched durability for use in any environment. They feature a military design and are constructed using quality materials, including stainless steel latch hooks and high-impact plastics, for increased printer longevity. The printers offer best-in-class performance
on 1-metre tumble testing and boast the widest operating temperature range of any printers in the industry.
Ease of Use
In addition, the ZQ500 Series printers are easy to integrate and simple to use. The printers require minimal training and are engineered for easy operation, media loading and media replacement — particularly when users are wearing gloves.
Connectivity
ZQ500 printers feature the latest WLAN connectivity options, including 802.11a/b/g/n that supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, Bluetooth 4.0 with Low Energy (a standalone radio option), multiport radio operation (using Bluetooth 3.0), USB on-the-go connectivity and Bluetooth connectivity to a range of Apple®, Android® and Windows® mobile devices.
Zebra Reputation
The ZQ500 Series printers are backed by the Zebra brand and offer a suite of competitively priced accessories and best-in-class support and services.
What makes the ZQ500 Series printers the most rugged printers in the industry?
The ZQ500 Series printers offer a military-inspired design and are constructed using high-quality materials. The printers feature several high-grade components, including:
Stainless steel latch hooks for extra strength over plastic hooks
High-impact plastics to withstand drops: Lexan EXL resin offers superior impact and low-temperature ductility; long fibre fillers offer improved strength and rigidity
Steel gear posts with wider gear teeth that are stronger and less likely to shear off
Dual-injection and one-piece main housings to eliminate the risk of breakage when dropped.
In addition, the printers feature:
Chemically strengthened glass in a recessed, encapsulated LCD panel to prevent scratches or damage to the display
Self-adjustable media guides with an auto-lock feature help to keep the media in place and prevent the media from being ejected if the printer is dropped.
ZQ500 Series printers can survive:
26 2-metre (6.6') drops to concrete with one drop on each face, edge and corner. The test was repeated at -20°C, room temperature and +55°C with a full roll of media.
1-metre tumble-tests. To better replicate ‘real-life’ usage, this test ‘tumbles’ repeatedly 1 metre and is validated based on IEC 68-2-32.
The printers offer the widest range of operating temperatures in the industry (-20°C to +55°C or 4° F to 131°F) for use and storage in all environments.
Do the ZQ500 Series printers offer the Link-OS environment?
Yes. The ZQ510 and ZQ520 printers offer the Link-OS environment for simplified device integration, management and maintenance. Specifically, the printers feature the following Link-OS environment software solutions and tools:
MultiPlatform Software Development Kit: Create printing applications for Windows, Apple, Android, Windows® CE and Windows® Mobile platforms.
Cloud Connect: Connect to the Cloud directly and securely, forwarding data from any port.
Print Touch™: Simplify Bluetooth pairing and launch web-based help pages with Near-Field Communication (NFC)-enabled devices.
Virtual Devices: Support multiple programming languages on one printer and integrate Zebra Link-OS printers into existing legacy systems.
Profile Manager: Edit and manage one printer, batches of printers or all Link-OS printers across the network.
Zebra Setup Utility: Configures a single printer out of the box quickly and easily; requires latest version of Zebra Driver.
ZebraDesigner™ Windows Driver: Design basic features and gain access to configuration and diagnostic tools with
Microsoft-certified Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows 2008, and Windows 2012
(downloadable from www.zebra.com).
I would like to print both receipts and labels. How do you switch between media outputs in the ZQ500 Series printers?
The ZQ510 and ZQ520 can print on journal media, gap/web media, and bar media. Configuring the printer for each of these modes is identical to the QLn series, and depends on whether a device driver or native language mode is being used. When using the device driver, the media type and associated parameters can be configured directly in the Windows driver dialog, or inside of Zebra Setup Utilities. When communicating with the printer directly, it is best to refer to the CPCL Programmer’s Manual and the CPCL Programming Guide for Link-OS enabled printers and the ZPL Programming Guide for ZPL.
What connectivity options do the ZQ510 and ZQ520 printers offer?
The ZQ500 printers feature the latest connectivity options, including 802.11a/b/g/n that supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, including roaming within and across bands, and simultaneous 802.11 and Bluetooth operation. The Bluetooth 4.0 with Low Energy feature provides users with new features, including Wake on Bluetooth (BT 4.0 radio only). The printers support Bluetooth connectivity to a range of Apple, Android and Windows mobile devices, including MFi certification, to keep employees constantly connected, regardless of work environment or location.
What certifications does the ZQ500 Series have?
The ZQ510 and ZQ520 printers feature the following certifications and ratings:
MIL-STD: The military specification (MIL-STD 810g) — also referred to as military standard (MIL-STD) — is used to help achieve standardisation objectives by the U.S. Department of Defense. MIL-STD 810g, Environmental Engineering Considerations and Laboratory Tests, is a military standard that emphasises tailoring a product’s design to the conditions that it will experience throughout its service life. MIL-STD 810g addresses a broad range of environmental conditions including exposure to high and low temperatures plus temperature shock (both operating and in storage), shock and random vibration.
IP Rating: The International Protection Rating, or Ingress Protection Rating, classifies the degrees of protection provided against the intrusion of solid objects (including body parts like hands and fingers), dust, accidental contact and water in electrical enclosures. IP54 rating demonstrates the product is protected from limited dust ingress and is protected from water spray from any direction. IP65 rating (ZQ500 has this rating when paired with the exoskeleton case) demonstrates the product is protected from total dust ingress and is protected from low-pressure water jets from any direction.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™: The Wi-Fi Alliance, a global non-profit industry association, gives users added control and security of their network, equipment and data through the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED seal of approval. As a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED product, the ZQ500 is compatible with the Wi-Fi network to support connectivity to a range of Android and Windows Mobile devices. According to the Wi-Fi Alliance website (www.wi-fi.org), “all Wi-Fi CERTIFIED products are tested for the latest generation of Wi-Fi security: WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2)”.
“Made for iPod/iPhone/iPad” (MFi) certified: Apple Inc.'s MFi Program is a licensing program for developers of hardware and software peripherals that work with Apple's iPod, iPad and iPhone — the so-called iDevices. This certification alerts users that the ZQ500 is certified to be compatible with popular Apple devices via Bluetooth.
The ZQ500 Series also has been tested and verified for maximum interoperability when in use with validated terminals. Zebra Independent Software Vendor (ISV) partners create industry-leading software solutions to solve business problems, and Zebra works closely with these ISVs to integrate printing and other capabilities of Zebra products.
What accessories are available for the ZQ500 Series printers?
A complete list of ZQ500 accessories is available at zebra.com. The ZQ500 printers offer a range of best-in-class accessories that are compact and multi-purpose, helping users transform cars, trucks and vehicles into productive mobile offices. The ZQ500 Series printers offer several settlement room and vehicle adapters to make it easy for users to transition from RW Series and competitor printers.
Because users are constantly on the go and portability is essential, the ZQ500 Series offers the following carrying accessories:
2-roll spare media case
Belt loop
Hand strap
Standard and/or rugged shoulder strap
Battery eliminator
Exoskeleton case.
What will I receive in the box?
When customers receive the ZQ510 or ZQ520 printer, they will find a variety of important materials and accessories in the box. These items include:
Belt clip
(1) PowerPrecision+ battery
CD-ROM with User’s Guide and printer manuals.
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