Zebra printer printing blank labels

Symptoms

The printer feeds a label, but the face is blank. Sometimes the first label is blank and the next one is dark. The status light may stay green.

Cause

Blank labels are usually a media mismatch, not a dead head. Thermal transfer mode with no ribbon does not mark direct stock. Direct mode on stock that needs a ribbon does the same. Darkness can also be so low that the barcode never forms. A printer left on EPL will ignore a ZPL setup job and look like it printed nothing.

Fix

Open printer setup and connect. Read the faults. Paper out or an open head is a different problem.
Set media type to direct thermal if the labels are coated and you have no ribbon. Use thermal transfer only when a ribbon is loaded. The media type command is the ZPL form.
Set darkness near the middle of the scale, print a hello label, and move one step at a time.
If the printer language is EPL, read EPL vs ZPL before you send more ZPL.

FAQ

Why does my Zebra print a blank label and then a good one?

The sensor is often stopping between labels, or darkness is too low for the first burn. Calibrate, then raise darkness one step and print a single test.

Direct thermal stock is blank even though the printer feeds

The printer is probably set to thermal transfer and is waiting for a ribbon. Set media type to direct thermal and print again.