Connecting Printer Devices

Discover Zebra LinkOS weblink enabled printers on your network, and bring them under management with Avalanche's remote provisioning process. This process requires the Zebra Printer Setup Utility to connect printers to your network.

ClosedMigrating from the old printer management to the new method

To move a printer from the old Avalanche printer management method to the new method, simply remove the enabler from the printer then follow the enrollment steps detailed on this page.

To remove the old Avalanche enabler, use the Zebra Printer Utility to send the following SGD commands to your printer.

! U1 setvar "netmanage.type" " none"
! U1 do "device.reset" ""

1. Connect printers to your network

Printers must be on your network to be discovered by the printer device server. In addition to the following options, printers can also be placed in a cradle with an Ethernet connection, discovered and enrolled, then sent wireless connection information through Avalanche. Beyond enrollment, a wireless connection is required for printers to receive real-time updates from Avalanche.

ClosedTo connect a printer to your network using the connectivity wizard (recommended for the first printer connection)

1.Open the Zebra Printer Setup Utility.

2.Connect the printer to your PC using a USB cable.

3.If the printer is not automatically discovered, click Install New Printer and follow the installation wizard.

4.Select the printer from the printers list.

5.Click Configure Printer Connectivity.

6.Follow the wizard to enter your network information.

7.On the second to last screen, you will see a set of SGD commands for the options you have configured. These commands can be sent to directly to printers to configure a connection without going through this wizard again. If you are provisioning multiple printers, we recommend copying these commands to a text file for reuse.

8.Select Printer and click Finish.

The configuration is sent to the printer. The printer will restart and connect to your network.

ClosedTo connect a printer to your network using SGD commands (recommended for additional printer connections)

1.Connect the printer to your PC using a USB cable.

2.In the Zebra Printer Setup Utility, select the printer from the printers list.

3. Click Open Communication With Printer.

4.Copy the SGD commands you generated using the connectivity wizard.

5.Paste the SGD commands into the top text box.

6.Press the Enter key to ensure your cursor is on a new line.

7.Click Send to Printer.

The configuration is sent to the printer. The printer will restart and connect to your network.

2. Discover printers

Scan for manageable printers on your network. Discovery scans are performed by printer device servers. If a printer is enrolled with one printer device server, it is still discoverable by other printer device servers. Avoid placing a printer under management that is already managed by another printer device server. This can result in duplicate license consumption.

ClosedTo run a printer discovery scan

1.In the Avalanche console, navigate to Enrollment > Printer Discovery.

2.Click Create New Scan.

3.(Optional) Enter a name for the scan. The name defaults to the date and time the scan runs.

4.Select a printer device server (PDS) to run the scan.

5.Enter the network range to scan.

6.Select whether the scan should run now or at a scheduled time.

If you select Run Now, you have the option to select how long the scan will run before timing out.

If you select Schedule, enter date and time the scan will begin. You also have option to enter when the scan will time out.

7.Click Save.
The scan appears in the Discovery Scans list.

To view the results of a scan, navigate to Enrollment > Printer Discovery, select the scan from the Discovery Scans list, and click View. The results appear below in the Discovered Printers list.

To rerun a scan, navigate to Enrollment > Printer Discovery, select the scan from the Discovery Scans list,, click Clone, and edit the run time of the scan.

3. Bring printers under management

Place any discovered printers under management. Once contacted by the printer device server, the printer reboots and begins receiving printer profiles.

ClosedTo place a printer under management

1.Select a scan from the Discovery Scans list.

2.Select printers in the Discovered Printers list.

3.Click Place Under Management.
The printer device server contacts the selected printers. It may take a few minutes for the printers to fully enroll and appear in the printer inventory.

For information about management options for enrolled printers, see Getting Started with Printer Management.