Zebra
About Zebra at Server Hub
Zebra is our deepest point-of-sale and auto-ID range: barcode scanners, thermal label printers, rugged mobile computers and the consumables that keep them running.
Consumables are the part worth planning for. A thermal printer is a cheap purchase and an ongoing cost, and the ongoing cost is ribbons and labels. Direct thermal printing needs no ribbon but the print fades with heat and light, which is fine for a shipping label read within days and wrong for an asset tag expected to last years. Thermal transfer uses a ribbon and lasts. Choosing the wrong one is the most common and most expensive mistake in this category, because you discover it a year later when the labels have gone blank.
Scanners divide on symbology and duty. A 1D laser scanner reads barcodes and is cheap; a 2D imager reads QR codes, damaged labels and screens, which matters the moment you accept phone-displayed vouchers or scan labels that have been through a warehouse. Retail counters, warehouse floors and cold stores are three different duty ratings, and a counter scanner does not survive a warehouse.
For mobile computers, the questions we ask are battery shift length, whether it will be dropped, and what it needs to talk to. Rugged devices cost more and outlast three cheap ones in the environments they are built for.
Server Hub is an independent reseller. Zebra is a trademark of Zebra Technologies Corp., used for identification. Prices are in rand with VAT included.
Zebra — frequently asked questions
Direct thermal or thermal transfer?
- Direct thermal needs no ribbon but fades with heat and light — right for shipping labels read within days. Thermal transfer uses a ribbon and lasts for years — right for asset tags, product labels and anything archival. Choosing wrong is usually discovered a year later when the labels have gone blank.
1D laser or 2D imager scanner?
- A 1D laser reads printed barcodes and is cheaper. A 2D imager also reads QR codes, damaged labels and barcodes displayed on a phone screen. If you accept digital vouchers or scan labels that have been through a warehouse, buy the imager.
Will a counter scanner survive a warehouse?
- No. Retail counter, warehouse floor and cold store are three different duty and drop ratings. A counter unit in a warehouse is a false economy — tell us the environment and we will match the rating.
Do you supply ribbons and labels?
- Yes, and we would rather quote them with the printer. Ribbon width and core size have to match the printer, and running out mid-shift because nobody specified the consumable is avoidable.
What warranty applies to Zebra hardware?
- New Zebra hardware carries 12 months mirrored locally, and longer where Zebra’s own cover is longer. A small number of pre-owned lines carry 90 days Server Hub limited — the product page states which.
Can you help specify a full POS or stock-take setup?
- Yes. Tell us the workflow — counter or floor, how many stations, what it integrates with — and we will quote scanners, printers, consumables and mounting as one specification rather than parts.
