New firmware on every Zebra, Honeywell and SATO. Without a stopped line.
Test it on a pilot group, roll it out in waves inside your maintenance window, and let PrinterVision stop the rollout when something goes wrong.
- Pilot (tag "Pilot", 4 printers)Passed
- Wave 1 · 25%Completed
- Wave 2 · 25%In progress
- Maintenance window22:00 - 05:00
- Stop when a wave fails above10%
- Failed in this wave1 printer
Illustration. The printers and figures are made up.
Firmware gets postponed until it can't be anymore.
Updating one printer is easy. Updating a few hundred, of several makes, on several sites, without anyone noticing on the floor, is a project - so it keeps sliding.
For the site manager
What it costs your operation- A printer that restarts in the middle of a shift stops labels, and with them the pallets waiting for them.
- A new firmware that changes how a label prints is found on the line, not in a test.
- Nobody can tell you which printers already run the new version.
For IT
What keeps you up at night- Firmware is updated printer by printer, with a vendor tool per make, by whoever has time.
- One bad version on every printer at once is a risk you would rather not take.
- An expired printer certificate quietly cuts a printer off until someone notices.
A rollout plan, not a leap of faith.
You decide who goes first, how fast it goes and when it may happen. PrinterVision shows the plan before it starts and follows every printer while it runs.
Pick the firmware
From the firmware catalogue, per make and model. The dashboard shows which firmware every model runs today.
Plan the rollout
A pilot group by tag or serial number, the size of each wave, the maintenance window and when to stop. Preview the plan first.
Follow every printer
The rollout detail shows the progress per printer and per wave. Too many failures in a wave, and the rollout stops.
A firmware update across a distribution centre.
Monday - The four printers tagged Pilot get the new firmware first. Labels are checked on the line the next morning.
Tuesday 22:00 - The pilot passed, so the first wave starts inside the maintenance window: a quarter of the remaining printers.
Wednesday 23:10 - In wave two one printer does not come back. That stays below the failure limit, so the rollout carries on and the printer is listed for a look.
The restarts the update causes are expected, so they don't show up as a restart loop. By the end of the week every printer runs the new version.
Someone updates printers one by one with the vendor's tool, during the day, and hopes the new version prints the same.
Everything that rollout runs on.
The right file for every model.
Keep the firmware files of your Zebra, Honeywell and SATO models in one place, and see on the dashboard which firmware each model runs.
- Firmware per make and model
- Firmware per model on the dashboard
- Zebra over WebLink; Honeywell and SATO (except EP18) through the collector
- Other makes: firmware version shown, not updated
- Zebra ZT4112 versions
- Zebra ZD6211 version
- Honeywell PM452 versions
- SATO CL4NX Plus1 version
Illustration.
A pilot first, then waves, in your window.
A rollout goes to a pilot group before anyone else, then in waves of the size you choose, only inside the maintenance window you set.
- Pilot group by tag or by serial numbers
- Wave size as a percentage of the printers
- Maintenance window, so updates never land mid-shift
- Stops when a wave fails above the percentage you set
- A preview of the plan before it starts, and progress per printer while it runs
- DOCK-01Updated
- DOCK-07Updated
- PACK-12Waiting for the window
- SHIP-03Failed
Illustration. The printers are made up.
WebLink certificates that don't run out on you.
Zebra printers connect to PrinterVision over mutual TLS with a WebLink certificate (Link-OS 5.0 and later). PrinterVision manages those certificates, shows when they expire and renews them in time.
- Expiry of every printer's WebLink certificate in sight
- Automatic renewal, a chosen number of months ahead
- Restart-loop detection that leaves planned firmware restarts out
- Automatic renewalOn
- Renew ahead3 months
- Expiring within 3 months2 printers
Illustration.
Common questions about printer firmware.
How do I update the firmware of many label printers safely?
Roll it out in stages. In PrinterVision a pilot group of printers, chosen by tag or by serial number, gets the new firmware first. The rest follows in waves of a size you choose, inside a maintenance window, and the rollout stops by itself when too many printers in a wave fail.
Which printers can PrinterVision update?
Zebra Link-OS printers connected over WebLink, Honeywell printers, and SATO printers except the EP18 (through the collector on site). Other makes are monitored only: PrinterVision does not update their firmware. It only offers what a printer's driver can actually do.
Does a firmware update count as a restart loop?
No. A firmware update restarts a printer on purpose, so PrinterVision does not count it towards restart-loop detection.
What happens when the WebLink certificate of a Zebra printer expires?
A Zebra printer connects to PrinterVision over mutual TLS with a WebLink certificate. PrinterVision shows when each certificate expires and can renew it automatically, a chosen number of months ahead, so printers keep connecting.