What Labels Fit A Zebra GK420d Label Printer?
Did you know that the Zebra GK420d thermal label printer is one of the most popular desktop thermal label printers ever produced? It is recognised as the top selling desktop label printer in the world! Zebra offer a wide range of thermal label printers for different label printing applications.
At Lemon Labels we love the Zebra GK420d it's our favourite label printer for many reasons, not least of all because of it's ease of use, simply drop in a roll of thermal labels, close the lid, hit the feed key and the printer will find the start of the next label and show a green status light, ready to print.
It is in no small part to this ease of use that the Zebra GK420d is so popular, in the UK it is recommended by many couriers as their label printer of choice, including Royal Mails DMO system!
What labels fit my Zebra GK420d printer?
So we know the Zebra GK420d is one of the best label printers available, but the next question we are regularly asked is "what size labels can I use with my Zebra GK420d?" and the answer, is almost any! Well... within a few size constraints:
| Dimensions | Size |
| Zebra GK420d Minimum Label Width (including Liner) | 19mm (0.75") |
| Zebra GK420d Maximum Label Width (including Liner) | 108mm (4.25") |
| Zebra GK420d Minimum Label Length (using tear off) | 9.7mm (0.38") |
| Zebra GK420d Maximum Label Length (non-continuous) | 991mm (39") |
| Zebra GK420d Label Core Sizes | 25.4mm (1") Or 38mm (1.5") |
| Zebra GK420d Label Roll Size Maximum Outer Diameter (Max O.D) | 127mm (5") |
From the table above you can see the Zebra GK420d is a pretty versatile printer when it comes to label sizes, in short as long as the roll size is not greater than 127mm outer diameter, and not wider than 108mm you can probably fit it in a Zebra GK420d label printer!
What are the most popular label sizes for the Zebra GK420d?
Although, with that said, even though the options are huge for label sizes, there are a few popular label sizes that are used in the Zebra GK420d, below we've listed a few of the most popular Zebra GK420d label sizes:
4 x 6" Thermal Labels are probably the most popular labels used in the Zebra GK420d label printer in the UK, they are widely used as courier address labels, as they are a great size to fit on parcels, packages and envelopes but yet still having enough space for the address details, and the couriers tracking details and barcoding for traceability. 4 x 6" Thermal Labels are often also known as 6 x 4" thermal labels, 100 x 150mm thermal labels or 101.6 x 152.4mm thermal labels in metric measurements.
4 x 4" Thermal labels are also very popular for use in the Zebra GK420d and some of the couriers prefer this smaller format for their address labels, sometimes referred to as 101.6 x 101.6mm thermal labels in metric measurements.
2 x 1" Thermal labels are our third most popular label size for use in the Zebra GK420d label printer, these labels are often used for barcode labelling and price labelling for shops, stores, and warehouses to identify products easily using a barcoding system, or to apply SKU labels, commonly referred to as 50 x 25mm thermal labels in metric measurements.
Alongside the popular sizes of Zebra GK420d labels we have a huge range of sizes available, or can even make a custom label for you, to check out a sample of our range click here!
What material labels can I use in my Zebra GK420d label printer?
Alongside size, label material is the most important consideration when purchasing labels for use in your Zebra GK420d printer, this model of printer is a direct thermal only printer, meaning that it only works with labels that has a special heat sensitive coating, in contrast to thermal transfer label printers that use a separate ink ribbon to apply the printed image to the label.
Therefore it is crucial that the labels you buy for your Zebra GK420d are made from a direct thermal material.
As a UK based manufacturer, Lemon Labels offers three main types of materials for use in the Zebra GK420d label printer:
Firstly, our most popular material is a thermal eco paper this is widely used for courier labels as it strikes a great balance between quality and print definition against cost for short life labels, thermal eco paper labels are the most popular option for courier labels.
Secondly, we offer a top coated thermal paper, this material is very similar to our thermal eco paper but has a protective top coating over the top making the printed label more robust, less easily marked by knocks and abrasions, and resistant to the presence of small amounts of oils, grease and water, although remember top coated thermal paper labels are still made from paper and as such are still not a waterproof option.
Thirdly, at Lemon Labels we offer our weatherproof direct thermal polypropylene labels for the Zebra GK420d, this material is great, it's made from a tough polypropylene material that is scratch resistant and water resistant, it is ideal for use in environments where the labels may get wet, we see these labels being used successfully in places like garden centres to label plant pots, whether the labels get rained on or just watered as part of plant care they will be absolutely fine and the barcodes will still scan when your customer gets to the checkout!
What else do I need to know about labels for the Zebra GK420d?
Our team are hugely knowledgeable about labels, we manufacture labels in the UK daily and ship all over the UK and Europe, if you need further advice when picking the best labels for your application and your printer give our team a call on 01892 300 737!
Read our latest blog about the launch of our new custom label printing service!
Check out our recent article looking at the benefits of thin label liner to reduce label liner waste, this new material is suitable for use in the Zebra GK420d label printer and can be used to reduce your environmental impact.