Zebra 10006998K Direct Thermal Polypropylene Baby Wristband — 1x6in, 350/Roll
Overview
The Zebra 10006998K is a 1-inch wide by 6-inch long direct thermal polypropylene wristband engineered for neonatal and pediatric patient identification. Sized specifically for infant wrists, this Z-Band Direct adhesive wristband ships 350 bands per roll and 6 rolls per carton — a higher-density count per roll than the standard adult 11-inch format, which means fewer roll changes per shift on high-throughput nursery or NICU stations. If your facility runs Zebra HC100 wristband printers, these are the correct consumables for this label format and size.
Direct thermal printing means no ribbon to stock, swap, or dispose of — the print head activates the band coating directly, keeping supply chain simple and reducing per-band cost compared to thermal transfer formats. The polypropylene substrate is water-resistant and holds up through normal patient care handling without smearing or delaminating under routine conditions.
Key Features
- 1 x 6-inch neonatal format: The 6-inch length is purpose-sized for infant wrists — shorter than the adult 11-inch Z-Band Direct format — so the band fits securely without excess material that could snag during care. If you're outfitting a nursery or NICU, this is the size that maps to standard HC100 neonatal configurations.
- 350 bands per roll: At 350 per roll versus 200 per roll on the adult 11-inch variants, you get 75% more bands per roll change — directly reducing staff interruptions on a busy admission desk or nursery station. Fewer consumable swaps per 24-hour period is a real operational advantage at volume.
- 6 rolls per carton, 6 lb carton weight: A single carton of 10006998K yields 2,100 individual wristbands. For a facility admitting 50–100 neonatal patients per day, one carton covers roughly 3 weeks of volume — practical for storeroom planning and reorder cadence management.
- Direct thermal, ribbon-free printing: No ribbon inventory, no ribbon waste disposal, no ribbon-change downtime. Direct thermal is the standard for HC100 wristband printers specifically because the print mechanism is optimized for high-contrast, scan-ready barcodes without the overhead of ribbon management.
- Polypropylene substrate: Polypropylene resists moisture and mild surface contact — relevant in clinical environments where wristbands encounter water, antiseptics, and incubator humidity. Printed text and barcodes remain legible and scannable under routine patient care conditions.
- Z-Band Direct adhesive closure: The adhesive tab closure is designed to allow secure sizing on an infant wrist without requiring scissors or tools at the point of care — bands can be applied quickly at admission or in the delivery suite without additional equipment.
- White stock, in-stock availability: The 10006998K ships in white, consistent with standard neonatal ID workflows. No color differentiation is built into this SKU — facilities requiring color-coded wristbanding by risk level or care unit should reference the colored variants in the adult Z-Band Direct family.
Integration and Compatibility
These wristbands are designed for use with the Zebra HC100 wristband printer — a dedicated healthcare wristband printer that accepts the Z-Band Direct cartridge format. The 10006998K is listed in the Zebra parts guide as a direct stock item, confirming it is current production media and not an end-of-life SKU.
If you are sourcing media for an existing HC100 fleet, verify your printer configuration is set for the 1x6-inch neonatal format before ordering at carton quantities. Mixing the 1x6 neonatal roll with a printer configured for 1x11 adult format will produce print alignment errors. For adult patient wristbanding, the 1x11 Z-Band Direct variants (such as 10006995K) are the correct media. For a broader view of Zebra label and wristband printers, the HC100 is the purpose-built healthcare unit in the line.
When planning consumable inventory for healthcare ADT (admit/discharge/transfer) workflows, pair wristband media reorder schedules with your label and printer media program to consolidate purchasing and reduce stockout risk.
What's in the Box
- 6 rolls of Zebra Z-Band Direct 1x6in polypropylene wristbands (10006998K)
- 350 wristbands per roll (2,100 wristbands total per carton)
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What printer is the Zebra 10006998K designed for?
A: The 10006998K is designed for the Zebra HC100 wristband printer, which uses Z-Band Direct cartridge-based media in dedicated healthcare configurations. Verify your HC100 is configured for the 1x6-inch neonatal format before loading these rolls.
Q: How many wristbands are in a carton of 10006998K?
A: Each carton contains 6 rolls at 350 wristbands per roll, for a total of 2,100 wristbands per carton. Carton weight is 6 lbs.
Q: What is the difference between the 10006998K and the 10006995K?
A: The 10006998K is 1x6 inches (350/roll) — the neonatal/baby format. The 10006995K is 1x11 inches (200/roll) — the standard adult format. Both are white Z-Band Direct polypropylene, but they are not interchangeable in an HC100 configured for a specific size.
Q: Is the 10006998K a direct thermal wristband or does it require a ribbon?
A: It is direct thermal — no ribbon required. The polypropylene substrate is coated for direct thermal printing, meaning the HC100 print head activates the coating directly. This eliminates ribbon inventory and changeover time.
Q: What color is the 10006998K wristband?
A: White. The 10006998K is only available in white. Color variants (red, blue, green, purple, pink, orange, yellow) are available in the adult 1x11-inch Z-Band Direct family (10006995-1K through 10006995-7K), not in the 1x6 neonatal size.
Q: Is the substrate water-resistant?
A: Yes. The polypropylene substrate is moisture-resistant, which is relevant in clinical environments including NICUs where wristbands may encounter water, incubator humidity, or antiseptic contact during routine patient care.
The 10006998K is one of those consumables where getting the size wrong creates immediate workflow pain — a 1x6 neonatal roll loaded into an HC100 configured for 1x11 adult format will print out of registration and waste an entire roll before anyone catches it. At 350 bands per roll, that's a meaningful loss, and in a NICU at 2am it's a real problem. This is not a general-purpose wristband — it's specifically sized for the HC100 neonatal configuration, and if your facility doesn't run that printer or that patient population, it's the wrong SKU entirely.
Technical Highlights:
- 350 bands per roll: 75% higher yield per roll versus the 200/roll adult variants — meaningful on a busy nursery unit where staff time spent on roll changes is time away from patients.
- 2,100 bands per carton: Six rolls per carton at 350 each gives procurement a clean planning unit. A 50-admission-per-day neonatal floor burns through roughly one carton every 6 weeks, which maps well to a monthly reorder cycle with safety stock.
- Direct thermal, no ribbon: Eliminates the ribbon procurement and change cycle entirely. In a healthcare environment with strict supply chain controls, reducing the number of consumable SKUs per printer station has real operational value.
Deployment Considerations:
- Confirm HC100 printer configuration matches the 1x6 neonatal format before deploying at scale — the printer must be set for this size or print alignment will fail from the first band.
- The 10006998K ships in white only. If your facility uses color-coded wristbands for risk stratification or unit differentiation in the neonatal population, this SKU does not support that workflow — color options exist only in the adult 1x11 format family.
This consumable belongs in NICU and nursery admission stations running Zebra HC100 printers on neonatal ID workflows — that's the precise deployment it's built for, and outside that context there's a better-fit SKU in the Z-Band Direct family.
