Zebra ZC31-000C000US00 Single-Sided ID Card Printer
Overview
The Zebra ZC300 — ordered as ZC31-000C000US00 (also searched as ZC31 000C000US00) — is a single-sided, 300dpi thermal transfer card printer built for corporate badge programs, campus ID systems, and light-to-medium volume card issuance environments. It ships with both USB and Ethernet connectivity, a Windows driver disc, and 2GB of onboard flash memory, making it a ready-to-deploy option for networked issuance stations without additional infrastructure purchases.
The ZC300 sits in Zebra's entry-level card printer line, targeting environments that need reliable, consistent card output without the overhead of a dual-sided or lamination-capable unit. If your program issues standard PVC employee badges, visitor cards, or student IDs at a single workstation or small networked deployment, this model covers that use case directly.
Key Features
- 300dpi Thermal Transfer Print Engine: At 300dpi, printed text, barcodes, and portrait photos reproduce with enough resolution for visual ID and barcode scanning — the minimum acceptable threshold for most corporate badge programs. Thermal transfer dye-sublimation delivers continuous-tone color gradients on portrait photos without the banding that plagues lower-resolution card printers.
- Single-Sided Print Configuration: Single-sided output keeps per-card cost lower than dual-sided models and speeds throughput when your card design lives entirely on one face — typical for most employee badge layouts where the back is left blank or pre-printed.
- USB + Ethernet Dual Connectivity: Ethernet means the ZC300 can sit on the network and be shared across multiple issuance workstations without a dedicated print server appliance. USB covers direct-attach installs at a single badging station. Both interfaces are active simultaneously.
- 2GB Onboard Flash Memory: 2GB of flash stores card templates, fonts, and graphic assets locally on the printer. This reduces host-side rendering load and keeps print jobs moving even when the issuing workstation is under load — relevant in environments where the badging PC is also running enrollment software.
- Windows Driver Included: The bundled Windows driver simplifies deployment on standard IT-managed workstations. No separate driver download required for initial commissioning, which matters in air-gapped or restricted-internet environments.
- ZC300 Product Family: As part of Zebra's Zebra card printer lineup, the ZC300 family scales from single-sided to dual-sided and lamination-capable models, so your next-tier upgrade stays within the same supply chain (ribbons, cards, cleaning kits) and management ecosystem.
Integration and Compatibility
The ZC31-000C000US00 connects to any Windows-based ID card printer issuance platform that supports standard printer drivers. Zebra's ZC300 is compatible with major card issuance software packages. The Ethernet interface supports standard TCP/IP printing, so it integrates naturally into managed print environments. For organizations already running Zebra card printing supplies — ribbons, PVC cards, cleaning kits — the ZC300 family uses the same ZC Series ribbon cartridges, which simplifies procurement. Pair with a access control credential issuance workflow for physical security badge programs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Does the ZC31-000C000US00 print on both sides of the card?
A: No. The ZC31-000C000US00 is a single-sided printer. It prints on one face of the card only. For dual-sided output, a different ZC300 configuration (dual-sided model) is required.
Q: What connectivity options does the ZC31-000C000US00 support?
A: It ships with both USB and Ethernet interfaces, allowing either direct-attach or networked deployment out of the box.
Q: What operating system does the included driver support?
A: The bundled driver supports Windows. No separate download is required for Windows-based workstations.
Q: What print resolution does the ZC300 use?
A: The ZC31-000C000US00 prints at 300dpi, which is the standard resolution for photo-quality ID card production and barcode readability.
Q: How much onboard storage does the ZC31-000C000US00 have?
A: The printer includes 2GB of flash memory for storing card templates, graphics, and fonts locally on the device.
The ZC31-000C000US00 is the model I recommend when a customer needs reliable networked card issuance without paying for capabilities they won't use. The 2GB onboard flash is the spec that often gets overlooked — storing templates locally means the printer isn't dependent on the host PC rendering the job in real time, which matters when your badging station is also running biometric enrollment or access control software simultaneously.
Technical Highlights:
- 300dpi Thermal Transfer: Delivers photo-quality portrait reproduction and scannable barcodes — the baseline that most corporate badge programs require, without the cost of higher-resolution engines you don't need for standard PVC ID cards.
- Ethernet Interface: Enables shared printing across multiple enrollment stations on a single printer, eliminating the need for a dedicated print server and reducing per-station hardware cost in multi-seat issuance environments.
- 2GB Flash Memory: Local template storage keeps issuance throughput consistent even under host-PC load — a real operational advantage in high-enrollment events like new-hire orientation days.
Deployment Considerations:
- Single-sided configuration is the right fit when your badge design is one-face-only — if you later need to add a magnetic stripe, smart chip, or back-side printing, plan for a different ZC300 variant rather than trying to retrofit this unit.
- The Windows driver is included, but verify your issuance software vendor's compatibility list for the ZC300 before commissioning — most major platforms support it, but confirm before deployment in a locked-down IT environment.
This unit is a strong fit for mid-size enterprise badge programs issuing 50–200 cards per day from a networked badging station — corporate lobbies, HR enrollment kiosks, and campus visitor management desks where single-sided output is all you need.
