Badge printing from the mobile app

Print name badges from the Eventship mobile app to a Zebra printer on your Wi-Fi network.

The Eventship mobile app prints name badges straight from the check-in scanner to a Zebra printer. No computer or Browser Print agent is needed: the app talks to the printer directly, over your network or over Bluetooth.

Badge printing is a Pro feature. Your host must be on the Eventship Pro plan to enable it.

What you need

Zebra ZD621 thermal label printer (or another Zebra ZPL-compatible model), connected to Wi-Fi or Ethernet, or a Bluetooth-capable Zebra if yours has no network option
4" x 3" direct thermal or thermal transfer labels
An iPhone, iPad, or Android device with the Eventship app, either on the same network as the printer or within Bluetooth range of it

Both 203 DPI and 300 DPI print heads work. The app detects the head resolution and the badge always prints at its true 4" x 3" size.

1. Connect the printer to your network (if you can)

A printer on the same network as your device is the fastest and most reliable setup, over Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable: either works, and the app does not care which. If neither is available at your venue, skip to step 2 and print over Bluetooth.

Check which one your printer has first. Not every Zebra includes Wi-Fi. On the popular ZD421 and ZD621 desktop models, Ethernet is standard and the Wi-Fi radio is a paid option, so many units are wired-only. To see what yours has, hold FEED + CANCEL for about two seconds: the printer prints a configuration label listing its installed connectivity.

If your printer has an Ethernet port, this is the quickest and most reliable option. Run a cable from the printer to your router or switch and it joins the network on its own, with nothing to configure.

If your printer has Wi-Fi, the easiest way to set it up is Zebra's own Printer Setup Utility app:

Open the app, let it find your printer over Bluetooth, then use Connectivity Settings to join the printer to your Wi-Fi network.

2. No network at the venue? Print over Bluetooth

You often cannot get a printer onto a network at someone else's venue: there may be no spare Ethernet port, no way onto the guest Wi-Fi, and no reason the venue would let you reconfigure either. Mobile ZQ-series printers have no network option at all.

The app prints over Bluetooth for exactly this. Turn Bluetooth on, keep the printer within a few metres of your phone or tablet, and tap Connect Zebra printer. The app checks the network first and then scans for Bluetooth printers, so there is nothing to switch on and no separate mode to choose.

You do not need to pair the printer in your device's Bluetooth settings first. The app finds it directly.

A printer found over Bluetooth is labelled Bluetooth in the printer list, where a network printer shows its address instead. That is how you tell two identically named printers apart when both a wired and a Bluetooth one are in range.

Bluetooth is a little slower to find a printer and to send each badge, which is why the app uses a network printer when one is available. It is a real way to run check-in, not a fallback: if Bluetooth is what your venue allows, use it.

3. Connect the Eventship app

Open your event's check-in scanner in the Eventship app and scan an attendee (or look one up).
Tap Connect Zebra printer. The app searches your network first and then Bluetooth, and connects automatically when it finds your Zebra.

The search can take up to about 15 seconds when there is no network printer to find, because Bluetooth is searched last. The app tells you where it has got to: Searching your network, then Searching over Bluetooth. Let it finish rather than tapping away. If the printer was powered on late, tap Search again.

Allow the permissions the first time

The first time you connect, your phone asks for permission. The app cannot find a printer without it.

iPhone and iPad: iOS asks to allow local network access. If the search goes on to Bluetooth, iOS then asks separately to allow Bluetooth. Tap Allow to both.
Android: allow Nearby devices when you are asked.

The search waits while a prompt is on screen and carries on as soon as you answer, so take your time and do not start over. You are not asked again after the first time.

If you dismissed a prompt by accident, turn it back on in your settings:

iPhone and iPad: Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network, and Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth.
Android: app info > Permissions > Nearby devices.

The app remembers your printer, so this is a one-time setup per device, whichever way it connects.

4. If the printer is not found: connect by IP address

Some networks (and some printers) block automatic discovery. In that case connect once by IP address and the app remembers it from then on.

This applies to network printers only. A Bluetooth printer has no IP address, so there is nothing to type in: if you are printing over Bluetooth and the printer is not found, work through the Bluetooth checklist in Troubleshooting below instead.

First, find the printer's IP address. Either way works:

In the Zebra Printer Setup Utility, tap the Wi-Fi symbol on your printer's card. The IP address is shown in the Connectivity tab (it looks like 192.168.1.50).
Or print it from the printer itself: hold FEED + CANCEL for about two seconds and the printer prints a configuration label that includes its IP address.

Then, in the Eventship app, type that address into the Enter the printer's IP address field and tap Connect.

5. Print badges

Once connected, every scanned attendee gets a Print badge button. Tap it and the badge prints immediately. If someone needs a reprint (lost badge, misprint), scan or look them up again and tap Print badge: they will not be checked in twice.

Design your badge on the web

Badge layouts are managed from the web app. On a computer, open your host dashboard and go to Badge designer to pick a look and customize what appears on the badge. The mobile app prints whatever design you save there. See Badge printing with a Zebra printer for the full guide, including the desktop printing setup.

Troubleshooting

"No badge printers found" turns up when the printer is off, not yet joined to the network, or on a different network than your device. Double-check both are on the same network, then tap Search again. On iOS, also confirm local network access is allowed (Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network). If everything looks right and the search still comes up empty, connect by IP address (see above): venue networks sometimes isolate devices from each other, and a direct connection is the reliable way through.

"No badge printers found" when you are printing over Bluetooth has its own short checklist:

Bluetooth is on, on your phone or tablet and on the printer.
You allowed the Bluetooth permission when your phone asked (see step 3). If you tapped it away, turn it back on in your settings and search again.
The printer is awake. Mobile ZQ-series printers sleep to save battery and stop being visible, so press a button to wake it before you search.
The printer is within a few metres and in the same room. Bluetooth range drops off quickly through walls.
Nothing else is connected to the printer. A Zebra accepts one Bluetooth connection at a time, so if Zebra's Printer Setup Utility is still open from setting the printer up, close it and search again.
Your printer actually has Bluetooth. It is a paid option on some models. Hold FEED + CANCEL for about two seconds to print the configuration label, which lists what is installed.

"My printer only connects over Bluetooth" is fine: the app prints over Bluetooth (see step 2). Worth knowing anyway, if you are somewhere with a spare Ethernet port: on the ZD421 and ZD621 an Ethernet port is standard even on units with no Wi-Fi, and a cable is the fastest option when you can use one. Print the configuration label (FEED + CANCEL) to see what your printer has.

Connecting by IP fails usually means the address was mistyped or the printer moved to a different network. Reprint the configuration label (FEED + CANCEL) to confirm the current IP.

"The printer is not ready" means the printer reported a fault: the head is open, labels are out, or it is paused. Fix the printer and tap Retry print. The app checks the printer's status before every badge, so a fault never results in a lost badge.

Labels come out blank usually means thermal transfer media without a ribbon, or direct thermal labels with the wrong print mode. Check the Zebra documentation for your label stock.