I have a Z140XiIII that used to have a ribbon and thermal transfer stock. we changed the stock to not require a ribbon, so we removed the ribbon and set the menu to Thermal direct. labels print OK but the error light flashes and the ''Ribbon In'' error keeps displaying. The transition to ribbon-less printing went fine on a Zebra 220XiIII
Office Equipment & Supplies - Zebra - 140XiIII Plus Thermal Label Printer
Answers & Comments
If the printer is flashing "Ribbon in" then it sounds like the printer setting to Thermal Direct is being changed back to Thermal Trans. Verify this after sending a format. This is very common because the printer is bring over-ridden by the software and/or printer driver when you send a format.
Look for a setting in the software / driver for direct thermal and make the change there.
Hope that helps.