Note 9 – Warranty

In general, Zebra provides warranty coverage of one year on printers against defects in material and workmanship. Printheads are warranted for nine months and batteries are warranted for one year. Battery based products, such as location tags, are covered by a 30-day warranty. A provision for warranty expense is recorded at the time of shipment and adjusted quarterly based on historical warranty experience.

The following table is a summary of Zebra’s accrued warranty obligation (in thousands):


	Nine Months Ended
	September 29, 2012			October 1, 2011
Balance at the beginning of the year	$	4,613		$	4,554
Warranty expense		4,667			4,051
Warranty payments		(5,222	)		(4,115	)

Balance at the end of the period	$	4,058		$	4,490