Zebra Programming Language (ZPL) is a

page description language In digital printing, a page description language (PDL) is a computer language that describes the appearance of a printed page in a higher level than an actual output bitmap (or generally raster graphics). An overlapping term is printer control la ...

from

Zebra Technologies Zebra Technologies Corporation is an American mobile computing company specializing in technology used to sense, analyze, and act in real time. The company manufactures and sells marking, tracking, and computer printing technologies. Its product ...

, used primarily for

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed dir ...

ing applications. The original language was superseded by ZPL II, but it is not fully compatible with the older version. ZPL II is supported by some non-Zebra label printers. Later, the Zebra BASIC Interpreter (ZBI) was integrated into printer software, which is seen as an advancement to ZPL II by the producer and is ANSI

BASIC BASIC (Beginners' All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages designed for ease of use. The original version was created by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz at Dartmouth College ...

oriented. Primarily, it is intended to avoid a refactoring of code when changing the printer, if the old printer software was written by a label printer of a competitor. A possible use of ZBI could be for when the Zebra printer receives a foreign label format, which it would then convert to ZPL II on the fly so it can be printed.

Commands

The language commands always start with a caret ('^') or tilde sign ('~'). ZPL II has more than 170 commands. Each format has to start with the command ^XA and end with ^XZ. For instance, the font size is sent to the printer with the ^ADN,n,m command, where n and m are integers denoting the font size and spacing characteristics; ^ADN,18,10 is the smallest size and ^ADN,180,100 the largest. The following is a complete example of a ZPL document for a product label:

^XA
^CF0,30
^FO300,30^FDHU  Label^FS
^CF0,25
^FO20,100^FDHU ID:         112345678000001107^FS
^BY2.2,3,70
^FO20,130^BCN,,N^FD112345678000001107^FS
^FO20,230^FD60-Volt Cordless Electric Hedge Trimmer^FS
^FO20,260^FD13^FS
^FO650,200^BQN,2,5^FDQA,^FS
^XZ

References

{{Reflist

External links

Programming Guide (PN: P1012728-008 Rev. A)

ZPL II Programming Guide (vol. I)

ZPL II Programming Guide (vol. II)

from Labelary Page description languages Printing

Commands

See also

References

External links