See the documentation for a full list of the ZPL commands that are supported.
If you need to use a currently unsupported ZPL command, feel free to let us know. We'll add your request to our backlog and send you an email when we get to it. We also provide commercial support for urgent needs; if you have a time-critical request, just drop us a note and we'll be happy to provide you with an estimate.
In general, any modern, evergreen browser should work.
Specifically, this means that you should be able to use the latest versions of Firefox, Chrome, Edge and Safari.
There are a number of reasons that you might be seeing differences between your physical labels and the Labelary output.
First of all, your labels may rely on custom configuration to work correctly. Labelary simulates a new printer with the default factory settings. If your labels rely on custom fonts or images that are not included in each label template, this may result in images that do not match the labels printed by your pre-configured physical printer.
Secondly, your labels may be using a ZPL feature that Labelary does not support or that is supported incorrectly. Check the list of implemented ZPL commands to ensure that all of the commands that are relevant to your use case are supported. If your commands are all supported but you are seeing differences between Labelary's output and your physical labels, drop us a note with an example so that we can fix it and add your test case to the thousands of tests that we already use to verify Labelary's behavior.
If you're using the online viewer, you may be having issues with your firewall. Browsers use Cross-Origin Resource Sharing (CORS) to allow web domains to communicate across domain boundaries. However, some firewalls automatically remove CORS headers from HTTP requests. Browsers need these headers to keep you safe. If these headers are being removed, you'll see errors such as
"XMLHttpRequest cannot load http://api.labelary.com/version. No 'Access-Control-Allow-Origin' header is present on the requested resource. Origin 'http://labelary.com' is therefore not allowed access"
in your browser console, and you should contact your firewall maintainer or IT department so that they can fix your firewall configuration.
If you're not using the online viewer, or you don't think you are running into the firewall configuration issue described above, then you may have found a bug. We'd appreciate it if you'd send us an email (including the ZPL code that you were using) so that we can investigate!
As a shared service, the Labelary API incorporates a number of usage limits which ensure that no single user can negatively impact the workloads of other users. One of these limits is the number of labels that can be submitted in a single request. The maximum label count is currently set to 50 labels per request, but may be changed without notice in order to ensure smooth operation of the service for all users.
Note that all label definitions (^XA ... ^XZ pairs) count towards the maximum label count, even if they do not actually generate printed labels. Note also that a label definition containing a ^PQ (print quantity) command counts as n labels instead of 1 label, where n is the value of the ^PQ command's first parameter (the label count).
To avoid this error reduce the number of label definitions (^XA ... ^XZ pairs) submitted in a single request, or reduce the number of labels specified in any ^PQ commands. If this limit is too restrictive for your intended use, you may want to consider licensing Labelary for private on-premise use.
As a shared service, the Labelary API incorporates a number of usage limits which ensure that no single user can negatively impact the workloads of other users. One of these limits is the total amount of virtual printer memory which can be used in a single request. Virtual printer memory is used by the ~DG, ~DU, ~DY, ^IS and ^DF commands to store fonts, images, and other files for later use by the label template. The maximum total virtual printer memory usage per request is currently 5 MB, but may be changed without notice in order to ensure smooth operation of the service for all users.
To avoid this error reduce the size of the files stored by the commands listed above, or remove some file-storing commands entirely. If this limit is too restrictive for your intended use, you may want to consider licensing Labelary for private on-premise use.
As a shared service, the Labelary API incorporates a number of usage limits which ensure that no single user can negatively impact the workloads of other users. One of these limits is the maximum size of the memory buffer that can be reserved when generating a PNG image. The maximum image buffer size is currently set to 10 MB, but may be changed without notice in order to ensure smooth operation of the service for all users.
The image buffer size (in bytes) is calculated using the formula width x height x density x density x bpp / 8, where width is the label width (in inches), height is the label height (in inches), density is the print density (in dots per inch, or dpi), and bpp is the number of bits per pixel. The bpp value will be 1 when using bitonal print quality and 8 when using grayscale print quality, unless the label uses the ~BR or ~BI commands to simulate colored label stock, in which case bpp will be 32 regardless of the print quality.
To avoid this error reduce the label width, reduce the label height, reduce the print density, use bitonal print quality, or remove any ~BR or ~BI commands. If this limit is too restrictive for your intended use, you may want to consider licensing Labelary for private on-premise use.
This limit applies only when generating PNG images; it does not apply when generating PDF files.
Labelary can read a wide variety of common image formats, but it can't read JPEG images that use a CMYK color model. If you're using a CMYK JPEG image, try converting it to a different format before uploading it. You should have no issues with RGB JPEG images.
If this isn't the problem and you're still having issues adding your image to your label, please send us your ZPL code and your image so that we can investigate!
There are two aspects to rendering international text: the encoding and the font.
First of all, make sure that you are using an encoding that supports the international characters that you're trying to render. We suggest using UTF-8 and placing a ^CI28 command at the top of your ZPL template. Be sure to remove any other ^CI commands in your ZPL template.
Second, you will need to use a font which contains glyphs for the international characters that you're trying to render. The ZPL built-in fonts don't support many non-Latin characters, so you may need to use a custom font (uploaded to the printer via the ~DU command, for example). Labelary provides three non-standard international fonts out of the box: font N which provides access to the Google Noto Sans Regular font, font J which provides access to the Google Noto Sans CJK Regular font, and font L which provides access to the Google Noto Sans Arabic Regular font. Feel free to use these fonts in your label designs, but keep in mind that they will not exist on physical printers unless you upload them yourself.
Languages which use mostly Latin characters can usually use the default fonts, as long as the encoding is correct.
If you do need to use a custom font, the Labelary font conversion API might be useful.
Some sample labels using UTF-8 encoding and font 0 (available by default, no custom font necessary):
Some sample labels using UTF-8 encoding and the custom N, J and L fonts:
You can simulate colored (or partially colored) label stock by using the non-standard ~BR ("background rectangle") and ~BI ("background image") commands.
See the Labelary engine documentation for more information about these commands.
Use the Labelary status page to check the current status of the public API, as well as 24-hour and 7-day availability statistics.
Note that this is for informational purposes only, since there are no availability guarantees for the public API.
None. The public web service is a fully-functional instance of the Labelary ZPL rendering engine, provided at no cost for the benefit of label designers around the world. However, there are no SLAs around this service, and all free support is on a best-effort basis.
If you'd like to incorporate Labelary into a business-critical production process, you may want to consider the offline licensing option.
No, but we are considering such an offering. If you would be interested, please let us know.
We do offer an offline version of the Labelary engine licensed for local use. Please contact us for licensing information.
For one-off conversions, we recommend that you use the Labelary online ZPL viewer to add images to your label templates (via the "Add image" button).
If you need to convert batches of images you can use the Labelary image conversion API instead.