Emulate Zebra printer

Question

Possible Duplicate:
Print preview ZPL II commands using .NET WinForm before sending it to Zebra printer

I am working on a Java app that prints tickets to a Zebra printer.

The problem is that I am working remotely and don't have access to the Zebra printer (or any other printer actually).

I would like to know if there is a way to emulate the Zebra printer so that I can visualize the result of the print jobs generated by my app (to PDF, bitmap image etc.).

As I understand (I am fairly new to this) Zebra printers use ZPL commands.

Is there any software printer emulator for Windows (7) that accepts ZPL commands and outputs PDF/bitmap/... ?

http://stackoverflow.com/a/33066790/2555999 Emulate on Mac, Linux, Windows — ZuzEL, Oct 14 '15 at 13:29
You can also try this project https://github.com/BinaryKits/BinaryKits.Zpl — Tino Hager, Aug 10 '21 at 19:29

score 16 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 19 '11 at 20:42

Take a look at ZPLViewer - it works relatively well for rendering simple ZPL code but seems to fail on anything complex.

Best bet is just to purchase a printer. You can get a ZP-450 for $200. Get one with Ethernet ($100 more) and you can use the printer admin page to upload ZPL and render on-screen so you don't have to spew labels.

score 7 · Answer 2 · edited Jan 20 '15 at 09:51

7

Here is a link to software that Zebra created: ZebraDesigner. It does not actually visualize ZPL or take ZPL as input. But it can help you design your ticket and then export it to ZPL for further processing.

edited Jan 20 '15 at 09:51

Jonny

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answered Feb 20 '12 at 16:35

Ethan

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This is a must-have software if you want to do EPL/ZPL design. – Quannt May 22 '13 at 07:13
But it never helps to preview a zpl code. – yadab Nov 07 '13 at 20:21
I always had to review the ZPL to make it do exactly what I want. I believe in using a tool to make it close, then make it right myself. – Ethan Nov 08 '13 at 17:02
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@yadab print to file from ZebraDesigner and open it by notepad. – Alexufo May 15 '14 at 12:57
I just tried this and was utterly disappointed. ZebraDesigner issues coded ^GF fields for the most useful commands (barcode definitions, text fields). That means you can't effectively edit that information or create templates from them. I recommend Labelary.com instead. – Jonny Jan 20 '15 at 15:08
Not available for linux, apparently... – Sebastianb May 11 '17 at 19:55

score 2 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '12 at 13:21

2

I wrote https://github.com/dpavlin/Printer-Zebra a few days ago which converts ZPL ~DG (download graphics) commands and converts it back to PBM image file.

This is not full ZPL interpreter (since it only implements one command :-) but does work for cups generated ZPL files which is handy to find out if your printer output includes anti-aliased barcodes which are always bad...

edited May 23 '12 at 13:21

bluish

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answered Jan 30 '12 at 16:46

dpavlin

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Emulate Zebra printer

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