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/... ?

Solution 1

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.

Solution 2

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.

Solution 3

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...

Comments

[Quannt]

This is a must-have software if you want to do EPL/ZPL design.

[yadab]

But it never helps to preview a zpl code.

[Ethan]

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.

[Alexufo]

@yadab print to file from ZebraDesigner and open it by notepad.

[Jonny]

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.

[Sebastianb]

Not available for linux, apparently...