Label Printing

Zebra

Tascus sends ZPL commands to a Zebra printer to generate a label.

We don't have a label designer so for anything beyond basic text on the label - designing software is needed that can generate a .zpl template that Tascus can then populate with (say for example you wanted a logo on the label etc.)

However once the zpl code has been generated, it's stored within the Tascus configuration database for every product produced:

Creating Production Labels

2 steps are required to generate a label:

1. Paste the correct ZPL code into the Parts List

2. Insert a Create Label step into a Tascus sequence

This Create Label step will send the zpl string to the default local printer when it is reached in a production sequence, printing a label.

Lookup Fields

Tascus uses lookup fields to replace static fields in the ZPL template with live production data from Tascus.

Lookup fields can be used to display text on a label, or be used to populate a 1D / 2D / QR barcode.

Example

Basic ZPL code for a ZD420 printer with just the Part Number & Serial Number:

^XA

^LH180,60

^CFA,30

^FT180,150

^FT0,0^FD[Serial_No]^FS

^FT0,40^FD[Part_No]^FS

^FT0,80^FD[Date]^FS

^XZ

Adding a 2D Barcode / QR CODE to a Label

Use the following code to add a barcode

BQN,2,3^FDMM,:[Part_No]:[Serial_No]:[Date]^FS

Example with a barcode

^XA

^LH180,60

^CFA,30

^FT180,150

^BQN,2,3^FDMM,:[Part_No]:[Serial_No]:[Date]^FS

^FT0,0^FD[Serial_No]^FS

^FT0,40^FD[Part_No]^FS

^FT0,80^FD[Date]^FS

^XZ

ZPL Formatting

^LH - sets the label home position. The default home position of a label is the upper-left corner (position 0,0 along the x and y axis).

^CW - Font Identifier All built-in fonts are referenced using a one-character identifier. The ^CW command assigns a single alphanumeric character to a font

^CF - sets the default font used in your printer.

^CFA - set the font size in pixels

Format: ^CFf,h,w

h = individual character height (in dots) (0-32000)

w = individual character width (in dots) (0-32000)

^FO - sets a field origin, relative to the label home (^LH) position. ^FO sets the upper-left corner of the field area by defining points along the x-axis and y-axis independent of the rotation. Format: ^FOx,y,z

^FT - field position, relative to the home position of the label designated by the ^LH command.

^FS - denotes the end of the field definition.

Printer Setup - Generic Text Only Driver

If you cannot connect to the printer to create labels through Tascus after initial install of the Zebra printer, you will need to install a Generic Text Only Printer driver to enable Tascus to send labels directly to a Zebra printer using ZPL, follow these steps to do this:

Add a new printer:

Then select The printer that I want isn't listed :

Select Add a local print or network printer with manual settings :

For a USB printer, select USB001 (Vritual printer port for USB) :

Select Manufacturer = Generic & Printers = Generic / Text Only

If you are prompted to select which version of the driver to use, select Use the driver that is currently installed (Recommended)

Name the printer something obvious - below I have named it Tascus ZPL Zebra:

You will now have two drivers for the printer, a standard USB driver for Zebra utilities, and this text-only driver that Tascus will use.

If sharing of the printer is required, share it on the next screen:

Ensure Set as the default printer is checked, as Tascus will print labels to the default printer.

To test is this has worked, open Notepad and print the following to the printer:

${

^XA

^LH200,100

^CWT,E:TT0003M_.FNT

^CFT,30,30

^CI28

^FT0,0^FDThis is a test^FS

^XZ

}$

*Note - The ${ and }$ characters are required in Notepad when writing to a USB printer, but are not required to be added into Tascus.