Print to a label printer from a web site / web application?

browser printing cross-browser label
toddb picture toddb · Nov 2, 2010 · Viewed 33k times · Source

Are there any known label printers that will accept print commands from a web site or web application?

Specifically, the one-off label printers such as Dymo, Brother, Zebra, etc.

Has anyone had success in printing to these printers (without using an Internet Explorer-Only hack or ActiveX control)

I would think that, eventually, there would have to be a solution as we move into a more browser-centric world.

Answer

neokio picture neokio · Jan 19, 2015

Wow. I know this was asked over 4 years ago, but having burnt the better part of a week in search of a robust method of printing labels from a web app, I had to voice in here.

Here's what I've found:

  • DYMO seems the most likely candidate for excellence. But no, turns out it only prints from (a) its own app, or (b) something using its SDK. The DYMO SDK uses an XML drawing model that is both overly complex and limited in layout and styling. The documentation is scattered and incomprehensible (e.g. what are the <Bounds> values for the common label sizes? There's no description of the tag parameters anywhere!) So frustrating, so disappointing.

  • There's qz (was jzebra), which enables browser printing for devices that speak EPL, ZPL, FGL, ESC/POS, EPCL and CPCL ... which includes the Zebra series. It requires a load of integration (running a web server on device the label printer is attached to), but it works.

  • There's a well designed 3rd party app by Peninsula, which works for DYMO (among others), but requires a middle-step of printing from browser to PDF. They also assume you'll never scale what you want printed down less than 70%, which is incorrect.

The OP says "I would think that, eventually, there would have to be a solution as we move into a more browser-centric world." Four years later, I'd go a step further and suggest any label printer that can't print off a browser (or just behave like a regular printer with small paper) is falling WAY short of its potential. Layout in HTML+CSS is a snap. Browsers parse it perfectly, and render it at any resolution to any output device. It seems so obvious.

If anyone knows of a thermal label printer that prints from the browser instead of imprisoning you in archaic integration methodologies, I'd very much like to know!

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