Language logo |
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| Developer | Zebra Technologies |
|---|---|
| Influenced by | ANSI BASIC |
| Implementation language | Zebra Programming Language |
| OS | Various |
The Zebra Programming Language (ZPL) is a Printer description language. It is used primarily for labeling applications. The original ZPL was advanced to ZPL II, but a full compatibility with the older version is not given. Meanwhile, ZPL II is emulated by many label printers of various producers.
Later, the Zebra Basic Interpreter (ZBI) was integrated into printer software, which is seen as an advancement to ZPL II by the producer and is ANSI Basic oriented. Primarily, it is intended for to avoid a refactoring of code when changing the printer, if the old printer software was written by a label printer of a competitor. With ZBI, it should be possible that the Zebra printer gets an "alien" data format and converts it to the requested ZPL II format automatically.
Some printers support also the older Eltron Programming Language (EPL) for printers.
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The language commands always start with a caret sign ('^'). Currently, more than 170 commands exist in ZPL II. Each format has to start with the command ^XA and end with ^XZ.[1] For instance, the font size is sent to the printer with the ^ADN,x,x command, where x is an integer; ^ADN,18,10 is the smallest size and ^ADN,180,100 the largest.