Many labels with rubbish data instead of one

Owned by Johannes Sebastian Nielsen
Last updated: Nov 09, 2021
2 min read

Problem

You are trying to print out one label from the Mobile WMS app, but instead, the printer spits out a multitude of labels with strange characters.


It could look something like this:

Two modes

The label printer has two print modes:

  1. "Line Print" mode
  2. "ZPL" mode


In the "Line Print" mode the printer simply prints what is received.


In the "ZPL" mode, the printer expects to receive print commands in the ZPL (Zebra Printing Language) and these commands control the layout of the label.

Mobile WMS cloud print creates ZPL commands and expects the printer to be in this mode.

If the printer is in "Line Print" mode, the printer will just print the commands as text, instead of interpreting them and printing a beautiful label.

Solution

The Short Version

  1. Use the Zebra Setup Utilities
  2. "Open Communication With Printer"

  3. Send command

    1. ! U1 setvar "device.languages" "zpl"

    2. Press "Send command" twice

  4. Restart printer

Step 1

The simplest way to change the print mode of the printer is to use the "Zebra Setup Utilities" program on your computer and connecting the printer with a USB cable.

Step 2

Type the following command in the command window and send it to the printer:

! U1 setvar "device.languages" "zpl"


Step 3

Restart printer

See also