Printing from Websites part 1

I just got around to testing this.  I do not see the demo you describe in the Part2 downloads.  I also tried sending the XML as I would through a socket and it does not work.

/chris

```

   
        NER
        NOTES
        PTDESC
        DT
        HT
        OPDESV
        SONUM
        TARE
        QTY
        DEPT
        WC
        LOT
        TKNUM
        PN
        OPNUM
        GROSS
   

```

Oops... nevermind it works, just forgot the doc declaration

```
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="no"?>

```

Robin, are we able to use XML printing using HTTP POST?

<a href="https://www.zebra.com/content/dam/zebra/manuals/en-us/printer/xml-enabl…;

Hi Ben,
Sending data directly to USB printers from webpages is tricky.&nbsp; Browsers are designed to block access to that sort of thing.&nbsp; You do have a couple of options.
1. EDIT: This only works in Firefox and IE browsers.&nbsp; Set up <a href="https://km.zebra.com/kb/index?page=content&amp;id=WH70&amp;actp=LIST">g… text drivers</a> on the users's PC's.&nbsp; Select a USB port instead of the TCP one in the example.&nbsp; Direct your print action to open a new window and just have your ZPL in the new page:
<code><a> href="print.html"&nbsp; onclick="window.open('print.html', 'newwindow', 'width=300, height=250'); return false;"&gt; Print</a></code>
<a href="http://stackoverflow.com/questions/12939928/make-a-link-open-a-new-wind…; Refrence</a>

print.html
${^XA^FO100,100^A0N50,50^FDTEST LABEL name test from testville^FS^XZ}$

function loaded()
{
window.print();
}

Then you can print it to the generic driver as raw data.

2. Create a java applet or some other type of browser extension.&nbsp; We have some sample code <a href="https://km.zebra.com/kb/index?page=content&amp;id=SA242&amp;actp=LIST">…;.

3. Zebra does have a pay for app to do exactly this.&nbsp; Contact <a href="mailto:ddamo@zebra.com">ddamo@zebra.com</a&gt; for more information.

Given the small number of users, I would recommend option 1 as the easiest for now.
Hope this helps,
Robin

Hi Chris,
Yes XML printing works fine with HTTP POST.&nbsp; I have an example of it in the demo from the post <a href="/community/technology-partners/zebra/blog/2015/03/31/printing-from-websites-part-2">Printing from Websites part 2</a>.&nbsp; If you select the Zebra demo labels - I think the "ship label" should be using XML printing.&nbsp;
Robin

Hi Sandeep,
I'm wondering, did you solve this issue?

best regards
Johann

Hi Robin,
I have setup the browserprint stuff.
And I am following the instructions of use.
When I go to the sample/index.html I get my printer in the drop down list, however when I click print I get the error:
An error occurred while printing. Please try again.

Could you please help me with this?

My printer is : TLP 2844
And my operating system is Win 10.

It works fine If I go to Printer properties and click "print a test page".

regards
Johann

Dear Robin,

I'm realy one of the dummy's :-)
I managed to get the printer working with the index.html sample

and changed it a little. I want to print multiple labels with data from database
i'm reading data and then print label. The problem is that i realy dont know how to print multiple lables and can you tell me how to change font and how to print text on new line.
with the code below it's printing all the text at one line.

&lt;%
strsql= "SELECT barcodetemp.barcode, OrderDefinitief.Leveranciersnaam, OrderDefinitief.short_product_name, OrderDefinitief.naam, OrderDefinitief.besteld, OrderDefinitief.Inhoud, Personen.Bedrijf FROM (barcodetemp LEFT JOIN OrderDefinitief ON barcodetemp.barcode = OrderDefinitief.Barcode) LEFT JOIN Personen ON OrderDefinitief.userid = Personen.UserID ORDER BY OrderDefinitief.naam"set rs = dbconnection.execute(strsql)if not rs.eof then %&gt;
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &lt;%=rs("short_product_name") &amp; chr(13) &amp; rs("besteld") &amp; " x " &amp; rs("inhoud") &amp; chr(13) &amp; rs("bedrijf")%&gt;&lt;%else%&gt;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; setTimeout(doSomething,500);
function doSomething() { window.open('scannen-legen.asp','_self');}
&lt;%end if%&gt;

Hi Peter,Even I had to look up a few of these answers, so not dumb.
I'm assuming you are just printing lines of text.&nbsp; If that's the case, you need to add a carriage return and line feed to each line in order for the printer to process each as a separate line. A simple "\r\n" in the text data is sufficient.
To change the font, Use the <a href="https://support.zebra.com/cpws/docs/comtec/PROMAN-CPCL_RevY.pdf#page=13… command</a>.

Also, I can't stress this enough, I do not recommend using the POST printing method in any situation where you are printing more than very occasionally.&nbsp; There is no way to know if the printer is offline or unable to print for any reason, there is no flow control so printing multiple things in a row is problematic, and your browser could stop allowing you to do it at any time.&nbsp; If all your printers are on a local network, print from the server using TCP.&nbsp; If they are networked but remote, look into <a href="https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/software/barcode-printers/link-os/… Connect</a>.&nbsp; If they are USB, mixed, or Cloud Connect won't work for you, use <a href="https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/software/barcode-printers/link-os/… Print</a>.
Hope this helps!

I have managed to print from html demo print but when I integrate my php code, I got
Unable to get property 'sendThenRead' of undefined or null reference from check status. The reason I need to print from php code is that I need to query MySQL db with Crud to get our product ID. Is there a solution for supporting printing from php code instead of HTML #print onClick? I am using PHP post submit.

Hi Robin,

First of all thank you for this great post, this is exactly what I was looking for. I'd like to print out a label to a ZT410 Zebra printer through a web page (using javascript), this page contains all the label information and a picture tied to an ID generated automatically by the page. According to your post I shouldn't have any issues through Javascript ( HTTP POST) however I don't know how to pass the ID information to the printer as input data and generate the barcode automatically using the ID information. I mean, is there a way to pass this ID information to the printer a print a barcode with this info?

Thanks Robin for your support.

Hi Robin,

I have a similar issue to the HTTP POST solution you posted.

My users (there's only about 3 of them needing to use this particular functionality) have Zebra mobile printers connected to their laptops via USB. The printers do NOT have an IP address, as they are not networked. I want to have the user click on a "Print Label" button on the webpage, then send a ZPL file to the USB virtual port in order to print.

It isn't an issue if the print dialog is displayed.

So how do I directly send the ZPL to the users USB connected printer?

Hi Robin,

I am trying to print ZPL from Chrome browser, and I used the above solution you provided using Generic text driver.&nbsp; As suggested by you I can print using Edge and Firefox browser but not with Chrome.&nbsp; Our users use Chrome to run the web application that prints Fedex Labels.&nbsp; Can you please provide us a solution so we can print the label that is generated using ZPL and Chrome Browser.

Thanks for your help,
Sandeep

Hi Sandeep and Johann,
USB printing with Chrome and other browsers is the primary use case we are trying to solve with our <a href="https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/software/barcode-printers/link-os/… Print tool</a> (new since this article was first published). It is the solution we are currently recommending as it works similarly to a driver, but is designed for web app use.
Robin

Thank you very much for this information :-)
I will try this tomorrow.

Best regards
Johann

If I take a look at the request response I can see it is : Failed to write to device (when localhost:9100/write is called).
Any hints on this...?

best regards
Johann

Hi Alvin, If you are using notepad, you are printing through a driver, which renders the text file as text rather than print commands.&nbsp; Either you need to set up the driver as a generic raw text driver to print this way, or use the 'Open Communication with Printer' function in our PC based <a href="https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/software/barcode-printers/zebralin… Setup Utilities | Zebra</a>&nbsp; tool to send direct commands to the printer.
The other issue is the print control language you are using is EPL.&nbsp; If the printer is a TLP 2824 Plus, rather than a TLP 2824, it needs to be set up to take EPL rather than the standard ZPL control language.