.NET code to send ZPL to Zebra printers

Question

Is there a way to send ZPL (Zebra Programming Language) to a printer in .NET?

I have the code to do this in Delphi, but it is not pretty and I would rather not try to recreate it in .NET as it is.

Answer 1

I use the combo of these two

    Private Sub sendData(ByVal zpl As String)
    Dim ns As System.Net.Sockets.NetworkStream = Nothing
    Dim socket As System.Net.Sockets.Socket = Nothing
    Dim printerIP As Net.IPEndPoint = Nothing
    Dim toSend As Byte()

    Try
        If printerIP Is Nothing Then
            'set the IP address
            printerIP = New Net.IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(IP_ADDRESS), 9100)
        End If

        'Create a TCP socket
        socket = New Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork, SocketType.Stream, ProtocolType.Tcp)
        'Connect to the printer based on the IP address
        socket.Connect(printerIP)
        'create a new network stream based on the socket connection
        ns = New NetworkStream(socket)

        'convert the zpl command to a byte array
        toSend = System.Text.Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(zpl)

        'send the zpl byte array over the networkstream to the connected printer
        ns.Write(toSend, 0, toSend.Length)

    Catch ex As Exception
        MessageBox.Show(ex.Message, "Cable Printer", MessageBoxButtons.OKCancel, MessageBoxIcon.Error)
    Finally
        'close the networkstream and then the socket
        If Not ns Is Nothing Then
            ns.Close()
        End If

        If Not socket Is Nothing Then
            socket.Close()
        End If
    End Try
End Sub


Private Function createString() As String
    Dim command As String

    command = "^XA"
    command += "^LH20,25"

    If rdoSmall.Checked = True Then
        command += "^FO1,30^A0,N,25,25^FD"
    ElseIf rdoNormal.Checked = True Then
        command += "^FO1,30^A0,N,35,35^FD"
    Else
        command += "^FO1,30^A0,N,50,50^FD"
    End If

    command += txtInput.Text
    command += "^FS"
    command += "^XZ"

    Return command

End Function

Answer 2

There is an answer on the Zebra support website:

https://km.zebra.com/kb/index?page=content&id=SA301&cat=ZISV_PL_ZPL&actp=LIST

Answer 3

The simplest solution is with copying files to shared printer.
Example in C#:

System.IO.File.Copy(inputFilePath, printerPath);

where:

• inputFilePath - path to ZPL file (special extension is not required);
• printerPath - path to shared(!) printer, for example: \127.0.0.1\zebraGX

Answer 4

Here is how to do it using TCP IP protocol :

// Printer IP Address and communication port
    string ipAddress = "10.3.14.42";
   int port = 9100;

// ZPL Command(s)
   string ZPLString =
    "^XA" +
    "^FO50,50" +
    "^A0N50,50" +
    "^FDHello, World!^FS" +
    "^XZ";

   try
   {
    // Open connection
    System.Net.Sockets.TcpClient client = new System.Net.Sockets.TcpClient();
    client.Connect(ipAddress, port);

    // Write ZPL String to connection
    System.IO.StreamWriter writer =
    new System.IO.StreamWriter(client.GetStream());
    writer.Write(ZPLString);
    writer.Flush();

    // Close Connection
    writer.Close();
    client.Close();
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    // Catch Exception
}

Source : ZEBRA WEBSITE

Answer 5

Figured since this is still showing up high in search results for C# and ZPL I should mention SharpZebra. It's only EPL2, but I've submitted an update that adds ZPL support along with printing via sockets, the Windows Spool Service and direct USB.

Answer 6

I've managed a project that does this with sockets for years. Zebra's typically use port 6101. I'll look through the code and post what I can.

public void SendData(string zpl)
{
    NetworkStream ns = null;
    Socket socket = null;

    try
    {
        if (printerIP == null)
        {
            /* IP is a string property for the printer's IP address. */
            /* 6101 is the common port of all our Zebra printers. */
            printerIP = new IPEndPoint(IPAddress.Parse(IP), 6101);  
        }

        socket = new Socket(AddressFamily.InterNetwork,
            SocketType.Stream,
            ProtocolType.Tcp);
        socket.Connect(printerIP);

        ns = new NetworkStream(socket);

        byte[] toSend = Encoding.ASCII.GetBytes(zpl);
        ns.Write(toSend, 0, toSend.Length);
    }
    finally
    {
        if (ns != null)
            ns.Close();

        if (socket != null && socket.Connected)
            socket.Close();
    }
}