Send raw ZPL to Zebra printer via USB

Question

Typically, when I plug in my Zebra LP 2844-Z to the USB port, the computer sees it as a printer and I can print to it from notepad like any other generic printer. However, m

Answer 1

Found amazing simple solution - working for Chrome (Windows, not tested on Mac)

Zebra ZP 450

1. Go here Zebra Generic Text
2. Go precisely by the manual
3. No COM1 or any other ports needed - USB is enough
4. When done (named the printer ZTEXT), does not matter if it won't print a test page
5. Turn of Spooling and enable direct printing in Printer Preferences - 1 note here 1 printer is ZP450 CPT and other ZP450 only - on the other one I do not even need to turn off spooling and it worked.
6. Go to Chrome and printing ZPL from there with Chrome Print Dialog Box by selecting the ZTEXT printer (Generic / Text) Printer (Do not choose Windows Dialog Box) - we needed this for Chrome to be working

Answer 2

ZPL is the correct way to go. In most cases it is correct to use a driver that abstracts to GDI commands; however Zebra label printers are a special case. The best way to print to a Zebra printer is to generate ZPL directly. Note that the actual printer driver for a Zebra printer is a "plain text" printer - there is not a "driver" that could be updated or changed in the sense we think of most printers having drivers. It's just a driver in the absolute minimalist sense.

Answer 3

I've found yet an easier way to write to a Zebra printer over a COM port. I went to the Windows control panel and added a new printer. For the port, I chose COM1 (the port the printer was plugged in to). I used a "Generic / Text Only" printer driver. I disabled the print spooler (a standard option in the printer preferences) as well as all advanced printing options. Now, I can just print any string to that printer and if the string contains ZPL, the printer renders the ZPL just fine! No need for special "start sequences" or funky stuff like that. Yay for simplicity!