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ZPL problems and how to fix them

Common ZPL problems, each with a minimal label that shows it, the cause, the exact change that fixes it and the corrected render. All renders come from the OpenZPL engine.

Text and characters

ZPL prints accented characters wrong Accented characters print wrong in ZPL when the bytes you send and the character set the printer expects don't match. Save the ZPL as UTF-8, put `^CI28` after …
A ^ or ~ in the data cuts the ZPL field short A `^` or `~` inside `^FD` data starts a new command, so the text stops there and the rest of the field is lost. Add `^FH` before `^FD` …
ZPL text is not centered ZPL centers text only inside a field block: `^FB` with justification `C` centers each line within the block width, starting at the `^FO` position. To center on the …
ZPL text prints too small or the wrong size ZPL text size comes from the height and width in dots in `^A`, or from `^CF` when `^A` leaves them out. A field with no size falls back …
ZPL text overlaps or runs off the label ZPL text overlaps when the gap between two `^FO` y positions is smaller than the font height, and runs off the label when a line is wider than …
ZPL text prints rotated or sideways ZPL rotates a text field by the orientation letter in `^A`: N normal, R 90°, I 180° and B 270°. A field whose `^A` leaves the letter out …

Layout and size

ZPL label is cut off A ZPL label is cut off when its coordinates were made for a larger label or a higher density than the printer's. A 4 × 2 inch label …
ZPL prints a blank label A ZPL label prints blank when every field lands outside the label, when the format never closes with `^XZ`, or when no field has data. Check that fields …
A missing ^FS makes a ZPL field disappear Every ZPL field ends with `^FS`; without it the field stays open and the next field's commands are applied to it. In the OpenZPL engine the unclosed field …

Barcodes and images

ZPL barcode doesn't scan A ZPL barcode that doesn't scan usually has no quiet zone, bars too thin for the printer, or data the symbology rejects. Leave 10 narrow bars of blank …
A ZPL image prints distorted, slanted or cut A `^GF` image prints slanted or garbled when its bytes per row don't match the image width, and cut short when the data is shorter than the declared …