# ZPL prints a blank label

Source: https://openzpl.com/zpl/errors/blank-label/ (updated 2026-10-20)

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 fit the label in dots, that each label has ^XA and ^XZ, and that each field has ^FD and ^FS.

## What you see

The printer feeds a label with nothing on it, or the preview is empty.

Fields at y = 500 on a 406 dot label:
```zpl
^XA
^FO40,500^A0N,50,50^FDALEX MORGAN^FS
^FO40,580^A0N,40,40^FDAUSTIN, TX 78701^FS
^XZ
```

Fields inside the label:
```zpl
^XA
^FO40,60^A0N,50,50^FDALEX MORGAN^FS
^FO40,140^A0N,40,40^FDAUSTIN, TX 78701^FS
^XZ
```

## Causes in the ZPL

- Fields outside the label. The label above was designed for 4 × 6 inches and sent to a 4 × 2 printer: y = 500 is past the bottom edge (406 dots at 203 dpi), so nothing is drawn. The same happens with coordinates for 300 dpi on a 203 dpi printer, or a large ^LH that moves the origin off the label.
- No ^XZ. Without the end of format the printer keeps waiting for the rest of the label and prints nothing; the next ^XA may merge two labels. The OpenZPL API answers 404 with No labels found in the ZPL and X-Total-Count: 0 in this case, as Labelary does.
- Fields without data. A field with ^FO and ^A but no ^FD, or an empty ^FD because a template variable was empty, draws nothing. A label made only of such fields is blank; the OpenZPL API answers the same 404.
- Text the same colour as the background. A ^FR field over nothing, or white text on a white box, renders but can't be seen.

A label with ^XA^XZ and nothing between them is valid ZPL for a printer, which feeds a blank label. The OpenZPL API treats it as an error instead of returning an empty image, so a template bug shows up in your logs.

## Causes on the printer

If the preview shows the label and the printer feeds it blank, the ZPL is not the problem:

- Wrong media type. Direct thermal labels need no ribbon; thermal transfer labels print nothing without one. Check the printer's media type setting against your labels.
- Ribbon loaded the wrong way, or ink side away from the label.
- Labels upside down: direct thermal paper is coated on one side only. Scratch it with a fingernail: the side that darkens faces the printhead.
- Darkness at the minimum, or a printhead that needs cleaning.

## How to find it

- Paste the ZPL in the ZPL viewer with the printer's label size and density. If the preview is empty or the API reports no labels, it is the ZPL.
- Look at the largest ^FO values against the label size in dots (label sizes).
- Send a known good label, for example ^XA^FO50,50^A0N,50,50^FDTEST^FS^XZ. If that prints blank too, it is the printer or the media.

**Why does my printer print one blank label after every label?** Usually the label length is wrong: the printer thinks a label is longer than the real one and feeds past the next gap. Calibrate the media, and put ^LL with the right length in the ZPL.

**Does the OpenZPL API return a blank image for empty ZPL?** No. It returns 404 with ERROR: No labels found in the ZPL and X-Total-Count: 0 when the ZPL contains no complete label with content, the same answer as Labelary, so an empty template is reported instead of printed.