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 to the font's default, which for the bitmap fonts is tiny; give every field an explicit size, like ^A0N,40,40.

Updated 2026-10-20 · Renders made with the OpenZPL engine

What you see

Text comes out much smaller than designed, stretched, or a different size on one printer than on another.

^AD with no size, and 20 dot text

^XA
^FO40,40^AD^FDWEIGHT 1.25 KG^FS
^FO40,90^A0N,20,20^FDORDER #10482^FS
^XZ

Sizes set in dots

^XA
^FO40,40^A0N,60,60^FDWEIGHT 1.25 KG^FS
^FO40,120^A0N,40,40^FDORDER #10482^FS
^XZ

Why it happens

1. No size in ^A. ^ADN without height and width uses font D's native size, 18 × 10 dots. On a 203 dpi printer that is about 2 mm tall.
2. Sizes in points, not dots. ^A0N,20,20 is 20 dots, not 20 points. At 203 dpi 20 dots is 2.5 mm, roughly 7 points. To convert, height in dots = points × dpi / 72: 12 pt is 34 dots at 203 dpi and 50 at 300 dpi.
3. A different density. Dots are physical. A label designed at 300 dpi and printed at 203 dpi prints every font about a third larger; the other way round, a third smaller. See 203 vs 300 dpi.
4. Width and height don't match. ^A0N,60,20 prints condensed text, ^A0N,30,90 wide text. Font 0 scales freely; set both numbers to the same value for normal proportions.

The fix

Give every text field its size in ^A, in dots, computed for the density you print at:

^FO40,40^A0N,60,60^FDWEIGHT 1.25 KG^FS
^FO40,120^A0N,40,40^FDORDER #10482^FS

If most fields use the same font, set it once with ^CF, for example ^CF0,40, and override only the ones that differ. A field with ^A0N and no numbers takes its size from ^CF.

Scalable font or bitmap font

Font 0 is scalable: any height and width work. Fonts A to H are bitmap fonts with a native size; asking for another size multiplies the native size by a whole number, so ^ADN,40,20 may print slightly smaller than 40 dots. Use font 0 when the exact size matters.

Renderer or printer?

Text size is set entirely by the ZPL, so a preview at the right density shows the size the printer will use. One printer difference is the font itself: font 0 on a real printer is a licensed Zebra font, and the OpenZPL engine draws it with a similar condensed font, so line lengths can differ by a few dots. Leave a margin at the end of long lines.