Question 1

Do you keep what is in my labels?

Accepted Answer

No. The file is processed in memory and discarded as soon as the images are returned, before the PDF even exists, because your browser is what assembles it. None of the content (not the ZPL, not the images, not the file name) is written to disk, to a database or to a log. A shipping label carries a third party's name, address and national ID, and that is the reason for the rule.

Question 2

How many labels can I convert at once?

Accepted Answer

Up to 50 with no sign-up. With an account, up to 500 per conversion, which is the case for anyone shipping large batches daily.

Question 3

Do I need to install anything?

Accepted Answer

No. It works in the browser, on any system. You pick the file, set size and density, choose between PDF and PNG, and download.

Question 4

Can I download PNG instead of PDF?

Accepted Answer

You can. The converter asks for the format before it starts: PDF with one page per label, for printing, or PNG with one image per label, to check on screen or paste into a system.

Question 5

My file is .txt or .prn. Will it work?

Accepted Answer

It will. What counts is the content, not the extension: if the text inside starts with ^XA, it is ZPL and it converts. Carriers hand out ZPL with the wrong extension all the time.

Question 6

Does it work with a printer that is not a Zebra?

Accepted Answer

It does, and that is the point. The conversion never talks to a printer: it turns the file into PDF or PNG, and any printer handles that, including the ordinary office one.

Question 7

Will the PDF print at the right size?

Accepted Answer

It will, as long as printing is not scaling it down to fit the margins. That setting is wrong by default in almost every viewer, and it shrinks the label without saying so.

Question 8

Which density should I pick: 203, 300 or 600 dpi?

Accepted Answer

The one the file was written for. It is not a quality setting: picking the wrong one moves everything on the label.

Question 9

The barcode will not scan. What happened?

Accepted Answer

Almost always the bar width. The command that sets the thickness was written for the thermal printer's density, and on an ordinary print the bars come out too thin for the scanner to tell them apart.

Question 10

My conversion failed. What happened?

Accepted Answer

Almost always a missing ^XZ or ^FS. The surprising part is the effect: the file converts, and the broken label disappears with no warning. Check that the PDF has one page per label.

Question 11

Is it free?

Accepted Answer

Converting up to 50 labels is free and needs no account. The account, which unlocks large batches, is free for the first months.

ZPL file converter

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