How to print Shopify barcode labels on a Zebra printer

A Zebra desktop printer takes its labels two ways: as a PDF through Zebra's driver, or as a ZPL file, the printer's own language. This page covers both, the Zebra rolls that fit a product label, and the settings that keep barcodes scannable.

Published by Aislekit. I make a Shopify label printing app, I name it where it is relevant, and I say plainly when you do not need it.

The Zebra rolls that fit a product label

These are the Zebra rolls the app has sizes for. Any other size works too, entered as a custom size. Check the widest roll your model takes: the 2 inch models, such as the ZD410 and ZD411, take narrower rolls than the 4 inch models, such as the ZD421 and GK420d.

Zebra 1.5 x 1 in roll
Zebra 2.25 x 1.25 in roll
Zebra 10015340 (2.25 x 0.75 in roll)
Zebra 10010043 (3 x 1 in roll)

Printing the PDF

Download the labels as a PDF. Each page of the file is one label at the roll's exact size.
Print it to the Zebra (on Windows through the ZDesigner driver), with the label size in the printer's preferences set to the roll.
Print at 100% or "Actual size", never "Fit to page".
Print one label and scan it. If the bars run together or look faint, change the darkness in the driver and print another.

Printing ZPL

A ZPL file is the label in the printer's own language, so nothing on the computer can rescale it. It is drawn for the print head's resolution, so choose the one your Zebra has when you download it: 203 dpi or 300 dpi (the printer's configuration report says which). ZPL is part of the Pro plan; the PDF works on every plan.

To send the file on Windows, open the ZDesigner driver's printer preferences, then Tools, Action, Send file. On a Mac or Linux computer, send it to a raw print queue with lp -o raw.

Zebra ZSB printers

The ZSB series prints from cartridges rather than rolls, and takes the PDF through its own driver like any other printer. These are the cartridges the app has sizes for:

Zebra ZSB-LC7 (1.25 x 1.25 in cartridge)
Zebra ZSB-LC8 (2.25 x 0.5 in cartridge)

Labels for a whole Shopify transfer or purchase order

Shopify admin has no button that prints the labels for what arrived. AK: PO & Barcode Label Printer, the app I make, reads a transfer or a purchase order, takes each product's quantity from it, and makes the labels as one PDF for the Zebra roll you choose. It only reads your store, so it cannot change your products.

For a few labels without installing anything, the free label tool makes a PDF for a Zebra roll (2.25 x 1.25 in) or a Zebra roll (1.5 x 1 in) from a list of SKUs or barcodes. The guide to printing barcode labels in Shopify walks through purchase orders and transfers step by step, and the app is on the Shopify App Store.