Tools/Convert/Image to ZPL

Image to ZPL Converter

Convert a logo or image into a ZPL ^GF graphic command. Resize, adjust contrast, dither and preview exactly what the printer receives.

Choose a file

Settings

Advanced options

Thermal printers print 1-bit black and white. Dithering helps photos; plain logos are sharper with a threshold.

Choose a file — the result appears below.

Result

Printer preview

Graphic size:

ZPL output

How to convert a logo or image to ZPL

  1. Choose the image. Thermal printers print 1-bit black and white; colour is thresholded during conversion.
  2. Set width and height. Values are in printer DOTS, not screen pixels: on an 8 dpmm printer 203 dots ≈ 1 inch. The ceiling is 2000 dots on each side.
  3. Turn dithering on for photos; leave it off for flat logos and tune the threshold instead. Dithering fakes grey with dots and blurs sharp logo edges.
  4. Rotate, adjust contrast or threshold if needed; the preview shows the real 1-bit result the printer will produce.
  5. Press Convert and paste the resulting ^GF command into your label. Z64 compression shrinks the output noticeably — a long ^GF line slows the transfer to the printer.

When this is the right tool

When a label needs a company logo, a warning sign, a CE or recycling mark, or a signature image. Do NOT use it for barcodes: printing a barcode as an image makes it unreliable to scan — a barcode must be produced by the printer's own command (^BC, ^BQ) so module widths land exactly on the printer's dot grid.

Common problems

  • The logo prints blurry or grey. — Dithering is on. Turn it off for flat-colour logos and tune the threshold; dithering is for photographs.
  • The label prints very slowly. — ^GF data is large. Enable Z64 compression, avoid unnecessarily high resolution, and consider uploading a repeated logo into printer memory once (~DG) and recalling it.
  • The image overflows the label. — Dots and pixels have been confused. Keep the width below the label's width in dots (8 dpmm × inches).
  • My transparent PNG came out with a black background. — Transparency is treated as black. Flatten the image onto a white background and upload it again.