ZPL font and encoding download commands
ZPL commands that download bitmap, Intellifont and TrueType fonts and encoding tables to the printer, select an encoding table and link fallback fonts.
Downloaded fonts are normally produced by Zebra tools (ZTools, ZebraNet Bridge, ZebraDesigner) rather than written by hand: the size and data parameters are generated and must match exactly. Once stored, a font is used in a field with ^A@ or assigned to a letter with ^CW. For TrueType fonts with more than 256 characters the guide points to ~DU.
Commands on this page: ~DB · ~DE · ~DS · ~DT · ~DL · ^SE · ^FL · ^F8 · ^F16
~DB — Download Bitmap Font
Syntax: ~DBd:o.x,a,h,w,base,space,#char,©,data · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
Downloads a bitmap font (.FNT): maximum cell height and width, baseline, space width, number of characters (1–256), copyright holder, then each character as #xxxx.h.w.x.y.i.data in hex.
Zebra ZPL II Programming Guide (P1134473-11EN Rev A), page 170. Zebra guide page →
~DE — Download Encoding
Syntax: ~DEd:o.x,s,data · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
Downloads an encoding translation table (.DAT) that maps your field data to the Unicode used by TrueType fonts; tables ship with font packs and some can be downloaded from Zebra.
Zebra ZPL II Programming Guide (P1134473-11EN Rev A), page 172. Zebra guide page →
~DS — Download Intellifont (Scalable Font)
Syntax: ~DSd:o.x,s,data · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
Downloads an Intellifont scalable font converted with ZTools; the size and data are generated and should not be edited, and the printer does not check the font's integrity.
Zebra ZPL II Programming Guide (P1134473-11EN Rev A), page 178. Zebra guide page →
~DT — Download Bounded TrueType Font
Syntax: ~DTd:o.x,s,data · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
Downloads a bounded TrueType font (fewer than 256 characters) converted with ZTools; the number of hex pairs must equal s. For larger fonts use ~DU.
Zebra ZPL II Programming Guide (P1134473-11EN Rev A), page 179. Zebra guide page →
~DL — Download Unicode Bitmap Font
Syntax: No syntax in the guide · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
Download Unicode bitmap font. The guide lists ~DL only among the download commands in its Z64/B64 encoding chapter; it has no page or syntax of its own.
Mentioned in the Zebra guide on page 1604; no page of its own.
^SE — Select Encoding Table
Syntax: ^SEd:o.x · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
Selects the encoding table (.DAT) to use; tables come with a font card or are downloaded to flash with the font, and the active one is marked * on the directory label (^WD).
Zebra ZPL II Programming Guide (P1134473-11EN Rev A), page 334. Zebra guide page →
^FL — Font Linking
Syntax: ^FL<ext>,<base>,<link> · In Labelixa's preview: Drawn in the preview
Links a TrueType font (.TTF/.TTE) to base fonts (wildcards allowed) so that glyphs missing from the base font come from the linked one; 1 links, 0 unlinks, up to five links per font. Save with ^JUS; ^LF and ^HT list the links.
Zebra ZPL II Programming Guide (P1134473-11EN Rev A), page 195. Zebra guide page →
^F8 — 8-bit data switch for ^CI17 (deprecated)
Syntax: No syntax in the guide · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
8-bit data switch for ^CI17. The ^CI page says ^CI17 is deprecated together with the ^F8 and ^F16 commands it relies on; ^F8 has no page or syntax of its own.
Mentioned in the Zebra guide on page 157; no page of its own.
^F16 — 16-bit data switch for ^CI17 (^F16, deprecated)
Syntax: No syntax in the guide · In Labelixa's preview: Not applied in the preview (ZPL1002)
16-bit data switch for ^CI17, written ^F16. Deprecated together with ^CI17 according to the ^CI page; no page or syntax of its own.
Mentioned in the Zebra guide on page 157; no page of its own.
^CI · ^CW · ~DU · ~DY · ^A · ^PA
ZPL commands list and reference →
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