Printing Labels with PrintNode and the ZPL Label Designer
QrX prints shipping labels, packing slips and picking lists straight to your printers through PrintNode. You can also design your own ZPL labels.
Set Up Printing
Create a PrintNode account and install the PrintNode client on the computer your printers are connected to.
In PortalX go to Settings > Preferences > Printing (permission Manage Printing).
Paste your PrintNode API Key. It is stored encrypted and never shown again in the browser.
Click Load Printers. If you see "No printers found", make sure the PrintNode client is running.
Choose your Default Label Printer (for example a Zebra), Default Packing Printer and Default Picking Printer.
Choose the Default Label Paper Format: PDF 4x6, PDF A6 or ZPL 4x6 (Zebra).
Per-Workstation Printers
On the Transactions list, Printer Settings lets each workstation override the printers: give the station a name and pick its label, packing and picking printer and label size, or keep "Inherit customer default". These choices apply only to that browser and computer.
Printing
Tick transactions and use Print Shipping Labels or Print Packing Slips, or let a shipping rule print automatically.
Or pack orders at the pack station (Warehouse > Pack station): every item is scanned first, then the label and packing slip print. See the article "Pack Station and Pick Lists".
If printing is not set up you see "PrintNode is not set up" with a link to the printing settings.
Labels cannot be printed for transactions that are paid, pending without a ready label, refunded or cancelled, or without a shipping method. Packing slips need order lines.
The Print Queue shows recent jobs (All, Active, Failed) with totals for in progress, needs attention and completed, and a Reprint button. Refresh it manually.
ZPL Label Designer
Go to Settings > Preferences > QrX - ZPL Label Designer.
Label Library: create, save, save as new, rename and delete labels.
Sizes: Dymo 11352 (54 x 25 mm, 300 DPI), 4 x 6, 3 x 2, 2 x 1, A6 or custom, with the printer's DPI and density.
Label purpose: shipping label, product label, location label or tote label. Product, location and tote labels show their own variables (for example SKU, product name, EAN, location code, zone, tote code) and offer a ready starter layout for the Dymo 11352 label.
Components: text, barcode, QR code (several styles), box, line and image.
Variables from the transaction, shipping address, sender address, billing address and order lines, for example order ID, tracking number, PIN code and recipient name.
Alignment tools, grid, a safe printable area and a printer offset for calibration.
Switch between design and ZPL code, preview with a real transaction ID, export PNG or PDF, and restore earlier versions from History.
Test print through PrintNode. Use print mode Rendered PDF (safe default). Use Raw ZPL only with a raw Zebra print queue; otherwise the printer may print the code as text.
To use your label for shipments, select it as In-house ZPL label in a method profile under Shipping Providers.
Product, Location and Tote Labels (Dymo LabelWriter, Zebra)
You can print product and bin labels on a small label printer, such as a Dymo LabelWriter 450 Turbo, next to your carrier label printer.
In Settings > Printing, the section Product and location labels sets the printer, how labels are sent, and the default layout for product labels and for location labels. The Dymo 11352 label (54 x 25 mm) is the default for every account and is ready to use.
Send labels as PDF for a Dymo and any other printer. Dymo printers cannot read ZPL. Choose Raw ZPL only for Zebra-type printers.
Every print of a product label, location label or tote label opens a print window. Choose the layout (a QrX layout or your own design from the ZPL Label Designer), the printer and how to send it. Your choices are remembered on that computer for the next print.
Every account starts with the QrX default designs in the ZPL Label Designer library: Dymo 11352 product, location and tote labels, QrX standard 50 x 25 mm and 100 x 50 mm product and location labels, and the QrX tote label 100 x 60 mm. Use Duplicate (copy icon) on any saved label to make your own version. Product and location labels use them by default. Edit them, save a copy, or delete them; a deleted default does not come back.
Your own designs appear in the list when their label purpose matches: product designs for product labels, location designs for bin labels, tote designs for tote labels.
Print labels for many products at once: in Products > Catalog or Warehouse > Stock, tick the products or items (or tick the header box to select all loaded rows) and click Print labels in the selection bar. Choose how many labels per product; one print holds at most 200 products and 500 labels. Labels print in the order you selected. A catalog product without a stock item still gets a label with its own SKU and EAN.
Print labels for one product: open the product in Products > Catalog and click Print labels at the top of the product page. The same print window opens, with your remembered layout, printer and label count.
The barcode on a product label is the EAN, else the internal barcode, else the SKU.
More Than One EAN per Product
A product can have one main EAN and up to 20 extra barcodes, for example a supplier barcode or an old label. Scanning any of them finds the product at the pack station, at inbound and in stock screens.
Open the product in Products > Catalog, go to the Stock tab and use the Barcodes card: set the main EAN, add extra barcodes and click Save barcodes. The same barcodes are on the stock item in Warehouse > Stock.
A product without a stock item can only have its main EAN. Use Track stock first to add extra barcodes.
A product with variants has its barcodes on each variant's stock item.
A barcode can belong to only one item in your account.
Test a Printer and Set Its Paper
In Settings > Printing, use the test button next to each printer (picking, packing, label printer, product and location label printer).
Choose what to print: a test page in a size (Dymo 11352, 4 x 6, A6, A4 and more) or any label design, filled with sample data. A test page has a border: a complete border on paper means size and position are right.
Paper: Automatic picks the paper of the printer that matches the label size (for a Dymo 11352 roll this is w72h154, rotated 90 degrees). You can also use the printer default or choose any paper the printer reports, and set the rotation.
The window shows the PrintNode job state. When a choice prints right, use Save as printer setup; product, location and tote labels then always print that way on that printer.
Common Problems
Nothing prints: check that the PrintNode client is running and the printer is online, then look at the Print Queue for failed jobs.
The printer prints lines of code: switch the print mode to Rendered PDF, or set up a raw queue for the Zebra printer.
The label is cut off or shifted: check the paper format and use the printer offset in the designer.
A Dymo prints blank labels: send labels as PDF (not Raw ZPL), then open the printer test and print a test page with paper Automatic. If it is still blank or sideways, try rotation 270 or another paper and save the setup that works.
My design is not in the layout list: open it in the ZPL Label Designer and set its label purpose to product, location or tote.
"The carrier label is already being created by another job": the same order was sent to print twice, for example by a double click or by two colleagues. Wait a minute, then use Reprint. QrX never buys a second label for the same parcel.
"The carrier did not answer the last label request" or "a carrier label already exists": the carrier may already have created a label, so QrX stopped automatically to make sure you are not charged twice. Contact QrX support with the order number. We check the carrier account and cancel the old label if needed before a new one is made.
"This print job is still printing": the job is still running. Wait until it has finished in the Print Queue, then use Reprint.
When to Contact Our Support Team
Contact QrX when jobs keep failing in the Print Queue while PrintNode shows the printer online, or when a carrier label prints in the wrong size for your label format.
