we want to print 10x10cm Labels directly from our Tulip App. So we created a step as a template and fill it with data during the app process. The printer is a CAB Eos 5/300
We tested and designed everything in the test mode with our web browser.
Then I got serveral options to configure the page and with a bit of testing we were able to print perfect labels.
But if I start the print from the tulip player in production it kind of uses a different printing dialog with doens’t offer me multiple format, scaling options etc.
Do you have any idea how I can fix the problem? Otherwise I would have to scale the hole template down, but there is no way to scale everything at once, so it would be a big efford.
Maybe you have an idea.
Thanks in advance and greetings from Germany.
Gunnar
This is a more complex solution but it does solve your problem. We had a similar situation with a CAB model printer like yours. What we did was connect the PC to the printer with a USB-to-Serial cable, then used a trigger to run the “Serial (Player Only)” device function. You may want to work with someone from Tulip to make sure this is configured right, but you can use that to output ZPL with your label content to the printer.
Tulip integrates natively with Zebra printers as well, so if you’re okay purchasing a different printer, you could get a Zebra and connect it to your Player or to an edge device. Again, you’d want to go over your specific use case with Tulip, since whatever you’re using to connect to the printer will change the kind of label content you can print (Player is very generic, while edge devices support custom label content).
First off, @David2 is right - getting Zebra printers to work with Player is pretty simple, as ZPL is a pretty robust and flexible method to making labels.
Unfortunately, I know the issue with your current setup - the Print dialog that you show in the screenshot is the Google Chrome Print Dialog, while the one Player pulls up is the System Print Dialog (like, Windows or MacOS or whatever). In fact, you can pull up this System Print Dialog from your screenshot by clicking the “Über das Systemdialogfeld…” link at the bottom of your screenshot.
Long story short, the print configuration settings are different because Chrome has its own unique modal. There should be advanced options in the System dialog somewhere, but at that point I’d recommend consulting the Support space for your OS. Perhaps there’s a way to set defaults, or templates, that is shown somewhere else in your computer’s settings.
We want to use the printer from different tulip stations. So we connected the printer to our network and control it with our internal print server. The serial function does not work with an edge device?
Thank your for the hint. I will check on that. I allready tried some custom windows registry settings, but they didn’t help. I will proceed trying to find a solution.
I think there is no way to force the tulip player to use the chrome print dialogue?
It depends on the printer, but I solved this with a Honeywell Label Printer to send the commands with a connector function. This function can be used in any app and any station…
I will post a documentation of my solution in January…
Unfortunately you are correct, the only way to force the Player to use the chrome print dialog would be to run the App in Chrome, rather than in Player. Notably, this would mean you lose some (but not all) device driver functionality.
Re. printer connectivity, you have a few options. This is our document on the topic (that I wrote, if you have questions) but in short what driver you use completely depends on what plugs into the Zebra Printer.
So, if the printers are networked (Ethernet), you specify the IP address of the printer you want from any Player. If the printers are local (Serial), you can specify the Edge or Display Device for the printer you want.
(In short, both methods allow you to print labels in one place, from an App running somewhere else.)
Labelary.com is a great resource to use - it shows you what a label will look like from inputted ZPL.
ZPL documentation can be found here - I promise, it’s scarier than it looks!
