To Set Up the Printing of Carrier Labels on a Thermal Printer

For thermal printers, the carriers usually provide labels in EPL or ZPL formats.

You can create a batch file for the operating system so that the system sends the label file to the thermal printer once you double-click the label file. To create the batch file, follow the steps in the following sections.

To Share a Printer

Connect the printer to a local network computer by using a USB cable, and turn the printer on. To share the printer on the network, do the following:

• For Windows 11:
  1. Click the Start button, and open Settings.
  2. On the left side, click Network & internet.
  3. On the right side, click Advanced network settings.
  4. Click Advanced sharing settings > Private networks.
  5. Under Private networks, turn on Network discovery and File and printer sharing.
  6. Click Bluetooth and Devices > Printers & scanners.
  7. Select the printer to share.
  8. Click Printer Properties.
  9. On the Sharing tab of the dialog box, do the following:
     1. Select the Share this printer check box.
     2. In the Share name box, specify the shared printer name and write down the name (or copy it to the clipboard).
     3. Click OK to close the dialog box.
• For Windows 10:
  1. Click the Start button, then click Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners.
  2. In the list of the devices, click the thermal printer, and then click Manage.
  3. On the left of the window that opens, click Printer Properties.
  4. On the Sharing tab of the dialog box, do the following:
     1. Select the Share this printer check box.
     2. In the Share name box, specify the shared printer name and write down the name (or copy it to the clipboard).
     3. Click OK to close the dialog box.

To Prepare a Batch File for Label Printing

On the computer to which the printer is connected, create the batch file PrintLabels.bat that will handle the printing. (You can change the suggested batch name if needed.)

If you will use a USB printer, create the file as follows:

1. Open Notepad, and type the following text:

   Net use LPT2: \\%ComputerName%\SharedPrinterName
   Copy %1 LPT2
   Net use LPT2: /Delete
   

2. Replace SharedPrinterName with the shared printer's actual name that you wrote down or copied earlier. Do not change %ComputerName%; the system will replace it automatically with your computer name.
3. Save the file as PrintLabels.bat to the appropriate location. Make sure that you select All Files for the Save as Type action.

If you will use a network printer, take these steps:

1. In Notepad, type the following text:

   print /d:\\ServerName\PrinterName %1 
   

2. Replace ServerName with the name of your network server.
3. Replace PrinterName with the name of your network thermal printer.
4. Save the file as PrintLabels.bat to the appropriate location. Make sure that you select All Files for the Save as Type action.

To Associate the File Extension with the Created Batch File

You can associate the file extension with the created batch file as follows:

• For Windows 11:
  1. Double-click a label file.
  2. In the Select an app to open this file dialog box, click Choose an app.
  3. Select the PrintLabels.bat file that you have created in the previous step.
  4. Click Always.

• For Windows 10:
  1. Double-click a label file.
  2. In the How do you want to open this file dialog box, click More apps.
  3. Click Look for another app on this PC.
  4. Select the PrintLabels.bat file that you have created in the previous step.
  5. Make sure that the Always check box is selected.
  6. Click OK.

Connect the printer and load the label stock.