BMP to ZPL

BMP is the format Zebra's own utilities have always used for graphics, and a monochrome bitmap is about as close to printer dots as an image file gets: one bit per pixel, no compression, no color to reduce. Upload one here and LabelZoom produces a ^GF graphic inside a complete label, sized to your printer, ready to paste into a template or send straight to port 9100.

Other sources: PNG, JPEG, GIF, PDF, or any image. Going the other way? ZPL to BMP.

Upload a label to convert

Drag and drop a BMP image here, or click to browse your computer.

Note on Watermarks: Free online conversions may include a LabelZoom watermark on rendered previews. Need to process high volumes directly from your WMS? Check out our REST API subscriptions

1-bit bitmaps convert with no thresholding guesswork — every pixel is already black or white.

24-bit and 32-bit bitmaps are thresholded by luminance, like any other image.

Output is compressed ^GF hex — a fraction of the size of the BMP you uploaded.

How to convert BMP to ZPL

  1. 1

    Upload your .bmp above — a logo exported from label software, a graphic pulled off a printer, or artwork saved from Paint. A ZIP of bitmaps converts each file into its own label.

  2. 2

    Click Quick Convert. Set the dpi and label size to match the printer; a bitmap exported at the target dot dimensions passes through without resampling.

  3. 3

    Copy the ZPL into your template, download it, or send it to a connected printer. The preview is the exact dot pattern the printer will burn.

BMP against the other image sources

BMP is the simplest container of the lot; what it lacks in compression it makes up in predictability.

SourceCompressionEdges after black-and-white conversionNotes
BMPNoneClean; 1-bit files pass through dot-for-dotLarge uploads; the format Zebra tools speak natively
PNGLosslessCleanBest all-round input; transparency supported
GIFLossless (256 colors)CleanAnimated files use the first frame only
JPEGLossyRinging becomes speckleFine for photos, poor for line art
PDFLosslessCleanRendered from vectors at printer dpi

Other Supported Formats

Image to ZPLPDF to ZPLPNG to ZPLGIF to ZPLJPEG to ZPL
Start converting now

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about turning BMP bitmaps into ZPL graphics.

Why is the ZPL smaller than the BMP I uploaded?
A BMP stores every pixel uncompressed — three bytes each for a 24-bit file — so a 4 × 6 label at 203 dpi is about 3 MB on disk. The ZPL ^GF field stores one bit per dot and LabelZoom writes it in run-length compressed hex, where blank rows and long runs collapse to a few characters. The same label typically lands in the tens of kilobytes.
Can I use this to put a logo on the printer permanently?
This page emits the graphic inline as a ^GF field, so the image travels with every label and nothing has to be pre-loaded — the portable option, and the one that works across a fleet. If you would rather store the logo on the printer and reference it by name, Zebra Setup Utilities can download a BMP as a resident graphic (~DG) that later labels recall with ^XG. Both approaches start from the same bitmap.
Do bottom-up rows and padding in the BMP header matter?
Not to you. Windows bitmaps store rows bottom-first and pad each row to a four-byte boundary; the converter reads the header and handles both, along with 1-bit, 8-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit pixel formats. What you see in the preview is the right way up.
My BMP is already 1-bit. Does the converter change it?
Only its size. A monochrome bitmap is already printer dots, so thresholding has nothing to decide — each pixel is copied through as black or white. The converter still scales the image to the label size and dpi you choose, so export the BMP at the target dot dimensions (812 × 1218 for 4 × 6 inches at 203 dpi) to avoid any resampling at all.