DPL to ZPL

Replacing Datamax-O'Neil or Honeywell printers with Zebras means every DPL format has to become ZPL — and DPL does almost everything differently: coordinates in hundredths of an inch, rows counted from the bottom, fixed-width records instead of commands. Paste a format here and LabelZoom reads those records into its label model, converts the units and the origin, and writes native, editable ZPL II that prints the same label on the new printer.

Need to see the DPL first? DPL viewer. Archiving it? DPL to PDF. Other migrations: EPL to ZPL, TSPL to ZPL.

Preview: LabelZoom’s DPL reader is newer than our ZPL engine and still improving. Compare the converted ZPL against a known-good print before rolling a format out. If something doesn’t match, let us know — reports go straight into what we fix next.

Paste your DPL code

Note on Watermarks: Free online conversions include a LabelZoom watermark. Need to remove watermarks for production, or process thousands of labels per minute? Check out our REST API subscriptions

Native ZPL fields, not a bitmap of the Datamax label — edit the result like any ZPL.

Units and origin converted: hundredths of an inch from the bottom become dots from the top-left.

One format for a mixed Datamax / Zebra fleet during the changeover.

How to convert DPL to ZPL

  1. 1

    Paste the DPL format above — the STX control characters survive a paste — or upload the file, which is safer for streams that also carry downloaded images. A ZIP of formats converts each one.

  2. 2

    Pick the density of the new Zebra (203 or 300 dpi) and, most importantly, the correct label height: DPL rows count up from the bottom, so the height decides where every field lands.

  3. 3

    Click Quick Convert, then copy the ZPL, download it, or send it straight to a connected Zebra. Open it in the ZPL editor to fine-tune fonts.

How DPL records map to ZPL

The converter works at the object level, so each DPL record becomes the ZPL command that means the same thing.

DPLBecomes ZPLNotes
<STX>L … E^XA … ^XZLabel format start and end
D, m/ndensity, unitsDot size and inch/metric mode drive the coordinate conversion
Font records (types 0–9)^FO ^A ^FD ^FSClosest ZPL font at the same physical height; rotation preserved
Barcode records (types a–z, A–Z)^BC, ^B3, ^BE, ^B7, ^BX, ^BQ …Symbology letter, height, module width and HRT mapped
Line and box records^GBRules and frames
<STX>I image + Y record^GFDownloaded image placed inline, in compressed hex

Other Supported Formats

DPL ViewerDPL to PDFEPL to ZPLTSPL to ZPLZPL EditorZPL Viewer
Start converting now

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about migrating DPL formats to ZPL.

Is the output real ZPL or a bitmap of the Datamax label?
Real ZPL. Each DPL record — a font selector with its rotation, size, row, column and data, or a barcode record with its symbology letter — is read into LabelZoom's label model as an object and written out as the ZPL command that means the same thing: ^A fonts with ^FD data, ^BC / ^B3 / ^BE barcodes, ^GB lines and boxes. Downloaded images placed with a Y record become ^GF graphics. The result opens in the ZPL editor like any other label.
How do DPL's coordinates turn into ZPL's?
DPL positions fields in hundredths of an inch (or tenths of a millimetre) measured from the bottom of the label; ZPL positions them in dots from the top-left. The converter does the unit conversion at the density you pick and flips the vertical origin, so a field at row 150 on a 6-inch label lands where the Datamax printed it. Set the label height correctly, or everything shifts vertically.
Will the fonts match?
DPL's internal fonts 0 to 8 and its scalable fonts have no exact ZPL twins, so each is mapped to the closest ZPL font and scaled to the same physical height. Positions and sizes carry over; letterforms differ slightly. Fields that must look identical are the ones to hand-tune afterward.
Which barcode types convert?
The DPL record letters for the common symbologies — Code 39, Code 128, Interleaved 2 of 5, UPC-A/E, EAN-8/13, Codabar, PDF417, Data Matrix and QR — map to their ZPL commands, with height, module width and human-readable settings carried across. A rare symbology with no ZPL equivalent is reported rather than silently dropped.
How accurate is the conversion, and can I run it in bulk?
The DPL reader is newer than our ZPL engine: everyday templates convert cleanly and are tested against real production streams; exotic records may need a look, so compare before rolling out. For hundreds of formats, the REST API does the same conversion from a script, without a watermark.