ESC/Label to ZPL

Convert Epson ColorWorks ESC/Label jobs to plain ZPL II for Zebra thermal printers. LabelZoom reads the job at its own 600 dpi resolution, rescales every field and barcode to your Zebra's density, and writes standard ZPL with Epson's color and media commands removed.

Want to see it in color first? ESC/Label viewer. Need a document? ESC/Label to PDF. Other migrations: IPL to ZPL, SBPL to ZPL.

Preview: LabelZoom’s ESC/Label reader is the newest in our 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 ESC/Label code

Render Settings

Label Size

Preview

ZPL • 4 × 6 in

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

Positions and barcode modules rescaled from the job's 600 dpi to your printer's density.

Epson's color and media commands removed, so a Zebra reads every line.

One template for a site with ColorWorks and Zebra printers side by side.

How to convert ESC/Label to ZPL

  1. 1

    Paste the ESC/Label job above, or upload the file if it embeds PNG images as raw bytes.

  2. 2

    Set the density to the Zebra that will print the label, 203 or 300 dpi. The job's own resolution is read from the job.

  3. 3

    Click Quick Convert, check any light-on-color fields, then copy or download the ZPL. Fine-tune it in the ZPL editor.

What changes between ESC/Label and ZPL

Standard ZPL II fields carry across as objects. Epson's additions either become ZPL equivalents or are dropped, because a thermal printer has no use for them.

ESC/LabelBecomes ZPLNotes
^F(C field colordroppedEvery field prints black; light text on a colored block becomes unreadable
^S(CLS media size^PW and ^LLRescaled to the target density
^S(CLR resolutiondroppedUsed to read the job; the output is written at your density
~DY PNG image^GFA black-and-white graphic
^BY module width, 2D magnificationrescaledBarcodes keep their physical size
^FO, ^A, ^FD, ^GB …same commandsPositions rescaled from 600 dpi

Other Supported Formats

ESC/Label ViewerESC/Label to PDFIPL to ZPLSBPL to ZPLEPL to ZPLTSPL to ZPLDPL to ZPLFingerprint to ZPLZPL EditorZPL Viewer
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Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about converting Epson ColorWorks ESC/Label jobs to ZPL.

ESC/Label is already based on ZPL. Why convert it?
Because a Zebra can't print it as written. Zebra firmware doesn't know Epson's commands such as ^F(C and ^S(CLS, and it reads the job's coordinates at its own 203 or 300 dpi instead of the 600 dpi the job was written at, so the label prints about three times too large. The converter reads the job at its own resolution and writes plain ZPL II at the resolution of your Zebra.
What happens to the colors?
They are dropped, because a thermal printer prints in one color. Every field prints black. Watch for light text on a colored block: white text on a red panel comes out as black text on a black panel and can't be read. Reverse those fields in ZPL with ^FR, or redesign them, before printing.
Do barcodes still scan?
Yes. Barcode module widths and 2D magnification are written in printer dots, so a module width that is right at 600 dpi would print three times too wide at 203 dpi. The converter rescales them to the target density, so a barcode keeps its physical size. Check the narrowest symbols with a scanner, since a module can only be a whole number of dots.
Who uses this conversion?
Sites that print color labels on ColorWorks printers in one place and monochrome labels on Zebras in another, and want one template behind both. It is also a way to keep a ColorWorks label printing on a Zebra while the color printer is out of service.
Can I convert ESC/Label templates in bulk?
Yes. The REST API runs the same ESC/Label to ZPL conversion from a script, so a folder of templates can be converted in one pass.