PDF to DPL

Datamax-O'Neil printers — now badged Honeywell — speak DPL, a language with its own ideas: positions in hundredths of an inch, commands introduced by an STX control character, and graphics that are downloaded first and placed second. LabelZoom renders each PDF page at your printer's dot pitch and produces both halves: an <STX>I image download carrying the page as hex, and a label format that places it with a Y record and prints. The result is plain text you can paste, store and replay.

Zebra printers: PDF to ZPL. Eltron-era Zebras: PDF to EPL. TSC: PDF to TSPL. SATO: PDF to SBPL. Have DPL already? View it or migrate it to ZPL.

Upload a label to convert

Drag and drop a PDF document 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

Native DPL: a hex image download plus a label format that places and prints it.

Plain-text output — unlike EPL and TSPL, safe to paste, store and diff.

Built for Datamax-O'Neil E-Class, I-Class, M-Class, H-Class and Honeywell PC / PM series.

How to convert PDF to DPL

  1. 1

    Upload your PDF above — a carrier shipping label, a packing slip, or any page sized for thermal media. A ZIP of PDFs converts each file into its own job.

  2. 2

    Click Quick Convert. Choose 203 or 300 dpi to match your model and set the width and height of your stock; DPL positions are in hundredths of an inch, so the physical size is what matters.

  3. 3

    Copy the DPL or download the .dpl file and send it to the printer — USB, serial, port 9100, or through your WMS. It is text, so any path that carries a text file will do.

DPL against the other printer languages

Same PDF, same renderer; the difference is which printer family the output is for and how the bitmap is carried.

TargetPrinter familyGraphics commandOutput is
DPLDatamax-O'Neil / Honeywell (E, I, M, H-Class; PC, PM series)<STX>I hex image + Y recordText — safe to paste
ZPLModern Zebra (GK, GX, ZD, ZT series)^GF compressed hexText — safe to paste
EPLEltron / early Zebra desktop (LP2844)GW inline binaryBinary — send as bytes
TSPLTSC and compatiblesBITMAP inline binaryBinary — send as bytes

Other Supported Formats

PDF to ZPLPDF to EPLPDF to TSPLPDF to IPLPDF to SBPLDPL ViewerDPL to PDFDPL to ZPLImage to ZPL
Start converting now

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about printing PDFs on Datamax-O'Neil and Honeywell DPL printers.

Which printers speak DPL?
Datamax-O'Neil's range, now sold by Honeywell: the E-Class desktop printers (E-4204, E-4205, Mark II and Mark III), the I-Class and M-Class mid-range models, the H-Class industrial line, and the Honeywell PC-series and PM-series that inherited the firmware. If the manual describes commands that begin with an STX control character and label formats that start with L and end with E, it speaks DPL.
What does the DPL output contain?
Two parts. First, an image download — <STX>I followed by the rendered page as a hex-encoded bitmap, stored under a name in the printer's temporary memory. Then a label format: <STX>L opens it, a Y record places the stored image at the label origin, and E ends and prints it. Because the image is hex, the whole job is plain text and safe to copy, paste and store, unlike EPL or TSPL binaries.
Why does DPL measure in hundredths of an inch?
DPL positions and sizes fields in 1/100 inch (or 1/10 mm in metric mode) rather than in printer dots, so the same format prints the same physical size on a 203 dpi and a 300 dpi printer. The converter renders the PDF at the density you choose and places the image accordingly; pick the dpi that matches your model so the bitmap's dots line up one-to-one with the head.
Why not print the PDF from the Honeywell driver?
The driver is fine on a desktop with a USB cable. It is not an option from a print server, a handheld, a Linux host or a WMS that talks to printers over port 9100 — and even where it works, page-scaling defaults are the usual reason a barcode comes out a few percent short. Native DPL hands the printer the exact dots.
Can I get ZPL or EPL for other printers in the fleet?
Yes. The PDF to ZPL, EPL, TSPL, IPL and SBPL converters use the same rendering pipeline, and the REST API produces any of those six languages from one request by changing the target.