Print shipping labels on a label printer with the BizPrint Android app

This page shows you how to print shipping and address labels on a label printer connected to the BizPrint Android app. It is for merchants who use an Android phone or tablet as their BizPrint station and print labels for WooCommerce orders.

The app prints the label templates from the BizPrint plugin for WooCommerce, such as Dispatch Label, PDF labels, and ZPL or TSPL label code you already have, on label printers that use the ZPL or TSPL printer language.

Before you start

Update the BizPrint Android app from Google Play to the latest version.
Install and connect the app to your station. See Install and connect the BizPrint Android app to your station.
Load the printer with labels and turn it on.
Check which printer language your printer uses: ZPL or TSPL. The printer’s documentation tells you. Some printers call this emulation.
Find out the size of your labels (width and height), the gap between labels, and whether the labels have a black mark on the back.
Connect the printer in one of these ways:
- Wi-Fi or network: the printer must be on the same Wi-Fi or network as the Android device.
- Bluetooth: the printer must use classic Bluetooth. Printers that only use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) are not supported.
- USB: plug the printer into the Android device with a USB cable before you start.

Add the label printer

After you tap Continue, follow the prompts that appear:

For a Bluetooth printer that is not paired yet, the app shows Pairing with and the printer’s name. Accept the pairing request. If Android asks for a PIN, it’s usually 0000 or 1234.
For a USB printer, the app shows Allow BizPrint to use this USB printer. Allow it when Android asks. You may need to allow it again each time the printer is plugged in.

Open the BizPrint app.
Tap Add printer under Printers on the main screen. The Add printer screen opens and starts looking for printers.
Tap your printer in the list. A network printer shows Wi-Fi in its second line, a Bluetooth printer shows Bluetooth, and a USB printer shows USB · Plugged in.
Type a name in Printer name, for example “Shipping labels”.
Tap Continue.
Wait while the app shows Checking the printer and then Printing a test page. The test page is not an order.
Check that the Printer language line says ZPL or TSPL.
Look at the printer.
Tap Yes under Did it print? if the test label printed. The printer page opens.

If the Printer language line shows another language, tap Change and choose ZPL (Zebra and compatibles) or TSPL (TSC and most generic label printers).

If you tap No, the app shows The test page didn’t print. Tap Change language to choose a different printer language, or Try again to print it again.

If your printer is not in the list, see Add a printer to the BizPrint Android app. It explains each section of the Add printer screen, the Don’t see your printer? options, and USB devices listed under Other USB devices.

Set the label size

When a new printer is set to ZPL or TSPL, the app fills in common label settings: Labels with gaps, 4 inch roll (104 mm), a Paper height (mm) of 152.4 (6 inches), No cut and a 2 mm gap. Check each one against your labels. If your labels are not 4 inches wide, choose Custom in step 3, then tap Custom paper width (mm) and type the width of your labels before you go on.

Tap the printer under Printers on the main screen of the app.
Tap Paper under Paper and output.
Choose 4 inch roll (104 mm) for 4 inch wide labels, or Custom for another width.
Tap Advanced.
Tap Media type.
Choose Labels with gaps for labels with a gap between them, or Labels with black marks for labels with a black mark on the back.
Tap Paper height (mm).
Type the height of one label in millimetres, for example 152.4 for a 6 inch label.
Tap Gap between labels (mm), or Black mark height (mm) if you chose Labels with black marks.
Type the size from your label roll. The default is 2.
Tap Resolution (dpi).
Choose the resolution in your printer’s documentation: 203, 300 or 600.

Set darkness, speed and cut

These settings are on the Advanced page of the printer:

Darkness: choose Darker or Darkest if the print is faint, or Lighter or Lightest if it is too heavy. Printer default keeps the printer’s own setting.
Print speed: choose a slower speed, such as 2 in/s or 3 in/s, if the print is not sharp. Printer default keeps the printer’s own setting.
Cut after job: keep No cut unless your printer has a cutter. Partial cut and Full cut need a cutter on the printer.

After each change:

Tap the back arrow to return to the printer page.
Tap Test print.
Check that the test label is clear and fits the label.

If labels drift or print across the gap, check Media type, Paper height (mm) and Gap between labels (mm) again. Some label printers also need to learn the label size with their own calibration, which the printer’s documentation describes.

For every setting on these pages, see Change paper, cut and layout settings for a printer in the BizPrint Android app.

Set up a label printer location in WooCommerce

Go to WooCommerce > Print Manager in WordPress.
Open the Printers tab.
Click Add new, or click the name of an existing label location in the Description column.
Type a name such as Shipping labels in the Description box.
Choose the label printer in the Printers list. It is listed with your station name and the name you typed in the app.
Choose Dispatch Label, Shipping Label or Address Labels in the Template list.
Choose HTML in the Output Format list. Shipping Label and Address Labels also work with Plain Text.
Choose Custom in Layout Size.
Type your label width in Custom Width (mm).
Type your label height in Custom Height (mm).
Make sure Automatic Printing for Website Orders is not ticked, unless you want a label for every new order.
Click Save Changes.

The app prints on the label size you set in the app. It uses the location’s Layout Size and margins only when Page size from job on the printer’s Advanced page is set to Use the job page size when sent. Even then, the label is never wider than the printer’s Paper setting.

For the label templates and their options, see Print shipping and address labels from WooCommerce with BizPrint. For more about printer locations on an Android station, see Set up a WooCommerce printer location for an Android station with BizPrint.

Print label code you already have

You may already have a label as ZPL or TSPL label code, the commands a label printer reads, for example from your shipping software. The app can send that code to the label printer as it is. The code reaches the app as a print job sent with the BizPrint Print API, so a developer usually sets this up. See Serve the document to print with the BizPrint Print API (print by URL).

The printer language must be the same as the code. ZPL code prints only on a printer whose Printer language is ZPL, and TSPL code only on a printer whose Printer language is TSPL. On any other printer, the job fails with This job is ZPL label code. Send it to a ZPL label printer. or This job is TSPL label code. Send it to a TSPL label printer. This includes receipt printers, full-page office printers and the built-in printer of a Sunmi device.
The app sends the code unchanged. It adds nothing to the code. The label settings in the app, such as Paper, Media type, Paper height (mm), Gap between labels (mm), Resolution (dpi), Darkness, Print speed and Cut after job, do not change it. The label code and the printer’s own settings decide the label size, darkness and speed.
Each copy sends the code once. If the print job asks for 2 copies, the printer receives the label code twice.

To check the printer language:

Tap the printer under Printers on the main screen of the app.
Look at the Printer language line under Printer.
Tap Printer language if it is not the language of your label code.
Choose ZPL (Zebra and compatibles) or TSPL (TSC and most generic label printers), the same as your label code.
Tap Test print.
Check that the test label prints clearly.

Choose only a language your printer understands. If your printer uses the other language, send the label code to a printer that uses its language, or print a PDF or template label instead.

Every print job you send prints again. Before you send the same label again, do the checks in Check before you print a label.

Check before you print a label

Test print on a printer location, and a label you print by hand, print a real order again. Do these checks first, so you do not print an order twice:

Look at the printer for the order’s label. If it already printed, a test print prints it again.
Check that the printer has labels, shows no error, and is not in the middle of a real order.
Check the print job status of the latest print jobs in the BizPrint dashboard. See View print jobs and their status in the BizPrint dashboard.
Wait for the station to finish anything it is still printing, whatever status the job shows.
Go to WooCommerce > Print Manager in WordPress.
Click the Support tab.
Check Queue Status in Print Job Queue.
Wait for any pending or processing jobs to finish.

Do not print while a job for that order is pending, connecting-to-printer or processing. Never place or re-create an order to get a label.

Then follow Send a test print from a BizPrint printer location in WooCommerce and check that the label fits and nothing is cut off.

Test print on the printer page in the app prints the app’s own test label, not an order, so it needs none of these checks.

Need help? Contact BizPrint support at https://getbizprint.com/support/.