Power Up Your Toolkit with the Zebra Printer SDK

Sr. Software Engineer

Steven Si

Link-OS Multiplatform SDK

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES

EASY INTEGRATION

Our printers integrate into

your existing technology

architecture — painlessly.

SUPERIOR

MANAGEABILITY

Simplified yet powerful tools

for easy remote management

of any size printer

deployment.

BETTER

PERFORMANCE

Enable your printers to

perform at their peak for

simple, effortless printing.

How do users benefit from unmatched value

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES

VISIBILITY TOOLS

MANAGEMENT TOOLS PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS

DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

Multiplatform

SDK

Browser

PrintConnect Cloud

Connect

Printer Profile

Manager Enterprise

Bluetooth® Printer

Management

Printer Setup

Utility

ZebraDesigner Virtual

Devices

PDF

Direct

MDM/EMM

Connectors

Visibility

Services

Enterprise

Connectors

Station

Pairing

Solutions

How do users benefit from unmatched value

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES

Zebra’s one-of-a-kind enterprise

printer operating system that

powers Print DNA capabilities:

The ZPL standard

Consistency across all models

Cloud connectivity

Secure low-latency connection

Battle tested wireless

Over 20 years of experience

Unicode

Ready for global solutions

Extensible

Link-OS has evolved to meet

modern needs

The most intelligent printer operating system in existence

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES

ZQ511 & ZQ521 SeriesZQ300 Plus Series

ZQ600 Plus Series

ZT600 Series

ZT200 Series

ZT500 Series

ZT400 Series

ZD500R

ZD611 & ZD621 Series

ZD510-HC

ZD421 Series

ZD411 Series

The Link-OS Printer family

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Multiplatform SDK

Browser Print

PrintConnect

Cloud Connect

INTEGRATE

Development Tools

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Multiplatform SDK

• Android, Windows, iOS, Linux

• Xamarin cross platform support

• Java, .Net, Objective C

• Extensive Source Code & Free License

Benefits

1. One Development toolkit for multiple OS’s, printers

2. Frequent updates & new features

3. Comes with source code, documentation

Link-OS Multiplatform SDK

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES

Link-OS Multiplatform SDK

Rich functionalities

Where to get it

SDK

o Link-OS

™

Multiplatform SDK

o Android, iOS, Xamarin

o PC (Java, .NET, .NET/Xamarin)

o WebServices

Ways to find it:

o https://www.zebra.com/us/en/software/

printer-software/multiplatform-sdk.html

o Launchpad

Online Documentation

o http://techdocs.zebra.com/

Printer Discovery

USB, Bluetooth, BTLE

or Network

Printer Connectivity

USB, Bluetooth, BTLE

Network, WebSocket

Printer Status

Checking

Errors, Warning,

Alerts

Developer Demos, Sample Code & Documentation

Both Source Code and Compiled demo code for commonly used features

Sample code for all major functions

Extensive API documentation that embeds within IDE platforms

Printer Conversion

True Type to ZPL

Font

Graphics Conversion

PNG & BMP to ZPL

Graphics

Template Filling

Fill ZPL templates

with variable data

Printer Management

Create/send

profiles/Printer OS’s

Command Mode

Scriptable command

line

Simplified Pairing

Using the Print

Touch feature

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Printer Discovery

USB, Bluetooth

, BTLE, Network

• USB

– ZDesigner Driver USB Connection

UsbDiscoverer.getZebraDriverPrinters(discoveryandler);

– Direct USB Connection

UsbDiscoverer.getZebraUsbPrinters(discoveryandler);

• Bluetooth

BluetoothDiscoverer.findPrinters(discoveryandler);

• Bluetooth Low Energy

BluetoothLeDiscoverer.findPrinters(discoveryandler);

• Network

NetworkDiscoverer.findPrinters(discoveryandler);

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Printer Connection – Printing

USB, Bluetooth

, BTLE, Network

• USB

– ZDesigner Driver USB Connection

Connection conn =

new DriverPrinterConnection(printerName);

– Direct USB Connection

Connection conn =

new UsbConnection(usbDirectAddress);

• Bluetooth

Connection conn =

new BluetoothConnection(btMacAddress);

• Bluetooth Low Energy

Connection conn =

new BluetoothLeConnection(btMacAddress);

• Network

Connection conn =

new TcpConnection(ipAddr, portNum);

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Printer Status Connection – Not for Printing

Bluetooth

, BTLE, Network

• Bluetooth

Connection statusConn =

new BluetoothStatusConnection(btMacAddress);

• Bluetooth Low Energy

Connection statusConn =

new BluetoothLeStatusConnection(btMacAddress);

• Network

Connection statusConn =

new TcpStatusConnection(ipAddr,

TcpStatusConnection.DEFAULT_STATUS_TCP_PORT);

Connection for Status & SGD (JSON) Only

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Multichannel Connection

Status Channel and Printing Channel

• Bluetooth

– Classic

MultichannelConnection mConn = new

MultichannelBluetoothConnection(btMacAddress);

– BTLE

MultichannelConnection mConn = new

MultichannelBluetoothLeConnection(btMacAddress);

• Network (TCP)

MultichannelConnection mConn = new

MultichannelTcpConnection(ipAddr);

• Network (WebSocket)

MultichannelConnection mConn = new

MultichannelRemoteConnection(uniqueId);

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Multichannel Connection – Cont.

Status Channel and Printing Channel

• SDK automatically uses the

proper channel for certain

API calls

• The status channel is

automatically used for

– getCurrentStatus()

– SGD.SET, SGD.GET &

SGD.DO

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Printer Status

getCurrentStatus()

• Printing Channel

ZebraPrinter printer =

ZebraPrinterFactory.getLinkOsPrinter(printingConn);

PrinterStatus status = printer.getCurrentStatus();

Note: Calling getCurrentStatus() on the printing channel

might be blocked by an ongoing ZPL printing.

• Status Channel

ZebraPrinter printer =

ZebraPrinterFactory.getLinkOsPrinter(statusConn);

PrinterStatus status = printer.getCurrentStatus();

• Multichannel

ZebraPrinter printer =

ZebraPrinterFactory.getLinkOsPrinter(multiConn);

ZebraPrinter printer =

ZebraPrinterFactory.getLinkOsPrinter(multiConn.getStatusChannel());

PrinterStatus status = printer.getCurrentStatus();

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Printer Configuration

SGD (SET-GET-DO) or a File

• SGD.SET

// Set the device.languages on the printer to ZPL

SGD.SET("device.languages", "zpl", conn);

// Set the media.type on the printer to label

SGD.SET("media.type", "label", conn);

• SGD.GET

// Get the link_os version from the printer

String osVersion = SGD.GET("appl.link_os_version", conn);

// Get the firmware version from the printer

String fwVersion = SGD.GET("appl.name", conn);

• SGD.DO

// Reset the printer

SGD.DO("device.reset", "", conn);

• Configure with a file

– Put SGD configuration commands in a file.

– Send the file with the SendFileContents() API over the Printing Channel

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Printing Label

Recommended Common Workflow

1. Discover the Printer

2. Open the Connection

3. Check/Set the Language to ZPL

4. Check the Printer Status

5. Send the ZPL Label (or File) to the Printer

6. Check the Printer Status Again

7. Close the Connection

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Resources

• Link-OS Multiplatform SDK

– https://www.zebra.com/us/en/support-downloads/printer-software/link-os-multiplatform-sdk.html

• Online Documentation

– https://techdocs.zebra.com/link-os/

• Samples on GitHub

– Android Samples: https://github.com/ZebraDevs/LinkOS-Android-Samples

– iOS Samples: https://github.com/ZebraDevs/LinkOS-iOS-Samples

– Other Samples: https://github.com/ZebraDevs/Zebra-Printer-Samples

Questions

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Thank You

ZEBRA and the stylized Zebra head are trademarks of Zebra Technologies Corp., registered in many

jurisdictions worldwide. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES