Package: brother-ql
brother_qlA Python package to control Brother QL label printers. It implements the
raster language of those printers and allows you to send instruction
files to your printer. In more details, the following is possible with
this package:Create raster language files for the Brother label printers. They can
be created from image files or programmatically in your own Python
script.Print raster instruction files with your Brother label printer via
different backends:pyusb (works cross-platform)network (works cross-platform for WiFi/Ethernet-enabled printers)linux_kernel (works on Linux only; uses the /dev/usb/lp0 device
handles)The following printers are claimed to be supported (✓ means verified by
the author or by contributors):QL-500 (✓), QL-550 (✓), QL-560 (✓), QL-570 (✓), QL-580N, QL-650TD,
QL-700 (✓), QL-710W (✓), QL-720NW (✓), QL-800 (✓), QL-810W (✓),
QL-820NWB (✓), QL-1050 (✓), and QL-1060N (✓).The new QL-800 series can print labels with two colors (black and red)
on DK-22251 labels.Note: If your printer has an ‘Editor Lite’ mode, you need to disable it
if you want to print via USB. Make sure that the corresponding LED is
not lit by holding the button down until it turns off.If you’re interested in printing labels using a web interface, check outbrother_ql_web, which
builds upon this package.WhyThe special feature of this package is that no printer driver is
required for it to work. This software bypasses the whole printing
system including printer drivers and directly talks to your label
printer instead. This means that even though Brother doesn’t offer a
driver for the Raspberry Pi (running Linux on ARM) you can print nicely
using this software. And even if there are drivers for your operating
system, many programs have difficulties to set the page sizes and
margins for the labels correctly. If you want to print with high
precision (which is important for barcodes for example), you rather want
to have control about every single pixel to be printed. This is where
brother_ql comes into the game.Installationbrother_ql isavailable on the Python Package
Indexto be installed with
pip:pip install --upgrade brother_qlThe upgrade flag makes sure, you get the latest version of brother_ql
but also of its dependencies.Alternatively, you can install the latest version from Github using:pip install --upgrade https://github.com/pklaus/brother_ql/archive/master.zipThis package was mainly created for use with Python 3. The essential
functionality, however, will also work with Python 2: the creation of
label files.In order to run thebrother_qlcommand line utility, the directory
it resides in needs to be in the PATH envirnoment variable. On some
systems, thepip installcommand defaults to the--userflag
resulting in the utility being put in the~/.local/bindirectory. On
those systems, extending the path variable viaexportPATH="${PATH}:~/.local/bin"is needed.UsageThe main user interface of this package is the command line toolbrother_ql.Usage: brother_ql [OPTIONS] COMMAND [ARGS]...

  Command line interface for the brother_ql Python package.

Options:
  -b, --backend [pyusb|network|linux_kernel]
  -m, --model [QL-500|QL-550|QL-560|QL-570|QL-580N|QL-650TD|QL-700|QL-710W|QL-720NW|QL-800|QL-810W|QL-820NWB|QL-1050|QL-1060N]
  -p, --printer PRINTER_IDENTIFIER
                                  The identifier for the printer. This could
                                  be a string like tcp://192.168.1.21:9100 for
                                  a networked printer or
                                  usb://0x04f9:0x2015/000M6Z401370 for a
                                  printer connected via USB.
  --debug
  --version                       Show the version and exit.
  --help                          Show this message and exit.

Commands:
  analyze   interpret a binary file containing raster...
  discover  find connected label printers
  info      list available labels, models etc.
  print     Print a label
  send      send an instruction file to the printerThere are some global options available such as –model and –printer.
They can also be provided by environment variables (BROTHER_QL_MODELandBROTHER_QL_PRINTER).The global options are followed by a command such asinfoorprint. The most important command is theprintcommand and here
is its CLI signature:Usage: brother_ql print [OPTIONS] IMAGE [IMAGE] ...

  Print a label of the provided IMAGE.

Options:
  -l, --label [12|29|38|50|54|62|102|17x54|17x87|23x23|29x42|29x90|39x90|39x48|52x29|62x29|62x100|102x51|102x152|d12|d24|d58]
                                  The label (size, type - die-cut or endless).
                                  Run `brother_ql info labels` for a full
                                  list including ideal pixel dimensions.
  -r, --rotate [auto|0|90|180|270]
                                  Rotate the image (counterclock-wise) by this
                                  amount of degrees.
  -t, --threshold FLOAT           The threshold value (in percent) to
                                  discriminate between black and white pixels.
  -d, --dither                    Enable dithering when converting the image
                                  to b/w. If set, --threshold is meaningless.
  -c, --compress                  Enable compression (if available with the
                                  model). Label creation can take slightly
                                  longer but the resulting instruction size is
                                  normally considerably smaller.
  --red                           Create a label to be printed on
                                  black/red/white tape (only with QL-8xx
                                  series on DK-22251 labels). You must use
                                  this option when printing on black/red tape,
                                  even when not printing red.
  --600dpi                        Print with 600x300 dpi available on some
                                  models. Provide your image as 600x600 dpi;
                                  perpendicular to the feeding the image will
                                  be resized to 300dpi.
  --lq                            Print with low quality (faster). Default is
                                  high quality.
  --no-cut                        Don't cut the tape after printing the label.
  --help                          Show this message and exit.So, printing an image file onto 62mm endless tape on a QL-710W label
printer can be as easy as:export BROTHER_QL_PRINTER=tcp://192.168.1.21
export BROTHER_QL_MODEL=QL-710W
brother_ql print -l 62 my_image.pngThe available label names can be listed withbrother_ql info labels:Name      Printable px   Description
12         106           12mm endless
29         306           29mm endless
38         413           38mm endless
50         554           50mm endless
54         590           54mm endless
62         696           62mm endless
102       1164           102mm endless
17x54      165 x  566    17mm x 54mm die-cut
17x87      165 x  956    17mm x 87mm die-cut
23x23      202 x  202    23mm x 23mm die-cut
29x42      306 x  425    29mm x 42mm die-cut
29x90      306 x  991    29mm x 90mm die-cut
39x90      413 x  991    38mm x 90mm die-cut
39x48      425 x  495    39mm x 48mm die-cut
52x29      578 x  271    52mm x 29mm die-cut
62x29      696 x  271    62mm x 29mm die-cut
62x100     696 x 1109    62mm x 100mm die-cut
102x51    1164 x  526    102mm x 51mm die-cut
102x152   1164 x 1660    102mm x 153mm die-cut
d12         94 x   94    12mm round die-cut
d24        236 x  236    24mm round die-cut
d58        618 x  618    58mm round die-cutPro Tip™: For the best results, use image files with the matching
pixel dimensions. Die-cut labels have to be in the exact pixel
dimensions stated above. For endless label rolls, you can provide image
files with a pixel width as stated above. If you provide a file with
different dimensions when creating an endless label file, it will be
scaled to fit the width.BackendsThere are multiple backends for connecting to the printer available (✔:
supported, ✘: not supported):BackendKindLinuxMac OSWindowsnetwork (1)TCP✔✔✔linux_kernelUSB✔ (2)✘✘pyusb (3)USB✔ (3.1)✔ (3.2)✔ (3.3)Notes:The network backend doesn’t support reading back the printer state,
currently. Failure such aswrong label typeorend of label roll
reachedwon’t be detected by this software.The label printer should show up automatically as/dev/usb/lp0when connected. Please check the ownership (user, group) of this file
to be able to print as a regular user. Consider setting up a udev
.rules file.PyUSB is a Python wrapper allowing to implement USB communication in
userspace.On Linux: install libusb1 as offered by your distribution:sudoapt-getinstalllibusb-1.0-0(Ubuntu, Debian),sudo zyppe inlibusb-1_0-0(OpenSUSE),sudo pacman-Slibusb(Arch).On Mac OS: InstallHomebrewand then
install libusb1 using:brew install libusb.On Windows: downloadlibusb-win32-devel-filter-1.2.6.0.exefrom sourceforge and install it. After installing, you have to use
the “Filter Wizard” to setup a “device filter” for the label
printer.Legacy command line toolsFor a long time, this project provided multiple command line tools, such
asbrother_ql_create,brother_ql_print,brother_ql_analyze,
and more. The overview of those tools can still be found in theLEGACYdocumentation. The use of these tools is now considered deprecated and
they will be removed in a future release.AuthorThis software package was written by Philipp Klaus based on Brother’s
documentation of its raster language and based on additinal reverse
engineering efforts.Philipp Klausphilipp.l.klaus@web.deMany more have contributed by raising issues, helping to solve them,
improving the code and helping out financially.ContributingThere are many ways to support the development of brother_ql:File an issueon Github, if you encounter problems, have a
proposal, etc.Send an email with ideasto the author.Submit a pull requeston Github if you improved the code and know
how to use git.Finance a label printerfrom theauthor’s
wishlistto allow him to extend the device coverage and testing.Donatean arbitrary amount of money for the development of
brother_qlvia
Paypal.Thanks to everyone helping to improve brother_ql.LinksThe source code and issue tracker of this package is to be found onGithub:pklaus/brother_ql.The package is also to be found on the Python Package IndexPyPI:brother_ql.A curated list of related and unrelated software can be foundin
this
document.