CPCL Commands

CPCL (Comtec Printer Control Language) is a text-based command language for portable label printers.

Overview

CPCL uses human-readable text. Each command consists of a command name and parameters separated by spaces.

Tip

Some printer firmware also uses ESC/POS commands. Check your printer documentation to confirm which command sets are supported.

Basic syntax

Command format

Command name Parameters 1 Parameters 2 Parameters 3 ...

String handling

• Enclose strings in double quotes "
• Escape double quotes inside text as ["]

TEXT 4 0 100 100 "Hello World"
TEXT 4 0 100 150 "Say ["]Hello["]"

Character encoding

Chinese text encoding

Because of printer hardware limitations, Chinese text must use GBK encoding. Convert any Chinese text sent to the printer to GBK.

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Page setup commands

Create a page (!)

Create a print page and set its dimensions and number of copies.

! offset horizontal_resolution vertical_resolution label_height number_of_copies

Parameter	Description	Units
Offset	Page offset	dot
Horizontal resolution	Printhead horizontal resolution	DPI
Vertical resolution	Printhead vertical resolution	DPI
Label height	Label height	dot
Number of copies	Number of copies	-

Example:

! 0 200 200 400 1

Page width (PAGE-WIDTH)

Set the page width.

PAGE-WIDTH width

Parameter	Description	Units
Width	Page width	dot

Example:

PAGE-WIDTH 576

Print mode (FORM/FEED)

Set the printer’s positioning mode.

FORM

• FORM - Advance to the next label (can be called after PRINT)
• FEED - Position at the label (must be called before PRINT)

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Text printing commands

Text (TEXT/T)

Print text content.

TEXT font size X Y "content"
T font size X Y "content"

Parameter	Description
Font	Font ID
Size	Font size
X	Text starting X coordinate (dot)
Y	Text starting Y coordinate (dot)
Content	Text to print

Available fonts

Font enum	Font ID	Size	-dot matrix height
TSS16	55	0	16
TSS20	6	0	20
TSS24	24	0	24
TSS28	7	0	28
TSS32	4	0	32

Example:

TEXT 24 0 50 50 "产品名称"
TEXT 7 0 50 100 "规格型号"
T 4 0 50 150 "大号文字"

Rotated text (T90/T180/T270)

Print text at a rotation angle.

T90 font size X Y "content"
T180 font size X Y "content"
T270 font size X Y "content"

Command	Rotation angle
T	0° (default)
T90	90°
T180	180°
T270	270°

Text scaling (SETMAG)

Set the text scaling multipliers.

SETMAG horizontal_multiplier vertical_multiplier

Parameter	Description	Range
Horizontal multiplier	Horizontal multiplier	1-8
Vertical multiplier	Vertical multiplier	1-8

Example:

SETMAG 2 2
TEXT 24 0 50 50 "放大两倍的文字"
SETMAG 1 1

Bold (SETBOLD)

Set text boldness.

SETBOLD switch

Parameter	Description
1	Enable bold
0	Disable bold

Example:

SETBOLD 1
TEXT 24 0 50 50 "加粗文字"
SETBOLD 0

Underline (UNDERLINE)

Set text underlining.

UNDERLINE switch

Parameter	Description
ON	Enable underline
OFF	Disable underline

Example:

UNDERLINE ON
TEXT 24 0 50 50 "带下划线的文字"
UNDERLINE OFF

Alignment

Set text alignment.

CENTER
LEFT
RIGHT

Example:

CENTER
TEXT 24 0 0 50 "居中文本"
LEFT
TEXT 24 0 30 100 "左对齐文本"
RIGHT
TEXT 24 0 0 150 "右对齐文本"

Reverse text (INVERSE-LINE)

Print reverse text.

INVERSE-LINE X Y width height

Parameter	Description
X	Reverse area starting X coordinate
Y	Reverse area starting Y coordinate
Width	Reverse area width
Height	Reverse area height

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Barcode printing commands

1D barcode (BARCODE)

Print a one-dimensional barcode.

BARCODE type narrow_bar_width wide_to_narrow_ratio height X Y "content"

Parameter	Description
Type	Barcode type
Narrow bar width	Narrow bar width
Wide-to-narrow ratio	Wide-to-narrow bar ratio
Height	Barcode height (dot)
X	Barcode starting X coordinate
Y	Barcode starting Y coordinate
Content	Barcode data

Supported barcode types

Type	Description	Default narrow bar width
128	Code 128	2
39	Code 39	2
93	Code 93	1
CODABAR	Codabar	2
EAN8	EAN-8	2
EAN13	EAN-13	2
UPCA	UPC-A	2
UPCE	UPC-E	2
I2OF5	Interleaved 2 of 5	2

Example:

BARCODE 128 1 2 50 50 200 "1234567890"
BARCODE EAN13 1 2 60 50 300 "6901234567890"

Rotated barcodes

Print a rotated barcode.

VBARCODE type narrow_bar_width wide_to_narrow_ratio height X Y "content"
BARCODE90 type narrow_bar_width wide_to_narrow_ratio height X Y "content"
BARCODE180 type narrow_bar_width wide_to_narrow_ratio height X Y "content"
BARCODE270 type narrow_bar_width wide_to_narrow_ratio height X Y "content"

Command	Rotation angle
BARCODE	0° (default)
VBARCODE	90°
BARCODE90	90°
BARCODE180	180°
BARCODE270	270°

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QR code printing commands

QR code (BARCODE QR)

Print a QR code.

SETQRVER error_correction_level_value
rotation_angle
QR X Y M 2 U width
error_correction_levelA,content
ENDQR

Parameter	Description
Error correction level value	L=1, M=2, Q=3, H=4
Rotation angle	0/90/180/270
X	QR code starting X coordinate
Y	QR code starting Y coordinate
Width	Cell width (2-20)
Error correction level	L/M/Q/H
Content	QR code data

Error correction level

Level	Numeric value	Error correction capacity
L	1	7%
M	2	15%
Q	3	25%
H	4	30%

Example:

SETQRVER 2
0
QR 50 100 M 2 U 6
MA,https://example.com
ENDQR

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Graphics drawing commands

Draw a line (LINE)

Draw a straight line, including diagonal lines.

LINE X1 Y1 X2 Y2 width

Parameter	Description
X1	Start point X coordinate
Y1	Start point Y coordinate
X2	End point X coordinate
Y2	End point Y coordinate
Width	Line width

Example:

LINE 30 100 546 100 2
LINE 30 100 200 300 1

Rectangular outline (BOX)

Draw a rectangular outline.

BOX X1 Y1 X2 Y2 width

Parameter	Description
X1	Top-left X coordinate
Y1	Top-left Y coordinate
X2	Bottom-right X coordinate
Y2	Bottom-right Y coordinate
Width	Border line width

Example:

BOX 30 50 546 350 2

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Image printing commands

Image (EG/CG)

Print a bitmap image.

EG width_in_bytes height X Y image_data
CG width_in_bytes height X Y image_data

Parameter	Description
Width in bytes	Image width/8
Height	Image height (dot)
X	Image starting X coordinate
Y	Image starting Y coordinate
Image data	Hexadecimal image data

SDK processing

The SDK handles image binarization and data conversion automatically. Pass in the original image.

Watermark (WATERMARK)

Print a watermark image.

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Query commands

Query printer status

{S}

Query serial number (SN)

{SN}

Query printer model

{M}

Query firmware version

{V}

Query battery level

{B}

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Print control commands

Print (PRINT)

Execute the print job. Every CPCL job must end with a PRINT command.

PRINT

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Complete examples

Product label

! 0 200 200 400 1
PAGE-WIDTH 576
CENTER
SETMAG 2 2
TEXT 24 0 0 30 "商品标签"
SETMAG 1 1
LEFT
LINE 30 80 546 80 2
TEXT 24 0 30 100 "名称: 有机苹果"
TEXT 24 0 30 140 "规格: 500g/袋"
TEXT 24 0 30 180 "产地: 山东烟台"
SETBOLD 1
TEXT 24 0 30 220 "价格: ￥25.90"
SETBOLD 0
BARCODE 128 1 2 50 100 280 "6901234567890"
SETQRVER 2
0
QR 400 100 M 2 U 5
MA,https://example.com/product/123
ENDQR
PRINT

Shipping label

! 0 200 200 800 1
PAGE-WIDTH 576
BOX 20 20 556 780 2
CENTER
SETMAG 2 2
TEXT 24 0 0 40 "快递单"
SETMAG 1 1
LINE 20 90 556 90 2
LEFT
TEXT 24 0 40 110 "寄件人: 张三"
TEXT 24 0 40 150 "电话: 138****1234"
TEXT 24 0 40 190 "地址: 上海市浦东新区"
LINE 20 230 556 230 1
TEXT 24 0 40 250 "收件人: 李四"
TEXT 24 0 40 290 "电话: 139****5678"
TEXT 24 0 40 330 "地址: 北京市朝阳区xxx路xxx号"
LINE 20 380 556 380 2
CENTER
BARCODE 128 2 2 80 0 420 "SF1234567890123"
TEXT 7 0 0 520 "SF1234567890123"
SETQRVER 2
0
QR 200 580 M 2 U 8
MA,SF1234567890123
ENDQR
PRINT

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SDK integration

To integrate CPCL commands in an application, see the SDK guide for your language:

• Dart SDK - Cross-platform Flutter applications
• Java SDK - Native Android applications
• JavaScript SDK - WeChat Mini Programs / UniApp
• OpenHarmony SDK - HarmonyOS / OpenHarmony applications
• Objective-C SDK - Native iOS applications
• Swift SDK - iOS/macOS applications

References

Complete CPCL command reference (PDF)