# EPL Render: Turn EPL2 label files into print-ready PDFs, in batches, without an Eltron or Zebra printer.

> EPL Render converts Eltron Programming Language label files, the format of LP2844-era thermal printers, into PDF pages at the right size. Most free label viewers read only ZPL; we read EPL2 and tell you exactly which lines, if any, we could not draw.

- Page: https://rotomal.com/epl-to-pdf/
- Category: Shipping labels and documents
- Language: en
- Billing: subscription
- From: $5 per month
- Request (free, no card): https://rotomal.com/epl-to-pdf/request/

- Reads EPL2 page-mode files: text, 1D barcodes such as Code 128 and Code 39, 2D codes such as MaxiCode and PDF417, lines, boxes and embedded GW graphics
- Each label set a P command prints becomes a PDF page, so a file with 300 labels returns one 300-page PDF in the original order
- Checks every line before rendering: any command we cannot draw is listed in a render report with its line number, never silently left out

## Your carrier or system sends EPL, and most label tools cannot read it

EPL2 is the label language of Eltron and older Zebra desktop printers such as the LP2844. It is still offered by carrier shipping APIs, multi-carrier tools and ERPs, so labels keep arriving as raw EPL long after the original printer is gone. The moment that label has to print on a laser printer, be emailed to a customer, or be archived, you are stuck.

The usual fixes do not cover EPL. The best-known free label viewer and API renders ZPL only. Developers have asked how to turn EPL into a PDF on Stack Overflow since 2013, and in June 2024 the maintainer of the QZ Tray browser-printing tool told a user he was still not aware of an EPL viewer. A few free paste-one-label previewers have appeared since; for batches, emailed labels or an API, the choices are a renderer you install and maintain yourself or a general format converter.

EPL Render does one job: it takes the EPL you already have and returns a PDF that prints at 100% scale, with a report that says which labels rendered completely.

- UPS's published Shipping API specification lists EPL (for EPL2 labels) as a valid label image format next to GIF, ZPL and SPL (checked 7 November 2026). (source: https://github.com/UPS-API/api-documentation/blob/main/Shipping.yaml)
- Labelary describes its API as a ZPL rendering engine; EPL appears only as an output format it can convert ZPL into, not as input (checked 7 November 2026). (source: https://labelary.com/service.html)
- A Stack Overflow question from February 2013 asking how to convert UPS-generated EPL labels to PDF or any viewable format had about 7,600 views when checked on 7 November 2026. (source: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/14863978/convert-epl-image-to-pdf)
- On the QZ Tray users' group, a maintainer replied on 26 June 2024 to a request for an EPL viewer that he was still not aware of an EPL emulator or viewer application. (source: https://groups.google.com/g/qz-print/c/RAHWbTq2HVY/m/AdXFr-nNAwAJ)

## How it works

1. **Request service.** Tell us where your EPL labels come from, the printer resolution they were written for and the page size you want. We set up your account within 2 business days.
2. **Send a sample.** Upload two or three real label files. We run them through the renderer, send back the PDF and the render report, and confirm the label size before you route your batches in.
3. **Route your EPL in.** Point your old printer output at our folder agent or virtual printer port, forward carrier emails, upload by hand, or post EPL to the API from your code.
4. **Print from the PDF.** Each batch returns a PDF plus the render report, so you see at once which labels are complete. Download links last 24 hours; API responses come back directly and, under our policy, are not stored.

## Features

- **EPL2 page-mode input.** Reads .epl, .txt and .prn files written in EPL2. Older EPL1 line-mode files and other languages are checked on request: send a sample and we answer within one business day.
- **Render report, line by line.** Before drawing, every line is checked against the commands we support. Anything we cannot draw, such as a counter, a variable or an unknown command, is listed with its label and line number, and that label is marked incomplete.
- **Stored forms and graphics.** Some EPL files recall a form or graphic stored in the printer. Those labels are flagged, never printed with a gap. Send us the file that stores the form or graphic and we tell you within one business day whether we can render it with your labels.
- **Thermal and office page layouts.** 4x6 inch, 4x8 inch, 100x150 mm or A6 pages for label printers; two labels per Letter or A4 page for office printers. Placed at 100% scale, never shrunk to fit, so barcode bar widths stay as written.
- **Carrier emails in, PDFs out.** Some UPS and ERP setups email EPL as an attachment. Forward it to your private address and the PDF and render report come back by reply.
- **Stand-in for the old LP2844.** Software that was set up to print EPL to a thermal printer can print to our Windows or macOS agent instead: it listens on a local port or watches a folder and saves a PDF for each job.
- **Conversion API.** POST EPL, get a PDF or PNG back in the same response, with the render report in a header. Our policy is to keep no copy of the request or response.

## Who it's for

- **Shops still on an older shipping integration.** Your UPS, USPS or ERP connection was set up for an LP2844 years ago and still sends EPL. You print the same labels on an office printer without re-integrating.
- **3PLs receiving labels from clients.** One client's system emits EPL, the next ZPL. The email-in address and batch upload turn both into PDFs, with a report per batch.
- **Developers maintaining label code.** You need a PDF preview or archive copy of EPL output and do not want to license and host a renderer. One API call returns the PDF and a list of any lines that did not render.

## Works with

EPL2 label files (.epl, .txt, .prn), UPS API labels requested as EPL, EasyPost labels requested as EPL2, NetSuite EPL shipping labels (UPS, USPS), PDF and PNG output, Email-in (any mailbox that can forward attachments), Windows and macOS watch-folder agent, REST API (raw body or multipart upload), Laser and inkjet printers with A4 or Letter paper

## Pricing

Billed monthly, cancel any time. Every plan starts with a test render of your own label files, so you see the PDF and render report before you route batches in. A label is one rendered page. All plans include the render report, every page size and deletion of source files after conversion. ZPL files sent by mistake are converted on the same plan. Founding customer pricing stays fixed while you remain subscribed. We onboard new accounts within 2 business days.

| Plan | Price | Includes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Starter | $5 per month | 2,000 labels a month; Browser upload, single files or ZIP; All thermal and office page layouts; Render report per batch; 1 user; Email support |
| Team | $19 per month | 25,000 labels a month; Everything in Starter; Email-in addresses for each client or site; Watch-folder and virtual printer agent on up to 3 computers; Up to 5 users; Support reply within one business day |
| API | $49 per month | 150,000 labels a month; Everything in Team; Conversion API; requests are not stored (our policy); PDF or PNG responses with the render report; Up to 10 requests per second; Extra labels at $3 per 10,000 |

## Compared with the alternatives

- **Neodynamic EPLServer.** A commercial EPL renderer you install on Windows, macOS or Linux, with PDF, PNG and other outputs over HTTP or a raw TCP port. A device licence is listed at $199.90, perpetual, with a year of updates. Suits teams that must keep rendering on their own servers.
- **LabelZoom.** A label conversion service that lists EPL to PDF among many format pairs, with a watermarked free plan and a $5 Basic plan for 1,000 conversions a month. EPL Render's $5 plan covers 2,000 labels a month.
- **Labelize (open source).** An MIT-licensed engine that renders ZPL, EPL and other label languages to PNG or PDF from a command line or a self-hosted HTTP service, and the engine EPL Render runs on. Free and private if you install, update and monitor it yourself. Its online playground, like LabelPane, previews one pasted label for free.
- **Changing the format at the source.** UPS, EasyPost and NetSuite can all produce image or PDF labels instead of EPL. If you control that setting, use it first; it is free. EPL Render is for labels you cannot change.

## Security and data

- Our policy: each EPL file, and the email it came in, is deleted once its PDF and render report are made.
- PDFs stay downloadable for 24 hours and are then deleted; API calls are answered directly and not stored.
- Every upload, download and API call goes over HTTPS; you can rotate your random email-in address whenever you like.
- Names and addresses on your labels are never sold or reused; billing is based on label counts alone.

## Your first week

We test your real EPL files, show you the render report and agree the page size before you route anything through EPL Render.

- Day 1: you send the request and two or three sample label files.
- Day 1–2: we render them, send the PDFs and render report, and confirm resolution and page size.
- Day 2: depending on your plan, you point your old EPL printer output at the folder agent, or start forwarding to your email-in address or calling the API.
- Day 7: we review a week of render reports with you; any label source with unrendered lines gets a fix or a clear answer.

## FAQ

### What do you render EPL with?

We run the open-source Labelize engine (github.com/GOODBOY008/labelize, MIT licence) on our servers, behind our own pre-check that compares every line of your file with the EPL commands that engine documents. That pre-check is what produces the render report, so an unsupported command is reported instead of quietly skipped.

### Will the barcodes still scan?

They should, because the PDF is placed at 100% scale at the resolution the label was written for. Scan-test the first labels from each new source before you ship in volume, and print the PDF at Actual size with Fit to page turned off.

### Which EPL commands are supported?

The commands Labelize documents for EPL: text (A), 1D barcodes (B), 2D codes (b), black and white lines (LO, LW), diagonal lines (LS), boxes (X), binary graphics (GW), reference point (R), clear (N) and print (P). Our pre-check also reads q and Q to confirm the label size, and accepts printer-only settings such as speed (S) or density (D), which do not change a PDF. Anything else, for example stored forms (FR) or counters, appears in the render report; tell us if you need it.

### Our LP2844 died. Do we need another EPL printer?

Not to print the labels you already receive. The PDF prints on an office laser or inkjet printer, or on any thermal printer whose driver prints PDFs at 4x6 or A6, whatever language it speaks.

### My file is ZPL, not EPL. Can you still help?

Yes. ZPL starts with ^XA; if that is what you have, see our ZPL page at https://rotomal.com/zpl-to-pdf/. If a ZPL file arrives here by mistake we convert it on the same plan.

### What happens to the names and addresses in my EPL files?

Under our retention policy, the EPL file and any email it arrived in are deleted once the PDF exists, the PDF link expires after 24 hours, and API calls are not stored. Billing uses label counts only. This is our policy, not an external certification.

### What if my labels use stored forms or counters?

Labels that recall a form or graphic stored in the printer are flagged in the report. Send the file that stores it and we check whether we can render it with your labels. Counters and variables are reported, not rendered, today; your test render shows you this before you route batches in.

## Guides

- [How to convert EPL to PDF](https://rotomal.com/epl-to-pdf/how-to-convert-epl-to-pdf/): Most ZPL viewers cannot read EPL2. How to recognise an EPL file, the settings that matter, and four ways to turn EPL labels into PDF, with commands.
- [EPL vs ZPL: what is the difference?](https://rotomal.com/epl-to-pdf/epl-vs-zpl/): EPL2 and ZPL II are both Zebra label languages, but tools treat them very differently. How to recognise each, how they set label size, and which to pick.

---
Rotomal · https://rotomal.com/epl-to-pdf/ · hello@rotomal.com