brother-label

This is a clap-based command-line application to use your Brother QL-series label printer. It is based on this project's main library crate brother_ql.

You can use the library instead if you want to integrate label printing inside your own application.

🚀 Quick Start

$ brother-label print mylabel.png --media c62 --usb-auto-discover

This will convert mylabel.png to raster command data, auto-discover the first connected USB printer and finally print your label.

Note:

• c62 refers to continuous 62mm regular tape.
• The dimensions of the supplied images need to match the media type

For more information on label roll types and required image dimensions look at the media type documentation

✨ Features

• 🔌 USB Auto-Discovery - Automatically find and connect to Brother QL printers with zero configuration
• 🖨️ Multiple Connection Types - USB auto-discovery, specific model selection, or kernel driver (/dev/usb/lp0)
• 📝 Built-in Test Labels - Generate test labels on-the-fly with Typst, no image files needed
• 📏 28 Media Types Supported - Continuous tape (12-62mm), die-cut labels, and two-color printing
• ⚙️ Flexible Print Options - Configure copies, cut behavior, quality, and high-dpi settings
• 📊 Status Monitoring - Read and display printer status, media info, and error diagnostics

📖 Other Examples

Print multiple images at once

$ brother-label print first.png second.png third.png --copies 5 --media d24 --cut-behavior=cut-at-end --usb ql820nwb

This will print 15 labels total (5 times the specified images sequence) onto circular 24mm die-cut labels.

Note:

• Whereas the Quick Start example used auto-discovery of connected USB printers, here we explicitly specify the printer model (QL 820-NWB)
• We instruct the printer to make a single cut at the end. This is the default for die-cut media types.

Print using kernel device driver

$ brother-label print mylabel.png --media c62 --fd /dev/usb/lp0

This prints via the Linux kernel USB printer driver instead of direct USB communication.

Note: The device path may vary (e.g., /dev/usb/lp1, /dev/usb/lp2) depending on your system and connected devices.

Get the printer status

$ brother-label status --usb-auto-discover

This fetches the current printer status and prints it to your console.

A quick print check using included test labels

$ brother-label print --media c62 --use-test-image --usb-auto-discover

This can be used to quickly check if the whole stack works as intended. It dynamically creates compatible example labels using typst.

🖨️ Supported Printers

You can find the printer support status in the main project's README.

💬 Feedback & Issues

This project is still new and hasn't been tested across all printer models and scenarios. If you encounter any problems, unexpected behavior, or have suggestions for improvements, please report an issue on GitHub.

Your feedback helps make this tool better for everyone!