Printing Inventory Labels

[mm44]

I currently have an PowerApp that supports basic warehouse functions: item lookup, location tracking, etc.  I would like to use this app to provide the ability to generate 4 x 6 inventory labels to prevent the need to walk inside the office and print.  We currently use Easy Label to print a standard 4 x 6 label to a TSC thermal transfer printer.  I would need to replicate this functionality in PowerApps.  In the simplest form, the user will need to enter an item code, quantity and date in the app which will then format the label and send to the TSC printer that is on our local network.

Has anyone created anything similar in the past or know if this would be possible and where to start on the Power platform?  Also open to other suggestions on how to accomplish this on an iPad.

Thank you!

[cha_cha]

Hello @mm44 

Don't have experience but I think you would be looking to use Container control to layout your label, then print it using PDF function since you specify your target size there.

This is the tutorial that I think you can check:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da4do2DxmJE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK3WsjQiqcQ

Not sure about linking apps, between apps but you can utilize Download function on iPad to download it locally to the device and open it separately to send to the printer.

Just in case you want multiple labels, you'd have to use Vertical Blank Gallery with a Wrap count to display labels like you would generate them from the usual label generator.

After that if in case you want to have a barcode, you can watch this video to learn how to use an API with you app:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-GuyDtViXI

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[Runner55552]

Interesting, as I am also involved in inventory work and would like to be able to format and print a label to a printer from the warehouse floor using PowerApps from a mobile device. The best would be send to a blue-tooth enabled label printer. I have done something similar from a different app, but it involved copying/pasting the formatted label from the app into the specific bluetooth label printer app (in this case it was a Brother label printer). This worked ok, and would probably work with PowerApps, but would be good if the label could be sent directly to a bluetooth printer with one command.

[Runner55552]

I am close to getting this working, testing today. PowerApps sends JSON data to Power Automate, Power Automate parses, injects the parsed data into the proper spots in a pre-developed ZPL code for the formatted label, then sends to a label printer on the network using a 3rd party service called PrintNode (has a 30-day free trial). The ZPL code part in flow is working fine, will find out if it works today.

[mm44]

Fantastic!  Would be very interested in seeing a copy of your code and related Power Automate Flows once complete.

[Runner55552]

Success yesterday. I can't share details of the code because it was for a client, but happy to answer any specific questions or share snippets as needed. Two good resources are below.

https://youtu.be/m4Fu9af2h1c

How to Print from PowerApps to on-premise printers (tachytelic.net)

[GlennBullion]

I'm thinking about trying something similar. For printing our product serial number tags we use multiple printers (Sato or Printronix, depending on location), along with an internal MariaDB database and Access as a front end (I know).

Would like to shift everything to Power Apps, if this is a possibility. Will check out the notes in this thread.

[Runner55552]

Yes, this is possible. In fact, I took a complicated system using Access for both front-end and the database itself and converted to PowerApps and Power Automate. Mobile devices on the warehouse floor can now print labels to label printers and can also print larger labels to normal printers (8.5 x 11 stock paper). Fairly complicated, but it works. The label printer required ZPL code, and the stock printing needed a 3rd party connector called Encodian, and a formatted Word document (including dynamic images).

[GlennBullion]

This is pretty much my goal. Ironically, all the power apps and automate stuff is done. If I may ask, how did you go about making your ZPL template? That is all new to me, and I have to code templates for ZPL and Sato.

[Runner55552]

The easiest way is to download the free Zebra software called Zebra Designer (ZebraDesigner 3 Software Support & Downloads | Zebra).  It is a good visual WYSIWYG type software that lets you design the label, then download the ZPL code. After that, I used the code within Power Automate and where needed, substituted in the variables that contained the label data.