Supported printers and scales: what to buy for Docklify

Docklify talks to your bench hardware through Device Hub, and it is firm about two things: label printers must speak ZPL, and scales must be able to send their readings to the computer. This guide lists exactly what is supported, what is not, and the pre-purchase checklist for each device.

A warehouse device can be excellent and still be useless with Docklify — if it speaks the wrong language. Label printers and scales are the two purchases where buyers get burned most often, so this page is the one source of truth: what Docklify supports today, what it does not, and what to check on a spec sheet before you pay. For choosing between models (speed, volume, price), see the “Label printers” and “Scales in the warehouse” guides in this same section; the connection steps for a device you already own are in those guides and in the Device Hub steps of the shipments guide.

Printers: two different jobs, two different machines#

Docklify prints two kinds of paper. Labels — carrier waybills, location labels, pallet LPNs, UCC case labels — are sent as printer instructions (ZPL) and need a label printer. Documents — packing lists, bills of lading, pick lists — are regular PDF pages and need a regular office printer. One cannot do the other’s job: a regular printer cannot act on label instructions, and a label printer cannot print a full-page document. Most packing benches end up with one of each.

Label printers: the machine must speak ZPL

• Printing language: ZPL. Docklify sends labels as ZPL (Zebra Programming Language). The spec sheet or manual must say ZPL is supported — Zebra’s own label printers speak it natively; other brands qualify only if they list ZPL or ZPL emulation. This is the first check: no ZPL, no Docklify labels.
• Resolution: 203 dpi. Docklify’s labels are designed at 203 dpi, so a 203 dpi printer prints them at exactly the right size. A 300 dpi model is not “sharper” here — the same label comes out about a third smaller.
• Paper width: at least 4 inches. It must take standard 4×6 inch shipping labels (about 100×150 mm). Smaller 2–3 inch label printers are fine for product barcodes only — they cannot print a carrier waybill.
• Desktop or industrial? That is a volume question, not a compatibility one — both work if they speak ZPL. Under about 500 labels a day per bench, desktop is fine; thousands a day, go industrial. The “Label printers” guide has the full comparison.

Not supported for labels

• Label printers that only speak their own language — for example DYMO LabelWriter models and Brother QL models — cannot print Docklify labels, even if they take 4-inch labels and connect by USB. If the spec sheet does not say ZPL, assume it will not work.
• A label printer added only as a Windows system printer — without a USB-direct or network connection set up in Device Hub — cannot receive labels. Documents are fine through the queue (next section); labels are not.
• Inkjet or laser printers fed with adhesive label sheets are not a substitute — Docklify does not lay labels out as office documents.

Before you buy a label printer, check

1. The spec sheet says ZPL (or ZPL emulation) is supported.
2. Print resolution is 203 dpi.
3. Maximum paper width is at least 4 inches, and it takes 4×6 labels.
4. It has a network port or a USB port — both is best.
5. Direct thermal vs thermal transfer matches how long your labels must stay readable: shipping labels — direct thermal; rack labels that must last years — thermal transfer.

Regular printers: for packing lists and bills of lading

• Any regular printer that prints Letter or A4 pages works — laser or inkjet, black-and-white is fine. Documents are standard PDFs, so there is no special language requirement like ZPL.
• Add it as a system printer on the bench computer (Windows or Mac), and Device Hub prints documents straight to it — packing lists and bills of lading land on the right printer without a print dialog popping up. A network printer that accepts PDF directly (port 9100) works too.
• One catch: a regular printer connected only by a USB cable, without being added as a system printer, cannot be printed to by Device Hub directly. Add it in your system’s printer settings first — that is all it takes.
• No Device Hub at all? Documents still print through the browser’s print dialog, to any printer the computer can see. Device Hub simply removes the dialog and picks the right printer for you.

Before you buy a regular printer, check

• It prints Letter and/or A4 — the paper sizes your documents use.
• It can be added as a system printer on the bench computer — or it accepts PDF over the network.
• Duplex (two-sided) printing is optional: Docklify can ask for it, and a printer without it simply prints one-sided.

Scales: it must be able to send its reading to the computer#

A scale that only shows a number on its own display can still be used — you type the weight in by hand. For readings to flow into Docklify by themselves, the scale needs a data connection, and it can talk in two ways:

Supported scale types

• Serial (RS-232) bench and platform scales that output continuously. Device Hub has ready-made protocol presets for: Generic ASCII continuous output — this covers most scales that stream text lines, including the Adam CPWplus series; Mettler Toledo Continuous; NCI (Brecknell / Avery Weigh-Tronix); CAS continuous output; and A&D Stream. A different serial scale can usually be covered by the Custom preset, as long as its port settings and text output can be configured.
• USB (HID) weighing scales — the kind the computer recognises as a scale when you plug it in (common among USB bench and postal scales). Device Hub finds them on its own; after adding one, put a weight you know on it once and check the number on screen matches the scale’s own display.
• Scale has only a serial port, computer has none? A serial-to-USB adapter cable is fine — Device Hub treats it as a serial scale.

Not supported

• Display-only scales with no data output at all (most home and kitchen scales). There is nothing for the computer to read — weights from these are typed in by hand.
• Bluetooth (BLE) scales are not supported yet. A scale that only talks to its maker’s phone app cannot be read by Docklify either.
• Docklify does not guess a serial scale’s protocol automatically. If a scale is not in the preset list, use the Custom preset and a test read — if the test read does not produce the right number, treat that scale as not supported.

Before you buy a scale, check

• It has a data port: RS-232 serial or USB. A USB port that only charges does not count.
• The manual has a communications section: it names one of the preset protocols above, or states that the scale streams its weight as ASCII text continuously.
• The scale can be set to output in your warehouse’s unit (kg or lb).
• Capacity and division fit the job — for a packing bench, 30–60 kg capacity with 5–10 g steps is the sweet spot for parcels (see the “Scales in the warehouse” guide).
• If you bill clients by weight, pick an NTEP / legal-for-trade model.
• Computer has no serial port? Put a serial-to-USB adapter cable in the same order.

No new hardware yet? The bench still runs#

Nothing in this guide is a day-one requirement. With no scale connected, weights are typed in by hand at the Packing Station. With no Device Hub, documents print through the browser’s print dialog. What connected hardware buys you is speed and fewer mistakes: labels print in one click on the right machine, and scale readings land in the shipment record without anyone keying them in.

Docklify features used in this article#

• Device Hub: printers and scales managed on the bench computer — download at docklify.com/download
• Print carrier labels and packing lists — SaaS → WMS → Packing Station
• Read a scale at the bench, browser-direct or via Device Hub — SaaS → WMS → Packing Station
• Label and packing-list templates — SaaS → WMS → UCC Templates
• Setup steps and troubleshooting live in the companion guides in this section: “Label printers”, “Scales in the warehouse” and the printer troubleshooting guide