Print from FedEx.com using Zebra ZP500 Thermal Label Printer

Joined
Dec 29, 2008
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Has anyone successfully been able to print from FedEx.com to a Zebra ZP 500 thermal label printer using a Mac? I am currently running OSX 10.5.6 on a brand new iMac. I just switched over my entire office from Windows PCs to Mac OS and I am running into a number of issues with software/application compatibility with Mac OS. I need to be able to print thermal shipping labels from our Macs using the Zebra ZP 500.

We run Windows Vista through VMware Fusion however and can print to the Zebra ZP500 via this route but it is not a first choice and it is a very time consuming process. Further I want to be able to share the printer on our network so that others can print shipping labels to the thermal printer.

From the research I have done it seems that Zebra does not make drivers that support Mac OS. I have found a good work around for this problem by purchasing the Peninsula Thermal Driver (Mac Thermal Printer Driver - Mac OSX and OS9, USB and USB to Parallel convertor) product which supports the Zebra printer I have. With this product I am able to add my Zebra ZP500 printer and the Peninsula Driver to support the printer, and I can add the printer to my printers list. I can also successfully print various documents to the ZP500 without issue.

The problem that I am having is that you must print FedEx.com shipping labels by using an embedded "print" button on the FedEx.com website to successfully print just the thermal label. If I go to File>Print it will print the entire page to the printer/label, rather than just the shipping label. If I use the embedded "print" button on the page the printer spits out a blank label.

The FedEx.com website states that you must have Java™ 2 Runtime Environment (JRE) Standard Edition 1.4.1_02 or 1.5.0_03 installed on your computer in order to print shipping labels, however I understand this plugin is for Windows OS only.

Does anyone have any information that will help?

THANK YOU!!!
 
Joined
May 6, 2009
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
Points
1
printing fedex.com

the carrier websites utilize an activex control to print to thermal printers using binary protocols. the labels generated for laser printing cannot be printed via the website - they are setup for half-sheet laser labels.

if you're doing enough volume to justify a thermal printer, you may want to look at third-party solutions which allow for shipping integration so you don't have to copy/paste into the website.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top