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My goal is to have a Brother QL-800 label printer connected to a Raspberry Pi to automatically print labels through a script.

I have installed https://github.com/pklaus/brother_ql.

It is connected with USB on a raspberry pi 3 with ubuntu bionic server installed. I'm using python 3.0.

When I run it the power led is flashing red and the following error is outputted in the terminal:

INFO:brother_ql.backends.helpers:Sending instructions to the printer. Total: 50650 bytes.
ERROR:brother_ql.reader:Error: Replace media error
ERROR:brother_ql.backends.helpers:Errors occured: ['Replace media error']
WARNING:brother_ql.backends.helpers:'printing completed' status not received.
WARNING:brother_ql.backends.helpers:'waiting to receive' status not received.
WARNING:brother_ql.backends.helpers:Printing potentially not successful?

I have tried it on Windows with P-touch editor and it prints fine.

I have tried with several different images and both using /dev/usb/lp0 and the id of the device:

brother_ql --printer usb://04f9:209b --model QL-800 print -l 62x29 --red test.png brother_ql --printer /dev/usb/lp0 --model QL-800 print -l 62x29 --red test.png

I have also tried to export the binary:

brother_ql_create --model QL-800 --label-size 62x29 --red test.png > test.bin

to export the binary file and then

brother_ql_print test.bin /dev/usb/lp0

I have searched for the error message, "Replace media error" but no one else seems to have the same issue.

Any ideas?

EDIT: It works using the --no-cut option so I double-checked the original image size but it is correct, 696x271. I still would like it to be cut.

Patrik Grinsvall
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  • My guess would be a bad driver. It isn't clear why you're using one from a third party. Check CUPS or download the Linux driver from Brother. – fixer1234 Aug 19 '19 at 08:03
  • I thought brother_ql was writing directly to the USB port but I will try to use the brother driver and report back. The reason I use brother_ql from the first place is I want to automate everything, that is not possible from p-touch. – Patrik Grinsvall Aug 19 '19 at 08:51
  • At least trying the official driver will determine whether it's a driver issue or something else, so you know what problem needs solving. :-) – fixer1234 Aug 19 '19 at 08:56
  • Do you have any example of how to print labels from a terminal using the Linux drivers from brother? That would certainly be the best for me but I have found no other way than with brother_ql. – Patrik Grinsvall Aug 19 '19 at 08:59
  • Just noticed that pklaus claims the Brother driver doesn't support Linux on ARM, so it won't work on a Rasp. Pi. I don't know what the story is with CUPS and ARM, or whether there's a CUPS version for Rasp. Pi. You might be stuck with the pklaus software. Not properly dealing with a hardware feature is typically a driver issue. They claim to support that model, so it might be work posting a bug report. Maybe they can fix it and you'll be good to go. Worst case, if the only issue is the cutter, it's at least something that can be handled. – fixer1234 Aug 19 '19 at 09:05
  • Thank you for your reply! I'm continuing with this issue and will update when I have more information since it probably is very valuable for other users. – Patrik Grinsvall Aug 19 '19 at 10:42

1 Answers1

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Okay, so the issue was the --label parameter. For some unknown reason

--label 62x29

don't work. However, using only

--label 62

Works and is cut correctly.

Patrik Grinsvall
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  • Kudos on solving this, and thanks for posting the answer. In 2 days, you'll be able to accept your own answer by clicking the checkmark. That will indicate that the problem is solved and there's a proven solution here. – fixer1234 Aug 19 '19 at 18:02
  • Thanks man you saved me! As i struggled with the same setup quite a bit I'd like to leave this as a sidenote: If you have the QL-800 and the tape the printer came with, the --red is mandatory. (Note to self #RTFM) – Stoppal Mar 19 '20 at 19:39