SBPL Guide & Examples

A concise, practical reference for SBPL — SATO Barcode Programming Language, the language SATO thermal printers use to lay out labels. Copy any example below into the previewer and see it render instantly — no SATO printer required.

Open the previewer →

What is SBPL?

SBPL is a command language for SATO label printers. A label is a stream of commands, each introduced by the ESC control character (byte 0x1B). Commands set the cursor position, choose a font, and print text, barcodes, lines or boxes. Coordinates and sizes are in dots; how big a dot is depends on the printer resolution (203, 305 or 609 dpi — e.g. 203 dpi = 8 dots/mm).

Because control characters are invisible, this previewer shows them as readable chips like <ESC> and <GS>. You can paste raw bytes, \x1B-style escapes, or the <ESC> tokens — all are accepted, and Copy SBPL / Download .sbpl give you back the real bytes.

Quick start

Paste your SBPL into the editor (or pick a built-in Sample).
Choose your printer model and DPI so sizes are correct.
Read the live preview; use Format to tidy the code, Export PNG to save an image.

Command reference

Command	Meaning	Example
`<ESC>A`	Start of label	`<ESC>A`
`<ESC>Z`	End of label	`<ESC>Z`
`<ESC>H`nnnn	Horizontal position (X) in dots	`<ESC>H0060`
`<ESC>V`nnnn	Vertical position (Y) in dots	`<ESC>V0010`
`<ESC>L`hhvv	Magnification: horizontal ×hh, vertical ×vv	`<ESC>L0202` = 2× / 2×
`<ESC>%`n	Rotation: 0=0°, 1=90°, 2=180°, 3=270°	`<ESC>%1`
`<ESC>S` / `U` / `M` text	Print text in a bitmap font (5×9 / … / 13×20 dots)	`<ESC>SHELLO`
`<ESC>X`<sel> text	Print text in an X-series device font (XU, X21–X24…)	`<ESC>XUPATT:`
`<ESC>$A,w,h,r` + `<ESC>$=`text	Scalable outline font: set width, height, rotation, then print	`<ESC>$A,35,35,0<ESC>$=NAME`
`<ESC>FW`tt[Hnnn][Vnnn]	Line / box: thickness, then H length and/or V length	`<ESC>FW02H0400` (line)
`<ESC>BG`…	Code128 barcode (narrow, height, mode, data)	`<ESC>BG02060>B12345678`
`<ESC>BK`…	PDF417 2D barcode	`<ESC>BK…data`
`<ESC>B1`…`data`	Code39 (B0=Codabar, B2=ITF, B3=EAN13, B4=EAN8)	`<ESC>B102100ABC123`
`<ESC>2D30` / `2D50`	QR Code / DataMatrix (also 2D10 PDF417, 2D20 MaxiCode)	`<ESC>2D3006HELLO`
`<ESC>Q`n	Print quantity	`<ESC>Q1`

Note: some parameter details vary by SATO model/firmware; the previewer flags anything it cannot interpret in its Diagnostics panel.

Examples

1. Text & fonts

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0050<ESC>L0202<ESC>SHELLO SBPL   # bitmap font, 2× size
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0130<ESC>$A,48,48,0<ESC>$=Outline Font   # scalable font
<ESC>Z

2. Barcodes (1D + 2D)

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0040<ESC>BG02060>B12345678   # Code128
<ESC>H0050<ESC>V0180<ESC>2D3006HELLO-QR   # QR code, module 6
<ESC>H0330<ESC>V0180<ESC>2D5006DATA123   # DataMatrix
<ESC>Z

3. Lines & boxes

<ESC>A
<ESC>H0040<ESC>V0060<ESC>FW02H0400          # horizontal line, 400 dots long
<ESC>H0040<ESC>V0100<ESC>FW0303H0200V0120  # box 200×120, 3-dot border
<ESC>Z

Paste any of these into the previewer to see them render.

Barcodes supported

1D: Code128, Code39, ITF (Interleaved 2 of 5), EAN-13/8, UPC-A, Codabar, Code93, GS1-128. 2D: PDF417, QR Code, DataMatrix, MaxiCode, Aztec, MicroPDF417.

FAQ

Do I need a SATO printer to preview SBPL?: No. This tool parses SBPL and renders the label in your browser, replacing the printer's command-preview feature.
Is my label data uploaded anywhere?: No. Parsing and rendering happen entirely in your browser; nothing is sent to a server.
How do I type the ESC character?: Paste raw SBPL and it is converted automatically, or use the <ESC> insert buttons in the editor.
Will the preview match my printer exactly?: Layout, sizes, positions and barcodes match closely (using SATO's documented font dot-dimensions). Glyph shapes are an approximation of SATO's built-in fonts.