You will never need an engineer to calibrate a printer again.
Anyone can do it with PrinterCal. Media sensor, darkness and print position, in a couple of minutes, with no ZPL typed and no IT ticket. Works with Zebra, TSC, CAB and Epson ColorWorks printers.
A couple of minutes
Media sensor, darkness and print position. Start to saved, on one printer, without leaving the bench.
Your technician runs it
No printer commands to type, no IT ticket to raise, and nobody waiting for an engineer to arrive.
Four printer brands
Zebra, TSC, CAB and Epson ColorWorks, over Ethernet or USB, on Windows and macOS.
Nothing leaves your network
No cloud, no account, no telemetry. It talks to your printer and to nothing else at all.
See it work
The whole job, start to saved, in 1 minute 56.
Not a mock-up. Real software, a real printer, and the labels it actually produced.
Full transcript
The full narration of the two minute demo film, word for word.
Setting up a label printer usually means cryptic printer commands, a call to IT, or waiting for an engineer. PrinterCal changes that. It calibrates your printer in a couple of minutes, and anyone can do it.
Start by picking your printer. PrinterCal reaches out, identifies the model, its resolution and command language, and confirms it is reachable, so you know everything is right before you print a single label.
First, PrinterCal double-checks the media sensor. If it is not reading the labels right, it tells you to calibrate it now, before you waste a roll of labels.
Next, darkness. Instead of guessing a setting, PrinterCal prints a ladder of options across the printer's range. You compare them on the bench and tap the crispest one. No trial and error.
Now the part that usually needs an expert: getting the print centred. PrinterCal prints a cross on the label. You just read the numbers at the ends of each ruler and type them in. If it is not centred yet, it reprints and you read again, and within a round or two, it is spot-on. No offsets, no ZPL, no guesswork.
And for advanced users, there is a manual option. PrinterCal prints a cross on the label, and you centre it with the arrows, or by typing the offset in millimetres.
When it looks right, print a sample to confirm, then save. PrinterCal writes the settings straight to the printer and keeps a profile, so next time you calibrate this printer, it starts already dialled in.
No ZPL. No IT ticket. No waiting for an engineer. Just a clean, calibrated printer in a couple of minutes.
How it works
Five steps. The software does the thinking.
Open any step to see the screen the operator actually sees.
Identify the printer
Point PrinterCal at a printer, by USB or by address, and it tells you what is actually there: model, resolution, command language, and whether it is reachable.
Check the media sensor
PrinterCal feeds one label and asks whether exactly one came out. If the sensor is not reading your labels properly, you know before you have wasted a roll finding out.
Find the right darkness
Instead of guessing a number, PrinterCal prints a ladder of test labels across the printer's range. You look at them on the bench and tap the crispest one. That is the whole decision.
Centre the print
PrinterCal prints a cross with a ruler along each arm. You read the numbers at the ends and type them in. That is the whole job: PrinterCal does the offset maths and reprints until the print is centred. No ZPL, no IT knowledge, nothing to work out yourself.
Save it to the printer
The settings are written to the printer's own memory and kept as a profile on your machine. The calibration survives a power cycle, and the next time you calibrate this printer it starts already dialled in.
Printers
Works with the printers you already have
One workflow across four brands. If yours is not here, tell us the model.
 |  |  |  ColorWorks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Identify: model, dpi, language, reachable | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Media sensor check | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Not applicable |
| Darkness | ✓ | ✓ (heat) | ✓ | Not applicable |
| Centre the print | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Save back to the printer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Connection | Ethernet or USB | |||
- Identify: model, dpi, language, reachable
- ✓
- Media sensor check
- ✓
- Darkness
- ✓
- Centre the print
- ✓
- Save back to the printer
- ✓
- Connection
- Ethernet or USB
- Identify: model, dpi, language, reachable
- ✓
- Media sensor check
- ✓
- Darkness (heat)
- ✓
- Centre the print
- ✓
- Save back to the printer
- ✓
- Connection
- Ethernet or USB
- Identify: model, dpi, language, reachable
- ✓
- Media sensor check
- ✓
- Darkness
- ✓
- Centre the print
- ✓
- Save back to the printer
- ✓
- Connection
- Ethernet or USB
ColorWorks - Identify: model, dpi, language, reachable
- ✓
- Media sensor check
- Not applicable
- Darkness
- Not applicable
- Centre the print
- ✓
- Save back to the printer
- ✓
- Connection
- Ethernet or USB
Printer not listed? Tell us the model. We add printers on request.
Scope
What PrinterCal is not
It does not design labels. It does not manage print jobs. It does not replace your label management system. It calibrates the printer, and it stays out of the way of everything else you run.
You can keep using the label design software you already have. PrinterCal is simply an extra tool that takes care of the calibration.
Security
It never leaves your network
The only outbound connection PrinterCal makes is to the printer you selected, over TCP port 9100 or USB. There is no update check, no analytics, no licence server and no account to create. It works on a completely isolated network, and your IT team can verify all of that in an afternoon.
- Runs on
- Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) · macOS 11 Big Sur and later (Apple Silicon)
- Talks to
- Your printer only. TCP port 9100, or USB
- Sends out
- Nothing. No telemetry, no update check, no licence check
- Stores
- A small settings file on the local machine. No database, no server
- Needs an account
- No
- Works offline
- Yes, completely
Quality and validation
For quality and validation
PrinterCal changes printer settings. It creates no GxP records, connects to no MES, ERP or LIMS, and prints no production labels. What it writes is a structured activity log of every action it takes: when, who, which printer, what changed, and the value before and after.
Every calibration leaves a record: which printer, which operator, and the value before and after the change. It does not implement electronic signatures.
Real printer output
The labels, not a rendering
Who builds it
Built by Numaco
Numaco AG has been building labelling and industrial automation software from Zurich since 1980, operating in Switzerland and in more than 15 countries worldwide. Forty six years, one specialism.
We are the official partner for Teklynx Codesoft and Sentinel, Seagull BarTender and Loftware NiceLabel, a Zebra Registered Reseller and a TSC Authorized Reseller.
PrinterCal came out of that work. Our engineers spent years calibrating printers by hand on customer sites or supporting customers remotely. This is that, as an app.
Talk to our engineers: +41 76 805 67 79 · info@numaco.ch
FAQ
Questions we get asked
Environment and IT
Which printers does it work with?
Zebra, TSC, CAB and Epson ColorWorks, over Ethernet or USB, on Windows and macOS. The table above shows what each one supports. If your model is not listed, tell us and we will look at it.
Why does TSC say ZPL emulation, and why is darkness not applicable on Epson?
TSC printers speak their own language natively and ZPL through an emulation mode, which is the mode PrinterCal drives, so it is worth checking that it is switched on. Epson ColorWorks is an inkjet rather than a thermal printer, so it has no darkness setting to calibrate and no gap sensor of the kind the media check looks at.
Does it need an internet connection?
No. PrinterCal talks to your printer and to nothing else. It works on an isolated network with no route to the outside.
What does it install, and do I need admin rights?
A single desktop application. It writes one small settings file and nothing else. We can supply it in a form your IT team can deploy centrally, or install it for you on site.
Will it interfere with our label design or print management software?
No. PrinterCal only adjusts the printer's own settings. It does not send production jobs and it does not sit in the print path.
Quality and validation
Do we have to validate it?
That is your determination, not ours. What we can tell you is what PrinterCal touches: printer settings and a local profile file. It creates no GxP records and connects to no other system. Most customers find that makes the answer short.
Does it keep a record of what was changed?
Yes. Every action is written to a structured log, append only: when, who, which printer, what changed, and the value before and after. It does not implement electronic signatures.
Practical
How long does a calibration really take?
A couple of minutes on a printer that is behaving.
Does the operator need to know ZPL?
No. That is the whole point. They read numbers off a printed label and type them in.
What if I would rather just move it by eye?
You can. Alongside reading the rulers there is an arrow pad that walks the print across the label half a millimetre at a time, until it looks right to you. Same result, saved the same way.
What if it does not work on our printer?
Then we want to know. Tell us the model and what happened. Adding a printer is normal work for us, not an exception.
Commercial
What does it cost?
Licensing is arranged as part of your Numaco engagement. Tell us how many printers and sites you have and we will come back with a written position.
How do we get it?
Ask for a demo. We will show it on your own printer, on site or over a call, and take it from there.
Get in touch
See it on your own printer
Already working with Numaco?
Send this page to your usual contact, or call us directly on +41 76 805 67 79.
New to us?
Tell us which printers you have and we will show you PrinterCal running on one of them.