ptouch-label

A simple script in Babashka to print beautiful labels with label printers like a ptouch (the script could easily be adjusted to other devices).

Requirement

To run this script, you will need to install the following dependencies on a Debian-based system:

sudo apt install cutycapt
sudo apt install imagemagick

Build ptouch-print (installing from package manager may work properly)

# Download, build and install ptouch-print if not already installed
sudo apt install libgd-dev gettext cmake libusb-1.0-0-dev
git clone https://git.familie-radermacher.ch/linux/ptouch-print.git
cd ptouch-print
./build.sh
ls -l build/ptouch-print 
build/ptouch-print --version
prefix=$HOME/software/ptouch-print
mkdir -p "$prefix"/{bin,share/man/man1}
cp build/ptouch-print "$prefix/bin/"
cp ptouch-print.1 "$prefix/share/man/man1"
sudo chmod u+s "$prefix/bin/ptouch-print"
sudo chown root "$prefix/bin/ptouch-print"

Install

To install the script, follow these steps:

# Install

sudo cp build/ptouch-print /bin/

# You may need to do the following to have ptouch-print in env variable between sessions. You can remove zshenv (and/or bash) or change accordingly to your shell.
sudo echo "prefix=$HOME/software/ptouch-print" | tee -a ~/.zshenv ~/.bashrc
sudo echo "PATH=$prefix/bin:$PATH" | tee -a ~/.zshenv ~/.bashrc
sudo echo "MANPATH=$prefix/share/man/man1:$MANPATH" | tee -a ~/.zshenv ~/.bashrc

How to use

The script comes with three preconfigured templates:

• food-label
• chain

Template System

Templates define how text is arranged on your labels. There are two pre-made templates:

• food-label: Prints a title, date, and label number (template: "t1 d n")
• chain: Prints a list of items, one per label (template: "l1")

Template Arguments

1. Fixed Text (t#)
   • Use -t1, -t2, etc. for text that appears on every label
   • Example: -t1 "Hello" -t2 "World" --template "t1 t2"

Label 1: Label 2: Label 3: Hello Hello Hello World World World

2. List Text (l#)
   • Use -l1, -l2, etc. for lists of items (separated by commas)
   • Example: -l1 "Apple, Banana, Orange" --template "l1"

Label 1: Label 2: Label 3: Apple Banana Orange

3. Special Variables
   • i: Label number (1, 2, 3...)
   • n: Label fraction (1/3, 2/3, 3/3)
   • d: Current date (YYYY-MM-DD)

Layout Control

• Space (" "): Start new line
• Dot ("."): Continue on same line

Complete Example

-t1 "Product" -l1 "Red, Blue, Green" --template "t1.i l1 n d"

Produces:

Label 1	Label 2	Label 3
Product 1	Product 2	Product 3
Red	Blue	Green
1/3	2/3	3/3
2025-01-14	2025-01-14	2025-01-14

Test

bb --nrepl-server

Then cider-connect to port.

TODO

• Add and test more os installation
• Replace package from package manager for node packages
• Check if building ptouch-print is still necessary