Developer 2025

Brother P-Touch Label Designer

A self-hosted web service for designing and printing labels on Brother QL label printers. Features a responsive web GUI with live preview, font selection, label size configuration, and direct USB/network printing. Deployed locally via Python or Docker for zero-cost label printing across the office.

Python Flask (Bottle) Brother QL SDK PIL/Pillow HTML/CSS REST API Docker
Screenshots

Label Designer Interface

Desktop Label Designer Desktop Label Designer
Mobile-Responsive Design Mobile-Responsive Design
Features

Key Features

Web GUI Label Designer

WYSIWYG label design in the browser with live preview. Type your text, pick a font and size, and see exactly what will print before sending it to the printer.

REST API

Programmatic label printing via the /api/print/text endpoint. Integrate label printing into any workflow, script, or automation pipeline.

Font System

Auto-detects all system fonts via fontconfig with full TTF/OTF support. Every font installed on the host machine is instantly available in the label designer dropdown.

Multi-Printer Support

Compatible with QL-500 through QL-1060N models. Connects via USB for local printers or TCP for network-attached Brother QL printers.

Docker Ready

Pre-built Docker image for one-command deployment. Run docker pull and you are printing labels in under a minute.

Label Size Config

Supports all Brother QL label sizes from 12mm to 62mm, including both die-cut and endless (continuous) roll formats.

Architecture

System Architecture

graph LR subgraph User Interfaces Browser[Browser GUI] APIClient[API Client] end subgraph Web Server Bottle[Bottle Web Server] REST[REST API Endpoint] end subgraph Print Pipeline Pillow[PIL/Pillow Renderer] SDK[Brother QL SDK] end subgraph Output USB[USB Connection] TCP[TCP/Network] Printer[Brother QL Printer] end Browser --> Bottle APIClient --> REST Bottle --> Pillow REST --> Pillow Pillow --> SDK SDK --> USB SDK --> TCP USB --> Printer TCP --> Printer

The browser GUI and REST API both feed into the same print pipeline. Text is rendered into a label image using PIL/Pillow with the selected font, size, and alignment. The Brother QL SDK converts the image into the printer's raster instruction format and sends it over USB or TCP.

API

API Usage

Print labels programmatically with a single HTTP GET request. Pass your text, font size, and font family as query parameters.

Print a label via REST API Bash 
curl "http://localhost:8013/api/print/text?text=Hello%20World&font_size=100&font_family=Helvetica"
By the Numbers

Project Stats

11
Printer Models
QL-500 through QL-1060N supported
20+
Label Sizes
Die-cut and endless roll formats
$0
Cost
Self-hosted, replaces $40/mo Dymo Connect
REST
API
Full automation via HTTP endpoint
Resources

Downloads & Resources

Access the source code and Docker image to run the label designer on your own machine.

Source Code

Fork/deployment of the open-source brother_ql_web project. Clone, configure your printer model and label size, and start printing.

Python Fork / Deployment
View on GitHub

Docker Image

Pre-built container image for one-command deployment. Mount your USB device and start printing in seconds.

Docker Hub docker pull
Pull the image Docker 
docker pull pklaus/brother_ql_web