Express Labels Mobile vs LabelForge

Express Labels Mobile is a free Android and iOS app for designing, previewing and printing Brady labels from a mobile device. Users can edit with touchscreen gestures or a QWERTY keyboard, and more than 10 design guides cover formats such as flags, pipe markers, sleeves, tubes and wraps. BradyVoice lets users dictate text for blank or wrap labels, with automatic sizing and formatting. Image-to-Text OCR converts printed drawings, PDFs and handwritten notes into editable label text. The app imports spreadsheets, text files and Fluke Networks LinkWare Live data. Supported cloud storage includes Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud and OneDrive. Brady Workstation templates can be opened from local files, Dropbox or Google Drive, but LabelMark 6 templates must be edited on a PC. The app connects to compatible Brady printers by Bluetooth or Wi-Fi. It supports barcode creation, compliance labels and variable data printing, but not shipping labels. The listed mobile requirements are iOS 15.0 or later, iPadOS 15.0 or later, and Android 10.0 or later.

LabelForge is a desktop app for designing labels and printing them as ZPL to Zebra printers. Its visual editor previews a label as you work and lets you select, move, resize, and grid-snap elements without editing JSON. Templates can combine text, lines, boxes, and barcodes including Code128, Code39, Code93, EAN-13, QR codes, and DataMatrix. For variable data, import a CSV to print one label per row, or scan a barcode to trigger printing. It connects to network printers over raw port 9100, Windows printers by name, and USB devices on Linux or Mac. ZPL is tested on physical hardware, including the listed ZD410; TSPL, EPL, CPCL, and EZPL are experimental and not verified on physical printers. Other programs can submit jobs through an HTTP server, a watched JSON folder, or the command line. The free plan costs nothing. LabelForge runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS and requires Node.js 18 or later; version 20 or later is recommended.