Zebra RW420 Android SDK print multiple copies avoiding a loop

Question

I'm using the code below to print a bitmap with the Android SDK which can be found at this link: https://www.zebra.com/us/en/products/software/barcode-printers/link-os/link-os-sdk.html#mainpartabscontainer_794f=downloads

//variables
int printQty= 3;
String printerAddress= ...;

Connection connection = new BluetoothConnection(printerAddress);
connection.open();

//for removing the useless margin printed
connection.write("! U1 JOURNAL\r\n! U1 SETFF 100 2\r\n".getBytes());

ZebraPrinter printer = ZebraPrinterFactory.getInstance(connection);
Bitmap bitmapToPrint = large bitmap here;
ZebraImageAndroid zebraImageToPrint = new ZebraImageAndroid(bitmapToPrint);

for (int i = 0; i < printQty; i++){
     printer.printImage(zebraImageToPrint, 0, 0, -1, -1, false); 
}

bitmapToPrint.recycle();
connection.close();

The problem is: the printing process is taking a lot of time because the bitmap is large.
Is there a way to avoid a loop and tell to the printer how many quantity to print without calling printImage multiple times?

i've searched a lot in the documentation but i've not found something usefull, is there a way to achieve this? With CPCL can i achieve the same effect?

Thanks Mat

Answer 1

This how i solved it at the end

int printQty = 5; //or whatever number you want
Coonection connection = new BluetoothConnection(deviceAddress);
connection.open();
//with SETFF command we add 50 millimiters of margin at the end of the the print (without this the print is wasting a lot of paper)
//ref https://km.zebra.com/kb/index?page=forums&topic=021407fb4efb3012e55595f77007e8a
connection.write("! U1 setvar \"device.languages\" \"CPCL\"\r\n".getBytes());
connection.write("! U1 JOURNAL\r\n! U1 SETFF 50 2\r\n".getBytes());
ZebraPrinter printer = ZebraPrinterFactory.getInstance(PrinterLanguage.CPCL, connection);
//get the bitmap to print
bitmapToPrint = PdfUtils.pdfToBitmap(getApplicationContext(), pdfStamped, 0);

int width = bitmapToPrint.getWidth();
int height = bitmapToPrint.getHeight();
float aspectRatio = width / ZEBRA_RW420_WIDTH; //ZEBRA_RW420_WIDTH = 800f
float multiplier = 1 / aspectRatio;
//scale the bitmap to fit the ZEBRA_RW_420_WIDTH print
bitmapToPrint = Bitmap.createScaledBitmap(bitmapToPrint, (int)(width * multiplier), (int)(height * multiplier), false);

//get the new bitmap and add 20 pixel more of margin
int newBitmapHeight = bitmapToPrint.getHeight() + 20;
//create the Zebra object with the new Bitmap
ZebraImageAndroid zebraImageToPrint = new ZebraImageAndroid(bitmapToPrint);
//the image is sent to the printer and stored in R: folder
printer.storeImage("R:TEMP.PCX", zebraImageToPrint, -1, -1);

//create the print commands string
String printString =
        "! 0 200 200 " + newBitmapHeight + " " + printQty   + "\r\n"//set the height of the bitmap and the quantity to print
        + "PW 831"                                          + "\r\n"//MAX_PRINT_WIDTH
        + "TONE 50"                                         + "\r\n"//print intensity tone 0-200
        + "SPEED 2"                                         + "\r\n"//print speed (less = more accurate) 1 2.5cm/s | 2 - 5cm/s | 3 - 7.6cm/s
        + "ON-FEED REPRINT"                                 + "\r\n"//enable reprint on FEED button press
        + "NO-PACE"                                         + "\r\n"
        + "BAR-SENSE"                                       + "\r\n"
        + "PCX 20 20 !<TEMP.PCX"                            + "\r\n"//get the image we stored before in the printer
        + "FORM"                                            + "\r\n"
        + "PRINT"                                           + "\r\n";//print    
//send the commands to the printer, the image will be printed now
connection.write(printString.getBytes());

//delete the image at the end to prevent printer memory sutaration
connection.write("! U1 do \"file.delete\" \"R:TEMP.PCX\"\r\n".getBytes());
//close the connection with the printer
connection.close();
//recycle the bitmap
bitmapToPrint.recycle();