To ensure compatibility, please confirm the following:

Follow the instructions that come with your printer to load the label stock, align the print heads, and connect the printer to the network. Follow the manufacturer’s documentation for information about securely configuring your printer. It is recommended that you isolate your barcode printers on their own VLAN/subnet within your network. This VLAN/subnet should only be used for your barcode printers.

Assign your barcode printer a static IP address. Refer to your router’s documentation on how to assign a device a static IP address or reserve the DHCP address assigned to your barcode printer. Be sure to note the IP address of your barcode printer.

Now that you have assigned a static IP address to your printer, you will need to access your organization’s network to set up port forwards. You will need to reference to your router’s manual for instructions on how to do this. This setting is typically called Routing or Port Forwarding. If this is the first printer, the port to forward is 9100. Additional printers added should have this number incremented (Printer #2 is on port 9101, etc.) If your router has the option if the port is for TCP, UDP, or Both, select Both.

Note: The reasoning for the public IP address is so the LASSO application servers can send data to the printer(s). To provide more security, we listed in the set up docs the LASSO IP addresses that will be sending the print commands/data to the printer(s). This allows the client to set up their firewall to only allow the LASSO application servers to send data to that printer port configured on that public IP.

After port forwarding is setup, you can use a port checking website such as “you get signal” (https://www.yougetsignal.com/tools/open-ports/) or “Port Checker” (https://portchecker.co/). On these sites you will enter your public IP address, and the port number assigned to the printer.
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For added security we recommend limiting access to these port(s) to only the following IP addresses. These are the IP addresses that LASSO will use to communicate with your Zebra printer.

CIDRS:

Note, those with more complex network setups, managed infrastructure, or using multiple networking device such as firewalls, multiple routers, etc., consult with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or an IT professional regarding the configuration process. Due to numerous network configurations, LASSO cannot advise on or troubleshoot your internal network.

If you're setting up barcode label printing in LASSO, one requirement trips people up more than any other: your Zebra barcode printer must be accessible via port forward from a public IP address". This article explains what that means, why it's required, and how to make it happen.

For the full barcode setup walkthrough, see Barcode Labels, Scanners, & Container Label Printing.

To print barcode labels from LASSO, your Zebra printer has to be reachable from the public internet. That means:

A private IP address—anything starting with 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or 172.16–31.x.x—won't work. Here's why.

Every device on a network has an IP address. There are two flavors:

Think of it like an apartment building. The building's street address is your public IP. Each apartment number inside is a private IP. Mail carriers can find the building from anywhere in the city, but they can't deliver to apartment 4B unless the building has a system to route mail to the right unit. That routing system is port forwarding, and we'll get to it in a minute.

LASSO is cloud software. When you click "print" on a barcode label, the print job doesn't come from your laptop—it comes from LASSO's application servers, which live on the internet. Those servers send the ZPL print data straight to your printer over the internet.

For that to work, our servers have to be able to find and reach your printer. A private IP doesn't give them a way in—it's invisible from outside your office. A public IP does, which is why we require one.

This setup keeps things simple and fast: no print agent to install, no middleware to maintain, no laptop that has to stay awake and connected for printing to work. You set the printer up once, and any LASSO customer at your company can print to it from anywhere.

Probably not—and this is the most common point of confusion. The IP address you see when you check your printer's settings (something like 192.168.1.50) is a private IP. It only works inside your office.

To find your public IP, go to a site like whatismyip.com from a computer on the same network as your printer. That's the address the outside world sees. You'll need that public IP—combined with port forwarding—to give LASSO a path to your printer.

Most ISPs hand out dynamic public IPs by default, which means the address can change without warning—usually when your modem reboots or your ISP rotates its address pool. If your IP changes, LASSO will keep trying to send print jobs to the old address, and printing will silently break until someone notices and updates the printer record in LASSO.

A static public IP doesn't change. You'll need to request one from your ISP—most business plans offer them for a small monthly fee. It's worth it. A static IP means you set it up once and it keeps working.

Here's the order of operations. Your IT team or an external IT contractor will need to handle most of this—these aren't settings you can change from inside LASSO.

For best results, we recommend isolating your barcode printers on their own VLAN or subnet so they're separated from the rest of your network traffic.

Verify your barcode printer is powered on, connected to the network, and has a “ready” status.

LASSO can only provide minimal support here. Be sure you have verified the above configuration steps. We advise with more complex network setups, managed infrastructure, or using multiple networking devices such as firewalls, multiple routers, etc., consult with your ISP (Internet Service Provider) or an IT professional regarding the configuration process. Due to numerous network configurations, LASSO cannot advise on or troubleshoot your internal network.

No—you need one public IP for your office. Each printer gets its own port (9100, 9101, 9102, etc.) forwarded through that single public IP.

We don't support them. Barcode printing in LASSO requires a network-connected printer that speaks ZPL.

A few options. Some ISPs offer dynamic DNS as a workaround, though we don't officially support it—if your IP changes, printing will break until you update LASSO. You can also look into a business-class plan with a different ISP, or talk to a managed service provider who can layer a static public IP on top of your existing connection.

Based on client experiences, Starlink will not provide a static IP address without having their Business Tier package. A static IP is necessary for printer set up.

Yes, when set up correctly. The combination of port forwarding to a single device, firewall rules limiting access to LASSO's four IP addresses, and isolating printers on their own VLAN means only our servers can reach the printer, and the printer can't reach anything else sensitive on your network.

While not required, adding a firewall does increase success. It's recommended to add a firewall while configuring your network.

While used printers can be half the price, Zebra can be selective about what devices they will continue to support. LASSO cannot guarantee that used printers will be supported. Please purchase at your own risk.

Based on client experiences, Starlink will not provide a static IP address without having their Business Tier package. A static IP is necessary for printer set up.

Network setups vary widely, and we're not able to configure firewalls or routers we don't own. For anything beyond the LASSO-side setup, please work with your internal IT team, your ISP, or an IT contractor.

If you don't have IT support of your own, we have a relationship with a third-party IT company that can assist with additional setup. Their services are billed separately at an additional fee, and LASSO is not involved in that engagement- it's strictly between you and them. Reach out to [email protected] if you'd like an introduction.