Comparison
PrintNode invented this category and it works. Here is what we do differently, and — just as importantly — when it is still the better choice.
The shared model
An app next to the printer, a connection that goes out rather than in, and an API that names a printer instead of a network address. We are not claiming a new idea — we are claiming a better version of a proven one.
Not how it is built. It comes down to what happens on a bad day: what a retry does, what a failure tells you, and whether you can find out what happened to one specific label without phoning a warehouse.
That is where we spent our effort, and it is what the rest of this page is about.
Where we differ
Send an Idempotency-Key and a repeated request returns the original job instead of printing a second label. The Station app keeps its own record too, so a job redelivered after a crash or reconnect reports what happened rather than printing again.
Duplicate labels are the most expensive mistake in fulfillment. We did not want every customer to have to build this themselves.
Seven statuses, each defined precisely, including a written statement of what completed does not mean. We will not tell you paper actually came out, because no print service can know that.
You get the real failure reason on the job, not a generic error. See the state model →
Our compatibility list says which Windows paths we have tested on real hardware and which we have not. Our security page separates what exists today from what we are still building. You should be able to rule us out from a web page in ten minutes rather than in week three of an integration.
Launch, Orbit, and Constellation differ only in how much is included. No charge per person, no printer limits, and no features held back — queueing and safe retries are not an upgrade. Failed jobs are never billed. See pricing →
Feature comparison
Our column reflects what we have verified in our own system. For PrintNode, check their documentation directly — we are not going to describe a competitor's product from memory.
| Capability | RocketPrint | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| An app that connects out, not in | Yes | Both products work this way. Neither needs a firewall rule. |
| ZPL, EPL, and ESC/POS sent untouched | Yes | We have checked the exact bytes arriving at the printer. |
| PDF and plain-text printing | Yes | Printed the normal way through the computer. |
| Jobs queue while a computer is offline | Yes | Jobs wait, then print in order when it reconnects. |
| Safe retries with an idempotency key | Yes | Enforced by us, and again by the Station app across restarts. |
| Every job status defined in public | Yes | Including what completed does not cover. |
| Per-key rate limits with Retry-After | Yes | 300 requests/minute, burst 30. |
| Webhooks for job status | Not yet | You ask us today. PrintNode has these and we do not. |
| Printer languages on Windows | Built, not verified | Goes straight to the print spooler. Unit-tested, but we have not run it on physical Windows hardware. |
| Windows document (PDF) printing | Limited | Opens with whatever app Windows associates with the file. A proper renderer is in progress. |
| Code-signed installers | In progress | We are still getting the certificates. PrintNode ships signed apps. |
| Years in production | New | PrintNode has a decade of operating history. We do not. |
Be honest
If any of these describes you, use them. A comparison page that cannot name a losing case is marketing, not information.
Our Windows path is built and tested in code, but we have not run it on physical Windows hardware ourselves. PrintNode has years of it.
If your system cannot check job status itself, we are not ready for you yet.
RocketPrint distributes verified signed installers. Check our download page for platform availability before planning a rollout; Windows signing and Linux distribution are still release gates.
If procurement requires years of uptime history and formal agreements in place, an established vendor is the lower-risk answer right now.
Questions
Probably not on its own. Switch when something specific is costing you — you want safe retries you do not have to build yourself, you want failures that explain themselves, or you want a vendor small enough to answer an engineering question directly. 'Working fine' is a good reason to stay put.
It works the same way: install an app next to the printer, then send a job naming a printer ID. The work is swapping the client call and re-mapping the printer IDs you have stored, then running both side by side for a week.
Yes. It finds printers, and label printing goes straight to the Windows print spooler, so ZPL arrives untouched. Two caveats we would rather state than bury: we have not yet run that path on physical Windows hardware ourselves, and Windows documents (PDFs and text) still open with whatever app Windows associates them with while we build a proper renderer.
PrintNode has them and we do not yet. Today you ask us how a job finished. If your system needs to be called back, that is a real reason to wait for us or stay where you are.
Try both
Install the Station app at one bench and send it the same labels for a week. Nothing about that is disruptive, and it answers the question better than any table.