diff --git a/backend/app/schemas/template.py b/backend/app/schemas/template.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b1d91e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/schemas/template.py
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+"""Label-template schema describing the layout of a printable label.
+
+A `TemplateSchema` is a recipe for placing QR codes and text on the
+printable area of a Brother tape. The renderer consumes a template plus a
+`LabelData` payload and emits a 1-bit PIL Image ready for the printer.
+
+Templates are frozen at construction so they can be safely seeded as
+module-level constants (see app/seed/templates.py in PR D2).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from typing import Literal
+
+from pydantic import BaseModel, ConfigDict, model_validator
+
+
+class LayoutElement(BaseModel):
+    """A single drawable element — either a QR code or a text run.
+
+    The `type` field discriminates which subset of the optional fields
+    is required. `model_validator(mode="after")` enforces the contract
+    at construction time so the renderer can trust the shape.
+    """
+
+    model_config = ConfigDict(frozen=True)
+
+    type: Literal["qr", "text"]
+    x: int
+    y: int
+    # qr-specific
+    size: int | None = None
+    data_field: str | None = None
+    # text-specific
+    field: str | None = None
+    font_size: int | None = None
+
+    @model_validator(mode="after")
+    def _validate_per_type(self) -> LayoutElement:
+        if self.type == "qr":
+            if not self.data_field:
+                raise ValueError("qr element requires data_field")
+            if self.size is None or self.size <= 0:
+                raise ValueError(f"qr element requires a positive size (got {self.size!r})")
+        else:  # type == "text"
+            if not self.field:
+                raise ValueError("text element requires field")
+            if self.font_size is None or self.font_size <= 0:
+                raise ValueError(
+                    f"text element requires a positive font_size (got {self.font_size!r})"
+                )
+        return self
+
+
+class TemplateSchema(BaseModel):
+    """A complete label template — identity, target app, tape size, and layout."""
+
+    model_config = ConfigDict(frozen=True)
+
+    id: str
+    name: str
+    app: Literal["snipeit", "grocy", "spoolman"]
+    tape_mm: int
+    elements: tuple[LayoutElement, ...]
diff --git a/backend/app/services/label_renderer.py b/backend/app/services/label_renderer.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..da3fbab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/app/services/label_renderer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,127 @@
+"""Compose a 1-bit PIL Image from a TemplateSchema + LabelData.
+
+The renderer is stateless — one instance can serve concurrent requests.
+It does not know the printer or the queue; it only produces the bitmap.
+The printer-backend plug-in (Phase 2 hardware tasks) converts the bitmap
+to raster bytes for the specific Brother model.
+
+Coordinate system: top-left origin, pixels at 300 DPI (brother_ql native).
+The print area is constrained by Brother's per-tape geometry tables —
+see `TAPE_HEIGHT_PX` for the supported widths.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import functools
+from typing import Final
+
+import qrcode
+import qrcode.constants
+from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont
+
+from app.schemas.label_data import LabelData
+from app.schemas.template import LayoutElement, TemplateSchema
+
+# Tape-mm to printable-area pixel-height at 300 DPI (brother_ql native).
+# Source: Brother Raster Command Reference v1.02. Extend as new tape widths
+# are supported by the printer-model plugins.
+TAPE_HEIGHT_PX: Final[dict[int, int]] = {
+    12: 106,
+    18: 165,
+    24: 256,
+    62: 696,  # endless QL tape
+}
+
+# Default label width in pixels — 600 px at 300 DPI ≈ 50.8mm, suitable for
+# typical asset/product label lengths. The actual width the printer receives
+# is determined by the print job; this is just the canvas the renderer
+# paints on.
+DEFAULT_LABEL_WIDTH_PX: Final[int] = 600
+
+
+@functools.lru_cache(maxsize=32)
+def _load_font_cached(size: int) -> ImageFont.FreeTypeFont | ImageFont.ImageFont:
+    """Load DejaVuSans at `size`px (cached), fall back to PIL's bitmap default if unavailable.
+
+    The cache is bounded at 32 entries — far more than any realistic template uses.
+    Repeated calls with the same size return the same font instance without disk I/O.
+    """
+    try:
+        return ImageFont.truetype("DejaVuSans.ttf", size)
+    except OSError:
+        return ImageFont.load_default()
+
+
+class LabelRenderer:
+    """Render a (LabelData, TemplateSchema) pair into a 1-bit PIL Image."""
+
+    def render(self, data: LabelData, template: TemplateSchema) -> Image.Image:
+        """Return a 1-bit image sized for the template's tape width.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: if `template.tape_mm` is not in TAPE_HEIGHT_PX.
+        """
+        height = TAPE_HEIGHT_PX.get(template.tape_mm)
+        if height is None:
+            raise ValueError(
+                f"Unsupported tape_mm: {template.tape_mm}. "
+                f"Supported widths: {sorted(TAPE_HEIGHT_PX)}"
+            )
+
+        img = Image.new("1", (DEFAULT_LABEL_WIDTH_PX, height), color=1)
+        draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)
+
+        for element in template.elements:
+            if element.type == "qr":
+                self._draw_qr(img, element, data)
+            else:  # element.type == "text"
+                self._draw_text(draw, element, data)
+
+        return img
+
+    def _draw_qr(self, img: Image.Image, element: LayoutElement, data: LabelData) -> None:
+        # LayoutElement.model_validator guarantees these are non-None for type="qr".
+        # The asserts document the invariant for readers and mypy; they are NOT
+        # runtime guards (python -O strips them).
+        assert element.data_field is not None
+        assert element.size is not None
+
+        payload = self._resolve_field(data, element.data_field)
+        qr = qrcode.QRCode(
+            version=None,
+            error_correction=qrcode.constants.ERROR_CORRECT_M,
+            box_size=4,
+            border=1,
+        )
+        qr.add_data(payload)
+        qr.make(fit=True)
+        qr_pil: Image.Image = qr.make_image(fill_color="black", back_color="white").convert("1")
+        qr_pil = qr_pil.resize((element.size, element.size))
+        img.paste(qr_pil, (element.x, element.y))
+
+    def _draw_text(
+        self,
+        draw: ImageDraw.ImageDraw,
+        element: LayoutElement,
+        data: LabelData,
+    ) -> None:
+        # LayoutElement.model_validator guarantees these are non-None for type="text".
+        # The asserts document the invariant for readers and mypy; they are NOT
+        # runtime guards (python -O strips them).
+        assert element.field is not None
+        assert element.font_size is not None
+
+        text = self._resolve_field(data, element.field)
+        font = _load_font_cached(element.font_size)
+        draw.text((element.x, element.y), text, fill=0, font=font)
+
+    @staticmethod
+    def _resolve_field(data: LabelData, field: str) -> str:
+        """Read `field` off `data`, coercing tuples/lists to a single ' | '-joined string."""
+        value = getattr(data, field, "")
+        if isinstance(value, (list, tuple)):
+            # Separator " | " chosen for single-line tape labels. If a future phase
+            # adds multi-line text fields, this should become a per-element
+            # `separator` attribute on LayoutElement.
+            return " | ".join(str(v) for v in value)
+        return str(value)
diff --git a/backend/tests/unit/schemas/test_template_schema.py b/backend/tests/unit/schemas/test_template_schema.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..44f338f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/unit/schemas/test_template_schema.py
@@ -0,0 +1,95 @@
+import pytest
+from app.schemas.template import LayoutElement, TemplateSchema
+
+
+def test_template_with_qr_and_text() -> None:
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="snipeit-asset-24mm",
+        name="Snipe-IT 24mm",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=24,
+        elements=[
+            LayoutElement(type="qr", x=0, y=0, size=256, data_field="qr_payload"),
+            LayoutElement(type="text", x=270, y=10, field="title", font_size=24),
+        ],
+    )
+    assert len(template.elements) == 2
+    assert template.elements[0].type == "qr"
+
+
+def test_template_qr_requires_data_field() -> None:
+    """QR element without data_field must fail validation."""
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="data_field"):
+        LayoutElement(type="qr", x=0, y=0, size=256)
+
+
+def test_template_qr_requires_size() -> None:
+    """QR element without size must fail validation."""
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="size"):
+        LayoutElement(type="qr", x=0, y=0, data_field="qr_payload")
+
+
+def test_template_text_requires_field() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="field"):
+        LayoutElement(type="text", x=0, y=0, font_size=24)
+
+
+def test_template_text_requires_font_size() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="font_size"):
+        LayoutElement(type="text", x=0, y=0, field="title")
+
+
+def test_template_qr_rejects_zero_size() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="positive size"):
+        LayoutElement(type="qr", x=0, y=0, size=0, data_field="qr_payload")
+
+
+def test_template_text_rejects_zero_font_size() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="positive font_size"):
+        LayoutElement(type="text", x=0, y=0, field="title", font_size=0)
+
+
+def test_template_app_must_be_one_of_known() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError):
+        TemplateSchema(
+            id="t",
+            name="t",
+            app="unknown",  # not in Literal
+            tape_mm=24,
+            elements=[],
+        )
+
+
+def test_template_schema_is_frozen() -> None:
+    """Templates are immutable after construction."""
+    from pydantic_core import ValidationError
+
+    template = TemplateSchema(id="t", name="t", app="snipeit", tape_mm=24, elements=[])
+    with pytest.raises(ValidationError, match="frozen_instance"):
+        template.name = "different"  # type: ignore[misc]
+
+
+def test_template_elements_is_immutable() -> None:
+    """elements is a tuple — appending must raise AttributeError, not silently mutate."""
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="t",
+        name="t",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=24,
+        elements=[LayoutElement(type="text", x=0, y=0, field="title", font_size=12)],
+    )
+    with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+        template.elements.append(  # type: ignore[attr-defined]
+            LayoutElement(type="text", x=10, y=10, field="primary_id", font_size=12)
+        )
+    assert isinstance(template.elements, tuple)
+
+
+def test_template_qr_rejects_negative_size() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="positive size"):
+        LayoutElement(type="qr", x=0, y=0, size=-10, data_field="qr_payload")
+
+
+def test_template_text_rejects_negative_font_size() -> None:
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="positive font_size"):
+        LayoutElement(type="text", x=0, y=0, field="title", font_size=-12)
diff --git a/backend/tests/unit/services/test_label_renderer.py b/backend/tests/unit/services/test_label_renderer.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0201421
--- /dev/null
+++ b/backend/tests/unit/services/test_label_renderer.py
@@ -0,0 +1,144 @@
+import pytest
+from app.schemas.label_data import LabelData
+from app.schemas.template import LayoutElement, TemplateSchema
+from app.services.label_renderer import (
+    DEFAULT_LABEL_WIDTH_PX,
+    TAPE_HEIGHT_PX,
+    LabelRenderer,
+)
+from PIL import Image
+
+
+def test_render_produces_image_with_correct_height_24mm() -> None:
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="t1",
+        name="Test",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=24,
+        elements=[
+            LayoutElement(type="text", x=10, y=10, field="title", font_size=24),
+        ],
+    )
+    data = LabelData(
+        title="Hello",
+        primary_id="ID-1",
+        qr_payload="x",
+        source_app="snipeit",
+    )
+
+    img = LabelRenderer().render(data, template)
+
+    assert isinstance(img, Image.Image)
+    assert img.height == TAPE_HEIGHT_PX[24]
+    assert img.mode == "1"
+
+
+def test_render_produces_image_with_correct_height_12mm() -> None:
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="t1",
+        name="Test",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=12,
+        elements=[LayoutElement(type="text", x=5, y=5, field="title", font_size=16)],
+    )
+    data = LabelData(title="x", primary_id="x", qr_payload="x", source_app="snipeit")
+    img = LabelRenderer().render(data, template)
+    assert img.height == TAPE_HEIGHT_PX[12]
+
+
+def test_render_rejects_unsupported_tape_mm() -> None:
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="t1",
+        name="Test",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=99,
+        elements=[],
+    )
+    data = LabelData(title="x", primary_id="x", qr_payload="x", source_app="snipeit")
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="99"):
+        LabelRenderer().render(data, template)
+
+
+def test_render_with_qr_element_includes_black_pixels() -> None:
+    """A QR element must produce a non-trivial number of black pixels in its bbox."""
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="t1",
+        name="Test",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=24,
+        elements=[
+            LayoutElement(type="qr", x=0, y=0, size=200, data_field="qr_payload"),
+        ],
+    )
+    data = LabelData(
+        title="X",
+        primary_id="X",
+        qr_payload="https://example.com",
+        source_app="snipeit",
+    )
+
+    img = LabelRenderer().render(data, template)
+    qr_region = img.crop((0, 0, 200, 200))
+    black_count = sum(1 for p in qr_region.get_flattened_data() if p == 0)
+    assert black_count > 100, f"Expected QR to produce many black pixels, got {black_count}"
+
+
+def test_render_resolves_secondary_tuple_field() -> None:
+    """secondary is a tuple — renderer must join the entries when used as a text field."""
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="t1",
+        name="Test",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=24,
+        elements=[
+            LayoutElement(type="text", x=10, y=100, field="secondary", font_size=16),
+        ],
+    )
+    data = LabelData(
+        title="X",
+        primary_id="X",
+        qr_payload="x",
+        source_app="snipeit",
+        secondary=("Color: Black", "Weight: 850g"),
+    )
+
+    img = LabelRenderer().render(data, template)
+    # The text region should not be entirely white (some pixels must be drawn).
+    region = img.crop((10, 100, DEFAULT_LABEL_WIDTH_PX, 120))
+    black_count = sum(1 for p in region.get_flattened_data() if p == 0)
+    assert black_count > 0
+
+
+def test_render_empty_template_produces_blank_image() -> None:
+    """An empty template (no elements) must render a blank white canvas."""
+    template = TemplateSchema(id="t", name="T", app="snipeit", tape_mm=24, elements=[])
+    data = LabelData(title="X", primary_id="X", qr_payload="x", source_app="snipeit")
+    img = LabelRenderer().render(data, template)
+    # All pixels should be 1 (white background).
+    assert all(p == 1 for p in img.get_flattened_data())
+
+
+def test_render_with_missing_data_field_renders_empty_string() -> None:
+    """If a template references a field LabelData doesn't have, render empty (no crash)."""
+    template = TemplateSchema(
+        id="t1",
+        name="Test",
+        app="snipeit",
+        tape_mm=24,
+        elements=[
+            LayoutElement(type="text", x=10, y=10, field="nonexistent_field", font_size=16),
+        ],
+    )
+    data = LabelData(title="X", primary_id="X", qr_payload="x", source_app="snipeit")
+    # Must NOT raise — missing fields render as empty strings.
+    img = LabelRenderer().render(data, template)
+    assert img is not None
+
+
+def test_font_loader_is_cached() -> None:
+    """Same font_size returns the same font instance (LRU-cached)."""
+    from app.services.label_renderer import _load_font_cached
+
+    a = _load_font_cached(24)
+    b = _load_font_cached(24)
+    assert a is b