i believe it might be a setting somewhere that we could turn on or off

Setup > Company > General Preferences > Show Display Name with Item Codes

thank you michoel

If you want item code alone just for pdf's you can probably create a custom field to source it.

Thansk Micheol, could you point me at some doco on how to that by any chance?

Create a Custom Transaction Line Field, make sure Store Value is unchecked, and configure it to source from the item code. Make sure it is visible in the UI for the form your print template is attached to, and you should be able to use it in the template

great info, thanks Michoel