How do I print barcodes using a thermal printer?

There are three way to print barcodes to a thermal printer. Using a standard Windows driver with TrueType fonts that have to be downloaded to the printer is the slowest of the three, but may also be the most economical.

1. The fastest way is to use the printers internal script language to formulate and create the barcode labels. This results in an ASCII text string that is sent to the printer that uses its built in fonts and barcode formats to print the label. Each brand of thermal printers have their own proprietary script language i.e. Zebra has ZPL II, Eltron has EPL, etc. This can also be a pain since you have to learn the script languages and program your application for each of the printer brands that you will support.

2. The second fastest method is by using a program that has been specifically designed for thermal printers. BarTender Pro and BarTender Integrator are label design and printing software packages. They include special Windows drivers for each of the different brands of thermal printers that optimize the output of the BarTender software and take advantage of many of the internal capabilities of the printers. Thus reducing the amount of data that is downloaded to the printer and improving its performance.

   BarTender Pro is a 3rd party label design product with ODBC database capabilities and the Integrator allows you to integrate BarTender's capabilities into your application through an ActiveX control. Both products must be purchased for the number of seats that you are going to install your application on and can get quite expensive if you support a large customer base.

3. The dBest Barcode Font Library is the slowest method but is also the least expensive if you are supporting either many brands of printers or distributing your application to a customer base. By using TrueType fonts, it can support any printer that has a Windows driver and can easily be integrated into your application. However, standard Windows drivers are not optimized and the TrueType font data must be downloaded into your printer. The Professional version is royalty free allowing you to support a wide array of printers with a large customer base with a low cost product.

Please review these products, and if you have any other questions, refer to our Barcode FAQ lists, send e-mail to sales@barcodestore.com, or call us at 303-340-3404.

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