Version 5.5.0.998

Released: 01/31/2006

The following printer families are supported:

Avery Dennison

cab/Gemini

Citizen

C.Itoh

Datamax/Fargo

Godex

HP

Intermec

Novexx

Postscript

Printronix

RJS

Sato

TEC

Tharo

TSC

Zebra

Any Windows Printer Driver

This version includes the following new printers:

Avery Dennison AP7.t (203 DPI)

Avery Dennison AP7.t (300 DPI)

Datamax H-4212X

Datamax H-4310X

Datamax EX2

Sato CT420DT

TEC BSX4T

TEC BSX5T

TSC TTP-343

Zebra S4M 203 DPI

Zebra S4M 300 DPI

The following changes/additions have been made:

  1. Zebra Printers and Multi-Up label formats

Corrected a problem with some Zebra printers where multi-up labels would not print correctly. This affected any center biased printer where the physical label width was less than the maximum width (for example 2-inch wide media in a 4-inch wide printer).

  1. Format Browser and User Print Rights

Fixed a problem in the format browser that allowed users that did not have print rights to select and print a format.

  1. Printer Configuration

Active X and XML require printers to have a unique printer name. A default name is provided when adding a new printer.

  1. Printronix Clock Support

The internal clock in Printronix printers will be used to create date/time fields on labels. The printer status window now has an option to set the clock in the printer.

  1. New IP Communications Option for IP Printing

A new option has been added for IP network printers. Users can now choose FTP, LPR or RAW printer protocols to access the printer. Previously, RAW was always used. This can be useful for some print server devices that don’t support RAW mode very well.

  1. Tharo H and V series clock

Added option to set the printer clock to match the computer clock.

  1. 2D Symbology display

The screen display of a label format shows the correct representation of the 2D symbols: QR-code, Datamatrix, RSS-14 and RSS composite, and Maxicode.

  1. Windows printers

Fixed a crash that could occur if the Windows printer driver name or comment was too long.

  1. Printer Serial/Parallel port selection

The list of ports in the printer configuration now shows only the ports that actually exist on the PC.

  1. Program configuration and ActiveX

No changes are allowed to the program configuration when the ActiveX server is running.

  1. New Job List Feature

Added new feature that allows the creation of a “job list”. This is very similar to a saved print queue. One or more job lists can be created to print specific sequences of labels. A job list can be opened, and all jobs in the list (or a selected group from the list) can be added to the print queue in one operation.

  1. Long Pathnames

Fixed several bugs related to long pathnames. Previously, there was a limit of 128 characters in the pathname for many of the files used (format files, serial files, etc.)

  1. Re-Enter UserID/Password option

Added an option the configuration that will force users to re-enter their user ID and password when a file is saved from within the software.

  1. Label Print Image Option

Added option to the “Create Print Images” where user can now specify the type of image file to create. Previously, the image of the printed label was always saved as an EMF (Enhanced Meta-File) type file.

  1. ActiveX and Printer Names

Sometimes the ActiveX control would return a blank string instead of the printer model name. This has been corrected.

  1. Conditional Field Printing

Corrected problem where the “Enable Printing” option did not allow for “Conditional” to be chosen in some languages.

  1. Date and Time offsets

An offset can now be applied to date and time fields. The offset can either be positive (into the future) or negative (into the past). Date fields allow offsets for year, month, and day. Time fields allow offsets for hour, minute, and seconds.

  1. TSC printer driver

Added a printer configuration option that allows for the clearing of the printer FLASH memory before each label job is sent to the printer.

  1. Windows printers and “mirror” option

Windows printers can now correctly print mirrored 2D symbols. Mirroring reverses the image left to right.

  1. Database file sharing

Corrected a problem with EASYLABEL database files where a user may get an “Unable to open file” error if another user already had the file opened.

  1. Apollo format downloading and replace files

When downloading a format to the Apollo printers and also creating a replace file, sometimes the field names did not match up correctly. Field names for the printer and the replace file are truncated to 10 characters.

  1. ActiveX ElabelInfo control

Fixed a problem in the ELabelInfo control where printer information was not returned in some cases. The control could not load the printer driver DLL.

  1. Terminal Server and Reseller keys

The “reseller” key type now works correctly when using Windows Terminal Server operating systems.

  1. Database search key corruption

Fixed a problem where the database search keys could become corrupted if the search field was copied and then pasted, or if the search field was part of a multi-field view/change operation.

  1. Tharo H and V series date offset

When downloading formats to printer FLASH memory, a date can be offset by the value of a database field when using the “DATE+n” version of an arithmetic field.

  1. Zebra printer clock accuracy

An option has been added to the Zebra printer configuration that allows for a clock accuracy to be defined. This allows for more accurate times to be printed on labels.

  1. Windows printers and Landscape mode

Corrected a problem where EASYLABEL sometimes did not detect that a Windows printer was capable of printing in landscape mode.

  1. Windows printers and reverse image mode

Windows printers now allows for “reverse image” mode. This will print a “negative” image of the label (white text on a black background for instance). Reverse image will NOT print a valid reverse barcode because the quiet zone is not included.

  1. TSC printer fixes

Cutter offset can now be either positive or negative. Driver now verifies that the printer is ready before sending data. Fixed cutter problems. Fixed problem of graphics being sent multiple times. Corrected baud rates for some printers. Fixed problem where downloaded True Type fonts would overflow the memory on some printers.

  1. RFID wizard

Many changes to make the wizard easier to use and to show more information on one screen. Added DoD (Department of Defense) 64-bit and 96-bit encodings.

  1. New Increment/Decrement options

Added ability to specify a minimum and maximum value for an incremented or decremented field. For example: when setting these values when incrementing the field will only get as large as the maximum value and then restart at the minimum value. This option requires that each label is sent one at a time from the PC.

  1. Avery Dennison RFID option

Added new option for chip protection feature. If this is enabled, then the printer will lift the print head when it moves over the RFID chip to avoid crushing the chip. No data can be printed in the area of the label where the chip is located since the print head will be lifted off the label.

  1. Avery Dennison AP5.4 printer RFID option

The AP5.4 printer now has an optional RFID module. This can be selected in the printer configuration to specify that the printer has the module installed.

  1. Reading an RFID tag

Changed the default retry count to 6 when reading from an RFID tag.

  1. Tharo H and V series job separator

Corrected a problem where job separator was sent after each batch, not at the end of the entire print job.

  1. Tharo H and V series format downloading

Enhanced the format downloading to make it more reliable.

  1. Zebra driver fixes

Corrected some of the font metrics for the internal scalable font. This corrects many of the screen/printer discrepancies. Fixed font assignment for downloaded fonts so as to not collide with the optional printer fonts. Fixed bug where TrueType text fields where not always aligned correctly. Increased maximum label count per batch for many printers. Also fixed the printing of circle fields for some printers. The defined label width will override any width set in the from panel of the printer.

  1. Multi-Source text fields

When adding a multi-source text field, two fields appeared on the screen, one at the correct location, and the other at the upper left of the label. The field image in the upper left was incorrect. This has been fixed.

  1. Field names are 32 characters

Field names were allowed to be up to 32 characters long but the instruction text said that the limit was 10 characters. the instruction text has been corrected to show the correct limit of 32 characters.

  1. Codablock F symbol and Zebra printers

Added ability to print the Codablock F symbol to Zebra printers that support this 2D symbology.

  1. Test print

Test print will not show the print request dialog if only one printer is defined that matches the label format. Also removed the “print to file” option when doing a test print.

  1. Datamax Compress Graphics Option

The “compress downloaded graphics” option now defaults to “No” so that printers with older firmware still work correctly. If you know that you printer has the correct firmware version then this option can be enabled.

  1. Database blank fields

When sending TrueType text fields as a graphic image (when Download Fonts is set to “no”), and a database record had a blank value, then an empty bitmap was sent to the printer. This has been corrected so that no bitmap is sent.

  1. UCC.EAN Composite symbologies

Added the following symbologies: UPC-A Composite, UPC-E Composite, EAN-13 Composite, EAN-8 Composite, UCC/EAN-128 with CC-A or CC-B Composite, and UCC/EAN-128 with CC-C Composite.

  1. ActiveX memory leak

There was a memory leak in the ELabelInfo and ELabelOCX controls. This has been corrected.

  1. Codablock F symbol for Avery Dennison and Novexx printers

Added ability to print the Codablock F symbol to Avery Dennison and Novexx printers that support this 2D symbology.

  1. EASYLABEL database warning

Added a warning message about the limitations of dBase based Non-SQL Database format. They should NOT be used in a Multi-user environment. It is recommended that the Databaseview editor be used since its native structure (Access-.mdb) supports record locking which is necessary in a multi-user environment.

  1. Background label color for Windows Printers

Added the ability to specify a background label color for color Windows printers. This color can be any of the standard system colors or a custom user defined color.

  1. Tharo H and V series Arithmetic fields

When downloading a format to the FLASH memory, an arithmetic field will now be calculated in the printer. This allows for standalone printer to perform math operations in order to create label fields. Data in the arithmetic operation can be a fixed (literal) value, a copied field, or a when-printed field. Math operations are + (addition), - (subtraction), * (multiplication), / (division), and % (modulus).

  1. Wibukey fixes

If the Wibukey fails, the software will continue to operate normally until 7 days after the failure. The software will shutdown automatically if a working key is not plugged in within 7 days after the failure.

  1. Sato RFID

The Sato driver now allows for programming of 96-bit UHF tags in addition to the already supported 64-bit tags.

  1. Picture Field Enhancement

A picture field can now use “Copied” as a source of data. This is useful when the picture file name was “when printed” in another field, and you want to avoid prompting twice for the picture file name.

  1. Converting formats to Windows printers

When converting format files to use a Windows printer, in some cases, the text color was set to white on black. This has been corrected.

  1. Sato M-84 Pro Print Speeds

The wrong print speeds were being sent to the M-84 Pro-2, M-84 Pro-3, and M-84 Pro-6. This has been corrected.

  1. Clock Option for Citizen 7201e and 7202e

Added the option for the optional real time clock on these printers. Previously, it was assumed these printers always had a clock.

  1. Cutter on Printronix Printers

Corrected a problem with the Printronix driver where the printer would cut after every label when ‘Cut After Batch’ or ‘Cut After Job’ was selected.

  1. Datamax date and time fields not printing the date/time

Corrected a problem in the Datamax driver when using printer internal fonts and a printer that does not store the time and date when powered off. If the ‘Set printer Clock’ option was set to ‘no’ then the date and/or time would not be printed.

  1. Windows Drivers for network printers listed under Windows 2000

Problem with the enumeration of network Windows printer drivers under Windows 2000 where sometimes a network printer that was visible from Windows 2000 would not be displayed in EASYLABEL or sometimes a network printer that was deleted from Windows 2000 would continue to be listed in EASYLABEL. This has been corrected.

  1. ActiveX and job status of “waiting”

In some cases, print jobs created through the ActiveX interface would stay in the print queue with the job status of “waiting”. The job could be released for printing by accessing printer status or other printer functions. This has been corrected so that the job is processed normally.

  1. Intermec Status

Added a bidirectional option for serial communications. Setting this option to ‘no’ will allow unidirectional serial communications. This will correct the ‘paper out’ error in the print queue when printing to some of the new Intermec printers that have a status string that is not consistent with older Intermec printers.

  1. Added an XML Generator to Platinum.

The XML Generator enables you to generate XML from a given format file(s). The Generator prompts for the format(s), the number of labels to print, which printer to use, and the variable data used to populate the fields on the format. The XML file that results from the Generator can be used as a template that can be uploaded to and populated from within an XML enabled application. The .Net framework and Windows 2000 or Windows XP is required to use the XML Generator.

  1. Added an XML Monitor to Platinum.

The XML Monitor will ‘watch’ a file directory or TCP/IP port and will automatically print labels whenever an compatible XML file is received. This file drop can be; your E-mail application automatically coping an E-mail attachment to the directory, another application automatically generating the file in the directory or a manual paste of the file into the directory by the user. The .Net framework and Windows 2000 or Windows XP is required to use the XML Monitor

  1. Added Generation 2 RFID tag type.

The addition of this new RFID tag type adds Zebra to the list of EASYLABEL supported Generation 2 printers.

  1. TSC Code 39

When a Code 39 that contained a $, /, +, or % was sent, the TSC firmware would convert these characters to the Full ASCII Code 39 equivalents of /D, /O, /K and /E. TSC released new firmware with a new command that does NOT do this for the TTP-246M and TTP-344M printers. We now use this new command when sending a Code 39 barcode to these printers. The commands for other TSC printers or for a Code 39 with a Mod 43 check digit have not changed. TSC firmware will currently not accept $, /, +, or % for a Code 39 with a Mod 43, this results in a unreadable barcode.

  1. Zebra printers and large batch sizes

When trying to print large batches of labels (greater than 9,999) the batch was split into multiple smaller batches. Most newer Zebra printers support very large label counts. The Zebra printer driver was fixed to use the largest batch size possible for each printer model.

  1. ActiveX, Command Files, and tracking reports by batch

If the “Update tracking report by batch” option was selected for a label format file, the setting was ignored if the format was printed using command files or the ActiveX interfaces. This has been corrected.