W h i t e P a p e r. Encoding RFID Tags Generating RFID Smart Labels using Windows Drivers by Seagull

Transcription

1 W h i t e P a p e r Encoding RFID Tags Generating RFID Smart Labels using Windows Drivers by Seagull

2 Introduction Seagull Scientific has released a variety of Windows Printer Drivers that can encode the RFID Tags contained in smart labels while they are being printed. As of April 9, 2004, the supported RFID-capable printer models and tag standards are: Manufacturer Printer Models Supported Tags Datamax Monarch I-4210, I-4212, I-4308, I-4406, I (200 & 300 dpi) ISO (Includes Tag-it HF-I and I-CODE SLI) ISO (Includes Tag-it HF-I and I-CODE SLI), EPC HF (64 and 96 bit) Printronix T-5204e, T-5304e EPC UHF (both 64 and 96 bit) SATO CL408e RFID, CL412e RFID, MR400e RFID, MR410e RFID Tag-it HF, I-CODE1, Tag-it HF-I, I-CODE SLI TEC SX4 & SX5 (all variants) Tag-it HF and I-CODE1 R-140 Tag-it HF and I-CODE1 Zebra R402 R4M Plus (200 & 300 dpi) Tag-it HF, I-CODE1, Picotag, ISO (Includes Tag-it HF-I and I-CODE SLI) EPC UHF (both 64 and 96 bit) We have been updating the number and variety of supported RFID-capable printers frequently. If your RFID-capable printer is not listed above, check our web site for the latest version of this document or contact Seagull Scientific. Support for your printer may have been developed since the last time this document was updated. Before you start, you will need: Your RFID printer connected to your PC Labels with embedded RFID tags A licensed version of BarTender label printing software installed on your PC The right Seagull Windows Driver (version 6.7 or later) for your RFID printer installed on your PC Please note: The RFID fonts in Drivers by Seagull will work with any standard Windows application but are only available if a licensed version of BarTender is installed on the system. Page 2

3 Setting up an RFID Font in the Windows Driver 1. If you haven t already done so, be sure to install the appropriate Seagull RFID printer driver. 2. In the Windows Control Panel, open the Printers and Faxes folder and right-click the icon for the RFID printer you installed. Select Properties from the context menu to open the driver s Properties dialog. 3. Click the Fonts tab, then click the Font button. Select New RFID Font to open the RFID Font dialog. 4. In the RFID Font dialog you will see many options, but you can usually leave the default settings unchanged. Note on Driver Help: A more in-depth presentation of these options is covered in the driver s help, under the topic RFID Fonts. To access the driver s help, click the Help button on the driver s Properties dialog. Font Options For all four options (Font Name, Character Set, Join Multiple Lines, and Width), the default values will work well in most cases. RFID Options Tag Type: you must select the correct tag for your application, or else the tag encoding will fail. The only tag types displayed are those supported by your RFID printer and driver. Encoding: this option selects how the RFID data will be interpreted before encoding into the tag. Refer to the driver s help for details. (See Note on Driver Help above.) The rest of the options (Write Protect Blocks, Format, Partition, and Start Block) may not require any change unless your specific RFID application demands it. Note to EPC tag users: you should read the driver s help for details on RFID font options that discuss EPC tags..(see Note on Driver Help above.) 5. Click OK on the Font dialog to close it. Click OK on the Properties dialog to close. Page 3

4 Encoding and Printing RFID Smart Labels from BarTender 1. Run BarTender and open a new, blank label format, or any existing format that you want to convert to an RFID label. 2. Select the RFID printer driver: a. Click the Print button,, on the toolbar, or select Print on the File menu to open the Print dialog. b. Open the Name drop down list and select your RFID printer. c. Click the Close button. 3. Click the text button,, on the toolbar, or select Text on the Create menu, then click anywhere in the label design area to create the RFID data text object. A default font name will appear in the font name drop down list in the BarTender toolbar. 4. Open the font name drop down list and select the name of the RFID font you defined when setting up your printer driver. If you left the font name unchanged when you defined it, then the name will be of the format <printer manufacturer> New RFID Font. Note: this RFID font is used only to encode RFID tags and will not appear on the printed label, although it can be seen in the Print Preview. 5. You may specify any data for the text object, just as you would for a regular text object. When you print your label design, the RFID tag will be encoded with the data assigned to this object. Note for EPC Tag Users: EPC-specific options Format and Partition, which may be required for proper data formatting, are supported by BarTender features. For example, using BarTender s text substring feature (in Professional and Enterprise Editions), you can conveniently collect data from multiple sources (including multiple databases), separate the different data strings with semicolons, and merge them all into one long data string which can be encoded into the EPC tag. Important Note: Ensure that only the data you want to encode in the RFID tag is set to use the RFID font. If you have multiple text objects formatted to use the RFID font, the text for all of those objects will be combined and encoded into the same tag. Page 4

5 Using your RFID font for printing from other Windows Applications The RFID fonts in Drivers by Seagull will work with any standard Windows application but are only available if a licensed version of BarTender is installed on the system. 1. Select your RFID-capable printer as the active printer from within your application: a. From within your application, find the printer selection feature and select your RFID printer as the printer for your application. Usually you can find this by clicking Print on the File menu. b. Alternatively, before opening your application, set your RFID printer as the default printer. To do this, open the Printers and Faxes folder in the Windows Control Panel, right-click your RFID printer icon, and select Set as Default Printer. 2. Make any necessary changes to the dimensions of your document (such as page size and margins) so your RFID printer can print labels properly. 3. At print time, the data that is set to use the RFID font will be encoded into the RFID tag. Important Note: Ensure that only the data you want to encode in the RFID tag is set to use the RFID font. If you have multiple text objects formatted to use the RFID font, the text for all of those objects will be combined and encoded into the same tag. Page 5

6 Available Seagull White Papers General White Papers The Advantage of Drivers by Seagull Choosing the Right BarTender Edition What s New in BarTender 7.10 Integration White Papers Integration Overview Getting Started with ActiveX Automation Commander Commander Examples Exporting Printer Code Templates SAP Integration White Papers SAP Integration Methods Reading SAP IDocs Miscellaneous White Papers BarTender Enterprise Licensing Printing Foreign Text Using BarTender For downloadable versions, visit: Seagull Scientific, Inc. Seagull Scientific Europe, Inc. Seagull Scientific Asia-Pacific, Inc. (World Headquarters) Madrid, Spain Taipei, Taiwan Bellevue, WA, USA Sales: (Main) Sales: (Main) Sales: (UK Branch) (Japan Branch) (USA & Canada) eurosales@seagullscientific.com asiasales@seagullscientific.com sales@seagullscientific.com Fax: Fax: Fax: Tech Support: Tech Support: Tech Support: Version: :41 Copyright 2004 Seagull Scientific, Inc