3 Things You Need to Know -
Custom Label Printing with BarTender

Author: Scotty Lee, Content Marketing Manager, Seagull Scientific

 

With the millions of products that exist today, there are key pieces of information that must be transferred through the labels on products and shipping containers. To get set up with the appropriate labels for your products, here are 3 crucial steps to help make sure that you are set up for success.

1. Collect all the necessary information you need for your labels 

First, ask yourself what is the information that you want to transmit through the label and what symbology do you need to encode it? Below is a list of questions that you can use to guide your information gathering.

  • Is this label going to be used strictly in-house or will it be shipped elsewhere?
  • What are the industry standards around labels that you need to be aware of? Examples of industry regulations: GHS, UDI, food allergen labeling, etc.
  • Are there any label size constraints?
  • Where will the label be placed? Proper placement of the label with ample space around it will allow label scanners to read without issues.
  • What kind of environment will the label have to undergo? Some labels can be read even when damaged.
  • What is the symbology that you need to use? Here is a list of label symbologies.
  • What are all the different pieces of information you need on the label? Names, dates, locations, etc.
  • How secure does the symbology need to be?
  • What will the label be printed on? The material the label will be printed on can help narrow down the types of labels that would be best suited for your product.
  • Will the labels be printed in-house, or will they be emailed to a provider?
  • What is the printer brand and model? This is important as you will need the corresponding printer driver installed on your computer to print.
  • How many printers do you have?
  • Are the printers remote at another location or are they onsite?

2. Get Familiar with your BarTender Resources

After downloading the BarTender 2022 installer, run the program and it may take several minutes to complete installation. Occasionally the installer may look like it has stalled, but rest assured it is still working on the backend. Our support portal is a great resource for you to search and find help articles, how-to's, and video guides to assist you throughout your labeling journey.

BarTender installation step-by-step instructions and a video demo can be found here on our Support Portal for Getting Started with BarTender Software.

If you forgot your Product Key Code (PKC), you can log into the Portal and go to “My Licenses” to access your code when the installer requests for the activation code.

Next, download the printer driver that matches your printer brand and model.

Did you know that BarTender has hundreds of templates that you can use and modify to fit your labeling needs? Check out our full label template library!

3. Connect your Data Source to BarTender

BarTender can read information and data from an existing database so importing and creating your labels can be as smooth and automated as possible. Run the Database Setup Wizard and specify the type of database you want to connect to. View the Getting Started with Database Connections in BarTender video to help you connect the BarTender document to your database to import information into your template.

You can select “Print to PDF” in the dropdown options menu to download the file and make sure that your label is exactly how you’d like it to look before sending it off to the printer. If you have any questions, check out our support portal or contact our support team.

Learn more about data sources in the overview of data sources video.

Our technical support team has also put together a guide for working with data sources.

 

 

 

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