User guide

86 Label Studio User’s Guide
Output destinations
When you run your job, you can send your output (labels and reports) directly to
the printer assigned to your design file, or to one or multiple output files.
To print your output to a file, select Print to File in the Labels block. If you do not
select this checkbox, your output is sent directly to your printer. Inkjet and PCL
Data Stream printer drivers can only print to a file; they cannot print directly to a
printer.
Printers If you decide to send your output directly to a printer, printing can begin right
away— as soon as the first label is composed, it is printed.
However, sending directly to a printer might be slower than printing to a file
because Label Studio may compose faster than your printer can print. For certain
printers, it may be faster to print to file.
Files If you decide to print to a file, Label Studio stores your labels in a print-image
file. Later, you can transfer the file to your printer. If you want to split your
output, see “Create multiple output files” on page 87 for more information.
One file name and the
$job macro
If you output to one file, then specify the one file name. In the Labels block,
either type a specific name for your file or use the $job macro. The macro is
automatically converted to the base name of the job file (without path or
extension). For example, if your job file was named myjob.lsj, your output file
would be name myjob (you need to specify your own extension, for example,
$job.out).
If you use the $job macro in more than one place in your job (for example,
naming your reports), avoid file-naming conflicts by giving the files different
extensions or placing them in different directories. So, in the previous example,
you could specify, $job.prn and your output file would be named myjob.prn.
!
To use the direct-printing option safely, you must be guaranteed exclusive
access to the printer throughout the print run. If you share the target
printer with other work groups, make sure to alert others that you will
need exclusive use of the printer before you begin printing. Otherwise, if
someone else tries to use the printer during your print run, their job may
be mixed with yours and some labels may be ruined. The effects depend
upon your equipment setup.