Specifications

Chapter 3— Designing Bar Code Labels
22 IPL Programmer’s Reference Manual
Introduction to Formats
To print a label on an Intermec printer, you must create a label format,
send that format to the printer, send data to fill in the fields in the format,
and then print the label.
A format is a template that defines how the information prints on a label.
For example, if you want to print a number on a label, the format must
indicate the location of the number, its font and size, and whether the
number has a vertical or horizontal orientation.
You can define a format either by downloading IPL commands or by using
a label generation program. The printer stores the format in its RAM or
flash module. You can use the format at any time. You can call it up to
print labels, or call it up in Program mode to modify one or more of its
fields on the host.
If you intend to regularly reload a format, you can use the temporary
format parameter (*) with some printers. The use of format * results is an
optimal use of flash-based storage memory because the printer stores it in
RAM and deletes it when the printer power is turned off.
Tutorial for Designing and Creating a Label Format
Label formats are composed of several different fields that determine where
and how different types of data appear in the label design. The fields on a
label may differ in size, location, orientation, and data type. You must
define information that you plan to print on the label as a field in the label
format. Once you define the fields, you can pass data into the fields and
print them.
This tutorial assumes that you are using IPL commands.
To design a basic label format
1 Using a label from your roll of media, sketch an example of a format
that you want to create. Your format can include any or all of these
fields:
• Human-readable
• Bar code
• Line
• Box
• User-defined characters (UDCs) or graphics
In this example, you will design a simple label that includes a human-
readable field, a line field, and a bar code field.