Print Dialog

After you have completed your template design, you can print your document by using the Print dialog. To display the Print dialog, select Print from the File menu. Alternatively, click the

icon located on the main toolbar.

The Print dialog is a tabbed dialog that contains two or more tabs that enable you to customize your printing environment. After you have made the selections that you want, click the Print button to send your print job to the selected printer.

The Test Print button prints a single item and then closes the Print dialog. You will not be prompted to enter data even if a data source on the template has data entry enabled. Instead, the default data for the data source will be used. If a data source is configured to be serialized, the same data will appear in that field as would appear on the first of a series of printed items.

The Preview button enables you to preview your entire print job before you send it to the printer. Note that only those objects that are positioned within the border of the displayed template will be printed on your items. By displaying a Print Preview of your job, you can easily verify that all of the objects on your template will appear on your items.

Print Tab

The Print tab specifies the printer, the number of items to print, and additional print options.

Printer

The Printer section defines the printer that will print your items.

Name: Specifies the printer that will print your items. Click this field to see additional printers that you can select for the print job.
Status: Displays the status of the print job.
Model: Displays the type of printer that is selected, including manufacturer and model.
Port: Displays the port that is used to communicate with the selected printer.
Location: Displays the location of the printer, which is configured in the Windows Properties dialog.
Comment: Displays any comments that have been entered into the Windows Properties dialog for the selected printer.
Document Properties: Opens the Document Properties dialog, where you can specify additional printer options for the selected printer. Options that are specified in the Document Properties dialog apply to the current document only.
Printer Properties: Opens the Properties dialog, where you can access global printer options for the selected printer. Options that are specified in the Properties dialog will be available to all documents that are printed from BarTender or any other application. These options may also be accessed by selecting the Printers icon in the Windows Control Panel. For more information, see your Windows documentation.
Print on Both Sides: Specifies that both the front and back sides of the printer stock will be printed on. Available only for printers that support double-sided printing.
Print to File: Saves your print job as a file instead of sending the job directly to the printer.

When a document is loaded, BarTender looks for a printer that has exactly the same name (including spaces and punctuation marks) as the printer that was selected the last time the document was saved. If it does not find one, it looks for a printer of the same type (that is, the same manufacturer and model) and uses the first one it finds. If it can find no printer of the same type, it uses the Windows default printer.

The following mini-tabs are also available:

Quantity Mini-Tab

Copies: Specifies the number of copies that you want to print of each document. If you are reading from a database, this setting determines the number of copies that will be printed for each record in the print job.
Serial Numbers: Specifies the number of times the template will be printed with a changed serial number. The starting data is determined by the contents of the data source that has serialization enabled. The number that is entered in the Serial Numbers field determines the length of the serialization sequence, using the starting data and the settings that are specified in the Serialization dialog.

If you are reading from a database, the Serial Numbers field determines the number of changed serial numbers that will be printed for each record in the print job. Available when serialization is enabled for at least one data source in your template.
Copies per Serial Number: Specifies the number of copies that will be printed for each value in the serialization sequence. Available when serialization is enabled for at least one data source in your template.

Opens the Print Quantity Options dialog, which enables you to change the number of copies or serial numbers dynamically through a database, a control on the data entry form, or a VBScript.

Record Selection

Use Database: When this option is enabled, BarTender reads information from the databases that are specified in the Database Setup dialog when printing.
Database Connection Setup: Opens the Database Setup dialog.
Queried Records: Specifies which queried records to print.
- All: Specifies that all of the records that meet the query criteria will be printed.
- First Record Only: Specifies that only the first record that meets the query criteria will be printed.
- Selected: Specifies that of the records that meet the query criteria, only those records that are selected in the Select Records dialog will be printed.
- Selected At Print Time: Enables print-time record selection. All records that satisfy the query will be available for selection at print time.
Selected Records: Specifies which database records to include in the print job. If you specify the records to be printed by using the Select Records dialog or the Queried Records option, this field is automatically filled in with the records to print.

You can specify a series of records manually by entering the records you want into the Selected Records field. A series of record numbers can be separated by using commas: 1,3,7. A range of records can be specified by using a hyphen: 1-3. You can specify both a series and a range of records to be printed by using a combination of the two: 1-3,7,8. Furthermore, you can override the Copies setting by using parentheses: 1-3,7,8,9(14),12-40,41-43(14).
Select Records: Opens the Select Records dialog, which enables you to manually select the records that you want to print.

Options Mini-Tab

Object Print Method Tab

The Object Print Method tab contains options that specify how objects will be printed on a thermal printer when an object type is not directly supported by either the printer or by the printer driver. The options on this tab may or may not be enabled, depending on the printer driver that is currently in use.

Settings

Use Settings for All Documents: Specifies that the settings that are specified on this tab apply to all documents that are printed.
Use Settings for This Document Only: Specifies that the settings that are specified on this tab apply only to the currently open document.

Objects

TrueType Text: Specifies whether to print TrueType fonts as Text Output or Raster Graphics. This setting affects how colored TrueType text is printed when the color is not directly supported by the printer, such as when the printer supports red and yellow but the TrueType font is orange. Choosing Raster Graphics causes the printer to dither (that is, mix) dots of different colors to produce text of the color that you want. For example, the printer would dither red and yellow dots to produce orange letters. But dithered color text can be hard to read, especially with small font sizes. Choosing Text Output causes the text to be printed in the closest directly supported color, so orange text will be printed as either red or yellow, depending on how dark the orange is.
Unsupported 1D (or 2D) Barcodes: Specifies whether 1-D and 2-D barcodes will be printed by using Raster Graphics or Device Lines if the symbology is unsupported by either the printer or the printer driver. If this option is set to Auto, the driver will determine the best printing method.
Lines, Boxes, and Ellipses: Specifies whether lines, boxes, or ellipses will be printed by using Raster Graphics or by using the printer's device settings if they are unsupported by either the printer or the printer driver. If this option is set to Auto, the driver will determine the best printing method.

Performance Tab

The Performance tab specifies how BarTender takes advantage of built-in printer capabilities when you use a Seagull printer driver to run a print job.

By using the options that are found on the Performance tab, you can optimize your printing experience by caching documents and/or graphics to your printer, by using the printer's built-in serialization functionality, and by using the printer's fonts and graphics.

Settings

Use Settings for All Documents: Specifies that the settings that are specified on this tab will apply to all documents that are printed by using any one of the Drivers by Seagull.
Use Settings for This Document Only: Specifies that the settings that are specified on this tab will apply only to the currently open document.

Printer Optimizations

For handling of some less common performance issues, refer to the Advanced Printer and Driver Setup dialog.

Allow Static Graphics: Specifies that BarTender will use the printer's static graphics feature to store the specifications for all raster-type graphic objects that are printed out exactly the same from item to item, including TrueType fonts.
Allow Static Objects: Specifies that BarTender will use the printer's static objects feature to store the specifications for all objects that are printed exactly the same from item to item, whether or not they are raster graphics. This includes printer fonts, barcodes, imported graphics, and TrueType fonts.
Allow Serialization: Specifies that BarTender will use the built-in incrementing capabilities of the specified printer whenever appropriate. This option cannot be turned off when you are exporting a printer code template.
Allow Variable Data Optimization: Specifies that the printer's data merge feature is used to store the document's formatting specifications (object positions, symbology, fonts, and so on) so that only object data needs to be transmitted.
Allow Graphics Caching: Specifies that the printer driver will use the storage capabilities in the printer by keeping track of graphics that have been previously printed.
Allow Template Caching: Specifies that the printer driver will use the storage capabilities in the printer by keeping track of all templates that have been previously printed.
Warn When Using TrueType Fonts: Specifies that BarTender, when configured to print TrueType fonts on a thermal printer, will display a reminder that TrueType fonts can adversely affect printing speed, particularly when you are using a printer that has a serial printer port.

Keep in mind that TrueType fonts are transmitted to thermal printers as graphics rather than downloaded fonts. Because thermal printers can increment data only when it is being handled as a font, a TrueType font cannot be incremented by using the printer's built-in serialization capabilities. If you want to serialize an object on your template and take advantage of your printer's serialization capabilities, you must use one of your printer's built-in fonts.

Printer's Cache Tab

When used with BarTender, Drivers by Seagull have the ability to store (or cache) documents and graphics in your printer and reuse them during subsequent print jobs. This can significantly speed up print jobs, because large graphics and frequently printed documents are sent to the printer only one time.

BarTender has the ability to track items that have been stored in the printer. However, some situations, such as a failed print job or a printer replacement, can cause BarTender to determine that certain items have been stored in the printer for later reuse when they actually have not. If this happens, BarTender might run a print job and fail to send certain items to the printer because it has determined that the items are already stored there. This can result in items that have missing parts or blank items being printed. Therefore, it is recommended that you periodically flush (clear) the printer's cache.

To enable printer caching, you must enable the Allow Graphic Caching and Allow Template Caching options on the Performance tab of the Print dialog.

After you have enabled caching, you can instruct BarTender to flush the cache at regularly specified intervals by using the Printer's Cache tab of the Print dialog.

Automatic Cache Flushing

Per BarTender Session (slowest printing): Specifies that BarTender will flush the printer's cache at the start of the first print job of every session.
Daily: Specifies that BarTender will flush the printer's cache one time at the start of the first print job of the first BarTender session each day, regardless of how many sessions of BarTender you run.
Weekly: Specifies that BarTender will flush the printer's cache one time at the start of the first print job of the first BarTender session each week.
Monthly: Specifies that BarTender will flush the printer's cache one time at the start of the first print job of the first BarTender session each month.
Never (fastest printing): Specifies that BarTender will not flush the printer's cache unless you explicitly click Flush Cache Now.

Flush Cache Now: Clears the printer's cache.

Manage Cache: Opens the driver's Cache Options dialog, which specifies how the printer's cache will be used.

Caching does not work well when more than one computer is configured to print to the same printer. Consequently, all copies of BarTender that are printing to a shared printer that uses caching must have the Allow Graphics Caching and Allow Template Caching options cleared in the Performance tab of the Print dialog.