Mobile software PDA portable computing solution application developers

Note

If you would like to offer suggestions as to further subject matter, questions or comments, please let us know.

Also Note, that Brendon McLoughlin of Tasc Software also has a Blog, Click Here! to visit the blog now which may contain topics of further interest.

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Choosing the right barcode Labels, Tags or Bands

While everyone knows what design they would like to see printed on there new barcode labels, clothing, asset or carcase tags, event or patient wrist bands.

Few people consider the key factors of a label, tag or band, which may have a major impact on its lifecycle, application, grip, mounting surface, mounting position, transport, transfer, handling, cost, durability, flexibility, presentation, longevity and readability.

Extracted From Brendon McLoughlins Blog using the following URL:
http://gomobile.ie/blog/index.php?id=cf8

Looking at Label Printing Media (And its diverse selection)

When your seeking label printing media, the following can be very helpful to help you locate which media should best match your requirements.

"Zebra provides more than 1,000 combinations of supplies available to Europe, Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent for every budget and need. Most standard 'ZipShip' supplies are shipped within one business day. For specialized needs, Zebra also offers custom-designed media solutions."

Extracted From The Zebra Website using the following URL:
http://www.zebra.com/id/zebra/na/en/index/products/emea_supplies.html

A simple guide on printing bar codes - GS1 Ireland

There are three methods of doing this:

• a) send your numbers to a reputable printer who will print your bar codes on labels
• b) give the numbers to your packaging designer who will incorporate the symbols into your packaging artwork
• c) with suitable software you can generate the symbols on your PC and print them onto labels as you need them.

Note: Be sure to have samples of your bar code symbols verified before they are printed, to check their quality. It will also be necessary to verify a selection of bar codes during the printing process. This can help avoid costly errors being made.

Extracted From The GS1 Ireland Website using the following URL:
http://www.gs1.ie/sections/Products/GS1BarCodes/GettingStartedNeedaBarcode

A simple colour label design specification:

There are three main zones of information to a good label design specification:

• a) The design overview, scale, artwork, visual presentation.
• b) The description, dimensions, colour profile, typeface and font, material, finish and adhesive requirements
• c) The application and deployment requirements

Note: This is a simple sample label design specification outlining a requirement for pre-printed labels which may allow an over printing later using a monochrome label printer. This example is to help assist those who are unfamiliar with how to being the process of drafting a simple colour label design specification.

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How to save on Small runs of colour pre-printed labels ... ( Asset Labels )

With over 10 years experience for some of the major blue chip enterprises, you experience a lot of Enterprise Asset Management ( EAM ) systems from a design, development and roll-out point of view. Depending on how low a level of financial value the enterprise financial control wishes or is willing to achieve to identify, track and trace assets in an enterprise, you may often find the quantity of asset labels required to track all the enterprise assets falling within the 10,000's type range instead of 100,000's type range.

Custom pre-printed labels are easily justified when your purchasing 100,000's of labels, but this all becomes a bit of a gray area when your only dealing with 1,000's.

Based on such Experience, the average enterprise may choose to relate items valued at say less than €50 euros (keyboards, mice, trays etc..) as consumable expenses because of the low value and high turnover and change of ownership. The remainder will be classified as 'Assets' for management. This results in an average of 5,000 - 25,000 assets in your average enterprise management system, each of which may require an asset label.

In some case's, asset labels or tags maybe nothing more than identification, others require enhanced functionality like track and
traceability. But in true enterprise asset management, you have to consider changes of ownership, changes to assigned responsibility, changes in resource, financial or geographical assignment which must include geolocation, globalisation, maintenance and servicing.

On the other hand, your assets maybe checked out to employee's, contractors, customers, maintenance and repair services ... in these cases your assets are in-transit and become representational of your enterprise for example a haulage company may have articulated trailers with covers which include advertising. In these cases, the asset identification may become a opportunity for advertising or branding.

Such considerations can quickly have you designing a corporate enterprise asset label which encompasses a number of components far beyond the identification of the asset.


Consider the following small example of possible design considerations:

• A 'Property of:' or 'Please Return To:' notice
• A series of 'Check Boxs' or 'Ovals' which can be ticked to denote a change in status, location, assignment or grouping
• A human readable bar code containing the asset id
• The company 'Logo' or 'Motto'
• The company 'Name', 'Address', 'Website', 'Email' and 'Telephone'
• The asset description i.e. 'Make' and 'Model'
• The assets alternative ID i.e. 'Serial Number', 'MAC Address', 'Old / Secondary Asset ID'
• The company corporate theme or colour scheme

While all the above can be taken into consideration when printing bar code labels from blank, there is nothing like a little of colour to make a label stand out and become easily readable from a distance and provide a presentation more inline with your company's persona.

Finding a happy balance between keeping the label printing costs down, but arriving where most arrive, usually means you have now arrived at a colour pre-printed label where you may wish to over print ( perhaps ) the more non-generic information as a simple black label printer resin print.

Making use of what is already available to you (or the label supplier in truth) is an amazing way to save money of small runs which are less than 100,000 when you need colour.


The following are some points to be aware of and keep in mind when designing your small run colour pre printed labels:

• Your are work should be supplied as finished artwork when possible and at minimum should be a 300dpi Adobe Acrobat Document (PDF) as single documents for each colour your require.
• If you want the corporate colours to be enforced, establish and communicate these colours (when possible) as 'Pantone' colours.
• If colour in not important, but the image be portrayed is, consider a Gray-scale version of image. You can always Gray-scale the image into one of your corporate colours for example shades of green.

In the case of Assets, these Assets come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and are located in all kinds of environments and are susceptible to many kinds of interference, wear and tear.


The following are some points to be aware of and keep in mind when defining your Label Sizes or Materials:

• Laminate when possible labels when an outdoors application
• Consider paper labels for temporary or when they are themselves being placed upon stationary or documents
• Consider the importance of anti-tamper or tamper aware label materials for valuable or secure assets.
• Keep the bar code identification as big as is possible to greatly speed and enhance readability during an audit.

Saving Money:

• Adding colours adds expenses, adding shapes (check box's) or shaded images instead of full colour images may have a minimal alternative cost associated.
• Keep in mind that the label material colour (background) or the printing colour and both should have little impact on the overall final cost i.e. Red print on a yellow label would normally be classified as a single one colour label print run.
• Avoiding selecting custom sizes which may require new setup costs i.e. Label Cutters and instead request nearest match's to your label size pointing out your flexible allowance ... for example perhaps you can afford to move 1 or 2 mm's on the height and / or width if you can save hundreds of euros on the setup / tooling up costs ( NRE's ).
• If you have to use colours, for example, your corporate colours, why not re-use these same colours in other areas where colour maybe required.
• Most label suppliers will provide a serialisation process for your label designs, this may include Bar Codes, Serial Numbers, Counters and sequential codes. Consider using this service as it has three key advantages which include, a) you do not have to concern yourself with getting a good overprint result, b) the labels can be fully laminated instead of spot varnished c) a spot varnish is often as expensive as adding another colour to your label design, so exchanging a spot varnish lamination is often a money saving bonus.