Re: Recommendation for a label printer

We use Printonix printers for our warehouse label printing.

Rich Duzenbury wrote:

On Tue, 2005-06-14 at 17:52 -0400, Carl Galgano wrote:

I have developed a label printing app for the 400.  Multiple font faces, and
a simple bar code.
It works well, and I have been testing printing to my HP5 which is connected
to the AS400 via LPD/LPR.  The remote outq is doing host print
transformation using the *HP5 driver.  The spool file is defined as *AFPDS.

I now need a label printer to print to.  I would like to just be able to
connect it via LPD/LPR to a printer server to the parallel port on the
printer.  We are talking probably a 500-$1000 printer.  I know zebras have
their own proprietary language (ZPL), so I am guessing I need  a label
printer than does PJL???

Two big players are datamax and zebra.  Many zebra's and datamax
printers can be outfitted with a network attachment so that you can
speak to them via remote output queue.  Both have their own proprietary

printer languages.

I like zpl better than the datamax printer language, mostly because you
can completely control it without having to send any special characters
to it.  Datamax print language has some x'01' and x'02' bits that you

have to send.

I am working on a project now that uses the datamax m-class.  I think
it's got a weak selection of fixed pitch fonts, which are necessary on
occasion.  Also, you cannot bold or highlight fixed pitch fonts with the
m-class.

I looked into writing a driver for the iSeries and the datamax, but it
would be time consuming, no doubt.  So, for now, I just code to the
datamax print language when I have to speak to a datamax printer, and
zpl when I need to speak to a zebra printer.



Regards,
Rich