Navigator Solutions

Label Printing

Label Printing with Navigator WMS

Navigator is integrated with Bartender, allowing it to produce barcoded labels as part of your standard warehouse workflows.
 
Navigator prints labels in a wide variety of scenarios, including:  
To get started with printing labels from your mobile device you must have:

Navigator WMS and Bartender includes three printer licenses by default. To obtain additional printer licenses, contact your Navigator integrator.

 

Configuring the Printer Hardware

  

Compatible Printers

Navigator requires a TCP/IP enabled label printer, compatible with Bartender Commander (see seagullscientific.com). Compatible printers include (but are not limited to): -

 

 
Note: The printer must be connected directly to the network (i.e have an internal or external print server attached).
 
The printer will require:
- A Fixed IP address (or a static DHCP allocation)
- Thermal ribbon (to print labels which you intend to last more than a few months, including location labels)
 
The configuration of your printer will depend on the manufacturer and model of the printer. You should therefore consult with the manufacturer's installation instructions and with the company supplying your printers to ensure the printers are configured correctly.
  
Navigator requires that you share the printer from the server (this allows you to see if jobs are being created by checking the Windows print queue).
  
 
1. Drivers
 
Download the Seagull Scientific Windows printer drivers from www.seagullscientific.com and install the correct version on your server.
 
2. Share the printer on your server and note the share name given to the printer.
 
 
General Printer Notes:

 

Please consult your printer manual as a primary source of printer information.

Intermec Printers (www.intermec.com)

PF8: Retrieve the IP address assigned by pressing and holding the Feed button while turning the printer on. The status LED blinks green for 2 seconds, blinks red for 2 seconds, and then blinks green again. The printer is accessible via the web interface on the IP address printed. The default username / password for accessing the print server's web page is: admin/pass

  

Installing Bartender

Download and install the Bartender "Trial" from www.seagullscientific.com. Your Navigator partner will provide you with the installation key within 30 days. Note that Navigator requires the Automation Edition.

 

Download and install Seagull License Server. This will be used to store your license key when it arrives.

 

Configuring Commander

There are two steps required to configure Bartender Commander:

 

Note: The folders used by Bartender Commander must be under 8 characters in length and must not contain spaces or other special characters.

 

Navigator uses the following folder structure:

 

C:\Navigator\Commander

 

Underneath this folder, create one folder per label format as follows:

 

C:\Navigator\Commander\Products\DEFAULT

C:\Navigator\Commander\Receipt\DEFAULT

 

If you are running across multiple warehouses, you may add additional folders using the external reference from your Site as the folder name as follows:

 

C:\Navigator\Commander\Locations\BNE

C:\Navigator\Commander\Locations\MLB

 

 

Configure a single Commander Task per folder:

 

    

 
Save the label job, then stop/start Commander to ensure the changes have taken effect. 
 
 

Configuring Printers Inside Navigator

   
Label and document printers used by the WMS need to be added to the system via the System Administration -> System Setup -> Manage Printers menu option.

Editing a Printer

This screen allows the administrator to change settings for the printer. Fields on the Edit Printer Screen include:

ID:

 This is a unique identifier for the current printer.

Site Name:

 Selects the site/warehouse at which the printer resides. Users only see printers at their own site.

Description:

Displayed to mobile scanner users (e.g. Zebra - Front Counter or PF8 -  Production office)

Printer Name:

 The “Share Name” of the printer based on Windows File + Print Sharing. For example, if the path to the printer is: \\MYSERVER\MYPRINTER the printer name is MYPRINTER.

Printer Address:

 The name of the computer / print server to which the printer is attached. This can also be the IP address of the print server.
 
Note: Do not use 127.0.0.1 as the address even if the server running the "Socket Server" is also the print server. Instead, always use the server's name or IP address.
 

Default Printer:

 Determines if this printer be used as the default printer of its type at the site.

Printer Type:

 Options for this field include: DOCUMENT (for printing pick slips or invoices) or LABEL (for printing picking labels / location labels etc)

Output Folder:

 This parameter is not used.

Printer Language:

 For label printers, this field indicates what printer language the WMS should use. For Zebra printers, select ZPL, for Datamax, select DPL. For non-label printers, this field is ignored.

Verbal Description:

 The description to be spoken to the user.

Enabled/Active:

 Determines if the printer is current in use. If this box is not selected, the printer is not displayed to users as an available option.

Print Test Page (Button)

 This will send a pre-formatted page to the printer to assist identifying the printer.

 

 

Configuring Label Formats Inside Navigator

 
From any page in the Navigator system, select System Admin -> System Setup -> Manage Label Formats.
 
To create a new label format, press the New Label button.
To edit an existing label format, click the Edit link next to the label.
 
 

Editing a Label Format

 
This screen allows the administrator to change settings for the printer. Fields on the Edit Label Screen include:

Label ID:

 This is a unique identifier for the current label format.

Label Name:

 The name of the label as it is displayed to mobile and web users of Navigator.

Label Format File:

 

 The Bartender file to be printed. Enter the full path to the .btw file here.
 
Remember that the path must be accessible using from the server using this path.

Output Folder:

The folder created and linked to Bartender Commander, WITHOUT the site component. e.g. C:\Navigator\Cartons. Navigator will drop commander files into subdirectories of this folder named after the "external reference" of each site.

Data Type:

Used to filter label formats displayed to users based on the type of data they are producing.

Label Width:

 Parameter is not used.

Label Height:

 Parameter is not used.

 

Press the Save Label Header button to save your changes.
 
 

Customizing Label Formats

 
To change the format of the labels being printed (e.g. layout), open the file format (extension .BTW) file in Bartender Professional. A complete description of the use of Bartender is outside the scope of this help file - a complete manual is available at the Seagull Scientific website.
 
Note that once you have changed a label format, you will need to stop/start Commander to have the new label format take effect.
  

Selecting a Printer for a Label

Once both printers and label formats have been added to Navigator, you must decide which printers will be producing each label type. Navigator allows the warehouse manager to define a mapping between label formats and the printers on which they are produced. This is done at a site (warehouse) level, and optionally on a per user basis. This method allows label formats to be linked to the correct printer based on the printer's location and the type of media (ribbon and label size) installed in the printer.

 

From any Navigator screen, select System Administration -> System Setup -> Label to Printer Mapping.

 

To create a new mapping, select the Site to which it applies in order to filter the list of users and printers. Select a label, optionally select a user, and a printer name. Press Save to make these changes permanent.

 

To remove a printer mapping, press the Delete link next to the mapping.

 

To use this screen, the user must have the permission PRINTER_MODIFY.

 

By creating a site/label link, all labels of the type specified will be printed to the printer selected. Navigator also allows the combination of label format and user name to determine which printer to use. This method allows a printer to be selected which is physically close to where the user is working.

 

When a user on a mobile computer requests (either directly or indirectly) that a label be printed, Navigator selects the first printer it finds using the process below:

 

If no printer is selected, Navigator returns an error message to the user and no label is produced.

 

 

Selecting a Printer for a Label on the Scanner (993)

It is also possible to change the printer for a specific user and label format via the mobile computer without returning to a PC. From the main menu, run transaction 993. Use this function if the printer you would normally use is not available (in for service, out of ribbon / labels, or too far away).

 

Review Existing Mappings
 
Navigator displays any user-specific printer/location mappings. From this screen you can clear the mapping by pressing DELETE, or press ENTER to create a new mapping.
 
If you wish to change a mapping, please delete the existing link and create a new link.
 
If the list is empty, this means that there are no user-specific links between printers and labels. Each time the user prints a label, the warehouse-level link will be used to determine which printer should be used.
 
Note that to perform this task, you must have been allocated the PRINTER_MODIFY permission.
 
 
Selecting a Label Format
 
Select the label format you wish to change and press ENTER.

Printer Selection

 

Select the printer and press ENTER to create the mapping between the format and this printer. Only printers assigned to your current site will be displayed here.

 

Your choice of printer will be based on the size of the labels loaded into the printer and how far away the printer is from where you are working.
Confirmation
 
From this point forward, the printer/label format link will be used and will override any printer set for the warehouse until it is deleted.
Remove a Mapping
 
To remove a mapping, highlight the mapping from the initial list of labels/printers and press Delete.
 
Removing the mapping only affects the user who is logged into the scanner. After this occurs, when the specified label is printed, the printer set at the site level will be used.
 
Note: If there is no site-specific printer/label mapping, an error message will be generated when attempting to print this label format.

 

Reprinting Labels

Navigator WMS records a history of all jobs sent to Commander for 7 days (after which time they are automatically removed). If the label printer does not print the label due to a misfeed, out of paper or other problem, you can use the Navigator system to reprint the labels.

Open the System Administration -> Manage Label Jobs screen. Navigator displays a list of jobs which have been processed in the last seven days. The Job Name column shows a description of the item being printed (if supplied), while the name of the user who requested the labels is shown in the 'Printed By' column.
 

 
 
To reprint a specific job, press the 'Print' link.
To remove a specific job, press the 'Delete' link.
 
You may also release a series of jobs by entering the start and end job number, then pressing the Print button.
 

If the job is not printing after having been sent several times, click on the link in the 'Log' column to view messages which may indicate why the job failed to print (e.g. the label format file was missing).

 

In order for the reprint function to work, the Navigator Socket server must be running,

 

Relevant System Options:

LABELS_PRESERVE_JOBS_FOR - This parameter (as a number) tells Navigator how many days label jobs should be saved for. The default is seven days.

Troubleshooting Label Printing

As Navigator (using Bartender) is compatible with most barcode label printers, it is impossible to provide information on all possible combinations. If you have an issue printing from Navigator, your internal IT (or contractor) should be able to perform steps 1 to 6. If any of these steps fail, you should arrange to have your IT provider perform an initial investigation.

 

If your IT provider has tested all of the configuration items up to step 7 (and corrected any issues) and you are still having issues, please contact your Navigator integration partner.

 

  1. Confirm that the label printer is switched on, is connected to the network and has labels/ribbons correctly installed.
  2. If the printer is skipping labels, feeding too many labels, or displaying a "paper out" or "ribbon out" type message (NOTE - every printer manufacturer will use different wording.), this indicates an issue with the printing hardware. Please perform a calibration on the printer. If the calibration fails, please re-check that the labels/ribbons are installed as per the manufacturer's instructions. Failing this, please contact your printer supplier.
  3. Confirm that the printer does not have any error lights or messages. As error messages and light colours/configurations may vary between manufacturers, please consult your manufacturer's manual for details.

  4. Check that the Bartender jobs are being displayed in the print queue on the server. If these are being displayed, Navigator is performing its job correctly - the issue lies on the network or printer.

  5. Confirm that Bartender's Commander service is running. See the Services page for instructions.

  6. Confirm that Bartender's Licensing service is running.  See the Services page for instructions.
  7. If printing via a print server or via IP address - confirm that you can ping the IP address from the server. If this is not the case, you should check the printer and/or network settings.
  8. Confirm that the "External Reference" of the Site has not changed in Navigator. Changing this will cause the label files to go to a new folder - you must tell Bartender Commander to look in the correct folder.
  9. Check to see if the Bartender Commander file is being created successfully. These are typically created in the C:\Navigator\??? folder - where ??? is the type of label format you are printing. Underneath this folder, there is usually a folder for each Site. Commander files are called <Random Number>.dd.
  10. As soon as Bartender Commander detects the presence of a .dd file, it will cause Bartender to launch. The file will contain parameters which tell Bartender how to look up the information required for the label. These are typically used as parameters to an SQL Server Stored Procedure.

  11. The file is text only and can be reviewed in Notepad to ensure the correct data is being sent to the printer.

  12. Once printing has completed, the file is deleted. If the files are being created, and then deleted, please check that your printer is online and Navigator is configured with the printer's correct IP address and name.
  13. If the Commander files are not being deleted, sve the 'Log' file from Commander and run the job command from a command line. Bartender may display the issue it is unable to resolve. These issues are commonly:
    1. An problem with the License Server (for example, the License Server has stopped - potentially due to a change in the hardware on the server)
    2. A problem with the label format (for example, the label is using 'True Type Fonts' and the Bartender file has not been set to ignore these warnings)
  14. Bartender is licensed per printer. The default version installed with Navigator allows Bartender to control up to three printers. To control this process, the Seagull License Server is installed. If this software is not running, you will be unable to print barcode labels. The usual symptom seen is the message "Attempting to contact License Server...." when you run Bartender manually and attempt to print a label.
  15. Check the Seagull License Server under Windows Services - ensure that the license server is 'Started'.  See the Services page for instructions.
  16. Confirm that you are not using more printers than the License server allows. The default is 3 printers, although additional printers may continue to work for a "grace period" of up to 28 days.
  17. A common cause of License Server errors is changing hardware in your server (e.g. adding another hard drive or changing a processor). In these cases, a new hardware-specific license key code must be obtained from Seagull Scientific, or your Navigator integrator.

 

Running Commander Jobs Manually

 

It is useful to run Commander jobs manually to see if there is an error in your label format file which is preventing printing from taking place.