White Paper Abstracts |
Innovative Bar Code and RFID Printing Solutions for SAP Users (PDF, 445KB)
Producing bar code output from the SAP™ environment has traditionally been challenging. The specialized, rugged printers used for printing bar code labels on production lines, warehouses, shipping docks and other industrial environments use different command languages than the office printers supported in SAP software. Middleware or printer-specific SAPscript was always needed to get the bar code printer to recognize SAP output. In 2004 SAP simplified what formerly had been a complex task for its customers by including native bar code printing capability in its software, and including a true bar code printer driver for the first time. The functionality is available for mySAP Business Suite versions 4.6c and higher, included with SmartForms, and in the new Interactive Forms product in the SAP NetWeaver™ platform. The bar code printer control language SAP chose to embed in its products is Zebra Printer Language (ZPL) from Zebra Technologies. That means Zebra printers can print labels with data from SAP applications right out of the box with no additional software, drivers, print servers or programming required. ZPL joins PostScript® and PCL as the only printer languages native to SAP. There is no “right” or “best” way to output bar codes from SAP. The enterprise IT and label printing environment and the desired label and forms output are all variables that help determine the most appropriate method for your enterprise. This white paper describes the fundamentals of each method and the conditions where each is most appropriate. The paper will explain the advantages and limitations of different output methods for common SAP usage scenarios, including: direct printing from SAP (SAP Smart Forms); upload Method (SAPscript); Zebra’s upload solution (BAR-ONE for mySAP Business Suite); third-party software for upload; output management software; PC-based labeling software (Middleware). The paper will also describe how to use Unicode-enabled printers to avoid custom forms design to support international charact character printing; and explain how SAP information can be output from mobile and wireless printers.
