Initial Setup
In order to start the label design process, users must install the ZebraDesigner 3 software and configure for printing setup. Navigate to https://www.zebra.com/us/en/support-downloads/printer-software/zebra-designer-3-downloads.html and download/run the installer, following the install wizard prompts.
Choose Your Printer
Upon first opening ZebraDesigner 3 and selecting “Create a New Label” you will be presented with a series of configuration screens. The first screen will contain a list of compatible printers; if you don’t see your printer in the drop-down menu, go back and re/install the drivers. Select your printer from the list, then click Next.
Printer Properties
If you click the Printer Properties button, it brings up the same interface as found in the Windows 10 Printer & Scanners menu, when selecting the ZPL printer, clicking Manage, then Printer Properties.
From within this menu you can adjust your printer’s default settings for things like paper size and measurement units.
Set Page Size
The next configuration menu has you select your stock. For our purposes, we’ll assume you’re trying to print on a roll of labels (the printer used for this tutorial is the Zebra ZD410 desktop model).
Select Label Layout
The next menu has straightforward options regarding how the physical label will be printed relative to the print head. The graphics display a preview of the orientation both on screen and out of the printer.
Specify the Label Dimensions
When not configured, the printer will attempt to automatically determine the size of the labels. These dimensions are often inaccurate, so be sure to double check the measurements match what you are expected based on the type of label you intend to print. In our case, we needed to edit both the width and height, since we’re printing on 2x1" rectangular labels. You can also set your unit of measurement in this menu.
Summary
After finishing setup, the software will present you with a summary screen you can use to make sure the settings are as expected.
Confirm the details match with what you entered, then click Finish. You will be presented with a blank label workspace with dimensions corresponding to those set previously.
More in-depth instructions can be found by downloading Zebra’s official user guide
Label Design
Add Basic Label Elements
Along the left side of the screen, you’ll be given a few options for objects to insert into the label.
For an in-depth explanation of each option, please refer to Zebra’s official user guide. Specifically, section 4.
Understanding Provisional Value
The provisional value is what defines the character limit of the text field on a label during the design process.
It’s important to use the longest reasonable value that you can during template design to prevent printing issues later on.
It’s important to ensure this convention is followed to accommodate the use of these fields when values are dynamically generated in ClinSpark.
For example, if the provisional value is too short then characters on printed labels will appear as if they are ‘on top’ of each other.
Make sure the “Auto generated” checkbox is deselected so that you’re able to edit the “Provisional value:” field. The default characters of “??????” should be changed.
Prompt Text Fields
The prompt text field should match the merge tag that is being used to dynamically fill that datafield with data from ClinSpark.
Merge Tags / Variable Text Input Fields
Label templates allow for dynamic population of label fields. This is accomplished using merge tags. Within ClinSpark, you can download a list of all existing merge tags from Barcode Printing > Manage > Actions and choosing the Reference menu option. They can also be viewed from this menu component.
Set Text Variable Type
Within the ZebraDesigner software, whenever you want a field to have its value dynamically populated at print time, you need to use a text field with content type set to Variable Keyboard Input.
Set Prompt Text to Merge Tag
After you’ve set the provisional value, look to the Prompting section and make sure the “Prompt at print time” box is checked. In the “Prompt text:” field, type the merge tag that corresponds with the data you’d like to occupy that field on the finished label.
Do this for all values you’d like dynamically filled at print time, and make sure to double check your merge tags match those found on the downloaded reference.
Saving Label Designs
When you’re satisfied with the design of your label, save the ZebraDesigner template file somewhere accessible so it remains available to for future reference and modification. Following the File > Save/Save As workflow in the ZebraDesigner software will result in a saved .nlbl label file, which should be able to be reopened by the ZebraDesigner software. Foundry Health does not maintain these template files. Sites cannot later download template files from ClinSpark after upload, so it’s important to save these design files in a managed location.
PRN and ZPL
ZebraDesigner can also produce PRN files which contain ZPL codes. While choosing File > Print and selecting the Print to File option will result in a .PRN file full of printer instructions. This PRN file can be used to print the label template without any dynamically populated data to a normal printer or to PDF. This only prints the static information on the label, since the ClinSpark Agent won’t be able to dynamically generate the printer instructions.
Barcode Fonts
The Zebra 0 font is a recommended choice, as it’s been proven to work well across a number of ClinSpark releases and designs. However, label designers are free to choose a different Zebra compatible font bearing in mind the following conditions:
Compatibility with your Zebra printer (try & print the design on all possible printers in your organisation)
Compatibility of the font with the printed contents
Generally these are the Zebra fonts which are selectable in the dropdown list:
We have seen problems with the use of the fonts Zebra B, Zebra OCR A and Zebra GS. These fonts have a limited character set. Zebra B and Zebra OCR A have only upper case characters, Zebra GS only supports a few characters needed for GS barcodes. These potential issues become clear when trying to print a preview from within ZebraDesigner:
Typically, ClinSpark barcodes and label designs work well when using the Zebra 0 (bold condensed) font. Other fonts that we’ve seen successfully used are Zebra Swiss Unicode (Sans Serif) and Zebra C (Courier).
An example of a design with mixed fonts:
Barcode Type Specification
Several factors will determine which standard is best applied for certain labels. Print speed and density settings, barcode and label size, in addition to scanning hardware will influence the decision.
Once a barcode has been added to the label design, the type can be specified. ClinSpark currently will support the following barcode types.
Code 39
Code 39 can be used on larger standard label sizes. It can also be easily read by most barcode scanning hardware, so long as the barcode is clearly printed on the label.
Code 128
Code 128 is preferred on smaller labels and designs, so long as the barcode scanner is capable of reading smaller, denser barcodes.
Interleaved 2 of 5 (ITF)
ITF is a numeric only barcode used to encode pairs of numbers into a self-checking, high-density barcode format. The benefit this design offers is the capability to design a label with a very small barcode and use on smaller label designs, as well as dealing with high printer tolerances (e.g. printing on something like cardboard).
DataMatrix
DataMatrix is a type of 2D barcode which has the capability of being quite small; which is necessary on curved tubes. 2D Barcodes that are too big cannot be scanned because of the depth - of - field of these barcodes. Therefore, Clinspark only accepts designs with 2D barcodes of the type DataMatrix. Other 2D barcodes like QR codes, Aztec, PDF417 are not supported.
Some notes:
When designing labels, beware of this depth-of-field and test the design on the tube itself.
When using mixed labels (e.g., 2 different barcodes on the same tube) remember to configure your scanner to only accept a given type of barcode. Most 2D barcode scanners are having a photographic sensor. They give you a ‘red stripe’ as some kind of indication, but they are actually taking a picture. In the example below you see that the scanner is seemingly only scanning the 2D DataMatrix barcode, but it can actually see the 1D barcode above too. In this case you need to:
Either disable a certain type of barcode that you not want to scan on the scanner in question
Either enabling a focus mode on the scanner. On most Zebra scanners, this is called a ‘Picklist’ option (refer to the Product Reference Guide of your type of scanner)
Most 2D Barcode scanners support these configurations. We encourage you to work with your barcode scanner supplier to define a correct and workable solution for your use-case.
Label Media Type
It is important to specify if Thermal Transfer or Thermal Direct Transfer will be used when printing labels within the printer properties prior to storing your label template to the printer.
Thermal = Thermal Transfer (Using Ribbon).
Direct = Direct Thermal (Not using Ribbon. The media has a heat sensitive coating that darkens when heated)
