BarDIMM FAQ
|
Frequently Asked Questions on BarDIMM |
|
|
Click on one of the following
categories of questions. You can also use the SEARCH engine available from the
top menu bar to enter plain English questions or search for keywords.
1.How to build a barcode ?
2.Printer error messages or
printing problems
3.Printed result errors
4.Using BarDIMM 1.8/1.9/2.0/2.1
from Microsoft Windows
5.Using BarDIMM 3.X from Microsoft
Windows
6.Using BarDIMM from
SAP R/3
7.Other questions
8.Common error messages below
barcodes
9.I
don't have a hp printer or there
seems to be no BarDIMM Pro available for my printer
1.How to build a barcode ?
Q: I Where
can I find some information on the PCL printer language used to call the
barcoding function?
A:
If you are not using SAP, ERPs or Windows you need to know a little bit of the
PCL5 language. You may read the BarDIMm manual and use BDTTGEN to build
automatically the sequences to enter in your application.
Q: I want
to print the Carriage Return (CR) character inside a barcode. how should I
proceed ?
A:
Some barcodes format support full 128 characters set, from ASCII code 0 to ASCII
code 127 (bar codes Extended 39, Extended 93, 128A, 128 auto, EAN/UCC 128 and 2D
barcodes). If you want to print special characters (ASCII code <32) with those
barcodes, a "Transparent Print Data" PCL sequence (<Esc>&p#X, where # is
replaced with the number of following data bytes to put in barcode) must follow
immediately the font selection sequence. This is the only way to know how many
characters have to be printed as barcodes. Please analyze the sample Code EAN/UCC128
test files for more information.
Q: How to
create a German Post barcode ?
A:
To print the code with the correct layout, setup the p parameter with the
value 124 and the h parameter with the value 300 :
<Esc> (s124p300h . . . . T
Q: I can't
access 2D barcodes on my BarDIMM product
A:
2D barcodes (PDF417, DataMatrix, UPS Maxicode) are only available for the
following DIMM-based printer
LJ 4000, LJ5000, LJ8000, LJ8100, LJ8150, LJ4100,
LJ4550, LJ9000, LJ2200:
Q: I am
using SAP R/3. How can I use BarDIMM from my SAPScripts?
A:
BarDIMM is natively supported by SAP R/3. Please consult the SAP OSS notes
and SAPScript manuals. You have access to some OSS notes on this WEB site from
the BarDIMM product page or by clicking on the link below.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW SAP R/3 OSS NOTES
2.Printer error messages or
printing problems
Q: When
I generate a PCL Font List From the front panel of
my hp LaserJet 4100, OCR-A and
OCR-B fonts of the BarDIMM do not appear in the font
list.
A:
This problem happens with the hp LaserJet 4100 font list. The OCR-A
and OCR-B fonts are listed but the name bellow their representation is not
readable or simply not there. This does not affect at all the printing with
OCR-A and OCR-B fonts which are included in the BarDIMM and are fully usable.
Q: I have
a LaserJet 4100 equipped with BarDIMM. When I connect to the printer web page
using my explorer, the printer crashes with a 49.4274 ERROR message, or the embedded
web server disappears. How can I fix it?
A:
This problem happens with the hp LaserJet 4100 when the embedded web server
(the internal web page of the printer) is configured in any language other than
english. To fix the problem, turn off the printer, remove the BarDIMM, start the
printer, access the printer web page using your browser and set the language to
ENGLISH. You can now reinstall the BarDIMM as indicated in the user manual.
Q: I have
a LaserJet 5100DN equipped with BarDIMM. When I print some jobs the printer is
somewhat slower to print jobs. How to fix it?
A:
This problem happens with the hp LaserJet 5100 when the embedded web server
JVM DIMM
(offering an internal web page of the printer) is installed in the printer. The
only way to fix the problem is to remove the JVM DIMM once it has been
parametered through the WEB page (if required): turn off the printer, remove the
JVM DIMM and restart the
printer. That JVM DIMM is only inserted in 5100DN models, so the 5100 works
perfectly without it. Printer configuration can also be performed remotely
without the JVM DIMM using WEB JetAdmin.
Q: I have
a LaserJet 5Si equipped with BarSIMM. When I want to print the PCL font list
from the printer (through the control panel), the printer crashes down. What is wrong ?
A:
This problem happens with the hp LaserJet 5Si equipped with a firmware
earlier than 9.X. If you don't need to print oftenly font lists, there should be
no other problem. You may ask for a formatter upgrade for your hp LaserJet 5Si.
Q: On my
hp LaserJet 6P
equipped with
BarDIMM, the status
page is jammed
A:
When the BarSIMM is plugged into the hp LaserJet 6P printer, the status page is
not always printed correctly. This does not affect the printer or BarSIMM
functionality.
Q: After
installing the BarSIMM/BarDIMM into my printer I get the error message "79
Service".
A:
Verify if the BarSIMM installed is compatible with your printer model. If
you have a hp LaserJet 5Si, please verify the firmware level compatibility (7.X,
8.X or 9.X).
Q:
Barcode data is printed as text, or the
printer goes into “ MEMORY OVERFLOW”:
A:
The printer might not recognize the BarSIMM, and the barcode font parameters
create huge fonts that overflow memory. Please verify the BarDIMM is recognized
by the printer (all information in the “ Testing the BarSIMM ” chapter of
BarDIMM manual).
3.Printed result errors
Q: My
printer is equipped with a BarSIMM 1.8C. My application prints pages using the
hp/GL2 language. If there is more than one page, only the first page is printed.
Why ?
A:
Some applications exit the hp/GL2 mode using an <Esc>E command instead of <Esc>%0A
or <Esc>%1A commands. This created some problems with BarSIMM. This problem is
fixed since the version 1.8E of BarSIMM.
Q: I'm
printing barcodes at the very top of the page, but the result is not correct why
?
A:
As barcodes are printed at the current cursor position from the baseline to the
top of the page, they may not be printed correctly (wrong height or caption text
in the middle of the barcode) if there is not enough room on top of that current
cursor position. Make sure you set the cursor in a vertical position compatible
with the barcode height.
Q:
Under Windows, only part of the barcode is printed:
A:
Windows setting might not be correct, or you are under Windows 2000. Please
refer to the BDRVGEN (BarSIMM driver generator) manual for the list of
solutions.
Q:
A big 'X' is printed on top of the barcode:
A:
Data supplied for barcode is invalid based on the chosen barcode symbology
specifications. The explanation for the error is printed below the bars..
Q:
39 barcode is much longer
than it should be, typically as wide as the page
A: When you position horizontally the cursor using blanks to put the barcode
at the right place, you must send the barcode selection sequence
after sending the space characters to
move horizontally. If you do not do that, the spaces are part of the barcode
data and the barcode is much wider than expected (usually across the page).
If you can only send the barcode selection sequence at the
beginning of the line, use the special 39 symbologies with no starting spaces
(IDs 24670 and 24671). This symbology will not include the starting spaces in
the barcode data.
4.Using BarDIMMM 1.8/1.9/2.0/2.1
from Microsoft Windows applications
Q: I open
BarDIMM test files provided on floppy disk in MS Word, and then print the opened
file. No barcode is printed.
A:
Do not open test files in a Windows application, but copy them to the
printer using the following MS-Dos command:
copy /b <filename> lpt1 where <filename>
is replaced by the file name.
Q: When I
use the Windows driver generator, barcodes are replaced by text.
A: Make sure you are using
a PCL5 driver (and not a PCL XL or PostScript driver). BarDIMM can only work
with PCL-5 printer language.
Q: Under
windows, I don't see the barcode list in my font menu.
A: Make sure you used the
Windows Driver generator for Windows 95/98/NT/2000. This program can be
downloaded from this WEB site.
Q: Under
Windows 2000, the font list includes more barcodes than what I have in the PCM
file generated using BDRVGEN, and some barcode data is printed as text
A: This is because of
a problem in Windows 2000 support of external printer resources (like fonts).
The list of "fonts" is not correctly updated and fonts which have been disabled
are still available in menus.
Windows 2000 creates automatically dummy TrueType representation of
fonts it does not know (like BarDIMM fonts). Therefore, as soon as you integrate
BarDIMM barcode symbologies in the font list, dummy TrueType fonts are created
for display. Windows 2000 does not remove those dummy fonts when you uninstall
barcode fonts, and even duplicate them when you install more fonts. This results
into BarDIMM sequences being replaced by TrueType fonts downloaded to the
printer.Therefore, it is mandatory to first manually remove all Dummy BC_ fonts
from Windows 2000 every time you update the BarDIMM barcodes in the driver
(please read instructions in the BDRVGEN manual).
Q: I can not add PCM fonts to the PCL5
driver
A:
-
Under Windows 2000, only hp
compliant PCL5 drivers can be updated with external fonts. Some drivers do not
allow to add printer fonts. In such cases, we recommend you switch to a standard
hp PCL5 driver (LJ4000/5000/8000). The LJ4000 PCL5 driver from hp for Windows
2000, version 4.3.2.44 has been identified as being compatible with BDRVGEN 2.1
- Under Windows NT, make sure you have at least one PCL5 printer
installed (local installation). Only
100% Microsoft compliant PCL5 drivers can be updated with external fonts. Some
recent PCL5 drivers from Hewlett Packard do not use the standard Microsoft
mechanisms for font registration and therefore can not accept additional
external fonts. In such cases, we recommend to switch to a standard Microsoft
PCL5 driver.
- Under Windows 95/98, only
Microsoft and hp compliant PCL5 drivers can be updated with external fonts. Some
drivers do not allow to add printer fonts. In such cases, we recommend you
switch to a standard Microsoft PCL5 driver (LJ5 or 5Si).
Q : No printer font appears in my font list
A :
Make sure the current printer in the application has been updated with barcode
or MICR fonts. Make sure that you did not activate only the TrueType fonts in
the font menu (Settings/ Control Panel/ Fonts/ Display/ Folder Options/
TrueType).
Q : No barcode appears on the screen
A :
Windows can not display text as a barcode for text. And that would hide the data
value from the user. All data appear as text.
Q : Whatever I try, barcodes or
MICR seem to not be printable from my Windows application
A : Some Windows applications are incompatible with
BDRVGEN.EXE, because of their text handling technique (character repositioning,
TrueType fonts only…). This represents one of the limits of those applications
and BDRVGEN.EXE. Under Windows 2000, the BarDIMM NT /W2K Driver plug-in allows
most Windows applications to use BarDIMM barcoding system (Microsoft Excel,
Word, Access...)..
Q : When I print a document, all barcodes data appear as Arial
A :
You probably have forgotten to reselect the font size, and as the barcode or
MICR symbology is not available with the default size, Windows defaults to
Arial. Under Windows 2000, make sure you remove all dummy TrueType fonts before
updating the PCM file for a driver.
Q : Why can't I resize the barcode from my Windows font menu ?
A :
Windows fonts are homothetic : the width is proportional to the height. This can
not be applied to barcodes symbologies, so BDRVGEN defines the barcodes as
bitmap (fixed size) Windows fonts.
5.Using BarDIMM 3.X from Microsoft Windows
applications
Q: How can I
easily print barcodes from Windows applications?
A: Use the BDTTGEN utility
downloadable from this web site, in the "Downloads -Drivers" page.
-
It can be used from most Windows
applications such as Word, Excel, Access.
-
It canot be used from purely
graphical applications such as MSPAINT, Photoshop etc.
-
Please read the BDTTGEN user manual
for more information.
Q: When I
use the Windows BDTTGEN TrueType font, barcodes are replaced by text.
A: Make sure you are using
a PCL5 driver (and not a PCL6, PCL-XL or PostScript driver) provided with th eprinter
or downloaded from www.hp.com. BarDIMM can only work with hp PCL-5 printer
drivers.
Q: Under
windows, I don't see the barcode list in my font menu.
A: Make sure you first used
BDTTGEN, the BarDIMM Windows TrueType Driver generator for Windows
95/98/NT/2000/XP/2003. This program can be downloaded from this WEB site.
Q : No barcode appears on the screen
A :
Windows won't display the barcode on the screen as they are generated inside the
printer at print time.
Q:
I used to
make PCM files for an older BarDIMM. Can I still use it?
A: Yes,
BarDIMM 3.0 is backward compatible with older BarDIMMs. You can continue to use
PCM files loaded in Windows drivers if you wish. Just note that BDTTGEN provides
a better way to use barcodes from Windows, especially as bars height can be
modified using the font size.
Q: I open
BarDIMM test files provided on the floppy disk in MS Word, and then print the
opened file. No barcode is printed.
A:
Do not open test files in a Windows application, but copy them to the
printer using the following MS-Dos command:
copy /b <filename> lpt1 where <filename>
is replaced by the file name.
6.Using BarDIMM from SAP R/3
Q : Do I need to install anything on my R/3
system to user BarDIMM?
A: No,
BarDIMM is driven standard by SAP R/3 since release 3.1.
Q : Where can I find OSS notes about using
BarDIMM in SAPScripts or SmartForms?
A: The
OSS notes are available from SAP R/3, or in the
BarDIMM OSS notes page.
Q : In SAP R/3, how to insert an EAN128
FNC1 character in the barcode after a variable length application identifier? In
the instructions it says to insert the decimal 129 for FNC1, but what does this
mean in reality?
A: The
value to send is ASCII(129).
The problem is
to be due to symbol set in SAP which is not the PC symbol set. Using ü will not
send ASCII 129 to the printer. Here are two options to get the FN1 under SAP:
The second
option is easy, while option 1 is neater as it doesn't involve changing
character sets.
Option 1)
Define a print control ZFNC1
Define a print
control ZFNC1 for your Zxxx device type with
hex code 81 and
then use PRINT-CONTROL xxxx to activate/deactivate
the barcode from
SAPscript (i.e. use the technique outlined in my
note 197177).
Important: you cannot use PRINT-CONTROL within a
SAPscript
barcode, so you have to send all printer commands
via
PRINT-CONTROL statement
Your form would
look something like this:
* <32> <-
print a single space to force
font
selection by PCL driver
/:
PRINT-CONTROL SBP01 <- starts BarDIMM code128 barcode
= 1234 <-
first barcode digits
/:
PRINT-CONTROL ZFNC1 <- the FNC1 character (decimal 129)
= 567890
/:
PRINT-CONTROL SBS01 <- ends BarDIMM code128 barcode
Option 2)
Re-map a non-used printable character in your device type's
Re-map a
non-used printable character in your device type's output character set (e.g.
use udieresis, SAPcharacter #361) to the desired code, e.g. hex 81 for FNC1,
then use the normal SAPscript barcode feature:
*
<B1>1234ü567890</>
7.Other questions
Q: What is
the PCL escape sequence to activate the OCR-B font ?
A: <Esc>(1O<Esc>(s0p10h12v0s0b110T
(bitmap) or <Esc>(s1p12v0s0b23590T (scalable).
Q: How to
stop barcode printing ?
A: You need to send any
other the required symbol set then font selection sequences after the MICR data.
Q: Why are
narrow barcodes sometimes not readable ?
A:
In all laser printers, very thin lines don't have a perfectly clean edge, due to
the toner particle shape which is not square. The result is that narrow black
bars are wider than blank spaces of the same width. The solution is to tune the
width by using the B and S parameters to reduce the horizontal width of the thin
black bars, or the S parameter to widen the thin white bars.
8.Common error messages below
barcodes
!Err: char
= nn
Symbology: All
An invalid character was entered
in the string to be printed as a barcode. 'nn' is the ASCII value of the
character. Such an error occurs for example if you include a letter in a
numeric-only barcode like EAN or 25.
Action: Verify the data for the
barcode.
!Err: Odd
Symbology: 2 of 5 Interleaved,
with/without CHK
The
string you try to print in 2 of 5 Interleaved format has an odd number of
digits. With 25 interleaved barcode, digits are grouped by pair. Note that if
you use the 25 Interleaved with checksum calculation, you must send an odd
number of digits as the checksum digit will round it to an even number of
digits.
Action: Verify the string size,
and send an even or odd number of digits.
!Err:
Length
Symbology: All
Invalid length for data to be
printed as a bar code. Can mean data string is too short or too long. Please
read the tables and barcode formats characteristics pages in this manual.
action: Verify if the data length
fit the symbology specs
!Err:
NonZero and !Err: InvVal
Symbology: UPC-E
There is a minimum of four zeros
in a UPC-E barcode, and some position must have very specific values. If BarSIMM
finds an unexpected value, this error message is printed.
Action: Verify if the data for the
barcode fit the UPC-E symbology specs.
!Err:
R/A/B
Symbology: French Postal 39 A/R
The French registered mail barcode
must start either with 'RA' or 'RB'. The string supplied to BarSIMM to generate
such a barcode does not start with those characters.
Action: Verify if the data for the
barcode fits the symbology specs.
!Err: Fmt
= 00000000
Symbology: Australia Post 4 State
37-CUST
The 37-CUST barcode encodes the
DPID, an 8 digits number. The DPID string supplied to BarSIMM to generate such a
barcode is not made of 8 digits.
Action: Verify the length of the DPID string.
!Err: Fmt
= 00000000, <CustInfo>
Symbology: Australia Post 4
State52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET
The
52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET barcodes encode the DPID, an 8 digits number, and the
customer information which can be encoded using the N table if it only includes
digits. Either the DPID string is not made of 8 digits, or there is no customer
information defined in the string, or the comma separator is missing.
Action: Verify if the data for the
barcode fits the symbology specs.
!Err:
CustInfo: nonDigit
Symbology: Australia Post 4
State52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET
The
52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET barcodes encode the DPID, and the customer information
which can be encoded using the N table if it only includes digits. The customer
information defined in the string supplied to BarSIMM to generate such a barcode
includes at lest one non-digit character.
Action: Verify the customer
information data for the barcode.
!Err:
CustInfo > NN (where NN is a value)
Symbology: Australia Post 4
State52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET
The
52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET barcodes encode the DPID, and the customer information
which maximum length depend from the encoding table (N or C) defined with the p
parameter. The customer information defined in the string supplied to BarSIMM to
generate such a barcode is too long, the maximum size is NN for the current
parameters.
Action: Adapt the length for
customer information data.
!Err:
InvcharlnCustInfo
Symbology: Australia Post 4
State52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET
The
52-FF-MET and 67-FF-MET barcodes encode the DPID, and the customer information
which can include encode a predefined set of characters. The customer
information defined in the string supplied to BarSIMM includes illegal
characters.
Action: Verify the Customer
Information data.
9.There
is no BarDIMM available for my printer
Q:
There is no BarDIMM available for my printer. what can I do?
A:
Some printers include the genuine BarDIMM technology. You might
verify if your printer is such. If it is really a BarDIMM Pro printer it
carries the following logo:
If your printer does not include natively the BarDIMM technology
and if there is no BarDIMM currenlty available for your printer, BarDIMM Box and BarSTORM
miniature hardware print servers are the
solution:
To serve one printer from one
miniature print server
 BarDIMM
Box was developed byJetmobile in order to
allow BarDIMM barcode printing on Hewlett Packard entry level, PCL5 inkjet &
legacy printers not natively supported by the Jetmobile BarDIMM Pro solution.
It also allows the "BarDIMM Inside" technology to be used by customers who have
a mix of Hewlett Packard & non-HP devices as an enterprise wide solution.
BarDIMM Box fulfills the growing demand for intelligent 1D and 2D barcoding within SMEs and larger corporates. It is printer independent and enables users to
easily generate all kind of barcodes across standard printers or multi-function
devices & can be used in applications such as document tracking, inventory
control, asset management and for managing sensitive documentation in
manufacturing, healthcare, central & local government, logistics & financial
services.
Key Features & Benefits:
- Features the Jetmobile "BarDIMM inside"
barcoding technology.
- Allows automatic barcode printing on any
PCL5e compatible printer or multi-function device.
- One printer can be served by a BarDIMM
Box, through USB or 10/100BT LAN.
- Over 60 One Dimensional (1D) barcodes and
8 Two Dimensional (2D) barcodes.
- Supports full auto encoding and error
checking.
- Integrates seamlessly with most Windows
applications with BDTTGEN.
- Integrates seamlessly with ERP software
including: SAP R/3, Oracle, Peoplesoft, JD Edwards and BAAN.
- 32Mb Flash Memory on-board for storing
additional data: fonts, logos, signatures, symbols & form overlays.
- Windows Application Integration Kit
available
More information on BarDIMM Box is available
here
To serve up to 50 printers from
one miniature print server
 BarSTORM was developed by
Fontware Ltd in order to
allow BarDIMM barcode printing on Hewlett Packard entry level, PCL5 inkjet &
legacy printers not natively supported by the Jetmobile BarDIMM Pro solution.
It also allows the “BarDIMM Inside” technology to be used by customers who have
a mix of Hewlett Packard & non-HP devices as an enterprise wide solution.
BarSTORM fulfills the growing demand for intelligent 1D and 2D barcoding within
SMEs and larger corporates. It is printer independent and enables users to
easily generate all kind of barcodes across standard printers or multi-function
devices & can be used in applications such as document tracking, inventory
control, asset management and for managing sensitive documentation in
manufacturing, healthcare, central & local government, logistics & financial
services.
Key Features & Benefits:
- Features the Jetmobile "BarDIMM inside"
barcoding technology.
- Allows automatic barcode printing on any
PCL printer or multi-function device.
- Base unit default specification has 1 x
USB port unlocked & 1 x Network port unlocked.
- Base unit software upgradeable to a
maximum of 4 x unlocked USB ports & 50 x unlocked network ports on a
single unit.
- Over 60 One Dimensional (1D) barcodes and
8 Two Dimensional (2D) barcodes.
- Supports full auto encoding and error
checking.
- Integrates seamlessly with most Windows
applications with BDTTGEN.
- Integrates seamlessly with ERP software
including: SAP R/3, Oracle, Peoplesoft, JD Edwards and BAAN.
- 32Mb Flash Memory on-board for storing
additional data: fonts, logos, signatures, symbols & form overlays.
- Windows Application Integration Kit
available
More information on BarStorm is available
here
|
