Zebra’s “Plug and Print” Initiative…
Barcode Label Printing from SAP R/3
BAR-ONE
For
SAP R/3
Application White-paper
February 7, 2000
Rev F
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3
label printing
setup and
The world’s first
barcode label
barcode label
BAR-ONE® for SAP R/3
Expand the scope
of SAP R/3 modules
by integrating high
quality barcode
Eliminate multi-site
maintenance
SAP R/3 helps organizations manage comprehensive financial,
manufacturing, human resources, sales and distribution functions that
are essential to their operations. The capability to leverage the data
integrity provided by SAP R/3 modules can now be realized by
directly integrating barcode labeling into many common business
processes.
While dynamic documents and reports are the predominant printed
output from SAP R/3 modules, customers also want to output highquality barcode labels with graphics, directly within SAP R/3, for
applications such as manufacturing, shipping, item tracking and stock
control. Such labels require the use of specialty barcode label printers.
Today, customers who wish to integrate barcode label printers within
SAP R/3, are presented with the option to either upload the printer
programming language into a SAPscript layout (upload method) or use
label design software in combination with an external service (middleware typically on an NT or Unix server). SAP documentation, located
on SAPnet, describes how label printers can be driven direct from SAP
R/3.
In choosing the upload method over the external service approach,
SAP R/3 users can leverage existing SAP print services and eliminate
the need to purchase, setup and maintain the application for every
server at every separate site location. This approach can greatly reduce
equipment costs, reduce implementation time and improve process
throughput.
dedicated SAP R/3
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To take full advantage of the SAP R/3 upload method, Zebra
Technologies Corporation, with assistance from SAP’s development
team and global SAP R/3 end users, has developed a special version of
its BAR-ONE label design software.
Utilizing BAR-ONE for SAP R/3, users can now integrate barcoding
into any existing SAP R/3 application.
design tool for
printers
Plug and Print
directly from SAP
R/3 without having
No manual
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3
Zebra’s BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 software provides easy-to-use label
design capabilities that support all of the Zebra printers’ functionality
and high performance. Below are a few of the benefits available from
the combination of Zebra Printers and BAR-ONE for SAP R/3:
to program
SAPscript
• No need to manually write SAPscript. All label design and object
manipulation is done graphically (minutes instead of days)!
• All Zebra resident bar code symbologies are supported, including
UCC/EAN 128, PDF417, Datamatrix and Maxicode. Resident
barcodes provide maximum performance and accuracy.
• All Zebra resident fonts, including Windows TrueType fonts.
TrueType fonts can be used for variable data, including serial
numbers, with no degradation to label throughput. Support is also
included for seven optional Zebra resident scaleable fonts (CG
Triumvirate and CG Triumvirate Condensed family).
• Dynamic text formatting of SAP R/3 variable data, including
automatic word wrapping, left, right and center justification at any
orientation for all fonts.
• Any barcode, text or graphic field can be linked to any SAP R/3
database field or system variable (i.e. &tablename-fieldname& or
&SY-UNAME&) via a simple point-and-click selection.
• Variable graphic images (i.e., logos, symbols, etc.) can be printed,
depending on the contents of a SAP R/3 variable field.
• Smart printer wizards make it easy to store graphics, fonts and
formats on printer-based PC cards and flash memory. This
provides zero download time for fast “first-label-out”, and reduces
network traffic to a minimum.
• BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 automatically generates SAPscript, for
Zebra printers, in SAP R/3 Internal Text Format (ITF). No manual
modifications
needed before
uploading into SAP
R/3
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modifications need to be made to these commands.
• All variable fields, including graphics, support advanced
SAPscript programming. This is required if you wish to control
the contents of a field based on SAPscript IF / ELSEIF
conditioning or wish to use SAPscript INCLUDE commands.
This is done directly within “BAR-ONE for SAP”. It does not
require any further editing within SAP R/3 and allows for simple
future label design modifications.
• Maximum control and performance of all Zebra printer features.
All
SAP printer
drivers are built for
is a graphical
forms printing on
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3
How It Works
Excluding middle-ware and BAR-ONE for SAP R/3, forms would
traditionally be designed by manually writing SAPscript commands.
SAPscript then requires that you have a proprietary SAP R/3 printer
driver loaded for your target device. This approach does not work for
barcode label printing due to the following:
mainstream office
printers
• SAP R/3 has drivers for mainstream office printers but not
barcode label printers.
• SAP R/3 drivers are designed for forms & report printing, not
barcode labels.
• SAPscript barcode commands are complex, support few
symbologies and have basically been built as fonts. They also
provide poor support for rotation, check-digits, narrow bar width,
ratio, and are not supported by any specialty barcode label printer
(other than via emulation such as PCL etc.).
SAP R/3 also supports printing with Windows drivers via the SAPWin
device type and SAPlpd. This approach does not work for barcode
label printing and specialty barcode label printers due to the following:
• SAPWin device type has no support for barcode label printer
features such as barcodes, cutter, flash memory, print speeds and
darkness etc.
• SAPWin device type and barcode label Windows printer drivers
may send the entire label down as a graphic and need to do this
for every label with variable data (slow printing and lots of
network traffic).
BAR-ONE for SAP
R/3
SAPscript generator
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• SAPscript barcodes are not supported with the SAPwin device
type, unless you source a 3rd party barcode DLL. These barcodes
are downloaded as bitmap objects via Windows drivers. This can
reduce performance and barcode accuracy (it’s also expensive).
• SAPWin does not support printing directly from the server to the
printer (SAPlpd must be used).
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 is a graphical barcode label design tool that
generates SAPscript for use with Zebra printers. This means the user
does not need to manually program SAPscript to design or print labels.
SAP has built Zebra device types for SAP R/3. These drivers are
optimized for use with BAR-ONE for SAP R/3.
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3
Complex labeling
also supported
Printing is done
direct from the SAP
R/3 server
No SAPscript
programming is
required.
applications are
After the label is designed graphically in BAR-ONE for SAP R/3, it
can easily and quickly be uploaded into SAP R/3, via the SAP R/3
Windows client. Once uploaded, the label can be printed from any
other SAP R/3 client, anywhere in the world, to any Zebra printer
without the need to purchase, setup or maintain any additional
software. The printing is done direct from the SAP R/3 server. The
only requirement is that each server has the Zebra device driver
installed. The Zebra device driver for SAP R/3 is free and available
from the SAP FTP site or directly from Zebra. The installation of this
driver takes only a few minutes and it need never be maintained or
modified.
Formatting attributes on the label are easily moved, changed, added, or
deleted using the BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 WYSIWYG label design
tool. No SAPscript programming is required to make formatting
changes. Label size, font types, barcode symbology, line spacing,
justification, logos, lines, boxes, circles, ellipses and variable data are
all specified within the label design. A label can easily be modified at
any time and re-uploaded into SAP R/3 without the need to make any
manual modifications in SAPscript.
Complex labeling applications may require that some SAPscript needs
to be written, i.e., filling in of variable fields based on the contents of
other fields. This SAPscript can be written and stored within variable
fields directly in BAR-ONE for SAP R/3. This allows for label
designs to be easily modified, multiple times, and avoid the need to
manually modify or re-write SAPscript.
BAR-ONE for SAP
R/3 is a proven
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 is already installed in some of the world’s
largest SAP R/3 sites. One example of this is a chemical company,
printing HAZchem labels that has 150 locations worldwide.
solution
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How it Works
Zebra professional
barcode labeling
ONE generated ITF
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3
Design labels with
the easy-to-use
software
Smart Printer
Wizard stores fonts
and logos in SAP
R/3 or the printer’s
non-volatile
memory
Step 1 – Design the label graphically using BAR-ONE for SAP R/3.
Place fixed or variable objects on the label including text, barcodes,
logos, lines, boxes, circles etc.
Step 2 – Press the SAP R/3 icon and use the Smart Printer Wizard to
help decide if you wish to download logos and fonts from SAP R/3 or
store them on flash memory inside the printer. When completed, this
will save the label design in a format that can be uploaded into SAP
R/3 (SAPscript Internal Text Format).
Step 3 – Upload the ITF file, generated by BAR-ONE for SAP R/3,
using the SAP R/3 Windows Client. This is uploaded into the standard
editor and then pasted into a Form Window
Upload the BAR-
file directly into
SAP R/3
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Easy and
inexpensive to
implement and
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3
The Benefits
Zebra BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 provides an easy, fast way to print
complex bar coded labels on demand from SAP R/3. Users can count
on complete data integrity as label data is generated directly from SAP
R/3.
maintain
Feature Benefit
Easy to use WYSIWYG bar code label design
tool.
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 is optimized for Zebra
Printers.
Non-programmers can modify labels. Easy and inexpensive to maintain.
Print directly from any SAP R/3 Server. No need to use PCs, or SAPlpd, as print servers. This reduces cost
Take advantage of existing SAP R/3 print
services and SAPscript.
Print directly from SAP R/3. No need to
purchase, implement, setup or maintain middleware.
Zebra’s SAP R/3 Knowledge, support and training. Working directly with SAP and large SAP R/3 end users, Zebra has
Labels are easier to design and maintain because no modifications are
required to be manually made to the SAPscript generated by BARONE for SAP R/3. Labels can be printed on just about any native
platform, directly from the server or via SAPlpd, while still
maintaining the features and performance found in PC based labeling
software. The SAPscript composer can save processing time because
the layout set is simpler. Downloading the labels only once and
storing them on the printer reduces the amount of data transferred
across the network and speeds up printing. Fast “first-label-out” can
be achieved by storing label formats, graphics and TrueType fonts in
printer-based non-volatile memory. Zebra printers support PC cards
and flash memory.
The major features and benefits that customers will see when they use
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3 are listed below:
No SAPscript programming required to implement. SAPscript is all
generated automatically (minutes rather than days to design labels).
Provides full functionality and maximum performance with Zebra
printers including maximum print speed, word wrapping, text
justification, serialization, and variable graphics.
and improves print speed.
No new learning curve, giving faster implementation. This
significantly reduces cost – Thousands of $$$.
This significantly reduces costs in a multi-site implementation.
This also provides the fastest possible live implementation. Multinational companies could see savings of up to $100,000 or more!
gained invaluable working knowledge of barcode printing within
SAP R/3. Zebra has it’s own Software Engineers (SEs) that can
help you, or your solution provider, with implementation and
training.
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For more information
on BAR-ONE for SAPR/3
please contact…
visit www.zebra.com or,
Zebra Technologies Corporation
333 Corporate Woods Parkway
Vernon Hills, IL 60061-3109
Phone: +1 (847) 634-6700
Toll-free: +1 (800) 423-0422
Fax: +1 (847) 913-8766
Zebra Technologies Europe - UK
Zebra House
The Valley Centre, Gordon Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire HP13 6EQ, UK
Phone: +44 (0) 1494 472872
Fax: +44 (0) 1494 450103
BAR-ONE for SAP R/3
Zebra Technologies Europe - Germany
Birkenwaldstr. 38
63179 Obertshausen
Germany
Phone: +49 6104 709912
Fax: +49 6104 709922
Zebra Technologies - France
50 Rue Marcel Dassault
92100 Boulogne Billancourt
France
Phone: +33 1 55 20 93 93
Fax: +33 1 55 20 93 99
All product and brand names are trademarks of their respective companies. Page 8
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