Issue: | 10/01/05 |
Authors: |
Glauco Bordoni |
Company: |
Elebor GB s.r.l. |
Content: |
Instructions of label and tape drawing and printing software NSTLabelEditor |
NstLabelEditor is a software to draw and print labels and
tapes using thermal transfer printers.
NstLabelEditor even
if designed to fit fabric samples field operator needs, it is so
simple and user friendly to be used comfortably everywhere labels are
needed.
NstLabelEditor makes easy to manage complex labels,
which modify during printing, filled with pictures and logos using
all installed character fonts.
Common symbols font is also
included.
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As soon as you open NstLabelEditor, you will see a welcome dialog box. Usually you can close it. Special occasions to look at it are: registration and trouble shooting support.
Use the Display menu to select one of the following items,
so you can insert or modify the display measures.
According to
display measures the software will suggest you, during printing
session, one of the following:
Select the menu Display -> New cuts dimensions to input the new display cut dimensions. The above dialog box appears:
The dialog box presents four areas:
Bottom: the button
OK, to confirm the measure, and the button
Cancel to escape changes.
Select the tabs to access to the input panels.
Note:
In the preview area the light blue arrow suggests the forward direction of a spreading chariot or of a CNL series taper car or of a NST series labeler car
The first info to input are:
Once you fulfilled the tab select the Cut board measures.
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Select the Cut board measures panel to consider the fabric
cut.
You have to input the cut board dimensions, usually a square.
It is also as great as the fabric width.
You can also state the
tape width in both direction longitudinal and transversal.
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Select the tab longitudinal cuts to input the measures of
cuts.
Cuts number and repetitions define the number of tape
stripes to be printed.
Longitudinal cuts are presented in yellow
in the preview.
Note:
an error is marked out if the sum of cuts
measures overtakes the cut board dimension.
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Select the tab Transversal cuts to input the measures. In
the case of printing tapes, cuts dimension define the dimension of
the printing area.
Note:
an error is marked out if the sum of
cuts measures overtakes the cut board dimension.
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The menu Label presents the following items:
Options...
The first three items activate the label editor to draw or to
modify a label.
The items New list... and Edit List...
activate the variable fields editor to input or modify a list of data
to be inserted in the label at printing time.
If you select the menu Label-> New label, a dialog box appears to insert:
After you input all the values press OK
Note:
If you have input the display measures, NSTLabelEditor
automatically evaluates the dimensions to get a printed tape.
The
evaluated measures are inserted in Label width and Label
height, the Gap between labels and type of support
input fields are disabled.
If you want to draw a standard label,
you have simply to substitute the measures suggested by
NSTLabelEditor with the ones of the label you want to print;
as soon as you modify the dimensions input field, the Gap between
labels and type of support input fields become enabled.
Drawing a new label or editing an existing one the next tools bars appear: tools bar
brushes bar (standard edition)
brushes bar (only ADVANCED EDITON)
note:
if during stretching you hold down the keyboard shift
key, you can draw a perfect horizontal or vertical line (orthogonal
function)
Note: the center part change according to the type of bar code selected.
press OK to draw the bar code
Note:
To create a new list with variable field data please select
from menu bar:
Menu Label-> New List
NSTLabelEditor supply you some comfortable tools to help you drawing. Simply click over the button to get the desired action.
The pop-up menus are useful to modify the property of a graphical
object.
To get a pop-up menu you have to select one or more
graphical object and click using the right mouse button.
A menu
appears with different items according to the object selected i.e.
see the following picture :
The six items below the separator lines remain the same for each
graphical object, they are the only ones you get if you make a
multiple selection.
They means:
if you press the item
you bring to bottom the selected object(s) from the label
If you make a single selection you get specific items for the
selected object.
Some specific items are common to many objects
ex.: you can rotate a picture, a text, a multi-line text, symbols of
0°,90°,180°,270° according to your needs.
Unluckily
you cant rotate lines, rectangle and circle.
here
you can change the rectangle shape making the corners rounded
If you select a
simple line text
,
and use the mouse right button to select from pop-up menu the
Edit... you get the next dialog window:
here you can modify all the properties of the object you are editing.
If you select
a multi-line text
and use the mouse right button to select from pop-up menu the
Edit... you get the next dialog window:
here you can modify all the properties of the object you are editing.
If you select
a symbol object
and use the mouse right button to select from pop-up menu the
Edit... you get the next dialog window:
here you can modify all the properties of the object you are editing.
If you select
a picture
and use the mouse right button to select from pop-up menu the
Edit... you get the next dialog window:
here
you can modify the dimension of the image but not the image.
Only in the Advanced edition you can
select an halftone method to print the image correctly
You can chose the desired method to halftone and the variant you prefer to get the best result.
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if you press the key
you move all the selected objects one millimeter leftward
If any printer is installed, you will see on the right edge of
the tools bar:
Press
one of this button to get the printing dialog windows without
navigate through menu.
To print simple labels use
see...
To print
variable fields labels use
see...
To print
tapes use
see...
If you need to resize an already designed label, or to change
the support type, please select Label -> Resize...
so you get the dialog window:
where to input the new dimensions or support type.
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object 4: code 4444 color Titanium
We need that at
printing time the label remains the same one but the following have
to differ one form each other in code and color.
To get this
behavior we need to draw the label defining the graphical objects
that define the color and code like variable fields
Then
we need to define a list of the data to be printed.
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Open the pop-up menu (click right mouse button)
Select the item Variable field.
A variable fields show a little pencil () in the bottom left corner(if you repeat the
pop-up menu you will see a tick before the item variable
field).
In the previous label we defined 1111 and Gold
as variable fields .
Once defined the variable
fields we need to define a new data list to be filled in the
variable field at printing time, to do that select the menu
Label->New list... item.
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if you press the button
you create the room for a new item in front of the current item of
your list
in Variable fields editor it is possible to move quickly across the items, inputing the item number you want to get in the item text field.
From menu Production you start the printing process of labels and tapes, which can be simple or from variable fields (data recovered from a list of data previously input).
If you select the menu item Production ->
Print labels -> simple... you get the following dialog
window, where you can input the labels printing volume and the
printing direction.
Note:
If you input the display dimensions NstLabelEditor
suggests you the correct number of label to be printed to label the
samples you will get from the fabric for your display.
If you
want to print a different number of labels, you need to rewrite the
number of label with the desired quantity.
If you press the
button
;
you start the printing process
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If you select the menu item Production ->
Print labels -> from list... you get the following dialog
window, where you can input the labels printing volume and the
printing direction.
The
number of variables to be printed is defined by the number of items
you input in the list (Variable fields editor).
The total number
of labels to be printed is automatically calculated and shown.
Note:
If you input the display dimensions NstLabelEditor
suggests you the correct number of label to be printed to label the
samples you will get from the fabric for your display.
If you
want to print a different number of labels you need to rewrite the
number of label with the desired quantity.
If you press the
button
;
you start the printing process
If you select the menu item Production ->
Print Tapes -> simple... you get the following dialog window,
where you can input the number of tape stripes to be printed and the
printing direction.
You can also input the amount of free tape to be left
between one stripes and the next. That free tape will help manual
application over the fabric on the spreading table.
Note:
If you input the display dimensions
NstLabelEditor suggests you the correct number of stripes to
be printed according to the fabric
dimension and to the number
of cut you input.
If you want to print a different number of
labels, you need to rewrite the total number of stripes with the
desired quantity.
If you press the button
;
you start the printing process
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The setting menu give you access to core functions of NST Label Editor.
If you select the menu item Printers ->
Printer selection... you get the following dialog
window:
You
can setup the printer to be used in label production.
Select the
printer (click over one of the names listed), an press
OK button to confirm your selection.
Ok button will be enabled
after you change the previous selection. Press
Cancel button to keep the previous selection.
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To install a new printer select the menu item Printers ->
Install printer...
The following dialog printer
appears:
On
the left list select the printer's brand, then on the right list
select the printer's model you are going to install (in the picture
TEC B452).
Press
OK button to confirm the
selected printer and to go to printer configuration.
Press
Cancel button to stop the installation process.
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The following dialog printer appears: it shows all the printers currently installed on your system, select the one you want to configure.
Step 5 of 5 Do you want to reprint a tuned caliber label to
have a check?
At the end, press OK if you want to reprint the
calibration label with the new tuning settings, you will get a
calibrated tape.
If the measures are now correctly printed the
printer is calibrated otherwise repeat the procedure. Answer NO at
step 1 to avoid printing a new calibration tape.
If
you want to remove a printer select the one you want to remove from
the list of installed printers, like the one above.
Press
OK button to confirm the
chosen printer and press OK again to remove the printer.
Press
Cancel button to stop the installation process.
Now the printer is removed.
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To
let you NSTLabelEditor print correctly you need a
registration code that you get at purchase.
Copy your Company name and Key code in the input test fields and press Enter Registration button.
Restart the program to enable printing.
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On Red Hat Linux installations InetAddress.getLocalHost() may
return an InetAddress corresponding to the loopback address
(127.0.0.1).
This arises because the default installation creates
an association in /etc/hosts between the hostname of the machine and
the loopback address.
To ensure that InetAddress.getLocalHost()
returns the actual host address, update the /etc/hosts file or the
name service configuration file (/etc/nsswitch.conf) to query dns or
nis before searching hosts.