Teklynx printing software for improved traceability
enterprise-wide bar code printing. This should help manufacturers
achieve better control of the movement of goods from the warehouse
right through to the store shelf.
The product is called Sentinel Print Pack S/4 print management, and is compatible with Teklynx' Labelview label design software. The company claims that the data capture, mapping and distributive printing application is ideal for organisations that require centralised control of enterprise-wide bar code printing.
Sentinel Print Pack S/4 is an event-driven print management tool designed to process enterprise-wide label and form printing data, regardless of format. It enables host applications to print to any designated printer anywhere in the enterprise.
Teklynx claims that the new version adds significant process management features that fully leverage the Internet while continuing to support legacy systems.
For example, users of Sentinel Print Pack S/4 can merge host system data with Labelview label designs without requiring complex and costly modifications to the host application. Sentinel Print Pack S/4 also enables the host system to send data in a compatible format to a local, networked or Internet-based virtual printer file.
Sentinel monitors the virtual file using 'sentinel watch' to send both static and dynamic data to Teklynx' Gold version of Labelview label design software which maps and prints the information in the correct label format. Sentinel supports any enterprise system, including host applications from SAP, Baan, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft and others.
One of the benefits of Sentinel Print Pack S/4, says Teklynx, is that it helps system administrators keep control of the enterprise data by enabling output (label and form data) to be sent to a designated file, virtual printer or Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) port without allowing the printing process to change the source data. This approach, says the company, keeps enterprise-level control and security separate from the printing process.
The software also maintains control throughout the process. Administrators are able to designate files, locations, printers, data maps, and processing rules. In addition, output, report, e-mail reporting, log file and TCP/IP port listening plug-ins allow developers and administrators to monitor system performance. The multi-threaded print engine and load balancing capabilities facilitate high throughput.
Further, since Sentinel does not require reprogramming core applications, the technical requirements on IT staff is greatly reduced. A simple printer driver is all that is required at the host level; the Sentinel middleware software and Labelview label design software handle the formatting, printer instructions and other tasks. Labelview design software works with any Microsoft Windows-compatible printer, as well as hundreds of thermal and RFID label printers.
"Sentinel provides the perfect pathway for customers to eliminate standalone bar code label printing operations while maintaining their current Labelview label templates," said David Pettiford, Teklynx global product marketing manager. "Many have put off conversion due to the complexity and cost of tying label printing into their enterprise systems.
"Sentinel takes away the risk while providing secure, reliable access to the actual source information that should be driving the labelling process."
Teklynx supports over 70 bar code variations on hundreds of thermal printers from over 75 vendors, including Printronix, Datamax, Intermec, Sato and Zebra, as well as any Windows-compatible printer. The company, a leading software developer of automatic identification and data collection (AIDC) products, is a Microsoft certified partner and has connectivity relationships with multiple Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software providers.
The company claims to supply integrated software solutions to over 400,000 companies worldwide in the field of supply chain automation, warehouse management and shipping.
