Label Printing Tool User Manual

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Print Spirit's Label Printing Tool is an online tool for batch label printing, designed for general users. It integrates with the SpiritDesigner label designer, providing features for online label design, printing, data editing, and batch data import for variable data printing. Import options include EXCEL data and direct database connections (such as SQLite, MySQL, MSSQL, PostgreSQL). It supports imposition and is ideal for industries like logistics, retail, and foreign trade.

To use the Label Printing Tool, ensure that the SpiritWeb Print Control is installed.

Steps: Select a template, input data, and start printing.

Step 1: Select a Label

You can choose a pre-designed label, create a new one, or select a cloud label shared by other users. For label design, refer to the SpiritDesigner Label Designer.

Step 2: Input Data

There are three methods to input data: 1) Manual entry, 2) Importing Excel data, 3) Direct database connection.

Manual Entry

The software will automatically detect the variable fields in the label (known as template variables) and present them in an Excel-like web table, where each row represents a label and each column represents a variable field. Enter the data to be printed here.

Import Excel Data

Print Spirit allows for batch importing of Excel data. During the import, template variables will automatically link to fields with matching names in the Excel file. If no matching field is found, you will need to manually bind it by clicking the header. To simplify this process, it is advisable to adjust the Excel headers (first row) before importing, for instance, changing "Device Name" to ".name" to make variable binding easier later.

Connect to Database

Print Spirit supports direct connections to databases for accessing data from ERP, WMS, and other systems through SQL queries for label printing.

Connecting to a database with Print Spirit is simple, but it requires parameters such as server IP, database type, and table names, along with some SQL query knowledge. Consult your company’s database administrator for these details. If your company lacks this expertise, we can help integrate Print Spirit into your system. Please contact our sales team for assistance.

Supported databases include MySQL, PostgreSQL, MSSQL, SQLite, and other popular databases. Enter the parameters according to the database and write SQL queries to retrieve the data. You can save data connections (including SQL queries) locally for future use.

After clicking OK, execute the SQL query to retrieve the results, including the total number of rows and the first 10 rows of data.

Data Mapping

Data field names and label variable names may not match, so mapping is required. There are two ways to map:

Data Mapping

To ensure that data field names match label variable names, you need to perform data mapping. There are two methods to achieve this:

• SQL Syntax Mapping: You can use SQL syntax to alias fields. For example, map field1 from the database to varname1 in the template and field2 to varname2 as follows:

select field1 as varname1, field2 as varname2 from table...

• Manual Mapping: The system automatically binds fields with matching names based on query results. If a field does not automatically match, you need to manually bind it by clicking the result header.

Method one requires writing SQL only once, which is efficient for subsequent queries but needs knowledge of database fields and label variables. Method two allows you to view field content before binding but may require re-binding after new queries. Both methods can be used together.

Step 3: Execute Printing

In this step, a dialog box will appear. Select the printer, paper size, paper orientation, and other settings as prompted. For automatic imposition, set the number of label rows and columns per page to automatic. The system will handle the imposition based on label and paper sizes.

The “Print First” option prints only the first row of data from the Excel sheet, while “Print All” prints all rows continuously.

4. Printing Results

Here is an example of the imposition effect on an A4 sheet. With small device labels, one A4 sheet can accommodate 4 labels per row and 9 rows, totaling 36 labels. The labels include cutting lines that can be trimmed with a cutter.