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Connection issues, scanner issues? Android devices also have those. Replaceable batteries? Perhaps the company they closed a deal with (Zebra) still has devices with replaceable batteries, but this is clearly going away on Android devices in general...

It's in the summary, Zebra TC51It's a $1,500 purpose built device with a built in barcode reader and replaceable batteries. This isn't a toy, it's a purpose built device.

Zebra in Java is quite easy. Just setup a mapping to the printer as a RAW printer. Then head over to Zebra for the ZPL II guide. I think the rest will explain itself. A couple of the chapters cover sending TTF to ZPL and converting PCX into RAW image data for ZPL processing.

I'd argue the block to running Linux in this case is from lack of knowing what to research and not from lack of trying.

I will point out that any search for help on label printing is all made horribly difficult by the fact there is another language called ZPL which has nothing to do with printers or printing.

From the manufacturer's site, that Zebra label printer supports:

Core programming languages
ZPL, ZPL II, EPL, EPL-Page Mode, EPL2, Line Mode

The ZPL language? It's just ASCII with special coding for things like labels. Has nothing at all to do with the University of Washington's dead 'better than C/C++' language.

ZPL II gets you much more. I'd hate to say it, but a little Java or Perl and you could be in business mail merging labels in Cyrillic, Javanese, Hindi or what have you.

Could be a good Google Summer of Code project if you couldn't scare up support yourself.

I'm guessing all the windows printer drivers were EPL drivers. Bleh.

I'd argue the block to running Linux in this case is from lack of knowing what to research and not from lack of trying.

I will point out that any search for help on label printing is all made horribly difficult by the fact there is another language called ZPL which has nothing to do with printers or printing.

From the manufacturer's site, that Zebra label printer supports:

Core programming languages
ZPL, ZPL II, EPL, EPL-Page Mode, EPL2, Line Mode

The ZPL language? It's just ASCII with special coding for things like labels. Has nothing at all to do with the University of Washington's dead 'better than C/C++' language.

ZPL II gets you much more. I'd hate to say it, but a little Java or Perl and you could be in business mail merging labels in Cyrillic, Javanese, Hindi or what have you.

Could be a good Google Summer of Code project if you couldn't scare up support yourself.

I'm guessing all the windows printer drivers were EPL drivers. Bleh.

It's hard not only for governments. A retail operation was trying to switch to Ubuntu boxes and one of the problems became Zebra LP 2824 thermal printer drivers, which are all for windows and none are for unix/linux. Of-course CUPS support these printers to an extent, but not completely and the worst part is printing in Cyrillic - it doesn't work. Barcodes do print and English prints though. Is this a show stopper for Linux on desktop? It well could be in this case.

If you're willing to do your own output generation, Zebra Technologies provides programming references for their printers.

One recommendation if you want a really nice looking label: Get a copy of Zebra's software(maybe given out with the printer?) and design your label there. When you're done, tell it to print to a virtual serial port(google it for the details) that you have looping back into [insert favorite terminal emulator here]. Save the dump of what their design software tried sending, and learn from that instead of just reading through the ZPL spec.

I personally have used a ton of Zebra products from the rebadged Eltrons that come from FedEx and UPS to their large industral quality printers. The 2844Z is easy to use, easy to clean, and has a well documented control language to control the printer. The Z stands for ZPL or Zebra Printer Language and is fully documented.

WARNING: The 2844 with no Z is the rebaged Eltrons that UPS send out. I have not had that great of success with them when doing anything but using them with UPS Worldship. They are durable printers in the warehouses of the world though, so your mileage may vary.

UPS gives you an Eltron 2844 to print their labels on.

http://www.zebra.com/id/zebra/na/en/index/products /printers/desktop.html

The real manipulation was the feds on the AIAG.. but TREAD RFID is also quite shockingly real. Why dont you please look at these following links and read all my extracted highlights here in this post:

Goodyear, Michelin and other tire manufacturers are claiming TREAD is the reason they are forced to put in spy RFID transmitter chips in all tires... not whims. A bylaw document addendum for TREAD is merely one strongarm tactic by feds that aided it to be fully adopted. AIAG manipulation was another.

Goodyear RFID tires from TREAD :
SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:
"Tires have to have a unique identification number called a DOT number," he said. "Cars have a vehicle identification number. Under the TREAD Act, carmakers have to associate the unique number on each tire with the VIN of the car it's put on. RFID offers a cheaper way to do that association

web source : http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/122 3/1/1/

Michelin RFID tires from TREAD :

SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:
"The tire industry faces regulatory pressures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requiring tire companies to monitor pressure and temperature in tires as part of the Tread Act, a much-publicized law passed in 2000 in response to the rollovers of Ford Motor Co.'s Explorers equipped with certain Firestone tires. The Tread Act states that the vehicle identification numbers must correlate with the Department of Transportation's number for the tire."

web source : http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:NKrAuVWpXksJ:w ww.internetweek.com/allStories/showArticle.jhtml%3 FarticleID%3D49901229+%2B%22tread+act%22+%2Btires+ %2Brfid&hl=en

Industry and TREAD RFID ..

SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:

"There are no industry-based automotive mandates out there today. Perhaps the only exception to this is the Tire TREAD Act in which RFID is specified as a method of identifying tires supplied to OEMs. The U.S. Congress passed the TREAD (Transportation, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation) Act after the Firestone/Ford Explorer issues emerged. The act mandates that carmakers closely track tires from the 2004 model year on, so they can be recalled if there is a problem. "

web source : http://www.zebra.com/id/zebra/na/en/index/rfid/faq s/rfid_considerations_specific_industries.html

Industry abd RFID TREAD :
SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:
"For example, Michelin and Goodyear plan to use RFID to aid their compliance with the Transportation, Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act."

web source : http://www.fawcette.com/wss/2003_10/magazine/colum ns/trends/

Notice a theme ? Instead of blaming AIAG these tire companies blame TREAD federal law compliance for the RFID tracking chips in all passenger tires. Read those links, you government shill.

And next, you will start claiming the products dont work well on highways.

Here is a meticulous research PDF paper entitled "Test Report : Single-lane Vehicle identification with UHF RFID"

http://www.ipico.co.za/technology/Whitepapers/Sing le-lane%20EVI%20Test%20Report%2020030618.pdf

And that shows a LOW POWER 4 watt reader at a height of 5.7 meters (18.7 feet) above a passive RFID coil product can read at speeds of 160 km/h for common tollway type RFID. The feds buy >4watt readers and also use better gear.

I love the naysayers.

njyoder you ar wrong! TREAD is real.

Goodyear, Michelin and other tire manufacturers are claiming TREAD is the reason they are forced to put in spy RFID transmitter chips in all tires... not whims. A bylaw document addendum for TREAD is merely one strongarm tactic by feds that aided it to be fully adopted. AIAG manipulation was another.

Goodyear RFID tires from TREAD :
SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:
"Tires have to have a unique identification number called a DOT number," he said. "Cars have a vehicle identification number. Under the TREAD Act, carmakers have to associate the unique number on each tire with the VIN of the car it's put on. RFID offers a cheaper way to do that association

web source : http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/122 3/1/1/

Michelin RFID tires from TREAD :
SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:
"The tire industry faces regulatory pressures from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration requiring tire companies to monitor pressure and temperature in tires as part of the Tread Act, a much-publicized law passed in 2000 in response to the rollovers of Ford Motor Co.'s Explorers equipped with certain Firestone tires. The Tread Act states that the vehicle identification numbers must correlate with the Department of Transportation's number for the tire."

web source : http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:NKrAuVWpXksJ:w ww.internetweek.com/allStories/showArticle.jhtml%3 FarticleID%3D49901229+%2B%22tread+act%22+%2Btires+ %2Brfid&hl=en

Industry and TREAD RFID ..
SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:

"There are no industry-based automotive mandates out there today. Perhaps the only exception to this is the Tire TREAD Act in which RFID is specified as a method of identifying tires supplied to OEMs. The U.S. Congress passed the TREAD (Transportation, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation) Act after the Firestone/Ford Explorer issues emerged. The act mandates that carmakers closely track tires from the 2004 model year on, so they can be recalled if there is a problem. "

web source : http://www.zebra.com/id/zebra/na/en/index/rfid/faq s/rfid_considerations_specific_industries.html

===

SNIPPET QUOTE EXCERPT:
"For example, Michelin and Goodyear plan to use RFID to aid their compliance with the Transportation, Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act."

web source : http://www.fawcette.com/wss/2003_10/magazine/colum ns/trends/

You are probably an FBI shill for wanting to FACTUAL INFORMATIVE mod the post to -1 like it was 4 out of five times before... all using the feds shill accounts.

njyoder, If you have a fact to dispute then post your facts! Otherwise read and learn! The feds aready scan car tires on the roads.

Did you even READ this post, did you even read the other? or are you a sock puppet account for the FBI?

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From Zebra

What are the implications of RFID for automotive suppliers?

There are no industry-based automotive mandates out there today. Perhaps the only exception to this is the Tire TREAD Act in which RFID is specified as a method of identifying tires supplied to OEMs. The U.S. Congress passed the TREAD (Transportation, Recall, Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation) Act after the Firestone/Ford Explorer issues emerged. The act mandates that carmakers closely track tires from the 2004 model year on, so they can be recalled if there is a problem. RFID tracking could be available for the 2005 model year. Michelin revealed that it has begun fleet testing of an RFID transponder embedded in its tires to enable them to be tracked electronically. After it completes testing, which will likely last 18 months, Michelin plans to begin offering automakers the option of purchasing tires with embedded transponders.

But there is no reason why automotive manufacturers and suppliers should not adopt RFID to achieve supply chain improvements just like any other industry.

--------------

Any chance this isn't as heinous a plot as parent believes?

The question is why doesn't the printer do flow control? My first printer, a Star Gemini 10X from around 20 years ago, knew how to tell the computer to stop sending data when it couldn't take anymore. Why can't a modern $1000+ printer do the same thing? Maybe you should just get a Zebra label printer instead or something... save you the time and expense of trying to make the Intermec work.

Hey,
you should have checked the zebra website, which has the whole enchilada of manuals available at http://www.zebra.com/SS/manuals.htm.
They have a pain-in-the-ass registration thing, but check those links, you can wget the pdfs without even accepting the stupid click through agreement...

Wrong. You have to ask someone to stop doing something, and they have to continue doing it, for it to be sexual harassment.

Wrong wrong. The offender doesn't even have to know he (or she) has offended anyone. The way harrassment (sexual and other) policies are written at many companies, "harrassment" is defined as any behavior that someone else thinks is harrassing. Regardless of how innocently it was intended, regardless of whether the offender was asked to stop.

ObWarStory: I was fired from my last position for "harrassment". You see, I posted a link on our intranet "general chat" forum to a movie review that happened to contain an ethnic slur. (It was a very funny review, and I'd considered it humorous usage in a "Blazing Saddles" kind of way.) When HR questioned me about it I was shocked. It was a humorous article, which I presented for its humor value. I honestly never meant to offend. I offered to do whatever was necessary to put things right; public apology, private apology, whatever. No good. I was summarily canned. Not only didn't I get a chance to apologize, I never even found out who I offended. Just, "pack your things and get out." (And, after seeking real legal counsel, I found I had no grounds for action against the company.)

Anyway, harrassment is in the eye of the one offended. Maybe not in terms of the law, but probably according to whatever employee handbook a company has.

That said, I really don't know what to say to this guy. Going to HR may result in his boss getting fired with no recourse, which would be a bad thing if she's otherwise a good manager. But he certainly shouldn't have to put up with it, either. If he's afraid of repercussions talking to her directly about it, maybe he could go to her boss and mention it.

We're only dismissive because it's basically finished. Let's see: lpr and Postscript. and smb if you need to use Windoze. Everything else is window-dressing.

Well, this is pretty exciting to those of us who actually make the printers... We make specialty industrial printers. IPP is nice in that status and printer capabilities can be returned from the printer. This means that conditions like paper out and ink levels can be reported back to the user. As far as I know, lpd and SMB can't do that. (If they can, let me know! I've got a nice inkjet attached to my Linux box at home, and I'd love to get it to report ink levels to the Win98 clients that print to it!)

Let's face it, printers today have more computing power than desktop machines did a few years ago. Let's treat them like the independent computers they are, rather than as some dumb peripheral plugged into an isolated machine.

I just checked MIT's hacks page, and my company's proxy told me this:

WebTrack Control List category criminal skills is restricted.

I guess they're afraid I'll start playing Tetris on our 3-story building...

Speaking of which, we manufacture barcode printers. I've been tempted to sneak in a Tetris game with a refresh rate of one frame per label. Maybe it's time for that!