Printer to print UPC barcodes

[Peter Alcibiades]

We print on A4 sheets of labels using a standard laser printer (kyocera), and 
use two ways.

Method A is use a barcode and label generation package.  kbarcode is an 
example that is free under linux, but there are others that do the same thing 
under other systems.  What you get here is (i) the ability to generate codes 
of almost all types without having the code font installed (ii) the ability 
to do label layout and printing to almost any standard label.  

You get to add text to the code, eg a price, and to run it at right angles to 
the code, or put it under the code.  To resize the code, truncate it, archive 
it, print in batch mode....   This is a really flexible solution and lets you 
use, free, codes whose fonts are quite expensive to buy.

The drawback is that if you are trying to print in another app, the codes 
become graphical objects, and resizing them outside of kbarcode, eg in a 
powerpoint or word type package, leads to reading difficulties.  So page 
layout is a bit difficult and not very satisfactory.

Method B is to get a font and then you can print from any application in 
exactly the same way as you would print words in any other font.  We do this 
when generating print documents in a presentation package, because resizing 
and layout is very easy.  You can do label layout and printing in just the 
same way as with any other font.  We would do this if barcoding for instance 
a mailing list with mailmerge.

This is also what we would do if using a roll printer.  The only issue would 
be finding one with a driver for the OS. 

Sarah is right about code 128, it seems to be the most compact and readable at 
least of the ones kbarcode supports.  There are one or two free versions if 
you look hard enough on the web.  Her package which tells you exactly what 
the reader is sending is also very useful when it fails to work first time.

I would hate to try to set up printing to labels on rev.  Getting the 
alignment exactly right for a custom label set even using kbarcode took a lot 
of micro adjustments of the spacing.  I used a needle.  Print a full set at 
your draft configuration, then overlay the label sheet on it exactly, then 
push the needle through at the corners of a few labels.  Examine, readjust, 
repeat until perfect.  Tedious.

Peter