Novelties 2021

Label Printing from the Cloud

eXtra4<dropIT> software tool manages data transfer

Birkenfeld, 19.10.2021. For a jeweller with several shops, eXtra4 Software + Service GmbH has developed a label printing solution without direct access to the central database on the web. The software subsidiary of the label specialist Ferdinand Eisele GmbH from Birkenfeld near Pforzheim has added for this application the printing tool eXtra4<dropIT> to its trusted software eXtra4<winIII>.

eXtra4 already in use on site
The jewellery and watch specialist based in Lower Saxony has been relying on the eXtra4 Labelling Systems brand for labels and hardware for around 10 years. From eXtra4 Software+Service comes the suitable software for label printing, eXtra4<winIII>. It controls the printing of three different label shapes on three thermal transfer printers for the jeweller, using four different label layouts for the design of the data.

Cloud data as a challenge for label printing
The jeweller maintains his article master in Excel. The table is placed in the cloud so that he can conveniently access the current data stock from anywhere. However, that way label printing is not very convenient: In order to get to the label, the data must be entered again by hand into the entry mask of the respective layout in eXtra4<winIII>. In the long run, this is unsatisfactory, too error-prone and time-consuming. The request for a better solution was born:
 
The jeweller would like to actively control label printing with the usual precision via eXtra4<winIII>, but without the double entry of data. The software must have access to the contents of the Excel spreadsheet in the cloud without direct access to the data in the cloud and without a separate data export, in order to then output the data in the proven manner to the printers equipped with three different label shapes.

eXtra4<dropIT> instead of manual data entry
For data transfer between cloud and label printer, eXtra4 Software+Service extends its range of printing tools with eXtra4<dropIT>. The additional software enables eXtra4<winIII> to print labels from third-party systems without direct access to the data there. It is controlled by the user and acts in the frontend. eXtra4<dropIT> uses scripting technology to convert data from the clipboard into label marking and control commands. The data itself is transferred manually by the user via Copy&Paste . ...

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Sustainability with Label Printers

eXtra4 on trend with repair, maintenance and care

Birkenfeld, 15.07.2021. „Do you really need a new label printer?“ – This is the first question asked by eXtra4 support when hotline callers complain about the failure of their device. Technical service has been part of the range of services offered by eXtra4 Labelling Systems from Birkenfeld near Pforzheim for over 30 years. With repair, maintenance and care, the ident technology expert has long been putting into practice with label printers for marking jewellery and watches what is now contemporary as sustainability.

Future-oriented service motto
„Repair over Sale“ is the motto of eXtra4 Labelling Systems when it comes to thermal transfer label printers. If a device malfunction cannot be remedied remotely online or by telephone, the eXtra4 support requests affected persons to send in their printer. In the company, the faulty thermal transfer printer is checked for reparability. The technicians draw on decades of experience and have access to an in-house spare parts warehouse. For urgent emergencies, eXtra4 even has loaner units available to keep the labelling system functional at the customer's site.

Longevity through proper care
The inspection of a thermal transfer printer also includes the thorough cleaning of all functionally relevant parts. „Not infrequently, simply a lack of care is the reason for a disorder“, Hartmut Kasper knows from his day-to-day support work. „Although we carry appropriate care products and explicitly point out the importance of regular maintenance when selling a new machine, printers are often used by several people and no one feels responsible for maintenance.“ Isopropyl alcohol and a lint-free cloth are sufficient for cleaning the printing parts, alternatively a suitable cleaning pen. A special cleaner keeps the rubber of the rollers supple and non-slip. If print head and transport rollers are cared for every time the ribbon is changed, the service life of a thermal transfer printer can be seven or more years, depending on intensity of use.

Last resort: Recycling
If a thermal transfer printer is technically outdated and actually needs to be replaced by a new one for the labelling of jewellery and watches, eXtra4 checks whether the old device can remain in use for the customer in a different place than for the sensitive printing of jewellery labels, e.g. for simple address labels in the shipping department. Disposal is really the last option for eXtra4. The company often takes over old equipment itself for recycling and feeds its spare parts pool with parts that can still be used. ...

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... order right away care products via shop

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eXtra4 going to become hardware distributor

New desktop printer for jewellery business first direct import

Birkenfeld, 21.04.2021. The eXtra4 Labelling Systems product range has included hardware for over 25 years. With the market launch of the T4ES-300M thermal transfer printer, Ferdinand Eisele GmbH and its brand eXtra4 are acting like a distributor for the first time. SBARCO, the Taiwanese manufacturer of the device, has no distribution channels in Europe so far. This is why the label expert from Birkenfeld near Pforzheim is launching the desktop model on the market on its own responsibility, exclusively for the special needs of the jewellery and watch business.

Exclusive equipment for the printer of eXtra4
The SBARCO T4ES-300M masters what is required at eXtra4 and what devices of well-known brands often do not have to offer at an acceptable price: the single item printing of labels without label squandering. Jewellers and goldsmiths in particular attach great importance to this, because they often have to label single pieces.
 
To enter the eXtra4 product range, a printer must be able to output a single label as a print job without wasting others on the web feed unused between each print process. To do this, before each printing process it is necessary to retract the web that has been transported forward out of the print head after the previous print job for removing the printed label.
 
The labels must not be damaged when being retracted, which is a special challenge for the technology, in terms of jewellery labels in particular: As labels for jewellery and watches are usually made of foil compound, the materials are thicker than conventional papers, e.g. for dispatch labels. Smooth forward/backward transport is therefore only possible with an appropriately dimensioned printhead. In this respect the T4ES-300M has been modified by SBARCO exclusively for eXtra4. ...

... read more of the press release on the new SBARCO label printer T4ES-300M for eXtra4

... find more technical Details of the new eXtra4 label printer from SBARCO

... order right away the eXtra4 thermal transfer printer SBARCO T4ES-300M via shop

Via copy & paste to printed labels

eXtra4<dropIT> software tool makes label printing from third-party systems quite simple

Birkenfeld, 22.03.2021. Label printing with data from proprietary database systems such as web shops, websites or stock management is no longer a challenge with eXtra4<dropIT>. The new software tool from eXtra4 Software + Service GmbH converts copied text from a computer's clipboard into print data. For the printing itself, the subsidiary of label specialist Ferdinand Eisele from Birkenfeld near Pforzheim, Germany, relies on its own tried-and-tested eXtra4<winIII> software. Direct access to the third-party system is not necessary with eXtra4<dropIT>. For users, label printing is simplified to a matter of copy & paste.

Label printing as a copying process
As an independent front-end software, eXtra4<dropIT> is actively operated by the user: He manually places data from the clipboard of his computer system into the window of eXtra4<dropIT> using the "Paste" command (Ctrl + V or Ctrl + V). Where the data in the clipboard comes from is arbitrary. The user can grab it in any third-party system by using the copy command (Ctrl+C or Ctrl+C), e.g. in a PDF document, a spreadsheet table, a text file or in the data record of a database.

Independent of source data
Due to the copying process, eXtra4<dropIT> makes label printing independent of source data: Just as the format of the original data can be arbitrary, its storage location is also irrelevant. Whether local computer, central server or cloud - the print tool does not require access to the third-party system. Users of cloud-based solutions for stock management, web shops or cash registers in particular therefore have easy access to label printing via eXtra4<dropIT>.

Transformation and transfer via scripting
The task of eXtra4 as a printing tool is to convert the copied data into printable labels. For this purpose the software uses scripting technology. A script determines which parts of the copied data are adapted in which way for a specific label. The scripting must be created individually, suitable for the type of source data in question and in accordance with the intended goal: printed text in defined design on a specific label in a specific printer. This means that not only the printable label contents are prepared and transferred, but also the necessary control commands for the connected printer. ...

... read more of the press release on the new printing tool eXtra4<dropIT>

... learn more details on software-tools for label printing with eXtra4<winIII>