Jan/Feb 2004

Zebra barcode printers can now be networked much more seamlessly into manufacturing or other process management functions, thanks to the introduction of support for two key technologies or protocols. These are SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) and SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol).

The company says manufacturers currently running SCADA systems can now monitor their barcode printing from their central systems - which in turn should allow users to manage and programme their print services remotely.

For example, the company says, if a printer should run out of labels or have a print-head failure, the tool can instantly notify the user, who can remotely assess the issue and resolve it. SNMP-enabled printers can plug straight into HP Openview or IBM Tivoli solutions.

These new features are among a range of innovations in the latest products launched by Zebra, which also include a user-friendly graphical management package, Visual Alert Manager for Zebra. This is said to be the first barcode printer management solution of its kind. Developed in association with software house Iconics, it is a real-time, customisable graphical software package that allows remote monitoring and management of bar code printers for businesses that don't have an overall system management tool.