text: Missing Data On Label – BarTender Support Portal
  Missing Data On Label Follow
  September 11, 2013 18:46
  I have a problem that I suspect is related to stock setup and media handling, although I'm not sure. When printing to a SATO CL408e from BarTender, I occasionally get a label printed with lines and my data identifiers but no barcodes or field data (retrieved from database).
  I've recently upgraded the driver from version 7.3.1 to 7.3.3. So far so good. I'll be confident that this solved the problem in a couple of days.
  September 13, 2013 11:35
  If the problem occurs occassionally, that could also indicate a memory / caching problem, or even a comms issue.
  Let's see how it goes with the latest drivers. If the issue persists, you might wish to try and deactivate some printer optimizations under the "File > Print > Performance" dialog in BarTender.
  September 15, 2013 18:44
  I did wind up having to disable all printer optimizations by selecting the option to print directly to the printer but for a different reason... With version 7.3.3, I no longer seem to be having the problem of missing fields on the labels, but I got a new problem of not being able to keep the printer's print speed and darkness consistent unless I chose to disable all printing options by printing direct. This wasn't a problem with the 7.3.1 version, in my experience.
  September 16, 2013 09:35
  Have you tried changing the speed and darkness settings via the "File > Print > Document Properties" dialog under the "Options" tab. If you change the settings directly in your BarTender document, they should be sent accordingly at print time.
  Is it the case perhaps that even if you change these settings to your own (not printer) settings, the next time you enter the "Document Properties" the settings remain unchanged?
  September 16, 2013 16:50
  I'm familiar with the settings in Bartender that you mentioned, and yes, that works fine. The problem is that we have clients with hundreds of formats (and various printers) and new ones being created all the time by users of varying experience. I prefer to control these settings at the driver or printer to prevent user error and to avoid having to fix the formats that already exist.
  With the 7.3.1 driver, I thought I was controlling this at the driver with the "Advanced > Printing Defaults > Options > Use Current Printer Settings" but it is possible that these settings did nothing and neither the driver nor the label format were able to change the darkness or print speed, but with the 7.3.3 driver, I couldn't get label format's settings to be ignored except by choosing to print directly to the printer, which made me think it was the driver that was causing an issue.
  In the end, I think I'm okay, but I'm not 100% clear on what order of precedence is intended to be and how much control I have over it. For example, if I wanted to control print speed in the label format and print darkness at the driver or the printer, I'm not sure there are settings that would allow me to do that, or if it is even designed to be possible. In general, optimal settings are specific to a make of printer, and sometimes to an individual printer, so it makes the most sense to me to control it at a more discreet level in terms of computer / printer, but globally in terms of label formats.
  September 18, 2013 12:27
  The setting done over "File > Print > Document Properties" dialog prevail over any other printer / printer driver setting. For Sato printers not any setting is configurable "at print time", so this is why we just offer those settings which can be changed via a printer command at print time. If under "Document Properties" you set the Print Speed to a certain value and the darkness to "Use Current Printer Settings", then it will do exactly that (speed set in BarTender's document, darkness taken directly from printer settings).
  Please note as well that changing the Printing Defaults under "Advanced Settings" will only have effect for those environments where printers will be recreated at user login (such as Terminal Server / Citrix environments). If you're running under a normal Windows environment you will need to apply the page settings via the "General > Preferences" tab instead.
  If you wish to completely ignore printer and media settings set in the BT document (not recommended), you would do this by enabling the "Share settings between all documents" checkbox under the "Tools > Driver Options > Network Settings" dialog under the driver properties dialog.