Designing Labels in LabelForge PRO

Overview

The Label Designer module is meant for creating or editing completely custom designs, using text, images, or barcodes. These items can be placed and modified with the menus, and can be moved around your label by dragging them on the design area.

Label Designer Toolbar

The toolbar across the top of the screen shows some common controls and options for the Label Designer.

1. Hamburger Menu: Access common file options, such as creating a new design, saving and loading designs, and choosing program settings.
2. Quick Save: Save the current label design with its current file name. If you haven’t saved the file yet, you will be prompted to choose a file name and location.
3. Group/Ungroup: Set a group of selected objects to act as a single large object, or reverse this choice. Grouped objects will be moved and resized together.
4. Undo/Redo: Cancel a recent action,
5. or repeat a canceled action.
6. Copy/Paste/Delete: Duplicate or remove the selected object.
7. Zoom Out/In/Fit: Adjust your view of the design area to allow fine-tuning.
8. Close: Close the Label Designer.

Creating a Label Design

When you open Label Designer, or choose the New Label option in the Hamburger Menu, the New Label window will open.

The New Label Options include the length and width of your design. On the Kodiak or Toro Max systems, you can also choose “Reset to Tape Size” to set your label dimensions to the default size for your loaded label stock. If your label stock uses pre-printed elements, check the Show Supply Background checkbox to show those preprinted elements on the screen.

The New Label Template section of the window lets you choose a premade template to apply to your new design, such as an ANSI-style warning template or a basic barcode template. By default, you will start with a blank label. To use a prepared template instead, choose a Template Category from the drop-down menu and choose a template from the previews that appear. LabelForge PRO will automatically adjust the template to fit your label’s dimensions.

Once you have made your selections, click Finish to start designing your label.

Insert Menu and Design Objects

Each object on your label, such as a text box or an image, is added to your label through the Insert Menu.

Click on the desired item type to add it to the center of your label; when an object has been added to the design, the new object will automatically be selected for editing. To select a different object, simply click on it in the design area; to select multiple objects, hold the Control key and click on each item.

• Text: Add simple text items to your label, useful for headers or static information. Basic text can be set to a fixed size or locked in place.
• Rich Text: Add rich text items, useful for descriptive or dynamic content. Rich text can wrap within a box, and different parts of the same item can use different font styles.
• Linear Barcode: Add a line-style barcode in a variety of formats. Supported formats are Codabar, Code 128, Code 128B, Code 2 of 5 (Interleaved 2 of 5), Code 39, EAN13 (ISBN), EAN8 (8-2, 8-5), UPC-A (A2, A5), and UPC-E (A2, A5).
• 2D Barcode: Add a grid-style barcode in a variety of formats. Supported formats are Data Matrix, PDF417, and QR Code.
• Image: Import a custom image, such as a company logo. Selecting this option will prompt you for the file that you want to use; supported file types are .bmp, .gif, .jpg/.jpeg, .png, .ppm, .svg/.sgvz, .tif, and .xpm.
• Shape: Add geometric shapes such as lines, rectangles, and circles to your design. You can change the style of a selected Shape object by clicking on a different shape in the menu.
• Symbols: Add standardized symbols from a massive library, sorted by categories such as “Arrows,” “Injury,” and “Prohibited.” Choose a category on the left side of the Symbols window, select the desired symbol on the right side, and click the Insert button to add that symbol to your design.

Dimensions Menu

When an object is selected, use this menu to precisely control the object’s size, location, or rotation. You can also quickly move the object by dragging it across the design area, or resize it by selecting it and dragging the control boxes at its corners.

Order Menu

When an object is selected, use this menu to adjust the object’s arrangement relative to other objects or the label as a whole. You can center objects on the label, or align multiple selected objects to each other. You can also control whether an object covers up another, or is covered instead.

Details Menu

When an object is selected, use this menu to adjust the unique options available for that type of object. For example, for text objects, you can change the font and size, while for barcode objects, you can choose the barcode format and options for human-readable text (HRT).

Color Menu

When an object is selected, use this menu to choose the colors for that object. You can select a wide variety of colors, even if the appropriate supplies are not currently loaded, but only colors that match your loaded supplies can be printed accurately.

Data Source Menu and Automatic Label Content

Connect your label design to a spreadsheet or database, and automatically generate a series of matching labels, or add automatically generated content to your existing label design.

To use this function, start by selecting the type of Data Source that you want to use, from the drop-down menu:

• ArcFlash: Pull information from an arc flash database, like the one used by LabelForge PRO’s Arc Flash labeling module.
• CSV: Use a spreadsheet that has been saved in the widely-used Comma-Separated Value (CSV) format.
• DSN: Use a Data Source Name to get information from a database, following ODBC protocols. Network connections are possible; check with your IT team for help.
• Function: When using other Data Sources, the Function option lets you apply additional formatting to the information from those sources. It also provides a way to use more than one Data Source in a single design object, such as a product name immediately followed by its part number and description.
• GHS: Pull information from a GHS-style chemical database, like the one used by LabelForge PRO’s Chemical Labeling module.
• ImageFolder: Select a folder of images to print, with each image appearing on its own label.
• NFPA: Pull information from an NFPA-style chemical database, like the one used by LabelForge PRO’s NFPA/RTK labeling module.
• Sequence: Set up a sequence of numbers, automatically counting from a given start value to a given end value. You can also add a prefix, suffix, or zero padding. No separate file is needed.
• SQLite: Use the SQLite database management system to get information from a database. Network connections are possible; check with your IT team for help.
• TextList: Set up a sequence of text phrases, with each phrase appearing on its own label.
• Time: Add the current date or time (as set on your PC) to each label as it is printed.
• XLSX: Use a spreadsheet that has been saved in the Microsoft Excel workbook format (Excel 2007 or newer).

(For the ArcFlash, CSV, GHS, ImageFolder, NFPA, or XLSX Data Source types, the necessary file or files will need to be available on the system where you are using LabelForge PRO.)

After selecting the type of Data Source you want to use, click Add. Make the appropriate selections in this window to set up your Data Source.

Once a Data Source has been set up, select a Text, Rich Text, Linear Barcode, or 2D Barcode object on your design. (If you are using an ImageFolder, select an Image or Symbol object instead.) Then, select the desired field from the Data Source Field dropdown menu. The object will be automatically updated to reflect the contents of that field for the current record in the Data Source.

The Navigation section at the bottom of the Data Source menu shows the current record and the total number of records in the current Data Source. You can also cycle through the records or jump to a specific record.

Label Settings Menu

Choose basic label design options, such as the size of the label you are creating (or a dynamic size, which extends or shrinks to match your content) and the supplies you plan to use when printing your label.

Print Settings Menu

Adjust printing options, such as the common printing preferences. You can also choose which labels to print from an automatically generated set of labels, if you are using a Data Source.

When you are ready to print your label, click the Print button in the Print Settings menu.

More Support Options

If you have any questions about using LabelForge PRO label design software, get help from Graphic Products’ world-class support team by calling 800-788-5572 or visiting GraphicProducts.com. We’re here to help with all your labeling needs!