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A Zebra Technologies White PaperUsing SAP Smart Forms forBar Code Label Printing frommySAP Business Suite

Executive SummarySmart Formsprovides an easy,fast way to printcomplex bar codedlabels on demandon Zebra printersfrom mySAPBusiness Suite.Users can counton complete dataand applicationintegrity.mySAP Business Suite from SAP AG helps organisations manage comprehensivefinancial, manufacturing, human resources, sales, and distribution functions thatare essential to their operations. While dynamic documents and reports are thepredominant printed output from SAP modules, customers also want to outputhigh-quality bar code labels with graphics for applications such as manufacturing,shipping, item tracking, and stock control. Such labels require the use of specialitybar code label printers, which SAP did not support until recently.In response to customer requirements, SAP has extended the bar code designand printing of its Smart Forms design software. SAP added bar code support toSmart Forms by licensing and integrating bar code rendering technology from ZebraTechnologies Corporation into the software, and by developing its first true bar codelabel printer drivers for mySAP Business Suite. The bar code printer driver supportsonly Zebra Programming Language (ZPL ) for its output. SAP now natively outputsPCL, Postscript , and Prescribe for forms, and ZPL for labels. The capability toleverage the data integrity provided by SAP modules can now be realised by directlyintegrating bar code labelling into many common business processes, with theexact same tool – Smart Forms – used for any form printed on a laser printer.Customers who wish to integrate bar code label printers within mySAP BusinessSuite are presented with the option to either design the label using SAP’s SmartForms layout tool, upload the printer programming language into a SAPscript layout,or use label design software in combination with an external service (middleware,typically on a Windows NT or Unix server).This white paper focuses specifically on SAP’s Smart Forms option for bar coding.The Zebra Technologies white paper “Bar Code Printing Options for SAP End Users”provides an overview of the various other methods for generating bar code outputfrom SAP applications. See the white paper “BAR-ONE for mySAP BusinessSuite” to learn more about Zebra’s software upload solution. SAP documentation,located on SAPnet (www.sdn.sap.com), describes how label printers can be drivendirect from mySAP Business Suite. Refer to SAPnet notes 750002 and 750772.2A Zebra Technologies White Paper

IntroductionmySAP Business Suite forms have traditionally beendesigned by manually coding SAPscript commands.SAPscript then requires an SAP-developed printer driverfor the target device. The problem that both SAPscriptand Smart Forms have faced is that neither of them,until now, have had a true bar code label printer driver.SAPscript is also not supported on some of the newmodules available with mySAP Business Suite.SAPscript users have worked around the driverlimitation by uploading the label printer’s commandlanguage—ZPL, for example—then sending print jobsdirectly to the printer via a generic ASCII line printerdriver. SAP has created versions of these generic ASCIIdrivers for various bar code label printer manufacturers,but none of them are true printer drivers that supportall the specific features bar code label printers provide.mySAP Business Suite also supports printing withWindows drivers via the SAPWin device type andSAPlpd. This approach is not suitable for bar code labelprinting and specialty bar code label printers because: SAPWin device type has no support for bar codelabel printer features such as printer-resident barcode symbologies, cutter, Flash memory, printspeeds, print mode, darkness, etc. SAPWin device type and bar code label Windowsprinter drivers may send the entire label down asa graphic, and need to do this for every label withvariable data. This results in slow printing andlots of network traffic, and is not suitable forindustrial applications. Smart Forms bar codes, until recently, have notbeen supported with the SAPwin device type.Users need to acquire and license a third-party barcode DLL. These bar codes are downloaded asbitmap objects via Windows drivers. This approachis expensive and can reduce printer performanceand bar code accuracy.Producing Bar Codes withSmart FormsSmart Forms is a graphical forms design tool that wasdeveloped with the purposes of letting everyday SAPusers design forms themselves, instead of relying onprogrammers, as was the case with SAPscript. SmartForms provides high performance, even during highvolume printing, when using its native printer drivers(PCL, Postscript, Prescribe, and ZPL). Smart Forms hasbeen available for several years, since mySAP BusinessSuite version 4.6c was launched, and has been usedby some of the world’s largest SAP sites. Now thatSmart Forms supports bar code rendering and bar codeprinters, it can also be used for label design.Formatting attributes on the label are easily moved,changed, added, or deleted using the Smart Formsdesign tool. No SAPscript programming is required tomake formatting changes. Label size, font types, barcode symbology, line spacing, justification, logos, lines,boxes, and variable data can all be specified within thelabel design. A label can easily be modified at any timeand activated all within SAPgui without the need toprogram ABAP or SAPscript.After the form or label is designed graphically in SmartForms, it simply has to be activated. Once live, the labelcan be printed from any other mySAP Business Suiteclient, anywhere in the world, on any Zebra printer onthe network, without the need to purchase, set up ormaintain any additional software. Smart Forms is acomplete SAP-developed and -delivered solution;the printing is done direct from the mySAP BusinessSuite server.Older versions of mySAP Business Suite will require thecorrect SAP support pack and the relevantSAP-developed Zebra device type. The Zebra devicedriver for mySAP Business Suite is available from theSAP FTP site. Visit www.sdn.sap.com and refer toSAPnet notes 750002 and 750772. The driver can beinstalled in only a few minutes and it never needs to bemaintained or modified. SAPWin does not support printing directly from theserver to the printer (SAPlpd must be used). SAPdoes not recommend using SAPlpd for industrial orhigh-volume applications.A Zebra Technologies White Paper3

Three Steps to Bar Code PrintingStep 1 – Define the bar code and text styles that youwill use within your labels. This style collection ensuresthat all of your labels will have a consistent look andfeel (if required).Step 2 – Lay out the label graphically using SmartForms. Place fixed or variable objects on the labelincluding text, bar codes, logos, lines, boxes, etc.Step 3 – Save, activate, and test the form all with acouple of mouse clicks. The completed format resideson the server and can be used to output variable-databar code labels on any printer on the network.4A Zebra Technologies White Paper

Benefits to Using Smart Formsand Zebra PrintersIn choosing the Smart Forms method over theSAPscript approach, mySAP Business Suite userscan leverage much easier and less time-consumingintegration with the ABAP print program. Smart Formsalso provides you with a single solution that can beused for both forms and labels, on both laser printersand bar code label printers. With Smart Forms, usersget the same mission-critical, proven technology asSAPscript, but with lower total cost of ownership.The advantages of selecting Smart Forms overmiddleware are similar to those of SAPscript.You can use the existing SAP print spooler andeliminate the need to purchase, set up, and maintainthe middleware application for every server at everyseparate site location. This approach can alsoimprove process throughput. The Smart Forms ZPL driver maps all objects toprinter-resident objects rather than downloadingthem as graphics. This means that bar codes, lines,and text are transmitted as ZPL commands, ensuringhigh-quality, readable bar codes and the fastestpossible label throughput. The Smart Forms ZPL driver supports options specificto bar code printers, including darkness control,speed, print mode, and many more settings. Withfull support of options, printers can be optimised toprovide maximum performance and label quality forthe specific usage environment. Smart Forms now provides a single layout tool thatcan be used natively for both laser and bar codeprinters. The same designers can design forms andlabels with the same user interface. This eliminatesthe need for proprietary bar code specialistknowledge, minimises the impact of staff turnover,and provides independence from expensivethird-party programming.Utilising Smart Forms, users can now integratebar coding into any existing mySAP Business Suiteapplication. Smart Forms now provides the form andlabel design capabilities that support all the corefunctionality and high performance of Zebra printers.Below are a few of the benefits available from thecombination of Zebra printers and SAP Smart Forms: Smart Forms is much easier and quicker to integratewith ABAP print programs compared totraditional SAPscript. SAPscript has drivers for mainstream office printersbut not bar code label printers. SAPscript uses passthrough drivers that require the printers’ commandlanguage to be uploaded into a form. The ZPL barcode printer driver in Smart Forms simplifies set upand enables maximum throughput. Smart Forms supports print preview of bar codes. Smart Forms supports complex forms functionalitythat can now be used with label printers. Thisincludes dynamic forms, which allow subsequentlabels in a batch or print run to be laid out differentlyto that of the first label.A Zebra Technologies White Paper5