Barcodes:  

This software offers all barcode types including linear, 2D, GS1 Databar (RSS) and RFID. Although we only counted a little over 20 specific barcode fonts, this software includes numerous varieties of the font such as several Code 128s, 39s, EANs, PDF417s and more, so in total there are many barcodes available. It is a good idea to try their demo or contact Loftware to find out if they have the specific fonts you need.

Unlike many of the lower ranked products this software can help you generate RFID Labels and tags. It can create 96 and 64 bit class 1 UHFs, TI UHF Gen2 and UHF UCODE EPC 1.19. This software also can display a diversity of Alien Squiggles and Avery and supports Alien, AWID, Intermec, Symbol and ThingMagic RFID readers.

Connectivity/ Communication:  

The software is highly compatible. It can send print commands to standard and thermal printers and can communicate in native printer languages. It also supports downloaded and bitmapped True Type Fonts and Unicode. Loftware Manager can work with 32 bit compliant databases like Access, Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, Excel, dBase, Text and more, through ODBC connectivity. In terms of servers it works with Windows.

Label Managers’ interface has four language options, English, Francais, Deutsch and Espanol. We would have liked to have seen more; most of the higher end products offer 20 or more language choices.

Label Designer:  

Loftware Label Manager offers a good label designer and offers all of the compliance tools were looking for. With this label designer you can easily create a label within minutes, it support images, text, paragraphing, boxes, lines and more. Though it does not have a grouping option, you can select a group of items to be aligned.

This software includes numerous compliance labels and industry standard symbols. You can also download additional compliance labels online such as those needed for GM, AIAG, Toyota, Healthcare, Retail and UPS.

Label Design Ease of Use:  

We found the designer easy to use but not as straightforward to use as some other programs. We created our first label within minutes and the program offers numerous right-click options. Items can also be rotated and resized easily. It also has grid options, alignment tools and measurement options.

The only aspect of this software that is a slightly confusing is in the property section. If you want to change an aspect of a barcode, right click on the barcode and select “edit field” then a list of features pops up. However, you cannot tell which properties you can change until you click on a property and a drop down menu appears or does not appear depending on whether that feature can be changed. We had to experiment with the program before we figured this out.

Help/ Support:  

Loftware can be contacted by telephone or email and they offer one year of free support. They also post a generous amount of information online and inside the program and Loftware provides fee-based onsite training. The onsite training includes classes at their headquarters in Portsmouth New Hampshire or you can contact a Loftware trainer to come to your facility for training. They also have Systems Analyst Consultants available and can refer you to third-party representatives for application integration consulting.

The only service we would have liked to see offered is longer support terms and web training.

Label Manager is an exceptional product for compliance labeling and Loftware offers adequate support for their software. Since Loftware has been in the barcode business for over twenty years, you can depend on the stability of their program and their knowledge of the industry.