Multi-lingual Label Printing with NiceLabel (Unicode Support)

Sales Tips: Multi-lingual Label Printing with NiceLabel (Unicode Support)

Many times labels must include more than just one language and combine printed information in English with Asian, Arabic or Eastern European languages. Printing international characters to thermal printers has always been a challenge for the user. Different regions in the world use different languages that are encoded in different codepages.

Codepages are tables that have all the characters available for the selected language. If you must use characters that are available in different codepages and print them on the same label, you have a problem with non-Unicode software applications. Non-Unicode software applications do not allow you to design labels using characters from more than one codepage.

The only universal solution to print characters retrieved from different codepages is to use the Unicode standard. Unicode enables you to use standardized solutions for any combination of input languages on the label. The main advantages of Unicode for multi-lingual label printing are:

What is Unicode?

Unicode is a standard that defines how characters from different languages are encoded in the font files and describes how the applications can find and retrieve the required characters. Individual Unicode fonts can contain characters from all languages (Western, Central and East-European, Arabic, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, etc.) or only characters from a subset of these languages. Unicode is accepted worldwide in all modern operating systems, applications and databases and is the only method for reliable multi-lingual data interchange between computers and applications.


Unicode Fonts and Language Setup

Latest Windows operating systems, such as Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows 2003, have Unicode stored in different encoding schemes like UTF-8, UTF-16 and UTF-32. The Unicode Transformation Format (UTF) is an algorithmic mapping from any Unicode character to a unique byte sequence. A specific byte sequence is the code for a specific character that is translated into languages like Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, etc. If you want to create a label that has both text in English and a language that does not base on the Latin alphabet, like an Asian or Cyrillic language, make sure of the following:

Using Unicode in NiceLabel

NiceLabel Pro is a truly Unicode-aware application and allows you to use special characters from different languages on the same label. NiceLabel offers to use Unicode in the following ways:

  1. Fixed and Variable text
  2. Unicode database
  3. Multiple languages within a single text object
  4. Transfer multi-lingual data between applications

Label Design and NiceDriver

When you design a label, make sure you select a Unicode TrueType for the text object (Arial Unicode MS or Lucida Sans Unicode). To experience the most optimized label printing, it is always best to use a NiceDriver of your thermal printer when you design the label. For example, most of the Zebra printers have installed a Unicode resident font (ZEBRA Swiss Unicode).

NiceDrivers follow the development of Unicode-aware thermal printers and enable user to print Unicode characters from residential printer fonts. Using NiceDrivers with internal printer fonts increase printing speed because the characters from the selected language are recalled from the printer's firmware directly. There is no need to send characters from the computer as a series of bitmap images. The optimized print stream contains less data to describe the same label. Less data can be sent to the printer quickly, which results in fast label printing with no pausing between labels.

Using Fixed and Variable Unicode Text

NiceLabel software offers many methods for using text on the label. There are three objects (Text, Text Box and Rich Text Box) that can be used for character manipulation on the label and that are all compliant with Unicode formatted data. The objects can have non-changeable content or the content can change with each label. You can also copy the text formatted in Unicode in some other application and paste it to NiceLabel.

Using a Unicode Database

There may be times when you are printing a label that will be used in different languages. To solve this problem, a database containing information in both English and other foreign languages is used.

Connecting to the Database

NiceLabel can connect to and retrieve data from any kind of Unicode compliant database. The database can be file-based like MS Access or server-based like MS SQL Server. The input data is automatically recognized as Unicode formatted data. The detection is automatic and the user does not have to make any manual modifications.

When you have created a label, you can insert a database the following way:

  1. Click on DATA > DATABASE ACCESS and select the 'Wizard…' button.
  2. Follow the prompts to create your database connection.

Once you have linked the database to your label, you will be able to print labels using your Unicode database.

Mix Languages within a single Text Object

You can not only use text objects formatted in different languages on the same label, but you can actually mix the languages in the same text object on the label. Such functionality was not even imaginable using codepages alone because only one particular codepage could be used at a given time. With NiceLabel Pro you can use multi-lingual Unicode data in the same object.

Transfer multi-lingual data between applications

You can exchange data between two Unicode-aware applications with a simple copy-paste operation. Multi-lingual text data can be simply imported onto the label that is designed in the NiceLabel Pro software regardless of the regional settings properties on the Windows operating system. You can have defined one regional setting on your operating system but work with data and languages from a region using different language characters. The full support for Unicode standard in the NiceLabel Pro software enables you to use different language characters simultaneously.

If you want to write in more than one language, add input languages of your choice to your operating system (START > CONTROL PANEL > REGIONAL AND LANGUAGE OPTIONS and select the LANGUAGE tab). Then simply switch the keyboard layout (use key combination SHIFT and ALT) and NiceLabel will respond to new characters.

The flexibility to print multiple languages without adding fonts and redeveloping label formats provides a significant total cost advantage. Unicode support is a great advantage to companies that operate globally. The complexity of solutions and fear of additional development costs used to discourage modifications to labeling systems. Native Unicode support in thermal printers and NiceLabel software guarantee that your printing solutions are applicable worldwide. There is no need for label modifications or even to purchase extra equipment or software. Once you have created your label printing solution, any user anywhere in the world can apply it.

For more detailed information on Unicode support with NiceLabel, view the

For more information on Unicode in general, view www.unicode.org.

Niceware Partner Extranet

As a reseller of the NiceLabel software, you have access to the Niceware Partner Extranet at http://partner.nicewareintl.com where you can find helpful sales and marketing information about the NiceLabel software family. Contact Niceware for access information.


Contact Niceware International, LLC

Niceware International markets NiceLabel software products through a channel of specialized resellers. If you want to become a value added reseller of the NiceLabel software family or use NiceLabel for your label printing integration projects, please email Niceware International at sales@nicewareintl.com or call at 414-476-6423.

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