TPGTEX Announces DrumWizard © V. 9 GHS Ready Labeling Software

OSHA is requiring all chemical manufacturers to be GHS complaint by August 2011. Is your company ready? DrumWizard © V.9 is GHS compliant software designed to address the needs of chemical manufacturers.

 

GHS – Global Hazard Symbols is being adopted by many countries around the world.  In the United States several agencies have requirements for classification and labeling of chemicals. OSHA’s HCS – Hazard Communication Standard requires chemical manufacturers and importers to prepare labels and material safety data sheets to convey the hazards and protective measures to users of chemicals,  employees working in facilities that manufacture, handle and store the chemicals.  OSHA is expecting all manufacturers to be GHS compliant by August 2011.

DrumWizard ©  V.9 is GHS compliant software designed to address the needs of chemical manufacturers. It has the ability to store chemical information and print on demand labels for chemical products.  DrumWizard ©   was first installed almost 16 years ago in one of the largest chemical manufacturers in the United States who could not find, at the time, a suitable solution for print on demand. Since then, DrumWizard ©   has been updated and upgraded to comply with many requirements, including the need to print in multiple languages.

“DrumWizard ©  V. 9 is experiencing unprecedented deployment success,” said Robert Pennington, Founder and CEO of TPGTEX. “It has already surpassed  any previous version deployment rate. With the availability of full color printing of all GHS symbols, multiple languages including simple Chinese and Creole on one label and multiple graphic formats, we expect more customers to make the move to DrumWizard © V. 9.”

Many customers have already benefited from deploying DrumWizard © V. 9  “We were not sure how we were going to be in compliant with the GHS requirements, in addition we also had to ship our product to Europe and had to use the European phrases. It looked as if we were going to be in a big mess.” Said  Mr. Cox of Dixie Chemical “ We had a very short time to deploy the new software.” DrumWizard ©   Solved our problems. It came with all European phrases in 26 languages, all GHS symbols and best of all it can print on demand any label we needed to any printer we wanted.”  .

DrumWizard © V. 9 is available for shipping right now. It is compatible with windows 7, 64 bit, (However, the folks at TPGTEX understand that many companies still use older operating systems and made sure their software can be installed on older versions going all the way back to windows 2000.) It comes in several versions, from stand alone to enterprise solution. It has the ability to connect directly to existing data or can be used by itself.  Demo versions of the software are available upon request: http://www.tpgtex.com/demo.html or by calling the company directly 713.726.9636

TPGTEX is an experienced labeling and solutions provider of all aspects of Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC). They provide customers with labeling software solutions as well as Printers (both thermal and laser), Ribbons, and Labels. With over 25 years experience in the Hazardous, industrial and commercial Labeling business, their customers’ list includes both large corporations and small companies alike.

Will Food labels become obsolete with smartphone and barcodes?

As consumer want to become more educated about the food they buy and consume, many turn to apps for the iPhone and other smart phones that can read the barcodes on the food labels. Once the barcodes are read, the application displays information about the food product that may not be on the label.  In Japan QR Codes have been used to tag fresh produce to show where it comes from including information such as soil composition.

Without a doubt consumers deserve to know as much as they want about the products they consume. Food Labels are limited in space and the amount of information they can display. The demand for more information that can be accessed instantly is answered by companies that created databases with nutritional information about hundreds of thousands of food products.

Although this technology is great and allows easy access to relevant information, many consumers still do not have access to it or do not know how to use it.

There is also a practical aspect – I loaded one of these applications on my iPhone and went to the grocery store. I used my regular shopping list and checked the products I normally buy. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that almost all the products I buy were available, however most of the information was a repeat of what was already printed on the label.  One side  benefit I found is the ability to enlarge text using the iPhone that was normally too small to read on the label. However, scanning the products was a time consuming task and I could not imagine taking my any children on this shopping trip…

Will Food Label Become Obsolete? Absolutely not!

Food labels are here to stay. I expect to see companies adding QR codes to their own labels to control the source of additional information. I am also convinced that as we are using more pictographs to communicate quick ideas – those too will become permanent feature on our food labels. A heart – for good for your heart foods, Green for organic  and so on.

How to Choose Labeling Software?

There are several good label software packages available. Whether you are considering upgrading your current label design software or in the market for a brand new software you need to consider Several factors.

Shipping label software using multiple barcodes

1. Make a list of everything you would want on your label - What information will you need on the labels?

Typical product labels have Product Name, Short Description and UPC Bar Code. You may want to have price or even an image of your product. Answering this question will help you determine what type of ELEMENTS the label software must allow.
Label Elements are: Images (jpg, png, bmp etc.), types of barcodes (Linear, 2d, 3d,) and variety of barcodes (UPCA, EAN 13, Code 39, PDF 14), variety of text (Sizes, fonts, colors), Shapes. There are more labels elements, but this is for another blog.

2. Find Out where the information on the label is coming from. Is your product information stored in your inventory software, QuickBooks, Excel Spreadsheet? 

The answer to this will determine what type of Data Connection the label software must have. You may be surprised to find that although many software packages claim to have an ODBC connection capabilities, not all can connect to Inventory software or even QuickBooks.

Thermal Transfer Printer

3. How would the printing of labels be done? Would you have a printing station at your warehouse? Would you like your employees to print labels using mobile devices? 

Most advance label software packages start with a lite version and go all the way to enterprise level to allow for multiple users, printing from multiple devices. If you do not wish to install the software at all, you may choose a labeling software package that allows printing from a secure web portal. 

4. Do you plan on using your existing printer/s?  Are you planning on buying a new printer?

make sure the software you are getting has the correct printer drivers for your printers and operating system.

5. Are you exporting any of your products? Are you selling your products in a bi-lingual market?

Chemical Drum label with SIX languages

If so you need to be sure that your labeling software can accommodate the languages you need. In addition, you would want your software to be capable of printing in two languages or more on one label.

6. What is your budget? 

Labeling software can be found for free or shareware on the Internet - but it may not meet all your needs. On the other hand, Enterprise level packages can cost several thousand dollars.


Use this short check list when shopping around:

• Data Base connectivity- Can it connect easily to the company's database?

• Barcodes - does it have all the types of barcodes you will need?

• Graphics - what kind of graphic files can be used?

• Fit Text to Box - can the text be fitted inside a box automatically?

• Versions - What versions are available? Server (enterprise Edition),

• Printer Drivers - Can it use standard printer drivers? Does it have a printer driver for your current printer?

• Compatibility - Is it compatible with your current operation system?

• Languages - Does it support multiple languages? (using Unicode)

• Support - What type of support is available for it and how much it costs?

• Cost - How much does it cost? Does that fit your budget?