It’s difficult to overstate how important barcodes and shipping labels are to modern commerce. In retail environments, product barcodes are essential to maintaining accurate inventory, tracing products, and facilitating the retail process. During shipping, labels play a role in directing shipments across increasingly complex global supply chains and maintaining front-to-back traceability. In recent years, QR codes have also expanded how companies engage their customers and trace their goods around the world.
Given the indispensable functions of these labels, much has been written about the different printers and application systems that help companies outfit their goods with required codes and information. In comparison, much less has been written about the tools that companies use to design these labels.
No coding/marking solution is complete without label design software, and, like printing hardware, label design software has made some impressive improvements over the years. In the past, label design required a significant amount of manual input from users. Today, label design software solutions simplify the entire label design process via complete data network integration.
Here, we examine the advantages of modern labeling software by comparing two of the most popular options on the market: NiceLabel, created by Loftware, and BarTender, created by Seagull Scientific. Throughout this NiceLabel vs. BarTender comparison, we will see:
NiceLabel and BarTender are both considered industry-leading label design programs. Both programs have existed since around the early 1990s and have helped companies of all industries streamline their labeling processes for decades.
Programs like NiceLabel and BarTender improve labeling in the following ways:
One of the most obvious benefits offered by label design programs is their intuitive graphic design features. Without needing any specialized training, anyone can use a label design program to locate the required label template and populate it with the appropriate product information.
Whether you need to produce a GS1 product barcode or a detailed shipping label, NiceLabel and BarTender can help you create it within minutes.
Label design programs don’t just provide users with easy-to-use templates, they streamline the entire process by automatically pulling product data from across the entire company database.
When a company doesn’t have an integrated data network, employees are forced to manually input all relevant product information when designing a label. Not only is manual data entry tedious, but it can also often lead to product labeling mistakes that can take hours to rectify.
Today’s labeling programs can connect with other business systems to automatically update variable data such as expiration dates and batch codes. By reducing manual data updates, label design programs can boost both label accuracy and general labeling efficiency.
Thanks to network integration, NiceLabel and BarTender allow companies to remotely manage all printing operations. Via one single interface, users can:
Although NiceLabel and BarTender work in very similar ways, they do differ when it comes to certain functionalities. While they share more similarities than differences, their distinctions can prove to be significant depending on specific business needs.
However, before delving into these differences, it is important to note that if you already have one of these products installed, it is very difficult to switch systems. Changing from one label program to another requires an entire IT infrastructure overhaul and possibly a change in printing hardware as well. Consequently, we always recommend performing a close NiceLabel vs. BarTender comparison before investing in either program.
The chart below is a good comparison starting point, but we still recommend speaking with an expert before making a purchase:
NiceLabel | BarTender | |
---|---|---|
Supported Platforms | - Windows - Android | Windows |
Support Availability | - 24/7 live support | - Support during business hours |
Available Program Training Options | - Live online training - On-site training - Written documents | - On-site training - Written documents |
Shared Functionality List | - Label printing - Barcode generation - Auto-update label information - Label templates - Radio-frequency identification - Serial number tracking - Shipping label generation | - Label printing - Barcode generation - Auto-update label information - Label templates - Radio-frequency identification - Serial number tracking - Shipping label generation |
Exclusive Functions | - Barcode scanning - Inventory management | - Compatible integration with Blocworx, IT Retail POS, Aquilon ERP, Latitude ERP, MyProduce, Propello, Epicor Eagle, IDBS E-WorkBook, OmegaCube ERP |
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