Massive time delay to printing labels
I've been using BarTender Designer 2019 for over a year now to print simple barcode labels from my Windows 10 laptop. Version of BarTender is 11.1/167038 (64-bit).
Barcode printer is by Zebra, model ZD220 and works perfectly fine.
My major issue since day 1 is the speed of which the communication from the software to the printer takes. For one label it takes around 4 minutes before the printer actually does anything. There are no issues with the physical printing and the label turns out as expected. No unusual characters or images, just a simple barcode with text above it. It should take seconds.
Sometimes it works without any hassle - the label prints immediately. But mostly it is so slow to complete that it makes me almost give up.
I've been into Windows Services and restarted all of the BarTender associated processes and have also accessed the Administration Console and restarted everything there too as well as restarting the software and the printer.
Generally this makes absolutely no difference and I end up restarting things over and over again before it eventually starts performing better, or I give up completely and turn everything off.
Has anyone else had this problem and worked out any solution? I emailed Seagull support but they just ignored me so that was a waste of time.
Any help appreciated as it is driving me mad and making a quick job take ages.
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Sounds very odd Scott.
Are you using the ZDesigner or Seagull version of the software? I have come across various issues over the years where the ZDesigner driver starts playing up but using the Seagull version fixes it.
Do you know where the delay happens? If you send a command direct from the driver does the same thing happen? Printer Properties>Tools>Action> Form Feed will feed a blank label via the Seagull driver or for ZDesigner (depending on how old it is) use either Printer Properties>Support>Feed Blank Label button or Document Properties>Tools>Print> Feed one label option
After a refresh reboot I would also suggest creating a brand new label from scratch with just say the "Sample Text" box on it and see what that does. If a label format has become corrupted in some way then this can give you some spurious results.
Also you could try logging onto the PC as a different (Admin) user and/or use the Run As Administrator option in case there are some weird permission type issues..
I hope this helps
Pete
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Hi Pete
Many thanks for your suggestions. I've tried them all without success unfortunately.
The printer itself works fine when sending through a test print via the Properties. It's the Bartender software where the problem lies. It's the Seagull version I'm using.
I've tried so many combinations of running as an Administrator, stopping and restarting services etc but it is driving me absolutely mad.
One label is currently taking about 4 minutes before it prints out. I'm seriously considering moving to a different application as I just can't get it to work properly.
Any more ideas?
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Are you connecting to the remote database or image files or anything like that?
I have sometimes seen slow response times where networked devices and files are concerned.
Also have you tried using the File>Print>Test Print button as that just prints what is on the screen effectively with no database look ups or anything like that?.
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No it's a simple standalone laptop. Nothing networked at all. Everything is local.
The test print works absolutely fine, it's literally just Bartender and it is so frustrating. After I sent the message last week it finally started working properly but this was after over an hour of trying work things out.
I think I'm probably just going to move away from Bartender and look at some alternative software as I can't really keep using it like this for much longer.
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Anyone else out there able to offer some assistance? It's driving me absolutely mad.
When the software works, it's great. But generally it doesn't - I can't be the only one having this problem. Everything is standalone so it should be simple.
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As mentioned above that does sound very strange Scott as I have delayed/slow printing issues tend to be either connected with either the PC having insufficient resources to process the print job (not enough RM and/or a large label with a lot of embedded data or graphics) or else network issues or on a very few occasions where a label fiel has become corrupted..
I would suggest, if you have not already down so, install the latest version of 2019 (r10) as well as the latest Seagull drivers for the Zebra (2021_1) and then create a new label with just say a single text field or barcode on it and then test with that. Leave the text fields as the default font for you printer rather than using a true type/Windows font initially as these should be sent down as (basically) simple text file with the ZPL/EPL programming language and not a s graphics.
IF that works then try adding more data to this label and change the font selection to match the one you wish to use and see what happens with that
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Hi all. Found this thread researching a similar issue as Scott. After some mucking about suffering what sounds like the same thing, I discovered that Windows 10's driver management function was largely at fault. Per its reckoning my driver was up to date and complete, but further digging revealed that it was simply unaware of any other drivers and was incapable of validating driver integrity. I had a driver from 2023 installed (current year as of writing is 2025) and it was broken. So yeah, if you have a driver installed for a printer that Windows doesn't recognize it'll go "Oh, sure, yeah that's correct and functioning and up to date" and won't do anything. Not great design but hey, it's Microsoft, that's nothing new.
For reference, I'm using BarTender Designer 2019 R10 version 11.1/167038 (64-bit) with a Datamax O'Niel I-4606e Mark II
What worked for me was going to Seagull's website (www.bartendersoftware.com, or search it up yourself if you don't trust the link or it's out of date, just DO NOT try and use a third party website if you don't know what you're doing) and downloading their version of the driver off the site. It'll ask for name and email, but you type whatever gobbledygook into the fields and it'll let you through. It'll download the driver in the form of an installer wizard that will be able to automatically update to the most recent version. Your computer will need to restart, so make sure to save anything you're working on before going through with it.
A couple last things, make sure BarTender isn't open when you try to update, the wizard doesn't like that. Also for good measure if you're like me in having some trust issues with installs, back up your computer, or whatever files you care about. It's good practice to do that anyway but better safe than sorry.
In the event that still doesn't fix your issue, open up another support ticket with Seagull to get their input.
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