Inventors:
Steven F. Petteruti - East Greenwich RI
Majid Amani - Coventry RI
Raymond P. Violette - North Attleboro MA
Assignee:
ZIH Corp. - Wilmington DE
International Classification:
G06F 1500
US Classification:
358 118, 358116, 358 115, 358 114
Abstract:
A printer has a computer system which stores and uses multiple application programs. The printer may be a label printer which includes a printing mechanism, and a computer for controlling the printer mechanism and the advancement of label stock for the printer mechanism to print labels on the label stock. Coupled to the printer may be a barcode scanner controllable by the computer. The system includes a memory accessible by the computer which stores a plurality of application programs. Each of the application programs contains instructions which are executable by the computer to operate the printer. An application program can be selected by a user, or a host computer interfaced to the printer, or automatically by the printer, for execution by the computer. Utility files are also stored in the memory separate from the application programs which may include data and programs utilized by the selected application program. Such utility files include programs for barcode decoding, barcode encoding, and character rendering.