Predesigned Label Formats for General Motors' 1724 Compliance Standards

This page contains general information on General Motors' 1724 compliance label standards, including downloadable label formats for use with Seagull's BarTender label software.

While you visit, we encourage you to browse our main site and learn more about our BarTender label software and True Windows Drivers for Label Printers.

Table of Contents

For use with BarTender Label Printing Software

It is recommended that you install BarTender before "extracting" the contents of the downloadable label formats. Since you need a copy of BarTender to print the formats anyhow you may wish to download a Full-Working Trial Edition right now (if you don't already own a copy).

Download GM's 1724 Compliance Label Formats

Click here to download the gm_1724.exe file (approximately 90 Kbytes).

Download (or copy) the file into your main BarTender directory and double-click on it to "extract" the formats. See below for a summary of the included compliance standards and details on printer support.

Summary of Available Formats

Only the GM 1724-A format is currently included in the gm_1724.exe download file.

General Motors has proposed preliminary specifications for 1724-B and 1724-C formats, but both of these specifications are undergoing revisions at GM and neither one has been finalized. We are in direct contact with GM's Label Compliance department and will release our versions of the B and C formats as soon as they have been finalized.

GM 1724-A Format: Label Template for Individual Containers
Application: Generates labels for use on a single container that holds one or more parts (all of the same part). Here is a sample 1724-A label:

Printer Support for These Formats

Included in the compliance label formats downloadable from this page are formats "ready to use" with each of the printer families listed below. There are also "Generic" formats for use with other printers. Once you extract the files, different folder names will clearly identify which formats to use. (An explanation is given below as to why different formats have been made for some of the different printers.)

Specific Thermal Printers

For the fastest possible printing, these formats have been saved with text fonts set to use an appropriate built-in printer font and bar codes set to use built-in device bar codes.

Datasouth
Zebra
Intermec
Datamax
Sato
Printronix

Generic Thermal

For use on thermal printers not listed above.

On thermal printers supported by Seagull printer drivers: Device bar codes are used for maximum bar code speed. Windows TrueType is used for text. (The TrueType may be downloaded and used as a printer font or printed as graphics, depending on the capabilities of your printer.) You can convert this format into a "specific thermal printer" format by using the Print Setup option in BarTender to select your Seagull printer driver. Next, click on the text objects on your label design, specify appropriate printer-based fonts, and save your format.

On thermal printers without Seagull printer drivers: Device bar codes will print as graphics. Windows TrueType is used for text. (Whether the TrueType is downloaded and used as a printer font or printed as graphics will depend on the capabilities of your printer and driver.)

Laser Printers (and non-Seagull-supported thermal printers)

Uses TrueType for the text fonts and graphics for the bar codes. Will work with any laser printer for which you have a Windows driver, but may print slower than a label format for a "specific thermal printer." This format may also be used for thermal printers for which no Seagull printer driver is available.

Tips on Using BarTender with these Formats

When using compliance formats designed for a "specific thermal printer,' be sure to follow this check list:

  1. Make sure that a copy of BarTender is installed on your system.
  2. Make sure that a Seagull driver for the appropriate printer is also installed.
  3. The gm_1724.exe file should already have been downloaded and "extracted" into your main BarTender folder.
  4. Load the desired format.
  5. Bring up the File, Printer Setup dialog and select the appropriate printer driver.
  6. If your label data will not be typed directly into the label, you will need to set up a connection to your parts database. Do so by first using File, Database Setup to specify your tables(s). Then double-click on each object on your label to specify the appropriate fields using the Data Source option.
  7. Save your format.
  8. Continue your work normally, printing and/or making changes as desired.

Why Different Format Versions for Different Printers?

If you look at the files "extracted" from the downloaded file, you will notice that there are multiple versions of each format, each optimized for a different printer family. Although you could use just the "Generic Thermal" format for multiple thermal printer brands, it might not make the most efficient use of each printer. Specifically, since different brands of thermal printers are not standardized around the same typefaces, compliance label specialists at Seagull have created multiple versions of the formats, each set to use the best-suited "built-in" text font from each printer.

More About Fonts and Font Speed

Fonts built into a printer will generally be output faster than TrueType fonts, unless the TrueType fonts are also already built into the printer or downloaded to it.

If your printer allows TrueType fonts to be downloaded to it, and it is supported in your Seagull printer driver, you can perform the download from the Fonts page of the driver. Once downloaded, your TrueType fonts can be output as fast as any of your printer's "built-in" fonts.

If your printer contains neither a built-in version of the TrueType font nor the ability to accept TrueType download, then the TrueType must be printed as graphics. Although this is generally the slowest way to print fonts, high-powered printers equipped with very high-speed printer ports may exhibit minimum performance reduction.

Special Notes on Printing PDF-417

Older versions of certain printers do not have good (or any) support for PDF-417. However, since it's not easy to tell which printers are which, our default output method is to use the printer's built-in PDF-417 capabilities (because this is the fastest print method).

If your label prints fine, except for your PDF-417 bar code, you can solve the problem by having BarTender take over and output the bar code as a graphic, as follows:

  1. Double-click on the PDF-417 bar code in question.
  2. Select the "Bar Code" tab.
  3. Click on the "Thermal Control..." option.
  4. Change this setting to "Bar codes and human readable text controlled by BarTender."

  
 
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