Bricostore Zebra Printer Migration

The problem and some background information

Bricostore store chain, which is one of the leaders on the domestic DIY market, had used Monarch network printers for a long time for printing labels. The printers got amortized throughout the years and their replacement became inevitable. When choosing the new equipment, the preservation of the existing central control and remote access system without any modifications or additional input was of primary importance, which also meant that new printers had to be able to interpret the special command language of Monarch printers. The company’s management decided to buy modern, medium category Zebra ZM400 barcode printers. The main goal was to ’teach’ these new devices how to interpret Monarch commands.

IBCS Hungary provided a highly effective solution to this problem.

…the main task of IBCS Hungary was the appropriate installation, programming and testing of ZBI, after which it was easy to put the new printers into operation

The solution

Zebra printers have an intelligent interpretive function, which is called ZBI (Zebra Basic Interpreter). When appropriately installed, this translation program is able to interpret the received Monarch commands and translate them into modern ZPL commands used by Zebra (Zebra Programming Language).

Accordingly, the main task of IBCS Hungary was the appropriate installation, programming and testing of ZBI, after which it was easy to put the new printers into operation. The old printers had to be simply pulled out and be replaced by the new ZM400 printers and work could be continued immediately. The labels issued by the Zebra printers were exactly the same as labels issued by the old printers. Moreover, nothing had to be changed in the background systems.

Business advantages

By applying this solution, Bricostore is able to develop a new and modern printer park. The transition does not have to be completed at all sites at the same time, the equipment can be gradually replaced as well.

By buying Zebra ZM400 printers, Bricostore has received excellent, high-performance equipment supported by a reliable background including maintenance and components provided by IBCS Hungary Ltd.