Generally makes good labels that run consistently. Barcodes print clearly and are readable using our scanners. A good addition to our environment.

Relatively easy to use

It is difficult to get it to use our custom label size

Great and easy way to design an print barcodes, whether that be on a label or a hangtag, BarTender does the job! Easy step by step process, literally walks you through printing the type of Barcode you need.

It's a pricey software! It would have been nice if they offered support, like a chat, after purchase.

In general this software gets the job done. It could be a bit more user friendly so people that have not used it could figure it out easily

I like how this software connects to our sales/inventory software. It makes it easy to print out barcode stickers when needed.

I wish it were easier to edit the design of the barcode stickers

Professional software for creating industrial labels, bar codes etc. Perfect match with Thermal Transfer printers.

I'd love to be able to increase printing speed a little bit more

A few quick clicks and this system can make a template to use on the selected laser etching machine.

Sometimes when the software does not connect to the license server, it blocks any attempt for the software to print.

This software is so easy to set up and configure with external data sources, I was really amazed by this. The latest implementation of Bartender was a central printing solution for label printers. The data for the labels originated from a Filemaker database and a Dynamics solution. For this purpose we've used some of Bartenders automation features.

The only con I've experienced so far for Bartender Professional is the lack of (written) documentation (or I just couldn't find it online besides some videos on the support sub domain). On the other hand, I didn't really need the documentation as it was so easy to configure.

Program is good for printing special labels

Program printing settings have to be checked each time before printing

ease of use. Particularly like the serialisation feature for barcoding labels. It has the options to use many different types of barcode

Although it still works without, it has to link up to the internet for licence checking. This can slow down the opening of the application.

One of the major pluses is that you can design labels off line away from production. Multiple labeling share labeling formats from a server.

It is more expensive than some of the other cheapo labeling software but is worth the money if you are using constantly.

I absolutly love this program. If anybody ever asked me for a few suggestions about how to make barcodes, I would only point them in the direction of this program. Its all you need.

This program is a one stop shop for creating whatever barcode you need. I haven't been able to push it anywhere close to its limits because its always been simple to create the correct style barcode I needed for my various customers projects. I would research what kind of barcode I needed to make and when I go into the program all the settings or barcode types have always been there.

Its not really a con but a warning. Make sure you know the specifications of the barcode type you need to create and plug the correct information into the proper space because the program really is as good as the knowledge of the user.

The way the system works, easy to understand and the fact that they charge licenses only for the number of printers, not the number of computers you have the software installed on make the system worth way more than you pay for it.

I really like that I can easily print labels for packaging, and integration with SAP.

I haven't really used other bar code software so I don't think I have any complaints.

Software is very flexible, can be configured for variety of setups. Support for various licensing scenarios, support for lots of various printers and formats. Technical support team is very knowledgeable and easy to contact if needed.

The licensing for a single computer is a little confusing when it comes to how it actually works, and troubleshooting, it relies on a windows service that looks like it should be running on a server, but nonetheless it works and works well.

it ended up doing what I needed without having to research too deeply.

I loved that anything I could think of needing to do, bartender had a way to implement,

I didn't like that there are so many different variations of the software with so many different things that those versions could or couldn't do.

I get a paycheck for working with it twice a month

I didn't pay for the software or the license.

Very disappointed in the new 2016 version. The new 2016 version crashes anytime I attempt to update a database connection from one of our old XML source that worked seamlessly in 10.4. (They will still work so long as you don't touch them). Bartender then restarts and attempts to recover the bad information (which will in turn crash bartender.) Was this product actually run by QA before release? I suspect there was nothing but plug and play sceanrios tested. Very little insight into customer service. Have a lot of difficulty getting answers from the tech team. This is what happens when a company cuts back on 'costs' by elimiating quality assurance and customer support.

Fast and efficient software, makes my business life very easy. I would recommend this software to anyone who needs to utilize this type of service.

The overall experience was great.

There is a sense of familiarity even if you haven't used it before. You have the option to create designs of your own! It's very efficient

Not as much support as we'd have liked...

We print Serialization labels, warning labels, barcodes, warranty information and much more with this program. We have owned this software for the better part of 6 years and currently have no plans on changing. Overall I would recommend this product for a manufacturing environment with label printing needs.

We have an older version but this product has a ton of features and integrates well with our network and printers. We use this program to print thousands of labels for all of our product and the customization that is available is very useful.

Licensing is an issue. Every time our server is unavailable for an extended period of time it will give al the users an error and make the product lock up. In a world of SAS I feel that they could improve on this kind of architecture. That said, we do use an older version of the software but I would make sure that new versions can handle this issue better.

Bartender is ok but we can get the same functionality from free alternatives.

It does indeed make barcodes and labels and the learning curve isn't too intense. I can usually yeah a new operator in 30 minutes

You can do the same thing with Open Office, Google Docs or Microsoft Word with a barcode font. Also it crashes routinely on our system.

If you don't have the maintenance contract you email your question into the CS team and they get to it when they get to it. If you don't mind the fee then you are fine.

I like the design capabilities and user interface

Customer has to be enrolled in an annual maintenance agreement to use customer service.

We are able to create quick labels for production where we don't have a need to automate from ERP.

This software is very easy to use. It took a bit to figure out how to add fields and define where they come from in a data source, but other than that, it's very functional for our need. I understand you can also automate labels from our ERP System which is SyteLine (CloudSuite Industrial). This software can be licensed by printer and that is beneficial for us.

The thing I liked least about BarTender was trying to figure out how to get the fields added and defined by a datasource. I also had a bit of trouble setting the page format based on the printer. Once you choose a printer it's hard to change it from my experience, I ended up creating a new label altogether.

A customer of ours requires that we generate bar codes for each of their shipments. They directed us to BarTender. I consider myself fairly fluent in computers, but BarTender's clunky UI and complicated form creation causes me headaches. The software is not user friendly nor is it intuitive. At the end of the day, I am able to create the required bar codes and Packing Lists our customer requires. But the hoops I have to jump to get there discourage me from recommending this software.

Once a form is created, you cannot input the data directly onto the form. You have to use a data input screen that you reach through Print Preview. It always takes me two passes to get this to work. I input the data once knowing the form will not print it for some unknown reason. I then have to re-input the data a second time and will finally be able to print. All of this could be avoided if I could input data directly onto the form.

We use BarTender for customer labels and it does a great job.

It takes time to learn how to set it up and use it.

Easy to use template. No need for too much tech support .

Licensing limitations, wish we could use the same for at least 2 computers.

Good solution for our business. This is very Fast and easier for train person in barTender. I have got high-quality custom labels.

I have been using BarTender since 2017.It is really good and easy to use. I really like to work with it. Creating labels is easy and fast and I had design more than 1k labels. Setting up the fields that I need to delivered the data is easy to settings up. BitTender web site helps a lot to get the information such as video tutorials and other guides. First time I got the trial version. It is really good 30 days trail version. If I purchase for first time, I don’t know software is good or bad. Trail version save the money. 😊

First time I started with BarTender version 9.0, I guess which is oldest version. I was good for me until I start to work on version 10.1. That is much better update. When I want to figure out some problems there is no online QA or technical support team. There are no more cons I found.

Can create a full product label complete with UPC code

Hard to edit texts as it often takes you to a separate window

It is very effective in doing what it promises and it looks really like a native application. It is not intrusive as well with its icon.

Sometimes it lacks slightly but it doesn't affect its usage.

Can design labels

Looks pretty oldschool

It’s so easy to get around the user interface, even for people who have no experience working with code. There’s not much of a learning curve to this application. Anyone can create labels with great ease and diversity.

The only downside I can think of is that they don’t have a live chat feature on their website, which would really help if you’re already on there and looking for specific information.

They play really well with the zebra printers, which a lot of other software doesn't (like SSRS reports). Also the integration builder is a really powerful way to automate a lot of things. It's a life saver. And the ease of creating labels is really nice. Don't forget you can print to a regular printer too. You can make some very good paper reports that are much easier to maintain than SSRS reports.

The user interface is really well defined for people that don't code. Designing label templates is as easy as power point. Setting up the fields that need to read the data is easy to set up to. There is a very short learning curve with the product.

We have it set up to run waiting for drop files (with the integration builder). Because we aren't using the front end for normal use, end users can't get error messages. If would be nice if it had a better monitoring system to know when something goes wrong. It's not that often that it does, but when it does it can cause some problems for our business.

to design an urgent barcode for a label of a new product requested by a client of us on the company ..

its easy to use, the direct person who print the serials barcode can be manage the fonts and images to print fast

if some small images could be inserted on desgins it'll be perfect to create some labels using the needed code with a text and image

much better system for designing and printing labels than we previously had! Faster and easier to train persons in....

Very easy to use, simple drag and drop and very easy to modify text boxes, etc. Love how they offer the free trial to test before buying. Also, it is compatible with just about every printer on the planet!

Kinda hard to come up with Cons for this software apart from the fact that they don't offer live chat, as well as pricing, hard to determine what the cost is - the website doesn't have prices on it, and when it comes down to it this is a fairly pricey software, then again - you get what you pay for, go figure :)

Bartender makes my life easy making customer labels. I use Bartender to make scan labels and it seems to be the easiest to use. I've used 2 others and they become more of a challenge. They seem to have it figured out. It's easy to select and print.

There's a lot to know, to make it work. I've learned to use the instructions with Bartender. I wish it was easier to make changes without having to go to my original file to fix issues or add items.

Enables two of our high volume distribution centers to print high quality labels as needed, without concern of quality control issues

I really like the Online Activation and network label printer license server, this helps tremendously managing the Active users / printers on the network.

Older versions had issues with activating the license keys, but this has been eliminated on Newer versions. The most recent versions of the software have proven to be very stable.

Allows us to create labels when ever needed for our items and create custom labels for special vendors.

The ease of use to make labels and meet the requirements for different vendors we work with. Also, creating labels for items with lost or missing labels.

Not able to add all minor details needed for some vendors, not requirement.

The features that I like the most about this software include: ease of use, functionality, great customer support, easy to setup and maintain

Fast and easy creation of labels. Ability to track rev changes on labels.

The diverse functionality of creating and printing labels. Creating labels is fast and easy. Integrations is a great tool and are very powerful when wanting an action repeated easily. Librarian is a great feature to ensure label revs are tracked and managed properly.

The cost is based per printer. We have multiple printers for the sake of not having to travel to retrieve your label, however, for the price tag it's not worth activating a printer that only gets used once a week. The integrations is very finicky and occasionally needs to be restarted for no reason at all. The printer default settings do not save and revert back to original so I manually have to change the print speed and darkness on each label.

Love that we can print even the smallest of labels for our smaller items. Print quality is superb and can be used with many different printers.

Limited computer licenses and there was a bit of a learning curve when we first started using it, but customer service was great and I leave most of the design stuff up to the tech guys.

One solution for all site printers and standardization of labels across the company.

Very easy to use, wizard setups and menu-driven changes, very little coding but it is available, integration with other systems

Still trying to figure out how to use a label with multiple printers and not have to save the label twice, but otherwise great software.

Printing labels

the feature that I like most of the software, included ease of use intuitive print station and functionality

The feature that I disliked the most about this software are it's limited control of printer setting

I like that it is intuitive and easy to use. I like that changes can be easily made to the program.

There isn't really anything that I don't like about the software, but it would be nice if there was a way to incorporate special characters into the labels.

Benefits were being able to make my own label on how I wanted it to look and not having to order from someone else and settling for their design.

I am a Safety Lead and I am in charge of labeling all in house chemicals. This program helped greatly in that it had everything I needed.

sometimes it prints outside the label. Takes a bit of fidangling but once you figure it out your good to go.

It is so easy to customize whatever we want on bartender. We use barterder to meet our clients' requirements on labels

Sometimes it will be very time consuming to drag for the layout(alignment) I still remember how painful and stressful when we tried to come up something that has very strick requirements.

I was able to comply with our customers request to have shipments barcoded instead of just packing slips. it became a requirement for most of our customers

I like the way I can easily change all my fields information instead of having to recreate every label from scratch

There were some issues with navigation and finding the right options i wanted. i found them eventually but a editable favorits commands list would be helpful

I was asked to use this software to create various barcodes for a new product range my organisation was releasing. As a first-time user, I did find the software to be very difficult to navigate. After some trial and error though, it became obvious to me that the software was very diverse. For someone who knows what they're doing, the barcoding options are very diverse.

Barcode output options are very diverse.

Really not helpful for first-time users.

BarTender 2016 by Seagull Scientific is really a great label or barcode software for any business no matter the size! It is sophisticated and professional yet very easy to use, especially for someone like me who was trying to get their small business off the ground. The software itself is a little pricey for small businesses, but you are definitely paying for the quality of the product. The process of creating labels and barcodes is very smooth and easy to customize. You can add symbols, images, text, and even your logo which was fantastic. Seagull doesn't have a chat program, but their website has many great resources including training videos, webinars, and other guides to ensure that you use their product to its full potential. Here is a link to those resources: http://www.seagullscientific.com/support/bartender-training-videos/ They also make it really easy to download and update your printer drivers which tends to be a pain with other products.

Sophisticated, professional, yet easy to use

A little bit on the pricey side