Direct Image Print

1 Overview
2 Summary
3 Configuring System Data to use Direct Image Print
4 Limitations
5 See Also

Overview

Direct Image Print is a courier export type that does not send information to an external courier, but instead prints a simple label directly from within Khaos Control.

Summary

In essence, to make use of this:

You should save the Prepaid Postage Impression (PPI) files (which, in the case of Royal Mail, can be obtained from their website once you know your PPI number) as .jpg files to the K:\KeystoneSoftware\Images\Logos folder.
You need to have multiple Couriers setup in System Data (e.g. one to use Royal Mail's First Class PPI, another to use Second Class PPI).
You need to configure System Data by setting the fields against each Courier as detailed below.
You will probably choose to create a new "DirectImagePrint" label and associate that with each Courier.
You then need to configure Courier Banding and (if appropriate) Delivery Rates to select these two Couriers.
The labels then get printed when you press the "Assign to Courier" button in the Sales Invoice screen's Shipping stage.

There is no charge for enabling the "Direct Image Print" courier export.

Configuring System Data to use Direct Image Print

The fields to configure in order to set up a Direct Image Print are held against the Courier entry in System Data. The usable options are:

Service Image

This is commonly used to print the appropriate prepaid postage indicator (PPI) on the label, for example, Set to the filename of the image to be printed in the top right-hand corner of the label. Include the full name with drive/path, for example "K:\KeystoneSoftware\Images\Logo\ppi_50277046.jpg".

Service Note

Set to the name of the printer to print on. For shared printers, use the full UNC path (i.e. "\\ComputerName\PrinterName").
Note: Zebra printers usually have two spaces in their name, for example: "\\Daffy2\Zebra LP2844".

Service Code

Enter a number here to stretch the image. For example, 2.0 would make the image twice as big. This is how you can make the image fit the paper/label. Can be left blank, in which case it defaults to 1.0 (i.e. do not stretch). For Royal Mail PPIs, a value of 0.75 is usually appropriate.

Service Description

If you set this to the name of a label template (as set up in [ System Values | Edit Label Setup ]), then the left-hand margin and font size (only!) are taken from that template.

Export Data

Contains codes which affect the printout. Usable codes are:

B: Print box count (e.g. "x of y boxes")
C: Exclude consignment ref from label. Default is to print the consignment reference for the invoice (if there is one).
N: Print Sales Order's "Courier Note"
P: Use portrait orientation. Default is landscape.
R: Print "Return Address". A new option has been added in System Values -> Branding -> Right click context menu called "Branding Return Address". This will be printed on the label if the Sales Order has a brand set against it and a R is put in the export data field for the courier in System Data -> Couriers. If there is no brand set up then the address in system values will be used.
T: Exclude telephone number from label. Default is to print the full address & telephone.
x: Multiply label quantity. Follow by a number; that many copies of each label are printed out.

Note that if you used the x option to specify 3 copies of the label, and the invoice itself had 2 labels/packages set against it, you'd get 6 labels in total (3 copies of each invoice label). For example, "PCx2" specifies:

Print in portrait mode
Don't print the consignment ref
Print two copies of every label

Limitations

The simple label format does not allow the layout to be altered or the following fields to be printed (this requires custom development, which may be chargeable):

Customer number (as a number and/or barcode)
County