How to Print Labels

Ok, so the simple approach doesn't work. Never fear, we have many more options for you. When we break down the printing process, there are two bits of information that need to be determined: where to print and how to print. Let's look at each in detail.

Where to Print

The flowchart below breaks down the logic of how Rock determines where to print the check-in labels.

  1. Override - If using the iPad or Windows application, you can set a printer override that diverts all printing to the printer you define on the client.
  2. Devices - If the kiosk device’s Print Using is set to Device Printer, the printer defined by the kiosk device will be used. These settings can be found under Admin Tools > Check-in > Devices.
  3. Location - If the Print Using is set to Location, then the printer defined by the group's location will be used. The location's printer is defined under Admin Tools > Check-in > Named Locations.
  4. Group Type - Finally, if the Print Using is set to Group Type, then the Print Using setting of the Group Type will be considered. This setting can be configured to get the print device from the Location or the Kiosk Device. This is set under Admin Tools > General Settings > Group Types.

Tip

Quick Shortcut
This may seem a bit complex. You might be wondering why all this is needed. If you want to get creative, these features will allow you to customize label printing so that some groups print at the device and other groups print inside the actual room. Remember to keep it simple. You can define the printer on the kiosk and forget the chart above. It'll be there when you need it.

How to Print

Determining how to print is much easier than figuring out where to print. You can print either from the server or the client. This is determined on the kiosk configuration under Admin Tools > Check-in > Devices. But wait, there are a couple of considerations for each of these options:

  • Client: To be able to print from the client you must use either the iPad or Windows applications. This is the method you will use when your Rock server is hosted externally.
  • Server: To print from the server you must be sure that the server is on the same network as the printers (or more accurately, the server must be able to route IP to the printers). If you are hosting Rock externally, you won’t be able to print from the server unless you do something crazy like a VPN between your hosted server and local printers. Or, since you're not crazy, you can use the Rock Cloud Printing feature covered in a later chapter.

Note

Label Size?
Before you get too far into printing labels, we should probably mention that the size of the default labels that ship with Rock is 4 x 2 inches. If you plan on using the built-in labels, this is the size you should purchase.

You can of course create your own labels to work on any size stock you choose (as often happens when switching from another system and you already have a bunch of, say, 3 x 2 stock) but more about that in the Creating Custom Labels section.