BarTender
By Seagull Software, LLC
BarTender typical implementation process:
Evaluate your business’s specific requirements, such as label types, printing volumes, barcode formats, compliance needs, and integration with existing systems (e.g., ERP, WMS, databases).
Choose the appropriate BarTender edition (Professional, Automation, Enterprise) based on your operational complexity and integration needs.
Download and run the installer, following the setup wizard to install BarTender and, if needed, the Licensing Service and Administration Console.
Activate your license using the product key code and configure licensing for single or multiple users as required.
Connect BarTender to printers, barcode scanners, and integrate with business systems using built-in tools or Integration Builder.
Use BarTender’s design tools to create and tailor label templates to your branding, product, and regulatory requirements.
Set up workflow automation and data integration to streamline label printing and reduce manual errors.
Provide training for users to ensure they can efficiently design, print, and manage labels using BarTender.
BarTender can be highly customized to fit specific business needs. Here are detailed data points highlighting its customization capabilities:
Intuitive Design Tools: Drag-and-drop interface allows users of any skill level to create custom labels, including barcodes, RFID tags, images, and text fields.
Dynamic Templates: Use conditional logic, variable data, and templates that adapt based on data source or user input.
Predefined Templates: Start with or modify over 400 pre-built templates for compliance and industry standards.
Database Connectivity: Connect to virtually any database (SQL, Oracle, Excel, Access, CSV, etc.) to pull real-time data onto labels.
ERP/WMS Integration: Seamlessly integrate with SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics, and other business systems.
REST API Support: Automate and control label printing from any application using BarTender’s robust REST API.
Approval Workflows: Implement custom approval processes for label design, printing, and revision control.
Role-Based Access: Assign permissions and roles to control who can design, approve, or print labels.
Automated Printing: Trigger label printing based on business events, emails, or data changes.
Scripting Support: Use VBScript or .NET scripts for advanced logic, data manipulation, and automation within labels.
Regulatory Templates: Instantly access and customize templates for GS1, UDI, GHS, FDA, and other regulatory standards.
Audit Trails: Customize audit logging and traceability to meet compliance requirements.
Centralized Management: Manage templates, printers, and print jobs across multiple locations from a single interface.
Driverless Remote Printing: Print from any browser or mobile device without installing drivers, supporting remote and distributed operations.
Printer Support: Compatible with over 10,000 printer models for flexible deployment.
BarTender Cloud: Customize and manage labels from anywhere, supporting remote teams and multi-site businesses.
On-Premises Customization: Deep integration with local IT infrastructure and business processes.
User Authentication: Integrate with Active Directory or other authentication systems.
Document Control: Set up custom document storage, revision controls, and access policies.
BarTender offers a range of training and support options to help new users get started and succeed with their label printing solutions. Here’s an overview:
Online Documentation & Knowledge Base
Comprehensive guides, FAQs, and step-by-step instructions are available on the BarTender website.
A library of short, focused videos demonstrating key features, design tips, and best practices.
Live and recorded webinars covering everything from basic setup to advanced integration and compliance topics.
Scheduled online or in-person training sessions led by BarTender experts, covering beginner to advanced topics.
Access to e-learning modules and tutorials for users to learn at their own pace.
Email, phone, and online ticket support are offered to licensed users, with priority support for Enterprise customers.
Active user forums where you can ask questions, share tips, and learn from other BarTender users.
Regular updates and patches to ensure security, performance, and compliance with the latest standards.
BarTender implements a set of security features to protect data, documents, and workflows across its on-premise and cloud platforms. These measures are designed to address the needs of organizations ranging from small businesses to large enterprises, particularly those operating in regulated industries.
Key Security Features:
Print-Only Passwords: Restrict users to printing only, preventing unauthorized design changes or access to administrative features. This is a basic security measure suitable for smaller environments and can be set per BarTender installation.
User and Group Permissions: Administrators can configure detailed user permissions via the Administration Console, controlling who can access, modify, or print documents. Permissions can be assigned to individual users or groups, leveraging Windows authentication for centralized management.
Document Password Protection: Individual BarTender documents can be password-protected, restricting actions such as opening, editing, or printing to authorized users only. Passwords are encrypted and cannot be bypassed by moving documents to other machines.
Document Encryption: Documents can be encrypted so they are unreadable except on authorized computers with the correct security keys. This prevents unauthorized access even if files are copied outside the secure environment.
Electronic Signatures: For environments requiring regulatory compliance (e.g., FDA 21 CFR Part 11), BarTender supports electronic signatures. Users must re-authenticate for sensitive actions, ensuring accountability and traceability.
Audit Trails and Logging: BarTender logs user actions, permission checks, and system events, enabling organizations to monitor activity, detect unauthorized access, and support regulatory audits.
Revision Control: Prevents accidental or malicious overwriting of documents by multiple users, ensuring document integrity.
Database Access Controls: BarTender protects both external data sources and its own system database (typically SQL Server) through authentication and access control. Only authorized users can modify or access sensitive data
Integration with Secure Databases: Database files can be protected via native application security (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle) or by using BarTender’s own permission settings.
BarTender Cloud incorporates additional layers of security to safeguard customer data:
Layered Security Architecture: Physical, logical, technical, and administrative controls are implemented, including network segmentation and hardened server configurations.
Data Encryption: All data in transit is encrypted using strong protocols (TLS 1.2, AES256, RSA/ECDSA), and data at rest is encrypted with FIPS 140-2 compliant standards. Encryption keys are securely managed on segregated networks.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Access to cloud resources is managed using RBAC, ensuring users can only access data and functions appropriate to their roles.
API Security: Programmatic access to BarTender Cloud is secured via an API gateway, with strict authentication and authorization requirements.
Release Frequency:
BarTender issues major version releases every few years, with the most recent versions being:
BarTender 11.4: Released March 10, 2025
BarTender 2022: Released April 26, 2022
BarTender 2021: Released November 2, 2020
BarTender 2019: Released April 8, 2019
In addition to major releases, BarTender regularly publishes service releases (revisions) for each version to provide bug fixes and minor improvements. For BarTender 2019 and later, these revisions are labeled with “R” (e.g., R1, R2, etc.) and are released periodically as needed to address issues and enhance stability.
Update Management Process:
Service Releases: Installing a new service release for your existing BarTender version will overwrite the current installation but retain your documents, integrations, system database, and settings. It is recommended to always update to the latest service release to benefit from the most recent bug fixes and enhancements.
Major Upgrades: When upgrading to a new major version (e.g., from BarTender 2019 or 2021 to BarTender 2022 or 11.4), BarTender provides detailed guidance to ensure a smooth transition. The process typically involves:
Backing up all BarTender documents, databases, integration files, and other resources.
Testing the upgrade in a sandbox environment before deploying to production.
Using provisional activation to run both old and new versions concurrently during migration, especially useful for larger or regulated environments.
Upgrading the BarTender System Database schema when moving to a new major version, with backward compatibility considerations for read-only access from older clients.
Deployment Options: Updates can be rolled out in several ways:
Gradual migration by setting up a new environment and connecting clients incrementally.
In-place upgrades by installing the new version over the existing installation.
Parallel operation of old and new environments during transition, if licensing allows.
Best Practices:
Always schedule updates during maintenance windows or production slowdowns to minimize disruption.
Create a comprehensive system and data backups before updating.
Test updates in a non-production environment to validate compatibility and performance.
Data Ownership:
BarTender (by Seagull Scientific) is structured so that customers retain ownership of their data. This includes label templates, embedded databases, and any business data integrated into the labeling process. BarTender’s privacy policy and product documentation do not claim ownership over customer data; instead, they focus on protecting, securing, and enabling customer control over that data.
For BarTender Cloud, customer data—including stored label template files—is retained as long as the BarTender Cloud account remains active. Upon account expiration, data retention policies apply (see below).
Data Portability:
BarTender is designed with strong data portability in mind:
On-Premise Software: All label templates, embedded databases, and configuration files are stored in standard file formats on the customer’s own infrastructure. Customers can freely export, back up, or migrate these files as needed. BarTender supports integration with a wide range of external databases (e.g., SQL Server, Oracle, Excel, Google Sheets), further facilitating data portability between systems.
BarTender Cloud: Customer data is stored on AWS infrastructure. If a BarTender Cloud account expires, customer data is retained for up to 90 days, after which it is deleted. During this retention window, customers can retrieve their data. Activity history is also retained according to the plan (up to one year for Essentials, indefinitely for Automation, while the account is active).
Data Access and Export:
Customers can access, export, and manage their label templates and data at any time, both in on-premise and cloud deployments.
BarTender allows for the creation and management of embedded databases, which can be exported or migrated as needed.
Integration features enable dynamic connection to and from external databases, ensuring that data can flow in and out of BarTender without lock-in.
Data Retention and Deletion
For BarTender Cloud, upon account expiration, customer data is retained for up to 90 days before permanent deletion. This gives customers a window to export or migrate their data if they discontinue the service.
On-premise deployments place data retention and deletion fully under the customer’s control, as all files and databases reside within the customer’s IT environment.
Privacy and Use of Data
BarTender offers highly flexible terms and features to support organizations as their needs change, whether scaling up or down. This flexibility is built into both their on-premise and cloud licensing models, allowing businesses to adjust user counts, printer numbers, and feature sets as operations evolve.
Key Aspects of BarTender’s Scalability:
On-Premises and Cloud Models: BarTender is available as an on-premises perpetual license, on-premises subscription, or as BarTender Cloud (SaaS). Each model is designed to accommodate changes in business size and requirements.
Annual Agreements: All BarTender licenses are offered with annual, 3-year, or 5-year subscription plans. Longer-term plans offer additional discounts, but all allow for annual review and adjustment:
Upgrade and Downgrade Anytime: Customers can upgrade their edition (e.g., from Professional to Automation or Enterprise) or add more printers, users, or features at any time. Similarly, customers can switch licensing models (e.g., from perpetual to subscription, or from on-premises to cloud) as their needs change.
Add-ons and Volume Adjustments: BarTender allows organizations to add more printers, users, or storage as needed. For BarTender Cloud, if label printing volume exceeds the purchased tier by more than 5%, customers must move to the next highest tier or pay for the overage.
Seamless Expansion: BarTender Cloud enables organizations to quickly add new users or printers to their account, supporting business growth or contraction without the need for additional infrastructure.
Centralized Management: Especially at the Enterprise level, BarTender provides centralized document storage, audit trails, and logging, making it easy to manage multiple locations and scale labeling operations efficiently.
Switching Subscription Types: Cloud customers can switch between per-printer and per-label subscription models to better match their operational needs.
Reduced IT Burden: Both BarTender Cloud and on-premises subscriptions simplify deployment and maintenance, making it easier for organizations to scale without increasing IT workload.
Driverless Remote Printing: BarTender supports remote and driverless printing, allowing organizations to expand printing capabilities without complex local setups.
BarTender’s terms and conditions regarding contract renewal and cancellation, covering both software licenses (perpetual and subscription) and Maintenance and Support Agreements (MSA), as well as BarTender Cloud subscriptions.
Maintenance and Support Agreement (MSA):
The MSA term begins on the purchase date and is specified in your purchase confirmation.
Renewal should be initiated at least 30 days before expiration by contacting your reseller or Seagull Scientific directly.
You may request to move your renewal date to a later time, but payment for any additional months is due at the time of the change.
If payment for renewal is not received before the end of a 30-day grace period after the renewal date, the MSA will expire. To reinstate, you may be required to backpay to the original expiration date.
Renewal options include contacting your reseller, filling out an online form, calling sales, or starting a chat with a representative.
Renewals include continued access to software updates, security patches, live support, and unlimited support access.
Subscription Licenses (including BarTender Cloud):
Subscription licenses expire at the end of the license term unless renewed. Renewal terms are specified in the license certificate or as mutually agreed.
You can renew annually or for multi-year periods (e.g., 1, 3, or 5 years).
Cloud subscriptions and on-premise subscriptions can be renewed before expiration to avoid service interruption.
By Customer:
For most software and SaaS agreements, customers may be required to give advance notice (commonly 30 days) if they wish to cancel their subscription.
Upon cancellation or expiration, you must cease using the software and, if applicable, destroy or return all copies in your possession.
There is no explicit mention of refunds for early cancellation in the provided terms; typically, prepaid fees are non-refundable unless otherwise specified.
By Seagull Scientific (BarTender):
Seagull Scientific may suspend or terminate your MSA or license for the following reasons.
Failure to pay fees when due, if not cured within 15 days of written notice.
Violation of agreement terms by you or your agents, if not cured within 15 days of written notice.
Discontinuation of the product or end of support for the product.
Customer insolvency, bankruptcy, or dissolution.
Breach of the End User License Agreement (EULA), including misuse of the software or violation of license restrictions.
Non-compliance with applicable laws or export controls.
Upon termination, all rights to use the software cease immediately, and you must pay any outstanding fees.
A 30-day grace period is provided after the renewal date for MSAs; if payment is not received, the agreement expires.
Reinstatement after expiration may require back payment to the original expiration date.
Upon termination or expiration, you must stop using the software and destroy or return all copies.
Certain provisions of the agreement (e.g., payment, ownership, compliance) may survive termination.
