There is no restriction on the type or brand of printer used, as long as the printer is supported by the external printing software (e.g., BarTender, NiceLabel, CodeSoft, Brady, etc.). OpenSpecimen does not connect directly to printers. Instead, it integrates with these third-party printing tools.

OpenSpecimen generates and passes the required data in a predefined format. The printing software monitors the designated folder, automatically picks up the print files, and sends them to the appropriate printer using the configured label design.

Admin users can configure the printer name to be included in the CSV file generated by OpenSpecimen. The default printer can be set at two levels:

1. User Profile Level

2. Print Rule Level

In some cases, users may temporarily change their physical location and need to print labels using a nearby printer. To support such scenarios, users can define a default printer in their user profile.

When both options are configured, the user profile setting takes precedence over the printer specified in the print rule. This means:

• If a printer is defined in the user's profile, that printer will always be used.

• If the user profile does not specify a printer, the system will fall back to the printer defined in the matching print rule.

This two-level configuration allows flexibility while maintaining centralized control over printer usage.

To prevent typing errors or mismatched printer names—especially for regular lab users who may not know the exact printer names—printer names can be preconfigured using the dropdown manager.

This allows users to select a printer from a predefined list rather than entering the name manually.

Navigation:
Home → Extras → Dropdown Manager → Label Printer

By maintaining a controlled list of printer names, administrators can ensure consistency and reduce user errors during label printing.

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A regular user can navigate to the user profile,

Home → Users → Select User (own account) → Edit → Printer → Select value from dropdown

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