Innovatum Makes ROBAR Labeling Solution Available to IBM i

February 28, 2012 Alex Woodie

Innovatum recently announced that its ROBAR labeling solution is now available for the IBM i OS. The Windows-based offering, which is used to print labels, barcodes, and RFID tags for GS1 compliance and ePedigree mandates of FDA-regulated companies, isn’t running directly on the IBM i server. But thanks to the development of a middleware component called iROBAR, the labeling solution can now be driven by RPG applications on the IBM i server.

ROBAR is a barcode and RFID label solution built primarily for pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology manufacturers companies that are regulated by the Federal Department of Agriculture (FDA). The software handles the complete lifecycle of labels and tags, from initial design and review to obsolescence.

Innovatum has an OEM relationship with Seagull Scientific for its widely used BarTender barcode printing software. BarTender is used for the label design and printing engine components of ROBAR, while other code developed by Innovatum provides a database and controls required by strict industry regulations.

According to Innovatum, the new iROBAR software creates a “bridge” between the two environments–that being the BarTender component and the database control component. The company says, through the use of iROBAR APIs and native IBM i configuration files, that label printing requests can be accepted from applications written in RPG or other IBM i languages, and passed to networked printers within seconds.

Innovatum president Ardi Batmanghelidj discussed what went into the development of the new product. “The inspiration for iROBAR derived from recent customer projects in which we encountered many of the same label design and printing limitations I have seen and heard about since first designing AS/400 labels more than 20 years ago. We have been spoiled by the amazing capabilities of BarTender, the design and print engine for ROBAR, and I am delighted to bring it to the IBM i environment,” he states in a press release.

With iROBAR, IBM i shops can use the features that Innovatum’s Windows customers have been using for years, including: the choice of a wide array of printers, fonts, and barcodes; color printing; change and version control; workflow and approval routing, electronic signatures and RFID. iROBAR keeps the actual printing in a Windows environment, which Innovatum says is a benefit because it eliminates the need to do printer-specific programming.

iROBAR has already been installed at several Innovatum customers, and is generally available now. For more information see the vendor’s website at www.innovatum.com.