The Consignly Printer Bridge feature allows users to print without the requirement of being in the warehouse.
This feature supports both document and label printing.
How to Set Up Printer Bridge
Add a New Printer Bridge
If your organisation has the printer bridges permission enabled, printer bridges will be available as a custom app on the App Integrations menu item. The Consignly printer bridge feature is a system integration.
Printer Bridges in the App Integrations menu
Select Printer Bridges, then select the add button. This will open the New Print Bridge blade.
Here you must enter a Name, and a Description.
When ready, select Create Print Bridge.
Creating a New Printer Bridge
Download and Install the Printer Bridge App
Once a New Print Bridge has been created, the Printer Bridge detail page will open.
The Print Bridge Detail page provides all printer bridge connection details. You can edit the name and description, upload a logo, access API Authentication details, and view the connected Printers.
The Printer Bridge Detail page
The Printers card on the Print Bridge Detail page contains a 'Download App' button. Select this button to download and install the app.
The Download App button
You will be prompted with a message reading "Install Consignly Printer Bridge?". This message will also display the Publisher, Version, and Source. These details ensure you are installing from a reliable source.
Select Install to install the Consignly Printer Bridge app.
If prompted, install .NET Desktop Runtime in order to run the application.
Once downloaded, you will be able to launch Consignly Printer Bridge.
Authenticate the App
Once installed, open the app.
You will need to authenticate using your;
- Client ID, and
- Client Secret.
Ensuring the Print Bridge App Starts Automatically
To enable printing, the Consignly Printer Bridge app must be running in the background. If the computer is restarted and the app does not launch, you will not be able to print.
To ensure the app starts when the computer is started:
- Open the Run Window (Windows + R).
- Type 'shell:appsfolder' and press Enter.
- Find the Consignly Printer Bridge app.
- In a new Run Window, type 'shell:startup' and press Enter.
- Drag and drop the app from the Apps folder into the Startup folder.
Adding and Configuring Your Printer
In the Printer Bridge app, navigate to the Printers tab and select Add Printer.
This will open the Add Printers dialog, allowing you to select the Warehouse, Printer, and printer Type:
- Select the Warehouse where the printer is located.
- A list of previously connected printers on the device will be displayed.
- Select the printer Type as either Document or Label. The type defined here will only allow that type of printing to occur.
To add another printer, select the Add button.
To finalise, select the Save Changes button.
Adding a Printer
Once saved, the printer will appear within the Printers card of the printer bridge detail page in Consignly.
The action menu at the end of the printer line allows you to edit the printer type, test print, disable the printer, or remove the printer.
A successful connection will display a green 'online' badge next to the printer.
A Document Printer and action menu options
Test Printing
To validate that the printer bridge connection is working, you may perform a test print.
Select the action menu of the printer you wish to test print from and select Test Print.
If the connection has been established correctly, this will print a Test Print page from the selected printer.
Print Jobs
With a Printer Bridge connection established, you can print directly from the web portal.
The Printer Bridge App must be running in order for printing to occur. If the app is not running, the printer will be offline.
When viewing Consignment Labels and PDFs, a Print option will be available. Selecting this will automatically create a Print Job.
To view Print Jobs, visit the Print Jobs tab of the Printer Bridge Detail Page.
The Print Jobs view of the Printer Bridges app
There are filters at the top of the Printer Jobs page, allowing you to filter through print jobs by a typed search, print type, or status.
If a print job is requested whilst the printer is offline, the created print job will last for 1 hour.