Super Labeller

Supplied by SD Microsystems - £14.95

Super Labeller is a software package that runs on the new CP/M emulator for the '16. As its name suggests, it's a utility to print colourful labels with different fonts and graphics. But despite its name, it can also be used for a variety of other purposes, including letterheads, club membership cards, and more.

The package

Super Labeller requires an Epson-compatible printer, and is supplied on a single floppy disk. The disk contains the program itself, a plethora of pictures, and some example labels. The graphics supplied are a generic selection, encompassing computers, animals, and many others. SD Micro also sell extra picture disks, with specific categories such as business, sports and leisure, and others. Each extra graphics disk costs £5.00.

Also included in the package is an excellent and helpful 20-page manual. This guides you through setting up your printer to editing the label's text. It also contains a couple of pages that show the supplied pictures. This is a good reference source, as the pictures can't be viewed directly in the program.

Creating a label

The program uses simple graphical screens to help you design your label. A main-menu presents the general options - like choosing a picture, editing the text, and printing.

The first thing to choose when creating a label is the picture. The program gives a list of all the pictures stored on the disk, from which you choose your preferred image. This picture will sit on the left of your creation, and you can now edit the text that goes with it.

Creating the text is very simple thanks to the editing-box which shows how your label will look. You can move the cursor around using the arrow keys, and insert text at any place you fancy. Super Labeller gives you ten lines to work with, so there's a decent amount of space if you need it (e.g. if you're making a membership card). Although it doesn't show colours or bold/italics, the editing box gives a good representation of your label's final appearance.

Changing the style of text is done using control-codes. These are letters and numbers that describe how the line of text will look. For example, each colour has a number, so entering '5' will make the text red, and entering '1' will change it to magenta. Of course, this will only have an effect if you've got a colour printer. The same system is used to change the typeface - by typing 'B' you can make the text bold, and with 'I' you can change it into italics. There's actually a surprising range of effects that can be achieved, ranging from double-width to outline.

Some examples

Here's some labels that I've made, using the pictures supplied with the program. My printer is a Citizen ABC with colour-kit.

Super Labeller lets you position the label across the page, allowing easy creation of letterheads. You could print out a sheet with the label at the top, then type some text in the PcW's word-processor and print it onto that same sheet. This is a really powerful feature and extends the scope of the '16 by far, as graphics and colours can now be used to make standard documents look more professional and lively.

Comment

Not only is this a fantastic program, it's also a fantastic package. The instruction book is comprehensive and helpful and the supplied images are crisp and well-drawn. The program itself is a doddle to use (those labels above took me about 3 minutes each), yet it's powerful enough to produce loads of styles and purposes. This is a major step-forward for the '16, as graphics and colour can be manipulated and the results can be used to improve word-processor documents. At £14.95 Super Labeller is good value, and I heartily recommend it to anyone wanting to increase the scope of their '16.

Rating: 9/10