In this lesson we will teach you how to pre-print sample bottle labels to be used when you don’t have a mobile printer.

There are many reasons why you might not have a mobile printer. Maybe you are just starting out with the platform and you want to try it before investing in a printer, or maybe you only sample once in a great while and owning a printer doesn’t make financial sense. Whatever the reason, you can use the platform without having a mobile printer. You simply pre-print your labels with the project management tool prior to going into the field.

To do this, be sure to be in the selected project and sampling event date you would like labels printed for. Once you have completed and saved your sampling event work scope set up, click the “Pre-Sampling Forms” tab at the top of the page. A list of available documents will appear. Click on “Sample Bottle Labels” this will automatically download a PDF of the labels for that project and sampling date.

This PDF version of the labels is meant to be printed using a laser jet paper that has 10 labels per page. Each label is 2-inches by 4-inches. This label form type is commonly referred to as “Avery 5163” labels. A laser jet printer is recommended, as Ink Jet printer ink tends to smear when wet. We also recommend that you use a water resistant or waterproof label paper.

You will use the mobile field app to collect samples just as you would for normal sampling, however, rather than pair your mobile device to a mobile printer, you will select the “No Printer” option under “Settings” on the mobile device.

You do this by going to the top right “3 dot ellipses” and clicking. A new window box will appear, click the “settings” option. A new screen will appear. The very top will have all the printer options that are available. Select the “No Printer” option and hit the “Save” button at the bottom of the page. Then return to the main screen by hitting the back arrow button at the top right.

Collect your samples as normal and when you get to the end page, after the selfie page, where it says, “Complete Sample Collection”, click the “Done” button on the bottom right. The next page on the mobile app will have a list of all the labels you need for this particular sample location and also list the date and time you need to write on the sample labels.

All the other information such as the Sample ID, bottle type and size, project information and analytical parameters will already be filled out on each pre-printed label. All you need to do is write your name, date, and time on each identified pre-printed label and then apply it to the appropriate sample container.

When complete, click “Done” and then “OK” on the next window and it will take you back to the main screen, ready to collect your next sample.

That is how you pre-print sample bottle labels to be used when you don’t have a mobile printer.