Label Printers – A guide to the right application for you.
How to choose the best of the best.
Label printing means different things to different people. The label printers we supply are designed to improve your business processes and to print a label or tag that is part of a product identification system , a file , an asset , a library book ,a patient ,a blood or DNA sample or a warehouse shelf face.
Some people call our card-board tags labels and that’s ok we understand.
Label Printers can mean a piece of machinery or an entity that produces labels…Saito Group fits both descriptions. Saito specialises in business applications and our focus is on “label and tag solutions that work everyplace, everyday for everyone”.
Nearly every label or tag “we” produce has a barcode and/or a serial number and many times both.
You can make your own labels “ in-house “ from the materials we supply you or we can make the labels for you. The decision about which is best for you will be obvious when we have analysed your requirements.
You will not find a shopping cart on our page and there is a reason for this. Our business is about making sure what label or barcode label and Printer works for you and fits your budget. It is this personal attention to offering what is right for you that sets Saito Group apart.
Label and barcode Printing options
Low volume label printers – less than 2000 labels a month
There are two basic choices for low volume requirements. The first is to use your existing laser or ink jet printer and simply insert pre cut laser sheeted labels –there are many size labels to choose from. This type of printing is good for “event” labels or similar low volume requirements. There are 2 things to consider…..
1.What conditions will my label be used in….for example Ink Jet labels are not
recommended for outdoor conditions as they can smear if wet.
2.How many labels do I want at a time …as flat sheet labels are produced as
a page a time one can experience significant waste if the labels printed do
not consume the whole page set.
The second choice is for a small bench top printer that dispenses a label at a time . This choice is preferred where demand is frequent and the label printer is dedicated to printing labels ..it is simply connected as a print driver embedded into your PC. The main thing to consider here is the label life as many of these printers are using “direct thermal” technology (see below for explanation on the different print technologies) which has limited life. For example if the label was to be placed on a retail product that had a shelf life greater than 7 days or was exposed to UV light or to be used on an archival file then Thermal Transfer technology would be recommended as Direct Thermal will fade and colour over time. Direct Thermal label printers are a good choice for applications such as “Visitor Passes” .
Label printers for Mid volume Commercial applications -3000-5000 labels a month
Most of the business in the world are SME (Small Medium Enterprises) and this group has many applications for Label Printing. SME businesses need reliable , reasonable priced equipment that helps their business efficiency. Many of these businesses are owner –operated and the owners are extremely busy and need a trustworthy reliable partner like Saito who can advise them on their specific needs.
Most of these firms will need a mid sized bench label printer with fast label output. Fortunately there is a wide range of models to choose from (see web sites below) and Saito can make recommendations based on the need.
Label printers operate in Hospitals ,pharmacies , sawmills , retail stores , manufacturing and distribution centres , despatch bays , in food pack houses and abattoirs amongst many more. Saito will help you make the right choice of label printer , the right label software and the right choice of materials to use.
High volume industrial applications 5000-100,000 labels a month
The majority of industrial applications for label printing are networked applications as part of the enterprises business processes.
These type of applications need robust equipment and high output speed to match the velocity of activity.
Applications of label printers are in WIP tracking , GS1 compliance labelling , Track and Trace labels , single case and pallet labels ,receipting and shipping of goods or components. In many instances the labels printed will need to meet client compliance obligations in design and barcode structure.
Saito will work with your IT department and your shop floor supervisors to design and test the right label printer for the application. Not only do the label printers need to function as part of a wider business purpose the labels produced need to be right for the conditions. Labels that work in Freezer conditions ,or under harsh outdoor conditions or applied to recycled board or need to meet “green” credentials all form part of the analysis that Saito undertakes to ensure the label printer solution is the right one. The majority of these applications require a barcode printed on the label.
There is a range of label printers with features better suited to different applications and Saito can recommend accordingly.
Technology Choices
Label printers for use in the applications outlined above come in 2 technology types…Thermal Transfer and Thermal Direct. Each will be discussed in turn.
Thermal Transfer
As the name implies an image is thermally applied from a carbon ribbon onto a material substrate as part of the print process. The material (a self adhesive label or tag) passes under a print head in tandem with the carbon ribbon and the image is transferred “off” the ribbon onto the material.
The ribbon cannot be reused. There are numerous types of ribbons –mostly in black but a colour range also exists as does some special purpose ribbons.
The pigment mix on the ribbon can be either wax ,wax-resin combination or resin. The quality of the coat weight and material blend varies among manufacturers and the quality of the ribbon used needs to verified for the particular application. Saito tests all ribbons in the proposed application to ensure the end results are satisfactory.
Thermal direct
Thermal direct technology requires special material –either board or self adhesive that has impregnated reactive coating on the paper itself. As the paper passes under the print head the heat in the print head activates the coating in the paper and the image becomes visible. This is similar technology that is used in most Point of sale receipt printers.
Print head DPI
Each print head is made of tiny elements embedded in a path across the print width of the printer. DPI = dots per inch and is an accepted way of describing
Print quality. The higher the DPI the better the image –particularily on curved
letters or shapes. Print heads are in 200 ,300 , 400 and 600 DPI configurations – most applications would be satisfactory with 200 or 300 DPI standards.
Printer and label software
Most printers come with a basic software design program at no charge. For small applications this will be ok. For more complex applications involving information retrieval from data held , or multiple label templates ,or networked applications we recommend Nice Label.
Ask a Saito solutions consultant what you will need for your application.
Choosing what is right for you
Talk with one of Saito’s qualified people and they will guide you through the decision making process. Saito operates on a “Best of Breed” selection policy as appropriate to each application. For more information on technical specifications refer to these www pages or the brochures on this site. www.saitogroup.com
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