We use quite a lot of small labels (10mm x 20mm, all printed with a simple two character barcode) to separate documents prior to them being scanned.
We have previously had rolls of labels printed for us but the cost is too much (£200 for 20,000 labels).
We’re going to give A4 laser labels a try as they are cheap but I’m also thinking of getting a used semi-industrial (maybe a TEC) thermal printer to produce the labels for us, as this would also allow us to put more information into a 2D barcode – we can then capture this info at scan time.
So would a thermal printer do the job for us?
What is the time from hitting ‘print’ to the label being done…. is there a warm up period?
How long to the print heads last on these things?
Do you have to use specific barcode software or can I send the barcodes produced in our in-house system to the thermal printer instead of a laser printer?

I don’t know, but do you really think you can do it cheaper than the current price of 1p per label?

I don’t know, but do you really think you can do it cheaper than the current price of 1p per label?

………yes.
20k thermal labels cost about £60 (0.3p/label) and each label can be different
18,900 A4 laser labels cost £25 (0.13p/label) but each label cannot realistically be customised

Direct thermal labels at around 4″*1.5″ – we use DataMax E and I class printers. not the cheapest, but we have around 40 of them and the only problems we’ve had are either people putting in the wrong labelsn (thermal transfer labels in direct thermal printer) and complaining it doesn’t work or people being cack handed (ie the people are the problem not the printers). heads pretty much last forever, but we get them servicved every 2 years or so. no warmup time from pressing the print button, but as they’re all connected via print servers which have a spot of latency that’s maybe because we’re used to the delay.
we use lynk data for servicing and most purchases, always been happy enough with them

BBSB: can you print long runs of the same label?

sorry, and ..barcodes are sent from the application that generates them, no special software other than the printer drivers

probably, but our labels are unique, each one relates to a specific event, so i couldn’t say for certain

We’ve got one at work, a very old one.

Very quick unless you want to print graphics other than bar codes (takes a fair time to transfer, because of the way you have to send it).

We program it directly, rather than using the windows drivers. I imagine the windows drivers and software work fine though.

As far as I know the heads don’t wear out.

On our one the labels start to fade badly after a month or two, particularly if they are left in sunlight. Having said that, it is an old printer (I just nabbed it from the skip pile when it was being chucked out – I’m guessing something like 10 years old), and the paper is pretty old too.

Joe

I don’t know, but do you really think you can do it cheaper than the current price of 1p per label?

………yes.
20k thermal labels cost about £60 (0.3p/label) and each label can be different
18,900 A4 laser labels cost £25 (0.13p/label) but each label cannot realistically be customised

And what about the staff time / training / buggering about unjamming paper / electric…….

Mate, you’re clutching at straws there.