THERMAL LABEL PRINTERS
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have a range of tasks to perform, which is culminating in the emergence of multifunctional printers that can respond and adapt to any environment and application. “The sectors that are particularly active are retail and hospitality for click and collect and home deliveries.” Stuart Colverd, head of sales POS, Northern Europe at BIXOLON Europe GmbH, says demand is growing across organisations from large corporates through SMBs to startups, again citing the retail, logistics and healthcare sectors as being particular areas for growth. “At the same time, businesses are seeking greater flexibility in thermal label formats and sizes to support different operational requirements, from product markdowns and food labelling, which require 2-inch labels, to standard shipping applications, requiring 4-inch labels, and labels for industrial pallets, which need to be 6-inch,” he adds. “All require different sizes to suit their purpose and, in some cases, regulatory requirements.” Trends As the thermal label printer market evolves, so do customers’ demands. For instance, Stuart says customers no longer select thermal printers based solely on print quality and price. “Increasingly, they are looking for solutions that improve workflow efficiency, integrate with existing business systems such as ERP, WMS, POS and cloud-based printing platforms and reduce overall operating costs,” he explains. “From a hardware perspective, customers are looking for a broad range of connectivity options, including faster output speeds and productivity, alongside greater durability,” he says. “This includes printers that have ergonomic designs, are made to withstand demanding environments and have a resistance to water, temperature changes and chemicals.
increasingly require lightweight devices with long battery lives that can support printing on the go for a full shift, whether in the warehouse, shop floor or in the field.” Gordon notes that within hospitality and food retail, the introduction of specific legislation relating to prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) goods has resulted in the requirement to print labels that can accommodate a full list of ingredients at a sufficiently high resolution to ensure the information is clear and legible for the customer. “In addition, logos, barcodes and graphics need to remain sharp and impactful,” he adds. “Providing the option to print on either strong linerless or traditional die cut labels for freshly baked and packaged goods, multifunctional printers can deliver on all these fronts. “Integrating printers into the food preparation process that allow different sizes and types of labels to be printed from one easy-to-use device; variable length food and allergy labels, nutrition information alongside food delivery orders and labels, means businesses can meet today’s requirements as well as more future-oriented labelling applications.” Ease of use, reliability, cost- effectiveness alongside a compact and aesthetically pleasing design are key features in a label printer, Gordon adds. “Footprint size is always dependent on location; most hospitality and retail label printers offer clamshell or front-facing options with the latter allowing for on or under counter installation,” he says. Deyon says integration, efficiency, cost savings and sustainability are at the forefront of evolving customer expectations. “Low total cost of ownership is a major driver, particularly the ability to operate with minimal maintenance and maximum uptime, while also reducing consumable spend,” he adds. “Features such as ribbon save technology, and thin film thermal ribbons available on select BX models, help minimise ribbon usage, lowering operating CONTINUED
Contributors
Deyon Antoine
toshibatec.co.uk
Gordon Atkins
https://star-emea.com
Stuart Colverd
bixoloneu.com
Rich Barfield
“Mobile printing is also becoming increasingly important. Businesses
zebra.com
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