THERMAL LABEL PRINTERS
CONTINUED
costs and material waste. High-speed performance, reliability and seamless integration with ERP and warehouse systems are increasingly essential, alongside wireless connectivity and flexible deployment. Ease of integration is also crucial, with Print Language emulation enabling straightforward replacement of legacy devices, and Direct PDF printing allowing output without reliance on specific print languages capabilities supported across Toshiba’s BX range.” Another trend is the expansion of 2D digitisation, adds Richard Barfield, EMEA business partner, Asset Visibility Solutions, Zebra Technologies. “With the upcoming GS1 Digital Link standards change and the introduction of the Digital Product Passport, businesses must capture and encode richer data sets for traceability and compliance,” he says. “Advanced thermal printers are critical in enabling this transition seamlessly. As are the current versions of our scanner, mobile computing and tablet portfolios, that with the latest firmware are ready to decode the latest versions of 2D formats.” There is also demand for unified oversight. “Customers increasingly want centralised management,” says Richard. “The ability to manage an organisation's entire fleet of thermal printers, alongside barcode scanners, mobile computers and tablets, from one single pane of glass drastically reduces IT overhead and ensures maximum uptime.”
Gordon adds that as popularity grows for sustainable packaging and reusable cups, accurate customer order identification becomes even more critical, and linerless labels are a key part of that. “Among the range of labelling solutions currently available, linerless labels offer eco-friendly properties and operational efficiencies with a range of different adhesive strengths,” he says. “For all linerless media, a key benefit is the reduction in waste. “Linerless media is available in a range of widths, enabling businesses to create labels for any product type including larger labels for food deliveries to smaller, more compact beverage labels. “Equally, variable length linerless labels enable the printing of shorter orders or labels with less information on minimal paper, further promoting efficiency. Star linerless label printers allow food orders to be printed onto variable length low adhesive ‘sticky receipts’, which can follow the order through the preparation process and can even be used as the final bag seal with customer pick up order number and/or delivery address.” Innovations While thermal label printers are a mature technology, there is nevertheless plenty of innovation in them currently. Deyon says the current focus of innovation is centred on making printing more intelligent and connected. “RFID-enabled label printing is improving inventory accuracy and automation, while IoT integration enables real-time monitoring and remote management,” he says.
The ability to manage an organisation's entire fleet of thermal printers, alongside barcode scanners, mobile computers and tablets, from one single pane of glass drastically reduces IT overhead and ensures maximum uptime. “ ”
Sustainability Sustainability is another growing
trend, with Richard noting that things like linerless labelling are becoming increasingly popular. “By eliminating the silicon liner on labels, businesses can significantly reduce waste, fit more labels per roll to decrease changeovers, and lower their overall carbon footprint,” he says. “We are finding these solution benefits are aligning well with challenges that customers have today.”
28
Powered by FlippingBook