A Run-Through on Label Printers

Label printers differ from the ordinary printers as they require special feeding mechanisms for handling fanfold stock, rolled stock etc. They find wide applications such as for retail price marking, supply chain management, for laboratory and blood specimen marking and management of fixed assets.

Mechanism of Printing Involved in a Label Printer
Impact, laser, and thermal printing mechanisms are used in the label printers. Based on the printing mechanism the label printers are of the following types:

o    Direct Thermal Label Printers: The direct thermal label printers make use of heat-sensitive paper. The ‘direct thermal labels’ are short-lived and fade over a period of 6 months to 1 year when exposed to direct sunlight, chemical vapor, and heat. The ‘direct thermal labels’ are used as the shipping labels.’

o    Thermal Transfer Label Printers: The thermal transfer label printers make use of heat for transferring the ink from the ribbon onto labels for permanent printing. Some of the ‘thermal transfer printers’ are used for ‘direct thermal printing’. The PVC vinyl material enhances the longevity of label life in the pipe markers.

The Different Types of Label Printers
o    Desktop Label Printers: These printers are designed for light as well as medium-duty use. They operate silently and are cost-effective. They make use of a 4” wide ‘roll of stock’.
o    Industrial Label Printers: These are the heavy-duty printers that are used in the warehouses, factories and the distribution centers. They are available with a hard case and are generally handheld. They are widely used in the construction sites, for the electrical installations as well as in the production floors.
o    RFID Readers: These are the specialized types of label printers that can encode and print on the RFID transponders. The RFID tags require printed information required for the ‘backward compatibility’ with the barcode systems for helping the humans for identifying the tags.
o    Personal Label Printers: These printers are also known label makers. They are designed for small business or home office. As they are of low cost, entrepreneurs of small businesses purchase them. However, they require special tapes such as thermal in which they can be printed. The thermal paper used in these printers are expensive.

Though choosing the right label printer may seem to be a challenging task, with a good knowledge of the various types of printers, the task would be a cakewalk.