Labels are quite important for your organization as they help to identify categories and makes it easy for you to remember. Most companies these days have a professional label maker that are easy to use and creates tidy and uniform labels of various shapes and sizes. You must look for a label maker that has adjustable font and tape margin size, easy to read screen, large keyboards and easy to hold.
Here are some tips that you can follow while choosing the perfect label maker for your business.
- Intended use of your label maker: Look for your label printing needs before selecting a label printing device. If you plan to print smaller series of labels with different sizes and colours on a regular basis then you can choose a label maker, however, purchasing a desktop thermal label printer would be the best for printing larger series of labels of a single size with lesser costs.
- Maximum tape width: you must consider the maximum dimensions of labels you will require before purchasing a label maker as they differ in terms of their tape width. Label printers with a larger width are costly and bigger in size. You can use the hand held models for standard day to day labeling as they are more convenient with a print width of only and upto 12mm.
- Connectivity: A label maker that can easily be connected to a computer helps you to insert graphics, fonts or generate labels from a text database hence, making you shift from simpler labels to professional labels.
Your printer receives its printing orders from options like USB, Ethernet, Wifi, Bluetooth, Parallel, etc. A lot of printers come with a USB connection however, an option like Parallel limits your choice of hardware. An Ethernet connection is the most convenient as it lets you print from anywhere on your network and observe its current state.
- Keyboards: Consider having a keyboard for your label maker if you have a computer connection. You would not require to have a keyboard if you are not planning to carry the printer and decide to print in only one place.
- Special features: It is suggested to go for a label maker that has automatic formats if you plan to print on wires, cables or circuit breakers to mark an electrical installation as it will make your work much easier and faster.
- Printing resolution: The sharpness of a print depends upon DPI (Dots Per Inch). The higher the DPI, the sharper the text.
- Address and product labels can have a 203dpi printer where appearance and presentation are not that important.
- Opt for a 300dpi in cases where the texts are small and appearance matters.
- Labels with barcodes must have a 600dpi printer.
- Choose a label maker with high print resolution of 360dpi for complex graphics, logos and tiny QR codes.
- Printer size: You can choose between a portable, desktop or an industrial printer.
- Portable label printers are quite handy and can be carried over the shoulders or clipped to a belt. They work the best when you are printing on a filed, standing right next to where the labels are used. They are direct thermal printers and are not suitable for high temperature.
- Desktop printers are less costly and are easy to use. They are less durable as they are made of plastic and requires refiling with labels and thermal ribbons most often than an industrial printer and work best in cases of a limited space.
- Industrial printers are more expensive and requires greater space however, they are more durable and will keep printing without regular refiling.
- Durability: Choose a label printer depending upon its durability. For eg- A desktop printer is the best if you have a clean working environment with low print volumes whereas, a plastic cased industrial printer works best if you require large number of labels on a daily basis.
- Label life: Labels are of 2 categories:
- Direct thermal labels-
- They have shorter life and are not suitable for high temperatures.
- They require lesser cost as they don’t require a thermal ribbon and are more straightforward.
- Thermal transfer printers-
- Waterproof tags and scratch resistant labels are printed through thermal transfer printers as they require a thermal ribbon.
- These are more flexible and can print only onto specially coated paper.
- RFID: There are only a handful of label printers that can print onto RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) labels. You’ll find a range of label printers for RFID printing like portable printers, industrial printers for 4 to 6inch wide labels, high speed printers to a desktop printer for a small space.
- Long term and maintenance cost: Choose a printer that is user-friendly and easy to maintain rather than a printer that might fit your budget today but make it expensive tomorrow by raising the long-term costs of replacing cartridges, regular maintenance and staff training.
There is a lot to consider while choosing a label printer. Our team at Dal (Dial A Label) will help you save your hours of research and get you the best professional label maker according to your budget and needs.
