Label printers – choose the best solution

Choosing the right label printer is a very important decision. This is because the class and characteristics of the equipment determine whether the print will be permanent and the work efficient. When looking for a label printer, you also need to pay attention to the conditions in which you will be using it – in the office, in the warehouse, or maybe it is difficult to determine clearly and you should consider choosing a portable device. What types of label printers are there and what printing technologies do they offer? Please see our entry.

Label printers for the office

The most important thing to consider when choosing a label printer is where you work. The basic division of label printers is into office and industrial ones.

Office printers are usually smaller and their housing is made of plastic, so they look a little more like traditional printers. It is also worth noting that office printers, e.g. DYMO LabelWriter 450 label printer or Zebra GK420D thermal printer, are adapted for less intensive work than their industrial counterparts.

This may mean, among other things, slower label printing – in the case of the DYMO Label Writer 450 it is 51 labels per minute, but in fact a lot depends on the parameters of a specific model.

Nevertheless, office label printers are best suited to situations where they are not exposed to constant use. In cases where you print a lot (more than 1 600 labels per day), you need to bet on more efficient models.

Industrial label printers

Industrial label printers, such as the Zebra ZT230, are larger and more robust than their office counterparts.

Their casing is often thoroughly sealed and made of more durable materials, such as metal, thanks to which it can successfully operate in more difficult conditions, such as a warehouse or production hall.

The reinforced construction also ensures better durability of the device. Therefore, even despite the higher price, an industrial label printer offers greater efficiency, as well as lower running costs. Industrial solutions enable us to print up to 2 500 labels per day.

Label printers – printing methods for labels

Label printers print in a different way to domestic devices. They do not simply transfer ink to paper, as such a method would not be very durable. The most common way of printing labels is what is known as thermal printing.

It requires a special type of label because the print head directly heats the label from the thermal paper. Another popular way of printing on label printers is the thermal transfer method, which requires special paper labels and a wax-resin ribbon.

The print head releases the pigment contained in the thermal transfer ribbon. which is then transferred to the label. The combination of ribbon and label guarantees very high print durability.

Label printer – what does your business need?

It is also worth bearing in mind that label printers also offer different print resolutions – this parameter is given in dpi (dots per inch), and the higher it is, the higher the print quality is also. The information about label printers mentioned in this post will give you a basic understanding of these devices, and will certainly make it easier to choose equipment that will be suitable for the conditions that prevail in a particular company, warehouse or shop.