When you have a barcode system for your business, one of the things that you will need is a barcode printer to allow you to print your own codes. But like with many things, there are a lot of barcode printers on the market. So you want to know what you should look for in a barcode printer. Here are eight tips that you can use for finding the right barcode printer for you.
Consider Your Print Workload
According to Tech 4 Mommies, this is the first thing that you should consider. When you are choosing your printer, you have to figure out what your print workload will be like. How much are you printing? There are different sizes and types of printers, so it’s essential that you choose the one that can handle your workload.
Consider how Your Prints Will be Used
You can use a printer to print different kinds of tags, depending on the needs of your organization or customers. Do you need them for tracking products? Do you need them for tracking shipments? This is what you need to ask yourself. In case, if you are going to use printer to print copied from iPad or other tablets, then you should also check whether an appropriate apps are available or not. A detailed guide on how to save webpage as PDF and then print it already covered before.
Consider What Your Print Resolution Requirement Is
When you’re looking for barcode printers, you need to consider the resolution you wish to use. To have a barcode that’s really clear, you need a printer that prints in very high resolution. A good printer will provide a minimum of 203 dots in each inch. If you want a higher density, you want to look for a printer that has more dots per inch.
Consider Your Chosen Print Method
There are three different methods which you can choose from based on the quality of barcode you need. There’s direct thermal, thermal transfer, and ink jet printing. Ink jet printers use ink cartridges and prints dots in really thin intervals. The problem is that the ink can bleed. Direct thermal printing applies heat directly to the label and doesn’t require toner or a cartridge. These barcodes aren’t really durable. Thermal transfer uses heat that’s transferred using a wax coated ribbon to bring out colors within the barcode tape. Dot Tech states that these printers are the most efficient, producing codes that are very durable.
Consider Your Label size
Different printer sizes produce different sizes of labels. You have to decide what label size you’re going to be printing. Then you can figure out what barcode printer you need. There are a lot of label sizes that you can choose from so you have to look at the products on which the labels will go and then choose the barcode label and barcode printer that fits those requirements.
Consider Whether Your Printer is Compatible With Your Computer
When you are looking for your business’s barcode printer, you have to choose one that is going to work with your computer. There are a lot of models that you can buy and you have to find one that is going to work with the operating system you have. The last thing that you want to do is to find that you have a great barcode printer but your computer’s not compatible with it.
Consider Whether Your Printer can Network with your other Devices
This is a tip that comes from Barcodes Inc. Similarly to being compatible with your computer, you want to make sure that you are purchasing a printer that will fit in your business’s network infrastructure. A good barcode printer is one that’s going to easily connect without any additional networking issues.
Consider How Much You are Willing to Spend
This factor is something you should consider before you make your purchase. There are a lot of vendors that sell barcode printers, so it can be hard to figure out which you should buy from. Compare the different printers available, based on what you need, and then compare the prices offered by various vendors.
These are the things that you have to consider when you are looking for a barcode printer for your business. Keeping these considerations in mind will help you with finding the right printer for your business.
Take the time to find the printer that is right for you. The last thing you want to do is choose a printer that looks nice at first glance, but ends up losing you time and money because it properly fit your needs. It’s best to take the extra time to research and see what is going to be best option for you instead of taking a chance and then wasting your money on a printer that won’t work. Then you have to take even more time to go and find one that is going to work better when you could have found the right one the first time by taking your time. eCommerce vendors like Shopify sell a number of POS hardware accessories including barcode printers.
