The importance of durable bar code label printing

In today’s fast-paced business climate, many organizations rely on automated processes to speed production and delivery. The vast majority of these processes rely on the accurate reading of product bar codes.

Unfortunately, if a barcode label is worn or damaged during printing or handling, then production grinds to a halt. This can cause significant financial losses and unnecessary frustration. That is why many organizational leaders are seeking to reduce or remove the possibility of unreadable bar codes from negatively affecting productivity.

Faulty barcode labels can arise from a number of issues associated with thermal printers, outlined below:

• Incorrect settings: If a thermal printer’s settings are too high, black bars on the label can be printed too thickly, causing inaccurate readings. Print speed, head pressure and other settings can also have similar effects.
• Ribbon inconsistency: There is a large number of different models of thermal printer ribbons, and each can carry its own characteristics and preferred settings. Thicker ribbons can have different printing outcomes than their thinner counterparts, which can cause transient bar code failures if not observed carefully. 
• Head failure: The heat and friction involved in the thermal printing process can be tough on the printer head. Even small abrasions on the printer head can render a bar code unreadable. 

Many organizations rely on their thermal printer’s inline verifier system to avoid these issues. However, this is not the only nor the most effective solution. Epson ink jet printers have no ribbons that can cause consistency issues, or need careful calibration. The printer head in Epson’s Colorworks ink jet label printers also never receive contact, eliminating the risks of wear of abrasion. 

The Epson TM-C3400LT Label Terminal or the Epson TM-C3500 Label Printer both offer high-quality four-color inkjet printing that ensures durable, accurate and consistent barcode label printing. These solutions help organizations avoid the expensive downtime caused by unreadable, thermal-printed barcode labels.