Label printers for offices, warehouses, production and mobile use

Direct thermal or thermal transfer?

In direct thermal printing, the printhead darkens heat-sensitive label material directly, so no ribbon is needed. However, the labels react to heat, light and abrasion and are mainly suited to short-lived applications such as shipping labels. In thermal transfer printing, the printhead transfers colour from a ribbon onto the label. Wax, wax-resin or resin ribbons produce durable prints, including on films and synthetic materials. Many printers handle both methods; what matters is the right combination of label and ribbon: Labels and consumables.

Which resolution: 203, 300 or 600 dpi?

Resolution determines how finely text, graphics and barcodes are printed. 203 dpi corresponds to 8 dots per millimetre and is sufficient for most shipping and logistics labels. 300 dpi (12 dots per millimetre) pays off for small fonts, logos and 2D codes on smaller labels. 600 dpi, for example on the Zebra ZT411 or as 609 dpi on the SATO S84NX, is needed for very small labels with fine codes. On many models, maximum speed drops at higher resolution. Verifiers check whether your barcodes reach the required quality: Print & Verify.

Desktop, mid-range, industrial, mobile or print engine?

Desktop printers such as the Zebra ZD621 and Brady PC45 are compact and take label rolls up to 127 mm in diameter. Mid-range and industrial printers such as the Brady PM65 and Zebra ZT411 hold rolls up to 213 or 203 mm and 450 m ribbons, which means fewer roll changes in multi-shift operation. Mobile printers such as the Zebra ZQ600 Plus are worn on the belt or used in vehicles. Print engines such as the SATO S84NX and S86NX are built into label applicators and print-and-apply lines. The deciding factors are volume, label size, environment and space at the workstation.

Printer languages, emulations and ERP integration

Each manufacturer has its own printer languages, such as ZPL at Zebra, SBPL at SATO or Fingerprint, IPL and DPL at Brady. Many printers also understand other languages via emulation, for example ZPL II on Brady (ZSim2), SATO (SZPL) and Epson. This makes swapping printers easier but does not replace a test with your templates. For ERP integration, either the ERP system sends finished print data to the printer, or central label software generates the labels from ERP data. With OPAL Labelmanagement™ we connect your printers and templates to your ERP system. Find out more under Printing.

Linerless and RFID

Linerless labels have no backing paper, so there is no liner waste. According to Zebra, up to 50% more labels fit on a roll with the ZT411. You need a printer with linerless equipment, such as the Zebra ZT411, ZD621 or ZQ630 Plus or the Brady PC45d, and suitable material. RFID printers print a label and write to the embedded UHF chip in one pass. RFID is available as an option for the Zebra ZT411 and ZT421, as the ZD621R model, for the ZQ630 Plus, for the Brady PC45 and PM65 and for the SATO print engines. We work out with you which labels and inlays suit your process: RFID overview.

Colour labels in-house

Colour label printers such as the Epson ColorWorks series print by inkjet in four colours. Logos, warning symbols, colour codes and variable data are produced in one pass, and stocks of pre-printed label rolls can be dropped. What matters is matching ink and label material, for example matte or glossy, and the durability requirements. For black and white labels in high volumes, thermal transfer printing usually remains faster.