Put a label on it: 5 benefits of having a thermal label printer for your small business
You might not be familiar with thermal label printing, but it has grown in popularity and continues to be used by startups and big businesses alike. Commercial enterprises have shifted to thermal label printing to ensure smoother and more efficient service for their clients.
If you are either a starting entrepreneur or an experienced business owner, you might be interested in what thermal label printing is all about.
What is thermal label printing?
Thermal printing, in general, is a process whereby a printed image is produced by utilizing heat. Thermal printers somehow work like your typical printer. Still, instead of using ink, your thermal label printer equipment uses specific special media like label or sticker rolls that easily react to a certain level of heat.
The parts of the thermal printer are the following: thermal head, the platen, and spring. The head is the part where heat is generated and is responsible for the printing on paper, while the platen feeds the paper to the machine. The spring is the one pressing the thermal head so that the latter is in contact with the thermal paper to generate the desired image.
There are two kinds of thermal label printing: direct thermal printing and thermal transfer printing. Direct thermal printing involves producing a printed image through selectively heating thermal paper passing through the thermal head. On the other hand, thermal transfer printing uses a specific heated ribbon to produce images.
With this new type of label printing, you can produce labels and signages in paper, ribbon, or tape – whichever material you prefer by just basically using heat instead of ink. Here are benefits that small businesses can derive from switching to thermal label printing:
Fast delivery of required images or documents
One activity that probably gets employees, managers, and supervisors’ eyeballs rolling is how long it takes to print on an ink printer, especially if you have to produce many copies for a particular image. Time equates to money for businesses, and faster printing would expedite transactions. Hence, you get to serve more customers.
Thermal label printing solves this as labels, receipts, and other media are produced right away, in seconds. Retail stores, food franchise shops, and delivery services are the establishments that indeed entail speedy transactions, and having a thermal printer will significantly cut the time spent servicing customers. Chances are, the receipts that you keep at this moment are already thermal labels printed.
Overall reduced printing costs
One of the reasons commercial business owners have shifted to thermal printing in their operations is that it is a lot cheaper in consideration of costs per print. If your business entails having a high volume of prints, such as labeling goods or merchandise or providing receipts, it would be good to invest in good thermal paper rolls for printing.
As ink is not essential for printing, you can significantly cut costs by replacing expensive cartridges or ribbons if you still patronize your old traditional printers. Even the maintenance costs for your thermal printer are greatly reduced. Worrying for the printer if it runs out of ink is eliminated.
Better efficiency in the business workflow
When it comes to administration over your employees, the workflow must be seamless and have fewer interruptions. Having a jammed printer presents a hassle as the production of documents, labels, or receipts is stalled. The maintenance and repair of the printing machine might take away the productive time of your staff.
With increased speed and delivery provided by thermal printers, your workers will be able to focus entirely on their assignments. Perhaps, you can leave the job to maintenance people from outside your office, but let’s face it – repairs in the office will still disrupt activities within your establishment as you would have to make space for the repair crewmen.
Increased customer satisfaction
With thermal printing, you and your workers can focus primarily on transactions involved in your small business solely. Hence, you may give more attention to your customers and quickly respond to any concerns or requests they might raise during their visit or even mere inquiry.
Vital documents will be easily provided to them, such as receipts or other transactional documents. Happy customers mean more significant profits and more referrals, thus giving you your investment return from shifting to thermal label printing.
Environment-friendly and aids in reducing carbon footprint
Thermal printing helps reduce ink or other non-recyclable waste; hence it is an environmentally friendly option. As there is also a lower shipping weight, the carbon footprint is also significantly reduced. If you advocate for greener options when it comes to your business, thermal printing is absolutely a revolutionary choice.
Takeaway
With its cost-saving, time-efficient, and workflow-decongesting benefits, there is no wonder how thermal printing has converted traditional people in business into learning to adapt to more modern printing solutions. Thermal printing indeed gives you a more precise and faster picture of how your business can rapidly grow if you open yourself to new things.
