Label Printers
If you send a lot of mail and get tired of addressing envelopes, a label printer will certainly ease your workload. This type of printer attaches to your computer and prints out the information on the self-adhesive sheets of labels that you feed into the printer manually. The printer has a sensor that will detect a gap or perforation between labels on the page. If you try to print labels on an ordinary printer, the print will shift slightly and you will not get the information printed correctly on each label.
There are two types of label printers – digital thermal and thermal transfer. In a digital thermal printer, you use heat sensitive paper. The printing can last for up to a year without fading unless it is exposed to direct sunlight or chemical vapors. These printers are the ones used most often for address labels. For labels you want to stay affixed to an object, it is best to use a thermal transfer printer. This type of printer uses heat to transfer ink onto the label for permanent print. There are three types of ribbons you can use in a thermal transfer printer:
- Wax ribbons are best suited for matte and semi-gloss labels
- Wax/Resin ribbons are great for semi-gloss paper and for some synthetic labels
- Resin ribbons are scratch resistant and are most commonly used on synthetic labels.
Then there are different types of label printers you can choose from depending on your needs.
- Desktop label printers are inexpensive and designed for light to medium use. They take rolls of labels up to 4 inches in width.
- Commercial label printers take rolls of labels up to 8 inches wide. These are designed for medium volume printing.
- Industrial label printers are mainly used in warehouses and distribution centers and can withstand heavy usage.
- RFID readers can print and read a bar code at the same time.
- Personal Label Printers are small desktop or handheld printers that contain a cartridge housing the paper and the ribbon. These are the cheapest of all label printers.