Many of the labels we sell have been professionally printed with flexo or digital technology and are ready to be applied to our customers' products. We also produce a large number of blank labels that can be printed on print/apply labelers or tabletop printers and are used to label logistical items like shipping cases, shrink-wrapped trays, and pallets. The barcodes on the labels are used to ensure that the packages are routed properly through the supply chain to their final destination.
When looking at blank labels, it's easy to believe that they're all the same and that buying the cheapest is fine. This is incorrect, as evidenced by the following example:
Our barcode printing system is used by a distribution center for a large sports products company to print and apply labels to products of various sizes. While the equipment was performing admirably, the customer was having trouble maintaining good print quality (a barcode scanner installed immediately after the labeling system frequently rejected the barcodes) and was having to replace printheads more frequently than was typical.
Our label expert, Murtaza, visited the plant to assess the situation and discovered that the equipment was in good working order, but the customer was correct in that the print quality was not up to par. The print engine's darkness setting was increased to maximum in order to produce scannable barcodes. Something didn't seem quite right.
The customer wasn't using Soluwise labels, but rather a local supplier's direct thermal labels. We obviously want to sell our labels to anyone who uses our labeling equipment, but we recognize that this isn't always possible. Any high-quality label stock will work perfectly with Soluwise labeling equipment.
Murtaza swapped the customer's roll of labels for a roll of Soluwise direct thermal labels and ran some test prints to figure out what was going on. The results were fascinating.
The print quality can be determined by two important settings in the thermal print engine. The print speed, which is measured in inches per second (IPS), and the print darkness, which is measured on a scale of 0 to 30, with 30 being the darkest print. The print speed of this Zebra ZT410 printer is 12 inches per second. Because of the high-speed nature of the line, this is the speed setting being used. In general, getting good print quality at high print speeds is more difficult.
Murtaza printed test prints of the original label and the Soluwise at the 12 IPS speed with a low darkness level of 5.0:
Original Label – 12 IPS 5.0 Darkness. / Soluwise Label – 12 IPS, 5.0 Darkness.
It's obvious that the customer's original label requires more effort to generate an image.
The test was then repeated, this time with settings that would produce acceptable print quality for production. With original labels, to achieve consistently high-quality text and barcodes on the original label, the darkness setting had to be set to 30.0 (the maximum value). With the Soluwise label, a darkness level of 20.0 produced excellent results.
Original Label – 12 IPS 30.0 Darkness. / Soluwise Label – 12 IPS, 20.0 Darkness.
What does this mean for the customer?
Our labeling systems are built to produce high-quality barcodes, so there's no reason why they shouldn't read after the label is applied. We don't like having to run the printers at the maximum darkness setting because it shortens the printheads' lifespan and prevents the adjustment of the darkness setting, which is frequently required as the printhead wears.
The labels our customer was using required more energy to produce the image than the Soluwise label, and they also had a slight gloss finish. We wondered if the surface finish was causing reflections that were causing the barcode scanner to malfunction.
While it may be tempting to buy low-cost, low-quality labels, this will almost certainly result in downtime on packaging lines and higher maintenance costs for labeling and printing equipment. We strongly encourage our customers to use high-quality labels, either our own or those from a reputable supplier.
Why use Soluwise Labels?
Our labels are designed to work exceptionally well with barcode printers. On our modern converting equipment, we use only the highest quality materials and have complete control over the die-cutting process.
SoluWise Labels provides the highest quality of labels with varied types of glues for all applications in Dubai, UAE, Kuwait, Oman & Qatar. Contact us on info@soluwiseme.comor visit our Labels Section to know more. We’ll be sure to get you in touch with an expert for your needs.
