Could Your Barcode Labels Be Damaging Your Printers?

While barcode printing supplies may seem like a simple part of your business, using the wrong ones can have far-reaching implications. What starts as a relatively small issue can quickly escalate into larger problems and un-scannable labels can result in a reduction of work productively and increase in costs.

When we’re printing barcode labels, many of us like to save on costs, so we buy cheaper labels and printing supplies. But we don’t realise that the money we save on up-front costs will often turn into much higher costs in the long run.

This is because cheaper labels and printing supplies are usually made with low-grade materials that aren’t consistently manufactured and can actually damage our printers. They can also cause major issues with print quality, label adhesion and barcode scannability.

In the end, using cheaper supplies adds up to costly printer servicing, repairs and disruptions to scanning and data capture workflows that often far outweigh any initial savings.

Investing in the right supplies is the best way to minimise your labelling costs and ensure seamless data capture processes. Cheap barcode labels and supplies cause a range of costly and damaging issues because they are not made to match specific labelling application needs resulting in blurry, faded barcodes and increased wear on printhead.

Next comes heat sensitivity, especially if you’re using direct thermal printing. Cheap labels are often sensitive to heat and create more print quality issues, requiring more printer adjustments and wasted supplies.

Additionally, if you’re using cheap, low-quality labels, your label adhesives can easily fail, meaning your labels won’t stick. Damaged and unreadable labels are often the result of low grade materials which aren't able to withstand the rigours of sunlight, moisture, water or chemicals.

If your labels need to adhere and be readable in these conditions, low-cost supplies just won’t cut it. For these types of applications you need specialised label materials, adhesives, and printer ribbons so thats the labels won't smudge, smear, become un-scannable or become detached from the application.

To avoid all of these issues and minimise your long term supply costs, invest in Zebra barcode labels and supplies. Zebra manufactures all of it's products with ISO-certified quality processes and rigorous pre-testing to ensure proper adhesion, scannability, durability, and minimal printhead wear.

As a proud Zebra Solutions Partner with 25 years experience in the barcode and labelling industry we offer a wide range of consumables to pair with our printing solutions. Call 01975 564111 to speak to one of our friendly sales team.