Label/Receipt Printer High Volume Recommendation

[arturm]

Hi everyone,

We have a case where we want to print around 500 receipts/labels per day. We have been looking at different thermal and label printers from Zebra and Brother trying to figure out which printer to purchase. Can anyone give a recommendation on what printer to select for this kind of case? Seems quite pricey for this kind of amounts. Quality of print doesn't need to be superb, more important its cheaper per-print and reasonably fast. Preferably the need of changing roll should be as seldom as possible, but these big industrial printers seem a bit too much but we're not sure. Prints does NOT need to be sticky, the print will be used as entry pass and placed inside of the car on the dashboard. Prints will be automatically printed.

Thank you!

 

[printerplug]

Hi arturm,

I work with Brother Mobile Solutions as well as Zebra and can vouch that both are great manufacturers. That said, label printers can be somewhat deceiving in pricing, as mobility, connectivity, capacity, and resolution can become strict deciding factors for many industry applications. That said, from what you describe I feel you could be satisfied with something like the popular Brother QL-820 label printer, with speeds up to 110 labels per minute, and rolls that accommodate on average 1200 labels each. Anything above that would just be money spent for added convenience or specific utility, in my opinion.

The 820 can be somewhat illusive at times with backorders, so if you need help finding one available I'd be happy to help as we are a certified partner of both Brother and Zebra. My email is (e-mail address removed) for any questions!

Best of luck,

Mason

 

[arturm]

Hi @printerplug,

Thank you very much for the reply. We've looked into the QL-800 as well and it looks great. What would the cheapest paper be for these kind of Brother printers? Our calculations gave us that it would cost at least around $10-$15 USD per day to print ~500 receipts/QR-codes per day. Is that accurate? We've also looked at Zebra ZD421 which seems to be a good option.

 

[printerplug]

Hi @printerplug,

Thank you very much for the reply. We've looked into the QL-800 as well and it looks great. What would the cheapest paper be for these kind of Brother printers? Our calculations gave us that it would cost at least around $10-$15 USD per day to print ~500 receipts/QR-codes per day. Is that accurate? We've also looked at Zebra ZD421 which seems to be a good option.

I would recommend a non-adhesive continuous paper tape to maximize your value. This would be ideal as you can save money by not requiring the "label" aspect of the media, and you can cut the tape as needed to get the most out of the 100 feet length without being restricted by a pre-determined size/perforation.

Here is an example that works with the 820, https://www.brother-usa.com/products/dkn5224

 

[UpAndPrinting]

If you're ok working with sticky labels, the LabelRange 320 printer is only $50 on eBay and comes with 1,000 6x4 labels. You can get more for free from UPS so there would be no daily operating costs. The LabelRange is a very versatile thermal printer. And for the price, you can't beat it. I've been running one for a few years now. No issues.

 

[turnpaper]

Hi arturm,

I work with Brother Mobile Solutions as well as Zebra and can vouch that both are great manufacturers. That said, label printers can be somewhat deceiving in pricing, as mobility, connectivity, capacity, and resolution can become strict deciding factors for many industry applications. That said, from what you describe I feel you could be satisfied with something like the popular Brother QL-820 label printer, with speeds up to 110 labels per minute, and rolls that accommodate on average 1200 labels each. Anything above that would just be money spent for added convenience or specific utility, in my opinion.

The 820 can be somewhat illusive at times with backorders, so if you need help finding one available I'd be happy to help as we are a certified partner of both Brother and Zebra Munbyn portabler drucker. My email is mfrey@Matrixbusiness .biz for any questions!

Best of luck,

Mason

Hi.

I've got a customer who prints over 20,000 labels per day. Currently, they're using the Zebra ZT610s. They were using the Zebra ZT410s, but were going through printheads every few months. My current vendor said the ZT610 was a continuous duty (24/7) printer, so I sold them 3 of them. Two for use (two separate locations), and one for a backup. They printed 2.7 million inches on the main printer from 8/1/ to 9/25, then they started to get blank lines on the labels. I replaced the printhead, and two days later (45,000 labels/135,000 inches on this printhead) and THIS one started leaving blank lines. I replaced it again, and this one lasted for 1.2 million inches (about a month) and started giving trouble. I sent the printer into Zebra (via my vendor), along with the labels my customer is using (direct transfer, no ribbon) and they checked it out, ran 400 labels, and said it's fine. I'm still trying to get the first two printheads replaced under warranty (I had to purchase two of them to keep the customer going), but that's a different story.... The second printer doesn't get used as hard. It has over 1.8 million inches on it, and it still on it's original printhead.

My vendor can't tell me what the life expectancy of a ZT610 printhead is, but if it's rated for 24/7 printing, it should be pretty high. If it's only (?) 1 - 2 million inches, my customer isn't going to be happy replacing a printhead every two months at $700 each. I know... 1 - 2 million inches is a lot, but we specifically asked for a printer that can run 24/7. I guess I should have asked what the printhead life is. The printers actually run great, just the printheads fail. I've serviced the ZT410s so they can also use these when the ZT610s fail. Just cleaning, platen rollers and printheads for these, also. Great printers, but I don't think these are the right printers for this application.

Is there a printer that's designed for this super high volume? Anyone else have this problem?