Bar Code Label Printers

Bar code label printers are special, small sized printers that are capable of printing bar code labels. They are used in businesses wherever inventories are required to be recorded such as in retail and departmental stores, ID card offices, warehouses, etc. General purpose printers can be used to print bar code printers. There are also thermal bar code printers specially for printing bar code labels.

General purpose printers are in fact normal printers. They are capable of printing bar codes on white sticker papers. Laser printers are much better than inkjet printers, as they give more clarity and a faster printing rate. General purpose printers are very slow at printing – they may print as much as 3 to 7 inches per second. They are suitable if the number of bar code labels to be printed is less per day, or if it is a temporary business.

Thermal printers and thermal transfer printers are much more efficient and faster at printing bar code labels. These printers have a thermal head that selectively apply heat on a specially coated paper that darkens the area. The thermal head may be heated directly or indirectly. Such printers can produce better quality images. They are ideal for fast printing, such as in departmental stores, where several goods are sold over the counter every minute. However, one problem with thermal printers is that their thermal heads wear out from time to time and need replacement.

Bar code label printers require regular cleaning of the ribbon and the print head. Specks of dust may cause distortion of the bar codes. The outputs of these printers using ANSI software need to be continuously checked in order to check for system malfunctions.

Most printers are compatible with Windows drivers. They can be connected to computers to check the type of printout they would produce. Software is available to design labels that are exactly printed by the printers. However, many printers are standalone and do not hookup to another computer. Simply feeding the numerical code can generate the requisite bar code label.