If you’ve ever worked in the warehousing and logistics field, you’ll know how valuable and essential it is to be able to track and label stock.
There is nothing more frustrating than when inventory items go missing, and literally hours and hours can be lost trying to track them down. The answer to these issues is to use a good industrial label printer. Let’s explore this in more depth.
Professional Label Printers to the Rescue
Professional label printers enable a warehousing business to label stock accurately. This is essential for professional stock control, and to label stock precisely. A good labelling system will not just carry the name of the item and serial number, but handling and safety information to ensure compliance with the myriad of legislation that exists in our world.
Good systems tie into stock management apps and software which combined with a good MRP system ensures stock is on the shelf when it is needed. This makes professional labelling systems worth their weight in gold.
Industrial Label Printers
Industrial label printers are a broad term that describes labelling component parts, stock if you will that can be readable in demanding environments such as manufacturing and healthcare settings.
They should be your go-to for any environment where people and machines are present including warehouse and logistic environments. Good labels are durable and can stick to different materials be it paper, metal, and vinyl. They will also carry other relevant information needed for the business to function productively.
If you’re in the market for a good labelling system, then industrial label printers should be front and centre for any purchasing decision.
With this in mind, let’s look at the options.
Portable Label Printers
Since Amazon came to be a powerhouse company and started to inspire all of the e-commerce businesses that came after, the portable label printer has come into its own. Consider:
As soon as stock is bought in it can be labelled by an operative using a small handheld device. At this point, it is trackable while in the business in real time.
As stock moves through the business, from one warehouse to another it can be tracked.
As soon as stock is delivered to the end customer/client it can be removed from inventory in real time. They can also record and show proof of delivery.
Like all good industrial label printers, portable label printers can impart the necessary legislative compliance needed in today’s world.
Portable label printers provide real time tracking and accountability which are essential to any business that handles stock.
Warehouse Label Printers
As alluded to at the start of the article, stock control is essential to a myriad of industrial businesses. Should a component or stock go missing, especially one of high value, the repercussions are negative and far reaching.
Further, good warehouse label printers reduce the chances of stock being mistaken for a different piece of stock and subsequently misplaced.
Warehouse label printers enable accurate labelling of stock and as such negate negative issues and allow smooth operations to ensue.
Barcode Label Printers
Barcode label printers have been providing good inventory tracking for decades. Most have come across them in a supermarket setting, thanks to the fact they can be applied easily and quickly and can be printed on packaging. They can operate and be scanned in cold and hot environments and as they are designed for industrial environments can stick to hot and cold surfaces.
Barcode label printers are a form of portable label printer which makes them easy to deploy. If you consider the powerhouse supermarkets in the UK right now, use the data provided by these label printers to make buying decisions and conduct in-depth analytics on what is selling and not selling, barcode label printers are in a word, awesome.
Custom Label Printing Solution – Something to Consider
As with most things in life, rarely one size fits all, and it is no different in the world of industrial label printing. It could be, that you may need one kind of label printer for one part of an operation with a different system required for another. It is annoying, but efficiency and productivity are king.
With this in mind, consider:
What issues are you trying to achieve from your industrial label printing? Track stock, impart safety information, ensure stock doesn’t get misplaced?
Does your operation work in extremes such as hot and cold temperatures or handle stock that requires safety measures to handle?
Do you have a fixed budget or is this aspect flexible?
Despite the extra expense of a custom label printing solution the advantages are far reaching. It will make your operation as efficient and productive as it can be, with little lost time and confusion muddying the waters and impacting negatively on the all important bottom line.
As with all major infrastructure purchases, take your time, research, and bring in the people who will be implementing and using the system to provide