How to Choose a Label Printer
When considering purchasing a label printer to make safety signs and labels for your workplace, there are several factors to consider. These include the durability of the label, the printing resolution, the sizes of the labels and signs you'll need, and whether you need to do other types of labeling in your facility.
Label & Sign Durability
You should not consider any type of label printer other than a thermal transfer printer. It is unlikely you'll find an industrial quality label printer that does not use thermal transfer printing, as all of the major manufacturers have switched to this technology. However, if you are considering using an office or home quality machine (not recommended), there are some non-thermal transfer printers available.
Thermal transfer printing uses a heated print head to transfer the ink from a ribbon to the label material. The ink is melted off the ribbon, then cools and solidifies on the label material. This provides durable printing that is typically resistant to smearing, or being rubbed scratched off.
All DuraLabel brand label printers use thermal transfer printing including the DuraLabel PRO.
Label and sign durability is also effected by the type of ribbon, the label material and the adhesive. All of these are discussed on our page that covers label materials. The type of label supplies used will also effect UV (sunlight), water, weather, temperature and chemical resistance.
Printing Resolution
The resolution of your label printer will effect the clarity of the your labels and signs. Thermal printers are available in a variety of resolutions. Although lower resolutions may be fine for general purpose labels, we recommend using a 200 dpi or greater printer. Both the DuraLabel PRO 300 and the DuraLabel 9000 print at professional quality 300 dpi. Printing at high resolution will ensure that small print, pictograms and bar codes will be clear and easy to read.
Label / Sign Size
Label printers have limits on the size of the labels and signs they can print. A small handheld printer will not work for making pipe markers for a 12 inch steam line. It does not have the capability to print on large enough tapes.
If the items you need to label will always be small in size, such as in a laboratory, then a handheld label printer like the DuraLabel 2000 may be appropriate. However, in most cases a printer that has the capability to print both small and large labels is best. Most industrial labelers have a maximum tape width of 4 inches. Thus a printer that could handle 1/2" tape up through 4" tape would be a good option.
However, the DuraLabel 7000 and the DuraLabel 9000 both print in widths up to 7" and 9" respectively and can handle printing all types of large safety labels
The labeler should also provide the option of tiling labels together to make larger signs. For example, the CAUTION sign to the right was made by combining five labels together. In this case tiling was not needed because five individual labels could be combined to produce the sign. However, if the word CAUTION at the top of the sign needed to be six inches tall, that would need to be tiled using two labels.
The point is that it is a good idea to understand all of the labeling needs in your facility, not just those related to VPP, and purchase a label printer that can handle everything that needs to be done.
Washington State Department of Labor and Industry - Sample Hazardous Chemical Communication Program (PDF)
Industrial Label Printers - What Do I Need To Know Before Buying A Label Printer?
OSHA - Specifications for accident prevention signs and tags
Safety Equipment - International Safety Equipment Association
International Organization For Standardization (ISO) - Standards For Graphical Symbols In Safety Signs
Do you have a labeling machine that has problems? We provide FREE tech. support even if you are not one of our existing customers. We'll be glad to help.
