Voluntary Protection Program Labelers
When considering purchasing a label printer to support your VPP
efforts, 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.
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.
This 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
may be appropriate. However, in most cases a printer that has the
capability to print both small and large labels is best. Other then
specialized large format printers like the Brady PowerMark, 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.
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.
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.
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