Is a Printer Applicator the Right Choice for You?
Wherever there is a label on a product, there is a potential need for printer applicators. From consumer goods and building materials to pharmaceuticals and medical devices, all of these products need to be tracked to their final destination or retail shelves. With bar coding and radio frequency identification (RFID) mandates dictated by major retailers like Wal-Mart and Target, the decision to use printer applicators over a hand labeling “slap-and-ship” method for high volume or high value items is an easy one, especially when unreadable bar codes or incorrect label placement can result in retailer chargebacks.
What is a Printer Applicator?
Printer applicators are primarily used to print high-quality bar codes, product identification information, and graphics onto labels and apply the labels directly onto products, packages, or pallets. Printer applicator solutions have repeatedly proven to increase productivity, lower operating costs, provide reliable product identification, and ensure proper label placement. In addition, the effects of printer applicators on day-to-day operations can include other benefits such as labor reduction, inventory control, and more accurate sorting.
For the greatest benefit, a thorough analysis of the complete labeling requirement, from part production to end user application, has to be completed to determine the correct printer applicator. Application speed, product conveyance speed, available floor space, label size, location of label application surface, line operator proximity, and many other factors come into play when selecting the correct applicator.
Determining the Need for a Printer Applicator
Printer applicators are used mainly for content identification, bulk packaging, and case/pallet labeling. In order to identify if a company or operation would benefit from a printer applicator solution, it is important to look at the number of labels and how those labels are being used in the manufacturing plant. Volume is a key factor in the decision to implement printer applicators. For a company that churns out over 5 or 10 products per minute, printer applicators are a quick and efficient way to print and apply the labels and keep the items moving along the supply chain.
When presented with a scenario where a printer applicator may be the solution, consider the following:
- What is the manufacturer required to do? Do they need to meet specific labeling requirements or RFID mandates?
- How does the manufacturer manage and sort inventory? How much of this process is automated? How much labor are they using to apply labels?
- How is the manufacturer moving the products/cartons through the supply chain?
- What volume of product is being manufactured or packaged?
Answers to these questions may also reveal a need for a broader solution that not only encompasses printer applicators but also includes consumables such as labels, toner, ribbons and RFID tags. By incorporating a wide range of solutions, from printer applicators, bar code scanning systems, and consumables to RFID, companies can reduce labor costs, more accurately view their products from manufacturing to end user purchase, increase productivity, and ensure label accuracy and readability.
Case In Point
For Christian Book Distributors (CBD), the world’s largest distributor of Christian bibles, books, videos, music and artwork, speed and uptime are crucial to its distribution line. Therefore, when both the United Parcel Service and the United States Postal Service informed CBD it needed to rearrange the shipping labels on its boxes, the company looked for a solution that could print and apply labels accurately and at a high speed.
Originally, CBD had been printing its labels on the sides of the boxes, but in order for the company to receive a significant discount based on shipping volume, its labels needed to be repositioned to the box tops. Efficiency and speed were top priorities when looking at printer applicator options because the company was experiencing bottlenecking on the conveyor line. For CBD, printer applicators increased line speed by 15 to 20 percent while reducing downtime and loss of labor. Currently, CBD has four printer applicators running off two-and-a-half miles of conveyor, and the company is planning to add two more.
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