Not Just Thermal Printers

TSC Printronix Auto ID is already well known in the logistics and packaging industries for its reliable thermal printers. Less highlighted is the importance the company places on its all-round package. It believes that to achieve a reliable Auto ID solution, you need a lot more than ‘just a printer’.

Printers are a lot more than a piece of hardware, with common attributes to all. “There are many different complexities within printers,” says Neil Baker, who runs Consumables for TSC Printronix Auto ID EMEA. “An industrial printer will have a lot more complexity than one that’s, for instance, printing out your next dentist appointment.” Savings, speed and efficiencies are all to be had, with the right combination of tools selected. “Whether you are a one to five person operation, or a multinational 3PL sending out 500 pallets per hour, we have an all-round printing solution for you,” he promises.

Consumables for thermal printers

It follows that the success of any printing operation or process depends in large part on the quality and reliability of the ‘consumables’, otherwise described as the media inside the box hardware, typically the labels and the thermal transfer ribbon. Neil Baker’s objective is to make sure you have the perfect consumables for your printing processes. Consumables matter, he points out.

Picking the right consumables means big wins for customers. In terms of common themes, sustainability is a keyword for Neil and his team.

“Our linerless labels eradicate ‘glassine’ backing labels completely – so there is no waste in the warehouse or operational site that would formerly have gone straight to landfill. That matters to both the daily process as well as the company bottom line. We offer many industry-specific printers optimised for linerless labelling, so they are particularly suited for logistics environments, whether mobile, desktop or heavy industrial printers.”

Advances have also been made in RFID technology by engineers at TSC Printronix Auto ID, greatly boosting the track-and-trace opportunity between, for instance, a source of manufacture in Asia and a warehouse storage location in Western Europe. Such technology can now check in seconds that what was dispatched inside a box or container exactly matches what has arrived. Other performance enhancers in the wide suite of customisable offerings include ODV-2D, a verification application which scans and grades the label as it emerges from the machine to confirm its durability and legibility for the onward journey.

Thermal printer solution

The all-round promise goes further. “By connecting with TSC Printronix Auto ID, you are not only buying hardware and consumables, but best-in-class post-sales support, with focus on the consumables as much as the hardware – it’s a complete solution,” he explains. That means you’re putting a lot of trust in one company to support you exclusively. That’s why we have the confidence to guarantee quality, knowing everything has been vetted, tested and approved by us.” The benefit for the customer is the reassurance that comes from knowing all product lines have been tested and certified with TSC Printronix Auto ID printers to maximize output and efficiencies in high output, time critical applications, such as logistics and warehousing.

The post-sales coverage extends to on-site service, backed by a team of application engineers throughout EMEA able to offer on-the-spot technical advice.

The company’s relationship with the logistics sector is well-established. Some years ago, when a major logistics name which used a mixed fleet of thermal printers from a variety of suppliers found the process of sourcing spares and servicing too complex, engineers from TSC Printronix Auto ID successfully established that a single emulation – or printer ‘language’ – could be implemented throughout this entire mixed network. After a three-month testing period, that same 3PL now has over 650 industrial printers in operation and purchases 60 million labels per year. TSC Printronix Auto ID is now the exclusive provider of printers and genuine supplies. The relationship is flourishing six years later.