posted on January 22, 2004 12:10:13 PM new
I'm giving some thought to switching to a thermal printer like Zebra or Dymo. I ship about 500 packages (and growing) per month, all bubble mailers with labels printed through Endicia. I have two different mailer sizes and thus two different envelope sizes - one for just postage and one that includes DC.
I'm looking for the pros and cons of thermal printers vs sticking with my PC printer. I'd like to remove all the wear and tear on my printer from label printing, as well as the nuisance of having to reload the paper after each label. But I'm not sure I can print two different sizes like I do now, and I need to be able to either print or NOT print DC.
posted on January 22, 2004 12:41:12 PM new
I suggest that you contact whoever sells these in your area. I am sure they can give you all of the info you need.
posted on January 22, 2004 01:05:37 PM new
I'm looking for the advice of posters here who have used both. That advice is immeasurably more valuable to me than what a sales rep is going to tell me. I'm interested in the opinion of sellers who who have used a thermal printer day in and day out.
posted on January 22, 2004 06:56:49 PM new
Get a thermal printer, you won't regret it.
You can position the stuff anywhere on the label that you want just like the layout you use now. (if it is too big, just cut off the unused part)
posted on January 22, 2004 07:59:00 PM new
I use a LP2844 with Endicia, that I got off of Ebay. It works great! I don't do the volume you do, but I too got tired of using my regular printer for postage. I use my printer for all my packages. I sometimes have to send boxes that measure 5x4x2 with and without DC. I just move everything closer and print and just as whatnot3 said, I cut off what I don't need.
I have never used a Dymo, I looked into it and thought the Zebra was better. You can use Zebra's (depending on model) with USPS, UPS and FedEx. I think the labels for the Zebra's are cheaper, too. On some models, it has the feature that peels away the label and you just stick on on the package and go on to the next one.
posted on January 22, 2004 11:05:28 PM new
There's no downside to using a Thermal Printer for labels. They're cheaper to operate (no ink), faster, produce better quality barcodes, and are more water resistant. We also reduced mistakes made from mis-loading partially used label sheets. Ours paid for itself in 5 weeks ($66 shipped for new LP2442 on eBay). If you're unsure you want to commit and have a UPS account, you can lease one from UPS for $2 a week.
The LP2844 mentioned is a great choice, here's some others that will work well with Endicia and UPS (and others):
Eltron LP 2442 (also called LP2442)
Eltron LP 2443 (also called LP2443 or Orion LP2443)
Eltron LP 2543 (also called LP2543)
Eltron is now owned by Zebra, so some call them Zebra instead of Eltron.
