For such a little label, blank thermal and direct thermal labels are a
huge part of what makes the distribution center world go round. More and more
businesses, regardless of size, are moving towards thermal /direct thermal
options to ship out their products. Why is that exactly?
Very small retail establishments were using the traditional method of
printing out their packing list and label, folding it, putting it into an adhesive
backed plastic pouch, and affixing it to the package. As technology has
evolved, and more product options have been developed, many are discovering
that even the smallest of establishments can benefit from a more efficient,
cost reductive, method of shipping their products to their customers. There
have been lots of great products introduced to help in this area, but none as
much as direct thermal and thermal labels.
What makes them unique is you don’t have to run them through a laser
printer, so the cost for printing consumables goes down tremendously. Instead, depending on the material choice,
you run your labels through a thermal printer, which uses a thermal ribbon, or
a direct thermal printer, which uses a print head, to create the image on the
label. Either method is much more cost effect than toner in most cases. The
standard size for most companies is a 4x6” which is perfect for most shipping
labels. Larger fc’s utilize smaller sizes of thermal labels to print tracking
barcodes. These barcodes are used internally to track where the package is
within the facility. There are so many great ways to customize your process
using a variety of sizes, materials and adhesive options.
If you are struggling with speed and efficiency, going with direct
thermal or thermal labels could be the answer. It is definitely worth the
investment.
