How to buy the best label printer for your shipping business

Shipping businesses around the globe are as competitive as they’ve ever been. The rise of eCommerce, increase in global trade, and higher purchasing capacity of customers has led to a dramatic increase in the number of packages being shipped every day.  

This has also led to shipping business owners trying to find ways to improve efficacy while cutting costs at the same time. And label printers are amongst the key tools helping them reach their goals.  

A label printer for a shipping business serves a variety of purposes. This includes  

• Faster label printing 
• More accurate label printing 
• Better quality labels 
• Consistency in quality 
• Seamless automation 

Over the long run, a label printer helps a shipping business grow its bottom line in multiple ways. Faster operations and improved quality help them serve better customer experiences, which in turn leads to more business.  

However, this makes choosing the right label printer for the shipping business an important decision in itself. In this article, we’ll take you through all the important points you should keep in mind when buying a label printer for your shipping business to make the decision a little less overwhelming. So let’s get started.   

Installation 

For a shipping business, continuity of operations is invaluable. And the label printer you choose should not become a bottleneck to that. Shipping hubs do not necessarily have the most tech-savvy people working there. If they are to be asked to go through lengthy manuals or complicated steps to even install the label printer, then productivity is definitely going to take a hit. 

Get label printers that are easy to install or to get them installed. The lesser time workers and managers need to spend to figure out how to get the printer working, the more packages and pallets you’ll get shipped in the day. 

The installation factor also touches upon the user-friendliness of the label printing machines. If it’s easier to install, then perhaps it’s easier for workers in the hub to operate it as well.  

Connections and compatibility  

Being a shipping business, it’s highly likely that you already have a thorough infrastructure in place. There are processes set as to which hubs will print the label, what software and hardware will be used to manage the shipping details, and so on. 

In such a case, the label printer should blend right in your shipping infrastructure. For instance, if the label printer is supposed to be connected to only one computer then a single USB port might do. However, if you plan on connecting multiple computers to it, then you need to get a label printing machine with an ethernet port. Label printer from TVS Electronics come with a serial port, giving you even more connectivity option. So make sure the label printing machine is already compatible with the machinery you use for the shipping business. 

Speed 

If your shipping business also takes care of last-mile delivery, then it’s highly likely that you ship and deliver a large number of packages each day. It also means that you always want to establish high-paced processes for seamless operations. 

The same would also apply to the label printer. These come with varying print speed capacities and you should go for one that perfectly complements your shipping volume. At TVS Electronics, we offer label printers with high printing speeds in the range of 150 mm/ sec and 152.4 mm/sec or 6 inches/sec. Should your business need a high-speed label printing machine, then we’ve just the right products for your business.  

Label type and size 

Based on the nature of your shipping operations, various kinds of information can go on your label. Maybe you wish to print labels that consist of only barcodes, the ones which consist of the exact delivery address, or the ones consisting of both.  

All of these factors are contributing factors to the final size of the label. And it should also not be a surprise that label printers also come with varying print width capacities. The size of the packages you deliver might also determine the size of labels you need. The LP range of label printers from TVS Electronics allows label sizes from 1 to 4 inches. Moreover, you can easily adjust the size using the slider to get the perfect label size. Keeping all the factors in mind, go with label printers that can roll out the size of labels you need for the shipping business.  

Print quality and resolution 

While print quality and resolution might not seem like the most important factors for a shipping business when choosing a printing machine, they definitely make an impact on the bottom line. The quality of the print on your labels will definitely sway customers’ perceptions about your business. Additionally, if your needs are as such that you need photographic print on your labels, then you definitely need to look into the print resolution. 

The print resolution, print method, and the movability of the black mark sensor are some of the factors affecting the quality of print from the label printers. 

Reliability 

If you are getting a label printing for the shipping business, then it’s highly likely that you expect it to roll out a large volume of labels each day. A faulty label printing machine can lead to a bottleneck in the entire supply chain leading to potentially massive losses to the business. 

For a label printing machine to perform consistently, the build quality needs to be of really very high grade. However, it won’t be easy for you to judge its manufacturing quality. Therefore, you should check out how reliable the manufacturer has been for its past customers.  

At TVS Electronics, our reputation as a reliable electronics manufacturer needs no introduction. Over the years, we’ve built and delivered top-notch products to our customers, and our label printers are no exception. 

Customer support and maintenance 

Finally, one can’t expect a shipping business to provide the most ideal working scenario for any machine. There will be prolonged usage, potentially rough handling, varying temperature conditions, and whatnot. Under such conditions, any label printer is susceptible to a few issues. 

And this is where you need to factor in the customer support and maintenance offered by the manufacturer. Undoubtedly, prompt support and resolution of issues mean your hubs can keep operating and sending out packages. So do keep the customer support offered in mind when going for the right label printer. 

Conclusion 

By now, you must’ve figured out that buying a label printer for a shipping business is no simple task. With so many factors to consider, it is natural for you to feel the decision becoming overwhelming.  

However, we at TVS Electronics, make this process essentially a no-brainer for you with our superb range of label printers for your shipping business. No matter the nature of operations, if you need a label, we have got a printer for it. Feel free to explore our amazing range of label printers and let us know if you have any questions.