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What printers are recommended for use with NetLabels
You should buy a printer that meets your printing needs. In general, printer economics follow the model of razors and razor blades. Many manufacturers offer low pricing on the printer, but charge stiff prices for printheads, ink cartridges, toner, and other "consumables" that are purchased repeatedly throughout the life of the printer.
Key considerations include:
- Printing Volume - If you need lots of labels, a FAST printer may be critical.
- Initial Cost - Inkjet printers can cost as little as $150. Color Laser printers range from about $1,000 up to $10,000
- Cost of Ink, Toner, and other consumables - This will be the largest expense over the life of the printer.
- Paper handling capabilities - If you need to print on paper larger than 8.5" X 11", get a "large format" printer. This will cost extra.
- Networking features - Some printers have built-in Networking features that eliminate the need for printer cables.
- Printer Margins - Every printer has a predetermined unprintable margin around the perimeter of a page. In order to be compatible with GBS label stock, the printer needs to have no more than a 1/2" top and bottom margin and 1/4" left and right margin. Margins outside of these specifications will not allow full print coverage on our strip labels.
WARNING Concerning Minolta Color Laser Printers:
We have had reports from several customers about Minolta Color Laser printers. In some cases, the laser toner (especially black) does NOT adhere properly to #8962 color laser labels. This results in the toner flaking off the printed pages. In at least one case, switching from pure black to dark blue in the label design solves the problem.
We also offer economy label stock (Product # 8967) which might work on these printers.
WARNING Concerning HP PSC 1350 All-in-One Printer:
The printable margins that are built into this printer are not compatible with our label stock. The margins do not allow full coverage on all our strip labels. Hewelett-Packard has acknowledged this problem, but there is not currently a work around.
WARNING Concerning HP Deskjet 3845 Color Inkjet Printer:
This printer has had problems maintaining consistent label alignment for some users.
WARNING Concerning Epson Stylus C66 Inkjet Printer:
This printer has had problems maintaining consistent label alignment for some users.
Recommendations
For most printing needs, we have found Hewlett-Packard Inkjet printers to be reliable, economical, and fast.
For information on other brands of printers, you can visit these websites
GBS cannot be held responsible for any problems with your printer. You will need to contact your vendor or the manufacturer if you encounter problems with the printer.
Printers currently in use with NetLabels
- Most NetLabels customers are using HP inkjet printers with NetLabels
- GBS uses a state-of-the-art Color Copier for printing high quality laminated labels in our factory in Ohio.
- GBS uses HP Business Inkjet 1200 and HP OfficeJet Pro K550 inkjet printers for non-laminated labels in our factory.
- Although we have customers using Color Laser printers because of their higher print quality, these printers are generally more expensive to buy and operate.
- Currently, we are not aware of any NetLabels customers using thermal wax printers or impact printers.
Inkjet Consumables
Inkjet printers spray ink drops onto paper. There are "consumables" that must be replaced frequently, depending on printing volume:
Ink cartridges contain a few ounces of ink. After printing a couple of hundred pages, they will run out of ink and need to be replaced. List price can be as much as $39 each and you need each of 4 colors: cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. Yellow and black cartridges will almost always be used up before magenta and cyan, so order extra yellow and black cartridges. Black ink cartridges come in regular and extra-large sizes.
Some printers have inkjet Printheads that must be purchased separately. These contain the "nozzles" that spray the ink. After printing a thousand pages or so (billions of drops of ink!), they may wear out and need to be replaced. List price may be as much as $39 each and you need 4 colors: cyan, yellow, magenta, and black.
Types of Inkjet Cartridges
There are 2 types of inkjet cartridges:
The best inkjet printers have separate ink cartridges for each color: cyan, yellow, magenta, and black. This is less expensive in the long run, since when you run out of yellow ink, you only need to replace the yellow cartridge.
Many older and low-end inkjet printers use just two ink cartridges - one for black ink and one for all 3 colors. This is more expensive in the long run, since when the yellow ink runs out, you must replace the entire cartridge, even if the cyan or magenta ink is still nearly full. Many of these combined ink cartridges also contain the printheads, so these may also have to be discarded well before they are worn out.
Inkjet Cartridge Refilling
If you plan to print lots of labels, you may be able to save hundreds of dollars by refilling ink cartridges, rather than buying new ones. Most types of inkjet cartridges can be refilled very economically, if you are willing to buy bulk ink and refill the ink cartridges using a syringe and rubber gloves. Since you can buy a gallon of ink for less than $100, cost per refill can be well UNDER $1, compared to $20-30 or more for a new cartridge, but the refilling process is fairly messy. We recommend Grove Enterprises at www.inkjet-gei.com as a source of high-quality bulk ink and refilling supplies.
However, re-filling ink cartridges may affect your printer warrantee - see the HP web site: "HP Inkjet Cartridges - Ink Cartridge Refill Statement"
Printing Bar-codes
If you need to print Bar-Codes on your labels, the combination of printer and paper forms will determine the quality of the bar-code. It is critical to make sure that your bar-code equipment can successfully scan the bar-codes that your printer creates. In order to ensure that the bar-codes will be readable, please request sample labels (printed on GBS adhesive labels and an HP printer) from GBS BEFORE purchasing the printer. When you receive the samples, perform some test scans using your barcode scanners.
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