Why do you buy a bar code label printer? As an organization, it’s to become more productive and more profitable. So it makes sense to examine the lifetime cost of ownership for such a purchase – cost that is ultimately measured in terms of money, but also in time and effort. The largest part of the total cost of ownership often comes after the initial acquisition, and not just in terms of consumables like thermal labels and printer ribbons.
Clearly, not only should a bar code label printer work properly from the beginning, but it should also continue working properly throughout its lifetime with minimal intervention. Remember that while a robust printer can still work perfectly well mechanically, other parts of your IT systems may change as your enterprise keeps pace with the rest of its industry sector. For your bar code labels to still be printed out with the same reliability and the same convenience, your printer software needs to remain compatible with new PCs and servers as well.
Some printers use an industry standard printer language, PCL. PCL printers work across all OS platforms: Windows, Mac OSX, UNIX, Linux, OS400. There is no need to integrate proprietary printer languages, especially important with legacy data and systems, thus reducing integration costs. The PCL printer also eliminates the need for middleware or custom coding, which reduces development costs and software purchase and maintenance costs.
When quality and longevity are built in, ongoing efforts and therefore costs can be reduced significantly, because of the hours saved by not having to fix problems or rewrite computer applications to use an existing bar code label printer. You’ll still have to budget for items like printer consumables, but at least these are expenses that you can forecast. In addition, what your company saves is time, a resource that in many cases is even more precious than money.
For more information about the total cost of ownership of a PCL printer, download our management slides, Why Choose A PCL Barcode Label Printer Over A Proprietary Barcode Label Printer? When it's time to justify your barcode label printer investment, you can use these slides with your decision-makers.
