Waiting For A Zebra Printer?

Recently, we sold a Zebra ZT610 thermal transfer printer to a long-time customer to use with a specific application in one of their facilities. 

Zebra ZT610

 

Although a bit unusual for us to sell a monochrome, thermal transfer printer, that was not my surprise.  It did surprise me, however, that it took..

 6 WEEKS TO SHIP

If you are having issues getting a Zebra or any other thermal transfer or direct thermal printer, then maybe now is the time to consider a C6000A color label printer.  On most orders, we ship the C6000A printers either same or next day.

C6000

So why should you consider switching from thermal transfer/direct thermal printers to a C6000A during this supply chain crisis?

First the prices of the printer are about the same or even less.  At the time, we sold the ZT610 600 DPI printer for ~$3,900.  But we sell the C6000A printer for $2,450:

You maybe able to save money by moving to this Epson printer.

Ink Cost Comparison

Second, ribbons for thermal transfer printer have increased significantly in price and may be difficult to obtain with the current supply chain situation, especially durable resin ribbons.  Many people, however, think ribbons for thermal transfer printers cost less than ink.  This perspective is not exactly true.  In this post from as far back as 2013, I compared the cost of thermal transfer versus inkjet printing.

As I state in the post, many people “know” that ribbon prices are less than ink.  However, the cost per label depends on the percent coverage.  With an inkjet printer, ink cost depends on coverage.  With a typical shipping or barcode label, the percent coverage is typically small; and thus ink costs are not that much.  Thermal transfer printer use the same amount of ribbon if you print 1 dot or 100% coverage.  Further, durable resin ribbons, required for many applications, cost significantly more than plain wax ribbons.  And all ribbons have increased significantly in costs, especially since the Covid 19 pandemic.

Third, the C6000A printer is just easier to use than a Zebra or other thermal transfer printers.  In this video, Andy Scherz, Product Manager for Epson, lays out several reasons why the C6000A is easier and better to use than monochrome, thermal transfer printers.

Some of the benefits of the C6000 versus a Zebra printer are as follows:

• Inserting labels into the printer from only one side versus all angles
• Threading ribbon versus inserting ink cartridges
• Adjusting head pressure, heat, speed, ribbon and media in a thermal transfer printer versus the nozzle verification technology for every pixel of the C6000.
• Risking poor barcodes from ribbon wrinkle and other artifacts of thermal transfer printers versus the higher resolution C6000.
• Using labels which offer little chemical resistance versus the durable ink from the C6000.

The C6000 is just easier to use than thermal transfer printers.

ZPL Code

Fourth, the Epson printer offers a “drop-in” ZPL emulation making it easy to replace a Zebra printer.  In this post, I show how the C6000 series printers use ZPL:

Color Codes

Fifth, color on labels offer great readability and comprehension than monochrome print.  In this post, I offer examples on how color codes help many types of customer applications.

Manufacturing, Food, Cannabis, Tradeshows and other markets benefit from moving from monochrome to colorized labels.  Color, Highlights, Large Fonts and Images improve even pharmacy labels. 

Although the C6000 and color label printers in general offer many benefits, one of the most important benefits today may be the fact that we can ship.  If you are waiting to receive a Zebra printer, consider canceling the order and contact us to move to print on-demand color with a C6000.

Guy Mikel

855-962-7670

info@colorlabelsolutions.com