At a glance, your barcode label media might look just fine. After a while though, you notice that the labels aren’t printing as clear and crisp as you’d like, or they’re jamming inside the printer. Maybe you’re spending more on repair than you had budgeted. The problem might not be your printer, but the supplies you’re putting inside of it. You can actually lower the total cost of ownership by using the right barcode printer supplies.
You might be tempted to save money by purchasing bargain printer supplies, like media and ribbons. While Cal-Sierra is all for saving money, we also look at the long-term impact. We’ve cleaned and repaired printers where the source of the problem wasn’t the mechanics of the hardware, but the questionable choice of the person ordering the supplies. The adhesive, for example, wasn’t suitable for the specific printer. It oozed inside, making a real mess. In other cases, the label media was leaving dust and debris behind, causing build-up that damaged the printhead. Or the printer ribbon was inferior and snapped.
Were those initial savings on the supplies worth the cost of the downtime and repairs? The “savings” weren’t enough to offset the damage. The total cost of ownership of the printer appeared higher than expected. Again, it wasn’t the fault of the barcode printer, but still, the brand’s perception might be compromised as workers think, “that thing was always breaking down.” Let’s step back and take a proactive approach to increasing the life of your thermal printer. Don’t allow the temptation to save money on barcode printing supplies sway you from choosing the best quality.
Cal-Sierra is a Zebra Premier Partner. We recognized that Zebra represents the level of quality and reliability that we want to offer our customers. Genuine Zebra supplies are manufactured and tested to meet strict requirements. You can count on the same quality from one order to the next, whether they are months or years apart. As a major incentive to make the smart choice, Zebra will provide free printhead replacements as long as you own your Zebra printer. All you need to do is complete the Printhead Protection Program enrollment form and commit to using only genuine Zebra supplies in that printer. Zebra knows that this decision will drastically reduce any supply-related problems. As a result, your printer will last longer, perform better, and minimize downtime.
Stop wasting money on inferior supplies. Talk to us at Cal-Sierra to put your thermal printer on a healthy diet that will extend the life of the printer and lower your total cost of ownership.