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SMART PRINTING A NEW TECHNOLOGY TOWARDS GREATER PRODUCTIVITY

ZebJames | Feb 25, 2010 |

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In today's fast paced environment, industries are continuously searching for ways to work efficiently. A developing trend for companies is the use of innovative printing applications. Industries engaged in printing barcodes are now carefully considering the use of smart printers. This type of printers carries the features of a personal computer, as it can formulate procedures that ensure the accuracy of the output while at the same time only incurring a minimal amount of operating expense. For companies that already have printing procedures set-up, smart printers will allow them to change these structures and come up with a new one.

A smart printer is not all about its appearance and presentation but more on its unique features that makes it worth to be called "smart". Unlike ordinary printers, it has the capability to print without the need of a computer or other similar printing device. A very distinct feature only smart printers possess is its programmability, as it constantly accept new set of instructions from the user.

In comparison with the printers operated through the use of computers, smart printers have more integrated memory, equipped with an LCD screen for easier access to user inputs, it contains function keys, and with its powerful processors, its printing capabilities are not limited to producing ordinary labels and receipts, as it can provide a wide range of choices for the final output. It can also be connected to a keyboard or other similar input device. To this day, smart printing features are not only available in standard printers but in mobile printers as well.

Here are some more characteristics of a smart printer:

- It can work without the need of a computer

- It keeps a record of viable information such as product codes, client ID number and unit costs. All these are automatically printed in the output.

- It has the ability to carry out payments and other transactions.

- A smart printer can be easily attached to an LS2208 barcode scanner and other devices.

- It provides a variety of input data that will be printed as information on receipts, labels and documents.

- Connectivity is another great factor. Smart printers can still work on areas with no wireless connections or even if base devices are not available.

- It can regulate peripheral devices.

- It is capable to perform self-diagnostics and troubleshooting.

Aside from the characteristics listed, another feature of smart printers that should not be overlooked is that, it has the ability to manage itself. Smart printers are very capable of supervising the printing process to ensure the quality of the output and it regulates barcode positions. Since it has the capability to perform self diagnostics, when it fails to fix a problem, smart printers will provide the user with troubleshooting commands.

The features of smart printers that were stated clearly shows that it can provide greater productivity for industries that are engaged in high volume productions.

The Benefits of using a Smart Printer

Companies would always demand for great productivity and accurate output, at the same time trying to minimize the cost of productions. This task always presents quite a challenge, since this basically means that in order to gain productivity at a higher level, reliable equipments must be used.

With the use of smart printers, companies can expect quality outputs dome in less time and with great precision. The need for batch printing can be eliminated, since smart printers can provide output only when it is needed. This means that the common mistakes incurred during batch printing will be less. Common situations such as printing wrong labels; placing an incorrect one to products or documents will significantly decrease. And with the prevention of these common mistakes, the delivery of products to wrong addresses will be avoided too, thus there will be savings as well on other parts of the production.

Smart printers are very convenient and save a lot of space, it can take the place of a PLC in a crowded workplace.

The Functions of a Smart Printer

It is always best to know what a certain product or equipment can really do, and to see if it is deemed fit for company use, the functions are always an important factor to be considered. The following are the functions of a smart printer:

On demand output

Smart printers can provide outputs at the time it is needed. Just with the use of the keypad, users can easily choose their desired product layout and design and at the same time choose the output quantities. Examples of output that the user can print are: merchandise tags, shipping and shelf stickers, receipts, invoices, and orders. All these can be printed by the user on demand. Keep in mind that smart printers can function without a need for a computer; it does its own processing. This function minimizes the waiting time for users who normally would need to perform commands on other network or host to prompt the printing process. And so with this function, it is rest assured that printing is done in a quick and timely manner.

Label production and Shipment authentication

A great concern for industries is to ensure that products are properly labeled and will be shipped in correct addresses. Workers would use a barcode or RFID scanner attached to the printer in order to identify each products in the shipping vehicle being prepared for shipment and delivery. The printer contains software that will enable to user to do comparisons between the scanned ID and the shipment database. This will verify that each product belongs to that specific batch and will provide assurance that no errors were made during the product loading process. Once all the packing is completed, a shipping label will be produced by the printer. The label will include information such as the product codes of all goods ready for shipment or it can provide the ID number of each product encoded on a 2D barcode.

Process Control

It was previously stated that one of the characteristics of a smart printer is that it can regulate peripheral devices. With this characteristic, it can coordinate the procedures for printing to other equipments. This process is done through the use of applicators, sensors and material management control systems. The process control function ensures that a detailed step by step procedure is being followed, the coordination of the smart printer and other devices ensures that the operation will rum smoothly and will produce accurate output.

Here's an example:

Once a container is identified at the conveyer, the sensor will prompt the printer to generate the appropriate product label. After this, the applicator will fix the label on the appropriate container because of the signal from the printer through the use of the sensor on the conveyer belt. Once the labeled container is ready for pick up, the printer will trigger the light indicator and will prompt the green light to appear.

The Advantages of Smart Printing Technology

Every company aims to achieve a cost effective operations without affecting the quality of their products. The set up of smart printing can reduce the cost in printing and production at the same time will benefit from the product in such great lengths. With smart printing, there is a progressive and sustainable advantage at each step of the printing process such as in development, operation, support and improvement. This means that there is always a gain in every procedure and that smart printers are being fully utilized.

For financial reasons, smart printings are a great solution for companies with a limited budget or want to reduce their budget. Personal computers, network cards and wiring can be eliminated and with this even the print server layer can also be removed from the printing set up. And with the smart printer's ability to work independently without the need of computers, allied software licensing and expenses incurred in technical support can be eliminated as well.

For example:

In a company with a 20 printer workplace set up for three years, the cost in the normal printing solution is twice greater than the cost for a smart printing setup. Though smart printers are priced almost the same as the conventional printers, the pricing policies are different based on the model and manufacturer.

Another advantage is that deployment charges are less. Smart printers' application is also less complicated than the computer-operated printing operations, as those would normally present a need for software professionals to install custom interfaces between the printer and other devices. With a smart printer the process of developing, testing and installing applications are all within the printer, thus the procedure takes a shorter period of time and cheaper development costs.

Since smart printers can perform self diagnostics and trouble shooting, it also eliminates the need for an IT staff to fix a problem. In the event that the printer malfunction or stopped working, LCS screens and control panels will serve as the user's guide for the whole process. Smart printers can be programmed as well to do monitor its performance, check on the printing quality, perform troubleshooting procedures and send alerts to system operators in case it will encounter a complicates problem. Because of onboard intelligence and constant communication, users can operate the printers correctly and this will reduce the downtime in operations. There are some models that are equipped with applications such as data collection device administration and IT asset management. These types of applications offer advanced support capabilities.

With its advanced connectivity feature, smart printers can connect to the company's system without the need for a middleware or custom interface. There are still companies with software application that doesn't support the barcode label printer command language and because of this; conventional printers cannot print using these applications. There is now a need to install labeling software or a printing server that will convert data from the company's devices to a printer readable format. A way to integrate smart printers to a company's system is by XML. With the use of XML parser embedded smart printers; it can print from any XML supported applications. This is a good way to minimize costs in maintenance and software development.

Why choose Smart Printing?

Smart printing is such a great way to minimize costs and reduce unnecessary expenses. It contains a wide variety of features and very innovative functions that shows how work can be done with great efficiency and productivity with the use of smart printers. This technology allows companies to maximize its work space by enabling them to set up printers in strategic places and provides flexibility and the convenience of printing at any location. It has the ability to provide output right on time when it is needed, minimizing the occurrence of common shipping and delivery mistakes. Smart Printing greatly reduces the cost in costs incurred in software development and product installation since its installation cost is lower than that of the computer-generated printers. It provides simple maintenance and presents opportunities to integrate printers and accomplish previous investments in IT management applications and enterprise software. Smart printing technology is a key tool in producing quality outputs in less time and with great precision and accuracy. For a company gearing to provide excellence in their products and efficiency in their operations, having smart printing technology is the first step to achieve it.