Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

Gerry Loranger wrote:
"Direct thermal media is more sensitive to light, heat and
abrasion, which reduces the life of the printed material."

Found this out for sure. Printing direct thermal product label for a subsidiary company, ClearMirror, that makes mirror defoggers. Thin pad that heats mirror when vanity light is turned on. They did not tell me they were intending the labels for the product itself rather than the box. First time mirror heated up the label turned completely black. Ooops.

Thanks for the dialog on the USB Thin Client printing issues. I'm planning to roll out wireless thin clients in plant to replace the aging PCs and each will have a LaserJet printer attached. That is if I can ever get HP to have printers available for sale again.
-Todd C.



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
We are looking to set a couple small thermal printers out on our production
floor so that when production staff enter a non conformance via MES that
they can print a small tag for It immediately instead of hand writing a tag
and attaching it to the rejected parts. I have found some from a company
called Datamax-O'niel that can connect to our network via Ethernet or
wireless. This is appealing because our MES units are HP thin clients and
they don't seem to play well with USB printers that I have plugged into
them. I was wondering if any one was doing something similar and what kind
of printer were you using. The pricing on these ones I have found is a bit
steep for us.



~Charlie





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I run a dozen or so Intermec PC41's
http://www.intermec.com/products/prtrpc41/index.aspx#

They are workhorses. On some I use USB and on some I use the good old
standard parallel cable. For a couple finicky areas I put a network
printer box on the back of them for network connectivity. I also
believe you can get these outfitted with Ethernet ports already
included.

-----Original Message-----
From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Charlie Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:30 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

We are looking to set a couple small thermal printers out on our
production
floor so that when production staff enter a non conformance via MES that
they can print a small tag for It immediately instead of hand writing a
tag
and attaching it to the rejected parts. I have found some from a company
called Datamax-O'niel that can connect to our network via Ethernet or
wireless. This is appealing because our MES units are HP thin clients
and
they don't seem to play well with USB printers that I have plugged into
them. I was wondering if any one was doing something similar and what
kind
of printer were you using. The pricing on these ones I have found is a
bit
steep for us.



~Charlie





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



------------------------------------

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Charlie
I have two buildings running on thin clients. My finding is either a
printer with a parallel port of a network printer to have no problems.
USB printers are sometimes found, sometimes multiplied -- just
problematic over RDP.

Cliff

________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Charlie Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:30 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags




We are looking to set a couple small thermal printers out on our
production
floor so that when production staff enter a non conformance via MES that
they can print a small tag for It immediately instead of hand writing a
tag
and attaching it to the rejected parts. I have found some from a company
called Datamax-O'niel that can connect to our network via Ethernet or
wireless. This is appealing because our MES units are HP thin clients
and
they don't seem to play well with USB printers that I have plugged into
them. I was wondering if any one was doing something similar and what
kind
of printer were you using. The pricing on these ones I have found is a
bit
steep for us.

~Charlie

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
That is what I'm towards is something network attached, much easier to
manage this way. IMO



I'm just not up to speed on the world of the thermal printers. From just
looking around I think something with a 4 inch print width would be more
than enough. What's in my head is basically a Point of sale receipt printer
that I can network attach. I just was looking for suggestion on what you all
are using.



USB / Parallel seem to be fairly common / cheaper but network attached seems
to be fairly new to thermal printer world and not very common.



~Charlie

_____

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Cliff Drumeller
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:57 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags





Charlie
I have two buildings running on thin clients. My finding is either a
printer with a parallel port of a network printer to have no problems.
USB printers are sometimes found, sometimes multiplied -- just
problematic over RDP.

Cliff

________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com] On
Behalf
Of Charlie Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:30 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com
Subject: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

We are looking to set a couple small thermal printers out on our
production
floor so that when production staff enter a non conformance via MES that
they can print a small tag for It immediately instead of hand writing a
tag
and attaching it to the rejected parts. I have found some from a company
called Datamax-O'niel that can connect to our network via Ethernet or
wireless. This is appealing because our MES units are HP thin clients
and
they don't seem to play well with USB printers that I have plugged into
them. I was wondering if any one was doing something similar and what
kind
of printer were you using. The pricing on these ones I have found is a
bit
steep for us.

~Charlie

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
We have a Zebra 2844-Z attached to our network.  I haven't had a single problem with it since we set it up a year ago. It is set up on our shop floor in Florida, so you can imagine how hot it gets out there in the summer. I think with the internal Ethernet print server it ran about $600.. It can do up to 4" width.




________________________________
From: Charlie Wilson <foamdesigncsw@...>
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wed, October 7, 2009 12:29:44 PM
Subject: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

Â
We are looking to set a couple small thermal printers out on our production
floor so that when production staff enter a non conformance via MES that
they can print a small tag for It immediately instead of hand writing a tag
and attaching it to the rejected parts. I have found some from a company
called Datamax-O'niel that can connect to our network via Ethernet or
wireless. This is appealing because our MES units are HP thin clients and
they don't seem to play well with USB printers that I have plugged into
them. I was wondering if any one was doing something similar and what kind
of printer were you using. The pricing on these ones I have found is a bit
steep for us.

~Charlie

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]







[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
If you're looking at printing a 4" label, the Intermec PB50 is great for
mobile printing. You can check out a demo on youtube.



Bear in mind that mobile printers use direct thermal as opposed to thermal
transfer. Thermal transfer printing uses a heated ribbon to produce durable,
long-lasting images on a wide variety of materials. No ribbon is used in
direct thermal printing, which creates the image directly on the printed
material. Direct thermal media is more sensitive to light, heat and
abrasion, which reduces the life of the printed material.



The PB50 cost about 1000 USD and the batteries are around $100 each, a
separate battery charger would cost about $350.



I use mobile printers for internal bar code labels. I use the 2 x 4"
adhesive label to allow enough area to clearly read and scan the information
on them. 2 x 4" labels cost $90 a roll which has 338 labels. I would not use
direct thermal for shipping labels as they fade too quickly.



Gerry









From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of
Charlie Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 1:02 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags





That is what I'm towards is something network attached, much easier to
manage this way. IMO

I'm just not up to speed on the world of the thermal printers. From just
looking around I think something with a 4 inch print width would be more
than enough. What's in my head is basically a Point of sale receipt printer
that I can network attach. I just was looking for suggestion on what you all
are using.

USB / Parallel seem to be fairly common / cheaper but network attached seems
to be fairly new to thermal printer world and not very common.

~Charlie

_____

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf Of
Cliff Drumeller
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:57 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

Charlie
I have two buildings running on thin clients. My finding is either a
printer with a parallel port of a network printer to have no problems.
USB printers are sometimes found, sometimes multiplied -- just
problematic over RDP.

Cliff

________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com] On
Behalf
Of Charlie Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:30 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com
Subject: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

We are looking to set a couple small thermal printers out on our
production
floor so that when production staff enter a non conformance via MES that
they can print a small tag for It immediately instead of hand writing a
tag
and attaching it to the rejected parts. I have found some from a company
called Datamax-O'niel that can connect to our network via Ethernet or
wireless. This is appealing because our MES units are HP thin clients
and
they don't seem to play well with USB printers that I have plugged into
them. I was wondering if any one was doing something similar and what
kind
of printer were you using. The pricing on these ones I have found is a
bit
steep for us.

~Charlie

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]





[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
We use Zebra S4 printers, I think you can get them for around 750. We
have both thermal transfer and direct thermal printing applications in
use. They have been in use for about 18 months with no issues. They
can be hooked up with USB or ethernet and print up to 4" wide. I am
quite happy with them so far.



Rob Bucek

Manufacturing Engineer

PH: (715) 284-5376 ext 3111

FAX: (715)284-4084

<http://www.dsmfg.com/>

(Click the logo to view our site) <http://www.dsmfg.com/>





From: vantage@yahoogroups.com [mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Gerry Loranger
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:52 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags





If you're looking at printing a 4" label, the Intermec PB50 is great for
mobile printing. You can check out a demo on youtube.

Bear in mind that mobile printers use direct thermal as opposed to
thermal
transfer. Thermal transfer printing uses a heated ribbon to produce
durable,
long-lasting images on a wide variety of materials. No ribbon is used in
direct thermal printing, which creates the image directly on the printed
material. Direct thermal media is more sensitive to light, heat and
abrasion, which reduces the life of the printed material.

The PB50 cost about 1000 USD and the batteries are around $100 each, a
separate battery charger would cost about $350.

I use mobile printers for internal bar code labels. I use the 2 x 4"
adhesive label to allow enough area to clearly read and scan the
information
on them. 2 x 4" labels cost $90 a roll which has 338 labels. I would not
use
direct thermal for shipping labels as they fade too quickly.

Gerry

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf Of
Charlie Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 1:02 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

That is what I'm towards is something network attached, much easier to
manage this way. IMO

I'm just not up to speed on the world of the thermal printers. From just
looking around I think something with a 4 inch print width would be more
than enough. What's in my head is basically a Point of sale receipt
printer
that I can network attach. I just was looking for suggestion on what you
all
are using.

USB / Parallel seem to be fairly common / cheaper but network attached
seems
to be fairly new to thermal printer world and not very common.

~Charlie

_____

From: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> ] On
Behalf Of
Cliff Drumeller
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 12:57 PM
To: vantage@yahoogroups.com <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
<mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com>
Subject: RE: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

Charlie
I have two buildings running on thin clients. My finding is either a
printer with a parallel port of a network printer to have no problems.
USB printers are sometimes found, sometimes multiplied -- just
problematic over RDP.

Cliff

________________________________

From: vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com
[mailto:vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com] On
Behalf
Of Charlie Wilson
Sent: Wednesday, October 07, 2009 9:30 AM
To: vantage@yahoogroups <mailto:vantage%40yahoogroups.com> .com
Subject: [Vantage] Thermal Printer for non conformance tags

We are looking to set a couple small thermal printers out on our
production
floor so that when production staff enter a non conformance via MES that
they can print a small tag for It immediately instead of hand writing a
tag
and attaching it to the rejected parts. I have found some from a company
called Datamax-O'niel that can connect to our network via Ethernet or
wireless. This is appealing because our MES units are HP thin clients
and
they don't seem to play well with USB printers that I have plugged into
them. I was wondering if any one was doing something similar and what
kind
of printer were you using. The pricing on these ones I have found is a
bit
steep for us.

~Charlie

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]