Finding the best desktop printer can be a difficult task. There are so many brands, accessories, options, prices, etc. You want the best printer for your needs, not just the best printer on the market. That’s why it’s important to understand what makes each printer unique. Today we’ll examine 3 critical factors to consider when shopping for your new desktop printer.
Label Material & Size
Choosing the best type of label to fit your needs is vital. A simple labeling error can lead to extreme consequences. It affects your entire company; including customers, care givers, patients, and regulators. It’s important to ensure your business is utilizing the correct barcode label material, ribbon, and adhesive to prevent misreads. Some printers might not be able to handle the material you’re working with well, so make sure you’re checking the specifications.
Print Speed & Volume
Desktop printer speed is measured by inches per second (IPS). This number is related to the DPI. A high DPI usually means a lower IPS. This is exactly why you don’t want to have a higher than necessary DPI when choosing a desktop printer. Generally speaking, anything between 4 and 8 IPS is good for a desktop printer. Depending on how many labels you print in a day, this might be your biggest consideration.
Dots Per Inch (DPI)
DPI or sometimes referred to as pixels per inch (PPI) is a value that correlates with print resolution. The more dots you can squeeze into a square inch, the sharper the resulting image will be. To put this into perspective, a good photographer prints photos at 1200 DPI. That’s much higher than the average official business document that prints at 300 DPI. For most desktop printers 300 is where you want to be however, there are some 600 DPI desktop printers available if you’re really looking for premium quality prints.

Learn more about the difference between Direct Thermal and Thermal Transfer printing.

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