Barcode Printing Management in SMB Food Manufacturing: End-to-End Zebra Technologies Solutions for SMBs

Over the past few decades, technology has continually advanced. Moving into the future and growing your business includes embracing this advancing technology. Zebra Technologies and Imprint Enterprises have the tools, knowledge, and expertise to help you move forward with the future of barcode technology, starting with printing barcodes at your facility.

A proper barcode label helps you and your clients ensure FDA compliance standards are met. A barcode label provides information on what a product is and where it goes. Labels are used to track inventory, which is vital to supply chains, inventory management, transportation, asset management, sales, and more.

What’s Important to Know About Printing 

When printing your own barcode labels, there are certain factors to consider. Printing requirements involve determining the parameters of your barcode printer setup:

• • • How big of a label do you need to print?
    • What kind of design do you want to print?
    • Do you want to incorporate a UPC label?
    • How many labels do you want or need to print at any one time?
    • Will the labels be printed in a centralized method or a distributed method?
    • How many work areas will need printer capabilities, or will there be one printer room?

Font Size Matters

Once you know how your company will be printing labels, the next factors to consider involve the font size on the labels and the size of the barcode itself. The smaller the font size, the higher the resolution the printhead of the barcode printer needs to be. Printheads come in 203, 300, or 600 DPI (dots per inch). The smaller a label needs to be, the higher the DPI resolution must be to accommodate the size of the label.

Compliance Matters

While you’re growing your business and building your clientele list, it’s important to know if there are specific barcode label industry compliance standards that your manufacturing company must adhere to. If labels are not done to specific standards, your company can be liable for more than just fines and chargebacks, there is a possibility of a legal exposure as well.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires using a unique device identifier (UDI) on barcode labels in food and beverage industries. Labels are required to list ingredients, potential allergens, and specific serialization requirements. Not meeting the standards opens the potential for legal ramifications.

These standards play key roles in identifying, tracking, and tracing products as they move through supply chains across the world. Whether it is a simple traceability requirement or a complex regulatory compliance code, incorporating barcode technology can help your food manufacturing company minimize fines and exposure.

A Printer for Any Function

Barcode printers typically come in three varieties: desktop, tabletop, and mobile. Desktop printers are typically smaller and lighter than tabletop printers. Tabletop printers are more durable and can do more functions than a desktop, such as label rewinding and peel and present. If your company needs to print a thousand labels at a time and rewind them back into a roll (label rewinding), then a tabletop printer is the way to go.

Peel and present label printing is a method of sending a label job of, for example, a thousand labels to a printer where the job sits in a queue so that one label can be printed at a time, peeled off, and applied. Then it repeats until the queue is emptied.

Another option is using a mobile barcode label printer that can print barcodes as employees are walking around working. This is a good option for mobile workflows to minimize interruptions of walking back and forth to a centralized printing location.

An Option for Any Stage of Business

No matter what stage your business is at, Zebra has the options to support your growth. From just starting out to knowing your business will expand into the future, Imprint can help walk you through Zebra’s barcode printer options.

Starting Out Options

For food manufacturing SMBs that are just starting out, the following printers are good options to print hundreds of labels a day:

Durable and Flexible Options

For food manufacturing SMBs that are looking for options that provide greater flexibility and durability, the following printers some of the better options to print thousands of labels a day:

Zebra ZT111 Industrial Printer

• • • Easy integration and backwards compatible
    • Printer Emulation capabilities
    • Operates in direct thermal or thermal transfer mode
    • Print speed of up to 10” per second at 203 DPI
    • Three button keypad
    • Connectivity options include Serial, Ethernet, and USB Host

Long-Lasting Options

For food manufacturing SMB’s that are wanting professional and long-lasting solutions, the following are the best options to choose from to print tens of thousands of labels a day:

Zebra ZT411 Industrial Printer

• • • Durable for harsh industrial environments
    • 3” full-color touch display
    • Industry specific configurability
    • Print speed of up to 14” per second at 203 DPI
    • Operates in direct thermal or thermal transfer mode
    • Connectivity options include USB, Serial, Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Dual USB Host,
    • RFID option

Barcode Labeling is an Interconnected System

When you incorporate a complete Zebra Technologies barcode labeling system within your food manufacturing business, the process becomes more simplified which enhances operational efficiency. Every aspect of barcode labeling technology creates an interconnected system that can help your company thrive and grow into the future.

Zebra Technologies & Imprint Enterprises have over 30 years of experience each to help move your SMB food manufacturing company into a technological future that is more efficient. Zebra is an expert in the barcoding technology field with their rigorous testing of their own products. Zebra has multiple R&D facilities to test their products and is one of the largest converters in the USA for barcode labels.

Imprint Enterprises is a Premiere Solution Partner with Zebra Technologies. Imprint is a company that grows with you, providing your food manufacturing business with a total, competitively priced solution. Imprint builds a lifelong relationship with you and your company that is based on quality and trust.

With Zebra & Imprint, there are multiple options to suit your growing needs and your budgetary requirements. From just starting out to a long-lasting solution, Imprint’s specialists can help you determine what it will take to get you where you want to go. You can have a comprehensive barcoding solution that will decrease overall costs, increase efficiency, and achieve higher levels of customer satisfaction.

Contact Imprint Enterprises today to discuss Zebra’s barcode labeling solutions that are best for you.