Printers have become the most essential device in everyday activities for both personal and professional use. In this article, we will discuss how thermal printers are different from conventional printers and why Zebra thermal printers are the best choice for printing shipping labels.
Thermal Printers vs Conventional Printers
Conventional printers like laser printers, are very common & are usually used to print graphical images because of the different color options they provide. These printers require ink for printing & you can use black & white or colored inks to print as per your requirements. These printers require some time to heat up before you can start printing and take more time to print multiple copies.
Both conventional printers and thermal printers cost almost the same. However, the conventional printers are very complex and require regular & costly maintenance due to many moving parts.
Thermal printers, on the other hand, are used for printing documents like shipping labels, barcodes & ATMs receipts. Thermal printers do not require ink and instead use heat to print on thermal papers. These printers can print multiple copies quickly and are the best choice for business use. Apart from the cost of thermal paper, there is no cost associated with thermal printers. Besides, proper usage and timely maintenance can add years to the lifetime of these printers without adding to the cost.
Zebra Printers – Why use Zebra Printers
Zebra printers are manufactured by the company Zebra Industries and are the most widely used thermal printers. These printers use the Zebra programming language (ZPL) to print documents. This programming language is the industry standard for producing label files. All Zebra printers are designed to analyze the ZPL commands and print the documents like the shipping labels & barcodes in the best quality.
Using Zebra printers to print shipping labels
If you are running an online business, Zebra printers might come in handy while printing the shipping labels for your shipments. Before you start printing, here are some of the things you need to keep in mind when using Zebra printers.
- Download and install the latest CSP service driver installed on your desktop
- Get the labels in ZPL format to get optimal quality prints. If the shipping labels are in pdf & png format the quality of the shipping label will not be up to the mark since both pdf & png formats are recommended while printing graphical images.
- Make sure you have the required application(s) to print the ZPL format files using the Zebra printer
- Set the printer configuration and printing preferences properly
How to print labels with Zebra Printer
- Once you have set up your Zebra Printer, login to the carrier website and create a shipment
- Purchase the shipping label by clicking on the ship now button
- Make sure you have selected the Zebra printer as the print destination and print the shipping labels
Use PluginHive shipping solutions to automate label printing with Zebra Printers
If you are still struggling to get the best quality labels with your Zebra printer and the above process seems complicated, PluginHive can help automate it for you.
PluginHive shipping solution has inbuilt support to print ZPL files, Hence there is no need of installing a separate application for printing labels. Also, printing preferences like selecting the right printer, adjusting the label size and the number of copies can be set from within the solution, so there is no need to configure every time you print the labels. With a single click, merchants can print the shipping labels using their Zebra printers right from within their website.
If you need more information on the Zebra printers and the ZPL file format, or you want to try PluginHive’s shipping solutions on your WooCommerce & Shopify store, reach out to our shipping experts today.
