Using a Color Label Printer to Manage Raw Materials and Inventory

April 27, 2016 ABK Barcode Software, Desktop Label Printers, Epson Label Printers 0

Reading a nutrition label on food packaging with fresh salad background

We love how versatile the label printing industry is. Where some of our customers use color label printers to print attractive product labels, others use them in the “back of the house” to print inventory labels and barcodes.

Here’s how you can use a color label printer to better manage raw materials and inventory.

  • Use color-coded labels — Adding color to your labels makes it easier for warehouse staff and material handlers to quickly identify parts. For example, if you manufacture three distinct products, color coding your parts for product A red, product B blue, and product C green will make it easier for your staff to pick the right parts. Adding color images of the actual model on your labels can also help. Both the Epson TM-C3400 and Epson TM-C3500 label printers are ideal for this application.
  • Use barcodes — If you have a lot of parts and materials to manage, investing in a barcode reader, barcode labeling software such as BarTender 2016 barcode and label design software, and a color label and barcode printer can improve efficiency and make inventory management much easier.
  • Consider using variable data— Depending on your operation, it may make sense to use a color label printer like the Afinia L801, Vortex 850R or iSys Label Edge 850 with variable data software to print color labels with variable data. For example, if you need to print labels and barcodes with serial numbers on them, variable data software allows you to do just that.
  • Consider RFID tags — For more complex warehousing and raw materials management, consider using RFID tags. RFID tags have an antenna built into them, allowing tagged items to communicate with the RFID reader as soon as they enter the RFID reader’s range. The Primera RX900 RFID label printer blends high resolution color label printing with RFID encoding.

Color label printers can help your team better manage raw materials and inventory — and much more. Talk to us about your materials management concerns and we’ll help you find the right solution by visiting us at www.DuraFastLabel.com.