Labels Ontime Inc

Take Advantage of Fanfold Thermal Labels over Rolls Labels

Fanfold Thermal

What are Fanfold labels: Thermal transfer or direct thermal labels can come in stacks and lie flat, and save more space than the common roll of barcode thermal labels. The compatible thermal printer can hold a larger amount of continuous labels in fanfolded stacks when compared running rolls labels. This also allows for for less frequent roll changes during high volume applications.

How Fanfold Labels Can Make Your Business More Competitive

It’s been nearly three-quarters of a century since a J.C. Penney salesman named Sam Walton went from employee to employer, embarking on a journey that would result in what is today the worlds’ largest company by revenue and largest private employer in the world. What did the founder of Walmart have to say about gaining competitive advantage?

“Control your expenses better than your competition. This is where you can always find competitive advantage.”

If results are the fruit of application, we suspect that Mister Sam would look to find that advantage anywhere, whether goods purchased or the labels affixed to those goods. Especially for enterprises that use large amounts of labels, it’s an expense that needs to be considered and, if possible, better controlled.

Consider, for example, the use of roll versus fanfold labels.

Sometimes we think of fanfold labels as an old approach— we remember those reams of green and white fanfold paper rolling off early computers— but the fact is that fanfold labels offer a number of advantages over rolls that companies should consider as they seek an edge in today’s competition:

Lower Total Cost of Ownership and Usage

While the label for label physical cost of fanfolds and rolls are essential equal, there are other factors that make shifting from rolls to fanfolds a compelling consideration:

·      Greater throughput, fewer reloads

A typical fanfold label stack (e.g., with 4”x6” thermal transfer labels) has twice the numbers labels of an 8” roll, meaning runs are longer and more efficient while cutting annual reloads by half. This saves time and labor.

·      Unattended printing

Typically with large runs of thermal rolled labels, an attendant stands at the front of the printer and stacks labels by hand as the labels print. With fanfolds, the labels are self-stacking. Again reduced labor— or perhaps more importantly, the ability to reallocate labor to more value added work.

·      More efficient packaging, less waste

Fanfold labels are packed more compactly than rolls, and fit better into rectangular packaging— they’re easier to store, handle and ship than their rolled counterparts. Further, the need for less frequent carton replacement drives down cost and waste.

·      More flexible media handling

Particularly for thicker specialty stocks (e.g., tickets), fanfold is superior because the material stays flat unlike rolls, which cause memory-effect curl on media with greater weight.

 

The bottom line of fanfold over rolls is significant gains in productivity— and lower costs of ownership and usage of the labels. Most thermal printers are able to run fanfolds, simply feeding from the stack through a slot in the bottom or back of the printer.

In a business environment that increasingly dictates doing more with less, moving from rolls to fanfold labels offers a painless way to do that, controlling expenses for competitive advantage. If you’d like to explore how this transition might help your company, we’d love to talk to you.

You can reach us here.