Late last year, thermal label printing was projected to increase by 4.4 percent by the year 2025. The COVID-19 crisis didn’t exist back then, so those numbers could change. With an increase in eCommerce and curbside pick-ups due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns, we’re expecting small and mid-sized businesses to turn to thermal label printers in greater numbers. Here’s an example of how businesses can use thermal label printers for eCommerce and curbside orders.
ECommerce Thermal Label Printing
Businesses throughout the supply chain use thermal label printers for a wide range of purposes including barcodes, information labels, and logistics. For small businesses suddenly shifting from a bricks-and-mortar operation to eCommerce, thermal label printers are a great choice for printing shipping labels like UPS and USPS labels.
Those who only occasionally shipped packages in the past might have gotten along fine with printing shipping labels on paper, cutting them to size, and then affixing them to the packages with packaging tape. Now that they’re shipping packages regularly, it’s time to step up to a 4-inch thermal label printer. Direct thermal label printers are perfect for this as they do not require ink, toner, or ribbon — just the label media and the printer itself.
For example, you can print UPS shipping labels on 4” x 6” labels on the Zebra GC420D direct thermal label printer in just one second thanks to the printer’s 4 inches per second print speed. The Zebra GC420D has a built-in “peel and present” dispenser, making it even easier to detach the label and apply it to the package. By adding a thermal label printer to your shipping room, you’re shipping team will be able to process more outgoing packages in a shorter amount of time.
Thermal Label Printing for Curbside Pick-up
Whether you’re boxing cartons of goods or meals to go, curbside pick-up has become the new reality for many retailers and restaurants. In the midst of the crisis, scrawling the customer’s name across the box or bag using a permanent marker got the job done. However, handwritten order and customer information is hard to read and inefficient in general. It can look sloppy, poorly reflecting on your brand, and it’s a missed marketing opportunity.
Using a thermal label printer to print curbside pick-up labels is a great idea resulting in:
- Increased legibility — You can quickly find customer orders thanks to a consistent layout.
- Better first impression — Your customers may perceive your efforts as more professional due to a professional label on their order.
- Productivity improvements — You can include the customer’s order information directly on the label, using it as a meal ticket for cooks or fulfillment instructions for clerks.
- Better branding — Include your company’s logo directly on your curbside pick-up labels.
- Marketing opportunities — Using your thermal label printer, you can also add QR codes, coupons, special offers, and other forms of marketing directly to your curbside pick-up labels, thus enticing your customers to come back again.
Thermal label printers are fast, economical, and easy to use. These two applications do not require fancy text or high resolution images, making thermal label printers an affordable solution that helps your company stand out during a challenging time.