The most widely used technologies for dedicated barcoding systems are direct thermal and thermal transfer printing. While both technologies use a heated printhead to create the image on the label, they are suited to different applications.
There are two type of thermal printing technologies to print a barcode, direct thermal and thermal transfer. While there are distinct differences, in both cases heat is used for the print process. Direct thermal printing uses heat sensitive media, which is chemically treated, that blackens when passed under a thermal printhead. Conversely thermal transfer printing creates long-lasting images on various materials by using a heated ribbon in the process.
You can learn more about Direct Thermal and Thermal Transfer Printing by reading our dedicated FAQ which looks into the main differences between Direct Thermal and Thermal Transfer Printing.
Though the advance of barcoding has created new data management opportunities, much of the potential of barcodes remains untapped. Most barcode printers are connected to stand-alone personal computers (PCs) that control the barcode label design and function via a network print server. While these stand-alone systems, dubbed “island systems,” can still take advantage of barcode scanning to provide data automation, human users must direct the printer to print and manually enter nearly every piece of information.
More recently, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has given barcoding an enhanced role in corporate information systems. In island systems, the barcode printer has no direct interaction with the corporate enterprise. When connected to an ERP system, the printer can take direction from other processes and print and encode data automatically when the server directs it to do so.
ERP systems, when used alone or partnered with warehouse management software or supply chain management applications, are capable of producing detailed reports based on the information they gather from the system operations. This reporting capability can be used with barcode integration software to print labels containing this same information.
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