Buying your first barcode printer can seem to be a bit of a minefield. Perhaps one of the most important factors you are going to have to decide upon is the resolution of your printhead. The wrong choice could have an immediate effect not only on the quality of the printing but also on cost as higher resolution printheads can be quite expensive.
Four different resolution types
You will find that barcodes are expressed in the codes x-dimension. this holds true both for 1d barcodes and datamatrix codes. For 1d or linear barcodes it is shown as the smallest bar. Datamatrix barcodes, or 2d code are shown by the smallest square. There are 4 different resolution types shown in dpi (or dots per inch):
- 203 dpi
- 300 dpi
- 406 dpi
- 600 dpi
Each printer can print a predefined range of 5 sizes. For instance 203 dpi offers a range of between 0.00493 and 0.02463. 300 dpi offers a range between 0.00333 and 0.01667. 406 dpi offers a range between 0.00246 and 0.01232. 600 dpi offers a range between 0.00167 and 0.00833.
What is the cheapest printhead resolution?
Printers with a resolution of 203 dpi are usually the cheapest to buy and also have the highest print speeds. If the job the printer will be asked to do is the printing of shipping labels, the basic 203 dpi is usually fine. If you are needing to print a smaller barcode then you need to be looking for a printhead with a higher dpi. You will find that with smaller barcodes you will naturally require a smaller font – this is when you will need a higher resolution model.
As well as offering a full range of the most up to date Toshiba TEC Barcode Label Printers online Tanto Labels is available to offer you guidance and advice on buying the correct barcode label printer for your work environment and needs.
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