[EMAIL PROTECTED] queried thusly: > Can anyone point me toward a manufacturer or vendor who can supply a professional > label printer? > > I'm not sure how to describe - we've all seen stake-type labels that are (most > likely) pre-printed with the seller's business name, address - and then the reserve > side has the genus/species, perhaps a catalog number printed locally. It is in > black ink - perhaps "burned" or somehow etched into the label - such that it NEVER > fades or comes off. > > I'd like to purchase such a printer, which i assume is driven by computer. > > While I haven't asked any growers, my internet searches haven't been too successful.
I think this has been covered by others, but your best bet would probably be to get pre-printed labels, and then hand-write or use a thermal transfer printer to put the information on the labels. I've used labels from EIM (www.eiminc.com); they're very good, and very tough. Don't let the barcode part fool you- with the right software, you can put anything you want to on the label. Labels could be printed separate from the tags, then stick the labels onto the pre-printed tags. As for printers- I currently own four Datamax printers; they are true workhorses, but most of the upper-end thermal printers are very good: Zebra, Intermec, Eltron, and so forth. The reason I stick with Datamax is that they have spectacular customer service. Technical support is staffed by people who really know their business. They are pricey but can be found on eBay for decent prices. Fair warning: the Allegros come up for sale all the time for cheap. They're old, but workable; printheads routinely get ~1 million inches before they give up the ghost, I understand. Unfortunately, USB connectivity with a Datamax is very expensive- most are serial only. I currently own two Dymo printers for lightweight work- shipping tags and tags for sterile tubes. They are direct thermal only; all four Datamax printers do either thermal direct or thermal transfer. For truly rugged and/or weatherproof labels, thermal transfer is the only way to go. Combine your printer with something like an Access database and, using the label wizard in "reports," it becomes very efficient to produce a large number of labels in an effective manner. Done incorrectly, it becomes a phenomenal waste of labels! Repeat the mantra to yourself: I will print a sample label before running a batch of a hundred. For more information specific to the labels you seek, check Google for: nursery label printer I see IntelliTech International sells nursery plant tags. Better still (and more expensive) would be to consult a local barcode supplier. Call Zebra for prices or other help, and they'll let you know a local dealer. Ditto with Datamax. If you really want to go nuts and barcode stuff, plugins for Access like TBarcode make it relatively easy (for programmers) to add barcode functionality. We're on our way to barcoding all of our flasks. Tubes were done as of about two months ago- that was a heck of a task. Next up is to barcode label all outgoing seed packets. The Dymo labels get used for tubes, as I note above, and for shipping labels. Datamax printers get used for the hard-core stuff. For those familiar with the world-class backlog I've had in the past getting seeds and orders out- this is to help streamline the system. It's getting better. No! Really! Honest! Cheers, -AJHicks The Orchid Seedbank Chandler, AZ _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids
