Printek's Blog

Did you know that many parking tickets end up getting thrown out in court because they are ineligible, or otherwise ruined by the weather?  Cities regularly depend on revenue to come in each year from parking tickets, and when many tickets are thrown out, that revenue is lost.  Instead of using a poor-quality printer, or even writing tickets by hand, why not choose a parking ticket printer by Printek?

Reduce Errors

Our parking ticket printers (FieldPro or LCMSeries) allow you to input the ticket information directly into a handheld computer, a tablet PC, or smart phone.  This decreases the amount of errors that can be made.  When clearly-written tickets are presented in court, the offending party usually has little recourse but to pay the ticket, which results in more money for your city or town.

Quick Processing

The quickest way to process any type of parking ticket is by doing everything right at the scene.  Most parking enforcement officials already do this, however, many of them use written tickets, or lack the type of mobile printer that makes ticket writing simple and fast.  Our FieldPro or LCM mobile printers are designed to ensure that you can quickly and accurately issue a ticket and then move on.  And with a serrated tear bar, you can easily print and tear synthetic media (waterproof paper), and not have to worry about tickets getting ruined in the weather. 

You might even find that the number of tickets you're able to issue in a month increases because of how quickly each ticket is able to processed.  The FieldPro and LCM mobile printers are also very lightweight and can be used with a shoulder strap.  Your parking enforcement personnel will find their job to be much easier, with less bulky equipment to carry around.

At Printek, we specialize in helping you improve the efficiency of the jobs of your parking enforcement officials.  With a variety of printing options and accessories, you can be sure you'll have the right tool for the job.

For more information on our FieldPro and LCM mobile printers from Printek, contact us today.  You can also get signed-up today to "Test Drive" any of our mobile printers for FREE!

Rugged Mobile Police printers are one of the newest and most beneficial tools in a police officer’s arsenal. Modern E-citation printers are designed to be mobile and easy to use, so the officer can type in the violator’s information and print out a citation right away. They are designed to make an officer’s job easier when issuing citations, but were you aware that they can actually increase safety? Here are three ways that a mobile police printer can help make traffic stops safer on more than one level.

Time  – Any traffic stop has the potential for danger, whether it is from the traffic whizzing past, criminal intent by the occupants of the stopped vehicle, or another factor like a wandering pedestrian, risks of injury go way up during a stop. Using an E-citation printer to print out the ticket reduces time that the officer might need to write one out longhand. Mobile police printers also make it easier to print additional tickets for multiple violations. These benefits may seem trivial, but any time reduced during a traffic stop can help to increase the officer’s safety!

Legibility – A printed citation is much better than a handwritten one for many reasons. It reduces court costs and arguments over illegibility of handwriting. It also gives the violator a clear and concise document of the offense and instructions for payment. This reduces arguments and questions on the traffic stop, which again is safer for the officer. It also reduces stress on the part of the violator and increases the likelihood that the ticket will be paid or responded to.

Ease of Use – Mobile police printers are very easy to use and require little training. This makes it easier for the officer to focus his or her attention on the violator and their surroundings. Ease of use also means that the officer is not fumbling with a clunky design that can decrease reaction time to a threat. Not only is this good for the officer’s own safety, but it may present an opportunity for the officer to notice any other criminal activity in the car like drugs, weapons or other suspicious things. This leads to getting more bad guys off the road and increasing the overall safety for everyone.

Mobile printers like the Printek FieldPro RT43 Series or the MtP Series are both designed to stand up to the stresses of everyday use in the field. Easy paper loading, built-in MCR slots, small footprint, cabled and wireless options, all help to make Printek's e-citation printers a vital part of any police officer’s toolkit. The AppPro printers also allow connectivity to iOS and Android devices like tablets and smartphones.  Please contact us today to find the perfect E-citation solution for your department.

As recently as only a decade ago, writing a ticket was quite a long process.  It took time to phone in the driver's information and then manually write out a ticket.  However, by using the laptops that police patrol cars are equipped wth as well as a wireless ticket printer, it reduces the time police officers need to spend at traffic stops and other police calls.  

Wireless ticket printers are designed to be easy to operate.  They require virtually no maintenance from the officer, and are even quickly re-loaded with paper.  They are compact as well as sturdy, to ensure that they will always operate at peak performance.  This is very important, considering the many different types of calls police officers respond to during the course of a day.  

As technology continues to change and law enforcement adapts to these changes, it's not uncommon to find them using tablets such as the iPad, in place of a standard laptop computer in the patrol car.  Many cities even use smartphones.  The bottom line for these police departments is public safety.  Whatever will allow them to quickly process tickets gives them more time in the field.  More time in the field means more time to find and arrest those who are breaking the law.  

Does your police force need a technology upgrade?  PrintekMobile would love to discuss your needs with you.  We have a variety of wireless ticket printers available, and we'll help you find one that suits your needs. If you are starting from scratch and need the software for e-citation, we can even get you in touch with one of our public safety software providers as well.  For more information about our printers or the software, please contact us today.

Law enforcement agencies throughout the U.S. are relying more and more on automated traffic and parking ticket printing, production and processing. Automating the process has significant advantages over the pen-and-ink roadside ticket writing.

According to the Cleveland Police Chief, “Up to 10% of citations are thrown out of court due to illegible handwriting or improperly written citations.”  So, wireless portable printers for parking and traffic citations are becoming a growing part of 21^st century law enforcement.

Efficiency and officer safety…

For the Cleveland Police Department and law enforcement agencies throughout the United States, handheld ticket writers have done much to improve both efficiency and productivity, with the added benefit of safety. According to Cleveland Police Chief:

“A majority of police officer deaths occur during traffic stops alongside the roadway due to officers being hit by inattentive or impaired motorists. This equipment will shorten the time an officer will be exposed to traffic while issuing a citation.”

Cost savings…

Paper ticket printing costs can run as high as 20 cents each. Wireless portable printers cost far less (about 10-20 percent of the handwritten multi-sheet counterparts).  Linking the printing technology with mobile computing handheld devices that can scan a vehicle’s VIN plate, take a photo of the driver and quickly run a warrant check through swiping of the driver’s license has paid dividends to public safety and effective law enforcement.

On the stationary front…

The mobile printer is key.

A good quality, resilient and reliable mobile printer is the “bridge” between the piece of paper it delivers to the offender and getting everything properly entered into the process. The printer has to produce legible, smudge-free and high quality citations and has to have a long battery life.

PrintekMobile has the mobile ticket printer your organization needs.

Our compact FieldPro Series, AppPro Series, or MtP 400 Series are all direct thermal printers that have a rugged design and industry leading battery life that is perfect for any public safety application. Contact us today for detailed information and to find out how to sign up for a free, no-obligation test drive.

While researching information on mobile printers for your operations, it is important that you try to answer this basic question - "What should I look for in a mobile printer?".  As you try to answer this question, remember that the mobile printer, to be worth the investment and change in company “printing culture,” should meet the following criteria, which in turn will justify, going mobile.

The following are the five top things you should look for in a mobile printer:

1. It has to be easy to use.  Asking your sales people, warehouse workers, route delivery people, etc., to do something different has to meet the “easy” criteria, but it goes a little deeper: You need to provide them a printer that makes it easier for them to do tasks than what it would normally take.

When you think about it, human nature tends to select the easier path towards a goal. Mobile printing is the easier path. It puts printing in the hands of those who need printouts now.  Easy paper loading, simple set-up, a variety of ways to connect follow this "easy to use" philosophy.

2. It must be reliable, rugged and inexpensive to use. Mobile means subjected to inadvertent (or careless) abuse through dropping, bashing or just normal wear and tear. So reliable is to mobile as resilient is to exposure and abuse. Word analogies notwithstanding, you want a mobile printer that “takes a licking and keeps on ticking,” doesn’t break and returns your investment.  PrintekMobile printers are built to withstand demanding and tough environments.

The inexpensive part comes in when you use thermal printing paper instead of toner cartridges that cost about 25 percent of the original laser printer price and saves money on multi-copied invoices.

3. It must have a power source that runs the printer for an entire work shift. That would be through rechargeable, smaller and lighter – and longer lasting – lithium-ion batteries. Since everything wears out, your batteries need to have a high number of charge/discharge cycles before they must be replaced.  PrintekMobile equips all of our mobile printers with the best possible batteries available.

4. It must be easily integrated with the mobile devices that serve them. Yes, operating systems, mobile devices, business applications all conspire to confound mobile printing capabilities. Your mobile printer needs to be “driven” and needs the “drivers” that will integrate it with your business software so that your people can actually get the printed output.  PrintekMobile has a variety of ways to connect to the device you are using.

5. It has to have a supplier willing to support the hardware, software and troubleshooting after the sale for the life of the printer. Not many mobile printer manufacturers do that, actually. Buying a mobile printer off someone’s shelf and mailing in the warranty card may be the last you’ll ever hear of the seller and agent.

PrintekMobile and our entire mobile printer series is all of the above… and more.

See for yourself how PrintekMobile series printers will revolutionize all your printing applications and integrate everything with your business sales and accounting right at the point of sales, service or deliveries.  Contact us TODAY or download any of our printer brochures or spec sheets for any of our rugged mobile printers.  Also, take a moment to see which mobile printer best fits your applications by using our "Find My Printer" tool.

A mobile printer is both a tool and a powerful sales expediter in the hands of sales people on the floor or attending a queue of hungry customers waiting to place their orders. In the field, route delivery, DSD, and service people have the flexibility to change (and, ideally, add) goods and give instant and flexible customer service.

Retail sales soar on the floor.

On the retail floor, sales people are no longer chained to computer terminals at the counter as confused customers struggle to find that one item that they have left home for. Equip that sales person with an Apple or Android tablet or smartphone and let them float and mingle.

Add a portable mobile printer, like a FieldPro or AppPro printer, to the mix and you have the “perfect marriage” of quick reference to the your inventory coupled with on-the-spot printing of a receipt. Make that receipt a result of a built-in credit card reader and you’ll wonder how you ever got along without all this fabulous technology.

Fast food orders become faster and restaurant orders become more orderly.

Give your food servers that same capability and watch the fast-food environment become even faster. As hungry customers wait patiently in line, before they approach the food delivery point, their orders can be recorded, swiped and printed.

In restaurants food servers with handheld devices can do much the same and print on-the-spot receipts, reducing the likelihood of mistakes at the main register as well as provide faster order processing, better service, and more customer turnover.

Mobile printing for route delivery and field service people means instant collection following the sale or service and better records keeping.

Route delivery salesmen can leave the warehouse unencumbered by paper orders and invoices and have everything “in hand” and stored on their smartphone or tablet. Changes to orders at the point of sale no longer have to use the “stubby-pencil” method defacing the existing invoice with the added possibility of math errors. Accept payments on the spot and print an accurate receipt and the transaction is wrapped up nicely – no order or charge disputes and far more accurate records.

Sending that repairman out armed with a handheld device with accurate location and work information is the first step. Equip him with a mobile printer and give the customer the option of paying by credit card and you have a streamlined billing and payment option cutting weeks off collections.

Printek has the perfect mobile printer solution

Printek has been in the mobile printer market long enough to know the solutions you need to streamline your business and sales. Our line of mobile printers are a perfect fit for any POS, route delivery, DSD, or service application.  The NEW AppPro mobile printer now allows you the flexibility to print from either an Apple iOS or Android system.  Contact us today and see why our mobile thermal printers are designed for on-demand printing wherever your business takes place.  We would love the opportunity to get you set up with a FREE test drive.