Dot Matrix Printer Ribbons
Only Genuine Printek ribbons will help keep your Printek printer performing at its best, year after year. Testing over the years has shown that non-Printek ribbons can reduce the printhead life by up to 59%. All Printek dot matrix ribbons were designed so that they can be installed quickly, easily, and mess-free for virtually uninterrupted operation. 
Extend Ribbon Life
Genuine Printek ribbons are made with the highest-quality inks and ribbon fabrics available. This translates into:
- A lower cost per character - especially compared to the competition.
- Fewer ribbon changes.
- A print life of 23 million characters with the FormsPro ribbons, and 15 million characters with the PrintMaster ribbon.
Keep Costs Low
By using Printek ribbons, you can easily help keep your printer costs low Only genuine Printek ribbons keep your Printek printer performing at its best year after year. And when you use Printek ribbons, you take advantage of these exclusive benefits:
- A two-year warranty on any Printek printer printhead, at no additional cost
- More than 50 percent longer ribbon life
- Printhead life extended by up to 50 percent
- Quick and easy ribbon installation
Prevent Printhead Damage
When you use Printek ribbons, this helps prevent premature wear of the printhead and ensures your printhead a two-year warranty at no additional cost. Printek ribbons prevent the buildup of solids, which translates to a “cleaner” character strike and less damage to the printhead.
So, make sure you take the necessary steps to protect your printer by using only Genuine Printek ribbons. To purchase ribbons, please check with who you purchased your printer from if they sell Printek ribbons. You may also purchase ribbons direct from Printek at PrintekDirect or contact us at (800) 368-4636.
Use a PrintekMobile Printer for iPad Printing
PrintekMobile is the industry leader in printing from the latest, highly popular mobile computing platforms such as iPads and Android devices. We have demo applications and Software Developer Kits (SDK) for each. We have helped numerous customers achieve success in field printing from iPhones, iPads, and many different brands of Android smartphones and tablets.
PrintekMobile has a specific mobile printer product line, the AppPro - due out this June, which is ideally suited to these types of applications. We are happy to supply the necessary hardware and software to facilitate and expedite a smooth integration of the print function into your business applications.
The unique features of the AppPro are discussed below, and we hope that you will find this overview is useful in creating a better understanding of some of these issues, particularly as they relate to providing printed receipts, invoices, tickets, labels, etc. on the go.
Apple
Apple mobile products (iPhone, iPod, iPad) do not "expose" (make available for use) any of the serial Bluetooth protocols necessary for proper communication with a device like a Bluetooth printer. Since Apple concentrates on the consumer market, they only allow native Bluetooth communication to devices in that segment of the market, like headsets, keyboards, etc.. In this way they can control / minimize the wireless hacking which might occur with less secure Bluetooth connections, while still serving well their most important market.
WiFi and its protocols and security measures are all technically different from Bluetooth; Apple can't pick and choose the protocols they want to be compatible with and still maintain 802.11 compliance. So consequently, they are WiFi compatible with almost everything else that is 802.11 compliant, thus why WiFi mobile printers can work fine in the Apple environment. So, for the most part,
Apple Mobile Device = Printek Mobile WiFi Printers
Apple mobile devices run some version of iOS, Apple’s proprietary operating system. Application code is typically developed in the Objective C language. For registered Apple developers (https://developer.apple.com/devcenter/ios/index.action) , a large and comprehensive SDK is available to help with just about every aspect of your host application. And as noted, the PrintekMobile SDK fills in the blanks and completely illustrates how to create a communication link with the PrintekMobile printer and send a printjob to the printer via that link. Simple text jobs as well as screen capture and graphics printing are documented in the SDK.
It is rumored, and certainly possible, that future versions of Apple iOS will provide broader support for a wider array of Bluetooth protocols and services, making mobile Bluetooth printers more readily compatible and available for these business solutions. And when this happens, PrintekMobile will be prepared to provide a Bluetooh printing solution.
iPads, iPhone, and iPod Touch
The relatively recent introduction of iPad tablets to the business marketplace has created yet another Apple revolution. The brilliance of the screen and the more generous real estate has proven to provide the perfect host for a myriad of business applications which might otherwise be “squeezed” onto an iPhone or iPod display in the past. This new capability has released a torrent of interest in running various business applications on the Apple iOS platform for the first time. The various different screen sizes available in the Apple mobile device repertoire can sometimes make it a challenge for the programmer to make one version look good on all devices, but the Apple iOS SDK provides tools to address this, and there are some references to how this can be handled in the source code which makes up the PrintekMobile iOS SDK.
Running a local WiFi activity (such as Apple printing) while still having your iPad or iPhone connected with a Wide Area Network via 3G, etc. can also prove challenging. Fortunately, PrintekMobile has experience with this scenario and can steer you in the right direction to configure your devices appropriately so that you can successfully use a Printek printer as an iPad printer.
Please feel free to contact our sales department for more information on this unique iPad printing capability with PrintekMobile.
Phone: 800-368-4636
Email: sales@printek.com
Web: www.printek.com
When a field service company that needs to deliver goods begins to go mobile, one of the questions they consider is, “Should I email a receipt or information to the customer, or should I provide them with a printed receipt?” The answer is – it depends. Ask yourself the following questions:
- Have you provided a printed receipt for your customer in the past?
- Are you taking payment at the customer’s site?
- Does the customer need to sign off on a statement, receipt, or work order approval
- Does your customer need to acknowledge what they ordered or what you delivered?
- Does the customer need to refer back to the written documents for future instructions?
- Do you up-sell or cross-sell in the field?
- Do you need to access information or tools in the field?
- Do you still have to buy and carry forms for those who do not have email?
Answering yes to even one of these questions, means you should definitely use a mobile printer to leave a printed receipt for your customer, and get a better ROI in your investment into going mobile.
If your customer typically gets a receipt from you for proof of payment or proof of work done, they may still want the immediate security of the printed document. By providing field service receipt printing, you allowing your customer to check at the time of service as opposed to checking email and verifying charges or services later may be very beneficial to them.
If you are taking payment, you may be required by your state law to provide your customers with written receipts. Laws vary from state to state, so you need to make sure that you are in compliance with your state law.
Are you leaving printed instructions for your customer to follow after you depart? If so, having to depend on your customer to print out the instruction on his own might be risky for you. If you hand him a list of things he must do and review it with them, you will have a better chance of getting the customer to follow through.
When delivering your goods or taking orders from your customers, do they usually need to look at a list and approve delivery? Reviewing a list on a smart device or handheld can be difficult to see. With a mobile printer, you can provide a printed list. This is faster and easier for them to check off what they have received or will receive. This will speed up time for your customer and your delivery personnel, thus saving time.
If you are still buying manual forms to fill out “just in case” the customer wants a printed receipt you may be able to purchase a mobile printer and paper rolls for significantly less than what you are currently paying for forms. As an added bonus, you can provide your customer with a printed promo at the end of the receipt, work order, or invoice. Mobile printing will help you retain your customers and provide an even better ROI.
Test drive a PrintekMobile printer today!
What do HVAC, appliance repair, equipment repair, and fuel oil and gas system maintenance all have in common?
They all rely on a multi-step process;
- Dispatch a technician from the home office with the paperwork they need.
- The technician documents and reports activities at the customer or work site, by handwriting on multi-part forms.
- The technician leaves a copy of that form with the customer.
- The Technician returns to the central office usually at the end of the day to drop off paperwork.
- The Paper work is manually transcribed into a computer database for billing, timekeeping or project management purposes.
What are progressive field service companies doing to beat out the competition and becoming more profitable?
Many operations are now using handheld computers, laptops, smart phones and tablets to capture and send data electronically to help improve performance, efficiency and customer retention while also helping to reduce errors, wasted time, and costs. Mobile printing solutions are being integrated at the same time for all field service printing needs. Mobile printers provide on-demand printing in the field for invoices, customer’s notifications, receipts, work orders, maps, diagrams and installation instructions.
What should you look for in a mobile printer?
Things that happen on the road with technicians should stay on the road. Mobile printers get bumped, dropped, spilled on and who knows what type of eliminates the weather will bring. When evaluating mobile printers you need to make sure that you look for durable mobile printers that have been designed and manufactured to handle these challenges day after day, week after week, and year after year.
When evaluating mobile printers, the printers should be compact in size so they can easily be vehicle mounted, carried on shoulder straps, or hooked to belts and worn comfortably for the entire day. You should also use wireless connectivity to make it fast and easy for your field techs to print anywhere. And with the magnetic card reader they can also be used to take payment via a credit or debit card.
PrintekMobile offers a wide range of rugged and durable mobile printers for your field service needs. Our mobile printers work with all types of handheld devices including, handheld computers, laptops, smart phones and tablets. Printek mobile printers can be worn on a belt, mounted in a vehicle or easily carried. Contact PrintekMobile now for a free test drive of one of our printers.
If your company is involved in Direct Store Delivery (DSD) / route sales invoicing and delivers products to retailers, here are 5 quick facts you should know!
- There are errors on 10.5% on all DSD invoices issued to small retailers.
- The average out of stock rate for direct store delivery is 7%, but it jumps to 13% on promotional items.
- Out-of-stocks result in $6 billion in lost sales.
- The average supermarket can reduce direct store delivery out-of- stocks by 3% and increase annual revenue by $75,000.
- Automated check-in processes can reduce direct store delivery receiving time by 60%.
If you want to improve efficiency and increase profits in your direct store deliveries, you’ll need to ask yourself these 6 important questions:
- Do your drivers spend time preparing orders and invoices?
- Do you have handwritten orders or invoices that are not legible?
- Do you have customer calls about billing disputes?
- Could you increase your revenue if your driver had more time for merchandising and sales?
- Do your drivers and office staff spend time handling exceptions?
- Would your operations improve if your driver could handle more stops per day?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you should consider using a mobile printer in your DSD application. Two of the greatest benefits from using a DSD printer are time savings and improved productivity. Handheld computing and mobile printing applications drastically reduce the time that is required for invoicing and order preparation. Organizations are often surprised to learn how much route paperwork influences other operations. When organizations begin to understand these facts and ask the right questions, the value of a route sales printing with a mobile printer becomes clear.
PrintekMobile has long had rugged and reliable mobile printers that can meet any needs in direct store delivery. PrintekMobile printers have had a great track history printing in harsh conditions in the DSD environments. Some of these applications include printing documents such as invoices, delivery receipts, service estimates, sales orders and inventory management.
Feel free to contact any of our mobile printer experts at Printek for more information on how to take advantage of direct store delivery printing.
Putting a mobile system in your direct store delivery (DSD) application can provide you benefits in the field and back at your office by doing the following:
- Reducing labor and time to enter data and process paper work.
The easiest way for your mobile workers to meet their revenue goals is to improve their 
efficiency. Providing your direct store delivery sales personal with a mobile system will help them do that. You will be able to meet the customer’s needs on the first visit which will reduce the time your back office will spend on billing and sales.
Improved efficiency= Reducing Errors = Larger Profits
Many businesses that use direct store delivery invoices tend to print these at the warehouse over night before each delivery using centralized printers. If the driver or the customer needs to make changes, it is usually done by making a hand written note on the pre-printed invoice which can often create errors. DSD printing with mobile printers provides the flexibility that businesses need to generate an invoice with last minute changes right at the customer’s door. This new information is automatically transmitted to the back office via a wireless network to the host computer.
Improved efficiency =Printing Invoices= Better Cash Flow
Printing invoices at the time of delivery can definitely improve cash flow by allowing the driver to accept payments on the spot. Many companies tend to wait 30 days or more to pay invoices. By providing route sales invoicing in the field or requiring payment on delivery completely eliminates the lag time between invoicing and payment. On site payment is also beneficial to companies because it reduces man-power needed to process the invoices and payments back at the home office.
Improved efficiency = Mobile Printing = Printek Mobile Printers
Printek has long developed rugged and reliable DSD printers that can meet your needs in the field. Printek mobile printers have a track history of working in some of the harshest environments that the DSD world can deliver. Route sales printing of invoices, delivery receipts, service estimates, sales orders and inventory management reports are no match for a Printek printer.
Field printing applications often require mobile thermal printers that can operate in harsh environments. A harsh environment is typically one where there may be exposure to various chemicals and somewhat extended temperatures. An even harsher environment might be one of long exposure to higher temperature extremes or even direct sunlight. Examples include warehouse labeling, lumber or nursery yard tagging, manufacturing floor processes, automobile inventory and AIAG labels, and pallet tags.
Once a printer has been selected that can perform flawlessly in these conditions, like the PrintekMobile MtP300 or MtP400, an appropriate label must be selected that can survive in the same harsh environment.
For some environments where simple paper labels are not adequate, UV-coated labels may be the answer. UV-coated labels are printed using direct thermal technology and are made with a proprietary process which gives them some unique and exciting properties. They are paper label media, which provide an excellent balance between cost and quality. The special UV-coating provides a barrier to the harmful sunlight elements, which normally fade a direct thermal printed image, and also imparts a weather-resistant seal to the paper. Therefore, besides having good image contrast and excellent scratch-resistance, the printed image and the label substrate are long-lasting in outdoor environments.
For tougher environments, thermal transfer printing may be required for even better image contrast and longer readability. Thermal transfer printing and mobile printing are often considered to be exclusive of each other. Truly mobile applications require printers that are easily transported or worn by their user, which means they cannot be large enough, or so heavy, that they can accommodate separate thermal transfer ribbons.
PrintekMobile has the solution that integrates true mobile AND thermal transfer printing. This capability is achieved by using PrintekMobile Fusion labels. Fusion labels are a unique product that allows our MtP-series direct thermal printers to produce thermal transfer labels. This Self Contained Thermal Transfer Label (SCTTL) can be made with either paper substrate or synthetic substrate, and in self-adhesive or hangtag form. As in traditional thermal transfer technology, the actual printed image is made by transferring material from a thermally-activated ribbon to a receptive media surface. With Fusion, however, the ribbon is actually “fused” to the printable media and contained on the same roll, eliminating the need for a separate ribbon roll. The small individual ribbon component of the label is simply removed and discarded immediately after the print job. The result is the ultra-readable, super tough image of traditional thermal transfer combined with the convenience of direct thermal.
The table below provides a relative comparison among the various media available:
|
|
Relative Image
Contrast
|
Relative Image
Durability
|
Expected
Image
Duration*
|
Relative Cost
|
|
Standard Direct
Thermal
|
FAIR
|
FAIR
|
< 1 Month
|
LOW
|
|
Direct Thermal
with UV coating
|
GOOD
|
EXCELLENT
|
3 to 6 Months
|
MODERATE
|
|
FUSION
(SCTTL)
|
BEST
|
GOOD
|
6 Months +
|
HIGHEST
|
* Time from label print until it becomes illegible in a typical outdoor environment
For more information, please contact a PrintekMobile representative at (800) 368-4636.
All modern businesses desire the ability to align their operations with a tighter customer focus. As more products and services become commoditized, improving the “customer experience” represents one of the next best opportunities to differentiate yourself from the competition in your market. Always easier said than done, what practical methods and technologies are available to help you deliver on your promise, to make your operation stand out from the crowd? Mobile printing is one of these, offering the ability for you to provide better service, more information, simplified payment, and other value adds to your customers.
Mobile printing not only saves the user time, but it also saves the customer time. Here’s how:
- Customers don’t have to wait for a service technician to write up their paperwork with often-illegible handwriting
- Customers can get a fast, legible printed invoice, resulting in fewer disputes and higher customer satisfaction.
- With mobile printers in your field solution, you can resolve discrepancies immediately in a cost-effective and “personal” manner.
- Build customer quotes and instantly print and review these on the spot, versus hours or days later.
- The customer has the option of paying on the spot with credit, with an optional magnetic card reader (MCR) built into the printer.
In addition, the professional look and feel of printed service or delivery documents enhances the reputation of your business, increasing customer confidence and loyalty. The customer signature from the digital capture, if printed quickly and legibly, gives the customer a signed record of the service repair or transaction, especially valuable to the customer if they have used their credit card to make a substantial payment.
Public Safety and mobile citation printing also presents a special “customer” paradigm; judges benefit from fewer errors, fewer challenges and less wasted time in municipal courts, while local, county and state administrators get the satisfaction of knowing that a high level of civil law enforcement is ensured, with the lowest possible cost to government.
I
n order to achieve the full benefits of mobile printing in your applications, one must choose a printer with the proper characteristics and features. Ruggedized devices are the logical choice, as they ensure the high reliability necessary to serve customers best. Choose on-printer MCR options and Multifunction Mobile Printers (MFMP), like the PrintekMobile FieldPro, to further enhance applications and streamline data input (what customer wants to wait for you to punch in their credit card number?).
Mobile printing implies a defined business process, which is usually the end result of high-level corporate visibility and worker accountability, always a requirement for customer-focused businesses.
It’s well-known that employee satisfaction is a key requirement for a successful customer experience, and mobile printers help by removing the drudgery from tasks, resulting in happier employees ready and able to provide a better experience to the customer. Good service truly is the key to customer loyalty, and we have shown that adding printers to your mobility solutions can play a big role in the overall success of achieving this goal.
Among the most important benefits of adding mobile printing to a mobile solution relates to a fundamental business parameter: cash flow. Appropriate cash flow is crucial to a company’s survival. Having ample cash on hand will ensure that creditors, employees and others can be paid on time. Excess cash can also be re-invested to expand or improve the business.
Many business leaders believe that “cash is king”. This is particularly true of smaller private businesses, where the potential for large sums of financing cash flows into the business are limited. In these situations, the efficient delivery of products or services and the timely collection of payment means everything.
The ways in which mobile printers can impact cash flow are as varied as the applications themselves. In many applications, such as field service or direct store delivery (DSD), the operational cash flow in the business can be improved in multiple ways:
- Cost of mobile thermal paper media is significantly less than the 8.5 x 11 forms normally associated with the standard office invoices.
- Leaving an invoice at the point of service or point of delivery with a mobile printer also accelerates cash flow.
- Taking advantage of a built-in magnetic card reader, an option available on all PrintekMobile printers, a business can virtually eliminate the A/R cycle altogether.
- The handy card swipe on the printer is a convenience to both the field worker and the customer, and also increases accuracy of card information input.
Public Safety applications, which usually involve issuing citations for parking infractions or moving violations, are also ripe for cash flow improvement by adding mobile printers to the process. In a way, these “business” improvements are very different than those described above, because no actual product is delivered or service rendered, and in most cases these applications are practiced by not-for-profit entities. However, this doesn’t make the financial improvement offered by mobile printing any less important; in fact, municipalities and universities rack up such significant income from violation fees that the efficiency of this process is a top priority among the managers of these institutions.
Studies have shown that using mobile citation printing, along with a mobile computing host and appropriate software, can improve an officer’s ticket-writing productivity by 30% or more. In addition to the increased revenue which results from the higher tickets-per-shift capability that mobile printing affords, thermal printed tickets are also less expensive than multi-part ticket forms, and along with the reduction in errors and elimination of clerical time to transcribe handwritten tickets, results in significant savings in direct expenses to the departments. And advanced PrintekMobile printer options which allow officers to automatically scan barcoded VIN plates and read magnetic drivers licenses, further enhance public safety applications and improve efficiency and cash flow.
Mobile Printer Media
PrintekMobile offers an extensive catalog of thermal print media that
includes receipt; label, and synthetic, plus a variety of coating options, for
not only PrintekMobile printers, but for all brands of mobile thermal printers.
PrintekMobile offers the largest variety of sturdy stock options designed to
survive challenging environments with moisture, intense temperatures, or
atypical scuffing. Synthetic media can be selected for tickets, and label
media offers several adhesive options. One basic measurement of thermal
print paper media quality is archival rating. PrintekMobile Media supplies
standard long-life receipt paper with a 15-year archival rating. This means
that printed documents will last for 15 years or more in standard storage
conditions. PrintekMobile receipt paper will not fade or darken in regular
use or handling.
For more information on PrintekMobile media or to get samples, please call anyone in our sales department, or contact your authorized PrintekMobile partner.