Let’s Talk About Commercial Printers

While desktop printers* are fast morphing into technology powerhouses, they still lack several features that makes them apparently unsuited to large scale printing. Cost per page is one considerable factor in printing, and it is one feature most manufacturers haven’t yet made some solution. Printing speed also is another feature that sets desktop systems apart from commercial printers; often commercial printers can spew over a hundred pages per minute while the newest desktop machines can churn out 20 pages per minute at most.

Commercial printers are designed specific to a task, that’s the reason for their less cost per page feature and notable print speed. The only setback for commercial printers is that they require a very specific file preparation or set of directives in the prepress task. Or that their construct tailors the commercial printer’s capability to print to a few circumstances. Here’s a sample of a commercial printer and what it can do.

Zebra Printer 2746e and the Zebra Printer R2844-Z
Search these commercial printer models at: www.zebra.com

The 2746e Zebra Printer is a basic bar code printer that provides an affordable print solution to companies that require batch labeling. It has a sturdy steel enclosed case that can face warehouse environments but also has a sleek design that could fit in on any office. This printer model is ideal for postal, manufacturing, and distribution, for uses such as receipt, payment, shipping, and field service.

As you can see, while the 2746e allows speed + bulk printing, its capability for variable printing is minor compared to the standard desktop printer. What it allows though is a cost effective solution for prints that require neither color nor graphics. Another printer, the R2844-Z is a smart printer that allows printing to an assortment of media such as wristbands, labels, and even loyalty cards.

Recently designed commercial printers are also morphing, by the way, into a more capable-of several-feature design than in the past. Like the HP Designjet 10000 which can print to the maximum length of 164 feet and 104 inches in width on a vinyl media. Of course, such machines are only practical for commercial institutions that deal in graphics for ads and posters.

You can get the HP Designjet Commercial Printer at http://h30267.www3.hp.com

*for purposes of clarity, desktop printers include laser printers, inkjet printers, dot matrix, ribbon printers, and all those printers that are typically run in junction with computers. Also included are those printers designed as floor-standing printer models.