Barcode Printers

[Jeff Sager]

I'd like to communicate with anybody who has worked on applications where
it was necessary to be able to print labels with mixed alpha/numeric
characters and barcodes. The barcodes I'm talking about are the code 39
or two-of-five standards.

We have already done this ourselves with an Intermec model 8625 laser printer,
but we are looking for something cheaper. The labels do not have to be real
sturdy, the barcodes will only be read two or three times max.

Has anyone used a dot-matrix printer for this type of application? If so
which one, and how fast was it? Can a daisy-wheel do barcodes? Are there
laser printers which can do barcode labels that cost more in the $1000.00
range rather than $5000?

Thanks in advance,

Jeff Sager AT&T Bell Labs, Columbus Ohio

(...!ihnp4!) cbdkc1!jjs

[George Robbins]

In article <16...@cbdkc1.UUCP> j...@cbdkc1.UUCP ( Jeff Sager 614-860-5265 ) writes:
>I'd like to communicate with anybody who has worked on applications where
>it was necessary to be able to print labels with mixed alpha/numeric
>characters and barcodes. The barcodes I'm talking about are the code 39
>or two-of-five standards.
>
>We have already done this ourselves with an Intermec model 8625 laser printer,
>but we are looking for something cheaper. The labels do not have to be real
>sturdy, the barcodes will only be read two or three times max.
>
>Has anyone used a dot-matrix printer for this type of application? If so
>which one, and how fast was it? Can a daisy-wheel do barcodes? Are there
>laser printers which can do barcode labels that cost more in the $1000.00
>range rather than $5000?
>

>Jeff Sager AT&T Bell Labs, Columbus Ohio

Yes, you can print labels on a dot matrix printer, but they will be two to
three times as long as those printed on the Intermec. You need a good printer,
carefully maintained and ribboned to get reasonable results. You may also
need to switch to a scanning device with lower resolution to get good read
rates. I used a TI810LQ printer and found that the programming wasn't hard.

You could use a daiseywheel printer, as long as it had incremental spacing,
but I suspect that it would be too slow to be practical.

Any laser printer with some graphics capability or downloadable character set
would be able to make nice labels on *plain paper*. You would then need to
cut them apart and tape them to the items.

Suggestion: contact Telxon, Markem, HP and any others that sell scanners
and labeling systems. Intermec is too much in the printer business to give
you much information about alternative printing devices and technologies.

--
George Robbins - now working for, uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|caip}!cbmvax!grr
but no way officially representing arpa: cbmvax!g...@seismo.css.GOV
Commodore, Engineering Department fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)