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LABEL PRINTERS
20
In 1865, James Dobbie set up
J Dobbie Choice Seeds & Flowers
of Renfrew and his business soon
flourished, creating a legacy that now
incorporates 35 stores across the UK.
In 2008, the company became part
of Tesco and, with its parent company’s
backing and support, Dobbies continues
to thrive.
With an ever-expanding inventory
designed to appeal to the latest tastes in
gardening and related areas, clear and
easy to read labelling is a major factor in
the creation of a high quality customer
experience.
“With such a diverse range, we want
our customers to be able to identify
the prices of goods quickly and easily,”
explained Dobbies loss prevention
manager Karen Canavan. “What’s more,
plants by their very nature can have a
short shelf life, so any discounts and price
reductions need to be clearly marked in
order to make sure stock isn’t wasted.”
Dobbies stores used to rely on office-
based devices for all their printing, including
labelling. This was time-consuming, as
employees had to carry information
between the printer and the plant, product
or shelf being labelled, and the quality
of the finished label was often less than
satisfactory.
Making a change
Recognising that something needed to
be done to improve the efficiency of the
labelling process, Canavan invited Toshiba
TEC to come in and explain the options.
“We have had a successful working
relationship with Toshiba TEC for many years.
I’d already heard about the advances in
mobile printing and labelling technology and
felt that this would tick many of the boxes
in terms of increasing resource efficiency,
enhancing overall accuracy and avoiding
mistakes. We knew that Tesco had adopted
a similar system, so felt there was much to
gain from such an investment,” she said.
After trialling a number of products,
Dobbies selected Toshiba TEC’s B-EP4DL
portable printer.
Compact and stylish, the B-EP4DL
four-inch portable device offers big printer
technology in a tiny package. It utilises
high endurance
lithium-ion battery
technology for many
hours of operation and,
as standard, features
a clear backlit LCD
screen and Wi-Fi and
USB 2.0 connectivity.
Rubber corners help
the B-EP4DL withstand
drops of up to 1.8m.
“We have rolled out
the B-EP4DL devices so
that there are typically
three per store,”
explained Canavan.
“The effect has been quite dramatic in
terms of productivity, and staff now spend
much less time labelling each product. It
has also made a big difference to how we
manage stock inventory.”
For example, Dobbies can now easily
print labels to indicate discounts and
reductions and incorporate this information
into barcodes. These labels are far more
aesthetically pleasing and easier for
customers to read, as well as saving
employees significant amounts of time and
reducing wastage.
Summing up, Canavan said: “The
B-EP4DL is helping us to work faster
and smarter. Not only that, the devices
have proven to be highly reliable, robust
and durable in what is a pretty physical
environment. To cap it all, when it’s
needed, we know we have excellent
support and back-up from Toshiba TEC.”
Sowing the seeds of
business efficiency
Toshiba has unified its imaging and thermal divisions, bringing new
opportunities for printer resellers. Here we look at how one of the UK’s leading
garden centres is using Toshiba mobile printers in its UK stores
Labels are
far more
aesthetically
pleasing and
easier for
customers
to read
Zebra earns its
stripes
Zebra Technologies Corporation
has won a Red Dot product design
award for its ZD410 desktop label
printer.
Designed for the smallest of work
spaces, the ultra-compact 2-inch direct
thermal printer is ideal for printing
high-quality product and shelf labels,
discount labels and receipts.
The ability to print price and
discount labels on demand is becoming
increasingly important for retailers
that want to maintain a consistent
experience and pricing across every
customer touch point, including in-
store, online and mobile.
For flexibility, the printer comes with
fixed, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Five status icons enable users to identify
and rectify printer issues instantly, while
IT can remotely manage devices through
an easy-to-use web-based interface.
With field-installable connectivity
and media handling options, businesses
can customise the ZD410 to meet
their specific needs, maximising printer
functionality and uptime.
Zebra has also received Red Dot
awards for its DS3600 scanner, TC8000
touch mobile computer and TC70 touch
computer.
