Printing Hardware for Labeling of Biological Specimens

This article is based on an original publication by Brady.

Several basic questions must be addressed before planning any labeling project to ensure the proper printing equipment is chosen. For instance, should printing be outsourced? What are the associated costs, and what types of quality control should be in place to ensure only high quality labels are generated?

For applications where in-house printing makes sense, there are several common bar code print technologies for variable, operator-entered data including:

Dot Matrix: Creates images by producing overlapping dots with multiple passes over a ribbon. Dot matrix printers are inexpensive, but are often inflexible and produce limited quality print.