Direct Thermal - These labels do not use a ribbon, and are meant for short-term application. Point A-to-B and done. Best example is a UPS label. Usually after about 4-6 months, the print will start fading.

Thermal Transfer - These labels use a ribbon to transfer your information onto the label. These labels require a ribbon and are meant for longevity and durability. The print on these labels can last for years in various types of environments.

Lay the label on a hard surface. Firmly scrape your fingernail or a pen cap across the surface of the label. 

Direct Thermal: If a dark (usually black) line appears where you scratched, it's a direct thermal label. This is because the heat/friction from your scratch activates the heat-sensitive coating. 

Thermal Transfer: If no mark appears, it's a thermal transfer label.

This all depends on the specific barcode type.  1D barcodes can have from 15-25 characters, whereas 2D barcodes can have up to 2,000 characters. Something to always remember, as you increase the amount of information in the barcode, the bigger the barcode will become. This is especially true with 1D barcodes.  In most cases, people encode 8-15 characters for 1D barcodes.

DPI stands for Dots Per Inch and is a measure of a printer's resolution. The higher the number the finer the print will be/more dots per inch there will be. Most applications are suitable at 203 dpi.  But, in some cases where logos/images or very small print is going to be used, you may want 300 or 600 dpi resolution.

The number of labels per roll will depend on the size of label, roll core size & outside diameter.  

The shorter the label height, the more labels you will get per roll.  

The taller the label height, the less labels you will receive per roll.  

Desktop label rolls (1” core/5” OD) carry less labels than a tabletop label roll (3” core/8” OD).  Example on a 4.0” x 6.0” label: Desktop roll has 460 labels/roll.  Whereas a tabletop roll has 1,000 labels/roll.

Some POS software’s offer label printing as an option. If you do not have a POS software, once you have a barcode label printer and media, you will need a barcode label design software to create and print labels.  In this software you can place barcodes, text, and images to fit your label design requirements and then send the print job to your barcode printer.  If you purchase a Zebra printer, a free, Basic label design software is included with your printer.

Yes, all new products sold come with a manufacturer’s warranty starting from date of purchase.  The length of this warranty will be dependent on the manufacturers warranty for that item.  

Extended warranties are available for purchase to extend beyond the manufacturers standard warranty.  The only exception would be on open box/clearance items.  These are determined on a per item basis. A Bar Code Business, Inc. offers toll-free pre-sales and post-sales technical support on all items sold.