Mar 21, 2023

A dependable printing system is vital when it comes to maintaining frictionless operations. Consequently, many warehouses have chosen to invest in high-volume industrial printers since these devices are able to produce thousands of labels in a day without premature printhead failure. While industrial printers can be incredibly useful to protect unbroken productivity, warehouses are still left to deal with another challenge: the rising number of processed goods.

For the past three years, warehouses have been caught in a struggle to stay ahead of consumer demands without overstocking products and risking financial loss. Just-in-Time material handling has shifted to Just-in-Case models as companies brace themselves for sudden spikes in demand. As challenges and inventory counts increase, printing stations must produce more labels faster. While industrial printers can certainly handle the large influx, teams must account for the time spent -and lost- traveling to centralized printing stations.

Studies conducted within an Amazon warehouse found that the average warehouse employee can travel up to 12 miles per day, spending up to four hours walking between aisles and printing stations. In addition to time spent walking, workers also lose time in line as they wait for label batches. During this process, several operational setbacks may occur such as:

• Picking up the wrong batch of labels
• Distractive conversations
• Applying the wrong label to the product
  

While centralized printing stations are still beneficial for large-scale distribution centers, modernized warehouses are also adopting mobile printers, which have proven essential for businesses facing the following tell-tale struggles:

1. Frequent printer downtime
2. Bottlenecks at the printing station
3. Wrongly applied labels
4. Far-away printing stations
   

With the number of stock-keeping-units expected to increase at a rapid rate before 2027 and e-commerce continuing to shorten shipping ETAs, warehouses can no longer rely solely on centralized printing stations to meet customer demands. However, selecting the wrong mobile printer can also slow productivity rates. Therefore, before selecting your mobile printer, make sure to look for the following features.

4 Non-Negotiable Features Your Mobile Printer Should Have

1. Durable Exterior

Warehouses and manufacturing plants can be harsh environments for mobile devices. In the same way, you should evaluate your handheld devices’ durability standards, mobile printers should also withstand drops, tumbles, and exposure to hot and cold temperatures.

In addition to its durability, an ideal mobile printer should also be lightweight to prevent worker strain. Leading technology innovators have gone a step further by including glove-friendly LED screens to maximize ease of use for your busy workforce.

2. Long Battery Life Span

Once again, like your mobile computers, an ideal mobile printing solution should survive an 8-hour shift without compromising printing speed. Modern systems now enable stand-by modes to further preserve battery power when printers aren’t in use.

3. Integrated Security Measures

Cybersecurity will continue to be a non-negotiable in every modern system. As a peripheral device with access to a database system, mobile printers are key targets for cybercrime despite their lack of a visible screen.

Controlled blind tests uncovered a 56% success rate in hijacking enterprise printers within large companies across the world. As you select a new mobile printing solution, be sure to integrate a cybersecurity policy that flags unauthorized users and connections to mitigate hijacking and data leaks.

4. Adjustable Connectivity Options

Lastly, an ideal mobile printing solution requires flexible connectivity to remain functional in challenging spaces with thick walls, high ceilings, metal racks, and/or signal interference. Working alongside networking experts empowers you to evaluate your space and deploy connectivity options that adapt to your facility such as WiFi, Bluetooth, or NFC.

While this may seem dismissible at first, a lack of connectivity options can lead to dropped sessions and downtime within certain parts of your facility, limiting workers from printing anywhere. Moreover, depending on battery capacity, certain connectivity options may drain batteries faster, thus impacting other non-negotiable factors within your printing system.  

While these four qualities are indispensable, a modernized printing solution must go beyond the printer itself. To maximize printer performance from anywhere without elevating operational costs, experts recommend pairing your device with enterprise labels containing smooth surfaces and strong adhesives that don’t leak into the printer. Quality printing supplies prevent early printhead scratches while securing barcode legibility after application. Equipped with both durable mobile printers and enterprise labels, your workflow should be able to note an increase in operational visibility from door to dock.

How Warehouse Workflows Benefit from Modernized Mobile Printing

By maintaining unbroken productivity within your facility, mobile printers empower teams to:

• Stop misidentification the moment inventory arrives. Visibility at the receiving dock allows warehouses to accurately estimate stock levels and prevent stockouts. Therefore, workers equipped with mobile printers can quickly prep incoming inventory for material movement.
• Protect inventory visibility while cross-docking. As stock moves between departments, workers can generate identification tags for individual products and pallets on the spot without leaving inventory unattended.
• Provide trackable locationing during put away. Modern mobile printers are now equipped with optional RFID encoding, supporting real-time tracking of your inventory. Newly tagged inventory can be scanned and added to your WMS during put away, harnessing location data for the picking team when inventory is needed.
• Verify product quality and order accuracy. Automated data capture eliminates the errors associated with manual workflows and multiple touchpoints. Simply create a unique identification label for products undergoing inspection noting any needed tests and storage instructions. Moreover, in terms of accuracy, scanned barcodes can be combined with a voice-enabled system to certify picking teams have picked the correct item.
• Ensure accurate shipping. Once orders are properly assembled and checked for quality, workers can generate a new label at the loading dock with shipping instructions. This speeds up the loading process since workers no longer need to travel between a printing station and the loading dock for multiple orders. Sporting an accurate shipping label, inventory is less likely to be returned, thus minimizing chargebacks, return costs, and wasted labor.

Next Steps

Comprehensive modernization cannot be limited to hardware; however, a good grasp on the benefits and functionality of your technology empowers teams to make smarter decisions in terms of scalable modernization. To truly optimize operations with an intelligent printing solution, it is recommended that you assess:

• Your printing station – A careful evaluation of label throughput and wait times should illuminate a need for mobile printing stations. Furthermore, by investigating printing frequency and label type, you can discover which kind of label printer best suits your needs. While industrial and desktop printers are not portable, rugged workstations on wheels can provide needed mobility for high-volume printing.
• Operational visibility – Your printing station should directly contribute to maximizing inventory control. Note any blind spots and stockout rates to start pinpointing potential visibility issues linked to inventory management.
• Label legibility – Working hand in hand with your printer, labels should be designed to withstand environmental challenges and the heat of thermal printing. Failure to do so often results in fading barcodes and printer breakdowns. If printer jams and printhead replacements are the norm in your facility, perhaps it is also time to reconsider your label provider.
• Network connectivity – Lastly, before deploying another mobile device into your digital fleet, ensure your connectivity system can accommodate additional devices without slowing down network performance.
  
  

For a full evaluation of your systems, schedule a preliminary meeting with our automation team and harness the benefits of mobile printing in your operations.