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LABEL PRINTERS
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 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 lightweight
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
ensure the B-EP4DL can
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.”
As one of the UK’s leading garden centres,
Dobbies is always looking to improve
operational effectiveness, which is why it is
now using mobile label printers from Toshiba
TEC in its UK stores.
Sowing the seeds of
business efficiency
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 instantly to identify
and rectify printer issues, 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.
Commenting on the awards,
Tom Bianculli, vice president,
Emerging Technology Office,
Zebra, said: “Zebra’s design
approach is working in
collaboration with its customers
in order to completely fulfill
their business requirements
and improve ease of use. The
four Red Dot awards recognise
Zebra’s dedication to providing
innovative solutions that combine
function and form to benefit our
partners and customers.”
Labels are
far more
aesthetically
pleasing and
easier for
customers
to read
